Commonly known, both by supporters and by critics, as health-and-wealth or name-it-and-claim-it teaching, the message of the Trinity Broadcasting Network and its most featured revivalists is that the force of faith is the key to believers laying claim to the blessings God longs to give them.
I make no bones about the fact that I see Word of Faith teaching as heretical, so none of these authors are truly recommended. But among these, Joyce Meyer places the least emphasis on aberrant theology, preferring to focus on issues of personal development (about 30-40% of which is sound advice). Pat Robertson is about as good as Jerry Falwell when addressing social ethics and religious liberty, though I believe authors in other categories are more articulate on those issues (such as Richard Land and Al Mohler).
John Avanzini (b. 1936) - known to followers as "Brother John," Word of Faith teacher who focuses more on finances than on healing. His central message is that we worship a rich God, not a poor God, and glorify God by being rich. He and his wife co-pastor the International Faith Center in Texas. Titles: Always Abounding; Financial Excellence; God's Debt-Free Guarantee; It's Not Working, Brother John; Miracle Money; Moving the Hand of God; Powerful Principles of Increase; Rapid Debt-Reduction Strategies; Rich God, Poor God; Stolen Property Returned; War on Debt; Wealth of the World: The Proven Wealth Transfer System; What Jesus Taught About Manifesting Abundance.
Charles Capps - host of Concepts of Faith and prophetic Word of Faith theologian who claims Jesus personally appeared to him in 1995 and assigned him to announce His return. Capps encourages Christians to exercise the miraculous creative power that is theirs by right as replicas of God. Titles: Angels: Knowing Their Purpose; Authority in Three Worlds; Faith and Confession; God's Creative Power for Healing; God's Creative Power Will Work for You; God's Image of You; Jesus Our Intercessor; Messenger of Satan; Releasing Their Power; Seedtime and Harvest; Success Motivation Through the Word; The Tongue: A Creative Force.
David Cerullo - president of INSP, the Inspiration Network and host of the TV series Changing the World. Trained at Oral Roberts University, Cerullo draws heavily on his father Morris's teachings but focuses on finances. A relative newcomer to Word of Faith teaching, his only major book is Turn Off the Darkness.
Morris Cerullo (b. ca. 1930) - the most prominent trainer of Word of Faith ministers, claiming a personal mandate from God to train an "army" of over a million teachers worldwide. Boasting face-to-face meetings with God since age 8, he focuses on overseas ministries, end-time prophecy, and healing, and reports prophesying major world events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall. Cerullo is also famous for claiming that Christians are as much an incarnation of God as Jesus. Titles: Armageddon and the New Millennium; The Beast of Revelation; The Fall of Babylon; Giving and Receiving; The Last Great Anointing (w/ Peter Wagner); A Message to the Seven Churches; The Miracle Book; The Opening of the Seven Seals; The Rapture of the Church; The Seven Trumpets; The Seven Vials of Wrath; The Spirit of Prophecy; Two Men from Eden.
Mark Chironna - overseer of The Master's Touch International Church and founder of Dream Fulfillment.net, a "21st-century laboratory for bringing God's healing presence to the spirit, mind, and body." With a heavy focus on multicultural diversity, Chironna finds self-esteem as essential to building a life of health and prosperity. Titles: Beyond the Shadow of Doubt; Breaking the Boundaries of the Possible; The Cloud of Glory Is Moving; The Elisha Principle; The Image Maker; Knocking on Heaven's Door; Stepping into Greatness; The Ultimate Visitation; The Undiscovered Christ.
Paul Yonggi Cho - pastor of the world's largest church, the Yoido Full Gospel Central Church in Seoul, South Korea. He says his call to preach came as a personal visit from Christ dressed as a fireman. Cho teaches that all Christians have miraculous powers that operate in the fourth dimension and are similar to the abilities of Buddhist monks. Cho has changed his name to David on orders from Christ to reflect his special anointed status. Titles: Daniel; Divine Healing; The Fourth Dimension; The Holy Spirit, My Senior Partner; Leap of Faith; Make Your Faith Work; Prayer: The Key to Revival; Revelation; Salvation, Health, and Prosperity.
Kim Clement - Word of Faith prophet whose predictions appear regularly on TBN and on his website. He has predicted that a cure for AIDS would be found in 2002, that there would be no American casualties in the Iraq War, and that Osama bin Laden would be captured in March 2004. One doctrinal emphasis of his is a concern that some preachers' focus on end-time prophecy and in-church revivals has distracted from the need for evangelism and missions. His autobiography is titled The Sound of His Voice.
Germaine Copeland - founder of Word Ministries, Inc., and popular charismatic prayer author for Harrison House, which publishes almost exclusively Word of Faith materials. Copeland teaches that the prayer of faith binds God to grant whatever the believer requests. Besides substituting prayer for positive confession, her theology is otherwise similar to other Word of Faith teachers. Titles: A Call to Prayer; First Blessings for Your Child; Mastering the Art of Intercessory Prayer; Prayer: Intercession in Action; Prayer that Availeth Much; Prayers that Avail Much for Kids; Prayers that Avail Much for Men; Prayers that Avail Much for Singles; Prayers that Avail Much for Teens; Prayers that Avail Much for Women. Not to be confused with Gloria Copeland or fiction author Lori Copeland.
Kenneth and Gloria Copeland - TBN's primary Bible teachers and hosts of The Believer's Voice of Victory. They take Word of Faith doctrine to its fullest extent, placing man in charge of his relationship with God, teaching that God has a human-sized body, and at times suggesting that Christ was confessed into existence by God's word of faith. Kenneth Copeland also incorporates the prophecies he receives into his ministry. Titles: The Anointed and His Anointing; Family Promises; The Force of Faith; The Force of Righteousness; Healing Promises; The Image of God in You; The Laws of Prosperity; Load Up; Managing God's Mutual Funds; One Word from God Can Change Your Life; Our Covenant with God; Over the Edge; Prayer: Your Foundation for Success; Prosperity: The Choice Is Yours; Prosperity Promises; Protection Promises; Pursuit of His Presence; You Are Healed; and the Kenneth Copeland Reference Bible. Not related to prayer author Germaine Copeland or fiction writer Lori Copeland.
Paul Crouch - (b. 1934) dispensational founder of TBN and leading Word of Faith teacher. Crouch leaves most of the teaching to revivalists such as Hinn and Copeland, but comes to their defense when they are criticized. He sees his network as an avenue for spreading a miracle-filled version of Christianity worldwide. Crouch has come under fire for physically threatening and cursing apologists, scholars, an other critics. Titles: Hello, World; I Had No Father but God; Megiddo; The Omega Code; Shadow of the Apocalypse.
Gregory Dickow - pastor of the Chicago-based Life Changers International Church and host of the TBN program Changing Your Life. Focuses on "power confessions," authoritative declarations of the Christian's power and privileges as a superior being who can change reality. Teaches that financial gifts given to his ministry will be recompensed a hundred fold. Titles: The Cup of Blessing; Flesh, You're Fired; Mastering Your Emotions; Reigning in Life; You Can Recover All.
Creflo Dollar - founder of World Changes Christian Center and host of Changing Your World. One of the most extravagant Word of Faith leaders, teaching that health and riches are the inheritance of the saints by Jesus' death on the cross, and that divine healing is obtained through the "covenant connector" of tithing. Titles: Answers Awaiting in the Presence of God; The Divine Order of Faith; God's Purpose for the Anointing; How to Trouble Your Trouble; Lord, Teach Me How to Love; No More Debt!; The Successful Family (w/ Taffi Dollar); Total Life Prosperity; Uprooting the Spirit of Fear; Walking in the Confidence of God in Troubled Times.
Kenneth Hagin (1926-2003) - pastor of Rhema Bible Church and founder of RHEMA, which along with Oral Roberts University is one of the Bible training headquarters of the Word of Faith movement. Recognized as the father of WOF teaching, having received much of his inspiration from E. W. Kenyon. He reportedly repudiated his teachings in a 2001 interview but soon resumed them. Titles: And He Gave Gifts to Men; The Believer's Authority; Biblical Ways to Receive Healing; Casting Your Cares Upon the Lord; Having Faith in Your Faith; The Holy Spirit and His Gifts; How to Write Your Own Ticket with God; How You Can Be Led by the Spirit of God; I Went to Hell; The Midas Touch; The Ministry Gifts; Must Christian Suffer?; Name of Jesus; Seven Vital Steps to Receiving the Holy Spirit; The Triumphant Church. Not to be confused with dispensationalist* John Hagee.
Mac Hammond - second-tier Word of Faith teacher who went directly from management in the aviation industry to pastoral ministry. Now hosts The Winner's Way on TBN, teaching that the goal of a disciple is to be a winner in every area of life. "God's highest and best will is that your whole life becomes a reflection of His abundant provision." Titles: Angels at Your Service; Doorways to Deception; Heirs Together; The Last Millennium; Positioned for Promotion; The Search for Holy Living; Seeing and Knowing; Simplify Your Life; Water, Wind, and Fire; Winning the World. (Also pictured is his wife Lynne.)
Marilyn Hickey - Word of Faith teacher who focuses on healing. Hickey is best known for sending out prayer-anointed afgans, prayer cloths, and similar items guaranteed to produce miracles. She hosts Today with Marilyn. Titles: Acts of the Holy Spirit; Be Healed; Break the Generational Curse; Breaking Free from Fear; Breaking Generational Curses; Breakthroughs to Faith; Claim Your Miracles; Divorce Is Not the Answer; Know Your Ministry; Will You Survive the End Times?; Women of the Word; Your Miracle Source.
Benny Hinn (b. 1953) - leading Word of Faith preacher, raised Greek Orthodox. A crusading evangelist who claims to receive his revolutionary doctrines directly from the Holy Spirit while preaching. Hinn helped popularize the slain in the Spirit phenomenon. Hinn is also known for his near-deification of humanity and shares many of Copeland's controversial teachings. Titles: The Anointing; The Biblical Road to Blessing; The Blood: Its Power from Genesis to Jesus to You; Good Morning, Holy Spirit; He Touched Me; Kathryn Kuhlman: Her Spiritual Legacy and Its Impact on My Life; Miracles of Healing; Walking in Divine Health (w/ Don Colbert); Welcome, Holy Spirit.
Larry Lea - Word of Faith teacher known as "the apostle of prayer." Trained at Oral Roberts University, Lea is the founder of International Prayer Ministries and has built three megachurches. He is best known for translating the Lord's Prayer into an appropriation of prosperity. He is also one of the most extreme deliverance ministers, believing that God cannot bind Satan unless his saints pray and rebuke evil forces. He helped popularize the concept of territorial spirits. Titles: Breaking the Shame Barrier; Could You Not Tarry With Me One Hour?; The Hearing Ear; The Highest Calling; Mending Broken Nets and Broken Fishermen; Release the Prayer Anointing; The Weapons of Your Warfare; Wisdom: Don't Leave Life Without It. Not to be confused with Baptist author Thomas D. Lea.
Clarence McClendon - minister at Church of the Harvest International, and prominent bishop in the International Communion of Charismatic Churches. He also founded Siloam Bible College and is a popular gospel musician. Not as prominent in his Word of Faith teaching as in other charismatic concerns, but definitely teaches the prosperity of every Christian as the will of God. Excommunicated from the Full Gospel denomination for his teachings and for leaving his wife for another woman, but his popularity continues to grow through his TBN ministry and his music. Titles: And When You Pray: The Key to Accessing the Presence of God; Beyond Personal Power: Experiencing the "God Kind of Faith"; The X Blessing.
Joyce Meyer - hard-hitting host of Life in the Word, and one of the most influential women in Christian ministry. Her theology is somewhat in flux due to new revelations from the Holy Spirit. While her beliefs are mostly in line with Copeland and Hinn, her teaching focuses more on emotional well-being than on physical health and wealth. Her view of spiritual warfare is in line with most deliverance ministries. Titles: Battlefield of the Mind; Beauty for Ashes; Enjoying Where You Are on the Way to Where You Are Going; How to Hear from God; How to Succeed at Being Yourself; Knowing God Intimately; The Life in the Word Devotional; Managing Your Emotions; Me and My Big Mouth; Seven Things that Steal Your Joy; When, God, When?.
Joel Osteen - succesor to his father, John Osteen, at Lakewood. He began the church's TV ministry and popularized its famous chant: "This is my Bible. I have what it says I have," etc. Osteen derives his mannerisms and focus on psychological well-being from Charles Stanley, but his doctrine is that of his father. Notable among his teachings is that Christians should have special privileges in the world because we are higher beings: extending to first-class seats on airplanes, special sections in restaurants, and exemption from traffic tickets. His major book title is Your Best Life Now.
John Osteen (1921-1999) - founder of Lakewood Church and pastor for 40 years. Trained at Oral Roberts University, he applied his motto, "No Limits," to every aspect of life. Beyond standard Word of Faith teaching, he was outspoken about the inherent superiority of Christians who used their words of faith to control reality. Titles: The Bible Way to Spiritual Power; How to Claim the Benefits of the Will; How to Flow in the Super Supernatural; Pulling Down Strongholds; Reigning in Life as a King; Rivers of Living Water; Saturday Is Coming; Six Lies the Devil Uses to Destroy Marriages; There Is a Miracle in Your Mouth; This Awakening Generation; Unraveling the Mystery of the Blood Covenant; You Can Change Your Destiny.
Rod Parsley (b. 1957) - fiery pastor of World Harvest Church on the cutting edge of charismatic revivalism. He is also currently constructing the Breakthrough World Ministry Center, a "command center...to reap the end-time harvest of souls." He is known for his pep-rally style showmanship, chaotic worship times, and insistence on the need to experience ecstatic gifts. Parsley is also critical of serious Bible study, claiming that "exegesis X's out Jesus," and has recently incorporated the health-and-wealth message into his teaching. Titles: Ancient Wells, Living Water; At the Cross; The Backside of Calvary; The Commanded Blessing; The Day Before Eternity; God's Answer to Insufficient Funds; He Came First; Holiness; My Promise Is the Palace; No Dry Season; No More Crumbs; Praise and Worship; Repairers of the Breach; Serious Survival Strategies; Ten Golden Keys to Your Abundance; Touched by the Anointing; Tribulation to Triumph; Worshiping the Unknown God.
Frederick K. C. Price (b. 1932) - founder of Crenshaw Christian Center and Ever Increasing Faith Ministries, and self-proclaimed "master of name-it-and-claim-it". Trained at Rhema Bible Training Center and Oral Roberts University. One emphasis in his ministry is contrasting prosperity Christianity with the more fatalistic Islam. Titles: Beware the Lies of Satan; Building on a Firm Foundation; Faith, Foolishness, or Presumption?; The Holy Spirit: The Helper We All Need; How Faith Works; Is God Glorified Through Sickness?; Is Healing for All; A New Law and a New People; Petition Prayer or the Prayer of Faith; Prosperity on God's Terms; Race, Religion, and Racism; Three Keys to Positive Confession.
Oral Roberts (b. 1918) - founder of Oral RobertsUniversity and main popularizer of the Word of Faith movement, inspired by early Pentecostal faith-healers. Roberts places the greatest focus on prophecy, claiming to have received several famous visitations from Jesus. He rejects much of Copeland's and Hinn's teachings but coined much of the current Word of Faith terminology in his sermons and over 120 books. Titles: Abundant Life; A Daily Guide to Miracles; Expect a Miracle; How I Learned Jesus Was Not Poor; The Miracle of Seed-Faith; The Seed-Faith Commentary on the Holy Bible; Something Good Is Going to Happen to You; Still Doing the Impossible; A Thousand Times More; Your Road to Recovery.
Richard Roberts - president and CEO of Oral Roberts University, and host of Something Good Tonight: The Healing Hour. Essentially carrying on his father's legacy, Roberts' ministry encompasses faith-healing (even over the TV), miracles, prosperity, prophecy, and deliverance ministry. Titles: If You're Going Through Hell, Don't Stop; The Source, the Seed, and the Answer. Not to be confused with evangelical revival author Richard Owen Roberts.
Pat Robertson (b. 1930) - former Baptist pastor, now Pentecostal chairman of the Family Channel and founder of the Christian Coalition and the Christian Broadcasting Network. Also hosts the 700 Club and ran for US president in 1988. A dispensational conspiracy theorist and faith-healer who claims to receive new revelation from God, but he does not associate himself with most of TBN's more extreme Word of Faith teachers. Titles: America's Date with Destiny; Answers to 200 of Life's Most Probing Questions; The Autobiography of Pat Robertson; Beyond Reason: How Miracles Can Change Your Life; Bring It On; The End of the Age: A Novel; The New Millennium; The New World Order; The Secret Kingdom; Six Steps to Spiritual Revival; The Ten Offenses.
Jerry Savelle - founder of JSMI Bible Institute and School of World Evangelism. A humorous and personable crusade leader who preaches that the life of a healthy Christian is one of material wealth. Unlike other Word of Faith teachers, he actually places more emphasis on the power of joy than the power of faith. Titles: Are You Tired of Sowing Much and Reaping Little?; Don't Let Go of Your Dreams; Expect the Extraordinary; From Devastation to Restoration; Honoring Your Heritage of Faith; If Satan Can't Steal Your Joy, He Can't Have Your Goods; How God Supplies Your Every Need; In the Footsteps of a Prophet; Take Charge of Your Financial Destiny; Turning Your Dreams into Reality; Victory and Success Are Yours.
R. W. Schambach (b. 1926) - "senior statesman" of the Pentecostal community, long-time leader of faith-healing crusades like Oral Roberts. Teaches that every time the gospel goes forth, signs and wonders will accompany it. His mentor was A. A. Allen, whom he says cast out more devils accidentally than most preachers do on purpose. Titles: Miracles: Eyewitness to the Miraculous; You Can't Beat God Givin'.
Dwight Thompson (b. ca. 1940) - captivating faith-healer and preacher who sponsors inner-city and international children's ministry. Part of TBN's inner circle, often doing music for the Copelands and others. His only major book is Devil, You Can't Have My Family, but he has many audiotapes of sermons on prosperity, positive confession, spiritual warfare, and dispensational end-time prophecy.
Leroy Thompson - Word of Faith founder of Word of Life Christian Center in Louisiana. He emphasizes on the immediacy of God's promise of financial blessings and urges Christians to declare daily to the money they desire, "Cometh to me now!" Titles: Framing Your World with the Word of God: The Creative Power of the Spoken Word; How to Put Your Marriage Under the Anointing; I'll Never Be Broke Another Day in My Life; Money Cometh to the Body of Christ; Money with a Mission; You're Not Broke: You Have a Seed. Not to be confused with Demons in Denominations author Lee Thompson, Jr.
Robert Tilton - Word of Faith teacher and host of Success-N-Life. Formerly the pastor of Word of Faith Family Church, he took in as much as 65 million dollars a year until he was exposed as a fraud by PrimeTime Live investigators and encountered a number of lawsuits. His primary message was God's guarantee of financial and physical blessing to those who contributed to his ministry. He now claims to receive prophetic visions about the future of America and the war on terrorism. Titles: Charting Your Course by the Dream in Your Heart; Climbing Prayer Mountain; Dare to Be a Success; God's Laws for Success; How to Receive and Keep Your Healing; Solving the Mystery of the Miracle Money; Solving the Mystery of Unanswered Prayer; You Shall Eat the Riches of the Gentiles.
Casey Treat - leadership expert of the Word of Faith movement, ordained by Fred Price. Located in the Northwest, he traines WOF teachers through Vision Ministers Fellowship and Christian Faith International. He names financial properity as one of his ministry's primary goals and values. Titles: Being Spiritually Minded; Blueprint for Life: Dare to Turn God's Dreams for You into Reality; Daily Steps to Renewal; Discover Your Destiny; Fulfilling God's Plan for Your Life; Get Ready for Your Future; Healing the Orphaned Heart; Reaching Your Summit; Renewing the Mind; Setting Your Course; You Can Pull Down Strongholds; Your Vision Is Your Future.
Paula White - founder and co-pastor of the 15,000-member Without Walls International Church. Her ministry focuses on helping believers, particularly youth, find purpose and maximize their potential, as viewed from a Word of Faith perspective. One of the most popular new teachers on TBN, perhaps because she uses rock and contemporary praise music instead of the Southern gospel common to most other programs. Titles: Birthing Your Dreams; Deal with It!; He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not; Words Elude Me.There may be others in this database whose charismatic convictions I am not aware of. See also the sections on charismatics and Third Wave revivalists.
For a statement of my beliefs, see my Declaration of Faith.
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