At Time, some observations about celebrity preachers, the all-too-familiar scandals that plague them, and the “culture of superstar preachers.” David Zimmerman has some good thoughts on the topic over at the Loud Time blog.
Why are popular Christian preachers so scandal-prone?
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October 25, 2007 at 19:23
I had never heard of Juanita Bynum before, so I found her web site, after reading the Time article. She has a promotional video on her web site that is supposed to be a substitute for a biography. Her bio video is so full of hype that it made me want to laugh. That was before I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach. God isn’t going to bless vanity! Hasn’t anyone told that woman that her video runs like a parody of ego-driven tele-evangelism?
October 26, 2007 at 00:15
It’s a no brainer. These preachers are not perfect sinless people and with the media’s glare for perfection, nobody can live up to that kind of standard.Only God can live up to that kind of perfection for the world to see and behold and no one in the whole world will be able to utter a single accusation against a Holy and Perfect God. It’s nothing actually to hear of preachers falling.
October 26, 2007 at 10:02
I agree, in this age of heighten media attention, famous preachers are under the microscope, so it’s not surprising when their mist-step are reported. As the bible states we are a city placed on a hill and thankfully that city is made up of more than one or even a few miss-stepping Christians. We are all witnesses/members of that city and together we reflect or God to the world. The bible also tells us to love one and restore each other, we may not always be able to speak to our brothers or touch their lives in a physical way, but we can pray for them and ourselves. Galatians 2:20 comes to mind “yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”. As commented by another reader, no one can “utter a single accusation against a Holy and Perfect God”. When we allow Christ to be form up in us we will find that we all can be humble lights of Christ, seasoning the world around us.
October 26, 2007 at 12:00
In response to the article: In the Bible Paul wrote that it was good that people sent him money and supported him. He was also a well-known and prominent preacher at the time (as was Peter). I think the biggest problem of the Word of Faith religion is that other Christians look at us like we’re wrong and we’re all going to hell. Trust me, I’ve been told several times I’m going to hell by devout Christians. But the stereotypical view on prosperity is tainted. Granted there are preachers who tell people if they just gace their ministry $1000 then their family would be healed. Overall they have missed the point, Jesus speaks of sowing seed in the Bible. You just have the find the preachers who preach the Bible (not just the Bible how you want it to be preached). Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, and Jesse Duplantis are all preachers that preach the Bible how they understand it and you can either agree or not, but that doesn’t make them wrong. Like Creflo once said very nicely: “Until you’ve given away half as much cars as I have, don’t judge what I drive.”
October 26, 2007 at 15:48
“I think the biggest problem of the Word of Faith religion is that other Christians look at us like we’re wrong and we’re all going to hell.”
I want to address the above thought.. then reply to“Why are popular Christian preachers so scandal-prone?”
”...the Word of Faith religion… ...other Christians…” There is only one body… and the Lord Jesus Christ is the Head… and IN MY OPINION no person on this earth can say who or who is not going to hell… I do not think the Gospel is really about who is going to hell and who is not… I think it is about the Lord Jesus Christ who was slain from before the foundations of the world… and manifested in due time as the Son of God in the earth… and about the Father glorifying His Son and then the Son glorifying the Father… and that through all eternity He shall show His goodness to those that were chosen in Him before the foundations of the world… I do not think the Gospel is only about God showing His goodness to mankind… I think it is about Him showing His goodness to Christ and we being in Him receive the goodness He has for His Son… after all we are saved by His righteousness… I think the Gospel is not man centered but Christ centered… poverty can be part of the will of God… Paul himself suffered many hardships including poverty… those who say we now have more revelation than the Apostle Paul… make me wonder when Paul said cursed be the one who preaches another Gospel other than his… the apostle Paul warned Timothy that those who will be rich err from the faith… and he said to withdraw from those that think godliness is a means to financial gain… the end of the commandment being love(the virtue of Christian charity)... there is nothing wrong with being rich or becoming rich as God may bless us… however much of what is taught and preached today as a prosperity message IN MY OPINION is very dangerous… it leads people to believe that money is the answer to their problems… Solomon wrote in the 9th chapter of Eccl. ...money answer all things… all that means is it answers all earthly things and in fact it can be used to give us the illusion we have dealt with our heart issues when really we have not… for it is implied in the rest of that verse… and Paul told us drinking and being merry was not the answer.
Now why I think so many popular “Christian preachers” are in scandal: They may indeed be sincere saved men of God called to preach… however they are not true Christian preachers in my opinion… for they bring so much reproach on the word of God and the Gospel by both their immorality, their indiscretions and their lack of sound accounting and business practices… if we really new what the word Christian meant… we would not be calling ourselves Christians… the people in Antioch witnessed Jesus first hand and His life and works and when they saw these followers of Christ even though they were mocking them… they actually saw the life and works of Christ in them so emphatically that they said these are “little Christ’s or Christians”... IN MY OPINION if anything we are believer’s struggling to find our way back to the founding principles of our faith that may well have been lost when Ignatius(who learned Christ under the Apostle John) was martyred… after that time the Church became an organized and splintered religious institution… may God help us to re-establish ourselves in Him as one body under the Lord Jesus Christ according to His word and principles.:-)
October 26, 2007 at 16:42
I cant reply to long for I am real busy, but I do want to say that If the devil himself was to get people saved (retarted statement but to prove a point) what would be more important is that people are getting saved. We can not judge these preachers for there fame that was created because of mass exposure that only mediums like tv could make. Behind the scenes is what really counts. The lost souls getting saved, baptized, and turned around by the holy spirit. Cause in the end there is no man that can really change another, but only the power of God through spirit led individuals (famous or not).
Everytime we judge people without knowing extensive facts, that only through testimonies of others and personal experience could really create please be careful. The bible says that “my people perish because of lack of knowledge” so famous, non famous, holy, or very inperfect; every men and women of God perishes one way or another.
October 26, 2007 at 18:14
I want to address this notion of “sowing seed”, Christ spoke about sowing in four contexts; birds that depend on God to be fed (Mat 6:26); sowing the Word of God (Mat 13:3-9 & 13:18-23); Christ sowing children of the Kingdom (Mat 13:24-30); and a king accused of reaping what other men sow (Luk 19:27).
NOWHERE does he say anything about sowing seed in the context of giving to a ministry. Jesus himself explains these parables, so there is no room for varied interpretation. It is also very interesting that the only parable that deals with sowing in any connection with money is the one in Luke 19. And sowing is used there by a worthless servant making excuses for his faithlessness. The king tells that servant that he should have put the money in a bank. Are your charismatic preachers telling you to put your money in a bank? I doubt it.
The complaint that many of us have against these WOF preachers is that they fail to teach the Bible rightly. Many of the WOF followers establish that fact through words out of their own mouths. Read Matthew 13 and Luke 19 carefully for yourselves, and let the King himself teach you the secrets of the Kingdom.
I think that you’ll find out that these many of those popular teachers need to go back to Bible school and quit fleecing the flock. God is not going to bless vanity.
November 6, 2007 at 21:42
“I think that you’ll find out that these many of those popular teachers need to go back to Bible school and quit fleecing the flock.”
Reb,
Most of the WOF ministers do not say you have to give in to their ministries. They teach that you should give in to “good ground”. It’s the responsibility of the individual to research where the money is going. Most ministries freely give this information out. That “good ground” could be the local church or some community organization. But like with anything else, as the Lord has taught us, follow the fruit! There’s your proof.
November 7, 2007 at 21:00
I think there is a little more to the controversy over “Word Faith” than a difference in theology. I think there is flagrant fraud being perpetrated. We should have a better idea soon. Some of these criminal suspects are getting subpoenas. Check it out at
Elmer Gantrys. A sheep who falls into error is not the same thing as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.