Change of Address | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Home > 2008 > June

Christianity Today, June, 2008

Change of Address

Kenneth Copeland turns to IRS to avoid Senate inquiry into prosperity ministries.

Adelle M. Banks, RNS | posted 5/09/2008 08:48AM

Comments (18)

Related articles and links |

1 of 1

A ministry that has refused to cooperate fully with a financial investigation launched by Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has invited the Internal Revenue Service to conduct its own inquiry instead.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Texas, made the request on April 7. "We will provide answers to the IRS regarding questions that Senator Grassley has," said John Copeland, the ministry's CEO. "The church desires to protect its and all other churches' First Amendment rights, and by this action, we believe we are doing just that."

Rusty Leonard, founder of North Carolina–based MinistryWatch.com, a watchdog organization, called the efforts by Copeland "deceptive and misleading," because any investigation by the IRS would be confidential.

Grassley's office reported on March 31 that four of the six ministries under investigation are cooperating. Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, had asked last November for detailed information about the spending practices of the ministries—all legally registered as churches and thus not required to file disclosure forms with the IRS.

Creflo Dollar Ministries in College Park, Georgia, has also refused to submit financial records, expressing concerns about congregants' privacy. Grassley and committee chairman Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) had asked ministries that weren't cooperating fully to submit materials by March 31. "As for the Copeland request for an audit from the IRS, Senator Grassley has always said that the IRS enforces existing law, while Congress evaluates the adequacy of existing law," said Jill Gerber, a spokeswoman for the committee. "The two functions are completely different."

Related Elsewhere:

Our previous coverage of the Grassley investigation is on our site.

1 of 1

June 2008, Vol. 52, No. 6

Comments (18)

Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required.

Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only.

If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless.

Click here for international orders

2-for-1 Gifts!

Displaying 1–5 of 18 comments

See all comments

Cole

May 21, 2008 9:05am

Copeland has every right to call for the proper IRS investigation, just as Grassley should have done from the beginning. I think it's also interesting and great to see other Christian leaders across denominations coming together behind Copeland's holdout.

rich

May 20, 2008 9:23am

where does it say that only the apostles spoke and understood the tongues on the day of Pentecost?....i believe my Bible says there were 120 people in the upper room and not all were apostles....God bless

TYlerZ

May 19, 2008 3:40pm

Rich, I have to agree with you on this point. Many people are saying that Copeland must have something to hide, but as you say - he has asked for an IRS investigation. I think that he is just standing up for what he believes is right, and he realizes the implications this could have on the future.

cat

May 17, 2008 10:49pm

Get educated about why Kenneth Copeland Ministries is taking this position. Don't believe the media spin. Or for that matter, don't believe speculation as fact. Go to believersstandunited.com. The organization has legitimate reasons for taking a stand against Grassley's unwarranted and unprecedented intrusion into the functioning of the church. Look at history. Know what you are talking about before you form your opinions.

Rich Mueller M.B.A.

May 17, 2008 9:29pm

Really enjoying the pooled ignorance on this blog. I’m not a financial supporter of any of these ministries and never have been. However, I know when something is a total crock. Go back and do another look at the Copeland’s position. The Copelands are not saying that they are “above the law” nor are they “hiding” anything. They are simply requiring the good senator to go through the appropriate channels to get his information. Further, they are requiring that he stay in adherence to the very laws that he helped formulate. Such information is readily available to Grassley, but if he backs off of his position he will have a lot of egg on his face. The stringent and rigorous audit procedures of the IRS are such that if Copland et. al. were trying to “hide” anything, they would not doubt would have been caught years ago. I have assisted in many audits in the past and know exactly how the process works. If the IRS can’t find anything, neither will Grassley and friends.

You must be a Christianity Today subscriber or have created a FREE registration to post comments