@Shirley Martin Typical fraudulent use of the Word of God by one who likely thus blasphemes far more than the one seeking salvation. This illustrates the reason why my Grandpa fled Europe: he disdained the Catholic Church's deep interference with common folks' lives. Frank
Blessings come in so many forms and it’s a shame that some preachers place a price tag on it, and so many people expect a bigger price tag back just for giving. Giving isn’t about what someone will get back for it on earth because even the Bible tells us that once we have been rewarded on earth, there is no reward in heaven. Jesus said, “I came that you may have life and have it more abundantly”. He wasn’t talking about gold but strangely enough, some preachers do reference it that way. If they honestly believe that what someone gives will be returned to them a hundred fold, why would they not hand out $100 dollar bills to the homeless and expect a hundred fold to come back to them? Similar in context to what @Bess Barber wrote, we do have to watch out for the wolf in sheep’s clothing. That said, I do guarantee that there are some really good preachers out there who preach the truth but need a little help to further their ministries. I personally used to like Robert Schuler. I bought one of his Christmas trinkets one year and behold, I not only received the trinket but his financial report during tax time the following year. Like Joel, he received most of his wealth through his books but even then, he would tell people that if they bought it from a book store it would be cheaper than if they bought it from his ministry.
Both Joyce Meyer and John Hagee live pretty extravagant lifestyles and both say it's due to the selling of their books. But, I just read that, in 2001, John Hagee's salary was $842,000 with $414,000 in benefits. A person could live pretty extravagant with that salary/benefits and not sell any books at all. But, his megachurch congregation keeps filling the tithing plates each Sunday AM/PM.
Yeah, and he wouldn't open his church during hurricane Harvey when people had no place to go. He's a real peach.
One of the many reasons I would never become a pastor. Some view the pastor as the head of the uh...church. (by loose definition of “church”). He’s not. He can recommend something and yes, his recommendations do carry some weight but the last word comes from the board of elders. There are numerous times when I have seen a pastor lose his job simply because they (the pastors) went over the heads of the elders to do what they thought was right.
My BIL was a Pastor and even had a PhD in Theology. From what I've been told by my wife, his Sunday morning Message was pretty boring to listen to. A new church was built not to far from his church and most of the congregation of his church ended up going to the new church. He ended up losing his job as a Pastor. After he lost that job, most everything in his life went downhill, including his attitude towards his family and wife. Due to some serious heart problems, he passed away a couple of years ago. From the years I knew him, he was a pretty quiet guy. Until my wife told me he'd been a Pastor, and had a PhD, I wouldn't have believed it.
@Beth Gallagher Well, why should he have opened up? He has the divine wisdom as well as guidance to know the folks in danger of dying will face an eternity of perpetual life, whether sheltered within his building or not........ Frank
Just for clarification, Joel Osteen's church was within the heavily flooded area. There were no staff members at the church which is generally always open to the public. The day after the storm and the church was deemed safe and dry, they purchased thousands of air mattresses and plenty of food to take care of the people who had not gotten into the 10,000 person shelter not far from there.
It would have been more Christlike if he had opened his church doors , fed and cared for the hungry and storm tossed.
...but you don't want "the unwashed" within the "temple doors. Perhaps Joel was following the example of the Jewish Priesthood rather than Christ.
I live in Houston. The church was not opened for shelter until there was a public outcry. Meanwhile a local furniture store owner (and local hero) "Mattress Mac" opened his stores and let people sleep on his new beds, sofas, wherever. He also provided food and water for free for thousands of displaced people.
To enlighten this good and interesting conversation, here's some more stats on famous evangelists: Joyce Meyer - net worth 8 million; flies around in a 10 million dollar jet T.D Jakes - net worth 18 million; owns a jet; lives in 3 million dollar mansion; lives a posh lifestyle Franklin Graham - net worth 25 million; 620k/yr salary for Samaritan's's Purse organization Rick Warren - net worth 25 million; donates 90% of his income to charity; lives a modest lifestyle! Creflo Dollar - net worth 27 million; owns 2 Rolls Royces, private jet, and 2 multi-million dollar homes Joel Olsteen - net worth 40 million; lives in a 10 million dollar mansion Benny Hinn - net worth 60 million; takes lavish trips staying in $25,000 a night hotels; lives a posh lifestyle Pat Robertson - net worth 100 million Ken Copeland - net worth 300 million; lives in a 6 million dollar mansion with use of church's 17 million dollar jet I'd hope that most of us could agree that being rich is not wrong if the source of that prosperity has been for the good of society - ie, producing or selling a product or service that others want. And just being a Christian should not necessarily change that standard. While the founder of Christianity (aka Jesus) was certainly a poor, humble man, it's also evident from God's rich blessings on Abraham, Jacob, Solomon, David, and others that wealth is not a bad thing unto itself. Too often wealth is obtained at the expense of others, but I doubt if the speaking and writing success of the above individuals can be attributed to stealing from others, leading lives of profitable crime, or avoiding property taxes on their lavish mansions. They're just exceptionally talented people benefiting from a free, capitalistic, generous society. As I seek out dynamic speakers, good writers, and exceptional sermons to read, watch and add to my own personal library, I'm really not concerned about the financial status of the presenter. I want the best, most effective information I can get, so long as its from a credible source. So yes, I do enjoy watching some of the current TV stars, including Rick Warren, Joel Olsteen, Joyce Meyer - along with a few less famous but talented ones found on YouTube. Where wealth, annual salary, or extravagant lifestyle comes into play for me is with my personal tithe to Christian organizations. I do resent giving money to an organization like Samaritan's Purse, even though it's one of the highest rated most effective Christian charity organizations, knowing that its CEO is pulling in over a million dollars a year. Some Christian leaders have recognized this problematic image and commendably reduced or even declined their unneeded salaries. I now check the CEO's salary of every charity organization I give to, and anything over 2-300k to me is a disqualifier. I think there's an admirable balance between humbleness and prosperity for everyone's lifestyle, not just Christians. But Christians who are particularly blessed with financial success would do well to consider their lives and image upon the Christian faith, just as a politician's life and image reflects the office he holds. We don't need to give non-believers extra reasons to reject the faith, and I'm afraid that any perception of financial hypocrisy does that, whether its warranted or not. To unbelievers passing judgment though, you might consider that for the 100, or 1000 even, rich Christian leaders in the world causing questionable lifestyle concerns, there are 2+ billion others believing and living the faith in much more modest means. I strongly suggest to all religious skeptics that you judge the validity of Christianity on the the historical, scientific, and prophetic authority of the Bible and on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not on the faults of it's less than perfect followers.