The Korean Times is reporting that the elders of Yoido Full Gospel Church have questioned emeritus Pastor Cho’s previous commitment to step down from leadership and let Lee Young-hoon take over as senior pastor. It seems Pastor Cho is having trouble letting go of his empire and would rather give it to his sons.
Perhaps I failed to read that chapter in the New Testament where it states that the church is a family dynasty to be inherited by the children. It is my understanding that the elders should decide after prayer and dependence on the Holy Spirit who the next leader would be.
I can think of several large ministries recently where children have “inherited” their father’s ministries: Crystal Cathedral, Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Marilyn Hickey Ministries, John Hagee’s Cornerstone Church among others. Perhaps today’s celebrity preachers would do well to remember that the church belongs to Jesus Christ, not to them personally and thus it is not theirs to give to their sons.
Coffee Talk with Java 
I partially disagree, but it’s not where you might think. I totally agree that the church should never be considered a family dynasty or treated as such. Yet, the church should have more of a focus on discipleship. Even the charismatic predominant personalities behind some ministries should be working their entire careers to mentor and disciple others to continue the ministry.
Whether I agree with the dynasty ministries you mentioned or not, I applaud that the did disciple somebody to assume the reigns after they left. Many churches and ministries are centered on a single personality, and those churches and ministries are likely to die when the central personality does.
Interesting… the attitude of many pentecostals is definitely that their ministry is a family business, and they use it to make themselves rich. Karl Strader is another example.
However, I’m more worried about Cho’s theology. Have you ever read his book “The Fourth Dimension”? Pure heresy. Basically, shamanism is deeply embedded in Korean culture, and the reason that pentecostalism has succeeded over there is because it has incorporated shamanic beliefs.
I agree that his theology is off – perhaps if he had read the bible a bit more he would know that the church isn’t his to pass on to his sons?