The inquiry began at the request of evangelical Christians who shared their alarm with Senator Grassley about how the six ministries appeared to be using donations from the faithful to buy airplanes, lavish homes and jewelry, and to run profit-making businesses for leaders and their family members. All six are “prosperity gospel” ministries…

A three-year investigation into financial improprieties at six Christian ministries whose television preaching bankrolled leaders’ lavish lifestyles has concluded with the formation of an independent commission to look into the lack of accountability by tax-exempt religious groups.

Senator Charles E. Grassley (R), Iowa issued a report saying that “self-correction” by churches and religious groups is preferable to legislative or regulatory solutions.

But his report found that only two of the six ministries cooperated with his investigation and volunteered to institute reforms (Joyce Meyer and Benny Hinn). The others continued to hide behind tax laws that allow religious organizations to operate tax-free with little transparency or public…

Marcus Owens, a lawyer who formerly headed the division of the I.R.S. that oversees tax-exempt groups, said of Senator Grassley: “He could have said we should change the law here and here. But passing this task onto another group that isn’t really equipped to do it is probably going to result in a report that is going nowhere. So in a sense, it’s like Grassley didn’t want it to go anywhere.”

The commission will be led by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an accrediting organization for churches that was born in 1979 out of an earlier Congressional inquiry into church financial scandals…

Read More: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/us/politics/08churches.html?_r=1&ref=us