After complaints from former employees, a Southern California evangelist who calls himself a theological watchdog for Christians worldwide has been chastised for his ministry's financial practices.
Officials with the national Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability conducted an audit that has resulted in what they called a "significant reimbursement" in June to the Christian Research Institute, a ministry run by Christian author and radio personality Hank Hanegraaff.
Neither the council nor Hanegraaff, known on the radio as the "Bible Answer Man," would say how much money was paid back to the institute or by whom. Council officials said the ministry cooperated fully with the audit.
But a group of former employees called the audit a whitewash and made its complaints public by taking the story to the magazine Christianity Today.
The council serves as a financial watchdog for about 1,100 religious organizations that subscribe to its principles and pay for its operation. Officials defended their investigation as thorough and tough and insist that other reforms are underway at the Rancho Santa Margarita-based institute, including an expanded and more diverse board of directors and better documentation of ministry-related expenses.
"Our first concern was restoring the [confidence of] donors" by recovering money that they had given to the institute, said Dan Busby, vice president of the accountability council. "We did that to the best of our ability."
Hanegraaff, who says he is guilty of nothing more than careless bookkeeping, acknowledges that his image has been tarnished.
"It's been a painful but very important lesson," he said. "We take integrity and accountability seriously. As a result, we've implemented the changes recommended by the [council] and our organization is stronger for it."
The dispute is another in a string of controversies surrounding Hanegraaff, who is best known as a Christian purist who holds pastors, churches and denominations accountable for teaching Bible-based Christianity.
Nine years ago, another group of former employees who banded together as the "Group for CRI Accountability" accused Hanegraaff of abusive leadership, misuse of donor money and other transgressions. In 2000, the widow of institute founder Walter Martin called for Hanegraaff's resignation, citing similar concerns.
