Skip to main content.
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
A Random Image


Related

More news articles & news archive on Mac Hammond


Translate



Advertisements *

What is a cult: Cult Definition
Simple steps to financial health and a good credit score


Elsewhere

What do you mean when you say 'cult'?


Mac Hammond:

Mac Hammond’s Living Word Christian Center facing IRS investigation

Religion News Blog, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Aug. 26, 2008 News Summary
www.religionnewsblog.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 22184 • Posted: Tuesday August 26, 2008  

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark
Click here... More articles on this topic: Mac Hammond

Mac Hammond’s Living Word facing IRS investigation

The Internal Revenue Service is investigating whether Living Word Christian Center violated the law for favorable compensation and loan dealings it gave to church founder and pastor Mac Hammond. Those compensation and loan dealings were first reported by the Minnesota Independent in February 2007.

The church has resisted demands by the IRS to open its books for an audit, and the agency filed a petition in United States District Court ordering the church to comply.

Earlier this month, a magistrate ordered Living Word representatives to appear and explain their refusal to comply with the IRS. In response to a summons in March, a church attorney told the IRS they would not comply until “an appropriate high-level IRS official” using “reasonable belief” requested information.

At issue are financial dealings detailed in documents obtained by the Minnesota Independent in early 2007.

According to the documents, which involved a loan application in 2003 and contained more than 100 pages of pictures and detailed descriptions of the church’s real estate assets, financial transactions and administrative history, Hammond owned two airplanes, one bought from Living Word for $1.06 million on credit supplied by Living Word. He leased the planes back to the church at a total annual rate of more than $893,000. The church asserted that “the aircraft are important to the efficient management of its ministry at the present time.” Living Word also rented a hangar to store the planes, and it paid for the expenses of the planes as well.

- Source: Mac Hammond’s Living Word facing IRS investigation, Andy Birkey , Minnesota Independent, via the Twin Cities Daily Planet, Aug. 23, 2008 — Summarized by Religion News Blog

Hammond takes on his accusers and the IRS

In a letter to his flock, Rev. Mac Hammond says the IRS and “enemies of the gospel” are trying to intimidate him.

The Rev. Mac Hammond, founder of Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, told his congregation in a letter that an IRS investigation is “politically motivated,” and part of “a very clear effort, on a national scale, to discredit, defame and intimidate ministries and preachers of what has been called the ‘prosperity gospel.’”

In his first public comments about the IRS inquiry, Hammond, who heads one of the state’s larger churches with nearly 10,000 members and reaches a greater audience through Sunday TV broadcasts, said that those “behind these attacks [are] enemies of the gospel.”

“They are fearful not only of the moral imperative communicated by these ministries, but the growing wealth and influence of those constituencies,” he wrote.
[...]

Hammond’s mention of a national inquiry into churches like Living Word refers to a request by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, for six prosperity ministries to turn over financial records. Although he’s not looking into Hammond’s church, Grassley wants to see if the other six churches are avoiding taxes. Some have complied, others have refused, including Texas preacher Kenneth Copeland. Hammond sits on Copeland’s board.

- Source: Hammond takes on his accusers and the IRS, Jon Tevlin, Star Tribune, Aug. 25, 2008 — Summarized by Religion News Blog
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark


What You Can Do From Here

Read More Articles On These Topics
more cult news articlemore religion news Categories: Mac Hammond
Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article
Subscribe
Follow Religion News Blog on Twitter


Read Another Article
Find Related Information
cult research search enginecountercult information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults
Find Related Books


Most Popular Today


Share This Article

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:





Counter Cult Search

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.


Apologetics Search

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

About Religion News Blog
Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, alternative religions and related issues. RNB's non-profit news clipping service is used by - among others - Christian apologists, countercult professionals, anticult organizations, cult experts, teachers, religion professionals, reporters and other researchers.

Home
Latest Headlines
RSS news feed [?]
Headlines by Email
News Trackers
Free content for your site
About RNB
Privacy Policy
Contact RNB
Link to RNB
Advertise on RNB
Apologetics Index
Cult FAQ
Apologetics Search Engine
CounterCult Search Engine