Prosperity of Televangelist's Friends, Family Raises Flags

canoefish »

Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:14 am Agree: 2   Disagree: 0

When I quoted "you will know by their fruits", I was not talking about the fruits of the spirit. That verse comes from Matthew 7:15-20. From the NKJV:

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

It is saying that you will know if someone is a false profit by examining the fruits (a better word may be "results") of their life. My point in all of this is that we need to measure any minister of the gospel (Copeland's, Dobson, Billy Graham, local pastor of a church, etc) by the results of their ministry. Are people accepting Jesus Christ in their heart? Are people turning away from sin? Are people growing in their knowledge of the Bible? Are they having a deeper walk and relationship with God? Are lives being changed? I would say that for the majority of the long standing, large ministries that the answer is a resounding yes. Frankly, I dont care what the minister makes, how much the house they live in is worth, or what they drive as long as they are producing RESULTS. For the people bearing good fruit, their rewards here on earth are tiny (even the Copeland's) compared to their reward in heaven. For those who are fleecing the gullible masses for ill gotten gain and squandering it without results, they better enjoy it while they can before their tree is cut down and thrown into the fire. On top of that, if someone gives away so much that they can not take care of their own needs, they are in dangerous territory according to 1Timothy 5:8:

8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

FYI, Billy Graham's total compensation last year was around $350k (salary + fringe benefits) . Some news media made a squabble about it since he didnt work full time. I couldnt find the exact article but Google for "Billy Graham Salary" for some results.

Get ready for the upcoming months. This year is an election year and there are plenty of anti Christian organizations working overtime to dig up dirt on any preacher or ministry they can. Their goal is to stir up controversy in order to discredit the influence that Christian voters have and try to cause confusion. They know EXACTLY what they are doing when an article like this gets written. How come something like this doesnt come up in non election years?

Prosperity of Televangelist's Friends, Family Raises Flags

canoefish »

Mon Jul 28, 2008 2:13 am Agree: 2   Disagree: 2

Is it just me, or is the Christian Post seem to have a very negative opinion of the Copeland's, John Haggee, and other Word of Faith preachers?

Jesus told us that we will "know by the fruit" and that is our measuring stick to prove if someone is genuine. The Copeland's ministry reaches millions of people across the globe with the good news of the Gospel. We may not all agree on certain details in scripture (prosperity, healing, etc) but the one thing that we all have in common is Jesus. It all boils down to people accepting Jesus in their heart, lives being changed, and people spending eternity in heaven. The Copeland's have brought millions of souls into the kingdom over the life of their ministry. I think that matters far more in the eyes of the Lord than how much someone's salary is.

The IRS has a "safe haven" rule for non profit organizations which states that based on gross revenues the leadership can be paid similar compensation to what a CEO of a secular, for profit company makes. I guarantee you that none of these preachers take a salary anywhere near the figure that the IRS approves. The Copeland's are making pennies compared to the people in similar executive level positions the secular market. The Copeland's go to great lengths to make sure everything they do follows all rules and regulations of the IRS. They have lawyers and auditors who comb through all records to be sure they have done everything properly.

Look at how much fighting, division, and controversy that is coming from the appointment of Gene Robinson as an openly gay bishop... Do you think that his "ministry" is producing good fruit? The point of this article seems to be to discredit the validity of the ministry that the Copeland's perform. They are not perfect (they are humans just like you and me) but I look at the "fruit" of their ministry... A few million souls in the kingdom. Very few people on this earth have done that.