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Los principales evangélicos abrazan a Joyce Meyer en el evento del 40 aniversario

Por Julie Roys
joyce meyer
Chris Tomlin (left) leads worship at the Joyce Meyer Ministries 40th Anniversary event on Sept. 22, 2022, where Meyer also invited Christine Caine (right) as a featured speaker. (Images via Instagram)

Joyce Meyer—once widely regarded a prosperity preacher and one of six televangelists targeted in a 2007 Senate probe—was embraced last weekend by leading evangelicals at Meyer’s “Love Life” 40el Anniversary Women’s Conference.

Passion Band member and Dove and Grammy award-winning artist Chris Tomlin led worship for the conference. Thousands attended September 22-24 at the Dome at America’s Center in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

“Wonderful night at the 40el anniversary of the Joyce Meyer conference…grateful to be a part of the celebration!” Tomlin posted on Instagram.

More than 4,000 people liked Tomlin’s post, but most comments on his post’s thread were critical.

“She is a false teacher, this is a reflection on what you believe about the gospel,” commented “mississippi_mama.”

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“Who’s next? Singing at (Kenneth) Copeland’s conference too? . . .” someone else wrote.

The conference featured another televangelist commonly associated with prosperity theology—joel osteen. As El Informe Roys (TRR) previously published, Osteen owns a home in Houston appraised for tax purposes at almost $12 million and one in California valued more than $7.3 million.

joyce meyer
Joyce Meyer Ministries promotes Joel Osteen appearing at their September 22, 2022 online event. (Screengrab via Instagram)

Tauren Wells, a worship leader at Osteen’s Lakewood Church and Platinum artist, also sang at Meyer’s conference.

Other performers and speakers at the event, like popular author and activist cristina caine, have some ties to prosperity gospel ministries, but are not commonly regarded as prosperity preachers. Like Osteen and Meyer, however, Caine has a television program en Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). (Her show is also carried by the Hillsong Channel.)

TBN broadcast Meyer’s Love Life conference. According to jet records obtenido por El Informe Roys, the network also flew its private aircraft worth tens of millions of dollars to St. Louis prior to the conference.

Evangelical author Lisa Harper also spoke at Meyer’s conference. Harper formerly worked as the director of Focus on the Family’s national women’s ministry and has advanced degrees from Denver Seminary and Covenant Seminary. She is not considered a proponent of the prosperity gospel but is a regular on TBN’s Better Together show.

Two popular Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) artists—Phil Wickham y Brandon Lake—performed at Meyer’s conference, as well. Neither artist posted about the conference on social media.

Caine, however, posted several pictures from the event on Instagram.

“I thank God for a spiritual mother and role model who inspires me to run hard afterJesus (sic) until my last breath,” Caine wrote in her Instagram post.

Unlike the response to Tomlin’s post, the comment thread on Caine’s post was largely positive.

Meyer thanked Caine for her friendship in a comment on Instagram. Meyer added that she’s looking forward to being with Caine and Shelley Giglio at the upcoming Grove Conference. (The conference was postponed due to Hurricane Ian.)

Giglio is co-founder of the Passion Movement and the wife of Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta Georgia. Shelley Giglio is hosting The Grove Conference, which according to a video at the conference website is not announcing speakers. However, Giglio promises in the video that those speaking at The Grove are a “trusted group of women who are Bible-believing, trusting women.”

Meyer’s prosperous theology & lifestyle

Meyer has long been considered a proponent of the “prosperity gospel,” which teaches God will bless people financially when they give to Christian ministries. (TRR reached out to Joyce Meyer Ministries for comment for this story, but the ministry did not respond.)

However, in 2015, Meyer’s ministry clarified that these blessings from God are not always financial, but can also “apply to the spiritual, emotional, physical and financial areas of life,” El mensaje cristiano reported. “A ‘prosperity gospel’ that solely equates blessing with financial gain is out of balance and could damage a person’s walk with God,” Meyer’s ministry stated.

joyce meyer
Joyce Meyer (Courtesy Photo)

Meyer herself lived such a prosperous life that in 2007, she became one of six televangelists to be investigated by the Senate Finance Committee, headed by Senator Chuck Grassley.

The investigation resulted in no sanctions against Meyer or any of the other televangelists suspected of abusing their nonprofit status, including Benny Hinn y Creflo Dollar. However, as MinistryWatch President Warren Cole Smith explained in a podcast with TRR, Grassley likely ended the investigation for political reasons.

Prior to Grassley’s investigation, the St. Louis-Post Dispatch had reported that Meyer’s ministry owns a $10 million Gulfstream IV aircraft, which the ministry is still using. The Dispatch also reported that Joyce Meyer Ministries owned five homes for Joyce Meyer and her family members worth nearly $4 million.

Two of those homes were sold in 2005 for a total of $2.55 million, according to Religion News Blog.

Meyer’s current salary is unknown. However, the Dispatch reported that for 2002 and 2003, Meyer’s board approved $900,000 in compensation for Joyce Meyer and up to $450,000 for her husband. However, a later apology published by the outlet noted that the board minutes did not disclose the salaries Joyce Myer and her husband actually received.

After these revelations, Meyer announced she would take a reduced salary of $250,000 from her ministry in 2004. Plus, instead of donating her book royalties back to her ministry, the ministry said Meyer would retain the royalties on books sold outside her ministry at various retail outlets. According to Christianity Today, the royalties were more than double what Meyer and her husband had been paid by the ministry in salary.

In 2009, Joyce Meyer Ministries joined the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and now publishes an reporte anual.

However, the ECFA does not require that member ministries report the salaries of their top executives—a requirement imposed on all secular nonprofits by the IRS. And, as TRR has previously reported, ministries accredited by ECFA have faced bankruptcy or been embroiled in potentially fraudulent activities, raising questions about whether ECFA accreditation is simply a rubber stamp.

Joyce Meyer Ministries maintains a 10-person board, which includes four members of Meyer’s family. The ECFA encourages its member organizations to have board members who are independent—not related to staff of the organization or other board members, or employed by the organization.  However, ECFA requires merely that a majority of the board members are independent.

This article has been updated with a revised link for flight records.

Julie Roys es una reportera de investigación veterana y fundadora de The Roys Report. Antes de eso, presentó un programa nacional de entrevistas en Moody Radio Network, llamado Up for Debate. También ha trabajado como reportera de televisión para una filial de CBS, redactora de noticias para WGN-TV y Fox News Chicago, y ha publicado artículos en numerosas publicaciones periódicas.

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27 Respuestas

  1. Julie, thank you for reporting on Joyce Meyer. She is mainstream enough that I am sure you will receive some negative comments, but I appreciate your even handedness in covering her ministry. Actually the biggest issue with her theology is not her well packaged prosperity message, it’s her little God’s theology, which she shares with Dollar, and Copeland. I know your job is difficult, but in times such as these your ministry to the Body at large is so important. I am amazed at the lack of discernment from such beloved Christians as Tomlin and others who seem to turn a blind eye to the obvious theological and practical issues in the church today.

      1. Gary, Thank-you for a little reality – there is FAR more to the walk in Christ than affirming a silly little creed. To keep it real – Meyers is a joke….grifting off horribly gullible religious people.

  2. Who cares what Joyce Meyer owns or has. Did everyone forget she has written almost 100 books, put in conferences, etc. Also she does a lot of evangelism in poor countries. Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, all of these ministers do other work than just preach and the income they make is theirs to do as they see fit. We don’t know how much money they are putting into their church or the kingdom of God. This is why people don’t want to join the church. If we’re do disunified, how can we help those not saved. SMH

    1. Get over your love of these things. Don’t care what you think they do. Ask yourself would Jesus live there life style. Did Jesus rides donkeys or golden chariots. They’ve turned our saviors name into gold. Nothing humble. And the singer who went platinum. Using emotional show for financial gain. Recently heard of the Christian dove awards. No different than the Grammys. Look at me look at me look at me. All self love and using Jesus name. Ya notice only in America are Christian’s so full of self love. Most other countries humility is how Christianity is practiced.

    2. Kelly , Who cares we all should! What is the example Jesus set? You can’t serve two masters ? What does that mean? God or mamon. These mega pastors try to justify their using the gospel to enrich themselves but people are leaving Christianity because of their excessive life styles! That includes Franklin Graham. What did Jesus say to the rich young ruler?? How much more would he hold these pastors to account. Only about 55 percent of Americans considere them selves christian today I’m sure these churches are part of the reason. It’s just heartbreaking.

  3. I find it interesting that this article comes about the same time the article on Brother Andrew passing away. I can’t help but be struck by the difference in their ministries and i suspect one of them will be far better rewarded in the life to come.

  4. The Christ she preaches is not a saving Christ. False teachers were reviled by the Lord for this very reason. The circus has indeed come to town.

  5. I’ll say something unpopular here. I have NO problem with ministers having wealth or large followings. I don’t think being in ministry equals taking a vow of poverty or that congregations over a certain size are automatically ungodly. In scripture we see God blessing many of His prophets and followers with wealth – which was ultimately used and needed to provide for His people and advance His purpose; and we see His disciples preaching to THOUSANDS at a time.
    What matters to me: Are ministers using their wealth to honor God, feed His flock, and advance a Biblically-accurate gospel? (I have more concerns about the last part of that, based on what I’ve learned about a few of the speakers).
    Years ago, I attended a Joyce Meyer Love Life conference to hear Priscilla Shirer (daughter of Tony Evans) speak, as I grew up attending Evans’s church in Dallas. I was unexpectedly blessed by the ENTIRE weekend, and particularly moved by Meyer’s testimony of surviving abuse. Given what I was going through, I believe God had me there for a reason. I didn’t hear any prosperity gospel, yet I admit I haven’t been a close follower of Meyer since. I DO know that she works (books, conferences, prison ministry) AND she gives (I donated my stock of hotel toiletries to one of her homes for abused women). Her conference was free – and there were easily thousands of women there.
    I’d like to hear more if and about the problemmatic gospel being touted. And let’s make sure we are taking the plank out of our own eye: many of us criticizing the wealthy lifestyles of an Osteen, Meyer, etc. don’t tithe or give generously to ministries or charities.

    1. Actually Marin when it’s about self. Then it’s called OOJ. Opposite Of Jesus. Notice the godly man known as the Bible smuggler was barely known to many other than Christ. He didn’t need large homes big cars expensive jets and ongoing award ceremonies telling the world how godly he is. The longer it takes to introduce someone based on listing all there deeds, the less it’s about Christ vs themselves. And all this started in the seventies and mostly it’s an American curse.

      1. gary-
        Question for you: do you think they see those things (cars, homes, awards) as proof of how Godly they are? How so? (Do they say, “How do I know I’m Godly? I have a fancy car!”)
        I believe one can have those things and not think that way AT ALL, and yet people can ASSUME you do.
        From my view, if Danielle Steele or Tom Clancy writes 100s of books and is well compensated for it, it’s not a problem – why would it be an issue of Joyce Meyer does the same? And isn’t it a plus if her books are pointing people to the Bible? If they aren’t (I’ve only read 1 and found it very helpful in a season of grief), lets discuss. This is why I think more of the focus should be on if the message is problematic.

        1. Real easy to differentiate. Clancy and Steele ain’t using Jesus for the basis of there wealth. There is nothing modest or humble about there life styles. They just happen use Jesus as the base. I’ve done the research. Only in America do evangelicals profit and use the excuse god’s blessing them. FYI. In Nigeria recently a few churches were burned down and many Christian’s were slaughtered. Ya think some of Meyers or Copeland or olsteens vast wealth could have provided some protection. Yes or no. Do you think they would dare go there and proclaim the gospel knowing that AK 47 rounds are zeroing in on them? I doubt it. Especially olsteen. He wouldn’t want to get his hair messed up. I know brave Christians who go there and risk there lives. And they never mentioned they ran into any American evangelicals while over there.

          1. Gary – I’m in the comforts of my own home, so I can’t judge anyone’s willingness to go to a war zone. I do believe if Joyce was called by God to do that and ignored Him, He will let her know. But even the apostle Paul acknowledged that the life of a persecuted missionary was NOT the calling on everyone. I do know Joyce has a prison ministry, and yet I’m not called to do that either, so no comment. IMO it comes down to obedience to one’s calling. I’ve known wealthy Christians whom the Lord has called to buy homes, cars, and buildings for less fortunate believers and small churches. They also share the importance of a spirit of discernment, as others will pressure them into giving in ways the Lord isn’t calling them to, and accuse them of not being real Christians if they don’t.
            Just because it’s Christian work doesn’t mean the Lord has specifically called one to do it. So how do you know what Joyce is being called to do?
            Again, I haven’t heard Joyce refer to her wealth as proof of her salvation, so I could be missing a valid critique here. But I have no problem with Chistians writing books or leading large flocks, especially if they are called to do so and tithe accordingly. If a person has a gift for writing or speaking, I’d rather them do it for the Lord than for the world. But that’s not up to me. I will say God bless them, because if they do, Lord knows Christians will be the FIRST in line to judge them for it.

    2. There is something that seems antithetical to the Christian faith to become fabulously, lavishly, wealthy FROM ministry. I won’t belabor the point but it just doesn’t feel right at all. I will not compare her to others because I do not know her heart and I do not doubt that she is also quite generous.

      As for her teachings she seems to have, until very recently, always taught that hardship can be countered or avoided by having faith. She admitted this herself, which is encouraging.

      I don’t know Marin. I would never say somebody cannot have come to faith or grown under the teaching of Meyer. I’m sure many have. I’m equally sure many have been distracted by her worldly success and come away believing that if only they have some faith they can have a piece of that kind of success, too.

    3. Por cada predicador de la prosperidad hay varios miles de personas pobres que dieron más de lo que deberían a sus ministerios con la creencia equivocada de que iban a recibir diez veces más.

      Hasta ahora no ha habido ningún cheque en el correo.

  6. Marin: Dijiste: "Y asegurémonos de quitarnos la viga de nuestro propio ojo: muchos de nosotros que criticamos los estilos de vida ricos de un Osteen, Meyer, etc. no diezmamos ni damos generosamente a ministerios o organizaciones benéficas". No estoy seguro de lo que estás diciendo.

    1. Y Marin, ¿cómo sabes que no diezmamos generosamente? Jesús dijo que seas un dador alegre. Si estoy dando porque me han dicho que Dios me va a atrapar o si no diezmo lo suficiente, entonces es culpa mía que se vayan al infierno. Eso no es un dador alegre. Y por el aspecto de los Meyer, los olsteen, los dólares y los Copeland, parece que necesitan invertir el diezmo. Tal vez necesiten dar 90% de sus ingresos a una iglesia. Una vez más, solo puedo ver a los evangélicos estadounidenses promoviendo los diezmos como el último signo de piedad.

      1. Gary – Dije que nos aseguremos de quitarnos la viga de nuestro propio ojo. Parece que no tienes ese problema. Pero los datos muestran que la mayoría de los evangélicos NO están diezmando. Así que mi comentario es para aquellos que critican a los cristianos ricos por no diezmar o dar lo suficiente (sea lo que sea que eso signifique) mientras TAMBIÉN no diezman ni dan lo suficiente.
        ¿Y cómo sabes si Meyers, Osteen, etc. NO ESTÁN diezmando? Si están ganando lo suficiente (lo cual es probable), pueden dar 10% y TODAVÍA vivir sus vidas de manera bastante lujosa. Rick Warren solo recibe un salario anual de $1 Y hace un diezmo inverso, pero aún vive bastante cómodamente, y mire cómo TODAVÍA lo perseguimos. Nunca será suficiente.
        Sé que muchos creen que los cristianos (especialmente los que están en el ministerio) deben hacer algún tipo de voto de pobreza o modestia. Si eligen hacerlo, bien por ellos; Simplemente no creo que sea un requisito bíblico que seamos exigentes con ellos. Creo que la iglesia necesita creyentes adinerados para sostener el cuerpo e influir en círculos ricos y poderosos para Cristo. Incluso vemos a Dios enriqueciendo a varios de Sus profetas para que puedan bendecir y/o proteger a otros en consecuencia.
        Mientras la gente esté gastando su dinero como Dios los llama, entonces amén.

    2. Hola Tom -
      Eek: estaba escribiendo demasiado rápido y omitió algunas palabras. Para ser más claros, muchos critican a los "cristianos" ricos por gastar su dinero en lujos (presumiblemente en lugar de diezmar o dar), pero son culpables de hacer lo mismo. Puede parecer diferente para nosotros, las personas "normales" (p. ej., acumular deudas de tarjetas de crédito en lujos, no diezmar), pero es el mismo concepto. De hecho, los datos muestran que los cristianos dan alrededor de 3% a organizaciones benéficas (incluidas iglesias y organizaciones religiosas).
      Ya sea malversando cientos o millones de dólares, el pecado principal es el mismo. Asegurémonos de que nuestras finanzas estén en orden antes de criticar a los demás.
      Gracias por captar eso.

      1. Marvin, no estoy en desacuerdo con la afirmación de que muchos cristianos están haciendo lo mismo y si eligen vivir un estilo de vida lujoso mientras hay tantas necesidades, hambre y pobreza, etc., bueno, eso es problemático.

        NO estoy de acuerdo con su comentario que compara la riqueza de Tom Clancy y Danielle Steele con la riqueza de estos teleevangelistas, ya sea que sean maestros de un evangelio de prosperidad o no.
        El novelista está vendiendo un producto en el mercado. Encontraría una ofensa al evangelio tratarlo de la misma manera. No creo que te estés equivocando, pero a lo sumo la comparación no es apropiada.
        Cuando veo a los líderes de estos grandes ministerios cobrando grandes salarios y viviendo lujosamente, pienso en todas las personas que están apoyando ese estilo de vida. Muchos de ellos son pobres o tienen ingresos fijos. ¿Saben adónde va realmente su dinero? Esperaría que la mayoría quisiera avanzar el evangelio. ¿Saben que están pagando ropa costosa, jets, casas multimillonarias? En algunos casos, se podría decir que estos predicadores quitan comida de las mesas de las personas para enriquecerse.
        No dudo que son carismáticos, predican bien y la gente se ayuda con su enseñanza. De lo contrario, no tendrían tantos seguidores. Sin embargo, esa es una razón más para tener cuidado. La personalidad puede distraer fácilmente de la persona de Jesús. Ten mucho cuidado

  7. Soy alentado regularmente por Joyce Meyer. La he escuchado durante años y he crecido mucho en mi fe al escucharla hablar y leer sus libros. Yo también he ido a sus conferencias Love Life completamente gratis y Dios la ha usado en mi vida de muchas maneras. El campo de batalla de la mente es uno de los mejores libros que he leído y me ha ayudado a mí ya millones de personas a llevar cautivo cada pensamiento y crecer en gracia y fe. Su ministerio parece dar generosamente en todo el mundo y ya no predica el evangelio de la prosperidad y no lo ha hecho durante años, incluso confesando el error de ello. No veo ninguna comparación con Crazy Copeland, Creflo u Osteen aparte de que son autores.

  8. Una vez fui dueño de una empresa de marketing que terminó sirviendo a ministerios evangélicos, editoriales de libros y similares. Después de asistir a algunos eventos nacionales de librerías cristianas, y de ver a todos los autores y personas “célebres” haciendo fila para obtener fotos y autógrafos, y todas las baratijas baratas (basura para Jesús) con versículos de la Biblia inscritos, salí con una profunda tristeza. Aquí, pensé que estaba en el equipo correcto y me di cuenta de que no podía haber estado más equivocado. El complejo de hacer dinero evangélico estaba floreciendo y yo lo estaba facilitando. Me alegro de haber despertado. Es triste ver que todo se ha ido tan mal. Es hora de fortalecer las cosas que quedan.

    1. Sacas un buen punto, Bruce. Como hijo de un ministro cristiano en publicaciones cristianas, he visto en qué se convierte. Realmente no puede mantener un ministerio de literatura viable sin comprometer el CONTENIDO de los productos que ofrece. Las librerías cristianas solían atraerme, pero venden 100 ídolos por cada libro cristiano de valor. Básicamente te conviertes en un traficante de todas las ideologías, los malvados y los piadosos. Realmente no se les puede llamar “ministerios” en ningún sentido real de la palabra.

      He conocido algunas librerías cristianas locales que tienen estándares en lo que ofrecen, y comprensiblemente eran pequeñas. No duraron más de una década.

  9. No puedo pasar del punto de que Joyce es una mujer que ocupa un papel en el ministerio bíblicamente reservado para los hombres. Lo de la prosperidad es solo ruido en comparación.

    Una herejía lleva a otra.

    1. Estoy totalmente en desacuerdo. No puedo hablar por Joyce, pero creo que ella y Beth Moore y muchas otras mujeres ministras del evangelio dotadas por Dios están usando los dones que Dios les ha dado y cumpliendo el plan de Dios para ellas. Deberías avergonzarte por pensar que solo los hombres pueden ministrar Su evangelio y hablar de esperanza a un mundo quebrantado. que fin tenemos las mujeres segun vos??? escuela dominical solamente? O es eso también, predicar la palabra de Dios. Quiero decir que es hacer todo lo que hace el pastor, predicar, enseñar, guiar, liderar, servir, etc. O tal vez simplemente preparar la cena del domingo para la comida compartida del domingo. Dáme un respiro. No puedes saber cuál es el plan de Dios para Joyce o cualquier otra mujer. Podría decir mucho más, pero ¿por qué? Algo me dice que eres un hombre mayor, blanco, que probablemente no estaría abierto a que Dios haga las cosas de otra manera que tú piensas o crees.

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