In a letter to donors, John and Darlene Ankerberg expressed “disappointment in the recent actions” of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) to terminate the membership of the Ankerberg Theological Research Institute.
The letter also said the ECFA had “no interest” in “direct communication” with ATRI during its review.
The ECFA has denied that assertion.
Jake Lapp, vice president of member accountability for the ECFA, said, “Our policy, as noted on our website, is that during a formal compliance review ECFA staff, under the oversight of ECFA’s board of directors, will investigate all necessary details to help determine whether the member is abiding by ECFA’s standards – this includes direct communication with the organization. We were in ongoing communication with Ankerberg Theological Research Institute during the months our review took place, as we would be with any member during a formal compliance review.”
As MinistryWatch reported in August, the ECFA’s review resulted in termination of the membership of ATRI, the producer of the popular apologetics program “The John Ankerberg Show.”
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This termination follows an investigation that determined that Ankerberg failed to comply with three of the ECFA’s seven standards for financial integrity.
The review of Ankerberg’s organization by the ECFA came after a former fundraising executive at ATRI went public with concerns about how Ankerberg used nearly $20 million raised to fund audio bibles. Those concerns were first reported by MinistryWatch and were later the subject of a lengthy front-page story in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The whistleblower is Andrew Jaeger, a former Director of Donor Relations for ATRI. Ankerberg’s ministry has since sued Jaeger for allegedly violating his severance agreement. That case is pending.