Baptist Senator's War On Prosperity Preachers

Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee and scheduled speaker at the upcoming Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant is investigating six prominent televangelists for possible financial misconduct. The six electronic preachers include Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn. Grassley is trying to determine whether or not these ministers and their ministries are improperly using their tax-exempt status as churches to shield lavish lifestyles.

In an article on Christianity Today Online, Joel Hunter the Florida megachurch pastor had this to say about Grassley's investigation:

"If your house is in order, you have nothing to fear and much to gain from this process,"

Others fear that Grassley's investigation could set a bad precedent.

Mr. Naked Public Square, Richard John Neuhaus commented:

"James Madison would be telling us, 'Take Alarm! Take Alarm!''' Richard John Neuhaus, editor of the journal First Things, told CT. "This is cause for alarm that a Senate committee would presume to directly exercise financial oversight of religious ministries."

And from Charles Haynes of the First Amendment Center:

"There has kind of been an end-run here," contends Charles Haynes, director of the First Amendment Center. The Senate prying into church money matters could be a slippery slope, he said.

"It's legitimate for government to monitor whether or not the laws are being followed by ministries," said Haynes. "Having said that, this is an unusual approach. The danger here is that it can become a fishing expedition … into areas where the First Amendment protects ministries—for example, their beliefs and view of the gospel. They may be controversial or unorthodox or unpopular, but that is none of the business of government."'

This portion of the CT article was quite interesting:

While Grassley is not proposing any changes to the law or tax code, he's suggesting that he may do so after the investigation. "Based on initial review, the way ministries operate has changed significantly over the last 20 years to 25 years, while the tax laws governing them for the most part have not," his office said.

I'm hesitant to say that Grassley's investigation is a GOOD thing. The principle of separation requires that the government stay out of the business of the church. But a $23,000 commode? Private jets. Expensive toilets. Costly conference tables. Riding in style in Rolls Royces and Bentleys. The lavish lifestyles of these ministers is disturbing.

Nonetheless, perhaps Grassley should have allowed the IRS to investigate these mega-ministers. After all, the IRS is the body that determines if houses of worship are following the law as to their tax exempt status. I tend to agree with Roland Martin of CNN who observed that Grassley's investigation could potentially have a chilling effect on churches "because ANY politician who is ticked off with a church - maybe one where a pastor endorsed his or her rival - could use their influence to demand the records of a church." If you'll take a stroll down memory lane, you might recall that some accused the Bush Administration of using the IRS to go after congregations (All Saints Episcopal) that were quite outspoken in their opposition to the Iraq War

I'm quite sympathetic to this blogger who wrote:

Granted, any fiscal abuse within any church should be stopped. But isn't it the responsibility of those parishioners who give their money to the church to do so? And don't they usually do so? It seems a bit of a reach for the U.S. Senate to be involved in the private faith lives of individual Americans and their places of worship.

What say you?