Taxing a Political Church

I came across a really interesting article from the Indianapolis Examiner calling for a revoking of the tax-exempt status of churches, because of the large amount of political influence they wield and preach. While some would argue that preachers have every right to preach whatever they want from the pulpit (I would disagree though--the Bible makes it pretty clear what we should be preaching), this article points out "when [churches] use their tax-free money and the pulpit to influence policy, they are no better than a lobbyist." Because of this, the article argues, churches should have their tax-exempt status removed, if they want to play such a role in the politics of our country. 


You should go read the article rather than just reading my summary of it, but I found myself agreeing with it. If we use the church to be a political instrument, then it should be taxed as such. And, from the biblical perspective, I think the Church has a much larger agenda than trying to influence the policies of a single government. We, the global Church, are called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be working for the coming of the Kingdom of God to this earth. We preach a message of love, not one of politics. We the Church need to start asking ourselves some serious questions:

•  Are our actions serving our purpose of preaching the Gospel and bringing about the Kingdom of God?
• Are we being faithful stewards of the resources God has given us?
• As a part of the universal Church, what is our relation to the politics of one nation?

What are your thoughts? Have churches forfeited the privilege of tax-exempt status? Are we really being faithful to our divine calling? Please share.