The Prosperity Gospel and Blacks

Senator Charles Grassley has put the issue of prosperity gospel front and center as a result of his investigation of the financial records of seven mega-televangelists. For too long, many of these ministries have literally pandered to the poor to sow a seed towards their needs. Televangelists often tell viewers that they must be faithful in how they live and how they give. They tell people that God will shower them with untold riches, as long as they are faithful and sow that seed. Through the years I have heard many of them justify the need to sow a seed in order to receive the money needed to pay bills, to have that luxury car, to have that illness miraculously healed. Yes, the list goes on and televangelists such as Juanita Bynum, the new self-proclaimed face of the battered woman, has literally berated people into sowing seed against their need. By the way, Ms. Bynum has refused to disclose how much money her ministry has taken in, but yet she wants us to be accountable for all that we do.

People are pledging money towards these ministries in massive amounts. In most cases, these people are living from paycheck to paycheck, barely able to make ends meet. All too often, these people faithfully sow their seed and their needs are never met. The answer many of these televanglists give when needs are met is that the person's faith was not strong enough. They must put it on the altar and leave it to God.

Senator Grassley has launched an investigation into the ministries of Bishop Eddie L. Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Creflo & Taffi Dollar of World Changers International, the flamboyant "healer" Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland and Paula & Randi White, who are in the middle of a divorce (how do you explain divorcing to your flock as the pastors?). They are being investigated about their lavish spending and possible abuses of their tax-exempt status.

The probe by Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has brought new scrutiny to the underlying belief that brings in millions of dollars and fills churches from Atlanta to Los Angeles — the "Gospel of Prosperity," or the notion that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches. These ministries preach the prosperity gospel in varying degrees.

Proponents have called it a biblically sound message of hope. Others say it is a distortion that makes evangelists rich and preys on the vulnerable. They say it has evolved from "it's all right to make money" to it's all right for the pastor to drive a Bentley, live in an oceanside home and travel by private jet.

The modern-day prosperity movement can largely be traced back to evangelist Oral Roberts' teachings. Roberts' disciples have spread his theology and vocabulary (Roberts and other evangelists, such as Meyer, call their donors "partners.") And several popular prosperity preachers, including some now under investigation, have served on the Oral Roberts University board. Copeland is on the board of trustees for the University, which has its own scandal on its hands, with Richard and Lindsay Roberts being accused of funding their lavish lifesytle with money donated to the university.

Most scholars trace the origins of prosperity theology to E.W. Kenyon, an evangelical pastor from the first half of the 20th century. It was not until the postwar era, that a pair of evangelists from Tulsa, Okla. introduced the theology of "health and wealth," which became a fixture in Pentecostal and charismatic churches.

According to David Edwin Harrell Jr.,Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin — and later, Kenneth Copeland — trained tens of thousands of evangelists with a message that resonated with an emerging middle class, said David Edwin Harrell Jr.

"What Oral did was develop a theology that made it OK to prosper," Harrell said. "He let Pentecostals be faithful to the old-time truths their grandparents embraced and be part of the modern world, where they could have good jobs and make money."

Prosperity preachers have Bible verses at the ready to make their case. One oft-cited verse, in Paul's Second Epistle to the Corinthians, reads: "Yet for your sakes he became poor, that you by his poverty might become rich."

Critics acknowledge the idea that God wants to bless his followers has a Biblical basis, but say prosperity preachers take verses out of context. The prosperity crowd also fails to acknowledge Biblical accounts that show God doesn't always reward faithful believers, Palmer said.

The prosperity gospel continues to draw crowds, particularly lower- and middle-income people who, critics say, have the greatest motivation and the most to lose. The prosperity message is spreading to black churches, attracting elderly people with disposable incomes, and reaching huge churches in Africa and other developing parts of the world.

The checks and balances central to Christian denominations are largely lacking in prosperity churches. Recent media reports have said that Bishop Eddie Long has written that God told him to get rid of the "ungodly governmental structure" of a deacon board. Some ministers hold up their own wealth as evidence that the teaching works. Atlanta-area pastor Creflo Dollar, who is fighting Grassley's inquiry, owns a Rolls Royce and multimillion-dollar homes and travels in a church-owned Learjet.

There is evidence of change. Joyce Meyer Ministries, for one, enacted financial reforms in recent years, including making audited financial statements public.Meyer, who has promised to cooperate fully with Grassley, issued a statement emphasizing that a prosperity gospel "that solely equates blessing with financial gain is out of balance and could damage a person's walk with God."

There has to be greater financial scrutiny of these megachurches and people must be mindful not to be fooled into thinking that all will be well if you just sow a seed towards your needs. Paula White has boasted that she appeals to blacks because she understands our struggles. I think not. She talks a good game that's all. It is time for us to wake up and stop giving our last dollar to these ministries. Yes, I believe in giving back and sowing my seed, but not at the expense of having my electricity turned off and on the premise that if I sow my seed God will take care of the rest. It simply does not work in that manner.