E. Bernard Jordan
Elijah Bernard Jordan (born June 11, 1959) better known as E. Bernard Jordan, is a "Prosperity Preacher", founder of Zoe Ministries and author Jordan grew up in Brooklyn'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. 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 mail order and online university. He also  briefly attended Kepler College, an uncredited online, certificate granting institution, pursuing a degree in astrology. 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. 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, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu...", Carlton Pearson 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 Mayor Richard M. Daley honored Jordan for his ministerial work in 2007. Al Sharpton is numbered as one of his friends and  he has celebrity mentees, such as Joseph "Reverend Run" Simmons of Run-DMC and MTV'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 parade outside the Plaza Hotel in New York City, " 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 in the Catskill Mountains. Family. Jordan lived with his wife Debra and five children in a gated community, Tuxedo Park in Orange County, New York. 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"), 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" and question the monetary pledges for spiritual enlightenment. Many have labeled Jordan as a charlatan, a false prophet  and one who preys upon the gullible and unlearned. His strategies are completely aimed at gaining financial new donors and building his email list to have more potential contributors. Though he denies being an astrologer, he has been cited supporting the use of astrology within his ministry and has justified it as a spiritual tool, despite the bible being against it. Additional complaints have said that he collects in the name of orphans, but that he offers no such aid... Lawsuits. A federal judge entered a judgement against Jordan https://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/512457414-federal-court-grants-default-judgment-against-prophet-who-s-made-millions-from-millions-of-robocalls There is also a lawsuit over robocalling https://wvrecord.com/stories/511617664-woman-sues-prophet-manasseh-jordan-ministries-for-tcpa-violations A corporation  that provided phone services was sued https://www.natlawreview.com/article/lord-spoke-to-me-personally-about-you-how-mass-blasted-messages-prophet-landed-one Additional lawsuits have been filed in California https://www.plainsite.org/dockets/1z78xh7bo/california-northern-district-court/ferguson-v-the-prophet-manasseh-jordan-ministries/ And a federal lawsuit in ny is described here https://nypost.com/2016/03/12/prophet-harassing-nyers-with-robocalls-demanding-cash-suit/ Published works. This is a partial list of Jordan's published works: