Preaching the Prosperity Gospel, Part II

Several Preachers of the Prosperity Gospel Subjects of Senator Charles Grassley's Probe

I was amazed to learn that Republican Senator Charles E. Grassley, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee has launched an investigation into the lavish spending of some of the nation's biggest televangelists including-bestselling Christian book author Joyce Meyer and her husband David Meyer; Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International; Bishop Eddie L. Long of Newbirth Missionary Baptist Church; Randy and Paula White of Without Walls International Church; "faith healer" Benny Hinn; and Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries. It is full-time that these people are made accountable for their actions. The list should not stop there. There should be investigations into the ministries of Trinity Broadcasting Network which is headed by Paul and Jan Crouch, Juanita Bynum, who refuses to release financial information about her ministry and all the other preachers who tell their congregants that the prosperity gospel is theirs for the taking.

Senator Grassley has said that the requests for the televangelists to open their books have come after he received many reports of lavish spending at these ministries. These ministries bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in donations annually. All of the targeted ministries have been singled out by watchdog organizations for many years. It has been alleged that the leaders of these ministries are very charismatic and they dig deep into donations to fund extravagant lifestyles. Under Internal Revenue Service regulations, religious organizations "whose principal purpose is the study or advancement of religion" are exempt from financial reporting requirements demanded by other groups. The ministries are organized as churches, therefore, the do not have to release any financial information. Grassley is a no-nonsense person who has forced changed in non-profit organizations such as the American Red Cross, the Nature Conservancy, American University and the Smithsonian Institution. Grassley has asked for credit card records, clothing and jewelry expenses, as well as any cosmetic surgery expenses. He has said that his interest is not in interfering with religion, but he wants to simply ensure that the tax breaks are not being taken advantage of to enrich television ministries. Senator Grassley has said that broadcast religion is a billion-dollar industry that receives little or no oversight by the IRS. "In addition, some ministries refuse to provide donors and other interested parties a detailed accounting of how they spend donations, thereby making it nearly impossible to determine if they are adhering to the tax laws," Grassley said. This is a real shame. From some research I did for the article I wrote on Juanita Bynum, I have discovered that she refuses to divulge such information.

Eddie L. Long has said that the request by the senator was "unjust," "intrusive," and "an attack on our religious freedom and privacy rights." I used to attend New Birth Baptist Church in 1999 when my family and I first moved to the Atlanta area. I was turned off one Sunday when he bragged about his success and his prosperity and he said that it would be "transferred" to his congregants. I stopped going to the church because I could not buy into that "prosperity gospel" that he preached. We all cannot drive a Bentley or a Rolls Royce or live in a million dollar mansion. As Senator Grassley said, Jesus came in riding a donkey, and his disciples are flying around in jets. Something is definitely wrong with that message. I find it baffling that there is a 22-seat Grumman jet that is registered to Long Charter Air, which happens to share the same address as his church. I wonder what lurks behind the doors at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

Creflo Dollar of World Changers International has said that his life is not ordinary and I guess he does not have to make apologies for his lavish lifestyle. He has said that he does not take a salary from his church, much the same as Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church and Rick Warren of Saddleback Church and the author of the "Purpose Driven Life." What irks me with Creflo is the fact that he said the church gave him a Rolls Royce. Why do you need a Rolls Royce to take people around and use on special occasions? That seems very excessive to me. I wonder, if Bill Gates, Mexico's billionaire Carlos Slim Helu and Warren Buffet drive around in Rolls Royce and Bentley luxury cars? Dollar has said that his church took in $69 million in 2006. He has said that he released the financial information because of the probe. He has said that his income comes from businesses he owns, from investments and real estate. He has also said that he understands the senator's worries but is concerned at the same time about the government's interference in religious business. He has said that he is particularly concerned that the government may be trying to divine what people can or cannot believe.

The six ministries targeted by Senator Grassley preach and teach forms of the prosperity gospel that justifies the accumulation of money and material goods as one sign of God's blessings. It also includes benefits such as health, a good family life and benevolence towards others, which we cannot disagree with. Tulane University sociologist Shayne Lee has said that this is an American-born faith that mixes Christianity with capitalism, individualism and materialism. The prosperity gospel became popular in the 1980s with Reaganism, a rising stock market, growing middle class and consumerism. Dollar has argued that his material wealth is a clear sign of God's blessing. He has even cited the Bible. He said that the patriarchs were rich and he has also said that before that Jesus was rich.

I don't follow these ministries, but to I take my hat off to Senator Grassley for launching this probe. There are too many ministries that are willfully misleading the people into thinking that by sowing seed into their ministries all their problems will be solved. I believe that the ministers are entitled to having a good life and not relegated to a life of poverty, but the lavish lifestyle seems to be too excessive. There is currently the investigation in the lavish lifestyle of Richard Roberts and Oral Roberts University. There is entirely too much freedom into spending as they please by these ministries and it is all at the expense of people who may have sent them their hard earned money and are living from paycheck to paycheck. Way to go Senator Grassley! There are a few more ministries such as Juanita Bynum's that you should go after next.