St Philips Baptist Church Sunday School Youth Choir at McDonald's Gospelfest 2009.
Look where God has brought us!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
In case you haven't seen it yet!
St Philips Baptist Church Sunday School Youth Choir at McDonald's Gospelfest 2009.
Look where God has brought us!
Separation of Church and State?
There was a recent opinion article presented in the Staten Island Advance. The article challenged the authority of a Pastor to endorse a candidate for political office and still maintain their tax-free status. The writer commits a fatal error from the begining, but this opens the door to an opportunity for education in areas that some are not too clear on.
The primary flaw with the contributors argument rests in the obvious difference between the Pastor as an individual and the Church as an organization. The laws related to maintaining (voluntary submission) of tax free status relate to the activities of the organizartion as an entity. If the church were to contact the Advance and, as an entity, endorse a candidate, they would be in violation of (volutary submission for review) tax free status. Any member, such as the Pastor, can, as an individual, endorse any candidate. The laws even allow limited lobbying activities as an organization (but some of the rules are vague and the system for determining if one has crossed the line is not crystal clear.
Informationally, this past election cycle, some midwest evangelical churches publicly announced that they would purposely violate this very rule against Obama. (see - http://www.ombwatch.org/node/3808), The result? One of the churches had an investigation initiated against them with the IRS dropping the investigation due to a purported procedural violation.
Educationally, Churches, by law, are NOT required to file their tax-free status with the government. They do, out of tradition, fear, and some believe it legitimizes their work, but the fact is they really don't HAVE TO. Since the IRS code has been written, not one organization has lost their tax-free status...though some have come close. A church did lose their standing with the IRS, but that did NOT change their tax-free status. Churches, according to the First Ammendment are tax-free with or without registering with the IRS.
Bottom-line, St. Philips' is in ZERO danger of losing anything due to their Pastor's endorsement, and it would not even have made a difference if the announcement was from the pulpit. It is the American right of EVERY individual citizen to endorse whichever candidate he or she chooses. Pastors do not lose their rights by entering the pulpit.
The primary flaw with the contributors argument rests in the obvious difference between the Pastor as an individual and the Church as an organization. The laws related to maintaining (voluntary submission) of tax free status relate to the activities of the organizartion as an entity. If the church were to contact the Advance and, as an entity, endorse a candidate, they would be in violation of (volutary submission for review) tax free status. Any member, such as the Pastor, can, as an individual, endorse any candidate. The laws even allow limited lobbying activities as an organization (but some of the rules are vague and the system for determining if one has crossed the line is not crystal clear.
Informationally, this past election cycle, some midwest evangelical churches publicly announced that they would purposely violate this very rule against Obama. (see - http://www.ombwatch.org/node/3808), The result? One of the churches had an investigation initiated against them with the IRS dropping the investigation due to a purported procedural violation.
Educationally, Churches, by law, are NOT required to file their tax-free status with the government. They do, out of tradition, fear, and some believe it legitimizes their work, but the fact is they really don't HAVE TO. Since the IRS code has been written, not one organization has lost their tax-free status...though some have come close. A church did lose their standing with the IRS, but that did NOT change their tax-free status. Churches, according to the First Ammendment are tax-free with or without registering with the IRS.
Bottom-line, St. Philips' is in ZERO danger of losing anything due to their Pastor's endorsement, and it would not even have made a difference if the announcement was from the pulpit. It is the American right of EVERY individual citizen to endorse whichever candidate he or she chooses. Pastors do not lose their rights by entering the pulpit.
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