Kenneth Copeland

Kenneth Copeland
Born December 6, 1936 (1936-12-06) (age 75)
Lubbock, Texas, United States
Residence Fort Worth, Texas
Nationality American
Occupation Author
Speaker
Televangelist
Religion Word of Faith, Pentecostal
Spouse 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, public speaker, and televangelist. He is the founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, and known for teaching “prosperity gospel” which says that wealth is directly related to faith and sound financial practices.

Contents

Early life and education

Prior to his conversion to Christianity in November 1962, Copeland was a recording artist on the Imperial Records label, 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 the gospel and ministry work.[3] In the 1960s, he was a pilot and chauffeur for Oral Roberts. In the fall of 1967, he enrolled in Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[4]

Kenneth is married to Gloria Copeland. His children are John Copeland, Kellie Copeland and Terri Pearsons.

He was a member of the Oral Roberts University Board of Regents[5] until 2008.[6] Copeland's oldest daughter, Terri, is married to pastor George Pearsons,[7] who served until January 2008 as the ORU Board chairman.[5]

Kenneth Copeland Ministries, programming and theology

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".[8] Subsequently, in January 2008, the Huckabee campaign paid for use of Kenneth Copeland Ministries' facilities for a fundraiser.[9] The fundraising at the church was criticized by the Trinity Foundation.[10]

Airport and ministry jets

The Kenneth Copeland Airport is a private airport established by Kenneth Copeland Ministries to serve the area of Fort Worth, Texas.[11]

In 2007 Copeland was accused of using his $20 million Cessna Citation X jet for personal vacations and friends.[12] The Copelands' 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 Revenue Service.[13] Responding to media questions, Copeland pointed to an accounting firm's declaration that all jet travel complies with federal tax laws.[13]

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.[14]

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." [15] IRS guidelines require that pastors' compensation be "reasonable" and net earnings may not benefit any private individual.[16] Grassley asked for the ministry to divulge financial information [17] (Grassley's letter)[18] 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."[19] KCM created a website to help explain their side of the inquiry.[20]

Publications

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Kenneth Copeland". biographyministries.com. 2008. http://www.biographyministries.com/kenneth-copeland.html. Retrieved 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 alumni
  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. ^ "Our Pastors: Terri and George". Eagle Mountain International Church. October 2007. http://www.emic.org/about/george_terri_bio.php. Retrieved 2007-10-17. 
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ "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 2008-12-17. 
  10. ^ "Plate passed for Huckabee at ministry site". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. January 29, 2008. http://www.nwanews.com/adg/National/215143/print/. Retrieved 2008-12-17. 
  11. ^ FlightAware > Pilot Resources > Airport > Kenneth Copeland Airport (Fort Worth, TX) (4T2)
  12. ^ "Jet flight records spur Copeland ministry questions news". WFAA-TV. February 28, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20070907124947/http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa070228_mo_churchjet.87be631.html. Retrieved 2007-10-17. 
  13. ^ a b "Jet flight records spur Copeland ministry questions". WFAA-TV. February 28, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20070907124947/http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa070228_mo_churchjet.87be631.html. Retrieved 2007-10-17. 
  14. ^ "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 2008-12-17. 
  15. ^ "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 2008-07-07. 
  16. ^ http://www.irs.gov/charities/churches/index.html
  17. ^ "Senator Probes Megachurches' Finances by Kathy Lohr". npr.org. December 4, 2007. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16860611. Retrieved 2007-12-10. 
  18. ^ "Read Grassley's Letters" (PDF). npr.org. December 4, 2007. http://media.npr.org/documents/2007/nov/grassley/copeland.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-10. 
  19. ^ kcm.org KCM - Financial Accountability
  20. ^ "Believers Stand United". http://www.believersstandunited.com/. Retrieved 2008-05-17. 

External links