Finding and hiring the right employees is an important and difficult task. Once you have identified personnel that will work well with your ministry, be careful that you don’t miss these important requirements.• Complete an I-9 form with each new employee. Form I-9 is...
Pastors and Social Security
Most people understand that ordained members of the clergy may opt out of Social Security, and if they do so, they simply don’t have to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. For many ministers, frankly, that is a significant savings. If a minister is considered...
What Is IRS Publication 78?
In recent days, our attorneys have fielded several questions about IRS Publication 78. Many churches wonder if there is a legal requirement for their organization to appear on that list. Publication 78 is a formal list of organizations that have formally filed with...
Handling Bad Behavior in Children’s Church
We know that churches want every child to have a good time at church and, hopefully, hear the Gospel and be saved. However, it is vitally important that churches never tolerate consistently excessive problematic behavior from any child, particularly if the behavior is...
What Is the Wall of Separation?
In modern times, there is a considerable amount of confusion about the idea that America has a “wall of separation between the church and the state.” Some people erroneously believe that the separation of church and state means that Christians should essentially never...
Software Licenses
In many cases, Christian ministries receive bad advice. They are sometimes told that their IT guy knows how to purchase a single copy of a program, but install it ministry-wide, thereby saving thousands of dollars. However, purchasing one copy of a software license...
Securing Computers in the Christian School
Christian school administrators understandably have concerns about the safety of their students when they use the school computers, but the first step in ensuring this safety is to secure the school’s own computer systems. During the summer break is a good time to...
Keeping Children Safe at Home
Parents have a duty to protect their children, and this is never more needful than during the summer months when children and teens are out of school and often spend hours alone at home while parents are at work. Although there is no fail-safe method, CLA recommends...
Safety Tips for Social Media
The power of social networking is hard to imagine. Facebook, currently the largest online social network in the world, has roughly three billion active users per month. Social media can be dangerous enough for adults, but children are particularly susceptible to being...
Protecting God’s Church
The church is not a building. The church body is the group of people who join together and worship God in one accord. But the church is not held captive in the sanctuary. Our church expands far beyond the walls and into the daily lives of all who believe. However,...