Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 12:12am
Author debunks 'prosperity gospel'
Author John Revell in his new book "Getting the Most from God (but not how you might think!)" uses Scripture to debunk the prosperity gospel often preached by popular televangelists. "I've concluded that regardless of what one believes about the appropriateness of the current congressional investigation of certain televangelists, there is no doubt that there are some unscrupulous individuals who are making outrageous claims and getting filthy rich by duping unsuspecting victims — all in the name of Christ," Revell told Baptist Press in a story posted Tuesday.
Revell, editor of SBC Life, the journal of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, was inspired to write the book after some teenage boys in a discipleship group he leads as a prank put his name on a televangelist's mailing list. "Over the next 18 months, I received some of the most bizarre correspondence ever sent in the name of Christ. This man claimed that God had given him specific visions concerning me and my particular situation, and he promised all manner of physical and financial 'blessings' if I would only follow his outlandish instructions — and send him money," he said.
In response Revell studied what the Bible says about blessings and compiled what he learned into a lesson plan for his Sunday School class and Bible study, later developing the material into his book. "The book makes the case from Scripture that God truly desires to richly bless His children, but that His blessings often do not take the shape we might expect and that these blessings are conditional," he said.
Revell, editor of SBC Life, the journal of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, was inspired to write the book after some teenage boys in a discipleship group he leads as a prank put his name on a televangelist's mailing list. "Over the next 18 months, I received some of the most bizarre correspondence ever sent in the name of Christ. This man claimed that God had given him specific visions concerning me and my particular situation, and he promised all manner of physical and financial 'blessings' if I would only follow his outlandish instructions — and send him money," he said.
In response Revell studied what the Bible says about blessings and compiled what he learned into a lesson plan for his Sunday School class and Bible study, later developing the material into his book. "The book makes the case from Scripture that God truly desires to richly bless His children, but that His blessings often do not take the shape we might expect and that these blessings are conditional," he said.