I had gotten pregnant and decided make this - what people might have thought as a wrong - of course, my greatest gifts in life.
There are many different ways that people get licensed or ordained through different ministries, denominations, etc. So - but for myself, there was no formal seminary.
There are crucial things that cause fractures, breaks, whatever in relationships. But no one throws a life away.
I'm extremely proud of the ability to really go forth and minister.
I can't tell what god will do because I'm not God. I can only take you back to biblical principle.
There must be a reason that these bad things happen to me. I must be dysfunctional. So why would my dad leave? Why would he kill himself? Why would I be violated? And when you're 6-years-old, you can't comprehend that. But as you get much older in life, you begin to think what's wrong with me?
To say you're going to wiggle your nose and that is going to happen, it won't happen. If you look at major companies who are doing wonderful things, wonderful things and they give their portfolio billions of dollars that they make and they give away $10 million or so, when you start putting the percentages there, what we are doing is significant.
One of the things is that I've been very comfortable in every situation starting ministry in the inner city and ministering in places - Washington, D.C., feeding the homeless, the hurting, going to broken boys and girls. So culturally I understood all different aspects of life - from extremely wealthy to extreme poverty, socioeconomic differences, ethnic differences.
Let's say financially. Financially, I personally believe that you should have enough to do the assignment that you feel is part of your life. And whatever that is to do, you're going to need.
I'm comfortable around just about everyone.
We have full disclosure in transparency of our audited, our financial audits. It's on our Web site. It is, I think 16 or 20- something pages, which most public companies or private companies and most ministries don't disclose. So we have always operated with financial integrity and full transparency.
I now have a greater compassion than I have ever had before to know what it is to have the pain of a broken marriage. And I'm not saying I have an answer or solution for everyone.
That defining moment at my friend's house, when his uncle looks in my eye and reads me the word of God, I have an awakening.
I didn't grow up in church. I had no concept of God - existence, I - the name Jesus was synonymous with tooth fairy and Santa Claus.
When I say you don't have to be a believer, you just have to say - you have to ask the question to say am I concerned about the tough questions in life, being introspective enough to say, who am I, why am I, what am I?
God has hooked me up.He has the life by design.
I don't sit down and say, boy, I'm thinking about getting a great deal of money or I'm not going to have any money.
I have my own personal opinions, but they're just that.
There are already current laws on the books and there are - and jurisdictions. The IRS can come in and do any kind of investigation of a person.
Larry Jones with Feed the Children and I are partnering in New York and going into Rikers Island.
I mean everyone is going to have an opinion. But the fact is, is many people have been critical or judgmental, which is almost a double whammy, as if the pain of going through a divorce is not enough, then to have what you want - embrace and support.
When I'm 18 years old, I'm at a friend's house. And his uncle looks me in me eye - you know, by this time I'm an over achiever, a pretty good student, etc. And he said I have the answer to your problems. I have the solution to your pain. And he held up this book. It's a bible. I didn't know what it was.
For the first time [with the Bible] - I know this sounds so corny - but I knew love. I had such an empty love tank. I had all the questions to life that didn't make sense. Two and two didn't add up to four. From my father's death - if you loved me, why did you leave me? Why did you kill yourself? And so when this happened, it took my life in a completely different direction.
When those types of situations[like abuse] begin to occur in your life - I had bought in from a very early age that fundamentally something must be wrong with me.
My definition of prosperity would be quite different than what most people probably imagine or think, because I think that a wholeness word that means nothing missing, nothing broken. It's not finances or materialism.
