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| Dollar’s Church Took In $69 Million Last Year |
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01/04/08 Televangelist Says Lavish Lifestyle ‘Not Necessarily Wrong’
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ATLANTA--An Atlanta megachurch took in $69 million in 2006, according to a financial statement the churchs minister released in response to a Senate investigation into him and five other well-known televangelists. Rev. Creflo Dollar disclosed the World Changers Church Internationals financial information to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but said the money he spends is his own. Rev. Dollar, a member of the board of regents of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, said his income comes from personal investments, including businesses and real estate ventures. However, he said, the church gave him a Rolls Royce, which he mainly uses for special occasions. Without a doubt, my life is not average, he said, but Id like to say, just because it is excessive doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong." U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (Rep., Iowa), the top Republican on the Senate finance committee, launched an investigation into the finances of six ministers, including three who sit on the regents board of Oral Roberts University, after hearing reports of some preachers' lavish and opulent lifestyles. In a letter last week, he requested answers by Dec. 6 to questions about their executive compensation and amenities, including use of fancy cars and private jets. Besides Rev. Dollar, the letters were sent to faith healer Benny Hinn, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Texas, David and Joyce Meyer of Missouri, Randy and Paula White of Florida and Bishop Eddie Long of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga. Aside from Mr. Dollar, Mr. Hinn and Kenneth Copeland are members of the Oral Roberts University board of regents. Rev. Dollar questioned the investigation's focus on religious groups. The minister is among the religious leaders who preach the "prosperity gospel," the teaching that God will shower faithful followers with material riches. He said he uses only his personal finances to pay for his luxuries. My lifestyle does not come out of the churchs bank account, he said.
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