Read an April 21, 2013, interview with Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, about his aversion to being lumped in with “prosperity gospel” preachers.

Listen to a July 31, 2005, All Things Considered story on National Public Radio about African-American churches debating the prosperity gospel.

Read an Oct. 8, 2012, article in the Huffington Post about sexual misconduct being linked to prosperity gospel churches.

Read a piece on the Washington Post giving background on the prosperity gospel.

Robert Tilton is based in Miami. His Word of Faith Family Church in Farmers Branch, a suburb of Dallas, and its attendant ministries and television shows collapsed after a financial scandal in the early 1990s. He has a weekly online broadcast that proclaims his “Success N Life” message.

Joel Osteen preaches that faith leads to health, prosperity and happiness. He is the author of the best-selling Your Best Life Now: 7  Steps to Living at Your Full Potential (Warner Faith, 2004). He is based in Houston, where he heads Lakewood Church.

Clarence McClendon is a preacher whose show Take It by Force appears on TBN and CET. He is based in Gardena, Calif.

Joyce Meyer heads Joyce Meyer Ministries based in Missouri and was selected by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America. Her program Enjoying Everyday Life is carried on television and radio stations around the world. 1-800-727-9673  Media inquiries are handled via the website.

Bishop Eddie Long is pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Long received more than $3 million in salary, benefits and perks – including the use of a $350,000 Bentley – between 1997 and 2000 from a charity he founded. In response, Long told the newspaper that “Jesus wasn’t poor.” […]