On the cover of May's issue of Black Enterprise, you'll find Kirbyjon Caldwell, T.D. Jakes, and Eddie L. Long with the cover story title, "The Business of Faith." Being that Jakes is a Oneness Pentecostal, which is categorized with Mormonism and Jehovah's Witness as an anti-Trinitarian cult, I would not even put him in the realm of Christianity. However, since the general public (and likely many sincere Christians within his own congregation) are unaware of this and wrongfully believe that he represents a part of the Christian church, I will rant a little on this. Besides, Jakes is just one of many, Caldwell and Lang included, that represent a larger problem. Simply said, faith should not be a business. If you want to see messed up theology, look at these guys' websites. Atrocious. Long is reported to have violated IRS regulations, though he denies it from his $350,000 Bentley - one of many "loans" from a charity he oversaw. (Long, fyi, says he "ministers salvation." - what the heck does that mean?) Rev. Henry Lyons, the former president of one of the largest associations of black clergy, the National Baptist Convention, was convicted of grand theft and racketeering (and the house he was sharing with a mistress was burned down by his wife), yet he is preaching a new church in Florida today. But that's fine because all these guys are a successes in ministry, right? I mean, look at Anthony Maclin's church, which boasts a hair salon and spa inside the church - that's what Christianity's striving for, right?? Jakes calls Creflo Dollar one of "God's finest," yet Creflo teaches that Christians are gods - though this fits within Jakes' Oneness Theology, if you're familiar. Anyway, Jakes loves to quote Creflo that Christians have been called to be men of power and wealth, as this is what it is to be a man of the Covenant. This is junk. Yes, God may bless you with wealth, but this is not a sign of your faith. What God calls us to is obedience. Yes, we should be good stewards, but our true treasure is eternal. Caldwell, however, says that "almost one-half of the parables in the New and Old Testaments deal with money. We are representing in the 21st. century what he Lord said and did in the New Testament." That's BS. This stuff just makes me so frustrated. I'm not trying to pick on the African American church, either. Just look at the crap that is TBN. Joel Osteen is the ultimate at prosperity health and wealth teaching - he wouldn't know the Gospel if it hit him in the face. Jack Graham and Ed Young, Jr. are huge contributors to this junk and the perpetuate today's grey-matter watered down Christianity that confuses both the Gospel and Christian life. I would bet that if you polled the churches, you would find that the majority of parishioners couldn't even tell you with clarity the Gospel or Who Christ is and what He accomplished on the cross. Without doctrine, people are lost, unable to discern both outside, and with increasing necessity, inside their churches. There is a mammoth need for a resurgence of theology within the Church, and I'm currently exhausted by both the absence of sound doctrine and the ignorance or apathy towards this crisis found within both the pulpit and the pews. What's sad is that within its conclusion, this article reads:

Despite those who question mixing business and faith, church leaders like Jakes, Maclin, Long, and Caldwell represent the black communities only line of defense against apathetic politicians and failing institutions. They are the last bastions of social entrepreneurs, creating businesses that appeal to congregants' spiritual needs and providing jobs within African American communities.

It is my sincerest prayer that neither the African American community nor the general public at large believe this statement to be true - especially those of the Christian faith. It would surly be a shame for our culture to resign ourselves to the prostitution of the Gospel and Christ's Holy Church.