'This is evil': Christians say Tim Tebow's favorite wealth seminar buried them in debt - Raw Story
By: Daniel Hampton (Raw Story)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA-APRIL 14: Professional Football Player Tim Tebow at the Tim Tebow Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic on April 14, 2012 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo credit: Rob Wilson / Shutterstock)
A new investigation says Tim Tebow's celebrity has helped draw believers into a wealth seminar that left some of them thousands of dollars in debt.
The former NFL quarterback is the recurring keynote at Life Surge, a company that stages roughly 30 one-day events a year mixing worship music, Christian celebrity speakers, and promises of financial transformation, according to Mother Jones. Tickets run as little as $20, but the real money is in what comes next: multi-day "SurgeU" investing courses that cost from roughly $10,000 to $40,000.
The seminars center on what Life Surge calls "kingdom impact," the idea that the more wealth you build, the more good you can do for God. But hundreds of attendees have aired complaints to the Federal Trade Commission, the Better Business Bureau, and online, describing a high-pressure sales pitch wrapped in scripture.
"I am so devastated that Christians like Tim Tebow made me trust in something that has taken so much money from me," one attendee wrote in an FTC complaint. "This is evil, especially because I'm disabled on a limited income."
One Indiana couple bought a $20,000 course package, then borrowed roughly $40,000 more on interest-free credit cards to have money to invest, only to make nothing in the market and watch the promotional rates balloon to around 29%, according to the report. Another woman said she took a line of credit against her home to fund a $13,000 real estate course and is still paying it off. Attendees said counselors pressed them to sign up on the spot, denying them time to go home and pray on the decision.
Life Surge has denied any wrongdoing, with spokesman Richard Lorenzen saying the company "does not train its representatives to pressure customers into borrowing or taking on debt they cannot afford." He said that enrollment is voluntary and financing comes through third parties. The events also flash on-screen disclaimers warning that customers "could potentially lose money," though Mother Jones reported they appeared too briefly and too small to read easily.
The report traces part of Life Surge's DNA to Online Trading Academy, an investment-education company where several top Life Surge executives once worked. The FTC sued that company for deceiving customers with inflated earnings claims, and it agreed to a settlement that forgave consumer debt and imposed a $362 million judgment, most of it suspended. None of the Life Surge executives were named in that complaint.
A speakers' bureau estimates the biggest names can command up to $100,000 per appearance, and with Tebow on track to headline 20 events this year, Mother Jones estimated his Life Surge earnings at $2 to $4 million. He did not respond to the outlet's request for comment. Life Surge said it does not ask its headline speakers to promote the paid classes. In a 2023 recording obtained by the outlet, Tebow egged the crowd on.
"So I know that many of you today have probably signed up for classes, have probably signed up to take the next step," he said. "I want to encourage you to finish that, to follow through on that commitment, to finish strong."
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I never liked this piece of shit. For one thing, I don't think God cares about football.
Now having said that, these people were fools. I have no sympathy for them
"This is evil, Christians say"
Yea, well igknorantzrulz says you suckerz are stew pid per quo suckers who got played by peep holes allowing ewes to view watt ewes wished ta hear, and these execs sound like Trump with heavy pants, dew to wet and heavy phone sex pantz that fit like the shit, their filled wit, cause depends on witch whole his spurts were from spit ...
... awww, did thumpers lose thousands of dollars from a scripture loaded high pressure sales pitch? maybe they can get a credit at the pearly gates, along with all their other heavenly rewards ... fucking gullible morons ...
shearing the thumper sheep ... fuck them, they deserve it ...
that was T-bo's shtick, kneeling in prayer after a touchdown, which is a whole lot different than taking a knee in protest to christo-fascists ...
besides being a judas goat for xtian sheep, the f'n thumper couldn't throw long ...
There's an olde saying:
A fool and his mind are easily parted!
Anytime someone offers a wealth seminar, it rely means it's the host who gets wealthy off the gullible attendees. Any wealth the attendees get is purely coincidental.
We've seen this movie before - Trump University.
pure Trump U. style
The Art of the Con.
i don't no, thinkin he may have turned pro
This is the typical "House wins" device for wealth increase. It is the same premise as a lottery, bingo, Kaishi, Draft kings. . . and on and on. That is, the house will always (except Trump casinos) take its :"administrative costs" upfront and the rest is up for grasps by those that can grasp any of it (if at all).
In Tebow's case, all this is-is a product. A wealth producing 'vehicle.' Many celebrities trade on their fame (influence) to create varying forms of income flow. Therefore, they look for something to sell to the public. A "product" then, can take many forms. (Think Life Surge.)
Of course what is being sold (the "product") is opportunity. Now then that depends on the ability (hustle) of the participants: What are you willing to say and/or do to get wealthy?
And that is the BIGGEST problem I have with get rich quick schemes. . . people are not equal to the task involved. That is, people inclined to SALE may profit to some (better) degree. . . whereas people not inclined to sale (not their 'thing') can not make heads or tails how to put together a product that involves lying, questionable antics, or just long hours.
Sadly, what the non-salesmen and saleswomen types in the bunch of participants find is they have not the inclination (wherewithal) to continue the scheme to any noteworthy fruition. (It reminds me of the people who listen to ads for products hawked on television (gyms, or exercise equipment) at the start of a new year. . . people rush to buy. . . and then find they have neither the time, interest, or ability to continue using the gear and it ends up under the bed, in the closet, or in the family shed. Worse, wasted in the trash!
Was Tebow wrong for selling (persuasion) aspiration. . . ? No. Was Tebow wrong for using this particular 'vehicle' for his own self-interest? Not necessarily. (It does matter though if as a believer he had it on 'good faith' that this product could, mind you, could produce for those that strive with it to some degree of fruition.
Celebrities sell as 'putting butts in seats' and that is what Tebow appears to have accomplished for his pay day/s. The rest falls to the administrators and the 'saps'. . . 'er, participants to know their abilities (and what they are willing to do and say to make a buck or bucks by the buckets full.)
Attendees said counselors pressed them to sign up on the spot, denying them time to go home and pray on the decision.
Yeah, that ought to help, lol.
Christians grifting tons of money from other Christians? Sounds a lot like just about every church in the country to me. Have you seen the Vatican?
vaults filled with the treasure of those it was stolen from, in the name of their god ...
A famous quote:
There's a sucker born every minute
--Attributed to P.T. Barnum (although apparently he never said it)
Sounds a lot like just about every church in the country to me.
Perhaps most but not all.
There are a few decent ones. I believe that includes the Quakers. The Unitarian Universalists. Perhaps the Ba'haii...and a few others.
True. They might even include the Satanists.