(Photo: Melly95/Pixabay | “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” – Ephesians 5:13)
Note: This article will take about 20 to 25 minutes to read.
In recent years, church and ministry whistleblowers have tried a variety of different approaches to expose corruption. They’ve challenged religious leaders in private meetings, worked with investigative reporters, filed complaints with government agencies, sued churches, appeared on podcasts and created whistleblower websites.
This article lists ten ways whistleblowers can engage in fighting fraud.
First, a Warning
Before going public with accusations, carefully evaluate the evidence. Is the evidence conclusive? If there is not enough evidence to convince most people, it might be best to wait on publicly voicing your concerns. If you make false allegations, even by accident and with good intentions, it will harm your credibility and could result in a defamation lawsuit.
Seek advice from experts: Attorneys can research government statutes and explain how laws apply to your circumstances.
If allegations are of a financial nature, consult with a certified public accountant. There are loopholes in the tax code that allow religious non-profits and churches to operate in a manner that would be illegal for other non-profits. Churches are not required by law to provide financial information to their donors.
Private Confrontation
Sometimes religious leaders and their allies claim whistleblowers have failed to follow Jesus’ instructions for dealing with sin by not meeting privately with the offending party.
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” – Matthew 18:15-17 ESV
Jesus never refers to false teachers or abusers as “brothers.” These verses do NOT require ALL sin to be confronted privately. For example, victims of clergy sexual abuse should NOT be required to meet privately with their abuser to seek reconciliation.
Religious leaders Todd White, Sean Feucht and Ben Young were all confronted privately before whistleblowers went public with allegations. In each case, these whistleblowers explained the process they used.
In an open letter to members of Second Baptist Church, The Jeremiah Counsel explains it followed this biblical process before suing the church leadership.
An open letter to Todd White says, “Individually and collectively, we have made numerous attempts to hold Todd accountable and address the troubling aspects of his conduct, which we believe to be marked by deception, exaggeration/embellishment, and manipulation.”
The whistleblower website Truth and Freedom Stories exposing Sean Feucht reports, “Individuals who have attempted to raise concerns or confront misconduct have been met with retaliation, public defamation, exclusion from ministry involvement, and threats of litigation.”
If you plan to privately confront a church or ministry leader, bring someone with you so there will be a witness to the confrontation. In one-party consent states, you may record the confrontation.
Address the Board of Directors
Often church and ministry boards are composed of family members or close friends of leadership which fail to provide proper oversight. For this reason, it is crucial for church boards to feature a majority of independent board members, with no family ties and not employed by the organization.
Each church or ministry will determine how frequently board meetings are held: monthly, quarterly or annually. Politely ask for permission to be added to the meeting agenda to address the board.
In churches that practice congregational governance, members may introduce motions during a church business meeting and the church membership will vote on them. In some cases, church members may force the church to vote on whether or not to fire the pastor for misconduct.
Unfortunately, church and ministry boards frequently defend leaders caught in unethical behavior.
John Skidmore was serving on the missions committee of Community Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Owosso, Michigan, when he discovered pastor Don Galardi was regularly being reimbursed twice for the same expenses. After an accountant reviewed the receipts, Skidmore presented the findings to the church elder board, which a month later dismissed them.
In 2023, Jonathan Lamb, then vice president of Daystar Television Network confronted his mother Joni Lamb, president of Daystar, in a board meeting after a tracker was placed in the car he was driving. The Roys Report published a recording that Jonathan made of the board meeting which also revealed how Jonathan would be demoted if he refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Christy Gafford talked individually and privately with Burn 24/7 board members Adam Miller and Caleb Klinge regarding Sean Feucht’s behavior and misconduct.
Open Letter
The two previously mentioned open letters not only explained how whistleblowers attempted to privately confront Todd White and Ben Young, but they also disclosed unethical behavior and abuses of power.
Online Bible teacher Mike Winger posted the open letter exposing Todd White and read the open letter in a YouTube video while sharing additional commentary.
The letter accused White of rampant dishonesty:
“Todd preaches against sin and being free from sin. Todd is the most prolific liar any of us have ever been around and he lies about lying. Although Todd claims never to lie (he says he hasn’t lied since he’s been saved), he has often been caught exaggerating the truth, fabricating stories to enhance his own image, and sometimes even creating narratives that turn people against each other to protect himself from exposure.”
The letter also revealed questionable financial activity: “$100,000 was given to the ministry and was told it would be used for the children’s ministry that saw no improvements and was subsequently shut down within a year.”
If the $100,000 was given to the ministry specifically for children’s ministry, these funds could be considered a restricted donation. If the ministry deliberately refused to honor donor intent, it could be an act of restricted donation fraud.
Meanwhile, Jeremiah Counsel’s open letter to members of Second Baptist Church in Houston accused church leadership of deceiving members. Our article “A Story of Power, Deceit, and Betrayal..” describes how church members voted to adopt proposed bylaws they were unable to review which transferred decision making powers from the congregation to the Ministry Leadership Team.
The open letter also offered a way to resolve the matter. “Schedule a vote on proposed by-laws with 30 days’ notice to all members of Second Baptist. Provide both electronic and physical copies to all members at least 14 days in advance so they can make an informed decision.”
The open letter to Second Baptist Church members provides a format worth replicating: Explain the problem, offer a solution and end with a call to action.
Work with Investigative Reporters
Due to fear and other factors, victims of abuse often wish to avoid the media spotlight but want their abusers to be exposed. Their stories are invaluable for journalists and bloggers.
A conversation could trigger an investigation.
As a child and later a teenager, Cindy Clemishire was sexually abused by Pastor Robert Morris. Years later Clemishire contacted Dee Parsons, editor of the Wartburg Watch and disclosed the abuse.
Parsons reported, “Cindy’s presentation of her abuse by Robert Morris was detailed, down to a description of what she was wearing when Morris’ abuse began. For the lawyers, I must say it is ‘alleged’ abuse. However, I believed her account within short order and knew her story must be told.”
The Wartburg Watch article caused Morris to resign from Gateway Church, one of America’s larger megachurches.
Investigative reporters have the training to research court records and the ability to conduct interviews which may uncover additional misconduct. Journalists will often protect the identity of confidential informants, and their media organizations have insurance policies to protect themselves in the case of being sued for libel.
One way to connect with journalists is by creating a press release containing contact information, which can be posted to a whistleblower website, emailed to a newspaper or distributed through a commercial press release service such as Christian Newswire.
One of the benefits of working with professional journalists is that their media organizations will carry insurance in case they are sued for defamation.
Tell Your Story in a Podcast or YouTube Video
Christians have told their testimonies since the beginning of Christianity. The New Testament features numerous eyewitness accounts. “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” – Acts 4: 20
As a dedicated volunteer, Christy Gafford spent years assisting worship leader Sean Feucht, eventually becoming the USA National Director/Global Communications Director for Burn 24/7.
Gafford tells her story on YouTube of attempting to confront Feucht and being “excommunicated” as a result. Gafford describes her conversation with Burn 24/7 board member Adam Miller, “… We probably as an organization need to start like actually repenting for the things that we know that we’ve done wrong as leaders in the body …”
While YouTube testimonials do not require scripting or heavy video editing, working with documentary filmmakers or professional podcasters can improve the quality of a media presentation.
Christianity Today’s podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill tells the story of the Seattle multi-site megachurch’s rapid growth and quick implosion at the leadership of Pastor Mark Driscoll.
In the first episode host Mike Cosper explains, “It’s a story about power, fame and spiritual trauma, problems faced across the spectrum of churches in America, and yet it’s also a story about the mystery of God working in broken places.”
With sermon clips and interviews Cosper skillfully explores the topic of toxic pastoral leadership.
By watching testimonials, documentaries and podcasts, future church whistleblowers can learn much from the experiences of Christians that have already exposed corrupt ministry leadership.
If there is the possibility of being sued for defamation, consider buying a liability insurance policy.
File a Complaint with Government Agencies and Law Enforcement
For allegations involving sexual abuse, go directly to law enforcement first. If crimes were committed by a religious leader or organization, determine if the statute of limitations have passed.
There are two different IRS forms for reporting financial issues at non-profit organizations: the non-profit complaint form (Form 13909) and the more complex whistleblower form (Form 211) which may allow the whistleblower to collect a financial award if the IRS collects revenue based on the information provided by the whistleblower.
Because of Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, the IRS is not allowed to inform whistleblowers if the non-profit organization is being audited or criminally investigated. However, if a reward is provided to a whistleblower, it is safe to assume the non-profit was investigated.
In addition to collecting unpaid taxes on unrelated business income and/or penalties, the IRS may revoke the tax-exemption of a non-profit organization for violating the tax code.
Revocations are announced a couple of times per year in an IRS Internal Revenue Bulletin.
Depending on the nature of a crime, district attorneys, state attorney generals or the FBI may also investigate.
Create a Whistleblower Website
Former volunteers of Sean Feucht’s ministries and the Jeremiah Counsel have created websites providing important documentation to support their claims.
Jeremiah Counsel posted both the old Second Baptist Church Houston bylaws allowing church members to vote on church business and the new bylaws which eliminated church member voting rights. A quick comparison of the two documents reveals that church governance was changed without informed consent of church members.
Truth and Freedom Stories posted a list of three parsonages owned by Sean Feucht Ministries as well as ten properties personally owned by Feucht, which raises important questions. Sean Feucht Ministries stopped filing Form 990 after 2020, so it no longer discloses how donations and honorariums are spent. Does Feucht receive large housing allowances from the ministry while living in parsonages and receiving income from rental properties?
The website also features a page disclosing financial allegations such as reporting fraud, restricted donation fraud and inurement, which is illegal and could result in the non-profit organization losing its tax exemption, if the IRS were to launch an audit or criminal investigation that proved the allegations to be true.
Another web page details allegations of abuse. For example, Feucht is accused of “emotionally abusive confrontations when questioned” and using “shame and spiritual language to control leaders.”
Fighting church and ministry corruption needs to be a group effort. Both websites were the result of teamwork.
Write a Book
Numerous books have been written by former members of cults, former employees of ministries and family members that were eyewitnesses to corruption.
Costi Hinn, the nephew of televangelist Benny Hinn and author of God, Greed and the (Prosperity) Gospel, provides context for understanding the false prophecies of his uncle: “We used a strategy we called shotgun prophecy, firing off numerous predictions in the hope that one of the prophecies might hit the target and we’d be considered accurate and reliable.”
These books frequently reveal what religious leaders are like away from the ministry spotlight, those moments when they are not behind the pulpit.
Patti Roberts, the ex-wife of Richard Roberts, wrote in her autobiography Ashes to Gold, “Between tapings for the TV show, we often took expensive and lengthy vacations and soon established a sort of ‘jet set’ lifestyle.”
For whistleblowers with little writing experience, consider a co-writer. Patti Roberts collaborated with co-writer Sherry Andrews.
Threats and intimidation are also exposed in these books.
Cheryl Brown, author of Mafia Ministry: A Crying Shame, describes the warning a ministry security team gave her on the day she was fired: “‘I better not ever go against Benny Hinn Ministries or that my family and I will be cursed.’ They told me that people who had left from BHM go on and do great things for the Lord, but that there are also ones that have died once they have gone against BHM.”
Litigation
In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul the Apostle advised Christians to avoid litigation.
“The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” – 1 Corinthians 6:7 NIV
Paul didn’t create a blanket injunction forbidding all Christians from engaging in litigation. Paul participated in the court process and appealed to the highest court authority by appealing to Caesar after he was falsely accused. (Acts 25:11)
The Jeremiah Counsel sued Second Baptist Church only after all other options had been exhausted and a statute of limitations was about to run out on suing to revoke the new church bylaws adopted in 2023.
The Jeremiah Counsel’s open letter to church members explained that church leadership were operating in an illegal and unbiblical manner: “Deceiving membership and manipulating governance is both a violation of fiduciary duty and deception, which scripture condemns in leaders (Titus 1:7).”
While the Jeremiah Counsel is not seeking any money from their lawsuit, four members of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, have filed a class-action lawsuit seeking the return of tithes.
According to the lawsuit, “Robert Morris, Founding and former Senior Pastor, and other Gateway leaders told the congregation for years that 15% of all tithe dollars went to global missions work via Gateway Global Ministries.”
However, a former church CPA disputes this claim: “When the CPA first began working for Gateway, its annual revenue was in the $100 million range and rose to about $120 million by 2014. However, during the CPA’s tenure in his executive pastoral role, he never observed the Global Ministries fund give away more than $3 million in any year.”
If the Gateway Church donors win their case, the returned donations could be given to a different church or religious charity.
Sometimes lawsuits are filed to obtain financial information.
Trinity Foundation successfully intervened in court cases involving both Word of God Fellowship, the parent organization of Daystar Television Network, and Paula White to unseal court documents. As a result of obtaining the sealed documents, NPR produced a news report examining Daystar’s charitable giving.
NPR reported the network gave away $9.7 million dollars in direct grants to outside recipients, rather than the $30 million they had claimed.
Trinity Foundation revealed that Paula White’s church had a mysterious relationship with Center Industries Maryland, LLC, a company run by White’s ex-husband which was owed $1,470,000.
Most church and ministry lawsuits are drafted by attorneys and paralegals. However, there are victims that sometimes represent themselves in court.
YouTuber Shirley Johnson represented herself after she was sued by Paula White for copyright infringement. Johnson’s videos featured clips of White’s preaching along with analysis of how these teachings contradicted scripture. The court agreed that Johnson’s video clips fit the fair use exemption and were not a violation of copyright. The court ordered White to pay Johnson $13,707.
Many lawsuits filed against churches get dismissed. On other occasions, victims sign out-of-court settlements which they later regret. The late author Sylvia Fleener signed a non-disclosure agreement with TBN which silenced her from speaking to the press about specific ways she had been mistreated.
The best time to talk to the media is before litigation has begun.
Prayer
Jesus often gave unpopular advice. One of those times occurred on the Sermon on the Mount: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” – Matthew 5:44 KJV
It is biblical to pray for God to bring conviction and correction to religious leaders causing harm.
Unfortunately, confronting corruption in church and ministry often ends with no repentance from the offending party. “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.” – Acts 20:29
Susan Puzio, host of Prophetic News, also recommends praying for leaders “so you don’t hate them.”
Prayer can become a safeguard for keeping motives in check.