CONGREGATIONS Is the 'prosperity gospel' prospering?
Most Christian
leaders condemn the "prosperity gospel," the idea that God will reward
the faithful with health and wealth. Yet observers say it is enjoying new popularity
in this economically tenuous time, when many people are not prospering. What's
come to be known as the prosperity gospel began as a staple of fire-and-brimstone
preaching in early 20th-century revival meetings. It surged in popularity with
television preachers in the 1980s, until scandals revealed that some preachers
used money donated for ministry to support their own lavish lifestyles.
Now observers say
the prosperity gospel is spreading among churches large and small, denominational
and independent, as well as through the ministries of televangelists such as
Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, Paul Couch and Kenneth Copeland. These pastors,
critics say, encourage their followers to "sow a seed" of faith by
spending money - often in the form of a donation to their ministries - in order
to reap prosperity in the future.
Many Christian
leaders have long condemned prosperity gospel as aberrant theology, but most
did so quietly. No more. In the past year, African-American pastors met at a
national conference to discuss a problem they see spreading in their denominations.
Megapastor Rick Warren declared the prosperity gospel is wrong, and he challenged
evangelical Christians to focus less on themselves and more on the poor and
needy. Critics have even questioned the ministries of such nationally prominent
megapastors as T.D. Jakes – whose Potter’s
House does extensive outreach to the poor -- and Joel Osteen -- pastor of
Lakewood Church,
the largest megachurch in the country -- saying their brand of divinely assisted
self-improvement is just a vamped-up version of the prosperity gospel.
Much of the country’s
philanthropic giving is funneled through religious organizations, and religious
leaders exert heavy influence on how those dollars are spent.
Questions for
reporters
How popular and
influential is the prosperity gospel? Has the economy influenced its popularity?
What changes do prosperity gospel teachings undergo when people are not so prosperous?
Are more religious leaders condemning or supporting the prosperity gospel? All
Christian clergy preach about the promises of the Gospel, so how do they explain
why they differ so much on exactly what God promises? Where do Christian self-help
movements fit in?
Click
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in your state and region
Nationalsources
ACADEMIC •
Craig Blomberg is a distinguished professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary
in Colorado and author of Neither Poverty Nor Riches: A Biblical Theology
of Possessions (InterVarsity Press, 2001), a study of prosperity theology.
He traces the origin of the prosperity gospel to the post-World War II ministry
of Oral Roberts. Blomberg says the popularity of the prosperity gospel may fluctuate,
but as long as there are enough wealthy people who can be held up as examples
of its efficacy, it is likely here to stay. Contact 303-762-6897, craig.blomberg@denverseminary.edu. •
Tony
Campolo has long been critical of evangelicals and money. He is the author
of Speaking My Mind: The Radical Evangelical Prophet Tackles the Tough Issues
Christians Are Afraid to Face (W Publishing Group, 2004). One of the tough
issues is the compatibility of affluence with faith. He is a professor emeritus
at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa. Contact via his assistant, Christin
Fenton, 610-341-1722, cfenton@eastern.edu. •
James
Cone is Charles A. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology
at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and one of the country's most
prominent African-American theologians. He has said that megachurches that preach
prosperity gospel help people feel good about their financial success but fail
to help those in need. He teaches a seminar on suffering that attempts to answer
why, if God loves us, he allows suffering. Contact 212-280-1369, jcone@uts.columbia.edu. •
Craig
M. Gay is an associate professor of interdisciplinary studies at Regent
College in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He has written about evangelical Christianity
and its relation to money. Contact 604-224-3245.
Douglas John Hall is author of The Cross in Our Context: Jesus and the Suffering
World (Augsburg Fortress Press, 2003), in which he examines whether Christianity
teaches some a love of consumption and waste. He is emeritus professor of theology
at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Contact via Cynthia Lee in the university's
media office, 514-398-6754, or Jeff Roberts, 514-398-1385. •
David Edwin
Harrell is an Eminent Scholar in the history department at Auburn University
in Auburn, Ala.. He has written biographies of many pastors who espoused the
prosperity gospel, including Oral Roberts and Jimmy Swaggart. Contact 334-844-4008,
harrede@auburn.edu. •
Milmon F.
Harrison is the author of Righteous Riches: The Word of Faith Movement in
Contemporary African American Religion (Oxford University Press, 2005).
He is an associate professor of African-American and African studies at the
University of California, Davis. Contact 530-754-6622, mfharrison@ucdavis.edu.
Gerald Iversen is national coordinator of Alternatives
for Simple Living, a nonprofit educational organization based in Sergeant
Bluff, Iowa. He has written
of the tension between the "gospel of prosperity" and the "gospel
of the cross" for the United Methodist Church's General Board of Global
Ministries. Contact 712-943-6153, Alternatives@SimpleLiving.org. •
Sam Pollard
is an associate professor of film and television at New York University in New
York, N.Y. He has produced and directed several documentaries, including one
about black preachers for the History Channel. Contact 212-998-1487, noni4dad@aol.com. •
Margaret
Poloma is a sociology professor, a Pentecostal Christian and the author of Main
Street Mystics: The Toronto Blessing and Reviving Pentecostalism (AltaMira
Press, 2003). She is a professor of religion at the University of Akron and
can discuss the role prosperity gospel has played in American Christian history.
Contact 330-972-6837 (work), 330-328-7860 (cell), mpoloma@uakron.edu. •
John R. Schneider
is professor of theology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and author
of The Good of Affluence: Seeking God in a Culture of Wealth (Eerdmans,
2002). In his book, he says that there is a biblical precedent for the responsible
ownership of wealth, but he cautions that affluence must be tempered with careful
Christian reflection. Contact 616-526-6718, schn@calvin.edu. •
Ronald
Sider is the author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from
Affluence to Generosity (revised, W Publishing Group, 2005) and president
of Evangelicals for Social
Action. He is also a professor of theology and culture at Eastern University
in Wynnewood, Pa., where he is director of the Sider Center on Ministry and
Public Policy. Contact 610-645-9354, rsider@eastern.edu
or ronsider@esa-online.org. •
R. Drew Smith
is director of the Public
Influences of African-American Churches Project and scholar-in-residence
at the Leadership Center at Morehouse College in Atlanta. In a 1999-2000 survey
among black ministers conducted by the project, more than half said they "strongly
agreed" that biblical teachings on economic prosperity are stressed within
their congregations. Similarly, almost half - 49 percent - said an emphasis
on personal initiative among African-Americans was stressed as a remedy for
economic inequality. Contact 404-681-2800 ext. 2186, rdsmith@indyweb.net. •
Stephen Winzenburg
a is a professor of communications at Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa,
where he has studied the fund-raising activities of televangelists, some of
whom avow the prosperity gospel. Contact 515-263-2997, swinzenburg@gvc.edu.
PASTORS •
Kirbyjon
Caldwell is senior pastor of Windsor
Village United Methodist Church in Houston. He is the co-author of Entrepreneurial
Faith: Launching Bold Initiatives to Expand God's Kingdom (WaterBrook Press,
2004) and author of The Gospel of Good Success: A Road Map to Spiritual,
Emotional and Financial Wholeness (Fireside, 2000). He is a spiritual adviser
to President George W. Bush. Contact 713-723-8187. •
David Demola
is the pastor and founder of Faith
Fellowship Ministries World Outreach Center in Sayreville, N.J. Financial
prosperity is listed among the church's fundamental beliefs. Contact 732-727-9500. •
Bishop T.D.
Jakes is pastor of The
Potter's House, a Dallas-area nondenominational church with 28,000 members
and dozens of outreach ministries. Jakes has produced best-selling books, CDs,
plays, and movies and regularly holds stadium-size conferences catering to men’s
and women’s spiritual needs. Contact 214-331-0954.
• Rick
Warren is the pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. He calls prosperity
gospel teachings wrong, and he has recently taken evangelicals to task for not
giving enough care and money to the poor and underprivileged. Warren, the author
of the best seller The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?
(Zondervan, 2002), said in 2005 that he was living on 10 percent of his income
and giving away 90 percent. He takes no salary from Saddleback and repaid 25
years of paychecks. Contact via A. Larry Ross Communications, 972-267-1111. •
Randy White
is the pastor of Without
Walls International Church in Tampa, Fla. Services are broadcast on the
Trinity Broadcasting Network. White preaches a "reap what you sow" theology
but warns that success is nothing without "significance." Contact 813-879-4673. •
Jeremiah A. Wright
Jr. is pastor of Trinity
United Church of Christ, a predominantly African-American megachurch in
Chicago. He participated in a conference of African-American pastors concerned
with the effect of prosperity gospel in their churches. Trinity's mission statement
includes a "disavowal of the pursuit of middleclassness" and commitment to work
toward economic parity. Contact via Janet Moore, 773-962-5650, jmw400@aol.com.
OTHERS •
Ole Anthony
is founder of the Trinity
Foundation, a televangelist watchdog organization that has helped uncover
questionable, and sometimes criminal, financial practices of television preachers.
Trinity maintains a web page that reports on the activities of various prosperity
gospel preachers. Contact via Harry Guetzlaff, 214-827-2625, harry@trinityfi.org. •
Jack Gibbs
is media coordinator for Crown
Financial Ministries, a global ministry based in Gainesville, Ga., that
teaches a Christian and Bible-based money management system. The group does
not stress personal wealth and prosperity but focuses on responsible stewardship.
Contact 800-722-1976 ext. 281, mediacontact@crown.org.
Prosperity
gospel primer
DEFINITION • "Prosperity
gospel" is the teaching that God will reward signs of faith with health
and wealth. It was popularized by a number of preachers during the 1950s, especially
by Oral Roberts and his Expect a Miracle television broadcasts. It is also called
"word faith," "name-it-and-claim-it," "health and wealth
gospel" and "positive confession." It is most often found among
more fundamentalist and evangelical churches, but in the last decade or so has
begun spreading among Hispanic and African-American congregations.
BIBLE
CITATIONS OF SUPPORTERS Supporters
of prosperity gospel frequently refer to the following Bible passages to support
their preaching: • Malachi
3:10 -- "And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will
not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there
shall not be room enough to receive it." • Mark
11:24 - "Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye
pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." • John
14:14 -- "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it."
BIBLE
CITATIONS OF CRITICS
Critics of prosperity gospel point to the following passages: • 1
Timothy 6:7-10 -- "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain
we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall
be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare,
and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed
from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows." • Matthew
6:19-21 -- "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven. ... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also." • Luke
18:22-25 -- "Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. … How hard it is for
those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of
God." • Revelation
3:14-17 -- "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of
God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish
you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot
nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have
acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are
wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."
PREACHERS These are some of the people identified by scholars, journalists
and watchdog organizations as proponents of the prosperity gospel: • John Avanzini heads John
Avanzini Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas. He is the author of several books
that blend Christianity with finance management, including Rich God, Poor
God: Your Perception Changes Everything (Abel Press, 2001). • Juanita Bynum is founder and president of Juanita
Bynum Ministries, based in Waycross, Ga. Her program, Weapons of Power,
is seen worldwide on TBN; she holds conferences throughout the United States. • Kenneth
and Gloria Copeland are based in Fort Worth, Texas. Their television show,
Believer's Voice of Victory, reaches at least 76 million households in
the United States and airs on 135 international stations. • Paul
and Jan Crouch are based in Costa Mesa, Calif. Their Trinity
Broadcasting Network collects more than $120 million a year from viewers
of its Christian programming -- more than any other TV ministry. Crouch calls
his version of the prosperity gospel "God's economy of giving." • Creflo
Dollar is the founder and president of Creflo
Dollar Ministries and pastor of World
Changers Church International in College Park, Ga., which claims 25,000
members. His television show, Changing
Your World, reaches 1 billion people, according to the WCCI web site. • Marilyn
Hickey is the head of Marilyn
Hickey Ministries, based in Denver. Her television show, Today With Marilyn
and Sarah, airs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and Black Entertainment
Television network and reaches around the world. • Benny
Hinn is the leader of Benny
Hinn Ministries in Grapevine, Texas. His This Is Your Day program is seen
throughout the United States and in nearly 200 foreign countries. His ministry
took in $60 million in 2001 and now exceeds $90 million annually, according
to the Colorado Springs Gazette. • T.D.
Jakes leads T.D. Jakes
Ministries and The
Potter's House, a church and ministry based in Dallas. His The Potter's
House TV program is seen throughout the world on TBN and Black Entertainment
Television. His ministry boasts more than 26,000 members. In 2001, Time
magazine named him the best preacher in America. Wall Watchers' Ministry Watch
has criticized him for preaching a prosperity theology. • Bishop
Eddie Long is pastor of New
Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta. In August, the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution reported that Long received more than $3 million in salary,
benefits and perks - including the use of a $350,000 Bentley - between 1997
and 2000 from a charity he founded. In response, Long told the newspaper that
"Jesus wasn't poor." Long's weekly ministry program on the Trinity Broadcasting
Network, Taking Authority, is seen nationwide. • Joyce
Meyer heads Joyce Meyer
Ministries and was selected by Time magazine as one of the 25 most
influential evangelicals in America. Her program Enjoying Everyday Life
is carried on television and radio stations around the world. • Clarence
McClendon is a preacher whose show Take It by Force appears on TBN and
CET. Two programs titled No More Lack and Coming Into a Wealthy Place
are among his most popular broadcasts, according to his web
site. He is based in Gardena, Calif. • Joel
Osteen preaches that faith leads to health, prosperity and happiness. He
is the author of the best-selling Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at
Your Full Potential (Warner Faith, 2004). He is based in Houston, where
his Lakewood
Church is ranked as the largest megachurch in the United States by Church
Growth Today. • Nasir
Siddiki is a convert to Christianity from Islam. He is based in Tulsa, Okla.,
where he runs his Wisdom
Ministries. He is the author of Kingdom Principles of Financial Increase
(Wisdom Ministries, 1998) and speaks frequently to businesspeople. • Robert
Tilton is based in Miami. His Word of Faith Family Church in Farmers Branch,
a suburb of Dallas, and its attendant ministries and television shows collapsed
after a financial scandal in the early 1990s. His new show now airs on Black
Entertainment Television and has a potential audience of 74 million homes. • Randy
and Paula White are leaders of Without
Walls International Church in Tampa, Fla. The Paula White Today TV
show can be seen worldwide on Trinity Broadcasting Network and Black Entertainment
Television. • Johnnie
Colemon is pastor of Christ
Universal Temple in Chicago, where the first statement of belief is "We
believe that it is God's will that every individual on the face of this earth
should live a healthy, happy and prosperous life." She blends traditional prosperity
gospel with New Thought theology - the belief that one's mind creates one's
reality. Her church bills itself as the largest New Thought Christian church.
Background
• According
to the 1998 National
Congregations Study, more than one-third of mainline Protestants and one-fifth
of Catholics attended a church in which personal finances had been discussed
in the previous 12 months. • Read John R. Schneider's description of his ideas
about religion and affluence. It's posted by the Acton Institute for the
Study of Religion and Liberty. • Read a Jan.
15, 2006, New York Times story about how more prosperity gospel preachers
are bringing their message to New York City. It's posted by Theocracy Watch. • Read a 2006
Los Angeles Times story about some people complaining about Coretta
Scott King's funeral being held at the church of Bishop Eddie L. Long, who preaches
the prosperity gospel, instead of at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her husband
was pastor. • Read a Philip
Yancey commentary about the "myth" of the prosperity gospel, including an
analysis of why some Americans prefer a God of health and wealth instead of
hardship and suffering. It ran in the May/June 2005 Christianity Today. • Read a June
2000 Christianity Today story about African Christian leaders warning
about the dangers of a "false gospel of prosperity." • Listen to a July
31, 2005, All Things Considered story on National Public Radio about
African-American churches debating the prosperity gospel. • Read an Aug.
17, 2005, Voice of America report on African-Americans questioning the prosperity
gospel.
• Read
a Beliefnet
interview with Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas.
