** This From the Tampa Tribune ***
By MICHELLE BEARDEN and BAIRD HELGESON, The Tampa Tribune
Published: November 6, 2007
Questions And Answers:
What Happens Next?
Special Report: Previous Coverage, Videos, Photos
Video: Finances Probed
Comment: Should Churches Have To Answer The Government's Questions?
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Without Walls International Church
World Healing Center Church, Inc.
New Birth Missionary Baptist Church
World Changers Church International
Joyce Meyer Ministries
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
TAMPA - The ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance has launched an investigative review of possible misuse of donations made to Without Walls International Church and Paula White Ministries, along with five other Christian organizations.
Letters were faxed Monday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, requesting ministry leaders respond by Dec. 6 to a wide range of questions regarding their personal and organizational finances. The senator expects full cooperation, he said in a statement released by his staff.
"It's about time some sanity is brought to these religious nonprofits," said Ole Anthony, founder of Trinity Foundation, a Dallas-based televangelist watchdog organization. "Some are committing outright fraud, and it's getting worse, not better, as time goes on."
Grassley, former chairman of the finance committee, said his requests for information came in response to complaints from the public and news coverage about practices at the six ministries. The allegations involve governing boards that aren't independent and allow generous salaries and housing allowances for church leaders, and amenities such as private jets and Rolls-Royces.
"I don't want to conclude that there's a problem, but I have an obligation to donors and taxpayers to find out more," he wrote. "People who donated should have their money spent as intended and in adherence with the tax code."
Besides the Whites, letters went to Benny Hinn of World Healing Center Church of Grapevine, Texas; David and Joyce Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Mo.; Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Texas; Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church of Lithonia, Ga., and Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International of College Park, Ga.
In a five-page letter to Randy and Paula White, Grassley asked for detailed information on 28 areas of church and personal finances, mainly from the years 2004 to present. Some of those include:
•A detailed explanation of the compensation paid to the Whites, as well as cash and noncash gifts, housing allowances and personal use of assets.
•A detailed list of any expenses paid for by their church or ministries toward the purchases and monthly maintenance of their residences on Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, and in New York, San Antonio and Malibu, Calif.
•Credit card statements for expenses paid by the Whites' tax-exempt entity, including a list of all expense account items such as clothing and cosmetic surgery.
•A list of all domestic and overseas bank accounts and investments belonging to their organizations.
•A list of all vehicles purchased, leased or maintained by their tax-exempt organizations.
•Copies of flight records of any aircraft leased or owned by their ministries, as well as flight itineraries for both the Whites.
•A copy of the bill of sale, type of payment used and an explanation of the reported tax-exempt purchase of a Bentley convertible as a gift for Bishop T.D. Jakes.
•A detailed accounting of $871,000 worth of items reportedly sold to the church since 2005 by two of the private businesses owned by the Whites, and an explanation as to who determined that the church would purchase these items.
•An explanation of who determines how the funds of Without Walls and Paula White Ministries are spent, copies of all board minutes and whether any of the decisions, both operational and financial, are subject to oversight by an elected or appointed body.
Randy and Paula White, who founded Without Walls in 1991 and divorced this year, reacted Monday to the Grassley letter in a statement released by their public relations firm, Tucker/Hall. Representatives from the other ministries did not respond to a request for comment.
Whites Call Letter 'Unusual'
The Whites said they were initially notified of the letter by a reporter, and found it peculiar that the media learned of it before they did.
"We're assuming it's authentic - but we find it unusual, since the IRS has separate powers to investigate religious organizations if they think it's necessary," the statement said. "So we find it odd that the IRS did not initiate this investigation. It also seems odd that they have asked about areas that have no relationship to the operation of the church."
The Whites said they could not comment further because they had just received the letter and their lawyers had not finished reviewing it.
This year, The Tampa Tribune detailed problems at Without Walls, one of the largest independent nondenominational churches in the nation. Detractors said the Whites borrowed $170,000 from an elderly widow and failed to keep promises to care for her or pay it back. A young woman who said she was promised a house for winning a church essay contest did not get it, though the church repeatedly publicized the award ceremony.
The Whites have since repaid the widow and secured a house for the young woman. After inquiries from the Tribune, the church published an audit of its 2005 and 2006 finances on its Web site. It states that the church took in $39.9 million in 2006 and itemizes some of its spending. It does not break down how much was spent on specific ministries or on salaries for its top staff.
That a U.S. senator is asking about finances, and not the IRS, doesn't surprise Anthony, whose organization has provided information to the Finance Committee for more than two years.
"You've got approximately 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in America, and 30,000 starting up each year," he said. "The government can't possibly keep up with that workload. But it's apparent that media coverage isn't enough to expose this. If anything is going to change, it takes a drastic step like this."
'He's Picking A Fight'
Kenneth Behr, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an accreditation agency for Christian ministries, called the inquiry "a very big deal." He said he is not aware of a high-ranking lawmaker ever undertaking such an extensive investigation into so many churches.
"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."
And if they don't tell all, he predicted, Grassley could ask the IRS to step in.
"An IRS audit is not pleasant," said the former Ford Motor Co. executive. "I wouldn't wish it on my enemy."
Gloria Sutton, an IRS spokeswoman in Jacksonville, would not comment on Grassley's letters or how the agency might respond. She could not say how many churches the IRS has audited in recent years.
The churches probably can't take refuge in laws governing the separation of church and state. Religious organizations are subject to all sorts of government regulations, said Ayesha N. Khan, legal director for Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
If the churches don't respond, or don't respond in full, Grassley could push for a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.
Ministries Teach Prosperity Gospel
Rodney Pitzer, of a North Carolina-based donor advocacy organization called Ministrywatch.com, said some ministries are purposefully designed to make their leaders wealthy. He said he hopes the Senate inquiry will encourage religious organizations to "start cleaning house."
"Some of these nonprofits really know how to work the system," he said. "They may be in compliance with the law, but they're certainly not in compliance with the heart and the spirit of the law."
The pressure to change the laws will have to come from donors rather than the government, said Ted Olsen, managing editor for news and online journalism at Christianity Today.
But the ministries targeted by Grassley are in a subgroup of the Christian evangelical movement that Olsen calls the "health-and-wealth crowd." They preach prosperity Gospel, a teaching that promises material rewards for those who give to the church.
"There's little fear of donor backlash when your donors see opulence as a sign of God's blessing," he said.
Even a national Christian publication that has given favorable coverage to ministries such as Without Walls is taking a harder look.
Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine, is now calling for financial reform in Christian evangelical circles. He is bothered that some ministries are giving "all of us a bad name because money has been misused."
"This is an awkward time for the church," Grady said. "I believe God is putting his finger on some problems and demanding that we set our house in order. If we don't correct these problems ourselves, then the government may have to step in and do it. And that will be unfortunate."
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Should Churches Have To Answer The Government's Questions?
Reporter Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613 or
mbearden@tampatrib.com. Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668 or
bhelgeson@tampatrib.com.
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