Comments on: Hard Questions For "Prosperity Gospel"

A Televangelist Lives In The Lap Of Luxury -- But Now He's Under Investigation

[lostoneagain]

This is why they dont want to comply with auditing;

7.5 Incentives and Premiums
Members making fund-raising appeals which, in exchange for a contribution, offer premiums or incentives (the value of which is not insubstantial, but is significant in relation to the amount of the donation) must advise the donor of the fair market value of the premium or incentive and that the value is not deductible for tax purposes.

Is it a wonder? I think not by any standards they are beyond a doubt promising more than is realistic.

[lostoneagain]

This is why they dont want to comply with auditing;

7.5 Incentives and Premiums
Members making fund-raising appeals which, in exchange for a contribution, offer premiums or incentives (the value of which is not insubstantial, but is significant in relation to the amount of the donation) must advise the donor of the fair market value of the premium or incentive and that the value is not deductible for tax purposes.

Is it a wonder? I think not by any standards they are beyond a doubt promising more than is realistic.

[lostoneagain]

This is why they dont want to comply with auditing;
7.2 Communication and Donor Expectations
Fund-raising appeals must not create unrealistic donor expectations of what a donor''s gift will actually accomplish within the limits of the member''s ministry.


7.3 Communication and Donor Intent
All statements made by the member in its fund-raising appeals about the use of the gift must be honored by the member. The donor''s intent is related both to what was communicated in the appeal and to any donor instructions accompanying the gift. The member should be aware that communications made in fund-raising appeals may create a legally binding restriction.

7.4 Projects Unrelated to a Ministry''s Primary Purpose
A member raising or receiving funds for programs that are not part of its present or prospective ministry, but are proper in accordance with its exempt purpose, must either treat them as restricted funds and channel them through an organization that can carry out the donor''s intent or return the funds to the donor.


7.5 Incentives and Premiums
Members making fund-raising appeals which, in exchange for a contribution, offer premiums or incentives (the value of which is not insubstantial, but is significant in relation to the amount of the donation) must advise the donor of the fair market value of the premium or incentive and that the value is not deductible for tax purposes.

Is it a wonder? I think not by any standards they are beyond a doubt promising more than is realistic.

[lostoneagain]

This is why they dont want to comply with auditing;
7.2 Communication and Donor Expectations
Fund-raising appeals must not create unrealistic donor expectations of what a donor''s gift will actually accomplish within the limits of the member''s ministry.


7.3 Communication and Donor Intent
All statements made by the member in its fund-raising appeals about the use of the gift must be honored by the member. The donor''s intent is related both to what was communicated in the appeal and to any donor instructions accompanying the gift. The member should be aware that communications made in fund-raising appeals may create a legally binding restriction.

7.4 Projects Unrelated to a Ministry''s Primary Purpose
A member raising or receiving funds for programs that are not part of its present or prospective ministry, but are proper in accordance with its exempt purpose, must either treat them as restricted funds and channel them through an organization that can carry out the donor''s intent or return the funds to the donor.


7.5 Incentives and Premiums
Members making fund-raising appeals which, in exchange for a contribution, offer premiums or incentives (the value of which is not insubstantial, but is significant in relation to the amount of the donation) must advise the donor of the fair market value of the premium or incentive and that the value is not deductible for tax purposes.

Is it a wonder? I think not by any standards they are beyond a doubt promising more than is realistic.

[kane497]

The question is not whether or not these %u201Cpublic ministries%u201D do good, the question here is a legal one. Are they labeling themselves non-profit and actually profiting. And the answer in most instances is yes, they are.
They are fleecing the flock and are the same as the Pharisees whom Jesus Christ rebuked. So, I for one (who by the way is not against religion) will be standing on the sidelines clapping once justice is conducted and served.

[adylan77]

I worked for KCM for 3 years and from my perspective the report was an accurate and fair evaluation of the ministry agenda. Though Brother Copeland declined to be interviewed, they did let him speak for himself and his own quotes... that really says it all, doesn''t it? So, THANK YOU, CBS, for this piece!

[sabeck1]

I want to thank CBS from the bottem of my heart. Kenneth Copeland ministry who is connected with RHEMA has been very distructive in my life. I was a missionary in Russia for 10 years supported by this group. My ex-husband left me for our Russian nanny with this ministry''s help and blessing. I have not had my children together in five years. I have begged them to let me see my 3 older children but they do not care. My 5 younger children live here with me in the U.S. I hate this group and what they have done to me. I am so grateful that finally there are people that are asking the questions I have asked for years. I have a story to tell. I just want to see my children. My younger children hate these charasmatic groups because they have exploited, used and destroyed our family all for the sake of money. They just want to see their brother and sisters again. Thank you for exposing the poisen this group truely is. It is a CULT! Keep up the good work!

[dalako]

As someone that has worked for different churches, I am so glad that someone is finally looking into the Faith movement churches! It is obvious that they are getting everything that they want and more. I am interested to see how many people in the congregation, that have a need, are going with out because the church isn''t helping them. I have seen church turn away people simply because "They aren''t a member of our Church" or "They don''t tithe, so why should we help them"... and more. I believe all church finacial records should be public, otherwise there is no accountability there.

[ioweign]

All religions should be taxed as a business.

If you say "But religion is non-profit" - hey aren''t we all !!

[lamars2008]

I''m very disappointed in this one-sided, misleading "report." It seems that 3 or 4 people (all former employees?) of the Copeland ministry are making accusations of unethical or unlawful use of funds and resources. (By the way, I wonder why their are so few accusers, since a ministry of that size employs hundreds of people at a time?)
Moreover, most of the accusations are very vague. And why doesn''t the main accuser reveal her identity? In addition, the way she spoke about the "prosperity gospel" revealed that she had not really been listening to the message that Kenneth and Gloria Copeland preach. So is she a reliable source of information?
I wonder why you couldn''t find one of the millions of people who''ve been helped by the Copeland ministry. Or why you failed to report on their many outreaches, such as aid to Hurricane Katrina victims or outreaches to prisons (which, by the way, have transformed entire prison systems and saved state governments millions of dollars). Did you look into what the Citation aircraft is actually used for?
Again, I''m very disappointed. And I, for one, will no longer be tuning in to the CBS news.