Covenant of Increase
“We have a covenant of increase and that’s the same reason you will experience increase and blessing in your life. Amen! And we can’t ever be ashamed of this. This is who we are. This is what we preach. There are a lot of ignorant people out there that don’t think spirituality and natural increase are compatible. You can’t have one and the other. And yet, the Word of the Lord is exactly opposite. He says you have a covenant of increase.” -Pastor Mac Hammond, Senior Pastor, Living Word Christian Center; Sunday Sermon February 6, 2011.
The concepts of “increase” and “prosperity” represent central and often misunderstood elements of Living Word Christian Center’s ministry and mission. Dubbed the “Prosperity Doctrine” or the “Prosperity Gospel,” the idea of material, physical, and spiritual increase is rooted in an understanding of Scripture that has received a great deal of criticism from mainstream media and evangelical Protestant pastors alike.
The “Covenant of Increase” frames prosperity as a positive and laudable goal for the Body of Christ. The topic is controversial, however, as love of money is frequently seen as “the root of all evil,” to reference a commonly quoted portion of 1 Timothy, chapter 6. Both scriptural and cultural understandings are necessary to contextualize why many pastors see prosperity and the covenant of increase as positive ways to encourage spiritual and material growth. This section of the exhibit explores how the notion of increase and prosperity informs evangelical Protestant discourse. It also examines how LWCC itself understands and discusses the Prosperity Gospel.
Living Word Christian Center has prospered. With a church body of over 9,000, between 30-40% tithe as of 2011 (give a Biblically-mandated 10% of salary to the church). LWCC takes the notion of increase and prosperity seriously on multiple levels. In 2011, the church had a weekly income goal of $375,000. It participates in several local and national ministries, providing large monetary and in-kind contributions. Pastor Mac Hammond, one of two senior pastors at Living Word, takes great pride in having provided over a million dollars of food aid to communities in the Twin Cities and across the country through Angel Food Ministries. Living Word is also involved in several other community initiatives such as Living Free Recovery Services, the first faith-based outpatient chemical dependency center to open in Minnesota. Pastor Mac Hammond himself has also flourished throughout the lifetime of his church, and it is important to the Pastor to “not be embarrassed about the increase the Lord does bring me.”1 Pastor Hammond has accrued personal wealth and in 2011 owned a private jet and several multi-million dollar homes. However, personal wealth and material prosperity are described by Living Word as a means to other Christian ends and not, as critics might propose, the main goal.
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Jon Tevlin, “Mac Hammond Named in Report on Preachers who Prosper,” Star Tribune, (Brooklyn Park, MN, January 2011).↩
Living Word Christian Center is not shy about illustrating the church’s growth and prosperity in tangible and visible ways. The church building itself is immense, as the outer shell was once an industrial storage facility. A visitor to the church will note the large parking lot, the hotel-like “visitors’ entrance,” and the elaborate detail that decorates much of the interior architecture. LWCC’s sanctuary seats 3,000 people. The elevated pulpit area is surrounded by arrangements of well-pruned plants, purple flowers, and state-of-the-art audio and visual equipment. Common to many megachurches, Living Word broadcasts its services over the internet and on local and sometimes national television; they also employ advanced cameras and twenty-foot screens to make the worship experience accessible both to those in the sanctuary and across cyberspace. The seating in the sanctuary is spacious and comfortable, replacing wooden pews with cushioned theater-style chairs for each individual. The church’s cavernous lobby is elegant in decor, with a large information desk, a Visitor Center, and several formations of inviting leather couches. Stately bookcases filled with well-worn and antique-looking books stand in corners in both the main lobby and the upper-level sitting area. A second entrance to the church takes visitors through a large tiled room with several trees, a large clock, and a trickling water fountain. The church is connected to the Maranatha Christian Academy, which adds considerable square footage to the church. Living Word boasts a well-stocked bookstore, separate areas for youth and children’s ministry, and numerous stately paintings of Biblical and pastoral scenes. Many of the church members with whom I spoke expressed fondness for the architecture and the sense of grandeur that permeates the experience of attending a service at LWCC, and it is clear that the church makes no move to hide its success and its wealth.
