Defying the IRS
How should churches understand their relationship to the government?
This election season, a group of about 30 pastors plans to challenge the IRS law that prohibits churches from endorsing a political candidate from the pulpit. As part of the "Pulpit Initiative," organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, many of these pastors chose to explicitly endorse one of the presidential candidates as part of his Sunday sermon yesterday.
The pastors say that the IRS regulation violates their First Amendment rights by restricting the free expression of religion. The government should have no authority to restrict what a pastor says from the pulpit to his or her congregation, they argue.
For example, Minnesota pastor Gus Booth, who encouraged his congregation to vote for John McCain yesterday, says, "If we [pastors] can tell you what to do in the bedroom, we can certainly tell you what to do in the voting booth."
Supporters of the IRS code also appeal to the First Amendment, saying the church should stay out of political affairs, and those that choose not to should lose their tax-exempt status.
This story raises a host of questions that I'd like to pose for your reflection (while I, too, try to come to some conclusions). First, how should Christians understand civil disobedience? There have been times throughout history when the church's defiance of established laws brought necessary social change--the Civil Rights movement is a strong example. Yet, it seems that default mode for evangelicals is to follow the rules and maintain order. I sympathize with that, to be sure. So, what principles should we use, what series of questions should we ask ourselves, to determine when we should uphold the law and when we should oppose it?
Second, the major thing at stake here is tax exemption. Far from being a simple matter of economics, tax-exempt status is a catalyst for mission. It frees up resources and, quite frankly, makes people more generous. So is tax exemption something that should be preserved at (almost) any cost, or will there be times when the mission is best represented by giving up our financial protection?
I look forward to your insights.
You can read more on this story at Christianity Today Online or at the National Public Radio website.
Brandon O'Brien is assistant editor of Leadership journal and BuildingChurchLeaders.com.
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Comments
If tax exemption was the real issue, then churches all over Georgia would be endorsing whomever they wish. There is no tax exemption for Georgia ministries. The issue must go deeper than that. To me it seems that the Christian church of today has become so watered down and comfortable that we have lost sight of our purpose in this world. If we were doing our job of sharing Christ in our communities, not just in our pulpits, and then discipling those we've reached to a deeper maturity, we would effectively begin changing our society thru God's grace and not by political mandates or endorsements. It is a sad day for the church when we as followers of Christ can't even agree upon the sanctity of life.
Posted by: Steve Martin | October 2, 2008 8:46 AM
So there are pastors who want to tell their congregations how they should vote or for whom they should vote, without losing their tax-exempt status. The question then becomes, how will those same pastors respond to those in their congregations who choose to vote other than their pastors wish? And especially, how will those pastors respond when those church members express their own views?
Will those church members lose their membership, be shunned or treated in a condescending manner? The Protestant belief in the individual indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the basic tenets of democracy, create a double-edged sword. If a pastor wants to be able to express their political opinions, then they'd better be prepared to fully allow their church members to fully express theirs, especially if in opposition to the pastor's.
But I doubt any pastor or church board wanting to express their political views would do that. Instead, we will see further the polarization of churches as organizations.
Posted by: Steve P | October 6, 2008 5:18 PM