Dr. Rodney Sampson and Bishop Harold Ray engage in a prophetic conversation regarding technology, the Internet, and the importance of aggregating an audience for the effective monetization of a community.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Prophecy to Dr. Rodney Sampson from Bishop Veron Ashe Regarding Turmoil and Betrayal at Streaming Faith, Eventual Redemption, and Life Relevance
This prophetic Word of the Lord was articulated to Dr. Rodney Sampson by Bishop Veron Ashe, a extremely accurate 21st century prophet, particularly as it relates to his business affairs within the company he founded known to many as Streamingfaith.com (aka Streaming Faith, LLC - a subsidiary of Multicast Media Technologies (Networks) in 2000 with three partners. The prophecy speaks to the betrayal of Sampson, his ultimate redemption, the books he would write, and the impact he would have in the earth. This prophecy was delivered live from Bishop Harold Ray's Kingdom Dominion Summit in the summer of 2001. It was at this summit that Dr. Sampson decided to sow an Internet Television and Radio Network into the fellowship. These channels were valued at more than $70,000 US at the time. These services were also some of the first live Internet broadcasts delivered by the company. While serving as CEO of the company, Sampson also authorized and sowed networks and advertising services to Dr. Myles Munroe, Trinity Broadcasting Network, Bishop TD Jakes, and Denny's Corporation.
Multicast Media Networks was founded by Sampson, Schwartz, Conaway, and Rice in 2000. Chance Mason was hired to fulfill a customer service role in 2001 due to the company's growth. Mason is not a founder of the company. Sampson departed the day to day operations in June 2002. Sampson remains a shareholder and owner in the company today. He remains in litigation with the company regarding his equity and past compensation.
Undeniably, Sampson and his partners created what has become the most successful Christian media venture in the Black community in the 21st century.
Multicast Media Networks was founded by Sampson, Schwartz, Conaway, and Rice in 2000. Chance Mason was hired to fulfill a customer service role in 2001 due to the company's growth. Mason is not a founder of the company. Sampson departed the day to day operations in June 2002. Sampson remains a shareholder and owner in the company today. He remains in litigation with the company regarding his equity and past compensation.
Undeniably, Sampson and his partners created what has become the most successful Christian media venture in the Black community in the 21st century.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Who is Streaming Faith (Multicast Media Networks)? Who founded it? Is there a Black Founder? Where are they now?
Stand!
I was recently approached by a group of young men and women that for all intents and purposes were new to the “kingdom” of black Christianity. In their excitement, they mentioned how a black man, yes a black man, was primarily responsible for creating what has been the 21st century’s largest and most successful media company, particularly one that has expanded the voice of some of our nation’s most prominent faith leaders of color. Well, I am that black man; and the company is Streamingfaith.com.
Yes, it’s true; and despite what you might have heard, Streamingfaith.com was co-founded by (as we would say in jokes growing up in Atlanta) a Black man, white man, Jew man) a black man and two Jews.
I listened to the young men and women go on and on about how they were elated to discover this “significant” note in their research in the kingdom or space we call “black Gospel Christianity”.
I chose not to offer balance and insight into the plight of a pregnant idea that would eventually become a disenfranchised baby of mine, never to be nurtured into its full potential. I chose not to share with them some of the stark realities of the Black Christian community on that day. I chose not to share with them the lack of loyalty and the quick and sometimes obvious client alignment, not based on integrity and character, but greed and manipulation. I chose not to share with them the battle scars that I have accumulated along the way.
However, as time went on, I began to mentor one of those persons regarding the “business of faith” and the issues that I am called to navigate on a daily basis in this space called faith.
They began to understand what it means to be a trendsetter amongst a group or community that is calling for change but often doesn’t recognize it when it hits. Just think about it. Prior to Streamingfaith.com hitting the scene, how many black preachers and constituents were talking about watching TV, let alone anything else, on the Internet. This streaming revolution we introduced literally transformed the destinies of some of America’s largest and fastest growing churches.
The situation was further enlightened on a recent occasion in a sermon that was articulated, I mean literally preached, by one of my colleagues and fraternity brother at a Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Regional Crusade in Atlanta, GA.
The preacher connects our consciousness with one of the historic accounts of our age in which the Apostle Paul, in the 27th chapter of Acts, is noted for being able to stand during the midst of a storm while others around him were falling, while the ship was breaking up, and while the storm was raging. He goes on to note that if Paul were not on assignment, if Paul were not on purpose in a collision with his destiny, he might have missed the storm. If Paul would have missed this storm, it would have shifted the very history of Christianity. Paul was on assignment; and because he kept his assignment, he was thrust into the middle of the storm.
During the time when I was traveling around the country to meet with many pastors and their staff about broadcasting on Streamingfaith.com, a prophet gave a word that said, literally, there would be great warfare attached to this thing. Naively, I shared the prophecy with my “partners.” Little did I know that the warfare and turmoil would come from them, from within.
The preacher in his energetic and prolific message goes on to articulate the facts in Chapter 27 regarding the destruction of the ship that Paul and the others were on.
He observed that if the ship had not broken up, the other Roman soldiers and prisoners who could not swim would have died, that because the ship was destroyed, some were able to use planks and boards, and others debris, to make it ashore. The scripture goes on to project that all on aboard survived.
Well, the ship at Streamingfaith.com was broken up with my departure from the day to day operations in 2002 and has been to some degree operating as a “broken company” since then. It has been operating purely as a revenue model, disconnected-broken from its purpose, its evolution, its destiny.
The amazing thing that is noticed by my staff, interns and those whom I mentor is that most people in the space assumed that I would just roll over, die and be buried by my storm. But I chose to emulate Paul through the 27th chapter because I knew that in the next chapter, 28, they all received a new ship to continue their journey and assignment.
So standing during the storm was not an option, it was connected to the divine assignment for my life. Standing means I had to launch another company to provide marketing and cutting edge thought leadership and activation to the space. Standing means I had to publish a newspaper and develop it as a global brand, and set an example of excellence with relevant content and by the sheer look of the newspaper in the Christian publishing space, at my own expense for 2 years. Standing means I had to launch Mobile Currency and provide new wireless content distriubiton technologies for ministry to the nation’s churches that were starving for the cutting edge. Standing means I had to travel to Africa and Europe on more than 7 occasions, respectively, and consult African heads of state, in areas that only God could instantaneously prepare me for. Standing means I would push my way through the crowd and be referred to position my company as the minority contractor of choice for Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ and Walden’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Standing means that I would teach thousands of successful business and faith leaders in Africa for three years on leadership and destiny. Standing means I would pursue my ministry as a business leader in The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International, followed up with an appointment as General Overseer by Bishop Paul Morton. Standing means I would launch a social network for entrepreneurs for the development of entrepreneurs globally who desire to leverage our successes and “failure forwards” and apply to their very own lives. Standing means I would move forward with the launch of a virtual church for the affluent. Standing means I would continue to grow and nurture my family and the development of my personal legacy. Standing, at the end of the day, means I had to continue to provide for my family, like every other Christian entrepreneur in the space.
Standing also means that I had to learn how to release people who wanted to provide substandard work and live vicariously through my success. Standing means I had to let people go that I wanted to continue to pay and help but didn’t have time to teach them how to read and write. Standing means I had to stop underwriting the lifestyles of people who couldn’t see my vision to change the world.
Standing also means that I would meet with Christian leaders and listen to them share with me how the employees of Streamingfaith.com had just left and made all kinds of terrible, horrible and unnecessary comments about me, but then still attempt to get my services for free, even though I have a family to feed, and they had a Rolls Royce outside. Standing means I would look them in the eyes and continue to smile at them while thinking to myself, “What do I say about people I hired whose only significance is articulated in their distaste for me while they continue to live and work in a vision I created?”
Just think, if the ship called Streaming faith didn’t break up, I could not have stood in the storm (or the gap) for the millions of people who have been impacted by our “standing” alone.
Just think about it for a moment, what else was I supposed to do, but stand. So, when you see me in Acts Chapter 28, 2008, and 2028, guess what, I will still be standing-God willing. New ship, new company, refined purpose, manifest destiny, and still standing – on assignment, from one storm to the next.
Wow, imagine what we will do for the Kingdom and society when we aren’t just standing, but running!
IAMstandingIAM – rodney sampson
Yes, it’s true; and despite what you might have heard, Streamingfaith.com was co-founded by (as we would say in jokes growing up in Atlanta) a Black man, white man, Jew man) a black man and two Jews.
I listened to the young men and women go on and on about how they were elated to discover this “significant” note in their research in the kingdom or space we call “black Gospel Christianity”.
I chose not to offer balance and insight into the plight of a pregnant idea that would eventually become a disenfranchised baby of mine, never to be nurtured into its full potential. I chose not to share with them some of the stark realities of the Black Christian community on that day. I chose not to share with them the lack of loyalty and the quick and sometimes obvious client alignment, not based on integrity and character, but greed and manipulation. I chose not to share with them the battle scars that I have accumulated along the way.
However, as time went on, I began to mentor one of those persons regarding the “business of faith” and the issues that I am called to navigate on a daily basis in this space called faith.
They began to understand what it means to be a trendsetter amongst a group or community that is calling for change but often doesn’t recognize it when it hits. Just think about it. Prior to Streamingfaith.com hitting the scene, how many black preachers and constituents were talking about watching TV, let alone anything else, on the Internet. This streaming revolution we introduced literally transformed the destinies of some of America’s largest and fastest growing churches.
The situation was further enlightened on a recent occasion in a sermon that was articulated, I mean literally preached, by one of my colleagues and fraternity brother at a Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Regional Crusade in Atlanta, GA.
The preacher connects our consciousness with one of the historic accounts of our age in which the Apostle Paul, in the 27th chapter of Acts, is noted for being able to stand during the midst of a storm while others around him were falling, while the ship was breaking up, and while the storm was raging. He goes on to note that if Paul were not on assignment, if Paul were not on purpose in a collision with his destiny, he might have missed the storm. If Paul would have missed this storm, it would have shifted the very history of Christianity. Paul was on assignment; and because he kept his assignment, he was thrust into the middle of the storm.
During the time when I was traveling around the country to meet with many pastors and their staff about broadcasting on Streamingfaith.com, a prophet gave a word that said, literally, there would be great warfare attached to this thing. Naively, I shared the prophecy with my “partners.” Little did I know that the warfare and turmoil would come from them, from within.
The preacher in his energetic and prolific message goes on to articulate the facts in Chapter 27 regarding the destruction of the ship that Paul and the others were on.
He observed that if the ship had not broken up, the other Roman soldiers and prisoners who could not swim would have died, that because the ship was destroyed, some were able to use planks and boards, and others debris, to make it ashore. The scripture goes on to project that all on aboard survived.
Well, the ship at Streamingfaith.com was broken up with my departure from the day to day operations in 2002 and has been to some degree operating as a “broken company” since then. It has been operating purely as a revenue model, disconnected-broken from its purpose, its evolution, its destiny.
The amazing thing that is noticed by my staff, interns and those whom I mentor is that most people in the space assumed that I would just roll over, die and be buried by my storm. But I chose to emulate Paul through the 27th chapter because I knew that in the next chapter, 28, they all received a new ship to continue their journey and assignment.
So standing during the storm was not an option, it was connected to the divine assignment for my life. Standing means I had to launch another company to provide marketing and cutting edge thought leadership and activation to the space. Standing means I had to publish a newspaper and develop it as a global brand, and set an example of excellence with relevant content and by the sheer look of the newspaper in the Christian publishing space, at my own expense for 2 years. Standing means I had to launch Mobile Currency and provide new wireless content distriubiton technologies for ministry to the nation’s churches that were starving for the cutting edge. Standing means I had to travel to Africa and Europe on more than 7 occasions, respectively, and consult African heads of state, in areas that only God could instantaneously prepare me for. Standing means I would push my way through the crowd and be referred to position my company as the minority contractor of choice for Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ and Walden’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Standing means that I would teach thousands of successful business and faith leaders in Africa for three years on leadership and destiny. Standing means I would pursue my ministry as a business leader in The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International, followed up with an appointment as General Overseer by Bishop Paul Morton. Standing means I would launch a social network for entrepreneurs for the development of entrepreneurs globally who desire to leverage our successes and “failure forwards” and apply to their very own lives. Standing means I would move forward with the launch of a virtual church for the affluent. Standing means I would continue to grow and nurture my family and the development of my personal legacy. Standing, at the end of the day, means I had to continue to provide for my family, like every other Christian entrepreneur in the space.
Standing also means that I had to learn how to release people who wanted to provide substandard work and live vicariously through my success. Standing means I had to let people go that I wanted to continue to pay and help but didn’t have time to teach them how to read and write. Standing means I had to stop underwriting the lifestyles of people who couldn’t see my vision to change the world.
Standing also means that I would meet with Christian leaders and listen to them share with me how the employees of Streamingfaith.com had just left and made all kinds of terrible, horrible and unnecessary comments about me, but then still attempt to get my services for free, even though I have a family to feed, and they had a Rolls Royce outside. Standing means I would look them in the eyes and continue to smile at them while thinking to myself, “What do I say about people I hired whose only significance is articulated in their distaste for me while they continue to live and work in a vision I created?”
Just think, if the ship called Streaming faith didn’t break up, I could not have stood in the storm (or the gap) for the millions of people who have been impacted by our “standing” alone.
Just think about it for a moment, what else was I supposed to do, but stand. So, when you see me in Acts Chapter 28, 2008, and 2028, guess what, I will still be standing-God willing. New ship, new company, refined purpose, manifest destiny, and still standing – on assignment, from one storm to the next.
Wow, imagine what we will do for the Kingdom and society when we aren’t just standing, but running!
IAMstandingIAM – rodney sampson
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