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Kenneth Copeland

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Kenneth Copeland
Born December 6, 1936 (1936-12-06) (age 72)
United States
Residence Lubbock, Texas, United States
Nationality Flag of the United States American
Occupation Author
Speaker
Televangelist
Religious beliefs Word of Faith, Pentecostal
Spouse(s) Gloria Copeland
Children John Copeland, Kellie Copeland, Terri Pearsons
Website
www.kcm.org

Kenneth Copeland (born December 6, 1936 in Lubbock, Texas[1]) is an American author, speaker, televangelist, Word of Faith proponent, and the founder of the Christian organization Kenneth Copeland Ministries.

Contents

[edit] Early life and education

Prior to his conversion to Christianity in November, 1962, Copeland was a recording artist of partial Native American descent, having one Billboard Top 40 hit ("Pledge of Love", which charted in the Top 40 on April 20, 1957, stayed on the charts for eight weeks, and peaked at #12)[2].

Following his religious conversion, Copeland turned the rest of his life over to Christian ministry work.[3] In the 1960s, he was a pilot and chauffeur for Oral Roberts. In the fall of 1967, when Copeland was thirty years old, he enrolled in Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[4]

Kenneth married Gloria Copeland on April 13, 1963 and have three children, two sons-in-laws, and several grandchildren. They currently live on property owned by the Copeland ministry.[citation needed]

He was a member of the Oral Roberts University Board of Regents[5] until it was replaced in 2008 with a new board that promised to hold to higher standards of financial accountability.[6] In October 2007 a lawsuit against the university was presented for financial and political wrong doing.[7] Copeland's oldest daughter, Terri, is married to pastor George Pearsons,[8] who served until January 2008 as the ORU Board chairman.[5]

[edit] Kenneth Copeland Ministries, programming and theology

Kenneth Copeland Ministries’ grew through the 1970s and in 1979, "Believer's Voice of Victory" first appeared on television. Headquartered in Newark, Texas, it has international offices in Australia, Africa, Canada, Europe and the Ukraine. According to Kenneth Copeland Ministries, it is also actively involved in ministry to prison inmates in 23 countries.[9]

Copeland has received criticism for his teaching about wealth in the "Word Faith Movement"[10][11], his claims about faith healing,[12] and his claim that Bible believers would receive the hundredfold return on their seed as found in Genesis 26:12, Mark 4:20, Mark 10:29-30, Luke 6:38, II Corinthians 9:6-12 and Galatians 3:13-14 of the Bible. [13]

Kenneth and his wife, Gloria Copeland, travel regularly, speaking at churches and conventions, including their own annual "Believers’ Conventions." This includes the Southwest Believers’ Convention, the West Coast Believers’ Convention, and the Great Lakes Believers' Convention, and special invitation meetings at military bases. The Copelands live in their home on the grounds of Kenneth Copeland Ministries aka Eagle Mountain International Church, located in Newark, Texas, about 30 minutes north of Fort Worth, Texas.[citation needed]


Kenneth Copeland Ministries staff and teams of volunteers support thousands of servicemen and servicewomen through their military ministry. They send gift packages filled with KCM materials, toiletries, snacks and birthday cards to men and women serving overseas. Kenneth Copeland Ministries gives financially to more than 100 ministries in more than 120 countries including Churches, Orphanages, Youth programs and Rehabilitation centers.[14]

In 2006, Kenneth and Gloria were accused by former business associates of leaving tens of thousands of dollars of debt in their failed Affordable Homes Limited business partnership while spending money on other projects. However, the Copelands were limited partners of this company and as such, were not obliged to pay its debts or explain the withdrawal of their financing.[15]

In late November 2007, Mike Huckabee, a 2008 Republican presidential primary candidate, made six appearances on Copeland's daily television program Believer's Voice of Victory, discussing "Integrity of Character".[16] Subsequently, in January 2008, the Huckabee campaign paid for use of Kenneth Copeland Ministries' facilities for a fundraiser.[17] Copeland also claimed that he had had a phone call with Huckabee in which Huckabee allegedly vowed to support Kenneth despite a pending investigation by the U.S. Senate (see below) into Copeland's finances if he was elected.[18] The fundraising at the church was criticized by the Trinity Foundation.[18]

[edit] Airport and ministry jets

The Kenneth Copeland Airport is a private airport established by Kenneth Copeland Ministries to serve the area and was named after the main user, Kenneth Copeland, in Fort Worth.[1] It is near Copeland's ministry and home, providing base to Copeland's seven aircraft.[citation needed]

In 2007 Copeland was accused of using his $20 million Cessna Citation X jet for personal vacations and friends.[19] The Copeland's financial records are not publicly available and a list of the Board of Directors is not accessible as these details are protected and known confidentially by the Internal Revenues.[20] Responding to media questions, Copeland pointed to an accounting firm's declaration that all jet travel complies with federal tax laws.[20]

In December 2008, Copeland's 1998 Cessna Bravo 550, his second jet, valued at $3.6 million was denied tax-exemption after Copeland refused to submit to disclosure laws for the state of Texas.[21]

[edit] Senate Investigation

On November 6, 2007, United States senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, announced an investigation of Copeland's ministry by the United States Senate Committee on Finance. The Associated Press reported that Grassley said the investigation was a response to complaints from the public and news media. Grassley stated, "The allegations involve governing boards that aren't independent and allow generous salaries and housing allowances and amenities such as private jets and Rolls Royces." [22] IRS guidelines require that pastors' compensation be "reasonable" and net earnings may not benefit any private individual. [23] Grassley asked for the ministry to divulge financial information [24] (Grassley's letter)[25] to the committee to determine if Copeland made any personal profit from financial donations, and requested that Copeland's ministry make the information available by December 6, 2007. The Copelands responded with a "Financial report from Kenneth Copeland Ministries."[26] Senator Grassley's office issued a statement which said Copeland's response has fallen "far short," and that while lines of communications are open, "additional steps in the congressional review" also would be considered".[cite this quote] The investigation also scrutinized five other televangelists: Benny Hinn, Paula White, Eddie L. Long, Joyce Meyer, and Creflo Dollar.[citation needed]

KCM created a website, http://www.believersstandunited.com[27] to help explain their side of the inquiry.

[edit] Books, CDs, and DVDs by Kenneth Copeland

[edit] See also

Glossolalia
Pentecostalism
Charismatics
Holiness
Christianity
Full Gospel
Pastor Creflo Dollar
Faith
Jesus Christ

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Kenneth Copeland". biographyministries.com. 2008. http://www.biographyministries.com/kenneth-copeland.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-17. 
  2. ^ The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, Joel Whitburn, 7th edition.
  3. ^ Kenneth Copeland, "The Word in My life...," Kenneth Copeland Ministries Catalog (Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, n.d.), 3.
  4. ^ ORU Excellence
  5. ^ a b http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2007/oru-lawsuit/ORU_pdf_p10.pdf
  6. ^ Strickler, Laura (2008-01-29). "Televangelists: Who’s Accountable?". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/01/29/primarysource/entry3767306.shtml. 
  7. ^ "University president's wife 'sickened' by allegations". CNN. October 15, 2007. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/15/oru.suit/. Retrieved on 2007-10-17. 
  8. ^ "Our Pastors: Terri and George". Eagle Mountain International Church. October 2007. http://www.emic.org/about/george_terri_bio.php. Retrieved on 2007-10-17. 
  9. ^ Kenneth Copeland Ministries Europe - INTRODUCTION
  10. ^ "Christianity, Cults and Mind Control Converge at Conference." The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 24, 1994
  11. ^ "Uganda: Money And the Church," Africa News August 21, 2005
  12. ^ "Churches want faith-healer's claims tested," Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia), June 9, 2004
  13. ^ "Hard Questions For "Prosperity Gospel"". CBS News. 2008-01-29. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/29/cbsnews_investigates/main3767305.shtml. 
  14. ^ Kenneth Copeland Ministries - About KCM - What we do
  15. ^ "Televangelist couple at center of debt controversy". WFAA-TV. May 3, 2006. http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/bshipp/stories/wfaa060502_mo_copelands.3436519.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-17. 
  16. ^ The appearances were from Sunday November 25, 2007 through Friday November 30, 2007, Webcast dated Nov 26, 2007Webcast dated Nov 27, 2007Webcast dated Nov 28, 2007Webcast dated Nov 29, 2007Webcast dated Nov 30, 2007
  17. ^ "Plate passed for Huckabee at ministry site". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. January 29, 2008.. http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/jan/29/plate-passed-huckabee-ministry-site. Retrieved on 2008-12-17. 
  18. ^ a b "Plate passed for Huckabee at ministry site". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. January 29, 2008. http://www.nwanews.com/adg/National/215143/print/. Retrieved on 2008-12-17. 
  19. ^ "Jet flight records spur Copeland ministry questions". WFAA-TV. February 28, 2007. http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa070228_mo_churchjet.87be631.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-17. 
  20. ^ a b "Jet flight records spur Copeland ministry questions". WFAA-TV. February 28, 2007. http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa070228_mo_churchjet.87be631.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-17. 
  21. ^ "Televangelist's $3.6 million jet not tax-exempt, county says". Fort Worth Star Telegram. December 5, 2008. http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1078037.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-17. 
  22. ^ "Sen. Grassley probes televangelists' finances". The Associated Press. November 7, 2007. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-11-07-televangelist-probe_N.htm. Retrieved on 2008-07-07. 
  23. ^ http://www.irs.gov/charities/churches/index.html
  24. ^ "Senator Probes Megachurches' Finances by Kathy Lohr". npr.org. December 4, 2007. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16860611. Retrieved on 2007-12-10. 
  25. ^ "Read Grassley's Letters" (PDF). npr.org. December 4, 2007. http://media.npr.org/documents/2007/nov/grassley/copeland.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-12-10. 
  26. ^ kcm.org :: Financial Accountability
  27. ^ "Believers Stand United". http://www.believersstandunited.com/. Retrieved on 2008-05-17 2008. 

[edit] External links

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