The New Pentecostal Message?

The prosperity movement has influenced millions of people in North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa through Pentecostal, Charismatic and nondenominational preachers in some of the largest churches in the world. CNN, ABC, and Time magazine have examined the preachers and churches in this popular and controversial movement. Scholars and church leaders have studied it for more than two decades, producing dozens of books and articles on it. Considering the widespread popularity of the prosperity movement and the attention it is given by its critics, Brogdon asks, ""Is prosperity preaching the new Pentecostal message?"" In order to answer this question, one has to examine the prosperity movement as a Pentecostal movement instead of a Word of Faith movement that is a revised form of New Thought metaphysics and Science of Mind. Brogdon provides an introduction to the prosperity movement as a Pentecostal movement. He asks important questions in the study of the prosperity movement, such as who popularized prosperity teaching, Oral Roberts or Ken Hagin? Do all Pentecostals agree with the prosperity doctrine? Is prosperity teaching good news to the poor? Has prosperity replaced the emphasis on the Holy Spirit? The answers may surprise you. ""This valiant and sympathetic overview of the Pentecostal prosperity movement will be of interest to anyone with a concern for how the gospel is preached to the poor."" --Cheryl Sanders, Professor of Christian Ethics, Howard University ""Lewis Brogdon challenges scholars and pastors to reconsider the origins of the Prosperity Gospel and to understand that not all manifestations of the Prosperity Gospel are the same. Brogdon also challenges Pentecostals to address the systemic causes of poverty as part of their faithful response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a must-read for pastors and scholars who are committed to understanding the complexities of Pentecostalism."" --Debra Mumford, Frank H. Caldwell Associate Professor of Homiletics, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Lewis Brogdon (PhD, Regent University) currently serves as Assistant Professor of Religion at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He has published two books: No Longer a Slave but a Brother: An African American Reading of Paul's Letter to Philemon and Hope on the Brink: Understanding the Emergence of Nihilism in Black America.