To his thousands of followers, Rev. Creflo Dollar preaches a powerful message that faith in God will yield spiritual and financial rewards. But, to some scholars and church leaders, Dollar’s brand of prosperity gospel is an exploitative message that is damaging the legacy of the American black church.<\/p>\n
On Friday night, Dollar — yes, it’s his real name — brings his popular “Change 2007” convention to the UIC Pavilion. Promoters said more than 8,000 people have registered by phone and online to attend the free event.<\/p>\n
Dollar says he wants to help people who feel like they are “stuck in a rut” to change their lifestyle and more fully embrace God.<\/p>\n
“The message is that if you can change the way you think, then you can change your life … and we’ll be tying that in with what it means to really have faith and what it means to live by the word of God,” Dollar said Thursday. “We take the word of God and bring it down on a practical level to let them see that it is relevant and can be applied in every area of life.”<\/p>\n