Prosperity Mythology and the Systematic Robbery of The Saints Part One: Apostles and Profits

apostles & profits

Now faith is the substrate of things hyped for, the edifice of things obscene

All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant (Isaiah56:9-12).

Y’know, it’s extremely easy to thumb through The Bible & find passages like this one, where the Prophet of God is ‘Going the Full Steven’ & flame-throwing everyone with nuclear rebukes. It’s very tasty reading for those [who, like me, often] have a proverbial bee in their bonnet. However, The Lord has graciously shown me some things recently, some of which I will share in this series of articles, nevertheless, there is an extremely serious issue bearing down upon The Church right now. God still has His Prophets. They still have their flame-throwers. Despite that though brethren, you & I must go back to The Bible.

The bulk of our modern Charismatic & [some of our] Pentecostal understanding, concerning modern ministry within The Church, comes from Word-of-Faith teachers such as Kenneth E. Hagin. His literature on ‘The Ministry Gifts’ & in particular his book ‘He Gave Gifts Unto Men’, as well as much of his other preaching & teaching, have become staples for multiplied hundreds of Church-based-Bible-school-curricula throughout the world. It is Kenneth Hagin who has popularised some of what we see & much of what is believed in The Charismatic/Pentecostal Church today. https://youtu.be/dfGHw9uuXQo.

*I’ve never understood why believers are charged stupid sums of money to study subject matter that any Pastor worth his salt ought to teach his congregation for FREE, but then again, given the nature of our discussion here & the quality of the teaching in question, it’s clear that it’s the production, packaging & propaganda that folk being charged for. The content is largely worthless. There, I actually said it.

In Paul’s day, he had to contend with the so-called Super Apostles & the false doctrine they peddled. He also had to deal with believers who had subscribed to their erroneous mythologies …& so it remains to this day. The vagueness of modern teaching has left HUGE scope for error within The Church & these gaps have been filled by opportunists who have taken it upon themselves to claim everything from Old Apostolic Succession to New Apostolic Reformation. Hagin writes, in his book ‘He Gave Gifts Unto Men’:

'In the 1987 visitation, Jesus began talking about the office of the apostle. He said, "There are four ranks or classes of apostle. And  within these different classes or ranks, apostles can have different degrees or measures of anointing."

Jesus continued, "There are not only different classes of apostles, but there are also different classes of prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. And there are different degrees of anointings within these different classes." Italics mine, bad punctuation theirs. 

Huh? Is that it? Right there in those paragraphs you will find the licence that some have used to build their own type of ministry, claiming that they’re chosen to be anything from Prophetic Pastors to Apostolic Teachers. How easily an ego is substituted for a calling & how seldom anyone notices the difference.

Somehow, ‘Apostolic Ministry’ has become the place to be, but in reality, this trend is nothing more or less than a glorified pyramid scheme. There is always one person at the top enriching themselves at the expense of everyone else below them & exercising an authority that does not belong to them in an office of ministry to which they aren’t called. No man [or woman] is meant to take this honour unto themselves (Hebrews5:4) & yet we see increasing numbers of so-called ministers doing just that. These people consolidate their position with a blatant misuse of Scripture & a flagrant misappropriation of [& substantial claims to] the use of the gifts of The Holy Spirit.

The claim to Apostleship is very much en vogue right now, but I’m not quite sure whether those who are making their claims are being clever, or those who believe & follow them are being downright daft.

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; (Hebrews3:1).

The preeminent Apostle to Whom we look as an example, is The Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is The One sent by The Father. He is the One Who calls, equips & sends others in His stead. He is The One from whom men receive grace & Apostleship (Romans1:5). He is The One who gave that ministry to The Church, among other ministries. However, the offices belong to Him exclusively. Sadly, there are those who believe that these offices of service in ministry belong to them. They do not. The age of the Super Apostle is upon us once again.

This is where things become both a little sticky & unglued at the same time. Some men [& women] have hung their hats on the job title, but have paid little or no attention to the actual job description. Y’see, we can all agree that an Apostle is one who is ‘sent’ [go ahead & check it out in whatever Bible dictionary, concordance or lexicon you have lying around], but, some have taken that very broad definition & have run away down the street with it, before looking any further. This has caused one or two wee problems historically & alarmingly those same problems are on the rise within The Church once again.

From a plain reading of my Bible, I see that an Apostle is not simply one who is sent. Anyone can pop up & claim to be ‘sent’ to do this thing, that thing, or the other, which they often do! An Apostle is one who is sent specifically, by someone specific, to accomplish & complete something in specificity that only they can do, according to the will of God. This is true of all service in ministry. This is seen throughout Scripture. There is a calling to. Then there is a sending forth. This [I believe personally] is why Paul specifically identifies himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ, not of men, neither by the will of man, because there are those who claim to be Apostles & they are not. They are liars (Revelation2:2). They are false & they are deceitful workers (2^ndCorinthians11:14). The question ‘from where do the Super Apostles take their lead?’ has to be asked & answered.

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry (1^stTimothy1:12).

*Interestingly enough, Paul begins his discourse to Timothy by saying that he was an Apostle, by the commandment of God (vs.1). He continues his exhortation, reminding Timothy, his son in the faith (vs.2) that he had beseeched him to stay in Ephesus for doctrinal reasons. Ephesus is significant to this discussion. Modern ministers enjoy citing Paul’s writings to buttress their claims to ‘Apostolic Ministry’, but they have none of the qualifications, none of the love of The Gospel, none of the burden for The Church & none of the necessary chutzpah, even though their propaganda paints them as men [& women] of God. The Ephesian Church tried those who held claims Apostleship & found them to be LIARS (Revelation2:2). We must do the same & we will find many who are liars today.

In 1985 I attended a meeting in Birmingham, England where Buddy Harrison was speaking. Harrison was owner of Harrison House, publishers of Kenneth Hagin’s Faith Library materials & perhaps coincidentally happened to Hagin’s be son-in-law. Anyway, it was at this meeting that I first caught a glimpse of what was later to be construed [or rather misconstrued] as ‘Apostolic Ministry’.

Mr. Harrison wasn’t the first to do what I’m about to describe, but with the popular messages of ‘faith’, ‘healing’ & ‘prosperity’ in hand, his connections & closeness to Rhema Bible Training Centre [Hagin’s ministry] & his access to popular word-of-faith speakers, he launched his brand of church. This was Faith Christian Fellowship. Like an eager little Beaver, I joined the queue to speak to Pastor Buddy after the service & I asked him whether he had any churches in England. He did. He even had a fellowship in my native Leicester. This fellowship has been defunct for several years.

‘Apostolic Ministry’ goes a little something like this. If you’re sitting comfortably, I’ll begin.

According to the popularised Charismatic/Pentecostal dogma, one never starts out in ministry as an Apostle. This may very well be the case, but it may equally be the case that individuals aren’t called to be Apostles [in the biblical sense] at all. However, this small technicality is easily circumnavigated thus; you don’t have to be an Apostle to have an ‘Apostolic Ministry’. Given the vagueness of the definitions ‘The Lord’ gave to Kenneth Hagin, there has been scope for many to invent & reinvent themselves, insinuating their particular ministries into whatever ‘class’ they choose.

For instance, a man may graduate from a certain Bible school, having successfully circled the correct answers on his multiple-choice exams. He begins a fellowship or Bible study group in his home. For the sake of argument, let’s call it ‘gimme-your-money-&-blindly-believe-me-ministries’. As he teaches his popular messages of ‘faith’, ‘prosperity’ & ‘healing’, learned faithfully by rote in said Bible school, the group grows. They lease premises. They continue to grow. They buy property. They continue to grow. Maybe there’s a scandal & some folk leave, but the group grows further. Soon, the headcount is in the hundreds, including those who have left other fellowships & jumped on the bandwagon, so the spiritual experiment is taken to another location & reproduced. It works. The experiment is multiplied. It works again & again & again. There are high-fives echoing across the nation as this chain of fellowships grows in number & influence.

At best, you have a man-made denomination [even though all concerned will describe themselves as ‘non-denominational’], but sadly the worst-case-scenario & the one that is closer to reality than some will care to admit, is that you have a brand, you have a franchise & a trend. These things have to be properly managed, packaged, marketed & sold. Don’t take my word for it though, Buddy explains it better than I. http://www.fcf.org/index.php/i-m-new/history.

“Faith Christian Fellowship International began as a local church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In November 1977, the Lord spoke to Co-Founders Buddy and Pat Harrison: “Go back to Tulsa, start a family church, a Bible teaching center, and a world outreach.” They obeyed God and started the church in January 1978. The church grew rapidly and by the end of its second year was averaging more than 1,900 members. FCF of Tulsa was one of the first Word of Faith churches in the area. During this time, the Word of Faith movement exploded through men and women of God in Tulsa. The Lord used the Harrisons to start a great revival of God’s Word and the Supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit. From FCF of Tulsa, men and women went throughout the nation and around the world starting churches and Bible schools, and they looked to the Harrisons for leadership. In 1981, while the Harrisons were in Jerusalem with Dr. Lester Sumrall, the Lord told them that they were to “pastor pastors and minister to ministers.” This led Buddy and Pat to begin the International Office that today helps more than 500 churches and 1,000 ministers worldwide. FCF has resident ministry in 41 nations. In addition to churches around the world, FCF family members also have Bible schools, orphanages and various humanitarian outreaches. When Buddy Harrison went home to be with the Lord on November 28, 1998, Pat Harrison assumed full responsibility for leading the FCF family. Men and women who have many years of ministerial experience assist her in fulfilling the vision and mission of FCF.”

That’s ‘Apostolic Ministry’ in a nutshell. I can hear some of you rolling your eyes & asking the logical question, ‘what’s wrong with that?’. Well, as you’ve asked me ever so politely, I’ll tell you. It isn’t what I see that bothers me; it’s what I don’t see.

*A HUGE part of the problem is the vagueness there is within modern teaching concerning the offices of ministerial service given to The Church by Jesus Christ. Please note, I said the vagueness within the teaching, not the vagueness within The Scriptures. This ambiguity has produced any number of variations on a theme & herein lies the clear & present danger. Certain individuals claim to have an ‘Apostolic Ministry’, or have that designation conferred upon them by others, but they are not Apostles. To all intents & purposes they are like security guards who would never make the grade as Police officers, but want to pretend that they’re coppers.

Every new fellowship that our [hypothetical] minister at ‘gimme-your-money-&-blindly-believe-me-ministries’ opens, is owned by him, but operated by someone else. He can’t be in more than one location at a time, to be fair. Not unless he installs huge screens at each new location, or pays for television airtime, which allows him to scam his viewers with some of the worst manipulation techniques known to mankind. Anyway, I digress. This [hypothetical] someone else, pays an annual fee to have their credentials issued by ‘gimme-your-money-&-blindly-believe-me-ministries’ & in return for their money & loyalty, they receive permission to use the organisation’s branding & logo. Oh, I almost forgot that typically they have to give ‘gimme-your-money-&-blindly-believe-me-ministries’ a wee kickback every month. Now let me see, what’s it called? Ah yes, a tithe.

So, the guy who sits pretty at the top of the pyramid scheme starts other churches & gets a cut of their profits every month. He then provides an ‘Apostolic’ covering for his fellowships [even though he’s not an Apostle] & settles into his role as if he had just walked out of the pages of one of Hagin’s books. He’s a success in terms of his theology, but I have a teeny-weeny problem with this.

Y’see brethren, I don’t care what Hagin said ‘Jesus’ told him in his 1987 vision. WHY DID THE LORD WAIT FOR ONE-THOUSAND-NINE-HUNDRED-&-EIGHTY-SEVEN-YEARS IN ORDER TO REVEAL WHAT HE SUPPOSEDLY SHARED EXCLUSIVELY WITH HAGIN IN AN EXTRA-BIBLICAL-REVELATION? If Jesus is speaking, it counts as Scripture. I care what Scripture says & it says NOTHING about a bloke starting a franchise & calling it a church or ministry. However, Scripture has a lot to say about a man being called to serve The Church sacrificially, for Christ’s Name & for the sake of The Gospel. Unfortunately, our dear friends at [the hypothetical] ‘gimme-your-money-&-blindly-believe-me-ministries’ are alive & well & some of us have been, or are, caught up in their schemes.

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (Ephesians4:7-15).

The Ephesian Church was commended by The Lord for trying those who claimed Apostleship, saying to them, ‘.. thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars (Revelation2:2). Evidently, the elders of The Church had taken Paul’s admonition in Acts chapter 20 seriously enough to act on it. We ought to too.

In Acts chapter 20, Paul called the elders at Ephesus together & he clearly demonstrated an Apostolic quality that does not exist among those claiming Apostleship today. Read the account for yourself in Acts20:17-38. He poured his heart & life out to them then as he had done for three years. If you blink, you may miss it. For me personally, this is easily one of the most moving portions of Scripture that I have ever read & I continue to read regularly.

Why have we swung so wide of the mark when God’s Word lays these things out for us so plainly? Why have men claimed that The Lord has told them things which He clearly has not? Men [& women] have engineered powerful positions for themselves, made a lot of money out of & exercised great influence over the flock of God. Where is their humility of mind? Where are their tears? Where is their burden for The Church? Where is their passion for The Gospel? Instead of these things being present in their lives & ministries we see nothing more or less than an exploited opportunity for self-aggrandisement. They have their reward.

Paul loved the Ephesian brethren. They knew him & observed the way he lived. He warned them. He wrote to them concerning many doctrinal truths & instructed them about the necessity of recognising these offices of service in ministry. Ephesians chapter 4 is not about hierarchy. Could it possibly be the case that Paul gave The Church at Ephesus [& us by extension] the criteria by which they [& us by extension] could try those claiming to be Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors & Teachers? I’m simply asking a question. By the way, Ephesians chapter 4 begins at verse 1, not verse 11. Just saying.

Today in the modern era ‘Apostolic Ministry’ is simply about the ability to propagate a popular message. This leads to fellowships being started & built upon the message being preached. In the good old days it was about Christ & His Gospel but now it is not. The man [or woman] preaching the message is the draw. They’re the hub. Sooner or later these folks become bored & begin believing their own press. One minute they’re a Pastor, the next they’re a Super Apostle. With all the aggression of a fast-food chain’s marketing campaign & a budget to match, McDoctrine & Kentucky Fried Christianity have spread like a wasting disease through The Church. Anything goes. Anyone follows.

Paul told the Ephesian elders, ‘Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews.’ (Acts20:18-19). He told the Corinthians, ‘I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.’ (1^stCorinthians4:16-16). He also besought them, by the ‘..meekness and gentleness of Christ..’ (2^ndCorinthians10:1).

To The Church in Thessalonica the Apostle Paul wrote, ‘For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness: nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: so being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: as ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory (1^stThessalonians2:5-12).

Where is the humility of mind that Paul displayed? Where is the meekness & gentleness of Christ? Where is the fatherly concern? Where is the willingness to work so that The Church isn’t burdened? Today, in modern ministerial trends these qualities are nowhere to be seen in those who lay claim to Apostleship & to ‘Apostolic Ministry’.

So, let’s do the maths here for a second. According to the commonly & popularly accepted dogma, if you’re called to be an Apostle you don’t start out as one. You progress from another office of ministry. However, you’ll be an Apostle in the 4^th class. Jesus is an Apostle in the 1^st class. The 12 were Apostles of The Lamb in the 2^nd class. Paul & other Apostles who weren’t part of the original 12, but who laid foundations [& also did a couple of other minor things like write Scripture & Doctrine], are Apostles in the 3^rd class. Church planting missionaries who carry The Gospel to the ends of the Earth today, or as far as their funding allows, are Apostles in the 4^th class. Got that?

If we continue with our equation, we’ll see that there are gaping holes in what Jesus [is supposed to have] told Mr. Hagin. However, we’ll come to these questions as we move through this series of blogs.

Beyond this, there are those who don’t claim to be Apostles but rather say that their ministry is Apostolic in its bent. So, they’re like an Apostle but they’re not an Apostle. They do Apostolic stuff but they’re not  …Apostles. Confused? Me too. Either you’re an Apostle or you’re not. As for the other nonsense of claiming to have an ‘Apostolic Ministry’ without being an actual Apostle is like saying ‘I’m not an idiot, I just have idiotic aspects to my life. Give me a break. It all comes down to certain men [& women] making a platform themselves, making a name for themselves & making a handsome living. Apostles & Profits are the order of the day.