Pauline Joyce Hutchison Meyer, more commonly known as Joyce Meyer (born on June 4, 1943) is a Charismatic Christian author and speaker. Her television and radio programs air in 25 languages in 200 countries, and she has written over 70 books on Christianity. Some say she is a proponent of the prosperity gospel [1], although she does not accept that term for her teachings [2]. Joyce and her husband Dave have been married since January 7, 1967, have four grown children, and live near St. Louis, Missouri. Her ministry is headquartered in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri.

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Early life

Meyer was born in the St. Louis area in 1943, and still speaks with a working-class St. Louis accent. Her father went into the Army to fight in World War II soon after she was born. Meyer has said in interviews that he began molesting her upon his return. She often talks about her experience in her meetings.

A graduate of O'Fallon Technical High School in St. Louis, she married a part-time car salesman shortly after her senior year of high school. The marriage lasted five years. She maintains that he frequently cheated on her and persuaded her to steal payroll checks from her employer, which they used to fund a vacation to California. Meyer claims to have returned the money years later. After her divorce, Meyer frequented local bars before meeting current husband Dave Meyer, an engineering draftsman, with whom she celebrated their 40th anniversary on January 7, 2007.

Meyer reports that she was praying intensely while driving to work one morning in 1976 when she said she heard God call her name. She had converted to Christianity at age nine, but her unhappiness drove her deeper into her faith. She says that she came home later that day from a beauty appointment "full of liquid love" and was "drunk with the Spirit of God" (and spoke in tongues) that night while at the local bowling alley.

She began leading an early-morning Bible class at a local cafeteria and became active in Life Christian Center, a Charismatic church begun in 1980. Meyer became one of the church's associate pastors and began her pulpit ministry there by hosting and teaching the weekly women's Bible study - "Life in the Word." Meyer's first media ministry began with a daily 15-minute radio broadcast that followed the church's daily broadcast on a St. Louis radio station.

In 1985, Meyer resigned as associate pastor and founded her own ministry, initially called "Life in the Word" after her popular women's meeting at Life Christian Center. She began airing her radio show on six other stations from Chicago to Kansas City.

In 1993, her husband, Dave, suggested that they start a television ministry. ^[4] Initially airing on superstation WGN-TV in Chicago and BET, her program, now called "Enjoying Everyday Life," reaches a large audience.

In late 2000, she opened "St. Louis Dream Center," a social service outreach and ministry in the O'Fallon Park section of St. Louis.

In 2004 St. Louis Christian television station KNLC, operated by the Rev. Larry Rice of New Life Evangelistic Center, dropped Meyer's programming. Rice had been a longstanding Meyer supporter, but claimed that her "excessive lifestyle" and teachings which often go "beyond Scripture" were the impetus for canceling her program. ^[5]

In 2005, Time magazine's 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America ranked Joyce Meyer as 17th. ^[6]

Teaching

Meyer frequently talks about overcoming obstacles and finding strength to deal with difficult circumstances. She shares her views on how to deal with everyday life situations, often drawing on her own experiences. Meyer speaks candidly and with a sense of humor, sharing with her audience her own shortcomings and taking playful jabs at stereotypical church behavior. ^[7]

Criticism

thumb; seen here in Sydney, Australia when she was a 'special guest' at the Hillsong Conference in July 2005. It has since been replaced by a Gulfstream IV. Critics question the legitimacy of Meyer's theological education. ^{[8] [9]} According to Joyce Meyer Ministries, Meyer earned her doctorate degree from Life Christian University in Tampa, Florida. LCU is not accredited by a governmental agency recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Education. ^[10] Meyers does, however, hold an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from an accredited institution, Oral Roberts University, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Meyer, who owns several expensive homes and travels in a private jet (currently a Gulfstream IV), ^[11] has been criticized by some of her peers for living an excessive lifestyle. She claims that she doesn't have to defend her spending habits because "there’s no need for us to apologize for being blessed." ^[12] Meyer also alludes to a double standard in the criticism of her lifestyle, saying, "You can be a businessman here in St. Louis, and people think the more you have, the more wonderful it is...but if you’re a preacher, then all of a sudden it becomes a problem."

In January 2004, Meyer announced plans to take a reduced salary in 2004 and personally use more of the income derived from her outside book sales. Until January 2004, Meyer received a salary from her organization and donated all her book royalties back to Joyce Meyer Ministries. She now retains royalties on books sold outside the ministry through retail outlets such as Wal-Mart, amazon.com, and Christian bookstores, while continuing to donate to her ministry royalties from books sold through her conferences, catalogs, website, and television program. ^{[13] [14]}

In response to financial criticisms, Joyce Meyer Ministries claim to have made a commitment to maintain transparency in financial dealings, ^[15] publish their annual reports, ^[16] have a Board majority who are not Meyer relatives ^[17] and submit to a voluntary annual audit. ^[18] Currently this ministry is receiving a "C" rating (81-90) in financial transparency from Ministry Watch. ^[19]

In May 2001, Joyce Meyer Ministries hired a convicted child molester named Richard Leroy Jones to work as a pastor in her "Dream Center" youth ministry. The ministry was reportedly aware of Jones's criminal record when he was hired, but believed that he was not a danger to the children because he was not allowed to be alone with them. Jones left the ministry in 2003, shortly after his criminal history was reported in local news outlets. ^{[20] [21]}

Post-Dispatch retraction

In 2005, Joyce Meyer Ministries complained that two articles about the ministry—one in the St. Louis Post Dispatch's May 1st edition, the other in the April 18th edition—contained factual errors. Editors reviewed a transcript from a ministry press conference held by the ministry, records cited in the stories, and Tuft's notes. They discovered what they claimed to be numerous errors and issued a 577-word apology in the June 19 edition. The paper also reprimanded the stories' writer, Carolyn Tuft, and suspended her for five days without pay.

However, the Post-Dispatch stands by its reporting in the 2003 series, much of which was written by Tuft. ^[22] An arbitrator later reversed the suspension, but found that Tuft's errors were serious enough to warrant a written reprimand. ^[23]

The primary facts of her report have not been disputed, and, in fact, it has become the basis for a Senate investigation of Meyer and other "prosperity gospel" preachers by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

Senate Investigation

On November 6, 2007, United States senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa announced an investigation of Meyer's ministry by the United States Senate Committee on Finance. ^[24] Grassley asked for the ministry to divulge financial information ^{[25] [26]} to the committee to determine if Meyer made any personal profit from financial donations, citing such expenses as a $23,000 commode, a $30,000 conference table and requested that Meyer's ministry make the information available by December 6, 2007. The investigation also aimed to scrutinize five other televangelists: Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Eddie L. Long, Paula White, and Creflo Dollar.

The ministry website explains that the $23,000 commode was a chest of drawers purchased at $230.00 among 68 pieces of furniture that were purchased for their offices. Their website states, "The $23,000 purchase price of this chest of drawers was actually an errant value assigned by the selling agent after the transaction was complete for the entire sixty-eight piece lot. Joyce Meyer Ministries humbly regrets not paying closer attention to specific 'assigned values' placed on those pieces that have now led to gross misrepresentations." ^[27]

Joyce Meyer Ministries responded with a newsletter to its e-mail list subscribers on November 9, 2007. The organization referred to its annual financial reports, asserting that, in 2006, the ministry spent 82 percent of its total expenses "for outreach and program services toward reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as attested by independent accounting firm Stanfield & O'Dell, LLP." The message also quoted an October 10, 2007 letter from the Internal Revenue Service which stated, "We determined that you [Joyce Meyer Ministries] continue to qualify as an organization exempt from Federal income tax under IRC section 501(c)(3)." The same information was also posted to the ministry website.

Arrest of security guard

On May 19, 2009, Christopher Coleman, a security guard of Joyce Meyer Ministries was arrested for the murder of his family. Those killed were his wife, Sheri, and sons Garett, 11, and Gavin 9 of Columbia, Illinois. ^{[28] [29]} The cause of death for all three victims was from ligature strangulation. Coleman had resigned from the ministry a few days before his arrest. A week later, Joyce Meyer Ministries was named as one of the "respondents in discovery" in a lawsuit against Christopher Coleman. The ministry may be forced to hand over Coleman's personnel file, other related financial documents, and its employment policies. ^[30]

ECFA Accreditation

In 2009, Joyce Meyer Ministries received accreditation from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (EFCA). In an announcement on 12 March 2009, the EFCA said that Joyce Meyer Ministries and Oral Roberts University had met its requirements of "'responsible stewardship,' which involves ministries' financial accountability, transparency, board governance and fund-raising practices." ^[31]

Books by Meyer

• The Secret To True Happiness: Enjoy Today, Embrace Tomorrow (2008), ISBN 0-446-53199-5
• Start Your New Life Today: An Exciting New Beginning with God (2008), ISBN 0-446-50965-5
• Conflict Free Living (2008), ISBN 1-599-79062-9
• Top 10 Qualities of a Great Leader (by Phil Pringle and Joyce Meyer) (2007), ISBN 1-577-94913-7
• The Power of Simple Prayer: How to Talk with God about Everything (2007), ISBN 0-446-53196-0
• I Dare You:Embrace Life With Passion (2007), ISBN 0-446-53197-9
• Woman to Woman: Candid Conversations from Me to You (2007), ISBN 0-446-58180-1
• The Confident Woman: Start Today Living Boldly and Without Fear (2007), ISBN 0-446-53198-7
• The Everyday Life Bible: The Power of God's Word for Everyday Living (2006), ISBN 0-446-57827-4
• Look Great Feel Great: Joyce shares twelve practical keys that will help you look and feel great (2006), ISBN 0-446-57946-7
• Approval Addiction: Overcoming Your Need to Please Everyone (2005), ISBN 0-446-57772-3
• Straight Talk: Overcoming Emotional Battles with the Power of God's Word (2005), ISBN 0-446-57800-2
• In Pursuit of Peace: 21 Ways to Conquer Anxiety, Fear, and Discontentment (2004), ISBN 0-446-53195-2
• The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word (2004), ISBN 0-446-57736-7
• How to Hear from God: Learn to Know His Voice and Make Right Decisions (2003), ISBN 0-446-53256-8
• Me and My Big Mouth: Your Answer is Right Under Your Nose (2002), ISBN 0-446-69107-0
• Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind (1993), ISBN 0-446-69109-7

See also

• Prosperity Gospel
• Word of Faith

References

1. Tuft, Carolyn and Bill Smith. "Summary: From Fenton to fame" ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', Nov. 13, 2003
2. Joyce Meyer FAQ accessed June 30, 2008
3. Larry King Live: Interview with Joyce Meyer
4. Meyer traces her fervor to early abuse, alcohol
5. Smith, Bill. (2004, January 2) Meyer's ministry withdraws program from Channel 24.St. Louis ''Post-Dispatch''. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
6. 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America
7. Money pitch is a hit with followers
8. "Joyce Meyer/ JMM/ Enjoying Every Day Life/ Life in the Word: Ministrywatch.com's Take" October 2005
9. christian-witness.org "Joyce Joins the 'Fraud Squad'"
10. Questions About LCU
11. FAA US civil aircraft register search, using "N7JM" as the search parameter. Search conducted 15 November 2008.
12. From Fenton to fortune in the name of God
13. Joyce Meyer Ministries — Joyce Meyer Ministries: Response to Senator Grassley Inquiry<
14. Joyce Meyer Responds to Critics, Shifts Income Source
15. Joyce Meyer Ministries: A Commitment to Maintain Trust and Provide Transparency
16. Title Unavailable
17. Title Unavailable
18. Title Unavailable
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20. Child sex abuser quits Meyer ministry
21. Title Unavailable
22. "To our readers, an apology"
23. TNG-CWA Arbitration Victory in St. Louis
24. Televangelists Living Like Kings?
25. Senator Probes Megachurches' Finances by Kathy Lohr
26. Read Grassley's Letters
27. Joyce Meyer Ministries — Joyce Meyer Ministries: Response to Senator Grassley Inquiry
28. http://privateofficernews.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/police-know-who-killed-joyce-meyers-security-guar
29. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/C1E1746669FF4CAA862575BC001CF1C
30. http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/26/triple.slaying/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
31. http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news/20033