The Brief Writer

As reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Creflo Dollar's lawyers are questioning the propriety of Senator Grassley's request for financial information of Dollar's church and ministry. As noted in the article, the Church Audit Procedures Act provides significant protections for churches during Internal Revenue Service audits. These protections are reflective, in part, of the First Amendment's separation of church and state. One significant part of an IRS investigation/audit is that the information obtained cannot be disclosed to third parties. Presently, it is not clear whether Senator Grassley and/or the Senate committee intends to adhere to that standard.

Recently, on its webpage, Kenneth Copeland Ministries has indicated that it will respond appropriately to the Internal Revenue Service.  The ministry's press release implies that it will not publicly respond directly to Senator Grassley's request due to privacy concerns.

Since the break of the story of Senator Grassley's investigation of several prominent Christian ministers, many Christian publications, blogs, and other media have written about the story. While much of the media has focused on the theology of the ministers, Christianity Today has published an article that raises the question of the propriety of the investigation in light of our First Amendment jurisprudence. To read, click on Praise and Dismay for Senate Scrutiny of Ministries' Finances.

The Christianity Today article quotes Richard John Neuhaus, the editor of the journal First Things as saying:

This is cause for alarm that a Senate committee would presume to directly exercise financial oversight of religious ministries.

The Senator's request for financial documentation is extensive.  Senator Grassley has posted PDFs of the letters that he sent to the ministries on his website. Click here to go to that page.