Hard Questions For "Prosperity Gospel"
A Televangelist Lives In The Lap Of Luxury -- But Now He's Under Investigation
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A Look At 'Prosperity Gospel'
Armen Keteyian reports on whether televangelist Kenneth Copeland is profiting form his parishioners donations.
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Kenneth Copeland, the so-called "godfather" of prosperity gospel, is now under congressional investigation. (CBS)
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Kenneth Copeland, the so-called "godfather" of prosperity gospel, is now under congressional investigation. (CBS)
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Armen Keteyian and his investigative team keep you informed daily on their blog.
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"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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Learn more about Copeland and televangelist funding over at Primary Source.



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See all 73 CommentsIf I choose to donate my money to any ministry - that''s my business - not yours.
If you want to make yourselves useful and serve a meaningful purpose - then go after and expose the crooks selling us oil - and leave the ministries that are helping millions of people around the world alone!
Nothing wrong with being rich, but not at the expense of self promoting church "owners".
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/100608
Nothing wrong with being rich, but not at the expense of self promoting church "owners".
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/100608
Nothing wrong with being rich, but not at the expense of self promoting church "owners".
www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/100608
Nothing wrong with being rich, but not for the benefit of self promoting church "owners".
Nothing wrong with being rich, but not for the benefit of self promoting church "owners".
www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/100608
Well that''s all folks.
Well that''s all folks.
Well that''s all folks.
Well that''s all folks.
Well that''s all folks.
Well that''s all folks.
paid infomercial.Come on, like Joel Obsteen. He is a multi millionaire.
put a sock in it. No offense. As long as there life style is biblical, and as long as they are giving back to those that are in need, then who cares. I fault CBS for giving the public a lame story and insulted the public with this *** they call a story. Donald Trump, bill gates, The terminator governor of California ( who can''t even speak English), these high profile congressmen, including senator Grassley lives lavishly and I sure as hell don''t see them being investigated, or questioned why they have five planes and businesses, and a big house???? so why are they doing it with religious leaders who happened to have successful businesses and can prove they are not making profits off of the church members and the poor? Personally I am not going to any church, if the preacher is not living what the bible already says. I refuse to go to a church and they are not teaching business principals and economic empowerment. if I am poor and the preacher is poor, then how the hell are they going to be any encouragement to me?
Look, don''t be a dumb ***! THINK! they do pay taxes.... its called IRS tax 80, it was shown in another TV report who is exposing this senator Grassley person under handed deeds. They reported, the .. IRS audits these religious people yearly. Also half of these ministers have been invited to the white house to give advice, to give a strategic plan to help this country out of war, debt, etc, and give advice to this man who you all call a president. now I was a intern at the white house before, and before you go to the white house, you have to go through heavy back ground check. hmm I smell a dirty rat in this senator who is requesting this paperwork, He is not making sense, If he say he works with the IRS, then why the hell do you need to get there financial info from them? He should have this info already on file with the IRS, why hasn%u2019t he gone to the IRS or white house files and check their records? They are on file! all he had to do was pull their files.
This article does not add up. You mean to tell me Rev copeland is doing all this , and the IRS has not shut him down? Please come on now. the IRS would have been shut him down long time ago. CBS is full of it and senator grassley.
"And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nothing; But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps ye be found even to fight against God."
This article does not add up. You mean to tell me Rev copeland is doing all this , and the IRS has not shut him down? Please come on now. the IRS would have been shut him down long time ago. CBS is full of it and senator grassley.
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Posted by SaDe1231 ..........................................................Have you ever heard of cooking the books? These charlatans threaten the existence of the entire church as we know it. They need to be brought down.
Nothing more than excellent tabloid news reporting. Next they will have a CBS exclusive on ''Woman gives birth to dog, see it here first on CBS"
pay taxes and tax non profit audits is the same thing, stop being but-hole and think for a change please. I hope you owe the government in taxes this year, I hope it comes across my desk, Please give me that honor. I will be the first one to sign off on possible IRS fine with no chases and no mercy. I will just save your IP address and any info to the database government drive. So **** me off. You are busy thinking I am defending someone tactics when you have not even looked at reality and facts. facts has proven this report by CBS is lame, so last year, too late, and too short on info.
wait so You are judging them based on Jim baker and tammy Faye? what the hell? these people are not them, and that is not fair for you cast them in the same bad apple basket when federal documents proves there innocent.
Nothing illegal about that, in fact the right to do so is guaranteed under the constitution. Besides, a lot of those corrupt, drug running, Mob friendly toilet scum could use a bit more than an insult...
Back to the subject, in the 50s and 60s there was a "Black" preacher, named Rev. Ike, who preached the same gospel of riches, sold "free" prayer cloths, personally "blessed" by him, for $1.
He was a wealthy man, it seems that hope sells, or else the lotteries and numbers rackets as well as Las Vegas wouldn''t be as successful as they are.
If suckers want to pay for hope, let them, but the sellers of it should not enjoy tax free status, just because they sell it in the name of religion.
In fact, the more I read of your posts, it seems that you are the one treading on dangerous ground.
If you are indeed an IRS official, making threats to use the authority of a government agency against citizens simply because you disagree with their political views is corruption, and since your threats are now on record, you may very well be the one landing in hot water.
Conversely, if you are not really an agent of a federal institution, you can be in hot water for impersonating one.
If you have the IP of the person to whom you make this threat, then you may be in violation of various privacy acts, as no IP addresses are given here, you would have to engage in illegal hacking to obtain it.
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