If your pastor owns a private jet, you should find a new church. And if your favorite televangelist says he can’t fly commercial because a public airplane is “a long tube with a bunch of demons,” well, why are we still talking about this?
Yet, somehow, this needs to be said, considering televangelist and scammer Kenneth Copeland still has a large following and a net worth of $760 million. Did I mention that he owns three jets thanks to his distaste for demons?
A reporter from Inside Edition caught up with Copeland this week as he was getting into a black Cadillac. She asked him about his “demons” comments, which he made more than a year ago, to which he responded as incoherently as you might expect:
What?
One would actually expect a religious leader to spend time among the people. Jesus himself was criticized for consorting “with publicans and sinners.” It’s such a banal point from a Christian perspective that it seems silly to point it out.
If you’re out there, Copeland, I just have one question for you: Have you ever picked up a Bible?
Never getting a satisfying answer about the demons, Inside Edition’s intrepid Lisa Guerrero asks Copeland about his jets. (Note that she has to field Copeland calling her “sweetheart” and “baby,” as if Copeland thought his interview wasn’t off the rails enough without throwing a little sexism into the mix.)
Copeland maintains that he couldn’t do what he does if not for his jets. And he has two because one is just “a little small airplane.” Whew, well, that’s a relief.
Then, not content to stick with heretical theology and sexism, Copeland also gets a little anti-Semitic:
Copeland: “They’re wrong. It’s a misunderstanding of the Bible, that — if you go into the Old Covenant, do you think the Jewish people believe you should be broke?”
Guerrero: “Are you saying that Jewish people appreciate money more than…?”
Copeland: “They believe in wealth.”
Guerrero: “Some people would find that offensive.”
Yet Copeland, who bought one of his jets from Tyler Perry and admits that he uses his aircraft to visit his vacation homes, see no hypocrisy in the enormous wealth he’s amassed through preaching, writing pseudo-spiritual books, and spreading his drivel at conventions.
Kenneth “airplanes have demons” Copeland says Christians are supposed to have great wealth, and when Guerrero quotes Matthew 19:24 to him (“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God”), he responds with Matthew 19:26 (“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”).
Most Christians don’t recognize the second verse as an excuse to abuse wealth, but as an example of how God’s grace transcends people’s ability to save themselves. Again, none of this matters to Copeland, who like many people (including nonbelievers) seems keen on quoting the scriptures when they provide excuses for him.
I will say this one thing for Copeland: At least he’s consistent. He admits that he loves his vacation homes and his jets (and probably that horrific blue suit and floral tie). Other preachers, much more well-respected and well-known leaders, have fallen into the same financially ostentatious trap without so much transparency.
In April, I wrote about a new Instagram account that exploded in popularity in just three weeks. @PreachersNSneakers had 70,000 followers then. It now has 168,000. The account shows famous megachurch pastors such Steven Furtick and T.D. Jakes in designer shoes, some costing as much as $1,200. Clearly, people are interested in seeing how these leaders’ words stack up with the expensive clothes they wear.
Copeland isn’t the only religious leader to have his eye caught by some shiny thing. But as a blatant example of hypocrisy, he’s a reminder of a more widespread, less obvious temptation.
It shouldn’t have to be said, but if you get into ministry for the money, you’re doing it wrong.
