3 Legal Steps to Take That May Save Your Church

By Raul Rivera

Every year, I assess the legal landscape upon which the church stands and create a roadmap to navigate through it. We are no longer living in Mayberry.  The church has to understand that if we do not take the necessary measures to protect ourselves from the increasingly hostile legislative culture, we will be swept away.  This year, I want to make a short list of 3 things every church should do to prepare for 2014. 

1.     Restructure the purpose clause of the articles of incorporation: 

I have seen it more than 1,000 times (literally) where a church hires an attorney to prepare its articles of incorporation, and the purpose statement is more than 2 pages long.  The argument behind this is that it will cover many types of activities that the church may expand into in the future. That is very bad advice because they fail to see the difference between purpose and activities. So, instead of making their purpose statement stronger, they actually make it weaker because it is limited to just the activities they list.  By understanding what purpose means, we can better write a purpose statement that lets the church do whatever activity it wishes without having to name them.  The definition of purpose is the reason for which something is done or created.  Therefore, the purpose statement should be written in such a way that it defines the reason for your church and allows the church to expand into any activity that it wishes in order to accomplish its purpose. Below are the five components of what I call a perfect, well-written purpose statement:

a.     Establish and oversee places of worship

b.     Evangelism worldwide

c.      Support missionary activities,

d.     License and ordain ministers of the gospel

e.     Engage in activities necessary for the accomplishment of the purpose.

2.     Rewrite the church's constitution and bylaws: 

Because of the hostility of many of the new federal and state laws, including state constitutional amendments, your church needs to amends its bylaws to better protect its First Amendment guarantee to religious freedom.  In particular, I am referring to laws regarding hiring and firing, same-sex marriage, and employer mandates.  Many churches have added same-sex marriage clauses to their bylaws thinking that it will protect them, but they have failed to see that there are a number of other provisions that are just as detrimental to their disciplines of faith when it comes to gender relations and identity.  States like California, New Jersey, Maryland, and many others have congressmen and women in state houses that have as their sole goal to penetrate the church's veil of protection provided by the First Amendment.  Unless we beef up the language of our bylaws to better take advantage of our First Amendment guarantee to religious freedom, then we do not stand a chance.  I have been teaching churches that a same-sex marriage clause in their bylaws is an old and outdated strategy.  It only guards against one thing.  The best strategy is to replace it with a clause that protects against any new law that comes against the church's written doctrines.  While this article is not the appropriate platform to address this in detail, I invite you to attend my Ultimate Church Structure Conference.  I guarantee you that if all you get out of the conference is this one understanding, it will be worthy of your time. 

3.     Redo the church's 501(c)(3):  

Internal Revenue Manual 7.21.5-2 requires your church to resubmit its 501(c)(3) information if after getting approved your church makes any significant changes to the church's articles of incorporation, bylaws, finances, policies, board, and other factors.  The purpose for this resubmission is so that the IRS may consider the effect of the change on your exempt status. While that is a requirement of the law, I see a better, more tactical reason to do it.  Your church's 501(c)(3) is a public record and from a tactical point of view, your church must have a public record that fully reflects that your church is incorporated and operated solely as an ecclesiastical organization, that it operates in accordance with certain written doctrines, and that its bylaws prevent it from engaging in any activity that forces it to violate its doctrines.  Again, this strategy I teach at the Ultimate Church Structure Conference.  You need to hear this and apply it to your church.  It is probably the best legal step you will take this year. 

I'm shouting it from the rooftops

When someone has a message that burns in his/her heart, he/she cannot help but share it with whosoever will listen.  I am telling you that this message is real.  The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that a Methodist ministry in New Jersey was found to be in violation of the state's Law Against Discrimination, because the ministry did not allow a same-sex couple to rent its facilities to conduct a same-sex wedding.  Moreover, a number of states have laws in their books prohibiting hiring and firing practices based on someone's religious background.  There are many lawmakers in these states looking for ways in which to rewrite these laws to force churches to have to hire and fire and allow use of their facilities in spite of the church's doctrinal stance.  In light of all this and other untold scenarios, isn't your church worth protecting?  It takes me back to a place in Scripture where the wisest One of all admonished those who were with Him:  "Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves."