The aptly-named Creflo Dollar Jr. flies a Lear jet between his million-dollar mansion Atlanta and church services in New York City, where he also keeps a $2.5 million apartment.
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Tampa televangelist Paula White , who has homes in San Antonio, Malibu and New York, bought a Bentley convertible for fellow televangelist Bishop T.D. Jakes for his 50th birthday.
David and Joyce Meyer spent $23,000 on a marble topped toilet, $30,000 for a conference table and $11,219 for a French clock for the Fenton, Mo. headquarters of their not-for-profit an tax-exempt mission headquarters.
Such are the earthly rewards of preaching the so-called prosperity gospel, a controversial iteration of Christianity which holds that God rewards the faithful with material, as well as spiritual wealth.
But now the shepherds themselves are facing a reckoning. Dollar, White and the Meyers are among a half dozen TV evangelists being probed by Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, for possible misuse of donor funds and their tax-exempt status as religious organizations. The other targets are faith healer Benny Hinn of Grapevine, Texas; prosperity preacher Kenneth Copeland of Newark, Texas and Bishop Eddie Long of Lithonia, Ga.
Yesterday was a showdown of sorts – the deadline in the four-month inquiry to voluntarily submit information to Congress. Four of the six ministries indicated they would cooperate, even if they did not hand over the requested material; Dollar and Copeland, however, were defiant in their refusals.
Through an attorney, Dollar, a former board member of Oral Roberts University, called the inquiry an “unprecedented inquiry into the religious activities of a church.”
Copeland, also a former Oral Roberts board member, said through a representative that only the IRS had jurisdiction to question his ministry about finances.
A leader of the prosperity gospel movement, Copeland is close to former GOP presidential contender Mike Huckabee who appeared on his national television show last fall “for six days of frank discussion on the Biblical perspective of character.”
When Huckabee’s campaign struggled for cash, Copeland invited him to attend a national ministers meeting at his west Texas headquarters in January. The candidate, a Southern Baptist minister, raised $111,000 in contributions and another million dollars in pledges there, according to the Tulsa World. Copeland denied the appearance was a political endorsement, saying that Huckabee’s campaign simply rented a room, and Kenneth Copeland Ministries did not make a contribution.
Grassley sent a particularly extensive questionnaire to Copeland, requesting credit card records and information on offshore banking accounts; receipts for planes, and information about whether the ministry used its mineral rights to capitalize a for-profit company. ( The Ft. Worth Star Telegram reports that FAA records show Copeland owns three planes and his ministry has several more).
But it looks as if the Iowa Republican may have to issue subpoenas if he is going to succeed at forcing the church to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.
A spokeswoman for Grassley said yesterday that the inquiry is a “step-by-step process,” and no decisions have been made about congressional hearings or subpoenas. Grassley has defended the probe, saying he is investigating whether tax-exempt organizations are accountable to their donors, not their religious practice.
“The allegations involve governing boards that aren’t independent and allow generous salaries and housing allowances and amenities such as private jets and Rolls Royces,” he said when he announced the probe last November. “. . . I have an obligation to donors and the taxpayers to find out more.”
Kenneth Behr, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an accreditation agency for Christian ministries, called the inquiry “a very big deal,” in an interview with the Tampa Tribune. He said he is not aware of a high-ranking lawmaker ever undertaking such an extensive investigation. “I think he’s picking a fight,” Behr said. “He is not just asking them to come in and talk, he is asking them for everything.”
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8 Comments
#1. John Laird 04.01.2008
Jesus,hear my plea ,take these hypocrites vulgar gains and place them in chains. I don’t know if you have that power or your father “God” but surely “Senator Grassley” and the “Senate Finance Committee” do.
The only people who received prosperity are those “Bible Pimps” by using Jesus and the big Kahuna “God” as their cohorts to steal from these poor blind sheep. They got these bible thumping fools in a suffocating religious illusion so much so, that if these heathens are sent up the river the government better have the army protect them from themselves because they are so mind controlleded the KOOL AID might come flying off the shelf.
#2. Linda Rayborn 04.01.2008
This article tells us much more about Mike Huckabee, our best hope for the future of the country than it does these tv evangelists. If Mike Huckabee wanted riches and fame, he could certainly have it. He is the most articulate, best motivator, most charismatic figure out there now for conservatives. He could certainly land a big time tv spot and live comfortably much like Gore, basking in the limelight. But Huckabee is running on principles and the sincere desire to make a better country for the future generations. He wants to make a difference and his religious foundation is important only in that it grounds him, making him consistent, strong, calm and collected. Conventional wisdom would have said that Huckabee should have dropped out, like Romney when he realized the odds were not in his favor. But Huckabee was running for the people who supported him and the principles he believed in more than the favor of the GOP elite. THAT is the kind of president we need and deserve!!! As Huckabee often says, “he would rather lose an election than lose the principles that got him into politics in the first place”. May we only hope and PRAY we have another chance to put this man in the White House!!
#3. DreamerMS 04.23.2008
I think that it will be interesting to see how it all turns out, but Copeland is correct in defending his Constitutional rights. The Senator has no right to call for such an investigation on his own whim. That is the other issue here. If he is given that kind of authority, what will be next?
Here is a good read to get you thinking…
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13003
#4. Tyler 05.20.2008
Other Christian leaders have gotten together last week and decided to back Copeland. I think they recognize the effects that the results of this investigations have for the future.
#5. Aaron Weinzierl 05.21.2008
I’m a monthly contributor to the Copeland Ministries and I think it’s ridiculous that the Senator thinks he can force them to hand over personal records. If they are in compliance according to the IRS - then we don’t need Senators causing media spats and spins.
We just decided to up our monthly giving! Copeland is true to the gospel and we want to help him get it out!
And I crack up at people complaining about his owning of planes. Wonder why they don’t complain about the CEOs of regular companies owning planes. Those companies could save money by flying commercially and pass the savings to us as consumers….
#6. Lovin' Friday 06.06.2008
I have to agree Aaron. Great comments. If Grassley is given this kind of power, can you imagine what he would do next? I can’t believe that it is even an issue that he asked for such information and expect to receive it. I do not agree with all of Copeland’s teachings, but I do have an interest in my future rights.
#7. steve 10.28.2008
something should be done by the church or congress, something must be done to stop these crooks from taking advantage of silly minded and elderly people
I know God will in time, nothing changes, Jesus spoke of those who for pretense made long prayers and devower widows houses,
they are so wicked, Murdock, Hinn are the worst
#8. Kristie 11.01.2008
I suppose you could call me one of those silly minded people who have been taken advantage of. On the other hand you could call me a mother, a college graduate, a christian, and a feminist too! I think I represent a lot of people who can’t simply be put into a category such as silly minded. I consider myself to be a very educated woman, who loves the lord with all her heart. It is only for people like Joyce Meyer that some can connect to religion and Gods love. I think what many people are forgetting is that not only did she spend thousands of dollars on a toilet seat, she also has spend millions around the world reaching out to people in the name of God! I suppose for her success maybe she deserves a gold toilet seat! I understand everyone’s hostility toward these evangelical leaders and I know that there are those who are not truthful in their financial matters. But you know what? If I choose to send my money to someone, it is not because or for that pastor, it is for God. If God is not satisfied with how that person utilizes my tithe then he will judge them in his own way! I assure you fellow blogger, that I am no simple minded person
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