Americans United files IRS Complaint against Iowa church

Gordon, who calls himself “pastoral liaison to civil government,” vowed that the Texas-based Liberty Institute would defend any church accused of breaking the law. For good measure, he asserted that the idea that churches should stay out of politics comes from Adolf Hitler.

“Secular fundamentalists in the United States know the same thing Hitler knew,” wrote Gordon. “The only thing that stands in their way of a total takeover of our American culture, the final removal of any mention of God from the public arena, and the shredding of the last remains of our Judeo-Christian value system, is the church of Jesus Christ.”

The mass mailing from Gordon’s church ended up in the hands of some pastors who disagreed with his militant call to political arms. One of them sent the missive to Americans United, which on Sept. 30 filed a formal complaint with the Internal Revenue Service.

“Not only has Cornerstone Church violated the law by opposing judges on the ballot, it is working to draft other churches into its electioneering scheme,” wrote Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn to Lois Lerner, director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS.