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In other words, the IRS got slammed with untold scores of complaints about inappropriate endorsements from pulpits.

The Los Angeles Times reports that less than two dozen of these complaints actually made it to active investigations:

Using such news reports and tips from the public and interested groups, the IRS identified more than 100 nonprofits that had allegedly intervened politically in the 2004 presidential election. The agency reviewed the cases and selected more than 60 for fuller examination. About a third of those organizations were churches, officials said. The IRS is barred by law from identifying those nonprofits, and the agency would not comment on the specifics of the All Saints case or others.

(According to Newhouse News Service, "Pamela J. Gardiner, Treasury Department deputy inspector general for audit, said in a report issued Feb. 17 that 34 such inquiries were undertaken in connection with last year's election.")

But the IRS did send a letter letting All Saints know that it was being looked at, saying "a reasonable belief exists that you may not be tax-exempt as a church."

But here's the thing. That letter was dated June 9. Rector Ed Bacon waited until nearly five months to inform his congregation.

Now, Weblog is going to put on his hat of skepticism. But a few questions bear asking here.

Why this Sunday? Could it have been because this Sunday was the week when 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu was preaching? Could it have been because Bacon knew Tutu's attendance would attract local media?

Bacon says no. Here's the Times again:

After the initial inquiry, the church provided the IRS with a copy of all literature given out before the election and copies of its policies, Bacon said.

But the IRS recently informed the church that it was not satisfied by those materials, and would proceed with a formal examination. Soon after that, church officials decided to inform the congregation about the dispute.

Okay, maybe. The skepticism cap still thinks Tutu and the media had something to do with the timing. But regardless of that, one thing is clear: There is no chance—zero—that All Saints is going to lose its tax-exempt status over this sermon. What we have here is a nice charade where everybody wins.

• All Saints gets to act like a martyr while trumpeting how it "stood up" to Bush.
• The IRS gets to show that it's doing something about all those complaints it received, and that it doesn't only target conservative churches. And it doesn't actually have to take any real action.
• The National Association of Evangelicals gets to look magnanimous by racing to All Saints' defense while winning public support for The Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act.
• The NCC and NAE both get to look good to their constituencies for making common cause on an issue both constituencies actually care about.
• Liberals like the NCC's Bob Edgar get to complain about "a political witch hunt on … progressive ideology."
• Conservatives get to complain about government intrusion in churches.
• The papers get to splash this on their pages and sell copies to outraged readers on the Left and the Right.
• The Christianity Today Weblog gets nice traffic from you as you read this.

Thanks for that last one, by the way.

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November (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49