Not surprisingly, members of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles are taking advantage of their time in the spotlight. They both decided to become promoters for a traveling, Christian financial seminar called Life Surge. This initiative, helmed by serial entrepreneur Joe Johnson, aims to provide attendees with a blueprint to “grow and use wealth for Kingdom impact.” The seminars not only feature local sports heroes but draw on emotionally charged Christian messaging and conservative talking points.
Life Surge has truly cut a wide swath across our nation. This past year, they offered more than 100,000 tickets to test drives in upwards of two dozen cities. With ticket prices starting at just $19, their performances appeal to a very broad audience. These attendees are really looking to get some financial guidance through a distinctly Christian lens. This statement and feeling of motivation usually leads to attendees rushing to register for additional offerings. These range from $97 “starter” seminars to advance training packages that run as high as $40,000.
Joe Johnson, the mastermind behind Life Surge, calls himself a “serial entrepreneur.” But many of his former ventures have raised concern, with at least eight subjects of lawsuits and tax misconduct surrounding them. But critics have rightly called him out for weaponizing Christian values to make himself rich. They’re monsters, they’re predators. They want to come alongside you,” explained Amy Wolfe, a leading voice on the religious roots of finance.
At Life Surge events, attendees experience high-pressure, emotionally manipulative presentations that guarantee financial blessings mixed with spiritual blessings. Many participants describe being pressured to liquidate retirement savings or incur debt to pay for the seminars. The financial danger posed by credit card applications offered on-site has recently come under scrutiny.
The seminars do include some feel-good, get-motivated stuff, but mostly they’re about giving people practical financial advice delivered in a conservative Christian context. One of my favorite recent examples was an extremely high level speaker who asked, “Why the hell are we not all buying Twitter? This question is a great example of how the mix of monetary motivation with artistic critique works throughout Life Surge’s programming.
Joe Johnson has been involved in his share of controversies surrounding his business practices. Life Surge does internally survey their clientele, and they’re proud to report a near 98% satisfaction rate. Given this statistic, one must question the metrics being used to measure satisfaction and if these metrics truly take into account what the attendees will achieve financially.