Televangelist Benny Hinn acknowledges he brought on some of his own problems during his controversial career.
“The two things I regret most in ministry: I was not too wise a number of times with prophecy,” he told Stephen Strang, host of The Strang Report. “I had guests come to the crusades that I think brought harm to not only people’s lives but also to my reputation, because their prophecies were not really prophecy. They went outside the borders of redemption.”
Hinn–his full name is Toufik Benedictus Hinn–said his other greatest regret in ministry is his teachings on prosperity theology. Since the 1980s, the American-Canadian has been one of the most notorious purveyors of the prosperity gospel, which teaches that people can overcome poverty and illness through devotion and positive confession.
He continues to be vigorously criticized for his lavish lifestyle, which includes a multi-million dollar mansion, extravagant hotel stays costing tens of thousands per night, and for his ownership of a private jet.
According to TrinityFL.org, which monitors ministry financial fraud, Hinn’s organization is a shell of its former self, stating, “While preaching the prosperity gospel, Hinn’s ministry has been reduced to a shell of its former self. In 1999, WHCC had almost 400 employees. By 2020, the ministry had about 25 employees. Over the past year Trinity Foundation investigators have regularly observed only a handful of cars in the ministry parking lot.”
It’s not known if the ministry’s financial problems have led to the new-found introspection.
“And that’s been a very difficult one for me,” he told Strang. “When I started in ministry, it was simple. And then the ministry grew. I think that’s when my troubles began. I don’t blame anyone, but sadly you get kind of in a place where it becomes difficult. You don’t know what to do and how to get out of it.
“Right now, my focus is the Lord and only the Lord. And of course, there will be the time when I may have to raise funds for our ministry, I will do it as biblically as I know how — and balanced.”
This is not the first time Hinn has claimed to publicly renounce his past teachings; In 2014 he went on air to repent. Then, in September 2019, he admitted his teachings on prosperity “got out of hand” and “damaged a lot of people” and said he wants the remaining years of his ministry to focus on evangelism and the Gospel — not the “health and wealth” theology that made him millions.
At the time, Hinn also hit back at reports of his tremendous wealth, including a net worth of $60 million and multiple private jets, stating, “If I had that kind of money, I would give it to God. It’s madness … that’s ludicrous. I don’t know how that started.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice