The gospel of prosperity and its concept of development: A Ghanaian Pentecostal-Charismatic experience

ABSTRACT

The prosperity gospel, a doctrine in the global Pentecostal-Charismatic movement, characteristically demonstrates the nexus of the Christian faith and wealth. This article analyses Mensa Otabil, a Ghanaian prosperity preacher’s ‘20-year personal development plan’ for members of his church, the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC). It explores whether or not, why and how the members are aligning their lives and visions to his vision of how to achieve a better, prosperous community. Using ethnographic data obtained from selected members of the ICGC, this article investigates the idea and the implementation of the development plan, in order to understand the plan as Otabil’s conscious effort to change society through the transformation of individuals. It argues that Otabil’s efforts can be analysed as a form of religious engineering, where, the individual members are invited to act as engineers of their own life and subjectivity.

KEYWORDS:

• Prosperity gospel
• African Pentecostalism
• religion and development
• religious engineering

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor

Justice Anquandah Arthur is an alumnus of the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS), University of Bayreuth, Germany. His research interests revolve around African Pentecostal-Charismatism, religion and development, and issues of religion and conflict.

Notes

1 I have addressed this aspect of reciprocity and wealth redistribution in an essay in the journal Interkulturelle Theologie: Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft (Arthur 2017).

2 This includes data from participating in church activities, conversations, interviews and focus group discussions. In all 46 members of the ICGC were interviewed at least twice (for most of the respondents) within a three-year period and two focus group discussions involving 10 church members.

3 It is a practice in many Pentecostal-Charismatic churches to give names to years. It is believed that naming the year prophetically gives themes to talk about within the year but even more importantly, it is seen as a prophetic declaration, which will translate into a good year. In the ICGC, the name of the year always comes together with a form of confession of faith, which is recited in church every Sunday. For example, 2020 is designated ‘The Year of Excellence’ with an announcement that ‘great things shall abound for you in 2020’ (cf. International Central Gospel Church).

4 All scriptural quotations in this article are in the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible.

5 For a copy of the plan, see: https://www.centralgospel.com/directory/gallery/downloads/20_Year_Plan.pdf

6 14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are – northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.’

7 2 Then the LORD answered me and said: ‘Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.’

8 Terry Rey sees the concept of religious capital as the accumulation of religious power defined as the ensurance of salvation, community membership, sacraments, moral sanction, enlightenment, or holiness (2004, 337).

9 The aspect of breaking family and other unwanted social and spiritual ties has been critically interrogated by Birgit Meyer in her article, ‘Make a Complete Break with the Past’ (Meyer 1998).

10 I first interviewed George on the day of the launch of the project on the 5th of January 2014 and subsequently on the 11th of June 2017 at the Gymnasium, Christ Temple, Accra.

11 I had two separate interviews with Jennifer on the compound of Christ Temple, Accra on 12th January 2014 and 8th June 2017 respectively.

12 Interviews were held on three different occasions in the compound of Christ Temple, Accra on 5th and 19th January 2014 and 6th July 2017.