Richard W. Dortch (October 15, 1931 – June 15, 2011) was an

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

District Superintendent for

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

(1970–83) and an Assemblies of God Executive Presbyter (1971–1985). Born in Granite City, Illinois, Dortch served as a pastor early in his ministerial career, and was also a missionary to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

(1959–1964) where he helped found and lead Emmanuel Bible Institute in . While pastoring in Alton, Illinois, in 1967, Dortch was elected as secretary-treasurer for the Illinois district of the Assemblies of God, serving until 1970. He then was Elected to serve as Illinois District Superintendent, a position he held until he resigned in 1983 to work at PTL. He became Executive Vice President of the PTL Christian evangelical television network in 1983, a network typically featuring speakers affiliated with the

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

movement. In 1988 he, along with other executives of PTL, was indicted on federal charges of

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

and

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

. In a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

, Dortch pleaded guilty to reduced charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison, later cut to two and a half years. His ministry credentials were restored by the Assemblies of God in 1991.Blind Spot
''

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...

'', July 1, 1991. Dortch wrote several books about personal integrity and restoration. Until just prior to his death he hosted a long-standing two- to three-hours prayer service called "America's Prayer Meeting" on the Christian Television Network.

References

External links

* ''

Leadership Journal Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

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Blind Spot July 1, 1994
Dortch's ministry credentials restored * The Voice of Prophecy

October 8, 2001 * ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'
Ex-TV Evangelists Are Ousted as Ministers
May 7, 1987 * ''The New York Times'

December 11, 1988 * ''The New York Times'

August 25, 1989 * ''The New York Times'

April 26, 1990 1931 births 2011 deaths American Assemblies of God pastors American people convicted of fraud American religious leaders American television evangelists Members of the clergy convicted of fraud American members of the clergy convicted of crimes People from Granite City, Illinois Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Protestant religious leaders convicted of crimes Writers from Illinois {{US-crime-bio-stub