The prosperity Gospel - week 16

I don’t like the term “Health and Wealth” gospel. I don’t like it because it is a pejorative term used to demean several prominent ministers who are very prosperous. In the mid to late 70’s Julia and I became aware of the Pentecostal perspective of Christianity. I can say without a doubt that our lives were changed forever by the ministries of Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland. I would go so far as to say I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the Holy Spirit’s ministry through these two men. It was through their ministry I received deliverance from drugs, smoking and a dramatic turn around of my life.


Almost immediately we also became aware of the controversy of these ministries. That time in our lives was a critical nurturing period for our faith. I heard the criticism of these ministries. I listened to their teachings and I could not reconcile the criticism of their ministries with what they actually taught. They simply didn’t teach what they were being accused of. Julia and I listened to hundred and hundred’s of hours of tapes. We arose early on Sunday morning and would meet at a friends house and watch Kenneth Copeland on their TV before we went to Church. Kenneth Copeland did not teach a gospel of “name it and claim it” as it was being described by his detractors.

We became fond of many teachers. We enjoyed their ministries and we grew spiritually. Did we make mistakes? You bet we did. Those mistakes weren’t because of our pursuit of wealth through the gospel for personal gain however. I like to think of them as mistakes of “Enthusiasm”.

Over the last 10 years of ministry at Gateway, I no longer listen to Kenneth Copeland on a regular basis. It’s not because of Kenneth Copeland’s teaching, but rather I’ve learned new things. I’ve experienced God in a new light and some of the things that worked for me in the 70’s and the 80’s simply don’t work any more. Several years ago I spoke to our former Lay Leader about this issue. I told him “I wish I had learned more Charles Swindol and less Kenneth Copeland.” I was unbalanced in my approach to life and I took good scriptural teachings and I didn’t connect them very well to the path of life I was traveling at the time. There is much truth in Kenneth Copeland’s teachings. There are powerful truths there. But he only has one piece of the puzzle. Life is not black or white. There are shades of gray in life that I missed through Kenneth’s ministry. His testimony of God’s deliverance is powerful. His presentation of the death and resurrection of Christ is one of the defining moments in my Christian life. But he is human and he sees through the glass darkly as I do. He may see more things than I do, but he doesn’t see everything. Neither did the apostle Paul who penned those words. Paul also wrote “imitate me as I imitate Christ”. I tried in my early Christian walk to imitate Kenneth Copeland as he imitated Christ. I have fond memories of that walk and I am here to tell you, God used Kenneth Copeland’s ministry to infuse me with a love for God’s Word and to help both Julia and I to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I will forever be grateful to God and “Brother Copeland” for his ministry.