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10/09/2026

Televangelists, Are You Paying Taxes on Personal Flights Taken on Ministry Aircraft?

When a pastor travels on the church or ministry aircraft for vacations, the United States tax code treats the flights as a fringe benefit. Twice a year the IRS publishes in the Internal Revenue Bulletin a tax rate for these flights. This tax is calculated by determining Standard Industry Fare Level Rates (SIFL) and then adding a terminal fee which is $58.95 for the rest of 2026.

SIFL rates are determined by multiplying the length of a flight in miles to a cost-per-mile rate.

https://www.irs.gov/irb/2026-42_irb

10/08/2026

Jim Bakker’s Dangerous Legacy

On Monday, October 5th, Lori Bakker, cohost of The Jim Bakker Show, posted the news her husband televangelist Jim Bakker died. Lori’s brief announcement ends with the words, “Jim finished his race with faith. His voice, his vision, and his legacy will never be forgotten.”

Bakker’s legacy is worth critically examining so that future church congregations and leaders avoid repeating and excusing the same abuses.

As a religious leader, Bakker embellished his testimony, preached the prosperity gospel, committed fraud to raise funds for his theme park, lived an extravagant lifestyle, cheated on his wife, and staged a comeback after spending almost five years in prison.

Bakker’s Childhood and Teen Years

In his adolescent years, Bakker developed an interest in entertainment which he began cultivating by his teens.

In his book Forgiven: The Rise and Fall of Jim Bakker and the PTL Ministry, author Charles E. Shepard wrote, “From the beginning, show business was in Jim Bakker’s blood.”

Shepard explains that Jim, whose real name was James Orsen Bakker, got his middle name from George Orsen Wells, the actor famous for narrating The War of the Worlds radio broadcast.

During his senior year of high school Bakker produced an extravagant variety show at his high school. Shepard reports that Bakker recruited “thirty acts and a cast of more than three hundred.”

It was also during this time that Bakker claimed to surrender to God.

In his 1976 autobiography Move that Mountain, Bakker reported that during his senior year of high school, Bakker accidentally hit a child with his father’s 1952-model Cadillac. Following the accident, Bakker claimed he experienced a dramatic conversion. “At that moment Jesus became the only thing in my life. I knew I couldn’t control my own destiny anymore … my future was entirely in the hands of God.”

While investigating Bakker’s testimony, Shepard discovered several details were false. The car wreck did not occur during Bakker’s senior year of high school, but two years earlier. Shepard also adds, “Jim’s cousin George was in the front seat of the car, not a girl.”

Shepard also interviewed some of Bakker’s friends and reported that “they do not remember the dramatic conversion described by Bakker.”

To continue reading ...

  On Monday, October 5th, Lori Bakker, cohost of The Jim Bakker Show, posted the news her husband televangelist Jim Bakker died. Lori’s brief announcement […]

10/02/2026

When Court Rulings Make No Sense: Was the Judge Bribed?

Trinity Foundation is examining church and ministry court cases to identify reasons why victims and church donors lose legal battles so frequently.

Sometimes the lawsuits are dismissed quickly for valid reasons such as a statute of limitations expiring. However, there are also cases in which judges have rejected carefully presented evidence for questionable reasons when rendering judgments. The rulings make no sense. In these situations, we wonder if a judge was compromised or bribed.

Trinity Foundation is investigating one pastor for alleged bribery after discovering evidence disclosed in a heavily redacted FBI document obtained by a Freedom of Information Request (a “FOIA”), but informants are needed to verify the allegation.

To continue reading ...

Trinity Foundation is examining church and ministry court cases to identify reasons why victims and church donors lose legal battles so frequently. Sometimes the lawsuits […]

09/30/2026

Court precedents play a critical role in why victims of church abuse often lose court cases. In this video, Trinity Foundation investigators Pete Evans and Barry Bowen discuss the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, which prevents churches from deciding issues involving church doctrine or theology.

In 1944, the Supreme Court ruled on United States v Ballard: “Man’s relation to his God was made no concern of the state. He was granted the right to worship as he pleased and to answer to no man for the verity of his religious views.”

Guy Ballard was a conman claiming to be an ascended master, the embodiment of Jesus, George Washington and Saint Germain.

Judges are misusing the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine to dismiss cases not based on theology. This is an abuse of power that must be exposed and stopped.

In the 1990s, in a case representing televangelist Robert Tilton, attorney J.C. Joyce told the court, “The right to believe what we choose to believe is absolute. We even have the right to defraud people with that belief.”

Court precedents play a critical role in why victims of church abus...

09/29/2026

Word Network President Attempts to Limit Testimony from Former Ministry Employees, Ban Discussion of News Articles

Last month attorneys for Kevin Adell, president of The Word Network, one of America’s largest religious TV networks, filed motions in limine to restrict the testimony of former employees and to prevent Christian Post and The Wall Street Journal articles from being discussed in a jury trial.

Before cases go to trial, attorneys and prosecutors file motions in limine limiting the evidence introduced before a jury and restricting the questions asked of witnesses. The purpose of these motions is to forbid the disclosure of information not considered relevant to a case that may create prejudice in a jury. However, the process can be abused. Judges approve or reject the motions by issuing orders.

By reading motions in limine, journalists and activists may also identify critical information that parties wish to keep private.

Case Background

On October 6th, a jury is scheduled to hear the case in which George Bloomer, pastor of Bethel Family Worship Center in Durham, North Carolina, accuses Adell of racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Bloomer filed his case in October 2022, alleging that Adell shared a racist photo, which Adell did not create, that portrayed Adell as a pimp of Bloomer and three other black pastors.

To continue reading ...

Last month attorneys for Kevin Adell, president of The Word Network, one of America’s largest religious TV networks, filed motions in limine to restrict the […]

09/17/2026

Today Is North Texas Giving Day

If you’ve never heard of North Texas Giving Day, you’re not alone. Many people haven’t. However, it’s a great time for us to publish an article about our work and ask for donations.

We want to thank everyone who has supported us. Your donations have funded our investigations and other projects.

Trinity Foundation president Pete Evans is overseeing the re-model of an apartment owned by Trinity Foundation. Back in the 1980s, Trinity Foundation founder Ole Anthony concluded that churches and ministries could solve the homelessness crises by taking in the homeless.

Trinity Foundation first acquired a number of apartment complexes in Oklahoma and another in Ohio. We learned some hard lessons about financing and have since downsized. Now we own a couple of small apartments with the goal of providing affordable housing.
We are also working on some exciting investigative news articles that we’ll publish later this year.

Trinity Foundation is studying various court cases to identify court precedents which victims of church/ministry fraud and abuse may cite in lawsuits.

Last year, staff investigator Barry Bowen began watching hours of church live streams each Sunday to document false prophecies and false testimonies.

In addition, we intend to educate the church about the dangers of corrupt pastors using manipulation in collecting offerings.

Some of our work is of a private nature, which we rarely discuss publicly. We are working on investigative reports to file with the IRS that will disclose questionable, if not illegal, financial activities.

We estimate that one hour of investigation costs roughly $35 and a part of your donations will help us maintain our state-approved P.I. licenses. Some of these funds also pay for an independent video editor who helps us produce better videos about our work.
You may donate at this page: http://trinityfi.org/membership/

Thanks,
From the folks at Trinity Foundation

Table of Contents Donate by Check Donate with Givebutter Donate with PayPal Donate with Zelle Become a Member Financial Disclosure: Annual Form 990s Donate by […]

09/10/2026

John Christopher Feucht, the controversial worship leader better known as Sean Feucht, added another property to his portfolio last month, a $725,000 two-bedroom condo in Laguna Niguel, California. Feucht personally owns 10 houses/condos. His ministry owns 3 additional parsonages (California, Montana and Washington, DC) and four plots of land in Texas.

HOW LAWS APPLY

In 2020, the last year for which Sean Feucht Ministries disclosed spending on a Form 990, the ministry reported that Feucht received $48,000 in "other compensation" -- which was most likely a tax-exempt clergy housing allowance.

By claiming church status, the ministry stopped filing 990s and now avoids financial transparency to donors.

Due to pastors abusing the clergy housing allowance, Congress passed legislation (The Clergy Housing Allowance Clarification Act of 2002) to limit the allowance.

Feucht's ministry is prohibited from giving a clergy housing allowance to Feucht that exceeds the fair market value of a residence.

However, the courts have allowed pastors to apply the clergy housing allowance to more than one residence. When the courts sided with trumpet player and minister Phil Driscoll whose ministry had two parsonages, a court precedent gave license for ministries to abuse the clergy housing allowance.

09/01/2026

Two Years of Prison for Cult Leader Mrs. Moon

Unification Church cult leader Hak Ja Han, better known in America as Mrs. Moon, has been sentenced to two years in prison for bribing the former First Lady of South Korea and other crimes.

The Associated Press also reports that Han gave 100 million won (worth approximately $73,000) to politician Kweon Seong-dong.

https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-unification-church-hak-ja-han-34e4dd060fd1d75353a61a2eeb85b08d

Prominent American religious leaders have defended Han, falsely describing the prosecution as religious persecution.

https://trinityfi.org/greg-locke-defends-south-korean-cult-that-teaches-jesus-christ-was-a-failure/

Most Americans are unaware that Han claims to be the Holy Spirit. Researcher Susan Puzio documents these claims in her book The Divine Principle vs the Holy Bible

https://trinityfi.org/paula-white-defends-cult-leader-who-claims-to-be-the-holy-spirit-new-book-explores-unification-churchs-toxic-theology/

If you are an eye witness or have evidence of a religious leader bribing a political official or judge, please contact Trinity Foundation. These corrupt church and ministry leaders need to be prosecuted for their crimes. There are rumors of American preachers bribing government officials, but we have not been able to confirm them.

Also, if you know of a church or ministry illegally funding a political candidate, let us know about it.

    (Photo: In 2021, Paula White bowed down to and presented flowers to cult leader Hak Ja Han during a Unification Church-related event.) While […]

08/29/2026

Jeremiah Counsel Filing Asks to Reverse Young Group Power Play, Return Previous Second Baptist Board

Almost buried in Texas Business Court Judge Grant Dorfman’s ruling against Jeremiah Counsel Corporation (JCC) last month certifying Second Baptist’s suspicious 2023 bylaws revision was a clause returning the church to its 1928 charter and rejecting Second Baptist’s 2023 charter amendment.

A prominent portion of the Judge’s ruling alleged that a court could not decide whether the Young Group’s statement of their alleged reason to amend the Bylaws was truthful without contradicting various court precedents that help delineate church autonomy. Thus the court reasoned that such a ruling would violate the First Amendment clause of the U.S. Constitution, so he let the controversial new board of directors retain control.

At first blush, for those members of Second Baptist Church Houston who care about losing their right to vote, the return to its 1928 charter appeared to be sort of a “consolation prize” of little value.

However, a new filing by Jeremiah Counsel argues the Judge’s rejection of the 2023 charter amendment legitimizes the original 1928 charter, is prima facia evidence invalidating the current board made up of mostly Young family members (dubbed the “Young Group”) and automatically reinstates the board of trustees extant prior to the 2023 amendment.

Intro to JCC’s August 13th Filing

The introduction to JCC’S new filing states, “The Court’s July 15 Opinion shows that Second Baptist Church Corp. (“Second Baptist”) is now being run by a board of directors or Ministry Leadership Team (“Board” or “MLT”) lacking any authority to govern the church.” (emphasis ours) And goes on to state, “The Court’s rulings also show that the prior church Board existing as of May 31, 2023, remains Second Baptist’s proper governing body.”

The latest JCC filing points out an inherent contradiction between the different aspects of Judge Dorfman’s rulings. It states that the current situation is untenable and that it presents a dispute over who controls the church.

To continue reading ...

  Almost buried in Texas Business Court Judge Grant Dorfman’s ruling against Jeremiah Counsel Corporation (JCC) last month certifying Second Baptist’s suspicious 2023 bylaws revision […]

08/28/2026

Paula White’s National Faith Advisory Board Partners with Multimillionaire Ta***ic S*x Promoter

On August 18th, Paula White’s National Faith Advisory Board announced in a Facebook post the September launch of the “Amen Whole 4”—a program addressing physical, mental, relational and spiritual health, led by Dr. Daniel Amen, founder of the Amen Clinics.

Amen is a controversial doctor famous for using Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) brain scans to create customized health improvement programs. Meanwhile, his “Amen Whole 4” program costs $1,290.

Amen’s books and clinics have generated immense wealth from Christians and celebrities, more about that later.

Discernment ministries sounded the alarm a decade ago when Amen co-wrote The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life with Pastor Rick Warren and Dr. Mark Hyman.

Lighthouse Trails Research reported, “Dr. Amen is a proponent of ta***ic s*x (the combining of s*xual activity with mystical practices), which is probably the most extreme form of meditation.”

In 2009, Amen created an audio CD lecture series Create More Passion Tonight with ta**ra yoga instructor T.J. Bartel.

In his book The Brain in Love, published in 2007, Amen writes, “Best known in the West are the several forms of ta**ra yoga in which worship services take the form of s*xual rituals featuring slow, nonorgasmic in*******se as a prelude to an experience of the divine.” However, Amen never warns in his book that ta**ra is incompatible with scripture.

To read more ...

On August 18th, Paula White’s National Faith Advisory Board announced in a Facebook post the September launch of the “Amen Whole 4”—a program addressing physical, […]