Yes, I am Unapologetically a Prosperity Preacher

Guilty as charged…

I am indeed an unapologetic prosperity preacher…

However, before the epithets of “heretic”, “greedy”, or “gospel pimp” are hurled please have the integrity to read the entire blog. Not all “prosperity preachers” are cut from the same doctrinal cloth. Allow me to paint some context to my confession of prosperity preaching to help the reader understand the place from which I write.

Over 40 years ago I had the glorious experience of receiving forgiveness for my sins, receiving Jesus Christ into my life as both Lord and Savior, and becoming what we now know as “born-again”. It was a profound, transformational moment from which I have never gotten over (nor do I plan to). Almost instantly, I hungered for the teaching of God’s Word and have been blessed by having been taught by some incredible pastors, professors, and pastoral colleagues. Through their exposition of Scriptures and practical life experiences I began to both tithe (10% of my gross income) and give offerings (over and above the tithe) from the moment I received the instruction and revelation of the principles. That means I have 40 years of walking down this path of stewardship and generosity.

I have always been hesitant to announce my giving practices. I want my rewards to be in heaven and what is done in secrecy, God will openly reward. These are things the Bible teaches. That being said, there is also spiritual profitability in testifying to what only God could accomplish. I also think that if some would judge me for embracing what I will soon define as “prosperity” doctrine or criticize my life’s expenditures or choices, then they should have some sense of how I have lived in this area.

Let me say off the bat, I do not believe that there is something intrinsically virtuous about being poor. The poor are to be helped from their economic challenges by both benevolence and work. You are not more righteous or holy because of your lower economic status. In the same way, the wealthy are no more virtuous because their life manifests the finest things this world may offer. Both economic groups can be filled with greed, selfishness, and entitlement to which the Bible clearly teaches are abhorrent to God. So, net worth, while fascinating to many, is not by itself a spiritual indicator.

Biblical prosperity (as I have come to understand it), entails the following…

1. An inner contentment with the quality of life God has led your steps to receive.
2. An acknowledgment that the Lord owns everything you have been given and may require it at any moment for His purposes.
3. A generous spirit which realizes that riches require responsibility and “to whom much is given, much is required”.
4. The wealthy, in particular but not exclusively, are conduits through which the Lord channels His resources.

I have minister friends (not to mention untold numbers of saints in the seats) who do quite nicely with regards to finances while being a Christian. I begrudge them not a penny. If they have been blessed financially and choose to enjoy quality cars and large, opulent homes, it matters not to me. I am not their accountant nor their judge and most of all, I have no idea as to how they have stewarded the resources they have earned. I will also confess, that on occasion I have dreamt of a special expensive sports car or a Country Club membership (neither of which I have ever had), but if I had the resource that could warrant it appropriately while maintaining all my obedient, consecrated commitments before the Lord, I see no reason to not enjoy them. If that transparency indicts me of something ungodly, then so be it. If having a Golf Club membership or expensive car is evil, then so would accepting an invitation as a guest golfer at the club as well as a ride in that expensive car, I would suppose. True judgmentalism is rarely consistent.

I say all of that to pull the veil back a bit with regards to how this minister (including my wife) has embraced the doctrine of prosperity. The Bible actually uses the term “prosperity” and a short Bible study will show that there were indeed some incredibly wealthy servants of the Lord. God has absolutely no problem putting great wealth into a believer’s hand. The problem occurs when it hits our hands, it usually challenges our consecration.

Let me say first, that I researched the average income of a U.S. Resident in 2017 and I found myself in what is described as “middle class”. As I looked at the range of income of the middle class I will confess there have been years I was at the lower end of that range and years I was at the upper end of that range, but for the better part of my life I can say that my life style mirrored what we might call “average”. I enjoy nice things and anyone who sees our house knows we live in a nice (average) neighborhood and drive 2 nice (2016 and 2004) cars. We could afford more, but we like to use our money in other ways.

We love to give…

As I mentioned previously, tithing and offerings are common practice in our household and have been for years. However, several years ago I was researching a paper for both Wesley and Whitefield and noted that while both being men of means, they gave great percentages of their income away. I also know a couple of contemporary ministers who have written best sellers and in like manner have given away incredible amounts and percentages of their income. I decided that I wanted to do that too. I wanted to walk by faith and be a resource conduit for Kingdom projects and purposes.

Now, I have written no best seller (at least not yet), but giving out of your abundance, while admirable, is not the same as giving out of your need. I wanted to see miracles again in this area of my life. So my wife and I agreed that while the tithe was a requirement of our obedience, we would (as God enabled us) attempt to increase our offerings by at least a percentage point every year.

I just got our giving statements for 2018 from all the different ministries we sowed into this past year (not counting the numbers of spontaneous benevolent acts we sowed towards to individual people) and we have reached 26% of annual income to charity (and if you could have seen the challenges, this is even more amazing). Why do I share this? Because I am filled with joy that we could do something like that. Seeing that number was better than any golf club membership or high performance car. I really mean that and I simply wanted to testify to that reality. I also want to challenge you the reader to set goals and exercise your faith in your giving.

Yes, I am a prosperity preacher. God has prospered my hands and our life to be able to give more and more away. My prayer is that God would continue to prosper my hands because I would love to give even more of it away.

Several years ago, my wife and I were led to give our “best” vehicle away to a person in greater need. We had an older car that we could have given, but knew that “he who gives to the poor lends to the Lord and HE who is a debtor to no man will repay” (Proverbs 19:17). So we sowed the best we had and drove our older one. This year, the Lord put it on a person’s heart to give us a car. Better than the one we sowed. Is that name it and claim it? Is that “sowing for a harvest”? To me, that is simply the economy of the Kingdom. When a person sows their finances cheerfully and generously, miraculous things can happen.

Yes, I am a prosperity preacher. God will do amazing things as we become conduits of His resources. I believe that the singular reason the Lord has not transferred the wealth of the wicked to the righteous (Proverbs 13:22) is because we have lost a sense of radical generosity.

My exhortation is this…

1. If you haven’t started tithing, get started today. There will never be the “perfect” time to start, so you might as well jump right in and get started.

2. Realize, God marks some of the 90% for His purposes in other areas besides the local church. Be sensitive to His leading and be generous when He speaks to you.

3. Financial miracles happen to generous people (Galatians 6:7-9). The old saying is really true, “You can never out give the Lord.

Yes, I am a prosperity preacher. I believe that God wants to prosper His people’s hands that they might be a blessing to others in the earth. The next time you have an opportunity to give, say, “Praise the Lord” and give your very best. That’s the prosperity crowd you want to be a part.