First Baptist Dallas Pastor Recounts Unprecedented Targeted IRS Weaponization Attack on the Church and Call for Repeal of Johnson Amendment

DALLAS, Dec. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- First Baptist Dallas Senior Pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress joined a distinguished panel of guests speaking to the importance of religious liberty in the military, in church practice and in the public square at the 4^th hearing of The Religious Liberty Commission held in Dallas today.  

Established by President Trump under The U.S. Dept. of Justice via Executive Order, The Religious Liberty Commission is tasked with producing a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America; increasing awareness of and celebrating America's peaceful religious pluralism; highlighting current threats to religious liberty; and developing strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations.

Notable Commissioners include Rev. Franklin Graham, Dr. Phil McGraw, attorney Kelly Shackleford and former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean-Boller, with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick serving as chair. Both panelists and Commission members recommended specific steps that could be taken following many of their testimonies.

As part of the day's proceedings, Dr. Jeffress recounted the unprecedented wrongful weaponization of the Johnson Amendment and unlawful targeting of the 157-year-old First Baptist Dallas by the IRS under the Biden-Harris Administration. He was accompanied by Executive Pastor Dr. Ben Lovvorn, who led the church's legal defense in the case. "We felt strongly that (the IRS) viewed the First Baptist Church of Dallas as an example case, and we knew that if they prevailed against us, churches across the nation would be intimidated and scared to speak out," Dr. Lovvorn explained. "And so we felt that the Lord had called us to stand in the gap to defend those churches against that type of intimidation."

Prior to Dr. Jeffress' presentation, former and current armed forces personnel shared stories of discrimination within the military for their religious practices or beliefs. Others affiliated with military chaplaincy spoke to their own experience and the challenges they faced in trying to support religious liberty within the military.

In his testimony, Dr. Jeffress provided context regarding how, for the first time in our nation's history, the IRS threatened a church's tax-exempt status for lawful comments and activities in an actual worship service, based on complaints arising from its annual "Celebrate Freedom" patriotic service focusing on religious freedom held in 2020. Despite First Baptist Dallas' full cooperation, the IRS demonstrated a blatant unwillingness to resolve the issue and pursued a complete Church Examination, which included an expanded focus to personal statements by Pastor Jeffress in media appearances. After a year-long inquiry that cost the church hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, the IRS acknowledged that First Baptist Dallas did not engage in any improper political intervention or violate the U.S. tax code.

As part of his recommendation to the Commission, Dr. Jeffress suggested that the Dept. of Justice act to prevent the Johnson Amendment from being arbitrarily, capriciously – and unconstitutionally – enforced in a discriminatory manner against conservative churches. He called on Congress to repeal the Amendment to preserve our most fundamental constitutional right.

Dr. Lovvorn provided additional background on the church's recommendations. "(The Johnson Amendment) was never intended to apply to churches, and yet churches were swept up in this issue simply because we are classified as 501c3 organizations," he said. "The Johnson Amendment is unconstitutional on its face, and it's unconstitutional as applied. And yet, it has rarely been challenged, because it has rarely been enforced. 
When it has been enforced, or when the IRS has threatened to enforce it, it has always been inequitably enforced, unfairly enforced, and applied only to those churches that support conservative values and conservative leaning candidates."

Several Commission members agreed with Dr. Jeffress' recommendations and discussed various approaches to tackling the issue. "There is going to have to be a legislative fix of some kind, whether it's complete abolition, or rewriting, or carve outs," Dr. Jeffress said. "Polls overwhelmingly show that pastors do not want to endorse candidates, and congregations don't want their pastors endorsing candidates.
The issue is not whether they should, but whether they can."

For more information about First Baptist Dallas and Dr. Robert Jeffress, visit www.firstdallas.org.

About First Baptist Dallas
Founded in 1867, First Baptist Dallas has long been considered the flagship church of The Southern Baptist Convention. Under the leadership of Senior Pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress, it has grown to a 16,000-member congregation, the largest in its 157-year history. Embracing its role as "America's Church," First Baptist Dallas has been a part of the fabric of religious faith in this country and focuses on reaching the city, nation and world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church's mission is to transform the world with God's Word one life at a time through its ministries, including its international broadcast of Pathway to Victory and its iCampus, which reaches millions of listeners and viewers worldwide.

Media Contact: Abigail Miller at amiller@firstdallas.org or 214-663-9933.

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SOURCE First Baptist Church Dallas