LWCC's Ministries
The church has or (at least recently had) about 9,000 members, and five services a week. Last week they reported saving their one millionth soul. The church developed a private Christian K-12 school and owns a Christian rock club in Minneapolis. As listed on the church site, there are small groups for adults based on interests such as homemakers, marriage matters, manhood, family, Bible study, finance and career, sports and fitness, seniors, young adults, writers and others. LWCC is a local host site for the national Angel Food Ministries, which each month provides $60-$65 worth of food, at a cost of $30, to those who ask for it. LWCC has many other activities as well.
It's clear that many members of LWCC are satisfied with the spiritual life there. Comments on the LWCC Facebook site have included:
kkkk"Awesome services with Pastor Lynne this past weekend."
"Time in prayer together...is so powerful."
"Love the music and preaching."
Other Christians point to scriptures that warn against the love of money, and that tell Christians to care for the poor. Some Christian thinkers have denounced the Word-Faith movement as “heretical,” “false.”
"It's the name it, claim it, blab it, grab it movement," said Ole Anthony, executive director of the Trinity Foundation, a nonprofit that investigates churches. "God wants you to be wealthy. It's the promise of greed in the name of God, and it's the oldest heresy there is."While acknowledging the good that LWCC does in some areas, such as the 3 Degrees Christian rock club, evangelical pastor Gregory Boyd of the Woodland Hills Church in Maplewood said:
Word-Faith ministries often take biblical phrases out of context. "The Bible has a whole lot to say about hoarding when others are needy," Boyd said. "Greed is the biggest sin in the Bible. What concerns me is saying that [attaining wealth] is Christian thought. That seems to me unbiblical."
(previous two quotes from Kingdom & Power article)
There is a substantial discussion of the controversy in the Wikipedia article linked below.
Links to sources:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution article on Creflo Dollar “Was Jesus rich? Swanky messiah not far-fetched in Prosperity Gospel”
“Dealing with less prosperity, Mac Hammond's church cuts back” originally appeared in Star Tribune, Feb. ‘08
“Mac Hammond’s Living Word church faces off with the IRS” appeared in City Pages 10/08
“The Kingdom and Power of Mac Hammond” Interview & profile published in Star Tribune 11/07
Thorough Wikipedia article on "Word-Faith" gospel
“Hammond: IRS probe of church is politically motivated” Minnesota Independent article published 8/25/08
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