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NEWARK, TX, Jan. 21 /Christian Newswire/ -- The last decade has brought several notable rebukes to the controversial televangelist, Kenneth Copeland. The question remains, however, whether the latest confrontation will finally result in a permanent change in his behavior.
Photo: Announcing the new AF44 ministry at the 2006 Southwest Believer's Convention, left to right: Rich Vermillion, Glen Hyde, and Kenneth Copeland.
Initially, none other than the "father" of the Word of Faith movement, Kenneth E. Hagin, reproved Copeland back in 1999 for doctrinal errors. Reverend Hagin called a special meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma to which he summoned several of the most popular "prosperity preachers." He lovingly but firmly chided them for what he called "excesses and extremism" within their teaching, and then let them know he was publishing a book to publicly correct some of those errors: The Midas Touch: A Balanced Approach to Biblical Prosperity.
I happened to be privy to that meeting's events because I was then an associate pastor serving under one of those who attended. I monitored these various ministers thereafter, and can report that (for a while) Kenneth Copeland, and the others who attended, seemed to clean up their act. However, with the death of Kenneth E. Hagin in 2003, it was but a few months before these "prosperity-preachers" were once gain pushing extreme doctrinal limits--even beyond those that they had propagated before. "Like a pig returns to its wallowing in the mire," Jesus said, those who are not truly repentant will soon want to return to the "mud" to cool their flesh. And so they did, even bigger than before.
Anyone who is a student of the Bible will recognize a scriptural pattern: If Israel (or an individual) strayed from obedience to God's Word, they were rebuked for their error (typically by a prophet). If they failed to repent, then the Lord would begin afflicting their circumstances with hardship. He sent "the pestilence, sword, and famine." In short, He would hit them where it hurts in order to get their attention and obtain their genuine repentance.
Thus, November 2007 arrived with a shocking wakeup call for two of the ministers present at that Tulsa meeting: Kenneth Copeland and his protégé, Creflo Dollar. The cold splash of reality came in the form of Senator Chuck Grassley and the Senate Finance Committee's (SFC) investigation of not-for-profit entities. Since these two preachers had disobeyed the godly correction brought to them through the seasoned wisdom of Rev. Hagin, they now found themselves in the midst of a legal and media storm of epic proportions.
Interestingly, the very FINANCIAL excesses being investigated by the SFC were those that resulted from the very same DOCTRINAL excesses for which Hagin had tried to correct them. Had they listened to Hagin, perhaps they would not have found themselves in such a mess. Moreover, the ONLY two of the six televangelists who did not cooperate with the SFC investigation are the same two who happened to be present at that Tulsa meeting. Ironic, is it not?
Now the latest major rebuke comes through the website, KennethCopelandBlog.com, which I have published. This site details the two issues mentioned above within the articles entitled, "Reverend Hagin's Previous Rebuke of Kenneth Copeland" and "Senator Grassley's Crusade of Honor." Furthermore, it also documents Kenneth Copeland's apparent FRAUD regarding funds designated to his promised humanitarian ministry.
Nearly four years ago, I stood on the stage with Kenneth Copeland and Glen Hyde during the 2006 Southwest Believer's Convention. In front of a live Daystar television simulcast around the world, we announced the formation of a new disaster relief ministry called Angel Flight 44. Kenneth Copeland pledged to millions of Christians worldwide that this new ministry would provide aviation support during times of disaster.
However, KennethCopelandBlog.com draws attention to the fact that while there is a huge crisis going on in the nation of Haiti right now, Kenneth Copeland's promised Angel Flight 44 ministry is nowhere to be found--and the MONEY he collected to start that ministry has not been accounted for. After nearly four years of natural disasters and broken promises, it is time for Kenneth Copeland to explain WHY his airplanes were still not flying when those Haitian earthquake victims needed him.
KennethCopelandBlog.com displays the facts for the world to see. So will Kenneth Copeland finally listen to biblical correction and repent? I, for one, am praying that he will--BEFORE God's warning in Proverbs 29:1 manifests as a reality in his life: "A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed--without remedy." --R.V.
Rich Vermillion is an ordained minister and an award-winning author. He has appeared on local, national, and international television programs, and his radio interviews have been aired on over 300 stations across the U.S. and Canada.
