Therefore an overseermust be above reproach, the husband of one wife,sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. - 1Timothy 3: 2-3 (ESV)
For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, - Titus 1: 7 (ESV)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcT7cKr3hCw
In this recent sermon, Pastor Creflo Dollar finally addressed the controversy when he had requested financial assistance in purchasing a 65 million dollar learjet. Was he humble and contrite? Did he recognize the error of his ways? Did he have an epiphany about how crudely disgusting it is for a man worth 27 million dollars personally to ask other people to fund the purchase of the most luxurious plane in existence, while claiming to do so for the sake of the Gospel? If you thought yes, then you just do not know Creflo Dollar. His answer was as staggeringly arrogant as he has always been. It was just as deceptive as his preaching has always been. It was devoid of humility and placed the blame on those who would dare criticize him and the devil who apparently must be persuading such rational dissent.
Let's settle some nonsense first. This request was not just made to his partners in ministry but also his "supporters." This was a public request for money and to stand up there and pretend that his congregants were not essentially asked the assist as well is nothing short of a bald face lie. I was in a mega church for over ten years. If the pastor wanted something, everyone knew. If there was a pet project, everyone gave. Secondly however, who are these mysterious "partners in ministry" he is referring to? In his diatribe above he refers to one of them as someone from the Middle East who wrote him and said they desperately needed Dollar over there because Christians were being beheaded. Enclosed with the letter was a check towards the plane fund. The silliness of this story is evident in that the gospel preached by Creflo Dollar does not work in the Middle East. You cannot sell earthly prosperity to people who have nothing to begin with nor little hope of ever attaining it. You cannot preach word faith to people in this situation either. Telling someone who doesn't know where to get clean drinking water from or if their family will be killed to just "speak" life into their situations is cruel. Which by the way is one way you can tell if your pastor is a false teacher. If their gospel cannot be preached everywhere then it is a false gospel. As for the fellow in the Middle East, is Mr. Dollar asserting that he will not go and help without the 65 million dollar plane?
Let's also settle this nonsense about the plane. Creflo Dollar did not ask for help in purchasing "a plane." He asked for help in purchasing the most expensive and luxurious private plane on the market today. There are billionaires on waiting lists to purchase this same plane. This is like him asking for help buying a new car but asking for the 30 million dollar Ferrari 250 GTO. That is really the majority of the point. It is the excess and opulence from a man claiming to be doing the Lord's work. If you see this story and think that this is a reasonable request I am really worried about you. If you think God would want someone to spend 65 million dollars to jet around the world, for any reason, while so many die each day from poverty, then all I can say is you need to get back into your Bible because you have missed the point. Not to mention the lying about it when he was caught asking for this. His spokespeople came out and claimed that they needed this plane because when Dollar flies he also brings 100,000 pounds of food with him to needy countries. Problem? The plane cannot take off at 100,000 pounds. Oops. On top of that, here is a link to the original promo video asking for this money:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIobdRNLNek
Heartbreakingly put together this tells the story of a man who has suffered with an outdated plane for far too long. It tells of a terrifying engine flame out while on their way to Australia. Then to really drive home the point it tells of how his wife and three daughters were coming home from London (where they were sharing the Gospel"or shopping?) when the plane skidded off the runway. As pathetic as this guilt laden video is, what is hilarious is the list of countries he brags about going to see. Brazil, Ireland, Germany, North America, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Europe, France, Italy, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, India, New Guinea. A list that leads the narrator to say they have pretty much covered the entire world. The entire world? You mean the entire affluent Christian world, right? Where is the nation your friend had sent a check from where people were being beheaded? You are telling me that you need 65 million dollars to bring the Gospel to Australia? Just tell Brian Houston and Hillsong to take care of that. They distort the Gospel just as well as you.
Creflo opened up the portion of his defense about by stating, "Now you know why the devil has tried so aggressively to discredit my voice." The inference being that anyone, such as myself, who said anything against this obscene request is being used by Satan, because the devil wants to shut Creflo Dollar up by discrediting his name. This from the man who has said the following:
I mean, I thought about when we first built "The Dome," I wanted to put some of those little moving bars and give everybody a little card. They'd stick it in a little computer slot. If they were tithing, beautiful music would go off and, you know, "Welcome, welcome, welcome to the World Dome." But" if they were non-tithers, the bar would lock up, the red and blue lights would start going, the siren would go off, and a voice would go out throughout the entire dome, "Crook, crook, crook, crook!" Security would go and apprehend them, and once we got them all together, we'd line them up in the front and pass out Uzis by the ushers and point our Uzis right at all those non-tithing members 'cause we want God to come to church, and at the count of three "Jesus"-es we'd shoot them all dead. And then we'd take them out the side door there, have a big hole, bury them, and then go ahead and have church and have the anointing. Aren't you glad we're under the Blood of Jesus? Because if we were not under the Blood of Jesus, I would certainly try it. - Creflo Dollar
The notion that Satan could do anything more to discredit his name, above what Creflo does himself is absurd. The fact is that Creflo dollar preaches no less than three wildly heretical gospels all jumbled together. As a prosperity preacher, we see quotes like the one above fueled his early ministry days and built the 27 million dollar empire he sits atop. As a word faith heretic, he has openly taught that we are little gods and we have the same power of creation through our spoken words that God has. He just gave the sermon at the funeral for Miles Munroe, who took this doctrine a step further by claiming God has no right to do anything on earth without our permission. Creflo agreed with these notions. Recently, Dollar has taken to the teachings of Joseph Prince and hyper-grace antinomianism. He openly teaches that the law has no place in the life of the believer and that Christians should not even have the Ten Commandments in their homes. Dangerous teachings indeed. He also claims direct revelation from God. He actually opens that video clip by saying he would not be saying this if the Spirit of God had not led him to. By the end he is running all around screaming, "you can't tell me not to dream!" No Creflo. I could care less if you dream. Just do not foist your greedy dreams of luxury planes upon the poor people you speak to and then blame it on God. Or blame it on your enemies. Or blame it on Satan. Take a good long hard look in the mirror and for once admit this has nothing to do with the Gospel because you do not preach the Gospel. This has to do with you. The same guy who wanted to shoot everyone who didn't give you money is the same guy who thinks nothing of asking people to fund the purchase of the most expensive luxury plane in the name of Jesus.
I chose the two verses above for the key verses for a reason. They come from the two portions in the Bible that list the qualifications for a pastor. I do not find it coincidental that God made sure that both lists included a caveat about money. A pastor cannot be a lover of money of greedy for gain. The Bible cannot be clearer. Creflo Dollar is disqualified. He ends the video by claiming those on the internet who criticize him do so because we "do not know what he does." That we "do not know what the ministries do." To be honest, I do not have to know what they do - just what they teach. That alone disqualifies them. But I also know what they do. I do know they give some back. I do know they support a lot of initiatives that might bring some social good. But behind that thin façade I know more. I know that even in your promo video the trip to Australia was for Planet Shakers, another wildly heretical group and the trip from London appears to be shopping related. I know that you fly all around the world and avoid the places that cannot meaningfully contribute to your ministries. Your itinerary looks like where the G8 protestors will be going this summer. It may as well be the first leg of the U2 summer concert series. So just stop. Stop pretending that this has to do with the Gospel. You wanted the Richie Rich plane and that would be bad enough but you wanted the people you are in charge of shepherding to pay for it. Then you blamed it on Jesus. Good luck with that.
Rev. Anthony.
