Supreme Court Ruling for Christian Baker Opens Door for More Attacks Against Christians

6/7/2018

The Colorado Baker who refused to bake a cake for a Homosexual wedding was recently vindicated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Although this is good news for him, the court walked the proverbial tight rope with their decision. Their decision leaves an open door for other lawsuits to be filed against Christian Business owners simply for standing by their religious convictions.

There are currently other cases working their way through our legal system that could be good news for Christians or could cause great harm—especially to Churches, Pastors, and Church Leaders.

It Is Easy to Be Sued when Your Church is Not in Order

Take the case of Pastor Simpson (named has been changed due to the sensitivity of the issue), whose Church has been sued by a court demanding the Church return tithes and offerings paid by a member who currently is in bankruptcy.

When the court asked for the Church records of the individual’s giving records for three years, the Church was not able to produce proper bookkeeping records to demonstrate the tithe and offering pattern of the donor.

Now Pastor Simpson and his Church must find a way to provide a bankruptcy court with several thousand dollars that the donor claimed was given to the Church. This also opened other legal Pandora boxes for the Church. The cost of an attorney, a competent CPA and someone to do public relations control for the Church is proving to be more than they have the ability to afford.

The IRS is Very Clear Concerning Church Books and Records

There are currently hundreds of topics that deal with Church Accounting and Law, and unfortunately most Churches have no clue as to what they are. With more than 80,000 pages of IRS regulations (including case law pages) it is virtually impossible for any Church to know everything that is required of them for the books and records to remain compliant.

Why You Need an Outside Agency Maintaining your Church Books

Someone once said that any attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client. I am not going to go to that extreme on Church records, but knowing the capaciousness of the IRS Tax Code, I can say that any Church who is maintaining their books and records in house is a court case waiting to happen.

It may be too late to seek outside help once the IRS has begun an investigation into your records and it is usually hard to repair any damage that is present in the accounting records. Just as no Pastor would allow a sinner in their pulpit to preach to their congregation, no one that is not fully abreast of and not an expert in tax-exempt law should be in charge of the Church financial records.

Why You Need Us

Chitwood & Chitwood has been the Nation’s premier Church Accounting and Tax Law firm in the USA. With 80 years of experience we know what others do not. We can fix your books regardless of the mess they may be in, provided we get them before the IRS does.

At our Church Management Conferences across the nation we teach in-depth (as time permits) what is required in Church Accounting Law and offer resources to educate Church Pastors and Leaders in IRS Compliance requirements.

This is why every Pastor, Pastor’s Spouse, and Church Leader should attend the next Church Management Conference. It will be the best investment you make for yourself and your Church. To register for the next conference, please call 800-344-0076 or visit us online at www.cmtc.org. You will be glad you did.

By Dr. Michael Chitwood

What You Will Learn at our Conferences

Our Church Management Conferences will arm you with the information you must have to shield your Church or Ministry from IRS intrusiveness; teach you how to get your Taxes to the lowest possible rate; and daily operate your Church or Ministry within IRS acceptable guidelines.

Our Conferences have been taught across the Nation for over 48 years. Because of the Penalties, Fines, and even Imprisonment that the IRS imposed on many Churches and Pastors, Dr. Chitwood felt led by the Holy Spirit to become a buffer between Churches, Ministers, and the IRS.