Robert Tilton
Robert Tilton (born June 7, 1946) is a television preacher with a 'health and wealth' gospel who pioneered a tremendously successful media ministry in the form of his television program Success-N-Life. At its peak the program was viewed in 235 American TV markets. Reverend Tilton retired in the early 1990s, but has since returned to the airwaves, targeting primarily African-American communities.
Biography and early years
Tilton cites 1969 as the year of his Christian conversion, and he began an iterant ministry in 1974. Tilton preached to small congregations and revivals throughout Texas and Oklahoma in the form of a Word-Faith ministry such as preached by ministers like Kenneth Hagin. In 1976, Tilton and his family settled in Dallas, Texas and built the Word of Faith Family Church in the suburb of Farmers Branch. The congregation of believers started small, but grew steadily. Tilton tried unsuccessfully to begin a media ministry. His efforts were fruitless until he went on a secluded vacation and experienced what he described as enlightenment akin to Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. Tilton felt called by God to purchase half-hour blocks on local television within which to broadcast his ministry to a wide audience.
Success-N-Life
In Success-N-Life, Tilton regularly preached about the material effects of life's trials, especially poverty. He preached that faith, expressed specifically by monetary seed-sowing in the form of supporting ministry efforts, was a simple cause-and-effect mechanism which would release material blessings from God. Saturated with biblical terminology and references to Jesus Christ, this message resonated with viewers, and Tilton's church membership swelled to over 8,000 members.
Tilton also authored numerous self-help books about financial success, including The Power to Create Wealth, God's Laws of Success, How to Pay Your Bills Supernaturally, and How to be Rich and Have Everything You Ever Wanted.
Retirement
In 1991, ABC news claimed that Tilton never read the prayer requests he received, but simply removed the offerings and threw them away. Tilton vehemently denied the accusations and took to the airwaves on November 22, 1991 on a special episode of Success-N-Life to air his side of the story. Tilton claimed the ABC reporters had stolen viewers' prayer requests and placed them in the dumpster for a sensational camera shot. He further claimed that he had suffered two small strokes as a result of praying fervently over tens of thousands of prayer requests, induced by the toxic effects of the ink interacting with sweat. The media stood by their allegations, however, and Tilton's viewership and donations declined dramatically. He apparently found it best to focus his efforts on his ongoing libel lawsuit against ABC, which was dismissed by a federal judge. The final episode of Success-N-Life aired nationally on October 30, 1993. Tilton's church also suffered decline, as his sermons became increasingly focused on himself and his innocence.
Return To The Airwaves
After the resolution of his libel lawsuit against ABC, Tilton returned to television in 1994 with a short-lived show called Pastor Tilton, a show with an emphasis on the casting demons from people suffering from pain and illness.
Reviving Success 'N' Life
After moving to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Tilton returned to the airwaves in 1997 with a new version of Success-N-Life. He aimed his ministry at troubled inner-city audiences, buying airtime on independent television stations primarily serving the African-American community. Concerned about the effects of sinful lifestyles on its impoverished core audience, cable giant Black Entertainment Television decided to feature the program as part of the two hour late-night block of religious programming entitled BET Inspiration. As of 2007, Success-N-Life is still a part of BET Inspiration, usually occupying the first hour of the programming block. The show also runs on cable religious programming channel The Word Network.