Joyce Meyer/ JMM/ Enjoying Every Day Life/ Life in the Word

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MinistryWatch.com’s Take
October 2005


Motivational, Plain-speaking Teacher Doing Charitable Work
Joyce Meyer Ministries (JMM), most recently known as Enjoying Every Day Life and formally known as Life in the Word, is primarily a motivational teaching organization featuring Joyce Meyer. JMM, however, also engages in a variety of charitable and humanitarian efforts. JMM is legally structured as a church, but cannot be considered a traditional congregational church as its congregation is reached only via the media. Meyer motivates and teaches on primarily emotional healing and related subjects through daily media outreach such as television and radio programs, along with tapes, videos, books and conferences.

Meyer is a prolific writer with more than 70 books to her credit, and has lectured widely on numerous subjects from the broad issues of Christian living, personal development, how to prosper, healing, eating habits and the Bible. A self-described victim of sexual and emotional abuse, Meyer appeals to the hurting of all age groups in society and the church at large with a message of healing and restoration and a promise of hope for realization of “personal destiny” within the will of God.

Meyer’s theology has evolved over time, starting with a clear biblical basis with Charismatic leanings, moving on to embrace elements of the Word of Faith movement and, more recently, has begun to water down direct connections to biblical truth in an attempt to appeal to a more widespread audience (as indicated by the ministry’s name change). Additionally, the ministry has also evolved over time into a variety of far-flung charitable efforts that seem to lack a strategic focus and, at times, have appeared opportunistic. For example, JMM has begun its own U.S. relief and development efforts in response to hurricane Katrina and Rita rather than choosing to steer their donors to the more established organizations that have the scale and infrastructure to respond quickly and effectively to such disasters. Meyer’s has stated that money raised for the victims of these storm is mostly being routed to other organizations, so the question naturally arises as to why JMM would choose to raise money through JMM versus just encouraging donors to give directly to the relief ministries that JMM planned to give the money to anyway? In addition, one of the organizations JMM is supporting in this effort, PRC Compassion, is itself a new entity, which may not be as effective as other Christian ministries that are more established and experienced in the field of disaster relief.

Humble Beginnings
A native of Fenton, Mo., a St. Louis suburb, Joyce Meyer began teaching the Bible in 1976, entered full-time ministry in 1980 and in 1985 transformed her trademark Life in the Word series into Joyce Meyer Ministries. JMM is headquartered in Fenton, but has offices in Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, India, Russia and South Africa.

While the ministry started modestly, Joyce Meyer’s rapidly rose to headliner status among America’s televangelists, as evidenced by her recent recognition by Time magazine as one of America’s most influential Christians.

Charitable Efforts At Home
JMM’s St. Louis Dream Center offers food, clothing, and a place of worship to the homeless, prostitutes and disenfranchised of St. Louis. Trained staff and volunteers minister the Gospel to street people and in the nursing homes of the St. Louis area. JMM in late 2002 discontinued its Rage Against Destruction youth ministry. JMM also donates large amounts of its donor’s funds to other ministries. In a recent disclosure, the ministry also indicated that it donated $27 million, roughly one-fourth of its total revenues, to a wide variety of other ministries. These donations indicate a giving spirit at JMM but also raise questions about whether it is appropriate for money donated to JMM to be used to support other ministries. As an operating ministry, versus a charitable foundation, it is odd that JMM would pursue such extensive giving to other ministries as part of its normal operations. Furthermore, many of the ministries JMM supports could easily be supported by JMM donors directly, if they chose to do so, thereby avoiding having their gifts incur the overhead expenses of two ministries rather than just one.

Efforts Abroad
Joyce Meyer has an ambitious international conference schedule including such places as Africa, Australia, Israel, Jamaica and the Philippines, ongoing medical and hunger relief, orphanages, and prison ministries in Latvia, India, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize and the Caribbean. This is accompanied by a wide variety of tapes, books and videos that the ministry sells to its many adherents via slick catalogues. The ministry is also regularly available on radio and television, with its televised broadcasts reaching a potential audience of 2.1 billion viewers worldwide.

JMM, in response to questions about the concept of a “global congregation,” responds, “The traditional congregational church plays an absolutely essential role in the life of the believer. We have never desired to replace the local congregational church and fully encourage those we minister to, to find a local congregational-style church. If they cannot we will help them find one. Our focus is to equip all believers, strengthen them in their daily walk, and be the church for those who cannot attend, or do not have the option of attending a congregational-style church. This is why we are excited to be reaching into places like Iran with our Farsi language broadcast and into China, Cuba, and many other places where there is open hostility to the Christian faith.”

JMM also runs a hospital in a very remote part of central India, which provides free health care to the surrounding communities. The surrounding communities total approximately 100,000 people, with the JMM hospital the only one within 60 miles. Additionally, the number of orphanages now run by JMM is 41, spread across Asia. Currently JMM reportedly cares for over 1,000 children in these orphanages. According to JMM, during 2004 JMM supplied humanitarian relief in 42 countries.

JMM reports it has worked in India for over 10 years running orphanages, digging fresh water wells, building churches, providing feeding stations, working in leper colonies, providing medical care and reaching those who live on the streets. Consequently, it has an India office and an extensive network of volunteers throughout the region. JMM was able to make full use of this already established network when the tsunami hit last year, reporting that it provided immediate aid to over 30,000 people in the form of food, shelter, water, medical care and cleanup utilizing around 3,000 volunteers. Currently, JMM reports that it is completely rebuilding three villages, which translates into hundreds of houses, business, boats, rickshaws, bicycles, food, water and other needs to reestablish these devastated communities and allow the people to rebuild their lives.

Theology
While her authoritative teaching style – a blend of in-your-face candor, skillfully blunted by wry and surprisingly self-effacing personal, sometimes anecdotal revelation – has garnered a loyal following, the substance of her teaching has, at times, produced criticism. Portions of JMM’s past teaching material have been reminiscent of the teachings of E. W. Kenyon as popularized by Kenneth Copeland and others.

• Statement of Faith: JMM’s Statement of Faith is almost an exact copy from RHEMA, Kenneth E. Hagin’s church-ministry that transformed itself into a school. Kenneth Hagin is known unapologetically as the father of the Word of Faith movement, along with the publication of The Word of Faith magazine. This close association is often seen as negative because of theological positions that many believe do not represent sound Biblical teaching.
• Vision Statement: JMM credits the call of God by its vision statement with the burden to “reach the world with the good news that Jesus died for all mankind, paying a debt we owed, absolving us from sin, and through faith in Him, bringing us into a right relationship with God.” JMM also alludes to a passion for the “salvation of souls” and until recently had website text stating that it had a desire for people “to receive healing in every area of life – spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, and socially.”
• Education: Meyer’s ministry website includes an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Oral Roberts University among her credentials, as well as a PhD in Theology – a somewhat unusual ministry degree – (in that it is a “PhD”) from Life Christian University in Tampa, Fla. While Meyer’s academic credentials ought to witness a facility with Scripture sufficient for ministry, many argue to the contrary. Her rather weak theological training and the evidence of significantly changing theology over the years argue for the ministry to subject its teachings to independent biblical scholars and incorporate changes they might suggest into their teaching.
• Changing Theological Positions: Many concerned observers have examined Meyer’s often morphing theology and found issues of concern which can be read in the following:
  • Watchman Fellowship of Alabama
    http://wfial.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=artWordFaith.article_2
  • Personal Freedom Outreach
    http://www.pfo.org/preacher.htm
  • Apologetics for Christians
    http://www.afcministry.com/Joyce_Meyers.htm
  • Discernment.org
    http://www.discernment.org/salvation.html
  • Apologetics Index
    http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m26ad.html

On Divine Revelation:
Perhaps the most insidious error among Bible teachers is the assumption that zeal signals legitimacy. Fervent desire to be used of God has never, by itself, been a guarantee of usefulness. More to the point, Meyer’s admittedly heartfelt declarations concerning the source and substance of her variously pointed theological assertions are anything but reassuring when evaluated by Scripture. While available time and space preclude point-by-point refutation here, suffice it to say that Meyer’s explanations constitute dangerous commentary on the biblical doctrine of revelation. Consider:

• “...if I am accidentally, or any other way, getting into error, I am going to have a bell go off on the inside of me that is going to be so loud that not only am I going to hear it, but so is everybody else...”
• “...an angel bends over and says in my ear what I’m supposed to say to you.”
• “The Bible can’t even find any way to explain this. Not really. That’s why you’ve got to get it by revelation. There are no words to explain what I’m telling you. I’ve got to just trust God that He’s putting it into your spirit like He put it into mine.”

Such statements controvert the very basis for appeal to Scripture as the objectively authoritative and completed revelation of God to His people, at the same time presuming to elevate subjective commentary to the level of Scripture.

Media Ministry
Most media ministries rely heavily upon free will donations from regular viewers and supporters. JMM is no exception. Based on 2004 audited financial statement figures for Joyce Meyer Ministries, Inc. (dated March 11, 2005), JMM’s revenue was about $98 million and assets of about $71 million. JMM’s revenues seem to be witnessing a healthy increasing trend and as reported to be in the neighborhood of about eight million dollars per month, and approaching, if not surpassing $100 million annually.

Troubling aspects related to some of JMM’s financial decisions include both a high salary for Meyer and her husband and unusually generous perks, including substantial housing arrangements not only for Meyer but also her children. Luxurious business travel expenditures have also been reported in the media. MinistryWatch.com, on behalf of donors, is currently scrutinizing volumes of information regarding JMM’s finances and management and will report upon those findings as soon as a complete assessment can be made.

JMM is officially organized as a church for Internal Revenue Service purposes; however, it is not likely that donors view Joyce Meyer Ministries as a traditional congregational church. JMM is to be credited for releasing its audited financial statements to the public, as the law does not require this disclosure and many other televangelist ministries use this ability to shield financial information from donors. While the ministry does release its audited statements, IRS Form 990 information would be useful to donors as well. Accordingly, JMM should seek to redefine their organizational structure to reflect a para-church ministry status so the ministry’s structure can more accurately represent their operations as a public charity rather than as a traditional congregational church.

The Jefferson County, Mo., Tax Assessor has raised the issue of whether JMM is actually deserving of its tax-exempt status. The Assessor’s view is that the 52-acre, $20 million JMM headquarters is in reality a for profit business that is subject to taxation. He has said it consists of a 158,139-square-foot office building, a 35,020-square-foot distribution center and a 5,000-square-foot automotive maintenance center. Holman bases his claim on Missouri law, which states that an organization, to be tax-exempt, must be wholly charitable. He claims that the extravagant lifestyles enjoyed by Meyer and family members, as well as significant salaries and claims by JMM that some of it property is for investment purposes, are all violations of the statute. The assessor maintains that the ministry’s activities are not purely charitable, but are for private or corporate profit. While JMM’s operations often have a for-profit look about them, it may be difficult for the local taxing authority to ultimately win this case. More importantly, we do not believe that JMM is currently at risk of losing its charitable status from the IRS and this is the most relevant issue to donors desiring to tax advantage of tax deductions related to their gifts to JMM. One of the issues that this case raises, however, is the difficulty that a ministry such as JMM has when its operations are a combination of both non-profit and for-profit activities. Meyer’s for-profit publishing activities clearly benefit from the notoriety she receives via her non-profit ministry activities and it is often difficult to know when an employee of the ministry is actually doing work that benefits the Meyer’s for profit businesses. Accordingly, MinistryWatch.com always recommends that ministries seek to avoid such conflict of interests by having the ministry receive all royalties from employee-authors who directly benefit from their association with the ministry and have the ministry’s board of directors decide on the appropriate compensation for those responsible for the royalties. By eliminating the profit motive, important conflicts of interests are eradicated and the potential for the sin of greed to arise is reduced.

While the court process grinds on, MinistryWatch.com is conducting its own research into these claims. As we uncover new information regarding this situation, we will update this Analyst Comment or issue other reports as deemed necessary.

Living Reward:
By most measures, Joyce Meyer has arrived. The course from Fenton and an inauspicious small-time radio ministry to a personality with a degree of international fame has been skillfully navigated. In Meyer’s words, she is now “living in |her| reward.” Many however see no connection between the abundance amassed by her family run ministry and that promised by Christ (John 10:10). While few would criticize a legitimate family business returning monetary profit to its investors, it is not generally accepted, and in some cases is illegal, for nonprofit ministries formed to serve others to reward the leadership with excessive compensation. Reputable, non-religious charities draw broad public ire when it is found that they are injudicious with donor revenues. In a day in which the true historical Christianity is becoming more and more diffused by the clamor of commerce and culture, the Apostolic admonition has never resonated more clearly – “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keeps oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). Based on the lifestyles of the Meyer family, it can be argued that, while their ministry has worked to help widows and orphans, they have equally shown a tendency towards taking the more worldly approach of rewarding themselves at levels that exceed norms in the Christian ministry community. As noted earlier, this has included paying themselves large salaries and bonuses, providing million dollar homes for several Meyer family members, having the ministry purchase expensive furnishings, using a corporate jet and staying at luxury hotels.

Changes in Process:
Responses from JMM in the past to inquiries from MinistryWatch.com had typically been ignored until recent news coverage of the ministry, and Wall Watchers’ reporting on it, which has led to a more open dialogue between JMM and Wall Watchers. This has been a very positive step for the ministry and JMM has followed up with other steps to increase transparency so that donors can have a clearer view of their activities.

JMM also has made a major change in the ministry’s compensation of Joyce Meyer recently. Previously, the ministry’s board, comprised at the time of mostly family members and others who were closely tied to the Meyer family, awarded salaries as large as $900,000 as well as sizable bonuses to Joyce Meyer. Meyer’s husband was also handsomely compensated and children were on the payroll as well. At this time, it appears that many of the royalties that Joyce Meyer’s books earned were paid directly into the ministry. This approach was altered, however, to reduce Joyce Meyer’s salary to a still hefty $250,000 annually but to also remove her royalties from the ministry and instead pay them into a private company that Joyce Meyer controlled. The net effect of all of this was most likely a sizable increase in the personal compensation of Joyce Meyer and reduced revenues for JMM. JMM has never fully explained the motive behind these changes. It stands to reason that the ministry may have determined that the previous high salary and bonuses Joyce Meyer earned might come under IRS scrutiny for being excessive. In MinistryWatch.com’s view, JMM should receive all of the royalties from Joyce Meyer’s books and other products and Meyer and her family members should be paid salaries that reflect standards already established at well-respected Christian ministries. JMM has argued in advertisements that the ministry actually gets more back from the Meyer’s than it pays them due to honorariums and royalties on books sold thru the ministry but this reflects the faulty attitude that these revenues belong to Meyer rather than her ministry.

Action:
Wall Watchers believes donors would benefit from the following actions by the JMM board:

• While JMM is to be credited for increasing the transparency of the ministry it would be wise to embrace further transparency in the financial affairs of the ministry and related for-profit activities. Address completely the questions that have arisen about the ministry’s finances and the benefits the Meyer’s family have enjoyed with ministry money.
• Have all royalties from Joyce Meyer’s products be directed into the ministry in order to eliminate all conflicts of interest. If this is not to be done, disclosure of all past and present royalty arrangements for all books and other products sold as well as any other conflicts of interests that might exist should be embraced so that donors can understand fully and monitor how decisions that have or will be made impact the ministry’s finances.
• Allow MinistryWatch.com to have access to historical financial records and contracts so that we can determine on behalf of donors that past and present transactions with the ministry have not and do not unduly benefit the Meyer family.
• Take action to receive an independent review by respected biblical scholars of the theological soundness of the teachings of JMM and make alterations where necessary. JMM should review its Statement of Faith for theological soundness and seek to accurately portray its current beliefs through it. If these beliefs have changed, JMM should seek to explain to donors the reasons for these changes.
• Explain the ministry’s strategy with its charitable efforts. JMM has given large amounts of money to other ministries that its own donors could give to directly should they desire and thereby avoid incurring ministry overhead charges twice (JMM overhead and the JMM gift recipient overhead). Alternatively, set up a separate JMM foundation to receive gifts from donors who desire to have JMM direct the disbursement of their gifts to other ministries.
• Explain to donors the ministry’s strategy with regard to relief and development work, particularly with the recent entry into US relief and development area.
• Explain clearly to donors the new strategy of the ministry given indications that JMM is attempting to market the ministry’s products and services to a more secular audience.
• Improve the structure of its board of directors to bring even greater independence to it. Additionally, explain past changes in the board.

MinistryWatch.com hopes that JMM will benefit from these recommendations so that donors might have an increased confidence that their financial gifts are being spent in a completely appropriate manner and that donors can fully understand how their donations will be utilized. Additionally, MinistryWatch.com would like to congratulate JMM for the initial positive steps it has taken to increase transparency and improve donor understanding of its operations. These actions, which it was not required by law to take, indicate a desire to distinguish JMM from other televangelist ministries organized as churches which are not as forthcoming with donors.