Legal & Insurance Issues
In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need to get attorneys or insurance companies involved in the happenings of a church. But we don’t live in a perfect world. We need legal input—for everything from overtime pay laws to the legal use of movies in a sermon. The following is not legal advice just ideas …
Artificial Intelligence Brings Legal Liability
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be a helpful tool for churches. Many are using AI to ethically research sermon ideas. Others use it to redact a 45 minute message into a 1,000 word article for [...]
Practical Church Risk Management
In many churches, risk management can become an after-thought as the tasks and needs of day-to-day operations take center stage. But this can open the door to unnecessary risks—an avoidable accident, allegation, [...]
Trademark & Copyright 101: Protecting your Church Brand
In this webinar, we will discuss what trademark and copyright is, the importance of filing for protection, and the trademark and copyright application process. Brianna Nevels, Associate Attorney with the firm, will [...]
Data Erasure vs. Risk Management
The Clash of Privacy and Protection of Vulnerable Populations Protecting Personal Information Everyone has a story about personal information fraudulently obtained by a security breach, Phishing email scam, or sold by a vendor gathering [...]
What’s a Pastor to Do When Called to Testify in Court?
Have you ever had a church member ask you to testify in court on their behalf? At some time in your ministry, you will likely receive questions from a congregant requesting your attendance and [...]
When Church is Work – 5 Trending Legal Issues for Christian Employers
Making sure Sunday, and every day, runs smoothly at church requires a dedicated team. Whether it takes 2 or 52 to staff your church, you need a solid foundation of employment practices [...]
Cyber Criminals in the Church: A Whopper of a Tale
In today’s world, not even the church is immune to cyberattacks. Our ministries are vulnerable to phishing, data theft, and even extortion. The attorneys will provide examples of damage and recovery from [...]
Sexual Harassment in the Church
Hey Fletch … I would like to bring our staff through some type of sexual harassment training and share our sexual harassment policy. Are you aware of any videos, articles or resources that you [...]
Federal Courts Adopt Pro-Intern Approach
Whether to pay interns or not has been a sticky subject for a long time. Do you know about the recent decisions from federal appellate courts that have adopted a more flexible, [...]
Utilize the Experience of Your Insurance Agent
Charlie Cutler is the Managing Partner of ChurchWest Insurance Services and works with over 3,000 churches. He offers these thoughts from the perspective of an insurance agent. As ChurchWest says, “A good agent will [...]
Reflections from an Attorney on Sexual Offenders
Eventually most churches encounter a known registered sex offender who is either already in the congregation or desires to attend. Trying to determine whether or how to live with a wolf is dangerous and fraught [...]
Preventing Sexual Abuse in Your Church
Sex abuse claims remain the top reason churches go to court each year. Fletch interviews Matthew Branaugh, editor for Christianity Today’s ChurchLawAndTax.com, about this troubling ongoing trend in the church. What policies [...]
Use of Movies and Trademarked Images in Church
Hey Fletch … This may not be in your wheelhouse but I know you have a lot of experience and knowledge! We are doing Christmas at the Movies this year. When it comes to [...]
Mandatory Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Update
California has recently updated the requirements for sexual harassment prevention training. Your state may have similar regulations. The bottom line---train all staff. Tiffany Henning at HR Ministry Solutions, XPastor's go-to resource for HR information, [...]
Poll of Church Health Insurance Benefits
Monday, October 22, 2018 Hey Fletch … I promised to send you the results of our poll of 18 churches. Here is the file with what we found. What do you glean from the [...]
Health Insurance Going Up 123%
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 Hey Fletch … I am looking for some advice on health insurance for my team. We provide a high deductible plan for our employees and have contributed a percentage of [...]
Health Cost-Sharing Ministries
Tuesday, July 31, 2018 Hey Fletch … I have a question about rising medical costs for employers. There are several Christian-based health cost-sharing ministries, such as MediShare, Christian Healthcare Ministries, and Samaritan Ministries. On [...]
Who Owns a Book that the Pastor Writes?
Saturday, July 28, 2018 Hey Fletch … I have a quick question that may require a long answer. If a pastor is writing books, who gets the royalties and why? I’m confident that this [...]
Insurance for Sexual Abuse, Part 2
Saturday, June 16, 2018 Hey Fletch … Our church has $2 million in umbrella insurance. Does that cover sexual abuse as well? DRF—When I get a question on insurance issues, I always turn to [...]
Insurance for Sexual Abuse, Part 1
Friday, June 15, 2018 Hey Fletch … Our church has $2 million in umbrella insurance. Does that cover sexual abuse as well? DRF—When I get a question on insurance issues, I always turn to the [...]
Legal Issues with Songs on a Church Website
Wednesday, June 6, 2018 Hey Fletch … We live-stream our worship service and also have some recorded worship songs on our website. Someone asked me if that is legal. Thoughts? DRF—That is a huge [...]
Electronic Waivers and Signatures
Church events are the lifeblood of any congregation’s community. From youth camp to volunteer activities to childcare, parents love having kids enjoy the events their church hosts every week. But not a week goes [...]
Church Without a Tax-Exempt Status
Friday, March 2, 2018 Hey Fletch … I just began as the pastor of a rural midwestern church with 150 in worship. We do not have a tax exempt status. We pay tax on [...]
Recording Songs in the Worship Service
February 1, 2018 Hey Fletch … Someone suggested that we record some songs during our worship service and create a CD from them. Any thoughts on this? DRF—Off the top of my head, I [...]