I’m not sure how many of us in youth ministry have considered how we are impacted by the prosperity gospel. Most folks I know are quick to dismiss it as bogus – which they rightly should. Yet the prosperity preachers sell more books I think than the best evangelicals. (I am basing this off what I have noticed in the book charts) I wonder though how much this is catering to a generation who had a church that pandered to a consumer mentality. I wonder how close some youth ministries in the past have been to a form of prosperity gospel. You know, the come to Jesus and all your problems will go away. Or the approach a certain parachurch organization uses… “you can be cool if you join us!” Either way, promises are made that the gospel does not make. They are distortions of the gospel.
I read this post today on What the Prosperity Gospel Does to the Gospel and while it’s not an in depth look, it gives three distortions of the gospel. Very simply, it cheapens grace, glorifies materialism, and elevates moralism. It’s worth taking a few minutes (very few are needed) to read the whole post at Project TGM.
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