| Creflo Dollar | |
|---|---|
| Born | Creflo Dollar January 28, 1962 United States |
| Residence | College Park, Georgia |
| Occupation | [Pastor / Teacher] |
| Spouse | Taffi Dollar |
| Website | |
| www.worldchangers.org | |
Creflo Augustus Dollar, Jr. is an American Word of Faith teacher, pastor, and the founder of the non-denominational World Changers Church International based in Fulton County, Georgia.[1] Creflo Dollar Ministerial Association (formerly called International Covenant Ministries), Creflo Dollar Ministries, and Arrow Records.[2] Each of these enterprises is overseen by Dollar and his wife, Taffi Dollar.
Contents |
In 1984, Dollar received a Bachelor of Science degree in education from West Georgia College in Carrollton, Georgia.[3] He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Oral Roberts University in 1998.[4]
Dollar indicates that he received the vision for World Changers Ministries Christian Center in 1986.[5] He held the church's first worship service in the cafeteria of Kathleen Mitchell Elementary School in College Park, Georgia, with only eight people in attendance and successfully receiving over $100 in contributions from those present. Over the years the ministry has grown rapidly and was renamed World Changers Church International (WCCI). As of 2007, the congregation has grown to 30,000 members with $69 million in revenue (gross cash collections) for 2006.[6] The congregation moved from its original cafeteria location to a modest-sized chapel, adding a weekly radio broadcast and four services each Sunday. On December 24, 1995, WCCI moved into its present location, the 8,500-seat sanctuary known as the World Dome. At a cost of nearly $18 million, it is claimed that the World Dome was built without any bank financing.[7]
Dollar is also the publisher of CHANGE magazine, a quarterly international publication with nearly 100,000 subscribers and The Max, a bimonthly resource newsletter for ministers and ministry leaders.[8] Creflo Dollar also frequently speaks at conferences and is a best selling author.[9][10][11] Dollar and his wife, Taffi, have five children and live in Atlanta.[12]
Dollar is known for his controversial teachings of Prosperity theology.[9] He has been criticized for his lavish lifestyle as he owns two Rolls-Royces, a private jet, a million dollar home in Atlanta, and a 2.5 million dollar home in Manhattan.[9] Dollar has refused to disclose his salary and Creflo Dollar Ministries received a grade of "F" for financial transparency by the organization MinistryWatch.[9][13]
Dollar was subpoenaed during divorce proceedings between heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield and Holyfield's second wife, Janice Itson, after Itson alleged that Holyfield had donated $7 million to Dollar's ministry just before he filed for divorce.[14] Dollar refused to yield his financial records, but avoided contempt of court charges when the divorce was settled out of court.
On November 6, 2007, United States Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa announced an investigation of several ministries by the United States Senate Committee on Finance. Grassley asked for financial information to determine whether Dollar made any personal profit from financial donations and requested that Dollar's ministry make the information available by December 6, 2007. The investigation also asked for information from five other televangelists: Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Eddie L. Long, Joyce Meyer, and Paula White.[15]
On March 16, 2009, Grassley, now only an individual Senator on the committee, stated "My staff and I continue to review the information we’ve received from the ministries that cooperated, and we continue to weigh our options for the ministries that have not cooperated," noting that two of the ministries, Benny Hinn and Joyce Meyer, gave full financial disclosure. Dollar has contested the probe, arguing that the proper governmental entity to examine religious groups is the IRS, not the Committee on Finance.[16]