Shepherd: The Role of A Pastor Throughout Scripture God refers to Pastors as Shepherds and Christians as Sheep. Since God assigned those descriptions there must be a reason. Completing an in-depth study of the two, I reached the conclusion, that as sheep, Church members need to be cared for and protected just as a [...]
Church Stewardship Prime Directive Most Pastors fervently preach the need to be good stewards of what God has provided. The problem, however, is that many of those same preachers do not practice what they preach. They will exhort the members to faithfully manage their money so that God may be first via tithes and [...]
Are Photos on Your Church Website Legal A Church was told by a website advisor that it needed to add photos to its site to make it more appealing to site visitors. The Church IT person found some nice pictures that would add tremendous appeal. The pictures did not have a web address [...]
Are Your Ordination Credentials Legal? He had married people in his small North Carolina Community for years and there never seemed to be a problem, but then the bottom fell out. In a divorce proceeding of a young couple, the man’s attorney decided to check the legality of the Minister’s Credentials. During a thorough [...]
Will Your Church Bylaws Survive A Court Challenge As I travel across this great nation ensuring that Churches and Pastors are protected from challenges that would otherwise undermine their ministry, I discover the naïveté of many Pastors and Church Leaders concerning their governing bylaws. The Church bylaws are some of the most important documents needed [...]
You Have Probably Overpaid the IRS! Tax season is officially upon us. The old adage is that there are only two things certain in this life: taxes, and death. For some it seems there is not much difference between the two. Tax season this year does not have to be a year of frustration, but [...]
Church’s Responsibility for Donor Giving Statements Tax season is upon us and many Church Members are preparing to file their individual tax returns. A substantial item for many will be the donations made to their local Church. Donations given to a Church in the form of cash, check, credit card, money order, and online [...]
May Churches Give Negative Employment References? Pastor Ray faced a serious dilemma. He had recently dismissed his Youth Minister for sexual misconduct. The police had been notified, yet no charges were preferred (due to teen’s legal age) and none were filed. Pastor Ray felt a tremendous sense of relief knowing this matter was over, and [...]
The Simple Invoice You Submit Could Send You to Prison Pastor Jack came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea. As much sought after speaker, he was constantly flying from city to city, accumulating an enormous amount of frequent flyer miles. The Churches at which he spoke regularly guaranteed to pay first [...]
Is Your Church Safe from Employment Liabilities? In our 77 plus years of our Church and Clergy Tax Ministry, we have witnessed a continual rise in employment related lawsuits against Churches. As a rule Churches experience much more freedom in hiring and firing staff, especially Pastors, than other organizations. Unfortunately, the Constitution does not [...]