Practices
While many, even within the Word-Faith churches, are unaware of some of the doctrinal heresies of the movement, none can plead ignorant of the strange and bizarre practices and emphasis of its leaders. The following things are standard occurrences in virtually every one of their television broadcasts, evangelistic campaigns, and church services.
A Prosperity Gospel
Nothing will create more euphoria in the average person than the promise to make them wealthy, and this the Word-Faith leadership knows very well. The Word-Faith teacher's lifestyle is clearly identified by opulence, luxury, riches, and the assurance that all of this can be his followers as well -- if only they apply certain principles.
Robert Tilton is normative. On a Trinity Broadcasting Network program in 1990 he said:
"Being poor is a sin, when God promises prosperity. New house? New car? That's chicken feed. That's nothing compared to what God wants to do for you" (Charismatic Chaos, p. 285).
Fred Price on a similar broadcast explains how it works:
"If you've got one dollar faith and you ask for a ten-thousand dollar item, it ain't going to work. It won't work. Jesus said, 'According to your [faith],' not according to God's will for you, in His own good time, if it's according to His will, if He can work it into his busy schedule. He said, 'According to your faith, be it unto you'" (Charismatic Chaos, p. 286).
Of course, the road to prosperity somehow always leads to the offering plate of the Word-Faith Movement. Gloria Copeland (Kenneth's wife) pulls no punches in her book God's Will Is Prosperity:
"Give $10 and receive $1000; Give $1000 and receive $100,000 … give one house and receive one hundred houses or a house worth one hundred times as much. Give one airplane and receive one hundred times the value of the airplane. … In short, Mark 10:30 is a very good deal" (p. 54).
A Health Gospel
The "name-it-and-claim-it" pundits are not content with mere wealth; they want to feel well enough to enjoy their prosperity. So do most of their listeners. So while you are giving away wealth, why not dispense health as well?
The Word-Faith teachers, as is true of many other charismatics, believe that Christ provided for physical healing at the cross. As a result, not only are Christians saved from sin, they are promised a life of health. Kenneth Copeland writes in Healed … to Be or Not to Be:
"The first step to spiritual maturity is to realize your position before God. You are a child of God and a joint-heir with Jesus. Consequently, you are entitled to all the rights and privileges in the kingdom of God, and one of their rights is health and healing" (p. 25).
But, if healing is part of the atonement, why do Christians get sick? Lack of faith, as Benny Hinn explains:
"The Bible declares that the work was done 2,000 years ago. God is not going to heal you now -- he healed you 2,000 years ago. All you have to do today is receive your healing by faith" (Rise and Be Healed, p. 44).
Of course reality, in the form of sickness, has to be faced even by the Word-Faith leaders. Fred Price may proclaim "we don't allow sickness in our home," but his wife still has cancer. Kenneth Hagin brags that he has not had a headache, the flu, or even "one sick day" in nearly 60 years, but he has had four cardiovascular crises. Paul Crouch may have healed Oral Roberts of chest pains on a TBN Broadcast, but it didn't stop Oral from having a heart attack a few hours later (Christianity in Crisis, pp. 237-238). How are these things explained away? Predictably, by blaming them on the devil. Sickness in the Word-Faith camp is usually seen as satanic attacks that must be repelled by words of faith (i.e., "positive confession").
Experiences
The faith leaders make some amazing claims. Hagin, for example, has visited (so he says) both heaven and hell as well as had out-of-body experiences (Christianity in Crisis, p. 334). He has had many visits from Jesus and angels. He boasts of the ability to heal, cast our demons, and levitate people (p. 336). Hinn opens his best selling book with these words:
"It was three days before Christmas 1973. The sun was still rising on that cold, misty Toronto morning. Suddenly He was there. The Holy Spirit entered my room. He was as real to me that morning as the book you are holding in your hand is to you. For the next eight hours I had an incredible experience with the Holy Spirit. It changed the course of my life (Rise and Be Healed, p. 1).
Hinn speaks of frequent personal visits from the Lord, the first being at age eleven:
"I saw Jesus walk into my bedroom. He was wearing a robe that was whiter than white and a deep red mantle was draped over the robe. I saw his hair. I looked into His eyes. I saw the nailprints in His hands. I saw everything. ... When it happened, I was asleep, but suddenly my little body was caught up in an incredible sensation that can only be described as 'electric.' It felt as if someone had plugged me into a wired socket. There was a numbness that felt like needles -- a million of them -- rushing through my body. And then the Lord stood before me while I was in a deep, deep sleep. He looked straight at me with the most beautiful eyes. He smiled, and His arms were open wide. I could feel His presence. It was marvelous and I'll never forget it" (Rise and Be Healed, p. 22).
When Hinn describes his conversion, he does not mention the cross, repentance, or faith; rather, it is all couched in terms of experience:
"What I really felt, though, was that this surge of power was cleansing me -- instantly, from the inside out. I felt absolutely clean, immaculate, and pure. Suddenly I saw Jesus with my own eyes. It happened in a moment of time. There he was. Jesus" (Rise and Be Healed, p. 31).
Hinn claims power of a supernatural nature often emanates from his body:
"Once, my mother was cleaning the hallway while I was in my room talking with the Holy Spirit. When I came out, she was thrown right back. Something had knocked her against the wall. I said, 'What's wrong with you, Mama?' She answered, 'I don't know?' Well, the presence of the Lord almost knocked her down" (Rise and Be Healed, p. 42).
Both the appeal of the book and its dangers are evident in this quote:
"Are you ready to meet the Holy Spirit intimately and personally? Do you want to hear His voice? Are you prepared to know him as a person? That's exactly what happened to me, and it drastically transformed my life. It was an intensely personal experience, and it was based on God's Word. You may ask, 'Was it the result of a systematic Bible study?' No, it happened when I invited the Holy Spirit to be my personal friend. To be my constant guide. To take me by the hand and lead me 'into all truth.' What He will uncover and reveal to you in Scripture will make your study of the Bible come alive" (Rise and Be Healed, p. 48).
Both the Word-Faith leaders and their followers make the same mistake of basing their lives on experiences and feelings rather than upon the inspired Word of God.
Luminaries within the Movement
Kenneth Hagin is considered the father of Word-Faith. He has a syndicated radio show carried by about 250 radio stations; a Bible School (Rhema Bible Training Center) with 12,000 graduates from 1974-1992; a magazine with 400,000 subscribers; and has sold millions of books and other publications.
Kenneth Copeland is the heir-apparent to the Faith throne (although Benny Hinn has moved in to challenge). Copeland's empire spans the globe with similar ministries as Hagin.
Benny Hinn was pastor of Orlando Christian Center in Orlando, Florida. (He recently moved his ministry to Dallas.) Hinn reaches the world through evangelistic campaigns, television, and literature. His book Good Morning Holy Spirit was the best selling Christian book in 1991, selling a quarter of a million copies in only three months. He is perhaps best known as a "Faith-Healer" in the traditions of Kathryn Kuhlman (his idol) and Oral Roberts. His "ability" to "slay in the Spirit" large groups of people at once (by blowing on them or waving his arm their direction) has brought him considerable notoriety.
Frederick K.C. Price, the most prominent of black Word-Faith preachers, pastors the 16,000-member Crenshaw Christian Center, and has his own television show.
John Avanzini, best-known fundraiser among the Word-Faith leaders. He has said, "A greater than a lottery has come. His name is Jesus!"
Robert Tilton perfected the Christian infomercial through his "Success-N-Life" television program.
Marilyn Hickey is (except for Gloria Copeland and perhaps Jan Crouch) the best-known woman in the movement. She teaches people to speak to their wallets and checkbooks in order that their wealth may increase.
David Yonggi Cho is the pastor of the 700,000 Full Gospel Yoido Church in South Korea. Cho, who often speaks at Robert Schuller Conferences on church growth (along with Bill Hybels), is perhaps the closest link to the occult. He teaches a concept called the "Fourth Dimension." The first three dimensions are physical and are controlled by the fourth, which is the spiritual. Cho teaches that Christians can get anything they want by calling upon the spirit world in the Fourth Dimension and visualizing what they want. When a person (Christian or unsaved) follows the proper formula of positive thinking, speaking and visualizing, they "incubate" and eventually give birth to their desires. These techniques are the same used in his occult-infested country. Cho is aware of this fact, but believes what works for "them" will work for "us" -- so use it.
* This report has been excerpted and or adapted from an article ("The Word of Faith Movement") in the April 1999, Think on These Things, Southern View Chapel, Springfield, IL, Gary Gilley, Pastor.
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