Recent Blog Posts
Contribution Statement Reminder
Church Pastors, Treasurers and Administrators are busy this time of year preparing their general annual contribution statements for 2018. Please remember on your statement to include the name and address of the church and add the following phrase: “No goods or services were provided in exchange for your contribution, other than intangible religious benefits.”… Read More »
Florida Law Requires Certain Records be Available in Church Office
Dear Clients and Friends: Florida law states you must maintain certain documents in your church office for review and copying. Do you know which documents are required? If not, here they are: 617.1601 (5) Corporate records.- “A corporation shall keep a copy of the following records: (a) Its articles of incorporation or restated articles of… Read More »
Hurricane Michael Assistance Information for Churches
Many of our fellow churches are hurting and can use donations and governmental help. Regarding institutional help, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that private nonprofit houses of worship are now eligible for disaster assistance as community centers, without regard to their secular or religious nature. FEMA provides financial assistance, through its Public… Read More »
Guest Lecturer This Week at Southeastern University
Honored to be invited back as guest lecturer at Southeastern University located in Lakeland, Florida. I will speak on “Current Legal Issues in Ministry” to their Senior ministerial and pastoral students. It is going to be fun!
Attorney General Announces Places of Worship Initiative
Dear Clients and Friends, Recently the Attorney General announced a new initiative to protect houses of worship. Its focus is on protecting the ability of houses of worship and other religious institutions to build, expand, buy, or rent facilities-as provided by the land use provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act… Read More »
Church Loans to Board Members and Officers
Dear Clients and Friends, Occasionally I am asked to advise a church client desiring to loan money to a church leader who has a financial need. You would think a ministry should be able to give a lending hand to a leader in need. But think again. The legal question is bifurcated between state… Read More »
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Christian Baker
Dear Clients and Friends, This morning the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Christian Baker who was sued by a gay couple for not making their wedding cake. I am attaching a copy of the Court Opinion for your review and it will be posted on my blog. Some highlights are as follows:… Read More »
President Trump Signs Executive Order on a Faith Initiative
Dear Clients and Friends, Yesterday President Trump issued an Executive Order on the Establishment of a White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative. Here are some highlights: “The executive branch wants faith-based and community organizations, to the fullest opportunity permitted by law, to compete on a level playing field for grants, contracts, programs, and other… Read More »
Record Keeping Reminder
It never ceases to amaze me how as church leaders we have a tendency to keep closets full of old church items but fail to maintain critical legal and business records. On several occasions, I found my self asking a church client if they have a certain record only to discover it has either… Read More »
Important Reminder: Renewing Your Not for Profit/Church Corporation
Please be on the look out for the annual Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations reminder to renew your not for profit/church corporation. They are being emailed now. This is very important because it verifies the leadership of the entity. Failure to do so may result in “Administrative Dissolution” of your corporation. To… Read More »
