Senate Investigation: Righteous or Unjust?
November 30th, 2007 – 8:00 A.M.

Sen. Grassley peers into preachers pockets

By TruNews Reporter Ryan Rose

Iowa Sen. (R) Charles Grassley

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – A recent Senate investigation into the financial records of six well-known televangelists has upset many Christians who claim the investigation is simply a fishing operation that infringes on the freedoms of the “church.” Other Christians have said this investigation is a form of judgment from God on apostate ministries. Many have asked the question, “What is the real reason for this investigation?”
 
In the last 30 to 40 years, we have gone from once seeing the likes of crusades held by evangelists such as Billy Graham to seeing television sermons given by ministers dressed in $25,000 suits, standing on multimillion dollar sets.
 
At first, Iowa Sen. (R) Charles Grassley’s investigation into the financial records of televangelists left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Christians. By taking one look at who is being investigated, we find quite possibly six of the wealthiest and most prominent ministers on television.

In order to better understand this financial probe, we need to look at the specific reasons each ministry is being investigated. In an article written by the Washington Post’s Michelle Singeltary, she highlighted the reasons each minister is being investigated. The following information is from her story.

-- Grassley demanded Randy and Paula White of Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Fla. explain why their church allegedly bought a Bentley convertible for Bishop T.D. Jakes, who runs the Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas.

-- Benny Hinn of World Healing Center Church Inc. in Grapevine, Texas has been asked for details of his personal use of assets owned by the tax-exempt organization.

-- In addition to supplying other documentation, David and Joyce Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Mo. were asked to explain why their ministry spent $23,000 on a toilet with a marble top, $30,000 for a conference table and $11,219 to purchase a French clock.

-- Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Texas were questioned about their travel expenditures.

-- Bishop Eddie L. Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church of Lithonia, Ga. has been asked to detail “love offerings” or direct donations from members.

-- Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International of College Park, Ga. were asked to list all vehicle purchases. In a television interview, Creflo Dollar indignantly disputed claims he owns two Rolls-Royces.

I had the opportunity to speak with a pastor in Connecticut, and he shared how a minister should act according to the Bible. What he revealed pretty much was the opposite of how the ministers under investigation have acted.

Pastor Ken Silva is the general editor and owner of Christian Research Network, the pastor of Connecticut River Baptist Church, and the president of Apprising Ministries. Silva has written many articles on several different prosperity preachers and issues of controversy in the church. Silva had this to say concerning the ministers under investigation:

“If you read Creflo Dollar, what he has said about the investigation, he is talking about how he is a successful man business wise. Randy White just said that the other day too. I was reading an article…he was basically begging for bucks to pay the light bill for his church and he is pretty much saying, ‘I am wealthy as a business man but the church is not doing well.’ You know, well if you are an evangelist or a pastor, you are not supposed to be a businessman. My job as a pastor is: I am a minister. The word minister means servant. My job is to be at the back of the line, at the end of the world serving everybody. This is the part they miss, the fact that if you are a pastor, you are similar to the apostles. You are at the back of the line, everyone else comes first. I have said this to unbelievers as I witness to them. I said my job is to serve the world through Christ. I am Christ’s representative to serve the world. I have no rights. I gave them up when I became a pastor teacher, but if you listen to those guys, you will hear the exact opposite of what I just told you – that it is okay for them to be rich and successful. My job is to get as much blessing God wants to give me and give it away.”

An article written by Charisma Magazine’s J. Lee Grady revealed Grassley has what appeared to be a Christian background.  Grady pointed out several positive qualities about Grassley: He is an outspoken Christian with integrity that does not believe in government intrusion on religion.

According to the article, Grassley stated his views on ministry when he said, “Jesus came into the city on a simple donkey. To what extent do you need a Rolls-Royce to expand the ministry of Jesus Christ?”

Singletary’s article also contained quotes by Grassley that would be a credit to his character. Grassley said, “The allegations involve governing boards that aren’t independent and allow generous salaries and housing allowances and amenities such as private jets and Rolls-Royces.”

Grassley said in launching the inquiry, “I don’t want to conclude that there’s a problem, but I have an obligation to donors and the taxpayers to find out more. People who donated should have their money spent as intended and in adherence with the tax code.”
 
This reporter will admit at first I thought Grassley may have been doing the will of God in investigating these ministries; however, Grassley has a little secret that he does not like to share with his Baptist friends.

According to www.cuttingedge.org, www.polticalgraveyard.com, and www.wikipedia.org, Grassley is a practicing Freemason, which by definition is a cult. This is where the optimism for a good and honest senator departs.

Yes, God could still be using Grassley as a vessel to distribute his judgments, but it can also be correct to assume Grassley may have acted on some other political or religious agenda. He may very well be working to open the doors to investigate many other issues on the inside of churches around the U.S. Needless to say, Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee and the former committee chairman pulls some serious weight with any kind of inquiry.

In addition to the hit Senator Grassley’s credibility has taken from being a freemason, Paul Crouch Jr., chief of staff for Trinity Broadcasting Network, wrote a rebuttal to the arguments Grady made in favor of Grassley. 

Crouch said, “When it comes to ‘accountability,’ I also take issue with Mr. Grady. Whether you agree with the philosophy or theology of anyone in the pulpit or on Christian TV is not the point. It doesn’t matter if they preach the prosperity Gospel and live in mansions or the poverty Gospel and are all beggars. We must keep the government OUT of the church, or everything our founding fathers fought for is lost! The concept that God would use a senator to ‘bring on a reformation,’ as Mr. Grady proclaims, is scary and ignorant of the facts. We are dealing with spiritual warfare here, and we must fight back.”
 
Crouch also challenged Grassley’s source of information, which spawned this entire probe.

He says, “Also, let’s look at the ‘source’ of Senator Grassley’s information. Ole Anthony, head of the Trinity Foundation, has been around for over twenty years as a self-proclaimed ‘reformer of the church’ and ‘watchdog for the body of Christ.’ Well, it doesn’t take more than one or two Google searches to find out that Ole Anthony’s claim to being the watchdog of Christian ministries is a little like the ‘fox guarding the chicken coop,’ and brings to mind Matthew 7:3 where Christ said, ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?’” 

When making the decision on whether this investigation is really a judgment from God or an example of the government sticking their nose where it does not belong, Pastor Silva may have one of the best answers to the question.

“To start off, we say we can’t really say whether it’s the judgment of God or whether it is just the government, I would actually say it is probably both. It is probably a little of both, because in 1 Peter 4:17, God says that judgment begins with the House of God.”

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