Evangelical faith scales intractable obstacles and perches on sunlit peaks of accomplishment.

When I wrote on 21st March 2015 on the title Creflo Dollar Will Get His G650, captious critics criticised my call. It's worth quoting a line from that article. I stated: "But while having a warm shower, and ruminating on the story and its damage to the fabric of our faith, a thought flew into my mind and stated clearly that there is no need to join the chorus of condemnation, and that he will soon have his jet. A crazy thought, was my first opinion; however, I cast my mind back to the true and intricate workings of this strand and shade of evangelical 'faith'; I then realised that as per past precedent, this was not a senseless thought after all." (See Creflo Dollar Will Get His G650 available at https://angelinakmorrison.wordpress.com/2015/03/21/creflo-dollar-will-get-his-g650/.

Please find below a Statement From the Board of Directors of WCCI/CDM (http://creflodollarministries.org/AirplaneProject.aspx):

World Changers Church International (WCCI) is a Georgia-based 501c3 non-profit organization that was formed almost 30 years ago for one purpose – global Christian ministry. Doing business as Creflo Dollar Ministries (CDM) worldwide, the ministry has offices on every continent and is engaged in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, meeting the spiritual and physical needs of people everywhere, and providing opportunities for people in challenging circumstances to build self-esteem and develop self-sufficiency. In addition to the standard fiscal and governance duties of any board, this board has standing committees in three major areas – ethics, audit and finance – to insure that all ministry policies, expenditures and activities are in full compliance with the Word of God, standard accounting practices and all applicable laws and regulations. In light of recent media speculation and erroneous public information regarding a fundraising campaign to replace the ministry's airplane, we feel compelled to offer the following statement...

Dr. Creflo A Dollar is the founder, senior pastor and CEO of this organization. While he is the spiritual leader and the public face of CDM around the world, he is also the CEO of a global, multinational ministry corporation and, as such, reports to this Board like any other CEO. All significant projects, policy changes and financial expenditures, regardless of the circumstances, are presented to the Board and approved prior to implementation. A proper system of checks and balances is in place to insure the ministry's dealings are beyond reproach. When Dr. Dollar steps forward to announce a ministry initiative, please make no mistake that it is actually an action of this Board.

Our community is centered on biblical principles directly from the Word of God. There is no area of the organization that does not base its foundational principles and operational guidelines on what the Bible has to say to us about God's love and His grace. We understand that others may interpret biblical truths differently – the freedom to worship as one chooses is a fundamental hallmark of a free society – but wish to assert our God-given right to practice what we believe. This is our faith, the very basis for what we believe, and it is not necessary that we justify it.

It is our belief that this ministry is called to serve people globally – to literally change the world according to the Great Commission – and our infrastructure and operational plan reflect the worldwide nature of that assignment. Our pastors share the gospel of Jesus more than 300 times per year – in churches, arenas, venues, convention centers, stadiums and other facilities across the entire planet – and are committed to aggressive travel schedules that cannot be fulfilled via any means other than private aircraft. A long-range, high-speed, intercontinental jet aircraft is a tool that is necessary in order to fulfill the mission of the ministry. In light of an unfortunate accident that recently resulted in the ministry's aircraft being declared a total loss, it is our intention to purchase another airplane at a time, place and price of our choosing.

The G650 appeal published on the creflodollarministries.org web site was directed to a specific community of like-minded people who love and support the ministry and its global missions work. There was not, nor will there be, a request for donations from the public at large, people outside that faith community or the members of local World Changers churches in Atlanta, New York and two dozen other locations. There are some 3 million donors in the ministry's global databases, with tens of millions of others who are connected to the ministry through books, magazines, social media, missions outreach and a daily television broadcast that is translated into many languages and aired worldwide. There was no pressure of any kind applied to anyone, but rather an opportunity was presented to those in our community who may be inclined to participate and who stand to benefit from the global mobility of our ministry leaders. We fully acknowledge that the campaign video did not do a good job of communicating the request, and we apologize for any confusion it may have caused – it is in the process of being revamped and will be re-released when complete.

We wholeheartedly reject the notion that the ministry's airplane project is an imposition on our community or that it somehow takes advantage of our people. Quite to the contrary, this request is seen by our community as standard operating procedure for people of faith. We believe that if our efforts are focused on building the Kingdom of God around the world, then it is His desire for us to see the desires of our hearts. We have funded numerous multi-million dollar projects this exact same way, including parking facilities, various church buildings, previous airplanes, our teen ministry headquarters and even our sanctuary, the World Dome. We seek out what we believe to be the will of God, we allow ourselves to dream BIG, we present our 'family' with an opportunity to 'invest,' and we all come together to turn those dreams into reality. "We plan to acquire a Gulfstream G650 because it is the best, and it is a reflection of the level of excellence at which this organization chooses to operate." (emphasis mine). We, the World Changers family, so value the lives, the safety and the well-being of our pastors and leaders that we wish to provide to them the best air travel experience possible.

We thank you for your understanding of our position in these matters. We respectfully request that those who are not involved respect our right to practice what we believe, and only ask of the press that they report facts, and not fictional reports or biased perspectives. We encourage our community, and our pastors, to dream big, because we know that God loves us just that much. May the grace of God make His awesome presence felt in your life and the lives of those you love, today and everyday.

As I argued in the preceding article, and will reiterate, the world does not understand the way "faith" works in evangelical churches. Over there, members think and believe God for big "things" and equally aspire for the best. It is the same policy that drives the very best of our little race. Yes, Creflo will get his jet and the press will not stop him. I will end with the same conclusion from the first article: "And if you are in doubt that Creflo will soon get his jet, watch this space! For whatever it will be, he won't fly commercial for long."

I shall return with my talking drums!

Angelina K. Morrison is interested in national development, true religion, and self-improvement. She enjoys thinking, and writes stories only when the muse grips her. Her first short story, Gravellatina is a breathtaking five-part gripping series available now at Amazon. You can email her at angelinakm75@gmail.com, or find her at www.angelinakmorrison.wordpress.com or Facebook page.