Pastor Zachery Tims, Found Dead In Times Square Hotel, Allegedly Had Drugs

Police are investigating if drugs were involved in the death of a Florida megachurch pastor who was found dead in his Times Square hotel room.

There was an envelope filled with white powder allegedly inside the shorts of the Rev. Zachery Tims Jr, 42, the New York Daily News reported. Tims, who leads the 8,000-member New Destiny Christian Center near Orlando, was found lying face up on the floor of his room in the W Hotel by workers on Friday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

New York Police Department officials don't suspect foul play, according to reports, because his room was locked from the inside and none of his valuable belongings appeared to be missing. Police said his body showed no evidence of trauma.

Tims was in town for a meeting and was scheduled to fly next to Texas, the Daily News said.

An autopsy performed over the weekend was inconclusive, while toxicology tests will take weeks to complete, The Christian Post said.

Drugs had a role in Tims' life before he founded the church with his then-wife Riva in 1996. His biography on the New Destiny website said: "After Dr. Tims was miraculously saved, instantly delivered from drug addiction, and called into ministry, he determined to make his young life count by simultaneously earning two Bachelor’s degrees."

Tims has four children from his marriage with Riva, which ended in 2009 after he admitted to having an affair with a stripper, The Wall Street Journal said.

A prayer service on Monday at New Destiny Christian Center drew 2,000 people, according to The Orlando Sentinel. Tims' ex-wife spoke and told the audience that he'd vacationed in Puerto Rico with his family a week before he died.

"We lost one of our leaders," said the Rev. Willie Barnes, a Baptist pastor who spoke at the service. "His ministry was very, very powerful, especially to young people. He brought a different style of ministry, and it reached a lot of the younger generation because it wasn't so traditional," Barnes said, according to the Sentinel.

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A sign with a photo of Pastor Zachery Tims is seen near the street at the New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Fla., Monday, Aug. 15, 2011. Tims, the pastor of one of the largest congregations in central Florida, was found dead in a hotel room in New York.

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A sign with a photo of Pastor Zachery Tims is seen near the street at the New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Fla., Monday, Aug. 15, 2011. Tims, the pastor of one of the largest congregations in central Florida, was found dead in a hotel room in New York.

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Comments

[Rene Epicurus]

12:46 PM on 10/06/2011

Evidently, once again, "prayer" and "grace" just weren't enough....

I'm really sorry for his family but the good pastor had unresolved issues that "faith" could not cure.

[Scott Goss]

04:02 PM on 09/17/2011

this guy was using and strippers and was purchaseing it all thanks to the people of his church lmao

[Catsun]

09:14 PM on 08/22/2011

I'm sure the church members don't believe that their pastor had drugs on him, or he was once involved with a stripper and had an issue with drugs in the past. They will fight for his good name.

[Congo Line]

10:45 PM on 08/21/2011

Actually read somewhere that the video of this guy's funeral is for sale.

Anyone else surprised here?

[Wiseindeed]

10:43 AM on 08/20/2011

I didn't know this pastor, but it appears that he was an ordinary man, doing ordinary things (like having an affair on his wife, getting divorced, doing illegal drugs, dressing flashy, driving fancy cars... basically "living large off other people's money"). I know he was very loved by his congregation. I use to be like those parishoners. I attended a mega church and was "brainwashed", as well. It was at the fall of my Pastor that I realized that I needed to know God for myself. I stopped attending all churches, because the pastors seemed the same... too fleshly and appearing bigger than the ordinary person. yet, behind the scenes... they LIVED like the ordinary person. They taught one thing... yet lived another. I pray that the members of these types of churches will put their pastors through the test... step back and look at how he/she lives... not what they say. Before you give a single dime to THEIR ministry, make sure the money is going to places you support. See how much the Pastor is being paid for his Sunday and Wednesday night "performances". Is it too much? If so, MOVE TO ANOTHER CHURCH... because this is not the right one. Giving to God does not always mean giving to some person at a church who claims his/her ministry is the GOD you should be giving to. May you be blessed to have your eyes opened to the TRUTH!

[LuvRed14]

04:52 PM on 09/01/2011

I see your point. What I will add is that tithes and offering are a convenant with you and God. That has nothing to do with pastors who will always be of the flesh. That is, I pay my tithes to honor God not the pastor or the parishoners. Otherwise, you hits some valid point.

[DAE]

05:20 AM on 08/20/2011

Psychoactive drugs and ecstatic sex have long been associated with various religions and their leaders.

[urnumbersix]

12:01 AM on 08/20/2011

STOP giving these people your Money!

Real avatars don't NEED your Money, they just pass the Word. For Free.

Grifters NEED your Money.
They have no connection.

Got a Prayer?
Want to Worship?
Dial Direct!
Toll FREE.
Every Time.

[JPwarwick]

07:47 PM on 08/19/2011

Too bad for him being such a great christian. I wonder with the door being locked from the inside, did he die before or after his date with his boyfriend

[Jack in Columbia MD]

09:16 AM on 08/19/2011

As long as it was done in the Lord's name ... Amen. Instead of offerings to the church ... give your money directly to charities. Stop whining about taxes if you keep filling the coffers of charlatans.

[mapleaforever]

09:07 AM on 08/19/2011

So I guess this "saved" thing could be construed as temporary? Maybe he should have re-upped, in case it wore off.

[Dana S]

08:18 AM on 08/19/2011

So your money goes thru God to support drug dealers and strippers , Time to get a new church You-all

[Ender Wiggin]

09:59 AM on 08/20/2011

i like drugs and strippers. i like a god who enjoys drugs and strippers. not seeing the problem.

More drugs and strippers in church would be good for everyone.

[PTerrys]

08:25 PM on 08/20/2011

That's a growing trend in a lot of churches actually.

[ctc1066]

08:11 AM on 08/19/2011

It is wrong for the Church to develop a cult of personality around one man. Almost all of the mega congregations have seen their leaders fall in extreme ways. Stop worshiping the messenger and worship the creator of the message. Stop paying these charlatans more and more money.

[Ed Baggett]

05:20 AM on 08/19/2011

There is more morality in one atheist or free thinker, than 20 reverends who are drowning in cash. Your next donation may be "financing" a man of god with some "choice" cocaine. Men of science, afterall, supply mankind with something much more valuable than a" book of fairie tales"...Try believing in the TRUTH rather than fiction.

[detroitblkmale30]

09:42 AM on 08/19/2011

And you know definitively that it is fiction how exactly?

[Ed Baggett]

10:00 AM on 08/20/2011

Fiction, in this context means in one sense, that there is no proof that something is true, therefore, the claim that is made, is questionable, so much so that most people cannot deem that claim as true......
In another sense, the meaning is...something is loosely accepted, but generally agreed upon by the majority of prudent, rational people that something might be true, but again, since no proof exists, USE YOUR COMMON SENSE to determine what is believable or not believable...remember IF SOMETHING SEEMS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT's MOST LIKELY FALSE !!!!!!! IS THAT PLAIN ENOUGH FOR YA ?

[Brandij]

12:44 PM on 08/19/2011

Atheist and free thinkers have been just as immoral, and drug addicted as the rest, including a reverend. Why? because we are all human.

[Congo Line]

11:35 PM on 08/19/2011

With one exception, many of us are not lying about it in such a way that it allows us to steal money and lead people into darkness.

We are all human. We are not all equal. Some of us are worse than others. Those pretending to be God's mouthpiece (smdh) fall into that category.

Given your logic, we should all do what we want regardless of the depravity or consequences, cuz hey! we are all human.

I suspect this level of forgiveness, oversight and permissiveness is reserved for your religious figures and no one else. If this be the case, some self-examination and personal inventory is in order.

[Ed Baggett]

11:00 AM on 08/20/2011

Most people come equipped with a moral compass, a sense of what is right or wrong, an internal lie detector, or strangely enough....a mental or moral "plumb bob" which directs your essence what to, or how to treat your fellow man & animals......Holy books seem to attempt to "instill" some measure of morality in people, but are often guilty in overstateing their religious "karma" or dogma to the extent that morality is often compromised. So, why risk believing the philosophy of that "holy book" at the expense of omitting the very good intentions you deemed as justly intended to begin with ?
Is there a God ?...the truth for me (and many)is ....I don't really know, however, since "he" chooses not to reveal himself to ME or prove that he exists in a meaningful manner, I assume he has done so for reasons I could never imagine...then the suspicion of doubt pervades me, overhelms me, & finally blatently consumes me...."Is he real"..I honestly MUST reject the possibility of his existence. As the curcuit judge states....and as it is accepted, so shall the matter be closed !

[usman Carlucci]

04:33 AM on 08/19/2011

Wonder how long people will continue to buy into this religious nonsense? I say 99% of these religious leaders are atheists, that's why they continue to deceive rip off folks because they know there is no god to hold them accountable. Wake up people, stop wasting your hard earned money supporting these con men, especially my fellow blacks.

[Jack in Columbia MD]

09:19 AM on 08/19/2011

Not atheists ... capitalists and thieves. Atheists aren't the bad guys here ... there are plenty of "believers" who "sin" regularly.

[detroitblkmale30]

09:44 AM on 08/19/2011

I'd love to see the data you have to back up your ridiculous 99% are atheists claim.

Not all religious leaders act as these men do. Many are strong believers of faith who are humble and not money hungry. I know many just like that. How do I know? Because I've come in contact with some who are con artists. It's quite easy to tell the difference.

"ye shall know them by their fruits"

[usman Carlucci]

08:29 PM on 08/19/2011

Same ridiculous data as you knowing most who are, save I am not as blinded as you obviously are. All of their fake prayers have done nothing to help your city with nearly 50% unemployment & number five in US crime rate. From all indications, there is no evidence of god in Detroit, detroitblkmale. Praying to baal will have same effects, try it.

[Frog in a pot]

04:19 AM on 08/19/2011

Stripper..Check
Drugs ...Check

Smells like the christian right.

[Mike De Fleuriot]

06:03 AM on 08/19/2011

I wonder what his stand was on "luggage lifting", to get the trifactor.

[Congo Line]

11:36 PM on 08/19/2011

The Christian right is white. Tims, a Black man, doesn't qualify. If you are going to toss snark, please do it accurately.