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February 08, 2007

Another Corrupt Conservative Church Leader

Bringing to light yet another example of the sort of dirty dealings that have turned so many Americans into cynics, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed a second complaint against Living Word Christian Center. It's previous complaint last year was over the church's electioneering, including Pastor Mac Hammond's endorsment of a candidate from the pulpit, in violation of IRS rules. This new complaint, in my opinion, constitutes an even more serious violation.

CREW says it believes the church has "engaged in illegal financial transactions" with its founder and pastor, Mac Hammond, in which Hammond has used the church for personal profit. Under federal law, he and his wife are "insiders" because both serve on the church's board of trustees. The IRS prohibits insiders from benefiting from a 501(c)(3) organization. But the church has "showered Hammond with favorable financial deals."

One of these deals involves a church plane. Yes, you read that right. The church owns a plane. Or rather owned one. Because Hammond bought the plane from the church – with a loan from the church – and then leased it back to the church for twice the amount per month that he paid for it. Additionally, the plane was stored in Hammond's personal hangar and the church paid him rent to keep it there, as well as all of the plane's expenses.

The church has also loaned Hammond money at very favorable rates and terms on eight occasions and totaling $1.9 million. One of these loans was so he could by himself a house.

CREW's executive director Melanie Sloan said, "The IRS has not hesitated to target liberal organizations. When will enough be enough and the IRS finally step in and investigate a conservative church that has repeatedly demonstrated its contempt for federal law?"

Take heart, Melanie. When the Democrats are in charge, it is the conservative groups that are investigated. That time will come again.

In the mean time, it is crooks like Hammond who give Christianity a bad name. Worse, this sort of behavior coursens the culture and steals away our innocence far more, in my opinion, than explicit media because it teaches us that our leaders, even those who teach values, cannot be trusted. As our insecurity in the moral standing of our leaders grows, the bar drops, and our pride and self-control diminish. That's why we must not allow leaders who fail us like this to go unpunished.

Posted by Becky at February 8, 2007 10:20 AM