Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
UPDATED: 4:25 p.m. EST, April 13
According to a message posted on the World Changers Church Instagram account on Thursday, the religious group has donated 10,000 masks and gloves to the Albany Hospital in New York. Other COVID-19 relief materials were also donated to an unidentified nursing home, including coloring pencils, greeting and Easter cards, snack bags, and gospel and sermon CDs.
It was previously unclear if Creflo Dollar, the pastor behind World Changers Fellowship Churches, or World Changers Fellowship Churches had donated to coronavirus relief efforts.
Original story:
By Wednesday morning, the name “Credulous Dollar” was trending on Twitter due to one user accusing a list of wealthy pastors of not donating to coronavirus relief efforts.
The accusations were tweeted by @stonecold2050, who boasts 112,000 followers on the social media platform. In their tweet, they listed pastors like Kenneth Copeland, Pat Robertson, and Joel Osteen along with their net worth and accused them of donating $0 to “COVID-19 assistance.”
Among the listed names was Bishop T.D. Jakes, who leads The Potter’s House church anchored in Dallas. The name Credulous Dollar was also apart of the list, which is assumedly a jab at Creflo Dollar, the pastor behind World Changers Fellowship Churches. Their anchor church is located in Atlanta, Georgia but other church “campuses” are located all across the U.S., including New York, Ohio, Texas and North Carolina.
People immediately made note of the name change and Credulous Dollar started trending on Twitter.
“If you send money to a ni**a named Credulous Dollar, you ASKING to get scammed,” one user wrote. “Credulous dollar has me crying,” tweeted another user.
The net worth of each pastor has been reported by sites like CheatSheet.com and BeliefNet. Jakes hasn’t amassed his wealth simply from his megachurch, however. The minister has released best-selling books, such as “Reposition Yourself” and “He-motions”, and he’s also produced movies, many of which are based on his books like 2004’s “Woman Thou Art Loosed” starring Kimberly Elise.
Creflo Dollar is arguably more notorious with his earning, considering he’s made multiple headlines for questionable dealings and for “preaching a gospel of wealth.” His assets serve as proof to the wealth he’s amassed. The minister has been known to own a private jet, a Roll Royce, and a million dollar mansion and apartment.
Back in 2007, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa led a probe into Dollar’s financial dealings. As a ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, he asked for records to determine whether Dollar made any personal profit from financial donations and he called on Dollar’s ministry to make the information available by December 2007. Dollar contested the probe and was non-cooperative, leading to the conclusion of the investigation in 2011 without any charges, according to The Christian Post.
Dollar also face scrutiny in 2015 when he started a fund drive seeking $300 donations from 20,000 people in order to buy a $65 million Gulfstream G650 jet that will comfortably seat 18 people. When Dollar received backlash for the fundraiser, he responded in a sermon, saying “If I want to believe God for a $65 million plane, you cannot stop me. You cannot stop me from dreaming. I’m gonna dream until Jesus comes.”
T.D. Jakes says his ministry has donated to relief efforts, however. In an interview with Craig Melvin on MSNBC, he said that along with streaming their regular church services, The Potter’s House has also, “Done some very practical things like feeding kids who are out of school now and the school meal was the only meal they had to eat. We’ve been feeding first responders who are working night shifts at the hospital. Cafeterias closed and in Dallas, all of our restaurants are closed.”
He continued, “We’ve sent thousands and thousands of meals into hospitals all over the city and we’re continuing to do the work of the Lord the best way we can and the circumstances that we’re in.”
Jakes then went on to lead Melvin and his viewers in a short prayer, which Melvin said has never happened on the air. You can check out the clip for yourself below.
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