Great Men Of God, Challenges and Conquest (Benny Hinn, T.D Jakes, Joseph Prince and Joel Osteen)

BENNY HINN

Toufik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn popularly known as 'Benny Hinn' is a famous televangelist,

best known for his regular "Miracle Crusades"—revival meeting or faith healing summits that are usually held in stadiums in major cities around the globe.

Here are some of the challenges he encountered;

Hinn married Suzanne Harthern on August 4, 1979. The couple have four children.

However, Suzanne filed divorce papers in Orange County Superior Court on February 1, 2010, citing "irreconcilable differences.

This led to a big clash as it was alleged that Benny Hinn and Christian female televangelist Speaker where having a romantic affair, later in July 2010, both Hinn and Paula White denied allegations in the National Enquirer that the two were engaged in an affair.

Hinn was sued in February 2011 by the Christian publishing house Strang Communications, which claimed that a relationship with White did occur and that Hinn had violated the morality clause of his contract with the company.

In May 2012, Hinn announced that he and his wife will comeback together as they had begun to reconcile their differences during the Christmas season of 2011, stating that the split had been caused by Suzanne's addiction to prescription drugs and antidepressants and citing his busy schedule and lack of time for his wife and children.

Indeed March 3, 2013, Benny and Suzanne Hinn remarried at the Holy Land Experience theme park, in a traditional ceremony lasting over 2 hours and attended by approximately 1,000 well-wishers, including many visiting Christian leaders. Pastor Jack Hayford referred to the remarriage as "...a miracle of God's grace".

T.D JAKES

Thomas Dexter "T. D." Jakes, Sr., popularly known as 'T.D Jakes', is the Apostle/Bishop of The Potter's House, a non-denominational American megachurch, with 30,000 members.

Here are some of the challenges he encountered;

T.D Jakes spent his teenage years caring for his invalid father and working in local industries. It was gathered that he soon dropped out of the university.

However, he never give up, or was neither discouraged by his background, he preach part-time and today, he is the Bishop of The Potter's House, he known worldwide for his Christian ministry especially in encouraging the hopeless and abused women.

JOSEPH PRINCE

Joseph Prince is the senior pastor of New Creation Church in Singapore, one of Asia's biggest churches. He was one of the church's founders in 1983.

Here are some of the challenges he encountered;

Joseph Prince was the son of a Sikh priest of Indian origin and a Chinese mother.

However, Prince changed his birth name to Joseph Prince during his previous occupation as an IT consultant.

Meanwhile when he joined the Christian Ministry, there has been criticism about the salary paid to Prince by the church. On 5 October 2008, in an interview with the Sunday Times, Prince, also the executive chairman of the church council, acknowledged that he was "well-paid" but also added that "money doesn't have a hold on me". He dismissed allegations that his salary was $50,000 a month, saying "It could have been $50,000 if I had not voluntarily taken all the pay cuts through the years. There was a system of payment that would actually enrich me greatly but as the church grew, I refuse to accept that system of payment."

On 30 March 2009, The Straits Times reported that a check revealed that New Creation Church paid one employee between $500,001 and $550,000 in its last financial year of 2008. Under the recommendations of the Code of Governance for charities then, all charities and non-profit organizations in Singapore are encouraged to disclose the salary bands of their top executives to the Commissioner of Charities. The church did not confirm if the amount in question was paid to Joseph Prince, but it told The Straits Times that its policy is to "recognize and reward key contributors to the church and Senior Pastor Prince is the main pillar of our church's growth and revenue. “The New Creation Church's income was reported to be Singapore $55.4 million (approximately 44.7 million US dollars) for the financial year ended March 2008.

On 15 April 2009, Matthew Kang, the Honorary Secretary of the New Creation Church, posted a reply to The Straits Times on the church's website stating that the New Creation Church was not a public charity and did not solicit public donations. Kang asserted that "there is absolutely no compulsion to give whether in tithes or offerings, and any giving is done out of a willing heart", and that "every giver is appreciated and it is taken in good faith that he believes in the elected leadership and will trust them to make good decisions for the particular church he has chosen to attend, whether as a member or a visitor."

On June 7, 2010, he was vindicated as the Straits Times and Channel News Asia reported that Joseph Prince has not been on the church payroll since 2009.

JOEL OSTEEN

Joel Scott Osteen, popularly known as ‘Joel Osteen’ is an American preacher, televangelist, author, and the Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church, the largest Protestant church in the United States, in Houston, Texas.

Here are some of the challenges he encountered;

His father the Pastor of the Church, John Osteen encouraged Joel to preach for many years, but he declined, preferring to work behind the scenes until January 17, 1999, when he accepted his father's suggestion and he preached his first sermon.

It was gathered that was the last Sunday of John Osteen's life, as he died less than a week later of a heart attack.

However in the first few months after he took over for his father as senior pastor, Joel Osteen tried to emulate his father's preaching style, but found it difficult to fit in so later he developed his own approach. His sermon preparation involves memorizing his remarks and listening to himself on tape.

However, during this transformation process while he delivered his sermons, he said he avoided making eye contact with individuals when manning the pulpit to avoid getting distracted.

By God's grace he overcame this challenge is one of the greatest Gospel Preachers Worldwide.

Never give up, God is in control.