Elijah Bernard Jordan (born June 11, 1959) better known as E. Bernard Jordan, is an American television evangelist, founder of Zoe Ministries, and writer of books on

prosperity theology Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, seed-faith gospel, Faith movement, or Word-Faith movement) is a belief among some Charismatic Christians that financial bl ...

. Jordan grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

's Bedford-Stuyvesant area and believed he received his calling through a dream when he was 15 years of age. When he was 23 years of age he founded the Zoe Ministries in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Jordan studied at the Tabernacle Bible Institute in Brooklyn and the Manhattan Bible Institute. Jordan received a purported Ph.D. from Friends International Christian University, an

unaccredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

and online university.McKenna, Chris. (September 14, 2003). "The Prophet of Profit shows the seeds of wealth." ''

Times Herald-Record The ''Times Herald-Record'', often referred to as ''The Record'' or ''Middletown Record'' in its coverage area, is an American daily newspaper published in Middletown, New York, covering the northwest suburbs of New York City. It covers Orange, ...

''. He also briefly attended

Kepler College Kepler College (formerly Kepler College of Astrological Arts and Sciences) is an online certificate program for the study of astrology . Based out of Seattle, Washington, U.S., it is named after the mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler ...

, an uncredited online, certificate granting institution, pursuing a degree in

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

. In 2019, Jordan earned a Master of Divinity degree from Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, a historical Black College and University. He also earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in 2022. Jordan was raised to the bishopric in 1994 by Roy E. Brown of the Pilgrim Assemblies International denomination. The first edition of Jordan's ''The Laws of Thinking'' made the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list in 2007.

Prosperity ministry

Initially Zoe Ministry services were conducted in a member's home, then in several New York City hotels before they were held in a theatre. His "Power of Prophecy" television show aired from 1991 to about 1997, when it became too expensive to maintain. His ministry is based upon the premise that if one sows money, such as contributions to his ministry, they will reap prosperity for themselves. In his book ''God is Not a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, Nor a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

...'',

Carlton Pearson Carlton D'Metrius Pearson (March 19, 1953 – November 19, 2023) was an American Christian minister and gospel music artist. At one time, he was the pastor of the Higher Dimensions Evangelistic Center Incorporated, later named the Higher Dimensi ...

references Jordan's discussion of the inner spiritual divine as the essence of who we are, rather than our physical body as Jordan described in his book ''The Laws of Thinking''.

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Mayor

Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...

honored Jordan for his ministerial work in 2007.

Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights and social justice activist, Baptists, Baptist minister, radio talk show host, and TV personality, who is also the founder of the National Action Network civil rig ...

is numbered as one of his friends and he has celebrity mentees, such as Joseph "Reverend Run" Simmons of

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the mos ...

and

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's '' Run's House'', having named him "Protege of the Year Award" in 2004. The same day, symbolic of his "Prosperity Ministry", there was a "

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

parade outside the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, ...

, " featuring Jordan's Phantom Rolls-Royce. The new $325,000 Phantom had been a gift from Reverend Run as a "thank you" for his mentoring support. Although he lives a life of luxury, he is sometimes dressed in a black, hooded robe, such as at Zoe Ministries retreats in

Woodbourne, New York Woodbourne is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in the town of Fallsburg in Sullivan County, New York, United States. Woodbourne is bordered by the town of Neversink, the hamlet of Grahamsville, the hamlet of Loch Sheldrake, the hamlet ...

in the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

Family

Jordan lived with his wife Debra and five children in a gated community, Tuxedo Park in

Orange County, New York Orange County is a List of counties in New York, county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen (village), New York, Goshen. This count ...

. Jordan now resides in a 26,000 square foot mansion in Saddle River, New Jersey. Jordan was connected with Reverend Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II ("

Reverend Ike Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II (June 1, 1935 – July 28, 2009), better known as Reverend Ike, was an American minister and evangelist based in New York City. He was known for the slogan "You can't lose with the stuff I use!" Though his preach ...

"), a radio and television preacher who preached prosperity and "positive self-image psychology", who died in 2009.

Criticisms

Critics of Jordan's work question his being labeled a "

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

" and question the monetary pledges for spiritual enlightenment.

Lawsuits

A federal judge entered a default judgement against Jordan in 2019. This followed a year-long failure by Jordan to respond to a class suit action by Jeffrey Molitor who complained of robocalls from the ministry. In a separate case in 2018, an Ohio woman also sued for compensation and punitive damages due to unauthorized robocalls and text messages from Manasseh Jordan Ministries. A corporation that provided phone services was sued Additional lawsuits have been filed in California.

Published works

This is a partial list of Jordan's published works: * 1973 – ''10 Things Americans Wish They Had Known and 7 Things They Have to Know'' * 1992 – ''The Power of Money'' * 1994 – ''Spiritual Protocol'' * 1995 – ''Keys to Liberation'' * 1995 – ''The Power of the Dime'' * 1995 – ''What Every Woman Should Know About Men'' * 1995 – ''Written Judgements'' Volumes 1–4. Zoe Ministries, Inc. * 1996 – ''The Achiever's Guide to Success'' * 1996 – ''His Color Was Black: A Race Attack'' * 1996 – ''The Spirit Of Liberation'' * 2005 – "Cosmic Universe: The Universal Keys to Wealth" * 2008 – ''The Laws of Thinking: 20 Secrets to Using the Divine Power of Your Mind to Manifest Prosperity.'' is a book that explains 20 Laws that govern God's operation on this earthly plane. Spanish version. French version. * 2008 – ''The Business of Getting Rich (12 Secrets to Unveiling the Spiritual Side of Wealth In You)''. * 2009 – ''Beyond the Laws of Thinking'' * 2011 – ''The Laws of Prosperity''Open Library: Jordan, E. Bernard. (2011)
''The Laws of Prosperity.''
Hillsboro, NY: Atria Books. .

References

External links

E. Bernard Jordan official site

Church Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, E. Bernard African-American television personalities American television evangelists Prosperity theologians Living people 1959 births 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people