Pastor Craig Hagin

I want to speak truthfully and lovingly about something that Pastor Craig Hagin is teaching.

I’m a Rhema graduate in Mexico City, and my connection to the Hagin family runs deep. Pastor Hagin Jr. flew in for my graduation and personally encouraged me. Afterward, my mom and aunt were invited onto their private jet to see it at the airport.

My cousin Tim is a Rhema director in Mexico City, and during my first year at Rhema, I happened to be driving him when we received private news that Mr. Hagin Sr. had just passed away. The public hadn’t been informed yet, so I was one of the first to know.

My aunt Grace even helped care for Miss Oretha (Mom Hagin) after his passing in the Hagin family home. The Hagin family has been close to my family for years.

Craig Hagin is very good friends with my cousin Tim and has visited them often in Mexico City.

That’s why I speak with both care and conviction when I say: I do not support what the Word of Faith movement has become. I believe much, or even most of it, has taken the truth of the Bible to extremes, and what started with sincerity has, in many places, become spiritual deception.

Recently, Craig Hagin made the statement, “I thank God for my grandfather, and I believe that he’s the second greatest human to ever walk the face of the earth behind Jesus Christ.”

Let me be clear. That’s not just an exaggeration. That’s a dangerous distortion of biblical truth.

The Bible already tells us who the greatest human being was besides Jesus, and it wasn’t Kenneth Hagin Sr. It wasn’t Paul. It wasn’t Moses. It wasn’t David.

Jesus said in Matthew, “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist.”

And what did John the Baptist say in response to his own recognition? “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John).

Even the greatest man Jesus ever affirmed didn’t want a platform, a building, or a following. He wanted to get out of the way so people could see Jesus. That’s the posture of a true servant of God.

Now compare that to what we’re calling “greatness” today. Private jets. Multimillion-dollar ministries. Book royalties. Massive influence. Somewhere along the line, we stopped defining greatness the way the Bible does. We’ve replaced sacrifice with success and called it anointing.

Personally, I believe the greatest people in the Kingdom are those who lay down their lives, who bleed for others, who suffer for the sake of Christ and expect nothing in return.

Like George Müller, who cared for over 10,000 orphans in 19th-century England without ever asking for a dime. He lived by prayer and trusted God for everything, while sleeping on simple floors and feeding the hungry with nothing but faith.

Or William Tyndale, who was betrayed, strangled, and burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English so that everyday people could know the truth of God’s Word for themselves. He died without applause, with no mansion and no royalties, just conviction and courage.

Or Richard Wurmbrand, who spent 14 years in a Communist prison, tortured for preaching Jesus underground in Romania. He later founded Voice of the Martyrs, not to make a name for himself, but to serve the suffering church worldwide, because he had lived it.

That’s greatness. That’s the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). That’s the spirit of Christ, who made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7).

Now compare that with what we often see today. Leaders honored as legends, praised for legacy, and remembered for platform rather than persecution.

Many have built a culture of reverence around his name. To be clear, he did not live in a mansion, and by many accounts, his personal lifestyle was modest.

The ministry owned a jet used primarily for travel to ministry events. His salary was set by a board of local businessmen, not televangelists, and he did not personally profit from book and tape sales; all proceeds went back into the ministry.

This isn’t about slander. It’s about making sure we don’t turn reverence into idolatry.

If calling someone “the second greatest human to ever walk the earth” doesn’t make us pause, then we’ve wandered far from the humility of the gospel.

This isn’t personal. It’s biblical. And it needs to be said.

The problem with the Word of Faith gospel is that it’s built on this exact kind of thinking. Man-centered. Self-focused. Obsessed with prosperity, platform, and control. It may use Scripture, but it often promotes a different spirit, one that exalts men and downplays suffering, one that chases blessing and avoids the crucified life.

But make no mistake. The Kingdom of God doesn’t run on jets, empires, or endorsements. It runs on sacrifice, obedience, and surrender.

There is only one name worthy of exaltation, and it’s not Hagin.

It’s Jesus Christ. Crucified. Risen.

I feel so strongly about this that I put it on my website. Click the 'My Teachings' tab and scroll to the bottom.

My website's a free resource for people who are struggling with addictions or seeking help. Check it out at http://www.brotherjohnelving.com

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