Last week on the Larry Young Morning Show, we brought up the topic of a handful of televangelists who have been contacted by Republican Senator, Chuck Grassley(Iowa). Grassley faxed letters to Randy & Paula White, Benny Hinn, David & Joyce Meyer, Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Eddie Long, and Creflo Dollar requesting information about salaries, board oversight and perks which appear to include luxury oceanside homes, flights on private jets, and opulent office furniture.
Some are asking the question is this fair. I say “yes”. It is fair to ask these ministries to reveal information pertaining to their finances, but at the same time I think it is really unfortunate that it takes a U.S. Senator to make these ministers come clean on what’s going on. The church should have a mechanism in place to hold everyone accountable including the pastor and leadership. I think most church-goers will tell you that these aren’t the only ministries that seem to have adopted American Religiousity complete with gross materialism. Many national and local ministers seem to traffic in this lifestyle as well – and what’s most disturbing to me is that some younger clergy see these models of ministry and ascribe to them. What will the next crop of ministers become if they gravitate toward television preacher model of ministry? That’s a scary thought.
The perverted prosperity gospel which is being preached in far too many churches today promotes the possession of “things” as sign and symbol of God’s favor toward you. In other words, if you have “stuff” God loves and favors you. On the contrary, if you don’t have “stuff” then you have fallen out of favor with God for some reason….something is wrong with your relationship with The Almighty.
The prosperity “gospel” also provides pseudo-theological justification for the chasm that grows between preacher and people. Don’t get me wrong – living comfortable is not a sin, but the appearance of impropriety grows when the preacher is living the lavish life while the people are living in squalor under extremely oppressive conditions. To ease the guilt upon their conscious some preachers rape the scriptures looking for phrases that assure them that it’s okay to continue telling the people to give their last while they enjoy the finest that life has to offer.
I am all for preachers being held accountable. We should be. The “enemy” knows that if you want to mislead a significant portion of the masses then it’s beneficial to corrupt the preacher. The clergy woman/man is a primary target that faces constant pressure to compromise their integrity and values for selfish gain. And contrary to the belief of some, preachers are people too. A man is a man is a man no matter if he wears a clergy collar or not. A woman is a woman is a woman whether she preaches or not. And the same vices that pursue the flesh of the sheep, sho ’nuff search out the weaknesses of the undershepherd. We – meaning preachers – MUST surround ourselves with people of integrity who will hold us accountable and protect us from others and sometimes from our own fleshly desires.
I pray that this inquiry by Sen. Chuck Grassley is a wake up call to many people in the pulpit and the pew. If you don’t have true accountable measures at your church, this would be a great time to invest in one. It seems as if God is in the business of exposing the iniquity in the pulpits these days.
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