Hard Questions For "Prosperity Gospel"
Last November, Sen. Charles Grassley launched a public investigation into the ministries of six top televangelists who attract thousands of followers and collect hundreds of millions of dollars around the world. Grassley is demanding financial records to determine whether these churches deserve their tax exempt status. CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian takes a hard look at one target: Kenneth Copeland, the so-called "godfather" of "prosperity gospel."
"To live in the garden of Eden … hallelujah!" Copeland says. "Somebody shout 'amen!'"
In one TV sermon after another, Kenneth Copeland and wife, Gloria, implore viewers to sow the seeds of their faith by following God's word - and donating dollars, promising a 100-fold return in happiness and wealth, Keteyian reports.
Even the check envelope says "I am sowing $_____ and believing for a hundredfold return."
"It's a business, it's a bottom-line business," said a former ministry employee - who feared being identified. The employee answered hundreds of prayer requests a day, most sent in with donations, before quitting, feeling "betrayed" by Copeland's gospel of prosperity.
"So when he's preachin' health and wealth..." Keteyian asks.
"He's filling that bottom line on his business," the source said.
That's why Senate investigators are digging into whether ministry resources are being diverted into an array of for-profit companies tied to the Copelands: cattle, horses, aviation, real-estate development and gas and oil wells to name a few.
Michael Hoover, who worked for Kenneth Copeland Ministries for five years, quit in 2005 over disagreements with the church. He says he witnessed other employees doing work on behalf of for-profit businesses tied to the Copeland family.
"In my viewpoint, I believe that they were using a lot of the ministry's assets for personal businesses," he said.
"The nonprofit activity and the for-profit activity are so intertwined that you can't, you can't separate them," said Ole Anthony of the Trinity Foundation.
A two-month CBS News investigation, including interviews with nearly a dozen former Copeland employees, raises serious questions about the Copeland's religious empire.
Beginning with a lavish lakefront home, all 18,000 square feet of it, and a fleet of private planes - all paid for by the ministry.
At a celebration, Copeland said: "The Lord spoke to me and said 'you're gonna believe for a Citation 10, right now.'"
Copeland got what he wanted - that's the $20 million jet right there parked at the ministry-owned airport. It's one of four private planes owned by the church.
"It will never ever be used as for anything other than what is becoming of you Lord Jesus," he said.
But that's not what happened.
CBS News has learned he used one ministry jet and another to fly to and from Colorado three times in 2007 - the site of frequent Copeland family vacations. The ministry now claims they reimburse the ministry for personal use of the jets.
Copeland has said: "You are not created for poverty."
"We answered them - we gave them a several-page lesson on …" Copeland said.
Kenneth Copeland refused repeated interview requests by CBS News.
When Keteyian went to ministry headquarters near Ft. Worth, Texas, we were turned away.
"There's no way I can see him right now?" Keteyian asked a security guard before being turned away.
If Grassley doesn't get the answers he wants, he may well resort to some words of his own - in the form of a Senate subpoena.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. "To live in the garden of Eden … hallelujah!" Copeland says. "Somebody shout 'amen!'"
In one TV sermon after another, Kenneth Copeland and wife, Gloria, implore viewers to sow the seeds of their faith by following God's word - and donating dollars, promising a 100-fold return in happiness and wealth, Keteyian reports.
Even the check envelope says "I am sowing $_____ and believing for a hundredfold return."
"It's a business, it's a bottom-line business," said a former ministry employee - who feared being identified. The employee answered hundreds of prayer requests a day, most sent in with donations, before quitting, feeling "betrayed" by Copeland's gospel of prosperity.
"So when he's preachin' health and wealth..." Keteyian asks.
"He's filling that bottom line on his business," the source said.
That's why Senate investigators are digging into whether ministry resources are being diverted into an array of for-profit companies tied to the Copelands: cattle, horses, aviation, real-estate development and gas and oil wells to name a few.
Michael Hoover, who worked for Kenneth Copeland Ministries for five years, quit in 2005 over disagreements with the church. He says he witnessed other employees doing work on behalf of for-profit businesses tied to the Copeland family.
"In my viewpoint, I believe that they were using a lot of the ministry's assets for personal businesses," he said.
"The nonprofit activity and the for-profit activity are so intertwined that you can't, you can't separate them," said Ole Anthony of the Trinity Foundation.
A two-month CBS News investigation, including interviews with nearly a dozen former Copeland employees, raises serious questions about the Copeland's religious empire.
Beginning with a lavish lakefront home, all 18,000 square feet of it, and a fleet of private planes - all paid for by the ministry.
At a celebration, Copeland said: "The Lord spoke to me and said 'you're gonna believe for a Citation 10, right now.'"
Copeland got what he wanted - that's the $20 million jet right there parked at the ministry-owned airport. It's one of four private planes owned by the church.
"It will never ever be used as for anything other than what is becoming of you Lord Jesus," he said.
But that's not what happened.
CBS News has learned he used one ministry jet and another to fly to and from Colorado three times in 2007 - the site of frequent Copeland family vacations. The ministry now claims they reimburse the ministry for personal use of the jets.
Copeland has said: "You are not created for poverty."
Churches are not required to file tax forms - or make their finances public. The ministry, which says it does everything by the book, has refused to answer key questions about its finances raised by Senate investigators.
Learn more about Copeland and televangelist funding over at Primary Source.
Read "The Road To Prosperity" by Armen Keteyian
"We answered them - we gave them a several-page lesson on …" Copeland said.
Kenneth Copeland refused repeated interview requests by CBS News.
When Keteyian went to ministry headquarters near Ft. Worth, Texas, we were turned away.
"There's no way I can see him right now?" Keteyian asked a security guard before being turned away.
If Grassley doesn't get the answers he wants, he may well resort to some words of his own - in the form of a Senate subpoena.
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The Cross in Jesus day was not a lovely little piece of jewelry but an excruciating and humiliating instrument of death and sacrifice.
You people so blind you refuse to see you are being taken for a ride should get out your bibles and read the book of Acts (of the Apostle's and early church).
Also this verse in Hebrews 11:37 the early disciples of Christ were sawn into by the sword, were destitute and wondered around in sheepskins and goatskins!
Followers of Prosperity Teachers have just fulfilled end time prophecy that people with itching ears would run to have their ears tickled with false doctrine and that there would be false Prophets teaching false doctrine in the latter days. Congrat's to idiots everywhere!
GOD is not a capitalist and could give a rats -ss about profits or wallstreet...
but the so called true believers are the biggest offenders
Has anyone thought about investigating HIM?
Your name shows your lack of knowledge. First of all, people give because they want to. Generally, it is not to get something in return, which inevitably happens. When you give to God, God gives back, "some 30, some 60, and some 100 fold." What people miss in that give back is that it depends on many factors; 1)faith, 2)lifestyle, 3)spiritual warfare, 4)circumstances, 5)your personal spending habits, and 6)if God the Father has you going through a bunch of stuff so that he can teach you things that you need to know so that you can be more effective as a Christian and a minister. So, if you''re an irresponsible fool that won''t take care of your money, refuses to pay bills, lives off of everyone else, takes drugs, and spend whatever money you have on illicit *** and drunken parties, don''t expect a whole lot from God. In fact, don''t expect ANYTHING from God.
The Lord God WANTS Christians to prosper. Plain and simple. Ministers are under the employ of Jesus Christ, therefore, their salaries are determined by God alone, not some nutcase in Washington DC, or ANY OF YOU, who don''t have the first CLUE about Christianity. You don''t have the first CLUE about the Bible, and probably don''t even know what one looks like. You have no earthly idea how many millions of dollars passes through Kenneth Copeland''s hands to fund several missions abroad, schools, charities, and to pay laborers to accomplish the mission of bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
What I have actually seen is people going to an outreach, taking free food provided by the ministry when they didn''t need to. Then, they might pick up a whole wardrobe of clothing...then go sell it for themselves. This is not only stealing, but lying, and profiting on what God charged us to do ... take care of the poor.
If I started an investigation on many of you out there in the secular world, how would YOU fare? How much income are YOU hiding?
So, ya know what? Unless you can show yourselves to be any better than Kenneth Copeland, KEEP YER TRAP SHUT! If you don''t, you may find God himself judging you for all your sins out of season. and YOU DON"T WANT THAT!
since the early 1980''s and he nor Gloria have ever
implored people to give.
They do not charge people to go to their conventions.
And yes, the Bible does talk about the 100 fold return.
If people would just read their Bible, they would see
it.
I have met Gloria Copeland, and I can say she is the sweetest, humblest person I have ever met.
Before anybody criticizes the Copelands,
you preach to millions of people, pray for millions
of people and leads millions of people to the Lord Jesus.
People bring up that Kenneth Copeland doesn''t see the
prayer request and read and pray over them himself.
What about Billy Graham? Does he see all prayer requests that come into him and pray over them.
NO.
The ministers have prayer departments that do that.
The ministers prepare sermons and preach.
One man can''t do it all, that''s why he has helpers.
don''t be so close minded when criicizing him.
Do you want someone snooping in on your spending?
do you want someone spying on what you do in your personal time? Lay off the Copelands.
in fact, back off from all the preachers.
it's BS but you choose to believe it because it makes you feel better about the shallow life you do lead, and you're too caught up in the need to justify yourself you don't even seek the truths.
but you will have to answer someday, and boy are you going to be surprised by the real truth, too bad you have ot waste yur human existence giving credence to false prophets
Hebrews 11:37 "They were stoned, they were sawn into they were killed by the sword. They went around in raggedy clothes. They wandered around in deserts, hills and hide in caves.
Gee, it's too bad your Kenneth Copeland and the rest like, Mike Murdock, Todd Contz, Fred Price and Creflo Dollar wasn't around to tell them to name and claim their prosperity so they could have avoided all of this along with the martyr Apostle Paul who was according to church history was beheaded for spreading the Gospel!!!!
Instead, that money would be going to help those in need, as Jesus preached.
Copeland is a thief.
Again, this poorly written story with an agenda that could not have been more obvious was completely missing the facts, which shows why this news station''s ratings are steadily dropping and will continue to drop. One less viewer right here.
you just need a way to help justify your own existence. How about opening your heart and soul and doing some real research into humanity... but you won't
A hundred fold return is in the bible, and the fact that CBS does not even point that out shows their ignorance and bias against Christianity. If CBS is going to try to accuse someone and deem them guilty until proven innocent based on supposed theological grounds, then at least do some basic research on the points you make against them.