Extravagant Lifestyles in the Pulpit: Blessings, Materialism or Fleecing the Sheep?

Is this another black eye to the Church or is this just another vicious attack by the secular powers that be? Some of the wealthiest and most world renowned ministries (Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn) were contacted by US Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa (the ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee) for possible financial misconduct. According to Grassley's office, they are trying to determine whether or not these ministries are improperly using their tax-exempt status as churches to shield lavish lifestyles. Is this a witch hunt or a legitimate inquiry by the Federal Government into the dealings of the private sector? What is lavish living and who is allowed to live the opulent life? Now remember, the enemy will always find something, small or large, to fight about because he is known as the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10); however, we (the Church) shouldn’t be giving him ammunition to use against us. So let’s see if we can make sense of the evangelical faith movement of a wealth and prosperity Gospel.

The hottest celebrities, the wealthiest businessmen and investors worldwide live in the lap of luxury. They drive the best, wear the best, live in the best, and eat the best. Their careers afford them the opportunity to partake of the greatest treats and treasures that this life has to offer. But are these earthly amenities reserved only for the secular world elite? Should a preacher drive the best car? Should he/she be wealthy socio-economically speaking? Is it alright for an ordinary Church layperson to be wealthy? Is wealth the same in the hands of a Christian as it is in the hands of a secular person? Is it alright for Non-Christian religious leaders to be prosperous? What is the problem here, and why is there such an issue about prosperity for someone who professes to be a servant of God? Abraham, Job, and Solomon were all men of God in the Bible that had massive amounts of wealth, yet Christians as well as the secular world of today still respects these men of history as great and powerful men of God during their respective times.

The Prosperity Movement, in some circles of Christianity, teaches that you can live in prosperity if you adhere to certain Biblical principles concerning finances. Well, many of today’s American preachers are very wealthy and live very affluent lives; hence, the reason for Senator Grassley’s investigations. I’m not justifying the actions of these ministries because I don’t have all of the facts. But for the sake of argument let’s assume that these ministries are using their tax-exempt status as churches to shield lavish lifestyles. What is the difference between that and what ALL of the ultra rich (including politicians) do by creating blind trusts, offshore accounts and other corporate entities to shield themselves from liability? Is that right to do? What does the law say? If it’s lawful for Senator Grassley and the gang, is it wrong for these ministries in question? For some reason, it seems as though Senator Grassley is looking for a crime to fight, possibly to boost his approval rating with constituents for the next election cycle. Congressional approval ratings by the American people are at an all-time low, by the way.

Some people, Christian and secular, believe that the structure/leadership of many televangelist organizations are concentrated in one person or one family. "Churches like these are ruled as a dictatorship," says Rod Pitzer, who directs research at Ministry Watch in North Carolina, which provides advice for donors to Christian organizations. Well my argument is that many businesses are run the same way, and in the free-market, if the customer doesn’t like the way business is conducted, then the customer is free to go elsewhere. The same is true for the church. If the Church activities are not to your satisfaction, then go somewhere else, it’s really very simple.

Let your ministry be visible (hands-on)

I am not from Missouri, but I like the state motto, “Show me!” Jesus was of the same mentality. Jesus demonstrated who He was and manifested His power. He walked with people, rather than showed them the way. He was a mentor, as well as a teacher. He was touchable, accessible and reachable to even the poorest person.

Although he did train the disciples, Jesus didn’t only send people out to do ministry, he did it himself. Jesus fed 5,000 people and later 4,000 more people, He healed the sick, He blessed the children, and He raised the dead. The key is that He (Jesus) was the focal point, the visible point of contact to the ministry activity for the people. Again, Jesus was only one person, and yes He did train others to minster to the people’s needs, but Jesus was always instrumental in personally meeting the people’s needs.

Remember the story of the woman of Canaan (Matthew 15:22-28)? She came to Jesus begging for ministry to have a devil cast out of her daughter. The disciples (like some of today’s preachers) wanted Jesus to send her on her way, because she was bothering them and she wasn’t a full-blooded Jew like they were. Although Jesus did mention that He was sent to minister to the Jews specifically, He blessed her according to her faith. Jesus was visible and took the time to be a blessing to a woman in need. She wasn’t on His spiritual level, and didn’t have the formal training that He had, but He had the compassion and the love of God in Him and manifested it to that woman.

People are always going to be skeptical about ministries. They were critical of Jesus (they even considered Him to be demon possessed [John 8:48]), and people will be critical of you and I. But we shouldn’t give people a reason to criticize us. But when the ministries of today travel with great entourages, demand the greatest hotel accommodations and great sums of money to preach, yet they can’t be found during praise and worship or the prayer for salvation portion of the service, that tends to raise a red flag to me. How can some preachers minister the Word of God and while everyone is praying during the altar call, they leave the building with their team of people? Shouldn’t they be more visible and available, like Jesus was? When ministers are only visible for the crowd or a photo-op, and not truly for ministry to the people’s real needs; that is where the justified skepticism comes into play. Ministry is work, so if you’re not interested in getting your Versace suit, Mercedes and your Rolex watch dirty, then you might want to go and get a corporate job. In Matthew 20:28, Jesus said that He "came not to be ministered to, but to minister." I know many preachers who need to re-evaluate their ministry motives. We all know of churches who have Pastor's aides committees who plan birthday, anniversary and other celebratory occassions for the Pastor and his family. There's nothing wrong with being a blessing to people, but sometimes things can be a bit too extreme. Be a servant, and be a blessing!!!!! Stop looking to be served, applauded, and reap from the sheep!!!!!!!

Transfer to those around you

In my opinion, there is no reason for a financially successful church to gift an already financially well-off pastor with luxury homes, cars, and gifts etc. Many times, the church has long time faithful members walking, and riding the bus to church, and barely has enough money to pay their bills. Remember, even though you maybe teaching the true Word, some very sincere people might not grasp the teaching. Is that the preachers fault? It possibly could be, but not necessarily.

How were people’s needs met in the Bible days? What did the deacons do in the Bible, Acts 6? They made sure that everyone had all things common: their needs were met. Does James 1:27 charge us to care for the widows and the fatherless? If the Pastor and his wife have Bentleys and Navigators, while the old widow church mothers can barely afford to live off of their government benefits, how do we have all things common? Single mothers are in churches looking for answers and help, struggling to make ends meet; and at the same time endeavoring to be a faithful attendee to the services, at times without a decent car. Do we have all things common? What about these mega-churches in these big cities across America, yet there is tremendous homelessness in the city? Who is responsible for these people? Didn’t Jesus tell the Church to deal with this situation? Yes, He didn’t commission the Government to handle this problem. But many times, the Church is so content and self-righteous within the walls of the Church; while outside of the physical building, we're non-responsive, uninformed, not respected, and insignificant. We're supposed to turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6) like the Apostles did.

Do some people take advantage of some of the Church’s benevolence? Yes, but that is why the Word says that we should know those who labor among us (1 Thessalonians 5:12). Besides, if someone does take advantage of the Church's kindness, then the gift to the recipient will rise up as a witness against that person in the last day. Everyone isn’t out to scam the Church, some are, but we need to be more visible in our distributing life’s necessities to people, especially to those of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10). Jesus did it, and we should strive to be like Him.

Wealth is a blessing, so that you can be a blessing

Selling books and having speaking engagements is worthy of a profit: it is a service provided. Taking oaths of poverty and thinking that poverty is a symbol of piety is NOT Scriptural and is actually false humility, mixed with ignorance of the Scriptures. Poverty is a curse (Deuteronomy 28). However, God does desire to bless His people in order to be a blessing to others and establish His covenant in the earth (Deuteronomy 8:18). I like to think of God’s blessings upon His people as a means to store up in the distribution center: accumulate to distribute, not stock up on inventory. Should we make sure that our family and friends needs are met? Yes! But how many cars can one drive at a time? How many homes can one enjoy at a time? How many shoes and outfits can one reasonably enjoy? Prosperity is a part of God's will for us, but I think that a portion of the Church is out of balance on this subject.

Personally, I love to see God’s people being blessed financially, because God does promise to reward us according to His Word (Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15). Secular people enjoy their wealth and are very wasteful, at times. But it’s their money and they can do as they please. Christians, on the other hand, can enjoy their abundance as well, but we also have an obligation to the Kingdom of God, and not our Pastor, to establish God’s covenant upon the earth. Fine, drive your nice cars, and enjoy the nice home and vacation getaways, I’m all for that. But don’t forget that out of all of your millions, many people can be blessed of your thousands. Thousands that are meager and paltry earnings to you are the bare necessities of life to another. Let's be more cognizant of our giving to real needs.

A Witch Hunt?

Always remember that the enemy is always going to poke his head up anytime that he can. I don’t know if these ministries are stealing money or not. But why doesn’t Senator Grassley deal with the theft and corruption in Washington DC first, before he tries to handle this private sector matter of mishandling church funds and/or repositioning assets? Last time I checked, Article 1 of the US Constitution stated that the Congress shall make no laws respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Let the church handle this! This is not a Federal Government matter. If the people are getting fleeced, then let the people be proactive in bringing forth an investigation and seek justice. I want to see some investigations of Congress and their misappropriation of our tax dollars. Deal with that, Senator Grassley! That is your jurisdiction, not the Church’s affairs. Look, if these ministries are sowing this type of behavior, then believe me they will reap the fruits of this. Also, if these ministries are mishandling the supporter’s money, it is still just a drop in the bucket compared to Congress and their handling of our tax dollars. Shall we all be reminded that the Pentagon can’t account for over $2 Trillion Dollars in defense spending? That is our tax money that is missing. At least, that is all that they are reporting. Money doesn’t just disappear, someone has the money. Congress also has a tremendously low approval rating from the American people right now, to boot. So before Mr.s Grassley wants to throw stones at the Church, he should be concerned about cleaning his own house. Is that too unreasonable, Mr. Grassley?

Am I justifying these ministries? No I am not, nor am I condemning them. They will have their day in court with the Lord about this if there is any wrongdoing. But if people want to support these ministries, it’s their business. If someone wants to support Mr. Grassley’s campaign, it’s an individuals right to do so. We don’t need the government to protect us from ministries. Your job, Mr. Grassley and the rest of the Federal Government is to protect our life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness. That is all that you are obligated to do, so please do your job, Sir.

A Precedent is Being Set

This latest action against these ministries, and the Church, can be used as a precedent to go after the Church or other non-governmental entities in the future. My concern is that if this investigation is allowed to continue, then what else will people and the Government want to investigate? How often people are having sex? Will that be the next crime? That’s a bit of a stretch, but you understand my point. The Government is already out of line with this investigation, as well as other things that they are doing; the Government never seems to regress, they always become more and more intrusive.

Folks, like I always suggest, please get involved. Make these ministries and our Government accountable for their actions. You are the boss; these two entities are here to serve you, not vice versa. Ministry is service, not to be served. Government officials are our servants, as well. But if you don’t know that then they will get away with what they can. Take the information from this article and do with it what you will. There is nothing wrong with anyone prospering, but we as Christians need to make sure that we are doing more establishing of God’s covenant here on the earth, rather than filling up our empty barns, while our brothers and sisters are hurting. Live well!