Which of the following is/are true about these prosperity preachers - Adeboye, Oyedepo, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Leroy Thompson?

a) They take care of the poor in society by building free schools and hospitals with the huge revenues they generate.
b) At least one of them says he has a $16000 dog
c) They are NOT financially accountable to their congregation who donate their hard earned cash
d) They all have private jets
e) At least one of them says it is alright to curse your enemies
f) At least one of them is having an affair/friendship with another preacher.
g) At least two of them have established universities where the average member of their congregation cannot afford to send their kids to.

Sadly - all of the above except (a) is true!!

Are they really financially accountable to their congregation? If they are, it won't be as bad as if they weren't because in that case, the congregation acts as enablers of their ostentatious activities.

@Thehomer

Sorry it was a typo - I have corrected it.

Financially accountable to their members ? that will be the day!

EarsWide:

@Thehomer

Sorry it was a typo - I have corrected it.

Financially accountable to their members ? that will be the day!

Oh okay. I felt that statement was a bit off.
Please carry on.

EarsWide:

Sadly - all of the above except (a) is true!!

well assuming (a) is true then it must be less than 10% of their net profit that they spend on schools hospitals etc because i've never heard of church businesses helping the poor and needy like charity organisations like Oxfam The Red Cross Médecins Sans Frontières etc

Church is not a charity organisation

Joagbaje:

Church is not a charity organisation

too bad then,  bcoz the charity caters to the less priviledges.

what is the purpose of a church if it cant cater to the less fortunate??

buying jets?  cater to the Pastor's flamboyant lifestyle?

@Jo 'who can raise dead people' Agbaje

Matthew 25 31 - 46

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
   34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

   37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

   40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

   41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

  44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

   45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

   46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

dare2think:

too bad then,  bcoz the charity caters to the less priviledges.
what is the purpose of a church if it cant cater to the less fortunate??

The purpose of the church is to preach the gospel to the world, that's what we owe them. Any other thing is extra is jara . Thats for the world .but for the church, we have the responsibility of building one another spiritually and helping one another. So the charity part is for members of the church. And I believe every church has a structure by which the less privileged among them are helped. Some churches organise seminars and also empower the members who wants to start business by giving them capital or loans.

We should also note that these seminars will still be criticised by all these church critics. saying such thing as "why would a church be organising Bussoness seminars instead of preaching the gospel ".

If a man has to serve God, he needs to close his eyes and just move ahead, and do what the holyghost tells him to do.

Joagbaje:

Church is not a charity organisation

Joagbaje:

The purpose of the church is to preach the gospel to the world, that's what we owe them.

So the purpose of people coming together every sunday (and other times) is to preach the gospel to the world I like to know, who you refer to as 'the world', are refering to the people sitting right in front of the pulpit every sunday (listening to the pastor)? the people watching via t.v? or the man (or woman) not even aware of the activities going on in church (minding his business somewhere)

BTW what gospel are you preaching then I dont see how you can excise love from the gospel. I used to think its a total package.

Joagbaje:

but for the church, we have the responsibility of building one another spiritually and helping one another. So the charity part is for members of the church.

This is confusing, how do seperate the church from its members I get the impression your idea of church is the PLC or limited liability organization with a CEO (pastor), it renders services (physical & spiritual) to the 'members' and get paid for the service.

What i read you saying here is that the church teaches, members practice thats okay

Zikkyy:

So the purpose of people coming together every sunday (and other times) is to preach the gospel to the world I like to know, who you refer to as 'the world', are refering to the people sitting right in front of the pulpit every sunday (listening to the pastor)? the people watching via t.v? or the man (or woman) not even aware of the activities going on in church (minding his business somewhere)

The term "World" refers to the natural men, umbelievers. Who are not members of the body of christ as yet.

BTW what gospel are you preaching then I dont see how you can excise love from the gospel. I used to think its a total package.

I don't know what you mean. Most churches if not all ,have a helps department ,welfare department etc. By which members are catererd for as I said in my first post. It is not church duty to be handling hamburgers to every man on the street.

In the early church , prophet agabus prophesied about economic melt down coming. And when the crisis hit. Did the church send relief to the whole world? No.rather  Paul raised money in his churches and send to the brethren in Jerusalem churches. Not to people on the street. That is my point. We may do all that if God allows but the brethren comes first.

1 Corinthians 16:1-3
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. 3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.

If this were done today ,critics will still attack it. It is a spirit . As one critic once wrote "why would pastor be collecting money to reach the needy,why can't the brethren take the money by themselves to the needy"      nothing can satisfy a church critic.

@joagbaje

In the parable of the good samaritan that our lord Jesus used to demonstrate love for our neighbours, why did christ use a samaritan instead of the priest[your type] and the levite[which tithe collectors claim to be] to illustrate loving others? Clearly from that parable christ expects us to love total strangers. It is also instructive that the question that lead to that parable had to do with making heaven. You can keep preaching another gospel, but the gospel of christ cannot be diluted.

This is not the same thing. We are not against helping others. The bible commands we do good to all men. The dying man I rescue was not a born again. We are talking about the duty of the church.

But our top priority is the the brethren.

Galatians 6:10
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Joagbaje:

The term "World" refers to the natural men, umbelievers. Who are not members of the body of christ as yet.

I know

i asked because you stated in your post that the purpose of the church is to preach the gospel to the world, knowing pastors spend a good chunk of their time preaching to same people every sunday; the church members

Joagbaje:

Most churches if not all ,have a helps department ,welfare department etc. By which members are catererd for as I said in my first post.

You sometimes refer to the church as the registered entity and sometimes as the members. The church helps & welfare department is still the church sir.

Joagbaje:

It is not church duty to be handling hamburgers to every man on the street.

Duty I dont expect to see you or the pastor giving Dangote or Otedola a packet of biscuit if you see him on the street. Let take the case of the young chap that was badly burnt and lying helpless on the street. What made you stop and help? was it because you were in a good mood or because it was what any good christian should have done. If you come accross some other person in a similar state today, how will you respond

I also like ask (and you need not respond), we read on this forum cec donating to charity and even buying equipment for the police force. what was the motivation? too much money? the church want to look good in the eyes of society? branding? it's not the church duty, so why do it?

Joagbaje:

I don't know what you mean.

This from your post . . .

Joagbaje said: The purpose of the church is to preach the gospel to the world, that's what we owe them.

. . . I wanted to know if love is not part of the gospel. Maybe i should have asked what you meant by the gospel. If  christian duty is restricted to loving fellow christians, its okay for a christian to see an 'unbeliever' in a state of distress and not lend a helping hand.  

Joagbaje:

And when the crisis hit. Did the church send relief to the whole world? No.rather  Paul raised money in his churches and send to the brethren in Jerusalem churches. Not to people on the street. That is my point. We may do all that if God allows but the brethren comes first.

Okay. but can you provide some clarification on what you mean by 'if God allows'

Joagbaje:

If this were done today ,critics will still attack it. It is a spirit . As one critic once wrote "why would pastor be collecting money to reach the needy,why can't the brethren take the money by themselves to the needy"      nothing can satisfy a church critic.

Not really. I think it because the pastor cannot be trusted to use the money solely for the purpose of helping the needy

Joagbaje:

This is not the same thing.

It is the same thing. Your priorites does not take away your duty to others.

Joagbaje:

The dying man I rescue was not a born again. We are talking about the duty of the church.

But our top priority is the the brethren.

On lighter note Jo, if there had been two people lying on the road in similar condition, one a cec member the other an 'unbeliever', and you have room for just one person (ignore the possibility of getting additional help), who would you take to the hospital

I will take the two people.

Joagbaje:

I will take the two people.

i thought brethren should be given priority

Not in that sense. If I see accident victims ,I won't be asking who is a "brethren" among them . I will help all. I will do that later just to lead the others to christ.

But if I have some money to help empower people finacialy for business , I will first look at brethren, some are involved serving God but needs a job or capital. I will help the brethren first before going to others on the street. Paul sent relief to the brethren in Jerusalem and not to every man on the street of Jerusalem .

.

Joagbaje:

But if I have some money to help empower people finacialy for business , I will first look at brethren, some are involved serving God but needs a job or capital. I will help the brethren first before going to others on the street. Paul sent relief to the brethren in Jerusalem and not to every man on the street of Jerusalem .

Okay i am happy to see you dont plan on neglecting the people on the street. I am sure you will do more if you have more resources I guess that's the issue some people have with churches; that they can do much better (for the brethren & also those on the street) with the resources in the church coffer

@post if you are ignorant about stuff why not try finding out. Do a research and find out about Christ Embassy inner city mission reaching out to poor families & abandoned children all over Africa. Also find out about the efforts and missionary works carried out by the ministry in Haiti and other devastated peoples. its better u research b4 u talk rubish, though i know u still would even if u did discover these good works anyway!

@swiftycool

you said

@post if you are ignorant about stuff why not try finding out. Do a research and find out about Christ Embassy inner city mission reaching out to poor families & abandoned children all over Africa. Also find out about the efforts and missionary works carried out by the ministry in Haiti and other devastated peoples. its better u research b4 u talk rubish, though i know u still would even if u did discover these good works anyway!

Are you talking about the same Christ Embassy that charged people N1000 to attend the new year service ?

EarsWide:

@swiftycool

you said
Are you talking about the same Christ Embassy that charged people N1000 to attend the new year service ?

classic, i knew u would still talk rubbish, just like the pharasees & saducees. Even though the reason for putting a gate fee is explained a million times your type would never chose to see reason. u ll hav done so to Jesus about the unridden @ss/perfume anyway. people need pay u no heed

@swiftycool

And is the daft+dubious reason given justifiable in a church that claims to be serving God?

@swiftycool

The only reason I have seen so far is that he charged N1000 for crowd management.

When people do parties, they give out FREE invitations so only those that have these invitations can attend. Why didnt CEC do the same ?

How does N1000 improve crowd control apart from pricing out the poor ?

If u know or can get to learn 4rm any venue mgt. professional one of the best ways of crowd control is putting a price tag. CEC packed out d O2 arena in the Uk last yr till there was an emmergency alert of a continous large crowd. The O2 mgt had to stop crowds coming and turn them back 4 health and safety reasons. They even admitted dat a price tag would hav controlled d fearful crowd. Cec new yr programme had several free veiwing ctrs in Lagos but the main arena televised to the whole world had 2 b orderly

The need to control the crowd and encourage more people to go to veiwing centres to prevent stampede and traffic congestion as had been experienced in previous years made the CEC adopt the professional advice of venue managers. another option was to select people to be given special Ivs, but that is not right also as all are equal b4 God. Hence where a man's heart really is he wont mind paying to b there. There is no wisdom in sardining 10k peeps in a place meant 4 5k. d purpose of d meetin will b defeated

@Earswide:

Seriously speaking, I think you're making this dude(s) out to seem important to you. While I know that is not the true picture, they will try to milk it by making you seem jealous or obsessed. Please just face the trash they say and disprove it.

DO NOT FORGET - it might be again the same person posting as yet another ID. Its his stock in trade to be a deceiver as we have all seen in the past. Many of those user-names were created to support deceit.

Which is why the "new" guy says you'll pay to be where your heart is FORGETTING you'll keep your heart where your treasure is. Where then is the treasure of the jeri curled dude?

@swiftycool

The same effect could be achieved by printing a LIMITED number of free tickets on a first come basis ?

Can you explain how a N1000 ticket controls the crowd better than a free ticket ?

@nuclearboy, perhaps because i dont live on nairaland like u, u think am a fake id. check when i joined and maybe your disturbed mind could become clear.
@Earswide, even if they did d first come first serve stuff, i trust folks like u to cook up another theory about favouritism in some churches or what not. Truly u guys cant stop d work of God no matter how tactical your pharasee views can be.

@swiftycool

Lets leave other theories for now - answer my questions please:

When people do parties, they give out FREE invitations so only those that have these invitations can attend. Why didnt CEC do the same ?

How does N1000 improve crowd control apart from pricing out the poor ?

The charge of every ministry is to go out into all d world to preach the gospel. With the new age in technology, this is made easier through the internet, satelite broadcast and other like means. The cec new year program was broadcast live to hundreds of countries with translations in some cases in real time.

If u can ask anyone in the media how much it costs to pay for a world wide live broadcast per minuite perhaps u would understand how much the church expended 4 the purpose. It runs into millions of dollars and is not sponsored by coke, guiness, nike etc, but by free givings of d members of the congregation.

As said b4 the pricing strategy was to ensure orderliness and I must add what u are desperate to hear AS WELL AS RAISE some of the MONEY for this broadcast. A lot of people value being at the main arena and would gladly pay for it knowing dat this donation would as well go to the broadcast. Hence I believe it was justified