Jay Root, Staff writer
Houston Chronicle
December 15, 2021
FORT WORTH — At his 2015 Southwest Believers’ Convention in Fort Worth, wealthy Texas televangelist Kenneth Copeland explained how he wound up living in a mansion. It all started when God told him years earlier to build that dream home his wife Gloria had described to him.
“Minister this house to her,” he recalled the almighty saying. “It is part of your prosperity.”
Her vision was vast: Rising up three stories and sporting white columns in front, the six-bedroom, six-bath estate on the shores of an exclusive lake community outside of Fort Worth has enough room to fit nearly four basketball courts — more than 18,000 square feet of living space in all.
“You may think that house is too big,” Copeland told the believers’ convention. “You may think it's too grand. I don't care what you think. I heard from heaven. Glory to God, hallelujah!”
What he didn’t mention is that his heavenly plans are being underwritten by Texas taxpayers. Under a little-known statute that county appraisers say is too vague and permissive, the $7 million mansion owned by Copeland’s Eagle Mountain International Church is considered a parsonage — a clergy residence — qualifying for a 100 percent tax break.
That means Copeland’s church gets a pass on what would otherwise be an annual property tax bill exceeding $150,000 — money that other local taxpayers must backfill to cover the cost of schools, police and firefighters.
“You may think that house is too big,” Copeland told the believers’ convention. “You may think it's too grand. I don't care what you think. I heard from heaven. Glory to God, hallelujah!”
What he didn’t mention is that his heavenly plans are being underwritten by Texas taxpayers. Under a little-known statute that county appraisers say is too vague and permissive, the $7 million mansion owned by Copeland’s Eagle Mountain International Church is considered a parsonage — a clergy residence — qualifying for a 100 percent tax break.
That means Copeland’s church gets a pass on what would otherwise be an annual property tax bill exceeding $150,000 — money that other local taxpayers must backfill to cover the cost of schools, police and firefighters.
'Abides by biblical guidelines'
Texas began allowing religious organizations to exempt clergy residences from property taxes nearly a century ago. But the law limits the properties to 1 acre of land and, at least in theory, prohibits ministers from using the generosity of the tax code for “private gain.”
Evans said Copeland’s church easily found a way around both restrictions.
The luxurious 1-acre parsonage is surrounded by a 24-acre lakefront tract valued extraordinarily low – $125,000 – so Copeland’s Eagle Mountain International Church pays less than $3,000 a year in property taxes on it, records show. The district agreed to the value as part of a dispute resolution agreement with the church, Law said.
Real estate experts say that much waterfront property minutes from Fort Worth would sell for many multiples of that on the open market.
“Texas law states that the parsonage exemptions are limited to an acre,” Evans said. “Copeland's mansion is like a textbook example on how lawyers can get around the spirit of the law, using the letter of the law.”
Kenneth Copeland Ministries did not respond to the Chronicle’s request for an interview. But in a written statement spokesman Lawrence Swicegood criticized the “many unfounded claims, misreported facts or grossly exaggerated statements” by the media and others.
“Eagle Mountain International Church (Kenneth Copeland Ministries) always abides by biblical guidelines. Our church also adheres to the various federal, state, county and local codes, statutes and ordinances applicable to the church ministry,” Swicegood said. “Our Church, with a worldwide impact, is helping proclaim and teach Christians around the world how to apply the principles of faith found in God’s word.”
Drawing attention of Congress
Copeland doesn’t seem to be ashamed of his wealth. On the contrary, in the prosperity gospel he champions on the pulpit, wealth is an outward sign of God’s blessing. He routinely exhorts followers to give generously to his church in order to receive material blessings in their own lives.
His parsonage is the architectural embodiment of that blessing. Built in 1999, it “has a sweeping spiral staircase and a bridge that spans across the living room and connects the two sides of the house,” a report by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee found in 2011. “It also has crystal chandeliers and, according to Gloria Copeland, doors that came from a castle.” The report said the bedroom boasts a “huge drop-down ceiling projector and screen.”
Outside, a tennis court graces the grounds. The two garages together are bigger than most homes. A covered boat dock with three slips perches on the shores of Eagle Lake.
Copeland commands a fleet of tax-exempt planes and lives within walking distance of an airport — that would be Kenneth Copeland Airport — giving the octogenarian preacher a jet-setting lifestyle few of his congregants could ever dream of enjoying.
The Lubbock native also tops virtually every list of the wealthiest American pastors, including one compiled in 2018 by the religion lifestyle website Beliefnet, which pegged Copeland’s net worth at $760 million. Never mind that he declared himself a billionaire as far back as 2008.
“I’m a very wealthy man,” Copeland told Inside Edition’s Lisa Guerrero in a viral 2016 interview. He said his wealth derived not from “offerings alone.” He pointed to “a lot of natural gas on our property.” Copeland, who also owns property outside of Tarrant County, didn’t say where his royalties came from.
“When you go back to the Bible, it’s full of wealth,” he told Guerrero.
A protégé of the late Oklahoma televangelist Oral Roberts, Copeland, 85, is a teetotaling Pentecostal preacher who speaks in tongues and can look almost maniacal on stage — like when he’s laughing at the notion that Joe Biden won the presidency or blowing the “wind of God” straight into the camera to snuff out covid-19.
Copeland’s church empire and wealth have generated attention in the media and Congress. In 2007, WFAA-TV’s Brett Shipp reported that Copeland used church-owned aircraft to visit vacation spots. Church officials have said previously that any plane trips made for non-church business are reimbursed.
Comedian John Oliver also skewered him on his show "Last Week Tonight" for his life of luxury. And the U.S. Senate Finance Committee put Copeland in its crosshairs during a probe sparked by allegations of possible misuse of donations by six top televangelist ministries.
In Tarrant County alone, Copeland’s Eagle Mountain International Church has at least 1,400 acres worth of land, buildings and personal property that are valued at almost $60 million, a Chronicle tally of online appraisal district records show.
Besides the religious tax breaks, much of the land carries agriculture exemptions, which dramatically lower the amount owed. Other non-exempt tracts owned by Copeland’s church are valued far below what one might expect for such a sought-after location on Eagle Mountain Lake, a playground for Fort Worth’s well-to-do.
As a result, the church faced a property tax liability of only $23,000 or so this year on that $60 million in property, online tax records show. That’s about what the owner of a $1 million home might expect to pay in taxes in Houston.
Among the tax-free church property are several aircraft worth over $19 million. The church has argued to county appraisers — successfully — that the planes play a vital role in its religious mission.
Copeland’s church made a 2018 video requesting donor help to rig out and store one of his jets — a Gulfstream V he bought from Hollywood producer and actor Tyler Perry.
“Praise God!” he said after the plane arrived on the tarmac outside his tax-free hangar. “Isn’t that good?”
Fighting the county
Copeland’s Eagle Mountain International Church is no stranger to disputes with the Tarrant Appraisal District in Fort Worth — or getting its way.
After the appraisal district set the parsonage’s market value at $10.8 million in 2020, the church protested, and it was lowered back to $7 million this year, according to Law, the chief appraiser. That’s more than $1 million below its 2008 value when adjusted for inflation.
Having a total exemption means the church would pay zero in taxes regardless of the value affixed by county appraisers. So why did Copeland’s church fight the nearly $11 million parsonage value? The chief appraiser speculated the church wants to keep the value low in case it ever loses the exemption.
Evans, the Trinity Foundation activist who has tracked Copeland’s tax-free wealth for decades, has a different theory.
“It makes sense that they would want their tax appraised value to be low so their congregants don't think they're living too extravagantly,” Evans said.
It’s not the only time Copeland’s church has prevailed in a tangle with county appraisers.
In 2008, the district denied an exemption on the church’s Cessna 550 jet after it refused to comply with a routine request to provide a list of salaries, which appraisers wanted in order to ensure the compensation was “reasonable” as the tax code requires.
The church sued.
“Salary information is confidential and not subject to disclosure,” its lawsuit said.
Law recalled the dispute came just as U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, was bearing down hard on Copeland’s lavish living and possible misuse of donations. The chief appraiser said the church was vigorously fighting any disclosure of compensation details.
The most recent and publicly available salary information the appraisal district got for Eagle Mountain International Church dates back to 1995, when Copeland, his wife and family members had been paid $1.5 million. Grassley’s committee wanted more up-to-date figures, but the church balked.
“They knew that if they provided it to us, for exemption application purposes, that it would be public information,” Law said, “and Senator Grassley could get his hands on that information.”
Then, suddenly, Law said the state comptroller’s office in Austin changed its application and dropped language that instructs applicants to “attach a list of salaries and other compensation.” Soon thereafter the district settled the lawsuit after agreeing to accept an affidavit from the church’s CPA saying the salaries were reasonable, Law said.
Chris Bryan, spokesman for state Comptroller Glenn Hegar, said the decision to change the form, which was promulgated without the salary and compensation language in January 2011, preceded the current administration.
Law said his office no longer asks for salary information from religious groups.
One piece of information the appraisal district never bothered to ask Copeland’s church: what clergy member lives in the parsonage on the lake. Nor could the appraisal district provide any records showing Eagle Mountain International Church has ever been asked to reapply for the parsonage tax exemption it first got 21 years ago.
Other churches have faced far more scrutiny. Some have been asked periodically to reapply for their parsonage exemption. And in letter after letter to clergy residence applicants, the appraisal district in Fort Worth warns religious organizations they will lose their exemption unless they say who lives there and how they’re connected to the ministry.
“Give the name of the person who resides at this property. Where did this person live before moving to this location? Give the name and location of the church,” the Tarrant Appraisal District demanded in a letter to New Hallelujah Church in 2010. “Unless you furnish this information within thirty days … the exemption must be denied.” The church complied.
Asked how his office was able to determine the house was dedicated to “the exclusive use as a dwelling place for the ministry,” as the Texas Constitution requires, without asking the church to provide the names of clergy members living there, Law replied: “That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer.”
But more than two decades after the appraisal district first granted a parsonage exemption to Copeland’s church, Law said he will be asking the ministry to reapply.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/unfair-burden/article/kenneth-copeland-wealth-pastor-tax-free-mansion-16662283.php
Showing posts with label Kenneth Copeland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kenneth Copeland. Show all posts
Dec 16, 2021
Jul 29, 2021
CultNEWS101 Articles: 7/29/2021(Book Launch. Kenneth Copeland, Prosperity Gospel, Creflo Dollar, David Oyedepo, Joel Osteen, NXIVM, Legal, ICSA Event)
Book Launch. Kenneth Copeland, Prosperity Gospel, Creflo Dollar, David Oyedepo, Joel Osteen, NXIVM, Legal, ICSA Event
Description - Book Launch Q & A: Culted Child: The True Story of a Daughter Disciple, Maria D. Peregolise. "Culted Child" and its website, presents a true story & research on cults, spiritual abuse, narcissistic behavior, memory loss, etc. with links, books, & articles from qualified sources: Ph.D., LMFC, Psychology Today, F.B.I., ICSA, etc.Time: Jul 31, 2021 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3678063940
Meeting ID: 367 806 3940
The Citizen: A peek at the system churning out super-rich pastors
"These are by no means inconspicuous, as they are often seen donning flashy attires, living in luxurious mansions, and driving expensive cars. They are usually flanked by half a dozen or more security men with dark glasses, and some even own multiple private jets. They are important people, and they want you to know it.The world has a new breed of preachers – the superrich pastors.These are by no means inconspicuous, as they are often seen donning flashy attires, living in luxurious mansions, and driving expensive cars. They are usually flanked by half a dozen or more security men with dark glasses, and some even own multiple private jets. They are important people, and they want you to know it.The richest of them is Kenneth Copeland. Living in a $20 million mansion, and owning a $36 million jet, Copeland is the poster boy for superrich preachers. In fact, with an estimated net worth of at least $300 million, no one else comes close. While names such as Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes, TB Joshua, Joel Osteen, and Benny Hinn are more recognizable, those in the know understand who the true prosperity gospel patriarchs are, and Copeland ranks very highly.The second name in the list of who is who among the superrich pastors is possibly the most interesting one, and that is the Nigerian megachurch pastor, Dr David Oyedepo. A university lecturer-turned-preacher, Dr Oyedepo presides over a ministry with branches in 65 countries. He is a founder and president of Covenant University, Landmark University, Faith Academy, and over 150 secondary schools, and presides over one of the largest churches in the world, with an auditorium that can sit at least 50,000 people. He has a net worth of $150 million.It is difficult for those beyond Pentecostal circles to understand how powerful these preachers are. In a world full of misery and pain, these preachers offer a remarkably appealing alternative, so it's no wonder that many respond to their message. However, at some point we must ask, how does a person who calls himself a full-time minister amass that kind of wealth?"
"Nancy Salzman, former NXIVM president and the one-time ally of Keith Raniere, now calls Raniere "likely a psychopath" and says she did not protect her daughter, Lauren Salzman, from him.NEW YORK – In a letter to a federal judge seeking leniency for her daughter, former NXIVM president Nancy Salzman said she failed to shield Lauren Salzman from Keith Raniere — a man she now describes as a "sexual predator, a narcissist and likely a psychopath."Nancy Salzman, who co-founded the cult-like personal growth organization in Colonie with Raniere in 1998, told Senior U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis to "please consider how young Lauren was when she met Keith and my personal failure as a mother to protect her and guide her."Lauren Salzman, whose crimes include her role in Raniere's confinement of a Mexican woman to a room in her parent's townhouse for nearly two years simply because the woman kissed another man, pleaded guilty in 2019 to racketeering and racketeering conspiracy."
International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA): 2021 Conference is Still Available
The 2021 online annual conference was a great success, with more than 425 attendees!! If you missed it, no problem, because for the FIRST TIME EVER -- you have the opportunity to watch 65 conference session recordings until August 15, 2021!
News, Education, Intervention, Recovery
Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.
CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
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Cults101.org resources about cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations and related topics.
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Please forward articles that you think we should add to cultintervention@gmail.com.
Jul 20, 2021
A peek at the system churning out super-rich pastors
July 8, 2021
Nigerian megachurch pastor, Dr David Oyedepo
These are by no means inconspicuous, as they are often seen donning flashy attires, living in luxurious mansions, and driving expensive cars. They are usually flanked by half a dozen or more security men with dark glasses, and some even own multiple private jets. They are important people, and they want you to know it.
The world has a new breed of preachers – the superrich pastors.
These are by no means inconspicuous, as they are often seen donning flashy attires, living in luxurious mansions, and driving expensive cars. They are usually flanked by half a dozen or more security men with dark glasses, and some even own multiple private jets. They are important people, and they want you to know it.
The richest of them is Kenneth Copeland. Living in a $20 million mansion, and owning a $36 million jet, Copeland is the poster boy for superrich preachers. In fact, with an estimated net worth of at least $300 million, no one else comes close. While names such as Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes, TB Joshua, Joel Osteen, and Benny Hinn are more recognizable, those in the know understand who the true prosperity gospel patriarchs are, and Copeland ranks very highly.
The second name in the list of who is who among the superrich pastors is possibly the most interesting one, and that is the Nigerian megachurch pastor, Dr David Oyedepo. A university lecturer-turned-preacher, Dr Oyedepo presides over a ministry with branches in 65 countries. He is a founder and president of Covenant University, Landmark University, Faith Academy, and over 150 secondary schools, and presides over one of the largest churches in the world, with an auditorium that can sit at least 50,000 people. He has a net worth of $150 million.
It is difficult for those beyond Pentecostal circles to understand how powerful these preachers are. In a world full of misery and pain, these preachers offer a remarkably appealing alternative, so it’s no wonder that many respond to their message. However, at some point we must ask, how does a person who calls himself a full-time minister amass that kind of wealth?
To start with, it is important to recognize that there is a reason why this has become almost an exclusively Pentecostal (or Charismatic) phenomenon. It comes down to their understanding (or possibly misunderstanding) of certain doctrines.
Firstly, proponents of prosperity gospel preach that faith is a ticket to wealth and health. Thus, believers are called upon to exercise their faith by giving generous gifts as ‘seeds of faith’. While giving is nothing new, one doesn’t need to be a theologian to understand that Jesus’ apostles were quite poor, and often needed assistance. Have these modern preachers uncovered something that the apostles didn’t know? Something is not being said and, as a result, millions give sacrificially to people who only get richer and richer.
Secondly, since Pentecostals believe that God works miracles through prayers, they believe that there are some who have been ‘anointed’ to do more of that. That is, they have special divine unction to overcome obstacles of life. Thus, the anointment is the Pentecostal holy grail – and one of the ways of achieving it is by giving to those who are already uniquely anointed. So, if you have thousands of followers who consistently offer gifts to you to tap into ‘your’ anointing, it is only a matter of time before you start to swim in immense wealth.
Thirdly, beyond the two doctrines, many of the megachurch pastors are voluminous writers, a fact which helps to take their message far and wide. It is also a powerful way to create wealth. Often, they use their churches as exclusive distribution networks that guarantee millions of sales. For example, Bishop Oyedepo has published over 70 books, which are exclusively being sold in hundreds of churches across 65 nations. That’s a money-spinning sweet spot. While there is nothing wrong in getting royalties for one’s work, there is a problem in using one’s community as personal property.
Finally, there is a reprehensible lack of financial accountability in many Pentecostal churches, especially the non-institutional ‘ministry’ types. As generous as people are, they are never informed how the collections are used. Often, that is a loophole that unscrupulous ministers use to enrich themselves. I know of two cases in Tanzania where people contributed to the building of churches while no one knew where the sites were or where the money went! While many red flags are being ignored, sometimes the answers are not so direct.
For example, how do you explain a situation where a preacher who has four jets (a true story) asks his followers to send donations for him to purchase a fifth one? To many, that is a red flag, but what good is a prosperity preacher who doesn’t show off his blessings? The more people see and believe that God is working through him, the more they will want to tap into that stream of blessings by sending him money! You have to think like a Pentecostal to understand the system.
Now, we should not generalize that all pastors are unscrupulous swindlers, or that all givers are mindless zombies. That is simply not true. Moreover, we should not generalize that all millionaire pastors are corrupt. Many may simply be beneficiaries of the system that created them. However, we have to point out that there is something wrong with a system that is designed to enrich ministers while ignoring suffering members.
That system needs to be changed.
https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/oped/a-peek-at-the-system-churning-out-super-rich-pastors-3465350
Apr 16, 2020
CultNEWS101 Articles: 4/16/2020
ICSA Webinar, Trauma, Israel, Covid-19, ultra-Orthodox, Kenneth Copeland, Scientology, Life Tabernacle Church
ICSA: "Cult Recovery and Family Support NOT Cancelled!" Webinar Series Expanded
Thursday 04/16/2020, 12 PM EST (LIVE Presentation with Q & A)
"Mid crisis considerations for LGBTQ former members of cultic and fundamentalist groups, and healing after reparative therapy"
Colleen Logan and Cyndi Matthews
Link to join: https://zoom.us/j/493693433
And
Thursday 04/16/2020, 8pm EST (LIVE Presentation With Q & A)
"Impact of COVID-19 on Former Cult Members"
Bill and Lorna Goldberg
Link to join: https://zoom.us/j/493693433
Friday 04/17/2020, 12 PM EST (LIVE Presentation with Q & A)
"Spiritual practices during uncertain times; spiritual abuse and transgender individuals"
Mark Wingfield and Cyndi Matthews
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And
Friday 04/17/2020, 8 PM EST (LIVE Presentation with Q & A)
"Parenting"
Eva Mackey
Link to join: https://zoom.us/j/493693433
Saturday 04/18/2020, 12 PM EST (LIVE Presentation with Q & A)
"Don't Waste your Quarantine. Recovery Strategies for Former Members During the Coronavirus Crisis."?
Doug and Wendy Duncan
Link to join: https://zoom.us/j/493693433
Monday 04/20/2020
12 PM EST (LIVE Presentation with Q & A)
"Coping With Domestic Abuse in COVID -19"
Elizabeth Burchard
Link to join: https://zoom.us/j/493693433
A conversation with psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton."Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton is a friend, colleague, mentor, and fellow explorer of psychological trauma. Whereas my work has developed from the intimate perspective of sexual and domestic violence, his work has come from the global perspective of nuclear war and totalitarianism. We spoke about how his work in Hiroshima helps us understand the psychological impact of the current pandemic."
"Early this week, the streets of the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak were bustling with shoppers as ultra-Orthodox residents, obeying their religious leaders, ignored pleas to stay home in the face of the coronavirus threat.By Friday, Bnei Brak had become the country's worst hot spot and now resembles a ghost town. The military will soon be sending troops in to assist local authorities. One expert estimated that nearly 40% of the city's population might already have been infected.The city has become a lightning rod for anger and frustration by some secular Israelis who allege insular Haredi communities — with disproportionately high numbers of confirmed cases — are undermining national efforts to contain the virus."
"Kenneth Copeland's net worth is $300 million. But how did he amass such massive wealth?Copeland ranked number one on the list of richest pastors. Included in the list are Christian Broadcasting Network's Pat Robertson, This Is Your Day's Benny Hinn, Lakewood Church's Joel Osteen, American Word of Faith's Creflo Dollar and Southern Baptist minister Billy Graham, among others."
Tampa Bay Times: Clearwater chief inspects Scientology for coronavirus compliance
"No violations are found during an unannounced visit Tuesday by Police Chief Dan Slaughter. The inspection followed sightings of crowded buses used by church staff.On Tuesday, Police Chief Dan Slaughter showed up to Scientology's Fort Harrison Hotel unannounced to inspect the buildings and ensure Scientology was complying with measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Over a 30-minute tour of the church's Fort Harrison Hotel and its Flag Building, Slaughter said he observed multiple locations with surgical masks, gloves and sanitizer; no groups congregating in common areas; a closed hotel pool; and employees standing six feet apart while waiting in line in dining areas.Slaughter also said he observed buses on Monday and Tuesday occupied with less than 15 people."My goal was to get this resolved, whether it was a problem or not," Slaughter said. "I think they are doing a pretty darn good job in this particular scenario based on what I saw."Bunker called the check "a good first step" in his desire to see the city more proactively scrutinize the practices of Scientology amid decades of allegations of fraud and abuse. But he said he also would like the city to go further by keeping an eye on the housing units occupied by Scientology Sea Org members. The units are not subject to scrutiny under the county's safer at home order because they are the workers' homes. So distancing guidelines would not officially apply."
"The former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice lends his support to Life Tabernacle Church.The former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice lends his support to Life Tabernacle Church.Conservative lightning rod Roy Moore, the former chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court, took to the pulpit Thursday to back a Louisiana church defying state orders against mass gatherings.Moore appeared at Life Tabernacle Church in the city of Central to lend his support and advice to Pastor Tony Spell, who faces misdemeanor charges for his continued flouting of state bans on large gatherings in response to the coronavirus pandemic."There is no more clear violation of the First Amendment than this prohibition to assemble in a church," Moore said.Spell is facing summonses for the six services he has held since March 16, when Gov. John Bel Edwards announced an order against gatherings of more than 50 people. Spell said he hosted about 500 worshippers at a service Sunday at the church in Central, a city of nearly 29,000 near Baton Rouge.Moore chided Edwards on Thursday and praised the governors of Texas and Florida for labeling religious institutions as essential services."The Texas governor has opened churches for worship, no social distancing, nothing, assembly in the church. And just today, Florida did the same thing," Moore said to shouts of "hallelujah" in the room. 'It is very wrong for anyone to issue an order that you can't assemble in a church.'"
News, Education, Intervention, Recovery
Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.
CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources.
Cults101.org resources about cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations and related topics.
Selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not mean that Patrick Ryan or Joseph Kelly agree with the content. We provide information from many points of view in order to promote dialogue.
Feb 6, 2018
Flu season is all in our heads, Texas televangelist says: 'Inoculate yourself with the word of God'
Julieta Chiquillo
Dallas News
February 6, 2018
More than 70 people are dead in North Texas after one of the worst bouts of flu in recent years.
But Tarrant County televangelist Gloria Copeland, a faith adviser to President Donald Trump, wants you to know there is no such thing as flu season.
"We got a duck season, a deer season, but we don't have a flu season," she said in a Facebook video posted last week that's making headlines. "And don't receive it when somebody threatens you with, 'Everyone's getting the flu!'"
She went on: "Jesus himself gave us the flu shot. He redeemed us from the curse of flu."
It's unclear whether Copeland was crediting Jesus with the development of the flu vaccine or suggesting that getting a flu shot is unnecessary. A representative for her family's organization, Kenneth Copeland Ministries, couldn't be reached by phone and didn't immediately return an email seeking comment.
Gloria Copeland's prescription for avoiding the flu is to tell yourself that you won't get sick.
"If you say, 'Well, I don't have any symptoms of the flu,' well, great, that's the way it's supposed to be," she says in the video. "Just keeping saying that. 'I'll never have the flu. I'll never have the flu.' Put words. Inoculate yourself with the word of God."
Gloria Copeland, her husband and their daughter have expressed skepticism or antagonism toward vaccines and medicine in the past.
During a televised broadcast about seven years ago, Kenneth Copeland challenged whether his great-grandson needed vaccines recommended by doctors.
"All of the shots and all this stuff they wanted to put in his body ... some of it is criminal," he said. "We need to be a whole lot more serious about this ... you don't take the word of the guy trying to give the shot about what's good and what isn't."
Eagle Mountain International Church, led by the Copelands' daughter Terri Pearsons in Tarrant County, was scrutinized in 2013 when its congregants were exposed to measles after a visitor who had been overseas attended a service.
Of the 21 people linked to the church who contracted measles, 16 were not vaccinated, The Associated Press reported. The others may have had at least one vaccination but had no documentation.
Pearsons reacted quickly. The church hosted vaccination clinics that she advertised in a sermon.
"I mean I would encourage you to do that. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing that," Pearsons said about getting vaccinated. "Go do it, go do it, you know, go do it and go in faith."
But in a statement, she said she had some reservations about vaccines for "very young children with a family history of autism," hinting belief in a discredited study that linked vaccines to autism.
The wealthy Copelands were featured in a 2015 segment in the HBO show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver that accused televangelists of taking advantage of vulnerable followers. The show played an interview with the daughter of a Louisiana woman named Bonnie Parker who said Parker had refused to seek medical treatment for her cancer because of the Copelands' teachings.
Oliver told viewers that Parker had not unreasonably interpreted the sermons. He played a clip of Gloria Copeland preaching.
"We know what's wrong with you. You got cancer. The bad news is we don't know what to do about it, except give you some poison that will make you sicker," she said. "Now, which do you want to do? Do you want to do that, or do you want to sit in here on a Saturday morning, hear the word of God, let faith come into your heart and be healed?"
The 2017-18 flu season has temporarily shut down school districts and sent many people to emergency rooms and urgent care centers. One Fort Worth man lost nine fingers and both feet due to flu complications, according to KXAS-TV (NBC5).
In her Facebook video, Gloria Copeland prays for healing.
"Flu, I bind you off of the people in the name of Jesus," she says.
The televangelist, who along with her husband is a member of Trump's evangelical advisory board, knows there are skeptics. She addresses them in a post on the Kenneth Copeland Ministries website titled "God's Medicine."
"Sometimes people ask, 'If God's medicine works every time, why are there so many believers who are still sick?' There are two reasons," Gloria Copeland wrote. "No. 1, because they don't take the time to plant the Word concerning healing deeply into their hearts. And No. 2, because they don't do what that Word tells them to do."
https://www.dallasnews.com/life/faith/2018/02/06/flu-season-heads-texas-televangelist-says-inoculate-word-god
Dallas News
February 6, 2018
More than 70 people are dead in North Texas after one of the worst bouts of flu in recent years.
But Tarrant County televangelist Gloria Copeland, a faith adviser to President Donald Trump, wants you to know there is no such thing as flu season.
"We got a duck season, a deer season, but we don't have a flu season," she said in a Facebook video posted last week that's making headlines. "And don't receive it when somebody threatens you with, 'Everyone's getting the flu!'"
She went on: "Jesus himself gave us the flu shot. He redeemed us from the curse of flu."
It's unclear whether Copeland was crediting Jesus with the development of the flu vaccine or suggesting that getting a flu shot is unnecessary. A representative for her family's organization, Kenneth Copeland Ministries, couldn't be reached by phone and didn't immediately return an email seeking comment.
Gloria Copeland's prescription for avoiding the flu is to tell yourself that you won't get sick.
"If you say, 'Well, I don't have any symptoms of the flu,' well, great, that's the way it's supposed to be," she says in the video. "Just keeping saying that. 'I'll never have the flu. I'll never have the flu.' Put words. Inoculate yourself with the word of God."
Gloria Copeland, her husband and their daughter have expressed skepticism or antagonism toward vaccines and medicine in the past.
During a televised broadcast about seven years ago, Kenneth Copeland challenged whether his great-grandson needed vaccines recommended by doctors.
"All of the shots and all this stuff they wanted to put in his body ... some of it is criminal," he said. "We need to be a whole lot more serious about this ... you don't take the word of the guy trying to give the shot about what's good and what isn't."
Eagle Mountain International Church, led by the Copelands' daughter Terri Pearsons in Tarrant County, was scrutinized in 2013 when its congregants were exposed to measles after a visitor who had been overseas attended a service.
Of the 21 people linked to the church who contracted measles, 16 were not vaccinated, The Associated Press reported. The others may have had at least one vaccination but had no documentation.
Pearsons reacted quickly. The church hosted vaccination clinics that she advertised in a sermon.
"I mean I would encourage you to do that. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing that," Pearsons said about getting vaccinated. "Go do it, go do it, you know, go do it and go in faith."
But in a statement, she said she had some reservations about vaccines for "very young children with a family history of autism," hinting belief in a discredited study that linked vaccines to autism.
The wealthy Copelands were featured in a 2015 segment in the HBO show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver that accused televangelists of taking advantage of vulnerable followers. The show played an interview with the daughter of a Louisiana woman named Bonnie Parker who said Parker had refused to seek medical treatment for her cancer because of the Copelands' teachings.
Oliver told viewers that Parker had not unreasonably interpreted the sermons. He played a clip of Gloria Copeland preaching.
"We know what's wrong with you. You got cancer. The bad news is we don't know what to do about it, except give you some poison that will make you sicker," she said. "Now, which do you want to do? Do you want to do that, or do you want to sit in here on a Saturday morning, hear the word of God, let faith come into your heart and be healed?"
The 2017-18 flu season has temporarily shut down school districts and sent many people to emergency rooms and urgent care centers. One Fort Worth man lost nine fingers and both feet due to flu complications, according to KXAS-TV (NBC5).
In her Facebook video, Gloria Copeland prays for healing.
"Flu, I bind you off of the people in the name of Jesus," she says.
The televangelist, who along with her husband is a member of Trump's evangelical advisory board, knows there are skeptics. She addresses them in a post on the Kenneth Copeland Ministries website titled "God's Medicine."
"Sometimes people ask, 'If God's medicine works every time, why are there so many believers who are still sick?' There are two reasons," Gloria Copeland wrote. "No. 1, because they don't take the time to plant the Word concerning healing deeply into their hearts. And No. 2, because they don't do what that Word tells them to do."
https://www.dallasnews.com/life/faith/2018/02/06/flu-season-heads-texas-televangelist-says-inoculate-word-god
Jan 8, 2016
Live long and prosper – it’s what God really wants
Andrew Brown
The Guardian
January 6, 2016
It is easy to mock the YouTube debate between prosperity gospel preachers over their private jets, but their belief that wealth is a literal teaching of the Bible is shared by billions
There is a gripping discussion taking place between two multimillionaires on YouTube about how many private planes they ought to own. One of them describes commercial airliners as "demon-infested tubes", which must resonate with anyone who has travelled in economy class with small children. But still, "demon infested"?
This is actually a clue to their profession, for both men are leaders of the "prosperity gospel" movement, a branch of Pentecostal Christianity that holds that believers will get rich if they just want to do so enough.
Kenneth Copeland and Jesse Duplantis defending their private jets The roots of the movement are in the southern states of the US: the two preachers discussing their private jets on YouTube, Kenneth Copeland and Jesse Duplantis, have southern accents so thick you could drip them on pancakes. But it has spread around the world, and is found all over Africa, Australia, and Europe. There are tens of millions of followers, possibly hundreds of millions, but it is a phenomenon almost invisible to the mainstream media.
One of the most successful and respectable prosperity gospel preachers, Joel Osteen, claims 7 million viewers of his TV channel – but the most successful, Joyce Meyer, purports to have more than 3 billion people follow her on the web. She does not in fact have a church building or a congregation, but makes her money from merchandising and personal appearances. Faith in your own propaganda is an essential part of the armour of a prosperity gospeller. It has certainly worked for Meyer, who also flies around the world in a private jet and once paid herself and her husband nearly $1.4m in "compensation packages" (of which any personal use of the plane was deducted).
Facebook Twitter Pinterest 'Joel Osteen claims 7 million viewers of his TV channel.' Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters The prosperity gospel arose from the earlier strains of Pentecostal fundamentalism that spread through the Bible belt in the 40s and 50s, under the influence of evangelists such as Oral Roberts. Their shows were more about physical healing than wealth, but they depended on the literal interpretation of certain biblical texts – as did the wider Pentecostal movement, which could claim that its ecstatic prayer in tongues was the fulfilment of God's promises immediately in the believers' lives.
The same style of apparently literal interpretation of certain Old Testament passages gave rise to the end time fantasies which have given pleasure and comfort to millions since 1844, but the prosperity gospellers concentrated on passages which suggest that God wants his followers to be rich, and promises them that they will be if they merely have enough faith.
Although the popular image of the prosperity gospellers is of a few immensely rich people living off the faith of hundreds of thousands of poor ones, Kate Bowler, a Canadian academic who has written a book about the movement, says that this is misleading. Many of the congregations who give so generously can afford to do so. At one gathering of the Nazarene Church she attended, there was a tithing line for those giving $100,000. "They are very specific about asking doctors and lawyers and so on to act as pastors."
For her, the appeal of the prosperity gospel in the US is that it explains and "baptises" what people already have. The churches "sanctify ambition", Bowler says, which is clearly a recipe for success in an ambitious society, but beyond that, they make God personal. Joyce Meyer's website offers insight into the "character" of God, as if he were a person to manipulate. According to Bowler: "The prosperity gospel is willing to be incredibly specific about the benefits that faith can provide. You get an overwhelming sense that God cares about the details of your life, your health, your kids' happiness, your husband's promotion – that there's nothing lost in this world, that there's nothing God doesn't care about."
This is, of course, common to all forms of evangelical Christianity. The kind of Christian who prays for a parking space is a familiar object of mockery to the other kinds. What the prosperity gospellers added to this kind of piety was the belief that God would be bound to respond if the prayer was rightly phrased. Bowler says that the movement harks back to deism – the 18th century idea, much influenced by the discovery of Newton's laws, that God set the universe in motion following the laws that science could discover. But the movement adds to that the confidence that humans can turn these laws to their own advantage: "The prosperity gospel is a theodicy. It is an elegant explanation for the problem of evil and for why some people are happy and others are not." Bowler says the doctrine preaches that there are endlessly repeatable laws that even God has to abide by.
Of course, by the standards of mainstream Christian orthodoxy this claim is simply blasphemous – almost as blasphemous as the claim that Jesus was a rich man (and employed Judas as his treasurer) or that virtue will be rewarded in this world. But then it's doubtful that many or even most Christians have ever been entirely orthodox. And private jets are so much more convincing than angels' wings.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/06/god-prosperity-gospel-youtube-kenneth-copeland-jesse-duplantis
The Guardian
January 6, 2016
It is easy to mock the YouTube debate between prosperity gospel preachers over their private jets, but their belief that wealth is a literal teaching of the Bible is shared by billions
There is a gripping discussion taking place between two multimillionaires on YouTube about how many private planes they ought to own. One of them describes commercial airliners as "demon-infested tubes", which must resonate with anyone who has travelled in economy class with small children. But still, "demon infested"?
This is actually a clue to their profession, for both men are leaders of the "prosperity gospel" movement, a branch of Pentecostal Christianity that holds that believers will get rich if they just want to do so enough.
Kenneth Copeland and Jesse Duplantis defending their private jets The roots of the movement are in the southern states of the US: the two preachers discussing their private jets on YouTube, Kenneth Copeland and Jesse Duplantis, have southern accents so thick you could drip them on pancakes. But it has spread around the world, and is found all over Africa, Australia, and Europe. There are tens of millions of followers, possibly hundreds of millions, but it is a phenomenon almost invisible to the mainstream media.
One of the most successful and respectable prosperity gospel preachers, Joel Osteen, claims 7 million viewers of his TV channel – but the most successful, Joyce Meyer, purports to have more than 3 billion people follow her on the web. She does not in fact have a church building or a congregation, but makes her money from merchandising and personal appearances. Faith in your own propaganda is an essential part of the armour of a prosperity gospeller. It has certainly worked for Meyer, who also flies around the world in a private jet and once paid herself and her husband nearly $1.4m in "compensation packages" (of which any personal use of the plane was deducted).
Facebook Twitter Pinterest 'Joel Osteen claims 7 million viewers of his TV channel.' Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters The prosperity gospel arose from the earlier strains of Pentecostal fundamentalism that spread through the Bible belt in the 40s and 50s, under the influence of evangelists such as Oral Roberts. Their shows were more about physical healing than wealth, but they depended on the literal interpretation of certain biblical texts – as did the wider Pentecostal movement, which could claim that its ecstatic prayer in tongues was the fulfilment of God's promises immediately in the believers' lives.
The same style of apparently literal interpretation of certain Old Testament passages gave rise to the end time fantasies which have given pleasure and comfort to millions since 1844, but the prosperity gospellers concentrated on passages which suggest that God wants his followers to be rich, and promises them that they will be if they merely have enough faith.
Although the popular image of the prosperity gospellers is of a few immensely rich people living off the faith of hundreds of thousands of poor ones, Kate Bowler, a Canadian academic who has written a book about the movement, says that this is misleading. Many of the congregations who give so generously can afford to do so. At one gathering of the Nazarene Church she attended, there was a tithing line for those giving $100,000. "They are very specific about asking doctors and lawyers and so on to act as pastors."
For her, the appeal of the prosperity gospel in the US is that it explains and "baptises" what people already have. The churches "sanctify ambition", Bowler says, which is clearly a recipe for success in an ambitious society, but beyond that, they make God personal. Joyce Meyer's website offers insight into the "character" of God, as if he were a person to manipulate. According to Bowler: "The prosperity gospel is willing to be incredibly specific about the benefits that faith can provide. You get an overwhelming sense that God cares about the details of your life, your health, your kids' happiness, your husband's promotion – that there's nothing lost in this world, that there's nothing God doesn't care about."
This is, of course, common to all forms of evangelical Christianity. The kind of Christian who prays for a parking space is a familiar object of mockery to the other kinds. What the prosperity gospellers added to this kind of piety was the belief that God would be bound to respond if the prayer was rightly phrased. Bowler says that the movement harks back to deism – the 18th century idea, much influenced by the discovery of Newton's laws, that God set the universe in motion following the laws that science could discover. But the movement adds to that the confidence that humans can turn these laws to their own advantage: "The prosperity gospel is a theodicy. It is an elegant explanation for the problem of evil and for why some people are happy and others are not." Bowler says the doctrine preaches that there are endlessly repeatable laws that even God has to abide by.
Of course, by the standards of mainstream Christian orthodoxy this claim is simply blasphemous – almost as blasphemous as the claim that Jesus was a rich man (and employed Judas as his treasurer) or that virtue will be rewarded in this world. But then it's doubtful that many or even most Christians have ever been entirely orthodox. And private jets are so much more convincing than angels' wings.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/06/god-prosperity-gospel-youtube-kenneth-copeland-jesse-duplantis
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