Another deadline passed Monday in a Senate committee's investigation into a half-dozen Christian ministries that preach a gospel of prosperity, with one group signaling a new willingness to cooperate, another promising information and two more remaining defiant, a Senate aide said.
Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa will continue communicating with the two holdouts — Texas televangelist Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar, a Copeland protege from suburban Atlanta — and considers subpoenas a last resort, said Jill Gerber, a Grassley aide.
"Sen. Grassley is just taking it one step at a time," Gerber said. "We've received a lot of cooperation so far. If he had decided to pursue subpoenas earlier, he might not be getting the voluntary cooperation he is getting now. Patience is something he's willing to exercise."
Dollar, however, responded by comparing Grassley's inquiries into church governance with questioning churchgoers about their prayers and confessions. Dollar's lawyer, Marcus Owens, asked the Senate Finance Committee "to evaluate, on the record, whether to issue a subpoena to the church."
Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, sent letters to six Christian ministries in November giving them a month to provide answers about spending on private planes, oceanside mansions, board oversight and involvement in for-profit businesses. The ministries have denied wrongdoing.
One group, headed by Joyce Meyer of suburban St. Louis, almost immediately agreed to cooperate. Another, headed by faith healer Benny Hinn, said it will answer all of Grassley's questions and delivered 618 pages of documentation last week.
The remaining four received another round of letters in mid-March giving Monday as a new deadline to turn over information. The letters were signed not just by Grassley, but also by Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, the Democratic chairman of the Finance Committee, sending the message that this was not a one-man or one-party operation.
Grassley's office reported progress Monday on two fronts: Representatives of Bishop Eddie Long of suburban Atlanta pledged to provide information on April 15, and a lawyer for Paula and Randy White of Tampa said a first batch of answers was to arrive at Grassley's office Monday.
It wasn't clear, however, whether Long or the Whites would fully answer the questions. Dan Rene, a Long spokesman, said Monday that talks were ongoing, but he would not characterize them. A spokeswoman for the Whites did not respond to requests for comment.
Neither Dollar nor Copeland have shown signs of backing down.
In a letter Monday to the Finance Committee, Dollar's lawyer, Owens, wrote that Grassley's focus on prosperity gospel preachers suggests Grassley's "distaste for, or disagreement with, these churches' theology and religious practices." Grassley has denied he is interested in theology, although in early statements he questioned why ministers would need a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce to spread the gospel.
Owens wrote that Grassley's inquiry into internal church operations amounted to an "unprecedented inquiry into the religious activities of a church."
Dollar wrote to the committee that donations to the church belong to God and should not be evaluated by the Senate, that giving should be private and church members should give to their spiritual teachers.
"As much as we would like to provide information to the Senator, we simply must do everything within our power to protect our Church and its members from public scrutiny and a Congressional evaluation of the validity of our beliefs," he wrote. Continue >>
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to terryH - and michaels doesn't need to judge these phony greedy pastors & tele evangelist. their multi million dollar homes & luxury cars are evidence of their greed & hypocrisy.
TerryH - you are a phony hypocrite!! why, are you perfect & sinless & not judging others? LOL
michaels,
LOL!!! Your futility is absolutely hilarious. HaHaHa!!!
michaels, once again you are showing your immaturity. King Solomon was the wisest and richest man that ever existed. Can you put him in that same catagory. Look at the sin he committed. God still used him because he was BLESSED BY GOD!!! This is not to say that these televangelists are all saints. BUT UNLESS YOU ARE THEIR ACCOUNTANTS, you cannot jump to the knee jerk cocnlusion that they are all thieves. Why don't you concern yourself with the blessing of God in your own life rather than pointing your fingers at other people. You would not be so quick to condemn if some of that money was going into your bank account. So once again,
The Man in The Mirror
When you get all you want and you struggle for self, and the world makes you
king for a day,
then go to the mirror and look at yourself and
see what that man has to say.
For it isn't your mother, your father or wife whose
judgment upon you must pass,
but the man, whose verdict counts most in your life is the
one staring back from the glass.
He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,
for he's with you right to the end,
and you've passed your most difficult test if the
man in the glass is your friend.
You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
and think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
You can fool the whole world, down the highway of years,
and take pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears if you've
cheated the man in the glass.
michaels,
I wasn't aware that God removed himself from his throne of judgement and put you on it.
The Man in The Mirror
When you get all you want and you struggle for self, and the world makes you
king for a day,
then go to the mirror and look at yourself and
see what that man has to say.
For it isn't your mother, your father or wife whose
judgment upon you must pass,
but the man, whose verdict counts most in your life is the
one staring back from the glass.
He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,
for he's with you right to the end,
and you've passed your most difficult test if the
man in the glass is your friend.
You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
and think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
You can fool the whole world, down the highway of years,
and take pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears if you've
cheated the man in the glass.