{"id":414,"date":"2008-01-09T14:48:50","date_gmt":"2008-01-09T14:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis.php"},"modified":"2008-01-09T14:48:50","modified_gmt":"2008-01-09T14:48:50","slug":"grassley-says-two-of-six-minis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis","title":{"rendered":"Grassley Says Two of Six Ministries Not Cooperating"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Adelle M. Bank
\n2008 Religion News Service <\/strong>
\nWASHINGTON — Two of the six ministries with finances under investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have been unwilling to cooperate, citing privacy rights and questioning Grassley’s focus on groups that preach the “prosperity gospel.”
\nIn an update released Tuesday, Grassley urged the noncooperating ministries to view the inquiry in a different light.
\n“This has nothing to do with church doctrine,” said Grassley, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. “It’s only about tax-exempt policy.”
\nTwo Atlanta-area ministries, Creflo Dollar Ministries in College Park, Ga., and Bishop Eddie Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, have refused to submit the financial records first requested by Grassley last November.
\nAn attorney for Dollar had already told Grassley that the church would not comply by the original Dec. 6 deadline. Long’s attorneys also sent a letter indicating unwillingness to cooperate, Grassley’s office said.
\nIn an op-ed column in Sunday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Long’s attorney James M. Hunter called Grassley’s inquiry an “inquisition” and said the church intends to “comply with all laws applicable to churches.”
\n“Grassley’s inquiry is not a formal congressional investigation or subpoena, but an informal request for information from certain ministries he believes to be preaching the `Prosperity Gospel,”‘ Hunter wrote.
\n“He has expressed his disapproval of certain teachings of these ministries since such teachings are not consistent with his beliefs, even questioning religious leaders’ traveling by corporate jet because Jesus traveled by mule.”
\nMarcus Owens, a lawyer for Dollar, said in a Nov. 27 letter to Grassley that the investigation would be more appropriate if it involved a formal subpoena.
\n“While, as is true with most religious beliefs, not all religions or denominations subscribe to the Prosperity Gospel, this country has a long tradition of celebrating — and protecting — the diversity of the religious beliefs of its citizens,” Owens wrote.
\nJust two of the six ministries, Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Newark, Texas, and Joyce Meyer Ministries in Fenton, Mo., have provided materials that are being reviewed by Senate staff, Grassley said.
\nTwo other ministries — Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Fla., and Benny Hinn Ministries in Grapevine, Ga., have sent mixed signals.
\nWithout Walls has asked for additional time to submit materials.
\nJuda Engelmayer, a spokesman for Without Walls, confirmed that attorneys have been talking with the senator’s office but declined to disclose details.
\nHinn’s lawyers had told Grassley’s staff they would determine by Dec. 12 if the ministry would cooperate, but Grassley’s staff said there was no further contact after an exchange of messages the following day.
\nA spokesman for Hinn did not immediately respond to a reporter’s request for additional information.
\nHunter, closing his op-ed in the Atlanta newspaper, quoted Long:
\n“New Birth’s ministry is not about any one person’s personal prosperity, but the greater prosperity for all of God’s peoples.”
\nWhile some watchdog groups have welcomed Grassley’s probe, the evangelical magazine Christianity Today called some of his comments an “oversight overstep.”
\nIn a January editorial that referenced prosperity-gospel preachers, the magazine said: “Whether they’re proclaiming the true gospel is a separate question. And it’s a question that the church, not the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance, should answer.”
\nCopyright 2008 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Adelle M. Bank 2008 Religion News Service WASHINGTON — Two of the six ministries with finances under investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have been unwilling to cooperate, citing privacy rights and questioning Grassley’s focus on groups that preach the “prosperity gospel.” In an update released Tuesday, Grassley urged the noncooperating ministries to view…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGrassley Says Two of Six Ministries Not Cooperating<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grassley Says Two of Six Ministries Not Cooperating\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Adelle M. Bank 2008 Religion News Service WASHINGTON — Two of the six ministries with finances under investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have been unwilling to cooperate, citing privacy rights and questioning Grassley’s focus on groups that preach the “prosperity gospel.” In an update released Tuesday, Grassley urged the noncooperating ministries to view…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beliefnet News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-01-09T14:48:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"nsymmonds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Grassley Says Two of Six Ministries Not Cooperating","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Grassley Says Two of Six Ministries Not Cooperating","og_description":"By Adelle M. Bank 2008 Religion News Service WASHINGTON — Two of the six ministries with finances under investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have been unwilling to cooperate, citing privacy rights and questioning Grassley’s focus on groups that preach the “prosperity gospel.” In an update released Tuesday, Grassley urged the noncooperating ministries to view…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis","og_site_name":"Beliefnet News","article_published_time":"2008-01-09T14:48:50+00:00","author":"nsymmonds","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis","name":"Grassley Says Two of Six Ministries Not Cooperating","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-01-09T14:48:50+00:00","dateModified":"2008-01-09T14:48:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f960b23e9c3a51222269c557a209b4f2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2008\/01\/grassley-says-two-of-six-minis#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Grassley Says Two of Six Ministries Not Cooperating"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/","name":"Beliefnet News","description":"Top Religious News From Around the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f960b23e9c3a51222269c557a209b4f2","name":"nsymmonds","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/13d\/13ddfa3407d6847bc2fbd32a13b67708x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/13d\/13ddfa3407d6847bc2fbd32a13b67708x96.jpg","caption":"nsymmonds"},"description":"Nicole Symmonds is Beliefnet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Prayer editor and also covers Christianity. A New Yorker by birth but a Floridian by tenure, Nicole graduated from Florida A&M University with a B.S. in Public Relations and a minor in Sociology. She moved to NY to pursue a career in journalism which started at In Style magazine. There she learned the ropes of magazine reporting, researching, and writing\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand became exponentially more stylish. But what seemed like a deep interest in fashion and entertainment would soon be revealed as merely the vehicle that moved her closer to discovering her purpose, writing and covering matters of the Christian faith. While in her purpose-driven vehicle she can be found traveling between Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens for life, work and worship, respectively. 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