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Paula White now Without Walls senior pastor

Tribune file photo by JASON BEHNKEN (2007)

Paula White speaks at the 2007 service during which she and Randy White announced their divorce to parishioners.

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By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 11, 2009

In a blast to parishioners on her church's Web site, Paula White announced yesterday that she is taking the helm of Without Walls.

Tomorrow's service at 9 a.m., she announced, "will be my first Sunday to officially preach and minister to you as the mandate and mantle I have received for the great assignment for this city, for this ministry and our lives collectively as your new senior pastor."

There will be a second service at 11 a.m., she said.

In the 76-second video, White also says that the services will honor her ex-husband, Randy, "for the leadership and the legacy and the richness that he has brought without walls to."

Randy and Paula White built Without Walls International Church into one of the brightest beacons of faith in the community. Its innovative ministries attracted such a large following that the church gained a national reputation.

Starting in May 2007, news of scandal, a U.S. Senate financial probe and divorce eroded the foundation of their spiritual sanctuary.

Paula White moved away from Tampa a year ago to focus on her television show, books and preaching. Randy, left to tend the local flock alone, cut back his preaching.

Now, with Paula's national audience dwindling and church attendance in decline, the couple have once again joined forces. Paula has returned to the Without Walls pulpit to reinvigorate the ministry and is scheduled to preach today.

But a big question remains: Will Paula be enough to rebuild the empire?

"The timing feels right for coming back to Tampa regularly, whether it's once a month or more often," Paula said in an e-mail. "Randy and I both needed some time to heal and I think the congregation did, too."

The Whites turned Tampa into the heart of one of the largest megachurches in the nation, at one time reaching 22,000. They leveraged their status to mix with celebrities and world leaders, including President Bush, retired Gen. Colin Powell and business mogul Donald Trump.

Rebuilding the church could prove harder than building it, however.

The Whites remain scarred by missteps from their past and dogged by a growing number of detractors. The glare of scrutiny has revealed discrepancies in the stories they've told for more than a decade, the lore that helped build the foundation of their church.

Stay with TBO.com for updates.

This story contains Information from Tribune archives. Editor Howard Altman can be reached at (813) 259-7629

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