Televangelist Kenneth Copeland is being backed by a group of Pentecostal ministers and churches in his refusal to cooperate with Senator Grassley’s probe into the churches spending practices according to an article written by Lillian Kwon/Christian Post Reporter.

The Assemblies of God International Fellowship released a statement saying the investigation, led by Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), into the financial records of six prominent ministries “seems to be crossing a legal boundary.”

The group said that laws have been enacted to separate church and state which many think to be unconstitutional but then they try to intrude into the churches’ affairs while denying the church the ability to discuss state affairs.

Grassley launched an investigation last November, requesting financial records and answers to questions regarding the organizational and personal finances from ministries led by Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Paula and Randy White, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long and Benny Hinn. All have members that are in the millions and they collect tens of millions of dollars each year in donations.

Copeland submitted limited responses to the Grassley office and recently launched a web site, www.BelieversStandUnited.com, questioning and protesting the senator’s investigation.

The televangelist said that his ministry fully complies with all laws and believes the inquiry is a violation of religious freedom, an invasion of privacy and a threat to the separation of church and state. He also raised suspicion over Grassley’s targeting of only Pentecostal churches that preach the “prosperity Gospel” – a teaching that God wants his followers to be rich both in spirit and material.

The followers believe that IRS should be conducting an investigation, not a senator. According to the article, as of Friday, Joyce Meyer and Benny Hinn are the only two ministries that have submitted “full” responses for the senator probe. Randy and Paul White have submitted “partial” responses; Eddie Long and Copeland have submitted “very limited” responses, and Creflo Dollar has submitted “no” requested information.

Source:eurweb