The struggle will determine whose pews are filled, but more importantly, who will amass the clout, the money, and the commitment to define the values and the state of Florida. There are plenty of candidates in the derby. For example, the state is host to an unusual number of Christian evangelists, from Rodney Howard Brown to D. James Kennedy to R.C. Sproul to Torrey Johnson, the founder of Youth for Christ. Charles Mead has established his reclusive End Time Ministries near Lake City in Columbia County. Of late, semi-native son Benny Hinn has deserted Florida for Texas, but the tenure here of the flamboyant faith healer helped shaped the religious landscape.
Evangelical entrepreneurs find fertile soil here.
He aims to use contemporary music and worship to bring in thousands of people literally overnight, creating an instant megachurch. And in Doral, Pastor Stephen J. Alessi has built a unique ministry aimed at the wealthy, encouraging unabashed materialism. His Hotline to Heaven fields calls from those whose stocks have tanked and real estate deals have soured, and prayer vigils focus on such concerns as healthy bank accounts. New religions also feel at home here. L. Ron Hubbard set down the roots of Scientology in Clearwater, and guru Maharaj Ji brought his Divine Light Mission here twenty years ago.