Once upon a time, my father and his horribly and permanently hunched-over second tailor Bodish, and me, went to see Oral Roberts because Mr. Bodish wanted a faith healing and could not drive a car. My father tried to talk him out of it, the two men having a very animated conversation that looked like they were angry, but they were both just trying to convince the other.
Mr. Bodish won. And it was the first time I ever saw a preacher in a red suit preaching so hot the podium was smoking. But, that’s a story for another time.
In this time, right now, Senator Chuck Grassley (R) of Iowa, working with an “Hunter-Downer of Evangelical Scammers” has launched an investigation of six persons (and their spouses) who lead huge faith-congregations on television and elsewhere:
One of the fuller stories thus far is here at CBS News:
six ministries identified as being under investigation by the committee are led by: Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn. Three of the six – Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar – also sit on the Board of Regents for the Oral Roberts University.
Here is also a local response from other small church leaders in Tennessee:
Dr. Dwight Kilbourne leads First Centenary United Methodist Church. He says it’s unfortunate if these allegations turn out to be true, because most churches are honest about their finances.
Read more here:
http://wdef.com/news/local_church_leaders_react_to_mega_church_investigation/11/2007
According to the NYT: these are the some of the people and items being looked at by the Senate Inquiry:
¶The Rev. Creflo A. Dollar Jr. and his wife, Taffi, of World Changers Church International, based in College Park, Ga., popular prosperity preachers with churches and homes in New York City and Georgia.
¶Paula and Randy White, a dynamic young couple who started Without Walls International Church and Paula White Ministries in Tampa, Fla., but who are now divorcing. Mr. Grassley wants them to document clothing expenses and any cosmetic surgery from 2004 to the present.
¶Benny Hinn of World Healing Center Church, a showy faith healer based in Grapevine, Tex., who holds large crusades around the world. Mr. Hinn is being asked how he handles cash collected on his overseas crusades and how much he spent on hotels and food for himself and his staff members during layovers on his trips from 2001 to the present.
¶Joyce Meyer, who with her husband, David, runs Joyce Meyer Ministries from Fenton, Mo., and who is popular especially with women for her no-nonsense brand of self-help. Mr. Grassley wants her to explain the “tax-exempt purpose†of purchases including a “commode with marble top†bought for $23,000 for her headquarters.
¶Bishop Eddie L. Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., a megachurch in the Atlanta suburbs with an active media ministry.
¶Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Tex.
The ministries, although far larger and more diversified than the average church, are classified by the Internal Revenue Service as churches and do not have to file the I.R.S. 990 forms required for other nonprofit organizations.
Mr. Grassley’s letter says that since these ministries are tax exempt, contributions to them must be used for the ‘tax-exempt purposes of the organizations.’
If donations were diverted for personal use, that could violate the tax code.
But, the inquiry is far deeper than the NYT article conveys: For instance, Mr. Hinn is being asked to provide names, dates and copies of all publishing contracts, recording contracts, television contracts. The letter from the Senate says it has been reported that he takes ‘layovers’ on business trips and demands all records of ‘layovers’ since 2001 including reconstructing where stayed, how much for food, who accompanied him, what their duties and expenses were; to provide copies of and detailed explanations about all foreign investments, all offshore bank accounts, the furnishing of a residence at 35 Ritz Cove in Dana Point Calif., all income not in cash or checks, all barters, all trades, all donations to the exact penny… and where every dime went.
The Dollars are being asked similar questions including where a million dollars went which they told others they were raising to give to another minister. They are being asked to account for their purchases of two Rolls Royces for themselves. They are to provide all board meeting dates, times and members and all minutes. It goes on. And Senator Grassley runs a tight ship: He’s given all six groups only until December 6, 2007 to turn in all records, receipts, minutes, explanations, phone/credit card, hotel/food receipts, entourage accounts, and all else.
Some say too, there are significant Evangelical fame-names missing from the investigation so far.
But at this point, the focus is on these six groups and nobody knows if they will be singing Freedom On the Glory Road, Sweet Jesus, or Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen.
Here are the texts of the letters, several 5 and 6 single-spaced pages from Senator Grassley to each of the Evangelical leaders under investigation, each letter demanding a profound amount of minute information including questions about dummy corporations, loans of one million dollars from one spouse to another, the alleged purchase and gift to T.D. Jakes by the Whites of a new Bentley.
Coverage of more responses from small church leaders, some ‘it’s about time,’ some, ‘proceed with caution,’ one indicating he thinks Sen. Grassley wants to ‘pick a fight.’
….and this comment to that article: “Come on now, you guys are living better than Jesus when he walked the earth and He’s our King.”