The Internal Revenue Service targeted one of America’s most prominent evangelical congregations after hosting members of the Trump administration at a patriotic celebration, according to First Baptist Dallas Pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress.
Jeffress detailed the federal government’s actions during an interview on The Todd Starnes Radio Show, warning that religious liberty remains under pressure from entrenched bureaucrats.
The controversy stems from a church event featuring then–Vice President Mike Pence and then–HUD Secretary Ben Carson, who shared their personal testimonies of faith.
“Absolutely, and I had the chance to testify before the president’s religious liberty commission that Dan Patrick is chairing,” Jeffress told Starnes. “We testified on December the 12th about our experience in which, I mean, bottom line, we had a patriotic celebration and we had two members of the Trump administration, Pence and Ben Carson, who came and shared their personal testimony about how they came to know Jesus Christ, and the IRS said that was a violation of the Johnson Amendment.”
Jeffress said the IRS threatened to revoke the church’s tax-exempt status.
“We’re taking steps to remove our tax-exempt status,” he said. “Fortunately I got intervened in that situation we stood our ground and eventually the IRS backed down.”
The legal fight, however, came at a steep cost.
“I think that cost our church hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Jeffress said. “Most churches could not afford to do that, and no church should have to do that. As I said to the commission in December, what I preach in my pulpit, what any pastor preaches in his pulpit is none of the government’s business.”
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Starnes agreed, saying Christians must remain engaged in public life.
Jeffress warned that the problem runs deeper than political appointees.
“This is going to take a long time to root out the rot that is in our government because so much of it is at the middle level with career government employees,” he said. “We can never say we’re finished… we got Roe v. Wade overturned and so all is right — no, all is not right.”
He emphasized that civic engagement is part of the Christian calling.
“I do think the scripture commands us to be salt, to be a preservative, to push back against evil so that we have longer and the freedom to preach the gospel,” Jeffress said. “Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can change a person’s heart, and the only way you’re going to change America is by changing the hearts of Americans.”
The interview comes as Jeffress received a public shoutout from President Trump during the National Prayer Breakfast.
According to Jeffress, the president joked about his own Bible reading habits.
“He said, you know Pastor Jeffress, I may not read my Bible three hours a day, I may not read it very often, I may never have opened it, but I’m a good leader and I’ll deliver for Christians,” Jeffress recounted. “And he’s done that… His emphasis on religious liberty is unparalleled… and support for pastors to be able to preach whatever they want to without fear of government interference.”
Jeffress also recently made an unexpected appearance in the new documentary Melania, which chronicles the First Lady’s days leading up to the inauguration.
“It is absolutely true,” Jeffress said of his cameo. “At the pre-inauguration candlelight dinner… I was asked to deliver a prayer for the president and the First Lady and for our nation… They included my prayer in the movie so I was very honored that they did that.”
He said President Trump has long placed a premium on prayer.
“The president believes in the power of prayer,” Jeffress said. “Every day Robert talks to the one who controls everything that happens in the universe.”
For Jeffress and many evangelicals, the IRS dispute underscores what they see as an ongoing battle for religious freedom — one they say is far from over.
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