I have deliberately removed Bishop Oyedepo from the title of this
article for a couple of reasons: first, to let his followers and
supporters understand that the first part of my essay was not about
their bishop. Second, I hold nothing against Bishop Oyedepo. In fact, I
admire him as a businessman. He is a smart and astute industrialist. I
do not however, consider him a spiritual leader. Third, the prosperity
gospel being promulgated today is much bigger than Bishop David
Oyedepo. So, those of you who are followers, supporters and protégées
of the bishop, please stop making all sorts of hateful comments or even
threatening me, because you don’t know who I am. Do not threaten the
voice of a true prophet of God or touch His anointed one.
Usually I try to stay away from reading comments—especially negative
ones; but when your hateful emails and negative comments began arriving
in my personal inbox and even those phone calls, I then realized how
truth hurts the hearers who are in error. However, I'm not concerned
about your empty threats and tantrums but your ignorance and stupidity.
In part 3 and final part of the essay, I will explore the teachings of
Jesus Christ on the subject of money, finances and material prosperity,
so that some of you who are biblical ignorant can learn from the master
teacher.
Let me also make this point. I do not disagree that your bishop is
called of God. You must understand that the “Call of God” is not always
associated with shepherding a church or running a ministry. If you
study the Holy Scriptures very carefully, you will notice that people
were called to perform various activities and carry-out different
assignments. Some were called to be leaders, kings, military warriors,
missionaries, judges, kingdom builders, revolutionaries and off-course
to be priests, prophets and teachers (study these names: Adam &
Eve, Noah, Abraham & Sarah, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Jonah, Deborah,
Gideon, Samson, Ruth, Esther, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Jesus,
Apostles, Paul). They were all called of God.
If you also study the political, social and economic systems of
biblical times, you will notice that none of those called to be priests,
prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc were rich or wealthy. In
fact, when the priests tried to extort the people, they were rebuked by
the true and courageous prophets of God. Also when food lacked in the
homes of the priests, God rebuked the people for failing to tithe their
grains into the house of the LORD (Malachi 3). Today, Malachi 3:10 is
abused just like Luke 6:38, John 10:10, 3 John 2, and other Scriptures
that are falsely used to teach prosperity gospel, which have nothing
whatever to do with money. In fact the context of Luke 6:38 was about
judging others and taking care of the needy and poor. We will explore
those Scriptures and others in part 3 of the essay.
Yes, Abraham was wealthy, but he was not a priest or bishop. Isaac,
his son was also rich, but he was not a priest or prophet. Jacob was
wealthy but, he was not a bishop. Joseph controlled the riches and
wealth of Egypt; he was not a pastor but a prime minister. Because of
his godly lifestyle and wisdom, he was appointed to administer the
wealth of Egypt. Daniel prayed three times daily and refused to bow to
the gods of king Nebuchadnezzar. The King noticed his great faith and
godly wisdom, and elevated him to be the wise counselor in the king’s
cabinet.
Bishop James pleaded to the churches in Rome and Asia Minor to send
their offerings to support the poor stricken church in Jerusalem and to
carry out the work of the apostles. Apostle Paul was supported by the
wealthy women and rich merchants of the Corinthian church. As a
missionary and evangelist, he worked as a carpenter to supplement his
living expenses. Jesus Christ, even though had a treasurer in His
ministry, who kept the meager donations from the people, He had to
borrow a white donkey to ride into Jerusalem. He didn’t have money to
buy one, although He could have commanded money to do whatever He wanted
to be done, but he didn’t. On one occasion, he commanded money out the
mouth of the fish to pay His taxes to Caesar. He borrowed two small
fish and five loaves of bread to feed His congregants. His tomb was a
borrowed tomb.
On and on, you will notice that those who were rich and wealthy in
biblical times were common folks who simply worked hard to become rich,
but also folks who trusted the God that they served to bless them. And
that blessing was not just monetary, but peace, protection and ability
to work.
When you a read the Bible, you will also come across hundreds of
stories of men and women—young and old, named and unnamed, sometimes, it
is a story of sadness, suffering, pain, poverty, disease, sickness and
death. But many times, it is the story of joy, of power, influence,
riches, wealth, love, charity, faith, and wisdom. Today, especially in
our society, such virtues are gone and no where to be seen. Today’s
Christians are obsessed with money and materialism—a mentality of “have
it all” in this life, “god-wants-you-rich theology.” The great virtues
of love, charity, faith, humility, courage, character, integrity, and
prayer are thrown out of the doors of modern-day churches.
Many churches today are designed for ecstatic and euphoric worship
style where man rather than Jesus Christ is glorified; where the pastors
and bishops are flying in private jets, and the majority of their
parishioners are wallowing in abject poverty and wretched mindset. With
exception of corrupt politicians, civil servants, business barons and
the 419’ners, most of the people in our churches today are folks living
in abject poverty and yet, those who are suppose to be educating their
minds and empowering them are extorting from the little they have.
Nigerian Christians can’t think anymore on how to create and build
wealth but how to manipulate God to rain dollars on them. Today, the
teaching in the church that wealth and material blessings are based on
one’s faith is a travesty. It is the kind of teaching and preaching
that keeps people in bondage and spiritual blindness. Today’s church is
spiritually blind. To be spiritual is not to be stupid. Spirituality
does not equate to stupidity. And that’s where most Nigeria Christians
are currently—in spiritual bondage.
Debra J. Mumford, PhD., MDiv., the Frank H. Caldwell Associate
professor of Homiletics at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary,
Louisville, Kentucky, in her classic book: “Exploring Prosperity
Preaching – Biblical Health, Wealth, and Wisdom,” masterfully explores
the core teachings of prosperity gospel and their proponents in the
American church and offers constructive criticism of the prosperity
message, its contributions to Christianity as well as its consequences.
We reproduce here below the overview of “Exploring Prosperity Preaching” by Professor Debra J. Mumford for your edification.
Although the prosperity gospel is relatively new on the religious
landscape, she writes, its worldwide media presence has enabled the
dissemination of its message to people of all ages, ethnicities, races,
and religious and denominational affiliations. We will closely examine
the prosperity gospel to deconstruct its teachings. But first we need to
understand how prosperity preaching evolved and learn about the people
responsible for its existence.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the history of prosperity
preaching, including people and movements that influenced its origins,
such as E.W. Kenyon, Kenneth E. Hagin, and Oral Roberts. The book
surveys African American preachers of New Thought, including Father
Divine, Reverend Ike, and Johnnie Rae Colemon, and introduce
contemporary Word of Faith ministers as well. The next ten chapters
outline the core teachings of the prosperity gospel. Each chapter bears a
title that represents a frequently used phrase by prosperity preachers.
The theology that undergirds each phrase is explained, and affirmations
and critiques are included in a section titled “Sifting the Wheat from
the Chaff” in each chapter. Biblical texts that prosperity preachers use
to justify their teachings are included where applicable.
In Chapter 2, “The Word of God Means Exactly What It Says,” explores
the biblical assumptions on which the prosperity gospel is based. Word
of Faith preachers interpret the Bible using proof texting, typology,
and propositional revelation – basically the use of rationale of literal
interpretation and rejection of biblical exegesis. In the Sifting the
Wheat from the Chaff section, I describe the dangers of interpretation
without context. I present an alternative interpretive approach.
Chapter 3 looks at the prosperity gospel’s teaching that declares,
“The world’s economy is not your economy.” According to Word of Faith
theology, two economies exist in the world—the secular economy and God’s
divine economy. In the divine economy, believers become wealthy only by
giving away what they have. Adherents are advised to ignore the
realities of the world’s economy and to believe that God will supply not
only their needs but also the desires of their hearts. In Sifting the
Wheat from the Chaff, I examine the potential consequences of ignoring
secular realities, using prosperity preaching’s role (as reported in
some news articles) in the 2008 housing crisis as an example.
Chapter 4, “Poverty Is a Curse, and Jesus Was Not Poor,” explores the
Word of Faith contention that poverty is a curse. Since the central
figure of the gospel (Jesus) cannot be under a curse, they also argue
that Jesus was not poor. I use very familiar Scriptures to support Word
of Faith teachings about poverty, including how prosperity preachers
offer alternate interpretations of biblical texts that describe Jesus’
socioeconomic status. In Sifting the Wheat from the Chaff, I
differentiate between the poor people as “cursed of God” and “poverty”
as “a curse.” I also offer an African American prophetic preaching
perspective on Jesus’ social status.
In chapter 5, I consider the “God is your source” teaching. While all
preachers of Word of Faith theology contend that God is the source of
all blessings, including finances, some preachers are more specific
about the sources of wealth available for Christians. For example, some
teach that “the wealth of sinners is laid up for the righteous.” In
order for the righteous to receive stored money, they literally need to
cry out for it. In Sifting the Wheat from the Chaff, I offer an African
American prophetic preaching perspective. I also offer a basic approach
to biblical exegesis.
Chapter 6, “The Anointing Produces Victory,” examines how the
teachings of Kenneth E. Hagin, who believed in the power of the Holy
Spirit (the anointing) to empower believers for ministry, have been
adopted by Word of Faith preachers to teach that the anointing also
empowers believers to prosper financially. I investigate interpretations
of Joel 2:18–4:17, including the teachings of the Latter Rain movement.
In Sifting the Wheat from the Chaff, I examine the concept of anointing
in the Old Testament and present an African American prophetic
preaching alternative.
In chapter 7, she explored the Word of Faith teaching in the refrain
“There is authority in the name of Jesus.” Word of Faith preachers
proclaim that believers should use that authority to create their own
life realities. Essentially, adherents are taught that their lives are
direct reflections of their verbal confessions. In Sifting the Wheat
from the Chaff, I look into the dangers of misusing the concept of
“authority” and offer an African American prophetic preaching
perspective.
In chapter 8, “Claim Your Healing,” I probe the Word of Faith
assertion that believers need never be sick. Good physical health is a
right of all Christians, and so believers have only to claim their good
health in order to receive it. She highlights the Word of Faith
interpretation of Isaiah 53:4-5 as it relates to God’s promise of
healing. In Sifting the Wheat from the Chaff, I offer an alternative
interpretation of the Isaiah text and examine other healing texts. Using
the testimony of Betty Price, wife of prosperity preacher Fred Price, I
encourage readers to broaden their thinking about healing beyond the
miraculous.
In chapter 9, “You Are the Righteousness of God,” we will test the
Word of Faith teaching that asserts that believers have been declared
righteous in God’s sight and therefore have at work in them the same
unlimited ability and wisdom of God as Christ had. She contrasts Word of
Faith theology of the righteousness of God and the favor of God of
prosperity preachers with that of Swiss reformer John Calvin. In Sifting
the Wheat from the Chaff, I dissuade readers from conceiving of God as
their personal valet.
In chapter 10, “Race Doesn’t Matter,” Prof. Debra Mumford examines
the teachings of Word of Faith teacher Creflo Dollar Jr. on race.
Building on the promise of the elusive American Dream, his teaching
asserts that people no longer need to identify with their natural
heritage (race) once they are born again, because they have a new
spiritual heritage with which to identify. Identifying with a particular
ethnic or racial group creates division in the church. I contrast Word
of Faith’s theology of race with the teachings of evangelical and
prophetic traditions. In Sifting the Wheat from the Chaff, I argue that
racism is not a personal problem but a systemic issue.
Chapter 11 examines Word of Faith’s belief that “living by the word
of God eliminates social ills.” Adherents say that all of society’s
issues of social injustice would be resolved if all people would convert
to Christianity. Word of Faith’s focus on individual conversion is
indicative of the individualistic nature of prosperity theology.
Believers are taught to make confessions (verbal claims to the promises
of God) to God on behalf of themselves and their families rather than on
behalf of others. I highlight the entitlement issues that result and
compare and contrast these claims with those of black prophetic
preaching.
In chapter 12, “Affirmations, Denouncements, and Reconstruction of
Faith,” I delineate the gifts that prosperity theology brings to
Christendom, along with its shortcomings. She offers observations and
insights about the primary beneficiaries of prosperity theology, draw
conclusions about the value of and need for critical biblical
interpretation and holistic theological education, and suggest
approaches to reconstructing faith after rejecting the prosperity
gospel. Finally, I appeal to all people of God to work for the
resurgence of the African American prophetic preaching tradition.
In Part 3, the concluding part of this essay, we will examine the
teachings of Jesus Christ on the topic of prosperity—money, finances and
material blessings and explore the teachings, the truths and secrets of
money, riches and wealth. We will also learn the secret and
requirement for obtaining true prosperity as found in the book of Joshua
1:6-9 and then conclude with the six (6) basic kinds of prosperity and
blessing taught in the Bible. To be spiritual does not equate stupidity
and that is where many Nigerian Christians are currently—in spiritual
bondage. The church’s teaching nowadays has become syncretistic and
frankly leading people to stupidity, wretched mindsets and death.
Rev. C. K. Ekeke, M.Div., Ph.D., is a theologian, author,
consultant and leadership scholar; he is the president of Leadership
Wisdom Institute, USA
Prof. Debra J. Mumford, PhD., MDiv., is the Frank H. Caldwell Associate
professor of Homiletics and Associate Dean of Students Academic Affairs
at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky,
USA
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