by J. Lee Grady
Gideon Thuranira, editor of Christian
Professional magazine, calls these men
“churchpreneurs.” They plant churches not because
they have a burden to reach lost souls but because
they see dollar signs when they fill an auditorium
with chairs. 1. It is mixed with occultism. Before
Christianity came to Nigeria, people visited witch
doctors and sacrificed goats or cows to get
prosperity. They poured libations on the ground so
the gods would hear their prayers. Today similar
practices continue, only the juju priest has been
replaced by a pastor who drives a Mercedes-Benz. I
am aware of a pastor who buried a live animal
under the floor of his church to win God’s favor.
Another pastor asked his congregants to bring bottles
of sand to church so he could anoint them; he then
told the people to sprinkle the sand in their houses
to bring blessings. The people who follow these
charlatans are reminded that their promised
windfall won’t materialize unless they give large
donations. 2. It fuels greed. Any person who knows
Christ will learn the joy of giving to others. But
the prosperity gospel teaches people to focus on
getting, not giving. At its core it is a selfish and
materialistic faith with a thin Christian veneer.
Church members are continually urged to sow
financial seeds to reap bigger and bigger rewards. In
Africa, entire conferences are dedicated to
collecting offerings in order to achieve wealth.
Preachers boast about how much they paid for suits,
shoes, necklaces and watches. They tell their
followers that spirituality is measured by whether
they have a big house or a first-class ticket.
When greed is preached from the pulpit, it spreads
like a cancer in God’s house. 3. It feeds pride. This
greedy atmosphere in prosperity churches has
produced a warped style of leadership. My Kenyan
friend Gideon Thuranira, editor of Christian
Professional magazine, calls these men
“churchpreneurs.” They plant churches not because
they have a burden to reach lost souls but because
they see dollar signs when they fill an auditorium
with chairs. A selfish message produces
bigheaded opportunists who need position, applause
and plenty of perks to keep them happy. The most
successful prosperity preacher is the most dangerous
because he can convince a crowd that Jesus died to
give you and me a Lexus. 4. It works against the
formation of Christian character. The prosperity
message is a poor imitation of the gospel because it
leaves no room for brokenness, suffering, humility or
delay. It offers an illegal shortcut. Prosperity
preachers promise instant results and
overnight success; if you don’t get your
breakthrough, it’s because you didn’t give enough
money in the offering. Jesus calls us to deny
ourselves and follow Him; prosperity preaching calls
us to deny Jesus and follow our materialistic lusts.
There is a leadership crisis in the African church
because many pastors are so set on getting rich, they
can’t go through the process of discipleship that
requires self-denial. 5. It actually keeps people in
poverty. The government of Malawi is currently
under international scrutiny because of fraud
carried out by top leaders. The saddest thing about
the so-called “Cashgate” scandal is that
professing Christians in the administration of
President Joyce Banda have been implicated. One of
these people stole millions of kwacha from the
government and hid the cash in a teddy bear! Most
people today in Malawi live on less than $1 a day,
yet their leaders have been known to buy fleets of
cars and huge plots of land with money that was not
theirs. Sadly, the prosperity gospel preached in
Malawi has encouraged pastors and leaders to
follow the same corrupt pattern. As a result, God’s
people have been financially exploited. When Jesus
described false prophets as wolves in sheep’s
clothing, He warned us to examine their fruit.
Matthew 7:17 says, “So every good tree bears good
fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit” (NASB). What
is the fruit of prosperity preaching? Churches have
been growing rapidly in many parts of Africa today,
yet sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world
where poverty has increased in the past 25 years.
So according to the statistics, the prosperity gospel is
not bringing prosperity! It is a flawed message, but I
believe God will use selfless, broken African leaders
to correct it.

So true. God help us.