COLUMN

What Would Jesus Do With Cash?

By JOSEPH H. BROWN

Published: Nov 18, 2007

When I was growing up, the pastor of my church never drove anything fancier than a Chevy, and he and his wife shopped where the rest of the congregation purchased their goods.

There was also a Catholic church in the neighborhood where the priest lived in the rectory and drove a "company car."

So while I never believed men of the cloth should have to take a vow of poverty, I did feel that those who were sincere about spreading the faith shouldn't be using the pulpit to live in luxury.

That has changed, however, with the advent of the "prosperity gospel" preached by the likes of the founders of Tampa's Without Walls International Church. Tribune reporters Michelle Bearden and Baird Helgeson have written many articles about how Pastor Randy White and his estranged wife, Paula, live a lifestyle of the rich and famous, complete with luxury cars, a private jet, a mansion on Bayshore Boulevard and other fancy homes across the nation.

Now a U.S. senator wants to know if the Whites, along with some other high-profile televangelists, are involved in any financial wrongdoing.

What Can Government Do?

Acting on complaints from the public, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has launched an investigation of six high-profile televangelists. The allegations involve governing boards that are not independent and that allow exorbitant salaries, housing allowances and luxuries such as private jets and Rolls Royces while still claiming to be nonprofit organizations.

Because of its excessiveness - mansions, fleets of fancy cars, private jets, etc. - the prosperity gospel is a huge turn off to me. But how do we quantify excess? Sure, we might know it when we see it, but where do we draw the line?

Many years ago when I complained to a former girlfriend about her pastor's opulent lifestyle, she shot back, "We want him to live well," as if to say it was the congregation's duty.

Indeed, no one is forcing the people to give up their money, so if these folks are fleecing their flocks, the sheep are more than willing. All the government can hope to achieve from this investigation is more transparency to see if they are violating any tax laws.

What Would Jesus Do?

What I really want to know is what all of this materialism has to do with religion, specifically Christianity.

As James W. Whitehead wrote in the Christian Post, "Materialism, pleasing crowds and jet-setting have nothing to do with Christianity. Jesus was an itinerant preacher who preferred the company of the lowly and despised the rich and powerful. … Thus, too often, the prosperity preachers disregard Jesus' message in order to present the illusion that if those listening will send money to them, they - the poor - can be rich also."

And the fact that all that money these preachers take in is tax exempt doesn't help matters, because we all end up subsidizing the good life of people like the Whites through tax exemption.

Tax exemption should be based on how much of these preachers' revenue is going toward maintaining basic organizational functions and well-defined charitable and humanitarian efforts. The IRS should start by asking that basic question: What would Jesus do with all that money?

Joseph H. Brown is a Tribune editorial writer.