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While we may not agree with everything presented on the Shepherd Serve website, we felt this was a very good article and well documented. Forgotten Word Ministries
Silver and Gold Have I Quite a
Large Sum
by
David Servant
Some years ago I was admonished by
one of the wealthiest men in my city, a retired CEO of a huge
multi-national company, with the following words, "It is the
responsibility of guys like you to tell guys like me what God
expects of us, lest we not be ready to stand before Him one day." It
seemed, he elaborated, that too many preachers patronized "guys like
him," fearful of offending and hopeful of gaining something---and in
the process ultimately sealing the eternal doom of "guys like him."
Sobering words to a patronizing preacher like me (at the time).
Emboldened by that old admonition, I'd like to address the
subject of stewardship in the next few issues of HeavenWord.
This month I want to focus specifically on the questionable
example of stewardship being set by some spiritual
leaders---because the church follows its leaders. There isn't any
doubt in my mind that Jesus would address this issue if He were
personally preaching on the planet today, because when He was
preaching on the planet, He quite often made sobering statements
about stewardship, and He also exposed the money-loving spiritual
leaders of His day (see Matt. 23:14; Luke 16:13-15). Imitating
Christ, Paul also lamented that many in his day were "peddling the
word of God" (2 Cor. 2:17). He required that spiritual leaders be
"free from the love of money" (1 Tim. 3:3). Peter, too, warned
against false teachers who, motivated by greed, would exploit
believers with false words (see 2 Pet. 2:1-3).
Last
year I read Forbes Magazine's listing of some of the top-paid
leaders of non-profit organizations. Forbes obtained its
information from public records, primarily from the 990 forms that
must be filed annually by every U.S. non-profit organization (with
the exception of churches). The entire point of the 990 form is to
inform the public of the financial affairs of non-profit
organizations so that potential donors can make intelligent
decisions about contributions. The U.S. government believes donors
should have the right to know the salaries of those who head
non-profit organizations if those heads receive more than $50,000 in
annual compensation. All of the information about the salaries of
ministry leaders which I report in this article is derived from the
990 forms of the actual ministries headed by those ministry leaders.
I only report what the non-profits themselves have reported about
the salaries of those who head them.
Reading
Forbes' list, I wasn't surprised to see that
Paul Crouch, head of the
Trinity Broadcasting Network, was near the top, with an annual
salary of $409,306. His wife, Jan,
was paid $361,000. Making almost $3,000 per work day, they bring new
meaning to the phrase "daily bread." Public records also indicate
that they live in a five-million dollar, 9,500 square-foot house in
Newport Beach that has nine bathrooms, an elevator, a six-car
garage, tennis court and pool with fountain. But there is more. A
TBN-owned, 80-acres estate in Dallas is worth $10 million. And there
are 30 ministry-owned houses in California and scattered across the
country at the Crouch's disposal. They can easily travel to those
homes using the ministry's $7 million Canadair jet. (See
www.trinityfi.org/press/latimes04.html and
www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/138/21.0.html).
Naturally, the Crouches are under the frequent scrutiny of
Christian watchdog groups and the secular press. But they can ignore
their critics, as contributions continue to flow into their coffers.
And it isn't as if TBN actually needs money, as their own reported
financial data indicates they have $341 million in cash and
near-cash investments. Without collecting another dime, TBN could
continue just as it does for two-and-a-half years. (See
www.ministrywatch.com/mw2.1/pdf/MWDA_031805_TBN.pdf)
What is perhaps most amazing is not
the Crouch family, but the people who continue to funnel their
contributions to TBN. Although Jesus plainly told His followers not
to lay up treasures on earth and declared that those who do are full
of darkness, serving Mammon, and not serving God (Matt. 6:19-24),
and although Paul warned that no greedy person will inherit God's
Kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Eph. 5:3-5), people who profess to believe
in Jesus keep sending checks to TBN---headed by people who are
laying up treasures on earth, full of darkness, serving Mammon, and
whom Scripture says will not inherit God's kingdom.
Like most prosperity preachers these
days, the Crouches often report the good they are doing around the
world for the poor with some of the money contributed to TBN. But we
can't help but wonder, if they are so concerned about the poor, why
are they receiving salaries that put them in the top 1% of all
Americans, the top .001% of the world's population, and living in
very lavish luxury? Is this a picture of self-denial, something
Jesus said is required of all those who would follow Him (see Matt.
16:24)?
The
Crouches are not alone among prosperity preachers who frequently
report of the good that is being done for the poor by their
ministries. Many prosperity preachers do so as a means to motivate
people to give to to their ministries. ("Your gifts are not only are
helping us proclaim our life-changing message around the world, but
are also helping us care for orphans in Haiti. Please send your most
generous gift today!") Yet they themselves live extravagantly from
the contributions that are given to their ministries. Thus, in
reality, they are simply exploiting the poor as a means to
further exploit their constituency in order to further enrich
themselves. That is no exaggeration. Simply put, what should we
conclude about someone who motivates people to give to his ministry
using photos of impoverished Africans, but who keeps for himself
large sums of what is contributed in order to sustain an extravagant
lifestyle? Are we to think that such people go to heaven when they
die?
Perhaps
equally as troubling is the fact that also high on Forbes'
list were two men who head large Christian relief ministries
(ministries that are admittedly doing lots of good around the world
for the poor and worthy to be supported).
Richard Stearns, president of World Vision,
received $384,772 in annual compensation, and
Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse,
received $368,115. In one sense, what they are doing is of even
greater concern than what prosperity preachers are doing, because
prosperity preachers don't claim to be heading ministries whose
primary purpose is to help the poor. Yet World Vision and
Samaritan's Purse do. These organizations that are raising money
to help the poor are using a portion of what is being given to help
the poor to make those who head them incredibly rich.
Both
World Vision and Samaritan's Purse are charter members of
the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), which
makes that organization's stamp of approval seem rather meaningless
in my mind. How are such exorbitant salaries justified? It is
sometimes argued that if the very talented heads of these
organizations were working in corporate America, they could command
even larger salaries. But so what? Who, in any industry, is paid
based on what he could make in another field? I suspect that Jesus,
a fairly talented guy, could have made more money doing something
other than what He did when He was on the earth. He wasn't in it,
however, for the money. If the only way to attract the kind of
talent that is needed to head such ministries is through $375,000
salaries, then those who accept such positions are clearly in it for
the money, because they wouldn't take those positions otherwise.
It is
sometimes argued that only a small portion of every person's
donation ends up as part of the huge salaries of such ministry
heads. That is true, but that is not the point. Why must those
ministry heads receive so much money, especially money that is given
to help those suffering in deep poverty? If what they are doing is
justifiable and they aren't ashamed of it, I challenge them to
report their salaries openly in their ministry magazines along side
the photos of starving children. If they did, is it possible that
donations might drop? Not only are these individuals
accountable before God for their exorbitant salaries, but so are the
boards of directors who set their salaries.
Also
weighing in high on Forbe's list was
Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries at
$299,512 and Pat Robertson of
CBN at $306,293. There was Dennis
Rydberg, head of Young Life at $272,127,
Billy Graham at $451,707,
Wes Stafford of Compassion
International at $202,679, Chuck Colson
of Prison Fellowship at $218,614 and James
Robison of Life Outreach International at $195,500
(see
www.forbes.com/lists/2005/14/Revenue_1.html).
Other websites, using 990 forms as their source, reveal that
Peter Popoff of Peter Popoff Ministries made $425,019 and
R.C. Sproul of Ligonier Ministries made $221,576. (See
for yourself at:
www.charitynavigator.org and
www.guidestar.org.) I suspect that most of these
men would not want to be classed with typical prosperity preachers,
yet they make salaries that would make welter-weight prosperity
preachers salivate.
The
Christian Research Institute's 990 form indicated that president
Hank Hannegraaff, who is often
critical of prosperity preachers, earned a total of $280,331 in
2002. But his salary was only part of his perks. An 2003 article in
Christianity Today reported that the Evangelical Council for
Financial Accountability found fault with C.R.I., citing among other
things the ministry's purchase of a $66,000 Lexus for Hannegraaff's
use and $8,000 of ministry money used to purchase flooring for
Hannegraaff's house in a gated community (To see C.R.I.'s 990 form,
click here).
So I
hope I've made it clear that very high salaries are very common
among heads of many high-profile Christian ministries. Why, I
must ask, do these ministry heads need so much money? The
average household income in the U.S. (where just about everyone is
rich by world standards) is around $45,000. That means half of us
live on less than $45,000 a year.
It could
be argued that we have no right to judge these ministry heads,
because we don't know what they are doing with the sizable salaries
they receive. Perhaps they are giving all their money away. But we
do have some idea of what they are doing with their money from
looking at their lifestyles. And if they wanted to give a
significant percentage of their salaries away, they would do it
simply by taking a lesser salary, because that would enable them to
give away much more---due to the fact that they must pay
taxes on their incomes. Being in the highest tax brackets, as much
as half of what they receive goes to income taxes. Thus they could
give away considerably more by taking smaller salaries and
designating the reduced portion to charity. By doing so, they might
also give unbelievers less reason to be offended at the gospel,
those who otherwise might cynically reject it, convinced that those
who proclaim it are only in it for the money. These ministry heads
know that their salaries are a matter of public record. And before
anyone judges me for being judgmental, please read my article,
"Judge Not" by
clicking here. Christ commanded us to judge
all spiritual leaders (Matt. 7:15-23).
Forbes'
list doesn't include such well-known prosperity preachers as
Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer,
and Creflo Dollar, whose salaries are essentially hidden
from public view because their organizations obtained I.R.S.
designations as churches (which is certainly questionable for all of
them but Creflo Dollar). That means they don't have to reveal
publicly their financial data each year as do all other non-profit
organizations. But their lavish lifestyles are well documented. Some
of them even boast of their extravagant lifestyles in order to prove
how well their theology works. (Dallas
News report on Copelands $20 million jet)
(CBS
News on Benny Hinn)
Joyce
Meyer, for example, lives like a queen. The St. Louis
Dispatch reported, "Minutes of ministry board meetings show that
for 2002 and 2003, the board approved compensation packages of up to
$900,000 for Joyce Meyer and up to $450,000 for her husband." More
recently, she and her board cut her salary to a humble $250,000, but
she formed a private for-profit company from which she now receives
royalties from her many books, royalties that were previously
received by her ministry (see:
www.ministrywatch.org/mw2.1/F_SumRpt.asp?EIN=431382734).
Her ministry's financial report that is posted on her website
informs readers that besides her salary, her board also grants her
use of the "ministry-provided parsonage" (www.joycemeyer.org/projects/financial/FA_pg42.html).
It fails, however, to mention that the "ministry parsonage" is
10,000 square feet, has an 8-car garage, and is worth two million
dollars
(for a photo,
click here).
And this is not a two-million dollar home in Southern California,
but in Fenton, Missouri. Meyer also personally owns a $500,000
vacation home on Lake of the Ozarks with a $105,000 boat parked at
her dock.
John Hagee, television preacher and pastor of
Cornerstone Church in San Antonio---perhaps milder in his preaching
about wealth than other prosperity preachers but certainly not so in
practice---was paid a total of $1.3 million from his ministry (GETV)
and Cornerstone Church in 2003. Again, this is from GETV's own 990
form. According to a June, 2003 article in the San Antonio
Express-News, "Hagee and his wife are listed in the Bexar County
Appraisal District database as owners of their six-bedroom,
5,275-square-foot house in one of San Antonio's most exclusive gated
communities, The Dominion" (to read the San Antonio Express-News
article,
click here).
One common justification that some
popular televangelists, like both of those just mentioned, offer for
their sizable salaries is that their book and CD sales bring more
money into their ministries than they receive in salaries. So they
are supposedly giving more to their ministries than their ministries
are giving to them, because those books and CDs are products of
their personal labor. But they fail to acknowledge that the major
reason they sell so many books and CDs is because of the marketing
of those books and CDs on their TV shows and in their ministry
magazines, marketing that is primarily paid for by contributions
from donors. Without such exposure, sales would not be near as
brisk. A televangelist claiming that he is entitled to all the
profits from his books and CDs is like the CEO of McDonald's
ignoring the contributions of all McDonald's employees and
shareholders and claiming that he is entitled to all the profits
from the sale of his hamburgers.
Ministers who capitalize on their God-given
influence to obtain wealth put themselves in the same category as
Balaam, a for-profit prophet who is now in hell (2 Pet. 2:15; Jude
1:11). And isn't it true that Jesus could have capitalized on His
gifts and opportunities to make Himself immensely wealthy?
Beyond
all of this, does Christ's prohibition against laying up earthly
treasures have any application? Where are the modern
Christian leaders like John Wesley of old, who could have become
extremely wealthy from the sale of his books, but who lived very
simply and gave the large majority of the profits from his book
sales to charity? He did so out of obedience to Christ and died
owning very little.
The New Testament instructs
Christians not to associate with any so-called brother who is greedy
or covetous, just as it instructs Christians to not associate with
any so-called brother who is a homosexual, a drunkard, an idolater,
or an adulterer (see 1 Cor. 5:9-13). In order for Christians to obey
this very clear instruction, there must be some valid criteria they
can use to determine if someone is greedy. What could that criteria
be but the actions of those they evaluate? That being so, would it
be wrong to conclude that a spiritual leader is greedy if he accepts
a salary that puts him in the top .001% of the world's population
and uses that exorbitant salary primarily for his own extravagant
lifestyle? If the answer is yes (and what else could it be?), then
Scripture says we shouldn't associate with such a person. He brings
reproach to Christ, as his selfishness is the antithesis of
everything Christ taught and lived. If we shouldn't associate with
such a person, should we listen to his sermons and support his
ministry? (If you are among those who have been misled into
believing that greed is only an attitude of the heart that has
nothing to do with what one does with his money, please wait a month
before writing to correct me. I'll address that myth in next month's
article.)
Another
common justification for laying up immense earthly treasures by
spiritual leaders is that their luxuries were gifts from generous
donors. Creflo Dollar, for
example, says that the two Rolls Royces he drives were gifts, so he
can hardly be accused of greed for accepting gifts (To see the
New York Times' article,
click here).
How much better it would have been
if he had said to his confused benefactors, "Thank you for this
gift, but because I love Christ and I love you, I must tell you the
truth. By doing this, you are bringing a curse upon yourself. The
Bible promises, 'He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself,
or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty' (Prov. 22:16).
So let's sell these Rolls Royces and give the money to Jesus
incarnated in some of 'the least of these His brethren' who need
food and shelter. That way we can be sheep and not goats when we
stand before Jesus, and you can avoid bringing a curse upon yourself
on your way to that judgment."
Incidentally, the
curse of poverty that the Bible promises to those who give to the
rich is the only valid promise that applies to those who give to the
prosperity preachers. While they promise their donors riches, the
Bible promises them poverty. (I wonder why prosperity preachers, who
almost exclusively find their proof texts in the Old Testament,
never quote Proverbs 22:16? He that oppresseth the poor to
increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely
come to want. )
Finally, and most importantly, does it not seem odd that all of the ministers whom I've mentioned (and there are thousands and thousands of others who fall into the same category) say they believe in a book that says, "Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have" (Heb. 13:5) and, "Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction" (1 Tim. 6:9) and, "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you" (Jas. 5:1)? Isn't it odd that they claim to follow the One who commanded, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. 6:19-21) and, "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys" (Luke 12:33)? Isn't is strange that they claim to represent the One who required a rich man seeking eternal life to sell everything and give the proceeds to charity, the same One who told a story of a rich fool who laid up treasures for himself, built bigger barns, and who died and went to hell, and the same One who once said, "Woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full" (Luke 6:24)?
The secular media often points out
this hypocrisy among high-rolling Christian leaders. And while the
"Satan-controlled" secular media demonstrates some biblical
spiritual discernment, professing Christians keep writing checks to
promote what is, according to Jesus, detestable in God's sight:
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers
of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at
Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in
the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is
highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God" (Luke
16:14-15).
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