God says: You're not rich (yet)

You are absolutely right!
I worked as a financial administrator in a growing church for 7 years and until I finally realized God wasn't there. The pastor's greed for more and more money became the "vision". Members fell for his pleading to with pulpit tears to give and it will come back to you double fold. Give in order to receive your answer to prayer. Give, give, give. I saw widows barely getting by on their pensions, give sacrificially, only to end up at the end of the month at our food bank. Meanwhile the pastor was driving a Corvette and his wife an Escalade. His salary was six figures.His house, insurance, living expenses and travel was all paid by the church. He became more of the one being worshiped than God was. Members kept giving and giving with the majority of it going to him and his staff. Guest speaker came with their scams. They would preach on "giving for prosperity" and so everyone would give. I would then have to write a check to them for the amount of the offering that came in and away they would drive.... in their luxurious tour buses.
I serve a soverign God. One that blesses the poor and rich alike. To Him we are all equal and no better because we give more or do more. Not all blessings are financial. Every breath is a blessing. Every day a gift. Give thanks!

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WOW the catholic church did this during the middle ages.You paid to get your loved ones out of purgetory sooner by making donations to the church. Its one of the reasons people broke from the church.
Let me ask you this,since when does God take orders from humans,or sides for that matter,since when does the creator favor one sect race or religion over another,and since when does the maker of life need any of us to kill in Gods name.

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give me a break. ken can bang chicks at 30000 feet now and no one will know. what a genius this guy is. the idiots are the ones giving money. if you give this guy a penny in my humble opinion you are so stupid i am glad he is humping prostitutes on your dime. at least he is happy(and rich). what a bunch of fools. good christians dont give money to people with jets etc. every penny you donate should good to the poor. believe copeland is not poor. i bet he looks out the window of his jet with his pants down a georgous blond going down on him, and thinks what a bucnh of great people!

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I question how as a long time Christian you so readily write so negatively in regards to the motive and actions of anyone's ministry. Yes you have a right to your opinion, but unless you are closely tied or have personal knowledge of a ministry your opinion has no basis of fact. As a Christian I would think the response to a ministry that you believe is misrepresenting God's word or Jesus' spirit would be to pray for the ministry and those that follow it...not attempt to libel it as a ponzi scheme. Question the character of the Copeland's if you want. Their reputation, the good that they have done and continue to do for over 40 years speaks for itself. What there is no question about is YOUR character. Your words speak for themselves. No I'm not rich yet, but I also don't need to be rich. I am however way better off than I was before I partnered with the Copeland's 5 years ago...not the duo...the MINISTRY. It is a ministry that changes lives all over the world EVERYDAY. What are you doing?

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OK Terri:
First off, I tell you this, as did every writer in the New Testament: You need to examine yourself to see if you are really in the faith. Your lack of biblical knowledge while calling yourself a Christian is appalling. May I suggest you start in the gospels and see how Jesus called out the Pharisees, Sadducees, Judas, and many others for the hypocrites they were. Do you (and you must when making your above comments), think Jesus Christ should have "prayed" for the Pharisees, etc instead of standing up in the temple and calling them white washed tombs, broods of vipers, liars, thieves (look at the context of the widow who gave everything-Jesus wasn't commending her. She came on the tail end of him condemning the leaders for robbing widows houses! She felt compelled by them to give, give,give.) Will you also condemn Paul as he calls out Demas in particular? Demas' name will stand through eternity (because the Word of the Lord stands forever) as one who abandoned the gospel. Would you have us not warn the church against heretics? To not do what Jesus specifically told us to do? What the Apostles demonstrated: Paul standing in public and calling Peter out for his sin of hypocrisy? Do you know better than these? The Copelands "ministry" is not "deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ" but about getting, getting, getting. They are fakes and I warn all against them. They will "get" what they deserve.

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I am reminded of an old Ray Stevens song which asked the question "Would Jesus wear a rolex on His television show?" He was singing about exactly the kind of preacher you blogged about.
I stand amazed at people who send money to these types of ministries expecting personal gain. But, if the person sending money is giving purely from the heart God will know that and bless that person. Woe to the people receiving the money if they are receiving it for personal, temporal gain rather than for growing God's Kingdom. God knows the motives and they will suffer at judgment if what you write is accurate.
I do not stand in amazement at people who financially support ministries for God does say that as we are financially faithful to Him, He will give back tenfold to us and He even challenges us to give and see if He isn't true to His Word. It is the only time in the bible that God says to challenge Him.

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Patricia...didn't mean to appall you. ...Proverbs 26:4-5

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Good point, Sarah.

I don't necessarily think that "prosperity gospel" is inherently bad. One could also quote scripture that Jesus came that "you might have life and have it more abundantly." The key thing, I think, is to reconsider what "having life" is in the first place.

Jesus was largely unconcerned with amassing material things of any sort. His sole focus was on the development of our souls, the freedom of the spirit. As such, he was more concerned with the state of our hearts when we give or receive. It was about where you're coming from.

To that end, I think those who truly and selflessly give from their hearts and with faith will be blessed. But those who are givers, it'll also show up in their other actions: these are the ones who will volunteer at a soup kitchen, or donate to a food bank. It's about doing the work.

Those who are selfish in their giving -- and those who take advantage of that -- well, as Jesus said: "They will have their reward." They're not really doing the work of the soul, they're not really growing spiritually.

Pastors who prey upon that are unfortunate souls themselves. But they need our prayers too. It's what Jesus would want.

Lee
http://www.amessagefromgod.org

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Terri--I believe that's what I was trying to do.

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As a follower of Christ, I don't see the whole ideal a sitting down once a week and listening to the same man lecture me even Biblical. I won't step into one of the places, it's much too dangerous for my spiritual life. As for the begging for money, these men are just rebuilding the tower of Bable one offering at a time.

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As a pastor I can see this issue from both sides. Yes, money is needed to further the ministry. Yes, without sacrificial giving, ministry will suffer. However, I do know that there are "pastors" that abuse their churches offering. I feel like the pastor should be living at the same level as the average person in the church.

The biggest thing we can/should do, is put every pastor up against the word of God. If you feel uncomfortable sitting under their ministry, move on to a new church.

I have actually just started a blog similar to this topic. It is all about giving money to an organization called Speed the Light, and its focus is to buy vehicles for missionaries. I would love it if you checked it out at www.speedthelight.wordpress.com.

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The biggest misunderstanding is from the words themselves, "prosperity". To just anyone on the street, the first thing they think of is money. Most people who criticize ministries they don't understand, and the "prosperity message" doesn't mean you will have cash overflowing from your pockets. Sure, I would love to have so much money that I could just hand it out to others, but I don't, but yet I DO believe in God's word and His promises. I have struggled financially as a single parent, but money isn't what I prospered in, it was in inner peace and joy and love and my faith. I have never gone without what I needed for myself or my kids. We have always had good health, a home, clothes and food. Bills were paid, even when the money didn't add up. I believe I have been very prosperous. There are things that are more precious than silver or gold or green!

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