Answering to God, or to Senator Grassley?: How Leading Christian Health and Wealth Ministries' Website Content Portrayed Social Order and Financial Accountability Following a Federal Investigation

Abstract

This research deals with six renewalist evangelical Christian ministries that were subject to a three-year U.S. Senate inquiry for alleged failure to account for donations and spending. This research was conducted within the framework of social order theory. Using a content analysis of ministry Web sites, it illustrates how targeted ministries portrayed their relationships with believers and addressed financial accountability issues raised during the Senate inquiry. Findings show that individual ministries responded with positive compliance, hostile resistance, or strategic silence. Four of the six ministries' online responses violated professionally accepted guidelines for public relations crisis response. The ministries' responses to Senator Grassley's inquiry may suggest how the organizations might respond in future crisis situations.