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Senate Chairman Adds Clout To Fight For Ministries' Data
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Published: March 12, 2008
Updated: 03/12/2008 06:46 pm
TAMPA - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance has joined the effort to get Randy and Paula White, founders of Without Walls International Church, and three other ministries to turn over information about possible violations of their tax-exempt status.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., added his signature to letters sent out this week to the Whites and the others, indicating that political pressure is intensifying and subpoenas are possible in the investigation launched by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
"This ought to clear up any misunderstanding about our interest and the committee's role," Grassley said in a statement Wednesday. "We have an obligation to oversee how the tax laws are working for both tax-exempt organizations and taxpayers."
Amid the growing scrutiny, a longtime board member of Without Walls submitted his resignation today.
Alick Clark, an evangelist and businessman based in California, expressed concern the Whites hadn't notified him about major church developments. For instance, he said he was alerted by the media – not the couple – about their divorce last year, and their recent decision to put their sanctuaries in Tampa and Lakeland up for sale.
"If I could not contribute to the betterment of what they're doing, then they need a smarter individual than me to get what they want accomplished," he said.
Congressional watchers and experts on nonprofit finances said Baucus' decision to sign on to Grassley's letters adds heft to the inquiry. Grassley is the ranking member of the committee and a longtime nonprofit agency watchdog.
"That's a significant development," said Jack Siegel, an accountant, attorney and consultant for nonprofit organizations.
For subpoenas to be issued, the committee chair and ranking member must agree, according to committee rules.
That should be a wake-up call for those ministries that haven't complied, Siegel said.
"I certainly would give them anything they wanted," he said.
Refusals to turn over the information could lead to a court fight, giving a judge the authority to decide whether the committee is entitled to the information it requested.
"Hopefully these organizations will work with us," Grassley told The Associated Press recently. "I don't think I've had to issue a single subpoena in the five years that I've been trying to get cooperation from organizations."
The other ministries under review are Joyce Meyer Ministries; Benny Hinn Ministries; Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International; Eddie Long of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church; and Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries.
All of the ministries preach varying degrees of what is called the prosperity gospel, a belief that material wealth is proof of God's blessing.
On Nov. 5, Grassley sent letters to the evangelists giving them a month to answer questions about their ministry expenses, use of donations and business practices. Since then, Joyce Meyer has largely answered the questions. Hinn has indicated a willingness to cooperate, providing answers to five of the 28 questions.
Representatives for the Whites have given Grassley's staff a verbal commitment they will begin sending documents next week.
The Whites declined to comment through their public relations firms.
According to Grassley's staff, the remaining three have not cooperated, citing "privacy protections or questioning the committee's standing to request the information."
The lack of oversight and the perception that church leaders use the offering to pay for personal expenses are the reasons some atheist groups have called for Congress to require religious nonprofit organizations to pay taxes like other business.
Churches hold a special place in federal tax law and aren't required to reveal any financial information or pay taxes.
"It's a business," said Joe Reinhardt, a member of Atheists of Florida, a Tampa-based group. "So they should pay taxes like any other group."
Reinhardt finds it insulting that some of the most lucrative ministries have amassed multimillion-dollar coffers. "It's an affront to everything I believe is moral and ethical. Religion is unlicensed, unregulated and out of hand," he said.
Nonbelievers aren't the only ones lining up behind Grassley.
Bud Press, director of the North Carolina-based Christian Research Service, is part of the growing ranks of conservative Christians who are disenchanted with the prosperity gospel, the ministers who preach it and the lack of accountability among some independent religious leaders.
He credits the senator, a Baptist and conservative Republican, for bringing attention to a problem that has been "festering for years." The inquiry is causing even some of the most die-hard supporters to question where their donations are going.
"He's very courageous to take this on," Press said. "We've been speculating that the government would eventually step in and say, 'Wait a minute.' This really isn't a surprise."
The reverberations from Grassley's inquiry and suspicion about lavish spending of some evangelical leaders have spread beyond the ministries cited in the probe.
Some accountants have grown leery of working for some megaministries, said Ken Behr, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an accrediting group for churches and other religious nonprofit organizations.
"I did hear the comment that more than just a few of the more respected CPA firms are firing their clients this year," Behr said. "They don't, of course, say it as such, there is a lot of downside for a CPA firm that is representing a client that goes south."
Lewis, Birch and Ricardo LLC, an accounting firm in Tampa and Clearwater, audited Without Walls in 2005 and 2006. The latest report showed that the church had about $26 million in debt.
Ronald Ricardo, a senior partner, said the church did not ask the company to audit its 2007 financials, which generally must be shown to lenders to verify the fiscal health of an organization.
Although Grassley has said he prefers organizations to "self-correct" and be accountable to oversight groups such as ECFA, not everyone agrees that's the best course of action.
Bill Keller, founder of liveprayer.com, an interactive Christian Web site, said he's not about to pay thousands of dollars of his donors' money to join the ECFA. It's incumbent upon all nonprofit agencies – religious ones as well – to be transparent about their finances, and for donors to take more responsibility.
"There's only a small fraction of ministers out there who own private jets and drive Bentleys," he said. "But this investigation is creating a public mistrust of all of us."
He conceded there is "absolutely abuse of funds" going on among some ministries, but it's an IRS issue, and not one that Grassley can do anything about unless he intends to change the law.
"If people want to buy into this Lotto mentality in hopes of hitting the big religious jackpot, and giving blindly to someone who is a self-appointed messiah, then have at it," he said. "You can't legislate stupidity."
Last week, The Tampa Tribune reported that Randy White has listed for sale the church's sanctuaries in Tampa and Lakeland. He wants $30 million for each property.
After the report, pastor Scott Thomas, the head of the Lakeland ministry, announced that his church is negotiating to buy the building and separate from Without Walls. Thomas told the San Antonio Express-News that John Hagee, founder of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, will provide "spiritual oversight" for the church, which means he will serve as an adviser.
Keword: Without Walls, for previous coverage.
Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668 or bhelgeson@tampatrib.com. Reporter Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613 or mbearden@tampatrib.com.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( 1voice ) on March 12, 2008 at 3 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
A precher named dollar? Their killing me.
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Posted by ( Yankee ) on March 12, 2008 at 3:03 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Ummmm, I wonder what they are hiding and why the sudden decision to sell?
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Posted by ( dogworld ) on March 12, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Flouting the law in the name of Christ. Nice touch. Shows where they stand. They want the benefits of operating in the US but not the responsibilities.
They must know they are breaking the laws big time to refuse to cooperate. This is the attitude engendered by the Republicans giving the churches carte blanche to do what they want.
May I quote their own scriptures? Render unto Caesar...
The continuing attitude that they dopn't have to account for anything while expanding further and further into our culture needs to be slapped down. Hard.
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Posted by ( Irish ) on March 12, 2008 at 7:31 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
"Religion is the opium of the people".
As long as people want to be lead and believe in these "profit$", there will never be a shortage of con-men willing to take their money and hopes.
Their congregations would do better worshipping parking meters rather than following these criminals.
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Posted by ( picogator ) on March 12, 2008 at 10:27 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I am with you, Yankee. What has this church and Pastor White to hide? Fess up, now or later!!
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Posted by ( rippedoff ) on March 13, 2008 at 12:09 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Dear Randy & Paula,
God has a sense of humor. Since you lined up the last 200 members on Thursday night to wave at us and tell everyone Michelle's sources are liars.
This week you have ended up on the front page 5 times, Board member resigned, NBC Nightly news, Another letter from the senator and friends.
I wonder what all the people in the hotel tomorrow will think when they get the newspaper shoved under their door. You think charging 25.00 a person for your upcoming shear the sheep circus is of God? Did not Jesus turn the money changers tables over and drive them out?
Watch the NBC clip by typing church in the tbo search engine.
Do you still all the documents are lying? 150 factual documents are placed on the tbo forums.
Randy people learned alot this week.
1. You have sold the buildings and sold them out
2. Spiritual son Scott Thomas is breaking away with John Haggee
3. NBC investigated you good and found 43,000 of personal donations to Paula with documents.
4. Your conference would not fit in a big dome.
5. The one church is sold and the other is on the market.
6. The senator flexed his muscle and brought friends aboard this round
7. You have to the 31st to comply or subpoenas are around the corner.
8. You lie
Safe to say you cancelled your subscription to the tribune? Cancel your cable subscription to NBC?
The best is yet to come! Peeling the onion one layer at a time!
Your friend,
Rippedoff
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Posted by ( joe261633 ) on March 13, 2008 at 7:33 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
its my hope that Within a year or paula and randy white will be spreading the word and other things behind new and taller walls...
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