Sunday, June 22, 2008

Assemblies of God International Fellowship Supports Kenneth Copeland's Lack of Cooperation in Investigation

A group of Pentecostal ministers and churches have thrown their backing behind televangelist Kenneth Copeland and his refusal to cooperate with a Senate probe into his ministry's spending.

Assemblies of God International Fellowship released a statement in their latest newsletter saying the current investigation, led by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), into the financial records of six prominent ministries "seems to be crossing a legal boundary."

"Politicians enact laws to separate Church and State which many think to be unconstitutional and then try to intrude into Church affairs while denying the Church discussion of State (political) affairs. This sounds like a one way street in favor of the State," the group said.

Grassley launched an investigation last November, requesting financial records and answers to questions regarding organizational and personal finances from ministries led by Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Paula and Randy White, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long and Benny Hinn. Each has millions of followers and collects tens of millions of dollars in donations a year.

The senate probe was prompted by media reports and ministry watchdogs that alleged opulent spending and possible abuse of their nonprofit status.

Copeland submitted limited responses to the Grassley office and recently launched a Web site, http://www.believersstandunited.com/, questioning and protesting the senator's investigation.

The televangelist, who has said his ministry fully complies with all laws, believes the inquiry is a violation of religious freedom, an invasion of privacy and a threat to the separation of Church and State. He also raised suspicion over Grassley’s targeting of only Pentecostal churches that preach the “prosperity gospel” – a teaching that God wants his followers to be rich both spiritually and materially.

A Grassley spokeswoman told The Christian Post that it's unusual for a tax-exempt group to take such action against an investigation. She noted that Grassley has looked at tax-exempt policy issues involving a variety of entities, including the Red Cross, the Nature Conservancy, the Smithsonian, non-profit hospitals and universities.

But some, including Assemblies of God International Fellowship, are backing Copeland and his questioning.

The fellowship believes that the IRS, created by the State, should be conducting an investigation, not the Senate.

"It seems that Rev. Copeland is right in ignoring the Senate’s investigation of Church affairs but pledging to fully cooperate with any investigation by the IRS," the group stated.

In response, the Grassley spokeswoman stated, "Senator Grassley points out that the legislative branch writes the laws, and the executive branch enforces the laws. His responsibility as a leader (chairman and now ranking member) of the Senate committee with exclusive jurisdiction over tax policy is to evaluate the effectiveness of that policy.

"He looks at whether the law is weak in certain areas and allows people to exploit, say, tax-exempt groups for personal gain," she continued. "He leaves the enforcement of existing tax law to the IRS, the executive branch agency with that responsibility."

As of Friday, Joyce Meyer and Benny Hinn are the only two ministries that have submitted full responses for the Senate probe. Randy and Paula White have submitted partial responses, Eddie Long and Copeland have submitted "very limited responses," according to the spokeswoman, and Creflo Dollar has submitted no requested information.

[By Lillian Kwon, Christian Post Reporter]

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's good to see Copeland gathering more support in this fight. Grassley never should be granted this kind of power to access such detailed information. What does he have planned to do with it once he gets his hands on it? Copeland is standing up for all of us, and hopefully the results will not be a new precedent that will affect us all negatively in the future.

Anonymous said...

It's great to see more support for Copeland. There are huge implications that could affect all of our futures if the wrong decision is made in this situation. Grassley should never be given the kind of authority to access such information. There is still no evidence of wrong doing by any of these groups to date. In fact several of them recently passed IRS investigations with a clean bill...Grassley really needs to watch himself.

Anonymous said...

Grassley is definitely out of line and out of control. It is still hard to believe that he claims he had no idea what organizations he was looking into when this whole thing began. It was just by chance that ALL 6 organizations happened to be of the same denomination? There are too many things that are questionable here, and I don't think they begin with the groups who have shown no wrong doing. Speculation is not evidence, and Copeland is wise to look at the bigger picture.

Anonymous said...

Grassley's actions are definitely questionable. It seems odd that the only groups targeted are of a certain denomination when there are other religious groups out there that have just as strong a media presence. I am not a follower of any of these groups, however, I am interested in the future of my rights. There are simply too many questions raised here.

Anonymous said...

This situation has been interesting to watch. However, I think that although I have no ties to either side, I think that Copeland is in the right. He definitely has some ground to stand on and Grassley has really pushed the limits. Hopefully the right decision will be made in this situation and nothing will take place that will change the future of all of our rights.

Anonymous said...

This situation has been interesting to watch unfold. I have to agree with some of the previous comments though. There are precedents that do NOT need to be set here. Too much is at stake that could affect all of us.

Anonymous said...

If Grassley would have used the IRS to obtain this information as he should have, we probably wouldn't have seen so much of this in the media. As it is, much attention has been brought to this investigation and the majority of the media is focused on the criticism of Copeland. Grassley's actions need to be looked at, as well as the sources of his information.

Anonymous said...

As we watch this investigation drag on, my concern grows as Grassley has recently initiated new legislation that again will invade our private lives and rights. I am afraid to think what will be next if we continue to let government push the limits and get away with it - just as they want us to do.

Anonymous said...

Invasion - funny you should bring up the new legislation. I am an avid ebay user and I was shocked to hear of Grassley's newest push. What is to come of all of our freedoms if we do not put a stop to this? I am wondering how the election will play into all this as well...definitely something to watch.