Pastor
Creflo Dollar has taken to his pulpit to deny allegedly punching and choking
his 15-year-old daughter, telling his congregation on Sunday that the
allegations made in a police report are nothing but "exaggeration and
sensationalism."
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| Pastor Creflo Dollar |
"I
will say this emphatically: I should have never been arrested," Dollar said
Sunday in his first public appearance two days after police charged him with
misdemeanor counts of simple battery and cruelty to children.
The
pastor got an enthusiastic ovation from the packed church as he took the pulpit
at the World Changers Church International in the Atlanta suburb of College
Park. He addressed the criminal charges head-on for several minutes before
moving on to his sermon.
"I
want you all to hear personally from me that all is well in the Dollar
household," Dollar said.
The
50-year-old Dollar is one of the most prominent African-American preachers
based around Atlanta, with 30,000 members in the Atlanta area and a ministry of
satellite churches across the U.S.
He
was arrested after his 15-year-old daughter called 911 at about 1 a.m. Friday
and told a Fayette County sheriff's deputy that she and her father allegedly argued
when he said she couldn't go to a party. A police report says the girl told a
deputy her father charged at her, put his hands around her throat, began to
punch her and started hitting her with his shoe. The deputy noted a scratch on
her neck.
The
report said the deputy also interviewed Dollar's 19-year-old daughter, who said
her father grabbed her sister's shoulders and slapped her in the face and
choked her for about five seconds. She said her sister tried to break free, but
did not fight back. When her father threw the 15-year-old on the floor, the
older girl ran to get her mother. Dollar's wife, Taffi, told the deputy she did
not see the fight.
Dollar
launched into a lengthy denial of the allegations from the pulpit.
"The
truth is that a family conversation with our youngest daughter got
emotional," he said. "And emotions got involved and things escalated
from there."
He
said the mark on his daughter's neck had been there for about 10 years and was
caused by a skin condition, eczema.
"The
truth is she was not choked, she was not punched. There were not any scratches
on her neck," Dollar said. "But the only thing on her neck was a
prior skin abrasion from eczema. Anything else is exaggeration and
sensationalism."
Dollar
didn't publicly display any anger toward his children.
"I
will never put any fault on my children, as Jesus would never put any fault on
me," he said.
Dollar's
wife is a co-pastor at the church. She addressed the congregation before her
husband but did not touch on the allegations.
Dollar's
congregation appeared supportive Sunday, giving him sustained applause as he
took the stage. As he spoke, people in the sanctuary yelled encouragement:
Dollar,
who has five children, is a native of College Park and says he received a
vision for the church in 1986. He held the first service in front of eight
people in an elementary school cafeteria. His ministry grew quickly and the
church moved into its present location, an 8,500-seat sanctuary, on Dec. 24,
1995.
Along
with Bishop Eddie Long, Dollar is one of the most prominent African-American
preachers based around Atlanta who have built successful ministries on the
prosperity gospel, which teaches that God wants to bless the faithful with
earthly riches. Ministers in this tradition often hold up their own wealth as evidence
that the teaching works
I
really wonder what is happening or has happened behind these closed doors, stay
with us as this story develops.
