by Richard Lloyd Evans

Created on: April 18, 2008

Bishop Rick Hawkins is described many ways by many people: showman, a charismatic and powerful preacher, founder of the massive San Antonio church the Family Praise Center, as well as a charter school that bears his name, and an accredited bible college that trains evangelicals. But in recent months Bishop Hawkins is best known for a storm of sex scandal.

In 2007 his Family Praise Center was rocked when allegations surfaced of Bishop Hawkins sexually harassing church members, having adulterous affairs. Several women charged that he took advantage of women who came for him for spiritual counseling by soliciting them for phone sex. He is reportedly under investigation for using thousands of dollars in church funds to hush up his victims. Hundreds of church members have fled his church.

But the final straw for most evangelicals came when it was widely reported that tele-vangelical power couple Paula and Randy White were divorcing, reportedly so Paula could marry Bishop Hawkins. The Whites had founded the Without Walls International Church in Tampa Florida, which was a 4,500 seat church including a television studio. It has over 22,000 members and was the 7th largest single congregation in the United States. Individually, she is also of a number of for-profit and non-profit entities, including Paula White Enterprises, PWM Life Center, and Paula White Ministries.

The Christian Internet exploded in condemnation of the couple. Popular Christian commentators such as Paul Edwards have flayed both Paula White and Rick Hawkins for their apparent abandonment of the institute of marriage as well as Hawkins' sex scandals.

According to the official website for the Family Praise Center, Bishop Hawkins experienced salvation at the age of 15 in Baker, Louisiana. He spent several years working with a number of traveling ministries, and it is reported that he was instrumental in establishing a number of churches. Hawkins moved to San Antonio in 1984 and attended Bible college. He found a home church and eventually became its Associate Pastor. After spending more time on the road evangelizing, he returned to San Antonio and founded the Family Praise Center in 1993. It began with less than 60 members, but his energy and charisma quickly swelled the church to thousands.

Connecting the evangelical powerhouses of Hawkins and White seems a great business decision, but now Hawkins' empire is rocked by one tawdry scandal after another.

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