Televangelist Kenneth Copeland, the richest pastor in America, avoids paying an annual property tax bill of $150,000 by claiming that his massive lakeside mansion is a clergy residence, which qualifies it for a complete tax break.
God used DL Moody to an amazing degree, with an estimated one million people who got saved under the 25-plus years of his global ministry, preaching and teaching the King James Bible. Moody built schools, churches, and sunday schools, and created his own Christian colportage book publishing company to get the gospel in the hands of the poor. All these things cost a lot of money to create, and the Bible absolutely says in 1 Corinthians 9:1-14 that the giving of God's people for the work of the ministry is how it's all supposed to happen. But Paul warns that abuse of this support can 'hinder the gospel of Christ'. Then there's Kenneth Copeland, the anti-Moody.
"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." Revelation 3:17-19 (KJB)
Kenneth Copeland is a liar. His prophecies don't come true, his Bible "teaching" is hopelessly false, and he is the living embodiment of Paul's 2 Timothy 4:3,4 ear tickling. He has made the nearly one billion dollar fortune he now has because his deluded followers think that if they give money to him, God will give money to them, in kind of like a heavenly Ponzi scheme. They call that junk the Prosperity Gospel, and it's of the Devil. If Kenneth Copeland is saved, and I highly doubt that, his time at the Judgment Seat of Christ will expose him to be poorer than the lowest bond serf in India.
Kenneth Copeland, 85, also bought a Gulfstream V jet from Tyler Perry in 2018 and asked his congregants to chip in $17 million for a plane hangar and runway
FROM DAILY MAIL UK: Kenneth Copeland, 85, enjoys the spoils of his six-bed, six-bath house - with a sweeping spiral staircase, crystal chandeliers and a tennis court - without contributing a single dime to the area's schools and first responders.
The $7 million estate, located right outside of Fort Worth, Texas, is even driving distance from an airport bearing his name, from which he commands a fleet of private jets, including a Gulfstream V he bought from filmmaker Tyler Perry, according to an investigation by the Houston Chronicle. Copeland has previously said that God told him to build the home for his wife Gloria.
'You may think that house is too big,' he said at the 2015 Southwest Believers' Convention in Fort Worth. 'You may think it's too grand. I don't care what you think. I heard from heaven. Glory to God, hallelujah!'
Kenneth Copeland is known for his eccentric sermons, which include speaking in tongues and claiming that COVID-19 will go away while blowing 'the wind of God' at the virus. He has built a massive net worth of $760 million, according to a 2018 list of the country's richest pastors by Beliefnet. His three-story, 18,000 st ft home is surrounded by a 24-acre lakefront tract.
Kenneth Copeland is able to avoid paying annual property taxes on it thanks to a century-old Texas law that exempts clergy homes, or parsonages, from taxes, the Houston Chronicle reports. That means that other taxpayers must pick up the debt not paid by millionaire Copeland in order to fund the costs of schools and first responders.
'The law was never intended to give breaks to millionaires and multimillionaires,' Trinity Foundation President Pete Evans, president of the Trinity Foundation told the Houston Chronicle. The nonprofit is dedicated to accountability and transparency for religious organizations. 'You make a mockery of the law itself.' READ MORE
No comments:
Post a Comment