I just took a quick glance at his website. Something I consider is that the more a prosperity preacher claims to be "different" from other prosperity preachers, the more he's just like them.
Seeking wealth ought not be an aim of Christianity. If a Christian is GIVEN wealth, whether from pursuing his talents, realizing his ideas, or inheriting it from parents, then he has a greater responsibility to put that wealth to work for the glory of God. I heard a preacher say that "it's a blessing to give," the logic being that those who give the most are those who have been given the most. My tithes amount to a few pennies here and there compared to most. That's nothing to be ashamed of.
Prosperity preachers hold the opposite aim: To make money by promising wealth to their followers. It simply DOES NOT WORK. Books that give advice on acquiring wealth are little more than common-sense placebos that make the earner feel he is consciously doing something with and for a purpose. In the end, there is only one rule of personal gain: If you work hard, create a product to sell, create a demand for the product, and sell the product in the right market, you will make money, and lots of it given the optimum balance of economic factors. Take me, for example. I teach piano lessons. I have a studio in a private school with parents that have money to burn. I keep my fees low to attract a large number of students, but realistically I can give myself a raise any time I want. I also teach at college extension campus in the evenings to tap into the adult market. I'm not a bad musician. I have a church gig, I play in a band, and I hire myself out for weddings, private parties, fundraisers, and so on. I have a degree in composition and am well equipped for music production out of my bedroom. I'm knowledgable enough for other musicians to consult me in equipment purchases, studio setup, advanced DAW tutorials, and so on. In reality, I'm lucky if I earn $20,000 in a GOOD year, but I have the potential for growth as time goes by and could conceivably earn more given different circumstances.
I don't NEED a preacher telling me how to succeed in business. I need a business plan. The Bible doesn't give you that. God leaves that up to you. What the Bible DOES provide is a respectable code of ethics. In spite of its age, Biblical precepts are perfectly applicable today. The Bible doesn't advise on how to accumulate wealth. It just gives you the ethics of getting there should you reach that kind of goal. The Bible DOES advise on what to do with part of that wealth, which means acknowledging that the source of all things, wealth and other necessities, is God and that it is the duty of the Christian to return only a portion of what has been given.
Reverend Ike sounds to me more like yet another motivational speaker posing as a financial advisor. The only person making any money here is Ike when you buy one of his books. Caveat emptor.
