Megachurch pastor tells congregation his newly built mansion is gift from God

The pastor of a North Carolina megachurch has built a $1.7 million mansion for himself and his family which he told his congregation at Sunday's sermon is a 'gift from God.'
Elevation Church Pastor Steven Furtick, 33, is unapologetic about his ostentatious new seven-and-a-half bathroom, 16,000-square-foot home built on 19 acres in Weddington.

He spent the first part of his sermon talking about the controversy surrounding its construction and apologizing to his parishioners for any 'uncomfortable conversations,' they may have been forced to have about it.
'My wife and I made a decision, and we built a house,' he said while sitting at the edge of the stage at the church’s Blakeney location.

'It’s a big house, and it’s a beautiful house, and we thank God for it... We understand everything we have comes from God.'

Stephen Furtick began Elevation Church in 2006 with attendance at his first service of 121 people.

Since then, the start-up has become a going concern, attracting more than 12,000 people each week.
Furtick himself is part of the new breed of celebrity preacher, with his own brand - books, television and highly paid personal appearances.
His wife Holly has a blog called 'The Preacher's Wife,' in which she writes about Elevation Church, dispenses marriage and fashion advice and gives readers insights into her husband's life. 
Transcending the church he started, Furtick has 183,191 Twitter followers, while Elevation Church has 45,469.

Furtick and his right-hand man, Elevation CFO and 'executive pastor' James 'Chunks' Corbett will not disclose how much money Furtick is paid by the tax-exempt Elevation Church, his tax-free housing allowance, or how much he has made from books and speaking engagements.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/10/27/4419474/elevation-church-pastor-steven.html#storylink=cpy

His salary and benefits are not set by his congregation or a congregation-elected panel of elders but rather by an 'appointed' board that consists entirely of other megachurch pastors.

Warren Smith Cole, an author who has written about Elevation Church told NBC Charlotte the financial well-being of the group of pastors is 'intimately intertwined'.

'They attend each other’s conferences and are compensated for that regularly,' he said.

Culled  from Daily Mail