By now, you’ve probably heard about or read the Time Magazine cover story which asks, “Does God Want You Rich?” (HT: Justin Taylor). I haven’t read the article, but I know the answer to the question. I’m right there with Anthony Carter who points out that this particular menace, the so-called “prosperity gospel,” is ravaging churches… and far too many predominantly African-American churches.
So, imagine my surprise when I came across this news release describing the recent National Baptist Convention’s, the largest African-American Baptist denomination in the U.S., denouncement of prosperity preaching and preachers. Last week 35,000 delegates attended the annual convention in Dallas, TX.
WFAA TV ran this brief story on the convention. And while it wasn’t much in terms of any official positions from the convention, I was pleased to see that local pastors were getting a voice in the coverage… and that what they chose to denounce wasn’t this or that pet peeve, but the cross-denying, atonement-mocking, false “gospel” of the Creflo Dollars, Fred Prices, T.D. Jakes, Paul Mortons, Clarence McClendons, and Mr. “Money Cometh” Leroy Thompsons of the world. That’s a start.
Now, if we can just get the folks who denounce the prosperity gospel to give up the social gospel and preach the biblical gospel of redemption from sin and joyous eternal life through the blood of Jesus Christ… then we’ll be getting somewhere!