Randy White, Former Without Walls Pastor, Arrested on DUI Charge
Randy White, the former co-pastor of Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Fla., was arrested on charges of driving under the influence Saturday night.
He posted $500 as bail Sunday morning and was released, according to Tampa Bay Online. Jail records show that his blood-alcohol level was 0.09. In Florida, a person with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or above is considered intoxicated.
On Sunday, his ex-wife, Paula White, said about Randy’s arrest at church: “This ministry is a ministry of restoration. This ministry does not compromise the principles of God, but we are the perfect church for people who are not.
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“This does not mean I am an enabler. That doesn’t mean I condone. That doesn’t mean I agree with things. It means that I will help you walk through life. And I want you to walk with me through life. And I think that’s what the church is all about.”
The Whites, who split in 2007 after nearly 18 years of marriage, built Without Walls International into one of the biggest churches in the nation. It was estimated that the church boasted some 23,000 members before the divorce, and Sen. Charles Grassley’s (R-Iowa) Senate probe for possible financial misconduct of the church’s nonprofit status caused some congregants to be disillusioned and leave.
The Whites subscribe to what is called the “prosperity gospel,” where God’s blessing is often tied to material blessings. Sen. Grassley led the investigation beginning in 2007 on six popular televangelists who preach the prosperity gospel. The Iowa senator, the ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Finance, questioned whether the ministries abused their tax-exempt status as churches while living lavish lifestyles.
Some of the leaders of the ministries investigated had astoundingly high salaries, private jets and Rolls-Royces, Grassley noted.
After three years with little cooperation from the ministries, Grassley released a report that showed Without Walls International Church, among others, provided incomplete responses. There were no penalties handed out.
In April, Paula White broke her silence about all the scandals that have surrounded her since her divorce in 2007.
At the 2011 Pastors and Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla., White said, “I think it’s time we stop being hypocrites in the pulpit. I think … it’s time that we take the mask off to this generation and show them that we have the same issues and the same struggles.”
She shared candidly about her family problems, saying that Randy had closed up to her and that “in a really weak moment” the couple agreed to divorce. The split was amicable.
She also said at the conference that she was proud of her ex-husband. “He never quit … God or anything else.”
