https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-47675301?utm_source=pocket-newtab


But in 2007 the Senate committee appeared to think that some ministries were abusing this privilege and violating an IRS rule that church earnings may not "unreasonably benefit" an individual.

The Trinity Foundation shared all its research with the committee, and attended meetings with its officials.

The group - led by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley - decided to focus on six well-known figures: Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn and Paula White - who is now President Trump's spiritual adviser.

All six denied wrongdoing. Four failed to co-operate satisfactorily, according to the committee (White, Copeland, Dollar and Long). Larry had donated to three of them.

"We really thought it was going to come to something," says Pete.

Yet by 2011, the investigation had lost steam. Senator Grassley drew no specific conclusions. Instead he asked an evangelical group - the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) - to study ways to spur "self-reform" among ministries.

That Creflo, dat brotha is a pimp.

I roofed two houses for World Changers, lol. Our pastor was part of that when we took him on.

World Changers sent us a van full of teenage 'slaves' to roof two old black womens' roofs.

What stood out in my mind was one in particular. The little old 'poor' black woman was a retired school teacher. She had a teacher's pension and was obviously drawing her soc security too.

Probably knocking down $2600 a month if I was to guess.

Translation:

Grassley got a cut.

If there are any truly honest-to-goodness representatives in DC, senator C Grassley from IA is one of ‘em. When the guy is home he visits every “town Hal” in Iowa eventually and will take any question.

No Graft with Grassley. Maybe he can use that for his next campaign slogan.

The thing that bothers me the most about any of this is that we seem to think it's OK in this country to do wrong unless you claim to be a Christian. Where are the laws keeping the drug company CEO's from "unreasonable" benefit?"

Rather than agreeing how vile the "christian" is and how much we want the government to dictate what's right, we should be appalled by a law attempting it in the first place.

The only reason we tolerate such is because it's against a "Christian" who wasn't doing right. Christian has become the hated group in the US,the one it's OK to persecute because everyone see's their "Christian" walk as being the right way, and another's as totally wrong and worthy of destruction. It won't be long until anything associated with "Christian" will be hated more than applauded.

A church is a business. They should be glad they're given any benefits at all.

from the article I just posted, persecuting Christians doing wrong is about the last thing that is going to happen


there really is no reason why any tax exempt religion shouldn't be mandated to be 100% transparent with their financial statements. WWJD

Everything/everybody is a business.
We all gotta eat and that means we all gotta pull in more than we spend. Pretty simple, huh?

I don't agree with any of this. I don't agree with ministers living in mansions that rival the Biltmore House. But, I don't have to give them any money if I don't want to. I certainly don't agree with the govt getting between them and those who do want to give them money. Who gets to define what is "unreasonable" and why is it not applied to the CEOs of companies that we are almost forced to patronize? What about other charitable organizations and foundations run by people who make piles while the actual "cause" gets pennies?

Can of worms I tell ya.

The study left out Joel Osteen.

Not necessarily.

There are non-profits without salary and very little overhead.

I'm fine with stopping tax exempt status,just not with earnings limited legislation.

I'm not saying stealing is fine for anybody. I just don't want us to make laws that make it illegal for churches, but fine for everyone else. It's the targeting of Christians that bothers me most. There are other groups that enjoy tax exempt status that are just as or more so corrupt..

There's a name for those - "part time".

It's those TV churches that show 50,000 people sitting in a football stadium and taking up the collection in Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets that make me raise an eyebrow.

Joel Osteen comes to mind.

When Billy Graham was ministering, he only took an average American salary. All the rest went to missionary work, like Shepherds Purse, to help those in need, especially after a disaster, and the rent stadiums to have his crusades.

I worry about the church we attend when home.
Non-denominational and has grown wildly.
Has 3 back to back services starting at 9 on Sunday mornings.
Average attendance is about 2.5K spread over the 3 services.
The church just purchased the building we've used for nearly 10 years and doubled the sanctuary size.
I hope it doesn't evolve into a Mega Church.

that is a mega church where I am from.

We call those big churches like that "Fort God"

That's why I'm starting to get worried.
It just kind of happened.
Not so sure the pastor envisioned it either.
One thing he is getting is many local college students to come and continue coming.
The two local Universities[Radford U & Virginia Tech] are the drivers in our area economically with around 50K students combined, we have more of them attendind by far than any other church.

Joel Osteens brother in law is a plumber I worked with at one time. Kevin Combs done good!!

So you agree they’re not businesses?

Never trust a rich preacher

Strictly speaking, even the small non-profits you are referring to have to take more in than they put out, i.e. make a profit. So no, I do not agree.
I've worked in C corps and LLCs where some of the people were not getting paid. Still a business.

dumb phuggs abound. hell if they hadn't sent it to that shyster they would have spent it on smokes and dollar general food anyway.

No. A business is there to make money and gain.

A charity is not.

The NRA is a business. Church is a business.

Handing out soup cans at zero profit is not a business.

It’s always about the money!!!

Televangelists are little more than cartels. Western Christianity has fuct a lot of things up.

I considered becoming a televangelist...... I always wanted to tell people to send their money to the lord, but make the check out to me.

The Bible warns against what we are discussing.

Lucifer is real

Who was the one that was Jerry Lee Lewis & Mickey Gilley’s cousin?

He was a big time Holy Roller Televangelist in the 1970’s & 80’s that got caught spending Church funds on hookers & ruined ?

He swindled lots of little old ladies out of their life savings too.

Probably about the only honest Televangelist ever was the Reverend Billy Graham. His eldest son is carrying on his work, I think, nowadays.

It was Jimmy Swaggart. I had to google it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Swaggart

Its money for sure. But on the topic of preaching on TV, I don't see that as any worse than the crap they put on for TV hunting shows for the most part. Both are mostly crud.

We get all tied up in exact words from the Bible. IMHO we all get judged anyway. But I understand. Should have said it better had it the quote about throwing stones in a glass house...

Yep. Lotsa worse crap on TV like sitcoms about Gay couples on “Will & Grace” or idiotic Libertard Late Night Shows like Cobair & Kimball.

Jimmy Swaggart.

They're still in business.

Robert Tilton is the looniest, most blatant con man TV Evangelist preacher I've ever saw.

Feuding between televangelists Swaggart, Bakker and Gorman, led to hypocritically digging up 'dirty laundry' on each other which led to the sexual indiscretions of all three being exposed, which resulted in the downfall of all three and their ministries.

https://www.getreligion.org/getreli...mportance-of-getting-faith-aspects-right

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-05-22-vw-4960-story.html

https://www.nola.com/religion/2017/01/marvin_gorman_assembly_of_god.html

A very good case can be made that these guys aren’t preaching the Gospel of Christ. That will make heads spin around like Beetlejuice but it’s the lay of the land. They talk about Jesus but the Gospel is nowhere to be found in their messages.

That's not true at all.