The story of the “Big Three Bailout” has taken another very similar and eerie turn very similar to the Oral Roberts money plea of 1987

They received their money ‘in time’ in order to keep them ‘from dying’.

Just like Oral Roberts received his $8 million by the deadline of March, 1987, the Big Three received their billions in bailout money by the ‘deadline’ of shutting down the doors.

However, the Big Three can certainly learn from the Oral Robert’s story. It seemed that after that March, 1987 deadline, Oral Roberts was never a real significant figure in American religion again. The cache and panache that many ole time pentecostals gave him suddenly waned away and we never really saw any major significant contribution from him again. Oral seemed to have faded away from the pentecostal scene only to make special appearances on TBN’s Praise The Lord show and an occasional Benny Hinn show.

In fact, the next time we really heard ole Oral’s name with any significant newsworthy event was when his son Richard (and wife Lindsay) was accused of improperly using university funds for mega payraises, vacations, home improvements, and performance bonuses.

The Big Three can learn from this and learn to manage a corporation like a small business does. Watch the money, get rid of the corporate jets (the televangelists can get rid of theirs also), start using common parts more frequently within all their models, create a leaner and more streamlined infrastructure, develop great products, exciting design, and world-class quality, design energy-saving and high fuel-economy vehicles and technologies, and be more responsive to the needs of their end users.

Maybe the televangelists can learn from the Big Three and start to get rid of the corporate jets and other perks such as their Bentleys and their mega-mansions, create a leaner and more streamlined infrastructure, develop great Bible-based doctrine and not based on esoteric experiences or some consultant’s sales pitches or scripture twisting, and be more responsive to the needs of the people and quit blaming tragedy on secret sin and lacking faith.

All we can do is hope….