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DISCUSSWhy Creflo Dollar Needs His Dollars
| 11/08/2007Every time we write about Creflo Dollar we have to point out that this is not one of those fake news articles we've sometimes managed to foist onto the public, and that the name Creflo Dollar was not used by Charles Dickens to describe a wheezing barrister in a pub, nor was it invented by a heavy-handed satirist attempting to lampoon a greedy Ukrainian.
No, Creflo Dollar is a real person, one of the six televangelists who got letters from the Senate Finance Committee on Monday, asking them to send in detailed accounting statements proving that they're not converting church money to their personal use.
More specifically, Creflo Dollar is the pastor of World Changers Church International of College Park, Georgia. Presumably he chose that name himself, completely free of fear that it would be soon be better known as Money Changers Church International by the 30,000 members who weekly enrich its coffers and make it possible for Creflo to maintain the two jets—one Gulfstream 3 and one Lear—that he uses to shuttle back and forth between Madison Square Garden (where he does a Saturday night service for an audience of 6,000) and Atlanta (where he does a Sunday morning service), not to mention occasional visits to his offices in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and Nigeria.
Creflo's wife Taffi Dollar—and here we remind you once again that we are not lapsing into fiction at any point during the creation of this article—Taffi Dollar is responsible for the household budget at the $3 million Dollar mansion in Atlanta, and the more modest $2.44 million Dollar condo overlooking Central Park in Manhattan.
Asked about the Dollar dollars by CBS News yesterday, Dollar said it was untrue that he had two Rolls-Royces (we'd actually heard it was two Rolls-Royces and one Humvee, but who's keeping track?)—that he only had one Rolls and it was given to him by his congregation as a surprise. He also said he did not give $500,000 of church funds to fellow "prosperity gospel" evangelist Kenneth Copeland on the occasion of Copeland's 40th wedding anniversary—although he did not say how much he did give—so we want to be very careful when we say that the annual budget for Dollar's operation, his overhead dollars, is about $80 million. (Note to Creflo: Get back to us if we're a little off on that number.)
The interesting aspect of this story, however, is that so many of these prosperity-gospel guys do funnel money back to Copeland in so many ways that it almost looks like a pyramid scheme. Actually that's too harsh—what it really resembles is the marketing structure of Mary Kay Cosmetics, set up so that every time a salesperson recruits another salesperson, he or she gets a cut of the commission. And the reason that all roads lead to Copeland—see our summary of Copeland's organization in the investigative cartooning feature "Lifestyles of the Rich and Religious"—is that he's the granddaddy of what goes by many names—like "positive confession"—but is most commonly called "Word Faith."
If you look for the theological origins of "Word Faith," you end up in Tulsa, of course, and specifically at RHEMA Bible College in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, which was founded by Kenneth E. "Papa" Hagin (1917-2003), the man who pretty much created the American-style health-and-wealth preaching so familiar from late-night television. Copeland was a student there, as well as at Oral Roberts University, which veers close to RHEMA in its theology but is not always on the same page. (Truth be told, every prosperity preacher is his own theology school, since part of the basis for the teaching is direct special revelation from God, which makes all these guys the heirs of the original gnostics.) But if RHEMA had a creed, it would go something like this:
- God's covenant with Abraham means that God has to deliver on his part of the deal, so anything you ask for in the name of Jesus, God is required to give you. (Should we quote some Janis Joplin lyrics here?)
- Man is equal to God in every respect. Or, in the words of Copeland, "You don't have a God in you! You are one!" (Tom Cruise would like this one.)
- Jesus was not the son of God, he was a man empowered by God to be just like God, and everyone who knows this can do the same thing. (We're not sure we have this one exactly right, but it's basically "Be Jesus, go ahead, He won't mind, you're soulmates.")
- Jesus went down into hell where he took on Satan's nature, until he was born again, and re-emerged to start the church. (Presumably they preach this one on Halloween.)
- Anything you speak and believe, with understanding, will come true just as you want it. (Yes, this seems like it's the same as number one, but that one is about what God has to do, and this one is about what you have to do. It's the "positive confession" part, the idea that your thought processes can command God to act.)
- God promises in Isaiah 53 to heal every physical illness of anyone who has faith. (As our mentor Ole Anthony once said, "Then why aren't there thousands of 200-year-old billionaires in Tulsa?")
- Any Christian who believes in poverty is outside God's will. (Well, take that, you cloistered loser in the hairshirt.)
There are more, but these are the biggies. I would imagine that at this point you're starting to see why taking away Creflo Dollar's dollars could amount to more than just a little lifestyle adjustment. It pretty much goes to the heart of the whole Kahuna.
I really envy the grace on dollas life. I am blessed by his ministry. pls, how can i get all his materials or teachings on faith?
N.A Jerry
A very funny article, but not half as funny as some of the posts. I think we can conclude with some certainty that most Christians are unable to differentiate a Shark from a Sheep. Creflo, Copeland, Hinn and Long are some of the more vicious of the sociopathic Sharks out there. They would eat children and pick their teeth with the bones if they could get away with it. But nothing will stop their obsessive accumulation of wealth, their continued theft in the guise of a blessing, their immodest and ostentatious lifestyles. I have tried reasoning with members of my own family, but they still give a sizable portion of their earnings to these disgusting crooks. These charlatans are the true successors of Pope Leo X, with the lie of the indulgence replaced by the lie of sowing the seed.
May Creflo, Copeland, Hinn, Long etc be punished appropriately, and may it hurt inside and out for a very, very long time.
By the way, Isaiah 13:3
I have commanded my holy ones; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath--those who rejoice in my triumph.
So there you have it, it's a Triumph.
That's a curse, pig.
It's a damn shame that in 2010 Black People remain so ignorant and
childlike that we would follow the likes of Pimp Eddie Long and
Pimp Creflo Dollar. Like all pimps, Dollar and Long are only
as successful as their whores. In this case the whore is the
blind, in denial, largely uneducated congregation. We as a race
haven't evolved from the thinking and emotional intelligence level
that existed when Pimps like Daddy Grace, Father Devine, Reverend Ike and others of their ilk were practicing their craft. In
reality these slick bastards were nothing more than heads of criminal enterprises. All in Gods Name. Black preachers are
major contributors to the enslavement of the black mind. But on
the other hand the black mind has been in full partnership. What a sorry mess. I'm reminded that "Man Remains Ignorant Because Of His Contempt For Investigation". Investigation is painful, time consuming, and requires honestly, courage, and humility. However; if one is fearful of the truth why would he investigate. Nothing changes when nothing changes. Pimp on Preachers.
WAKE UP BLACK PEOPLE. If you liberate your minds your asses
just might follow. I am a spiritual man who rejects all forms of religion. A man who understands the difference between
Spiritually and religion. Religion is for those who don't want to go to hell. Spirituallity is for those who have already been
there.
James K. Davis
North Kingstown, RI
"Spiritual means nothing. Most lost people say that.
Reading some of these comments, just amaze me. I cannot believe the harsh words people are writing. Where is the love for your neighbor, where is the consideration for people feelings. It's okay to expess your concern or dislike for something, but there is a way to get your point across without call names, or critisize about one's spelling. The bible says a soft answer. I guess I feel this way, because we call ourselves Christians, meaning Christ like.
What drives me crazy about him is that he is a preacher (a man of god)and he said that people who do not give the most tithing they can should be shot...the congregation pays him so thats what the majority of the money is going to, his jets,cars, his mansion ($ 3BILLION). so basically he is saying pay me or die (if he had it his way)...because lord know he needs it to hire some good ass lawyers to fight off all 3 counts of rape he is facing from men....some man of god...i say he needs to be shot..rapping kids.. disgusting. Im mormon and this just really grinds my gears...
When the bible says that Jesus said "Give and expect nothing in return" I believe that means from the person you give to. The bible talks about receiving 100 fold.From God. The biblical way is not to say to the homeless guy you gave to"you owe me something". But to turn to God and say something like "I gave him 20 dollars, now you owe me 2000". Now that's true preachin right there. Glory to God.
Jesus wouldn't drive anything cause he never even existed. The greed of religion is no different than the greed of any business. If you were all as close to god as you say you would not need or want any kind of car. I mean really you think your creator wants you polluting the atmosphere and world he created. Grow up and seek the truth. Humans are so weak and self indulgent sometimes it makes me sick.
CREFLO IS LYING STAELING SNAKE HE ALL REST OF THE LYING STAELING PREACHERS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN PIT VIPERS. SPEWING THEIR POSION VENOM ON YHWH THE MMOST HIGH GOD PEOPLES. YHWH IS GOING TO BRING YOU AND YOUR CHURCH DOWN CREFLO TALIKING A JESUS PEOPLES JESUS IS FALSE GOD THAT CAN NOT SAVE YOU. HOW COME HE CAN'T SAVE BISHOP EDDIE LONG YHWH THE MOST HIGH GOD IS EXPOSING HIM. AND HE GOING TO EXPOSE CREFLO AND MANY MORE. YHWH WILL STOP YOU PIT VIPERS FROM FEEDING OFF HIS PEOPLES HE WILL REMOVE HIS PEOPLES FROM YOUR CHURCHES. CREFLO AND HIS FAMILY LIVE OFF THE POOR PEOPLES BY STEALING THEIR MONEY. THEY ARE POOR AND HE IS RICH HOW LOW CAN YOU GO CREFLO. SOONER OR LATER YHWH WILL DEAL WITH BIG SHOT.
YHWH BLESS PEOPLES.
It is amazing how blind most of you are and how you think there is something to win or something to lose in battling each other. As if there is victory to be had over the other. The reality is no matter your belief or background all people have one thing in common, by nature are born completely and utterly selfishness. There are those of you who talk as if you are perfect, as if you never made a mistake and there are those of you look down of those that believe in God, all the while not seeing you yourself live in a world you created by your beliefs. Some of you believe in Aliens and yet no "scientific" evidence exists. Some of you believe in nothing and yet does "nothing" really exist? You act as if you are perfect while deferring blame to one another. You act as if you know something, while fail to learn the basic truth of the human condition. You are all religious zealots (including the so-called Atheists, they just don't know it). Preaching your warez with what you "feel" is right and yet most of you truly do not understand basic "internal self". Your lives are disasters and you wonder why? You have no love, no respect, no mercy toward your fellow man and because of this you do not get what you desire most, which is that very same love, respect, and mercy. What you "feel" is all you speak but it is irrelevant, it is only what you "choose" that has meaning or purpose. To love another person is a choice one must make, one doesn't "feel" it, you choose to sacrifice your time and energy for friends and family. As I've read some of these comments. I "feel" like hating you all. I "feel" ashamed of you. I "feel" like destroying you all if I had the power. BUT what I "feel" is wrong, but I choose is all that matters. I choose to be loviong and merciful. And because of this you "feel", right now, as if you want to destroy and kill me, because of one thing that most human beings just cannot stand to deal with and that is true sacrificial love. Oh sure, we think it is great in books, movies, and in Bible stories, but when it comes right down to it when it is time for you to choose... you will almost always choose "you". Oh yes! You'll want to confront what I've said here with some witty remark about how lame this is or how stupid I am, but you are only kidding yourself. You think the battle is with me, remember, you don't see the battle is actually within yourself. Because as you lay there in your bed at night, just before you fall asleep you come to the faint realization that you are alive, you have self-awareness, you will also feel the coldness of knowing that one day it will change. You will no longer exist in this world and some of you hope for more and some of you hope for nothing, but regardless all of you have hope in something rooted solely in "your" belief. It is true there is only one path to salvation and it is called Love. So when people are reminded to love one another with the ten commandments, or Bible Stories, or the Love Jesus showed his disciples, or through someone's prayer they react with such violence because those things force people to remember there is a higher standard. Who needs ten commandments in courthouses,if you live it then you are it? Who needs to have State sanctioned prayer when you can pray any time any where within your heart? So look into yourself for a change, deal with the realities of your selfishness and ego and confront it if you truly want to be free. Peace!
Creflo is a blessed man. He has a gift and surely God speaks thru him. He is a great teacher.
What we should pay attention to is what comes out of his mouth. What ever else is between him and God, his riches or anything else that defines him is none of our business.
theres plenty of jim bakkers and jimmy swazarts out there who pray on the weak and needy. if you want to give your money away give it to the sick and poor not money hungery 2 jets, a mansion, millions overseas----why does our gov. let them use people like that -please GOD stop these greedy egoists. but, america you what them to have it all money can send it to them
theres plenty of jim bakkers and jimmy swazarts out there who pray on the weak and needy. if you want to give your money away give it to the sick and poor not money hungery 2 jets, a mansion, millions overseas----why does our gov. let them use people like that -please GOD stop these greedy egoists. but, america you what them to have it all money can send it to them
Creflo is a dynamic an charismatic speaker who inspires and teaches. His message is Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the litmus test that God will use when you face Him on the day of judgement. If you think tolerance is a form of love you are wrong! Love requires sacrifice. So even though someone close to you hurt you it is up to you to forgive them and forget it. Because by not forgetting it you have not forgiven it. God literally lives inside you. He knows what you are thinking and He is whispering to you " Love each other as I have loved you." If you are not born again you will not hear the message. IF you are not born again you will not see the truth. IF you are not born again- you will not have the power of the Holy Spirit to protect you. So if you want to live a blessed life, speak to others about the Gospel. And dont be suprised if those around you begin to HATE YOU because they are not saved. Hate is how Satan gets you to seperate yourself from the truth. Learn the truth it will set you free.
Let he who without sin cast the first stone.
You see we can go on and say a whole lot of things
About
these God serving men but it will never change one's circumstances unless one repents and turn to God
For the improvement of their finances if this is about money
But if not, shame on us.
Hey...I'll donate my 1997 Olds!
The God I believe in... isn't short of cash, Mister!
You know it all boils down to what you want to believe. If you want to believe it's godly to be poor, anxious, in fear, always depressed, that is your perogative.
I choose to be blessed, I leap for joy, I encourage myself. I believe in a God that saves, heals and delivers.
To each his own, some live beneath their benefits in Christ Jesus.
Thanks for the useful article with information useful
Mr. Dollar and the others listed here do live on my dime as their 'churches' do not pay taxes as I do but reap the benefits derived from taxpayers such as paved roads, police services, snow clearance, fire departments, etc. So when the 'churches' start paying taxes then I'll be impressed till then they credit nothing positive from me.
This best sums it up
http://rutube.ru/tracks/1183654.html?v=14618cc5c9fc8b045ff0be268c0c008a
PRAISE JEHOVAH -the Creator who blesses you for free!
Yeaa. . real nice, anomymous. . anyway. God's financial plan is a Spiritual thing, and clearly, you are not a Godly person, so we don't expect you to understand, just accept. Just accept. So what?? Why is this such a thorn in your side?? If you are an unbeliever, what do you care? Clearly nothing more than to cause damage. Not a good trait.
It is God that gives us the power to get wealth &
the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just,
so take care what seeds you will be reaping from with articles like this.
. . . . highly insulting and profoundly terse in their comments to theists, particularly Christians. I’ve encountered a few of them and they are vile, rude, and highly condescending. Their language is full of insults, profanity, and blasphemies. Basically, no meaningful conversation can be held with them.. . My thoughts on most of these posts.
I would like to partner with this ministry. How do I go about doing that?
I am waiting for you to back up your point of view with some scriptures.
We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, not on man. Pray for the gift of discernment.
Jesus is coming sooner than you may think. He will judge. Let's not judge the people who have the obedience and courage to carry out what God has told us all to do, and that is to win souls for the Kingdom of Heaven. Let's take a look in our own mirrors and learn to be obedient and find out what ministry God has in store for our own lives. I'm not suprised that people have so many hateful things to say about the people who are out there preaching the Word of God. After all, they talked about Jesus, spit on Him, beat Him, and called Him everything but a Child of God. If you don't have anything nice or productive to say, then don't say anything at all. And for the haters, if you think that you can do a better job, and you think you have it all right, then by all means do it. And you will find that people will say the same things about you. With all the preachers that are out there, the only thing you can really do, is pray for discernment and wisdom. We can't possibly know others' relationships with God nor have we been given any position to judge. We should pray about the things we don't understand and we should pray for other people and revelation of truth (The Word of God). Let us love one another as we love ourselves. Jesus didn't get up on that cross for nothing. His blood has redeemed us. We need to act like it so that His light on us can be seen by the ones who have no knowledge of the love of Christ and what he did for us. There are definitely preachers I'm not so sure about, but I would never call them by name. We are all works in progress no matter where we stand in our walks with God.. Stop judging other people. It is not our job nor should it be our concern. Are you doing what Jesus is asking you to do? Have you found out what that is? If not, we don't have time to worry about others in that respect. I can't say it enough...it's not our job to judge. Only God can do that because He knows it all. Here's to finding the Will of God in our own lives. Thank you Jesus!!! You are Worthy to be Praised!!!! Pray and confess.!!!! Yeah God!
We all fall short y'all. His sheep know His voice. If you don't like what some of the preachers are doing, then pray for them as opposed to displaying hate and disdain. None of us are better or worse than the next person. We're all filthy rags. Thank Jesus for a second chance!
Who is this guy "Anonymous" ?? He sure has a lot of comments. First he's "for" then "against" or are these people who are ashamed to put their name out there??? If you are ashamed then you need to remember, if you're ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of you in front of His Father.
If youre not a disciple of Jesus Christ, the savior of repentent souls, then there is no reason for you to fret over how much the followers of Mr Dollar donate to his church nor how much the church's board members allow Mr Dollar to live on. Its not your money and its not your church so quit yer tattle-tellin.
THE DEVIL GIVES WEALTH TOO, IF WE WORSHIP HIM REMEMBER WHEN HE TEMPTED THE SON OF GOD? AND SAID IF YOU BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP ME I'LL GIVE YOU ALL THIS KINGDOM? WEALTH DOESN'T NESSARLY COME FROM GOD...
The Word of God is not to be mocked.. Let God be the judge of a person's heart and how he uses the provision that He gives.. most of these ministers receive royalties on their books and ministry teacing cd's and the like.. but most of these articles want you to believe that they receive their money from the offering plate.. and also you should look at where the money from the ffering plate is actually going and you will see that these huge ministries have huge budgets because of the good works that they have all over the world giving much needed food and clothing, medicine and other things to help people with basic necessities for survival.. i would ask the question to each one of you naysayers, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD? Does your criticism help anyone but yourselves to feel better that your non loving non giving attitude towards others is justified by your hateful words and disdain towards Crefalo Dollar and others like Him who have given their whole lives to the preaching of the Gospel... If you look throughout scripture you will see how God blessed His own, and also how it id for the glory of God to firmly establish Hin ministers with every good thing to accomplish the ministry of Jesus Christ... i would venture to say that if everyone looked into their own motives for writting hurtful statements against these preachers it is probably out of Jealousy and envy... there is a well known scritpture that says, remove the plank out of your own eye before you try to remove the speck from anothers...
All of ya criticizin Dese Men of God are JOBLESS. U're Self Cönfident FOOLS. I'm sure u're IDLE and POOR. One advice: Be BORN AGAIN and look for something to do..... Critics.
The accepted Christian teaching of the Leash is not that the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit are functions, pass4sure 70-297 but are persons. He aswell confirms his position if he says for his own ablution “I acclimated to be a baptist, pass4sure 9A0-095 I got baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost which is none added than the name of Jesus” (tape on file). pass4sure 70-305 Whether Creflo subscribes to the leash is harder to say, as he has declared both positions ambagious the issue. This is a Oneness Pentecostal view, that they (a abnegation of persons) are alone roles (modes or functions?) pass4sure 70-668 More accurately this is the age-old agnosticism of Sabellian.
"Jesus Chrysler drives a Dodge"
Thou shalt not shout "get in the hole!" at a tournament, or surely the Lord your God shall curse thee and thy children to the third and fourth generation. I,ve advertise this post on my site...
The earth is the lords and the fullness there of.Wait until you get to heaven.You talk about wealth. Eyes have not seen. Ears have not heard.Man can not imagine what God has in store for him who believe. If you only believe!
The positive thinking can be emerged through continuing self train. This will definitely helps you to control yourself even when you are dissapointed the most. I did this many time and it seems works for me. exterior designer, architecture services, architectural design services
I can only speak on the matters concerning this matter that I have experienced myself. After the Baker ordeal I was very leary of televangelists altogether
I am a Christian and have grown moreso by leaps and bounds since I was blessed by watching daily Dr. Creflo Dollar on tv. I also partner with their ministry. The material things of this world pale in comparison to the blessings and peace in Christ I have found since regularly viewing his broadcast. I challenge those Christians
that see this to take the Creflo Challenge
I know that if you watched with an open heart his program you would
realise what we do, that he is a man of God and in my eyes a modern day prophet. He could have sold out and been a big shot television guru, and I have heard no complaints or inquiries about Oprah or Dr.Phil. How much money have they made under the guise of helping people? Money is only a tool, not a sin.
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