President Trump’s appointment of Paula White as head of the newly established White House Faith Office is the worst decision of his young presidency.
I say this as someone who has voted for him three times (in separate elections) and is thrilled with practically everything he has done thus far. He is exceeding my expectations in every regard — except this one.
In addition to her new position, Paula White is the “pastor” of StoryLife Church and the host of her own television show titled “Paula Today.” Her relationship with President Trump began over 20 years ago when he saw one of her television programs and contacted her, telling her that she had “the ‘It Factor.’” He later made appearances on her show. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family ministry, said that Paula White led Trump to Christ.
White, however, is one of the most visible proponents of Word of Faith theology, more commonly referred to as the health and wealth, or prosperity, gospel. The Word of Faith movement is not merely wrong in secondary matters of Christian theology, but it represents a dramatic departure from some of the basic tenets of historical Christianity. A thorough treatment of the heresies of this movement is beyond the scope of this article, but at its heart is the belief that if you are a Christian, you are a “little god.”
Many in this movement even believe that as a Christian you are “as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.”
On one of her programs with fellow Word of Faith preacher Larry Huch, White enthusiastically agreed with Huch’s statement that “Jesus is not the only begotten Son of God.” She has repeatedly taught that Christians are little gods and once said, “Wherever I go, God rules. When I walk on White House grounds, God walks on White House grounds. … I have every right and authority to declare the White House as holy ground because I was standing there, and where I stand is holy.”
Further, White teaches that as an equal with Jesus — and even as God himself — Christians are entitled to health and wealth because God cannot be poor and certainly cannot be sick. Health and wealth are yours provided that you have enough faith and that you sow enough “seed” into a Word of Faith preacher’s ministry – and by “seed,” these preachers mean money.
They speak some truth, but it’s mixed with error and heresy — and just a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
White is fond of attaching a seed amount to various scripture verses. She has, for example, told her followers to sow $91 based on Psalm 91 and thereby secure God’s protection from various enemies, including, but not limited to, sickness and disease. She once told her followers to sow a “resurrection seed” of $1,144 based on John 11:44, which records Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. “So click on that screen right now and sow your resurrection seed as we stand in faith together and I believe God for your miracle.”
White even told her church one night, “Some of you gotta be at a place of sacrifice. When it’s the hardest is when it’s sacrifice. … You’re gonna write your checks to Paula White Ministry, if you want to text to give you can do so, but every single person (needs to) give something significant.” Conscious that many have rightly criticized such manipulation as tantamount to buying a miracle, she followed up with, “Now, we’re not buying a miracle, we’re not doing any ‘Jesus junk,’ we don’t do that kind of stuff. We’re simply being obedient.”
In sum, White would say that you can’t buy a miracle, but if you need one, you need to give her your money. It is a distinction without a difference. And the bigger miracle you need, the bigger monetary “seed” you need to “sow.” Your seed is a reflection of your faith. You must give to her even before you pay your light bill because, after all, you can’t expect the electric company “to heal my child or find my children that are lost.” The healing of your sick child or even the salvation of his or her soul depends on you giving money to Paula White.
These are not isolated examples. This is the unbroken pattern of all prominent Word of Faith preachers.
If you begin with the premise that it is always God’s will to be healed, and someone prays for healing, but healing never comes, then the question becomes, ”Whose fault is it?” By definition, it cannot be God’s fault. If you are sick, it is your fault – your lack of giving or your lack of faith.
The exploitation of the poor and the sick, though, is not the worst thing about Paula White and those like her. Even worse is the reproach they bring upon the name of Christ.
In 2021, Paula White endorsed “Mother Moon” in person at Moon’s Unification Church in South Korea, a cult, which, among other objective heresies, teaches that Jesus failed in his mission, an explicit denial of his deity.
White has given a myriad of false prophecies, not the least of which was that Trump would serve a second consecutive term in the White House. Even after Biden was certified as the winner, Paula White did not give up. In a viral clip, she bizarrely called upon angelic reinforcements from Africa to install him in the Oval Office. These angels were apparently blown off course somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean — no word yet on the cause.
To be fair, all prominent voices in the Word of Faith movement prophesied this; White was hardly alone.
But the spectacular prophetic failure of Paula White and her Word of Faith cohorts became rich fodder for the world’s ridicule. Viral YouTube videos mocking the failure of these “Christian” prophets garnered tens of millions of views, which is unfortunate because what many people believe about Christianity, they learn from watching these televangelists with massive platforms.
I am not upset with President Trump that he chose Paula White to lead this new office. Donald Trump is not a theologian and does not understand the theological heresies of the Word of Faith movement.
But I am upset not only with Paula White and those of her ilk but also the prominent Southern Baptist pastors who are fully aware of the Paula White problem: who she is, what she teaches, and what the Word of Faith/prosperity gospel is. Jack Graham and Robert Jeffress, for example, pastor two of the largest Southern Baptist churches in the nation (Prestonwood Baptist and First Baptist Dallas, respectively), and they have both enthusiastically endorsed Paula White.
Romans 14:22 states, “Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.”
True revival will never come through the hands of false teachers nor those who endorse them.
It grieves me that our president is surrounded by “faith advisers” who are such poor representations of Christianity. Paula White meets every biblical criterion of a false prophet and false teacher.
If she is not a false teacher, then the term truly has no meaning.
Is everything that Paula White teaches wrong? No. Some of what she teaches is right. But that is true of all false teachers.
In his description of false teachers, the apostle Peter says they will “secretly introduce destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1). Secretly. They speak some truth, but it’s mixed with error and heresy — and just a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Galatians 5:9).
I wish and pray that I could have just 30 minutes with President Trump to share with him the true gospel. I wish I could tell him that Jesus did not die so that we could have health and wealth, but he died so that he could satisfy the righteous wrath of God that burns against our sin. Our sins were imputed to Christ on the cross, and his righteousness is imputed to us (2 Corinthians 5:21) when we repent of sin and place our trust in him. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Trump may not be a theologian, but he is a smart man, and he surely had to notice that all of the prophets who prophesied in 2020 that he would serve a consecutive term were wrong. He surely knows that the “Christians” surrounding him who claim to be hearing from God clearly are not.
Jesus does not promise us health and wealth. To the contrary, he promises us persecution and suffering in this life (John 15:20; 2 Timothy 3:12; Philippians 1:29). But in the life to come, he will give us eternity with him. Christ himself is the reward for those who will trust him as Savior and Lord.
Many prominent preachers are saying that God is bringing revival to America through the creation of the White House Faith Office. Pastor Greg Locke, for example, in criticizing those of us critical of Paula White, said he’s “for revival and truth no matter who’s leading it.”
I’m certainly for revival, but true revival will never come through the hands of false teachers or those who endorse them.
Donald trump, White house faith office, Paula white, Bible, Christianity, Christians, Prosperity gospel, Faith
