By Mel Montgomery
Why did the "Prosperity Gospel" fail at ORU?
My question is a sincere one.
So also are the other questions that I ask in this article.
They are asked in blunt frankness, not in sarcasm or in mockery. None of these questions are intended as a personal attack on any minister or ministry. These are simple, straightforward questions.
When ORU collapsed recently, we were stunned to find out that this beloved university was burdened with $53 million in debt. I think it is high time therefore to ask some pointed questions.
How can ORU possibly be in debt to the staggering sum of $53 million with the foremost prosperity preachers of our day sitting on its board, releasing their faith, and making decisions for the university? |
Prosperity vs Hyper-Prosperity
I am not aware of any denomination that believes that no matter how hard you work, how careful you are, how faithful you are to God, the Lord never-the-less wants you poor. I'm sure there is some oddball sect out there that believes money is evil. But if so, they are a microscopic minority. As far as I can tell, ALL denominations--to a lesser or greater extent--believe that God wants you to "prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth." So we are not limited to choosing between preaching poverty or preaching prosperity. The choice is between two Gospels. One is a Gospel that preaches Christ but includes prosperity as a secondary issue, which we will call the "Balanced Prosperity" message. The other is a "Hyper-Prosperity" Gospel which majors on financial prosperity almost to the exclusion of every other Bible truth.
Proponents of the Balanced Prosperity message believe that prosperity comes over time, in response to hard work, diligent saving, preparing for the future, intelligent use of debt, and giving to God. I count myself and most ministers I personally know to be in this camp. Preachers of Hyper-Prosperity tell us that prosperity comes instantly or overnight by confessing faith confessions, by God giving "supernatural increase," along with "miraculous debt cancellation," accompanied by "hundred-fold returns," if you will come under their ministry's "anointing of increase," refuse debt of any kind, and give as much money as possible into the "good ground" of their ministries.
We can look on the national scene and immediately identify with some degree of certainty where most leading minsters stand. Some are obviously intoxicated with the Hyper-Prosperity message, perhaps because they have been deceived into believing that this avalanche of money is the act of God "blessing" their ministry and message. Many others who preach a Balanced Prosperity message, have slowly followed the others to a certain extent speaking less and less of hard work, living on a budget, making wise decisions, etc., and even many--not all--have taken up the tune and with the extremists are singing "Give! Give! Give!"
Yet we have to face the fact that Prosperity Preachers from both the "Hyper" and the "Balanced" camps sat on the Board of Regents of ORU. The financial collapse occurred on their watch. The collapse in finances and confidence at ORU and the subsequent releasing to the public of damaging information has served to highlight some glaring inconsistencies in the actions of preachers from both camps.
The majority of the Prosperity Preachers have preached throughout our churches, conferences, and on TV that it is never God's will for anyone to go into debt. To quote one of them who has sat on the ORU Board of Regents for years:
"Debt is not a sin. But it is a shame."
How then did ORU sink into the "shame" of $53 million in debt?
There are many factors involved in the answer to that question. One factor is the economic difficulty of running a private University. With no State government kicking in millions of dollars each year to build new buildings and offset the continuing costs, every private University faces tremendous financial hurdles. Other factors no doubt contributed to the deep debt of ORU. I can see how even well meaning Regents can deal with an "off year" by borrowing, and thinking that trends would change. It only takes two or three "off years" for debt to begin accumulating, interest accruing, and then it spirals into a worse and worse situation.
I do not at all question the integrity of the Regents at ORU. What I respectfully question is the fruit that was produced as they released their faith, confessed, exercised their authority, and released their anointings. They did their best to practice what they preach, and rather than producing prosperity and abundance, it produced disaster. Although all of them that I know of preach that God will always meet your need, and that debt is never God's will, they were left with no alternative but to go deeper and deeper in debt in order to keep ORU afloat. This fact should cause them, and us, to scruitinize closely the assumptions we hold about how God's financial laws work. Clearly, some piece of the puzzle is missing.
Prosperity Preachers urge everyone to "Sow a seed and God will meet your need!" There is a valid scriptural principle involved in this to a certain extent. However, ORU sowed into other ministries and projects for years and years. Why didn't "sowing a seed" cause God to "meet the need?" At ORU "Seed Faith" went bust. More than bust. Bust means "broke." Fifty-three million dollars in debt is 53 million miles past broke. Clearly, Seed Faith alone, will not get the job done.
Relentlessly, Prosperity Preachers on the Board of Regents commanded everyone to tithe. "If you tithe, God will open the windows of Heaven, rebuke the devourer, and pour you out a blessing that you won't be able to contain it!" Again, giving is a valid spiritual practice. Well, surely ORU tithed. I mean they practiced privately what they preached publicly, didn't they? Where is the uncontainable blessing they promised would always come in response to tithing?
Constantly, Prosperity Preachers cry out for us to "give sacrificially." Telling us, "You can't outgive God!" Did any of those preachers empty out their ministry and personal bank accounts and give "sacrificially" to ORU in its hour of need? No? Why not?
Again, I question no one's integrity or sincerity. But what they preached led to disaster, and we must realize that there are aspects of God's Laws of Prosperity we are not applying correctly or are ignoring.
Lastly, where are all the preachers who have "the anointing of increase," and the "debt-breaking anointing?" Why didn't they fly down to Tulsa, boldy stride into the President's office, lay their hands on the bank loan papers and command the need to be met? After all, they claim to be "anointed" to work financial miracles. On telethon after telethon some of these same preachers promise that God will break the debt of anyone "who sows in this special offering." When one of those "debt-breaking offerings" was being taken up, why didn't someone sow into it a couple of million dollars from ORU's bank account so that its debt could be "broken?" Such "special offerings" seem to be something that is frequently preached by major ministries, but rarely practiced.
The most anointed prophets, healing evangelists, and teachers of our day publicly preached prosperity while privately presiding over the largest ministry financial crash in history. This does not make them bad people--it just shows that the message they preach is far out of balance. |
ORU survived only by the mercy of God, the skin of its teeth, and the generosity of Christian millionaires who 
pumped in millions of dollars, gave the pink slip to most of the preivous Board of Regents, and demanded transparency and accountability.
Even if the faith of the Hyper-Prosperity Preachers failed at ORU, why didn't the faith of the Balanced-Prosperity Preachers work?
There is an old Chineese proverb:
"Success has a thousand fathers but failure is an orphan."
If ORU had a $53 million surplus, Prosperity Preachers would be standing in line to take the credit. But since it failed not one has offered an adequate explanation of the crash.
Yes, I believe God wants us to prosper. But this unrelenting mess that has been preached in our circles for years has sown the wind, and now we are reaping the whirlwind.
It is my sincere hope that now that the Hyper-Prosperity message has spectacularly crashed and burned at ORU, we can shovel the ashes of it onto the dung heap and return to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Perhaps we can lay aside the intoxication of the deceitfulness of riches, repent, correct and moderate our message further, and come back within clear scriptural bounds again.
Article: Copyright 2008 Mel C. Montgomery All rights reserved. Text may be copied and shared with others as long as it is done so without charge, in entirety, and if attribution is given.
Comic by Clay Bennett is used by permission.
Contact Guidelines |
Brother Mel is especially interested in hearing from: - Anyone who has been blessed by this website.
- Fellow ministers.
- Anyone who knew the Goodwins or other faith giants.
- Anyone who has old recordings they would like to donate to us so that we can share them with the world.
Please keep in in mind: - All e-mails are confidentially screened.
- Sincere questions or comments are always welcome, and will be forwarded to Mel.
- Brother Mel personally reads and answers all e-mails that are forwarded to him.
- Because of the demands on Brother Mel's time, a response will usualy take several days.
Kinds of E-mails that are not forwarded to Mel: - Abusive e-mails. Senders are blocked.
- Jokes, chain letters, spam, etc., are not forwarded.
- Brother Mel will not participate in e-mail debates.
E-Mail: admin@brothermel.com To Subscribe to Our Monthly E-mail Newsletter: CLICK HERE To Invite Brother Mel For Services: To Donate to This Minsitry: Mailing Address: Brother Mel Ministries PO Box 783 Joplin, MO 64802 |