c. 2006 Religion News Service

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ Less than a year after being acquitted of charges that he masterminded a $2.6 billion fraud at the company he founded, Richard Scrushy has traded his HealthSouth chief executive title for that of minister as he launches a number of religious-based initiatives.

The man HealthSouth employees once jokingly referred to as “King Richard” says he is now focused on building the kingdom of God.

A Web site, scrushy-ministries.com, details Scrushy’s new role as a pastor, televangelist and head of Kingdom Builders International, an organization seeking to pool the resources of nondenominational Christian churches.

Scrushy and wife Leslie, the daughter of a Methodist minister, were recently ordained pastors and ministers of Grace and Purpose Church, according to the site. The Scrushys also host “Viewpoint,” a religious-themed talk show that airs in Birmingham.

Richard and Leslie Scrushy have preached in a number of churches, “which invite us to share our testimonies of the trials and persecution we have experienced, while we teach deliverance and hope to those who believe in and trust in Christ,” the Web site states.

The Scrushys are also involved in a documentary being produced by a California company that examines the role their faith played in the former HealthSouth Corp. CEO’s acquittal on fraud and conspiracy charges. Both have said publicly they are working on books exploring a similar theme.

A federal jury last June found Richard Scrushy not guilty of all counts in the $2.64 billion fraud case after a five-month trial. He still faces civil charges stemming from the case, as well as unrelated bribery charges. Trial in federal court in Montgomery is set to start in May.

A federal judge in Montgomery granted Scrushy permission to travel with his family to the Bahamas March 18-26 during spring break. Scrushy told the judge he planned to attend a pastors leadership meeting while in Nassau.

During his criminal fraud trial, Scrushy was joined in the courtroom by a group of predominantly black pastors and ministers in what became known as the “Amen Corner.” Scrushy’s foundation donated large sums of money to many of the churches and organizations whose leaders attended the trial.

Scrushy, through a spokesman, declined to be interviewed for this report.

Richard Scrushy said in December that Kingdom Builders is working to create Kingdom Builders Institute in McCalla, a Bible college for nondenominational Christian ministers and pastors.

The Scrushys have said they are thankful for the ordeal of the criminal charges and federal trial because it helped them grow in their faith. They have said they look at the charges in Montgomery and the civil lawsuits as more such opportunities.

“God has blessed our family with an incredible testimony and it is our privilege to share it,” they say on their Web site. “We are believers in the power and love of God, and are zealous in our pursuit of those wanting and needing to believe. All things are possible for him who believes!”

MO/PH END RNS

(Michael Tomberlin writes for the Birmingham News in Birmingham, Ala.)

Editors: To obtain a photo of Richard Scrushy, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.