Church Counsel Podcast: Church Law Simplified

Emergencies rarely happen at convenient times. A tornado damages the church building. A pastor suddenly becomes incapacitated. Key leaders are unavailable when an important decision must be made. Or an unexpected crisis requires immediate action, but the church's bylaws require a congregational vote that simply cannot take place.

When these situations arise, who has the authority to act?

In Episode 3 of Church Counsel’s mini-series, “A New Pastor’s Legal Playbook,” we tackle an essential question every pastor and church leader should be prepared to answer: What happens in an emergency—and who has the legal authority to make decisions when normal procedures cannot be followed?

Many churches have detailed bylaws explaining how decisions are made under ordinary circumstances. But far fewer have provisions addressing what happens when those ordinary procedures become impossible. Who can authorize emergency expenditures? Who can sign contracts when the designated individual is unavailable? What happens when a quorum cannot be reached? And who assumes leadership if the pastor unexpectedly dies or becomes incapacitated?

This episode explores the importance of establishing emergency powers within a church's governing documents before a crisis occurs. We discuss how churches can designate decision-makers, establish succession plans, provide alternative methods of voting, and create procedures that allow leadership to respond quickly while maintaining appropriate accountability.

We also examine a real-world example from the COVID-19 pandemic, when churches faced difficult decisions about accepting financial assistance, continuing operations, and complying with bylaws that required in-person congregational meetings. These situations exposed a significant weakness in many church governance structures: the absence of a legal mechanism for making necessary decisions when the normal process was unavailable.

But emergency authority is not permission to disregard the law or simply ignore existing bylaws. Any emergency powers must be properly established, consistent with applicable state law, and exercised within the authority granted by the church's governing documents.

For a new pastor, preparing for an emergency is about more than having a disaster response plan. It means understanding the difference between pastoral authority and corporate authority, identifying who can act when circumstances demand immediate decisions, and ensuring the church's governing documents provide a clear path forward.

The time to determine who has authority during an emergency is before the emergency happens. A church that establishes those procedures in advance is better equipped to protect its ministers, ministry, and mission when unexpected circumstances arise.

Stepping into a new pastoral role often means seeing things you want to change. Policies may be outdated. Procedures may no longer work. Bylaws may contain requirements that made sense twenty years ago but create unnecessary obstacles today.

But recognizing that something needs to change and having the legal authority to change it are two very different things.

In Episode 2 of Church Counsel’s mini-series, “A New Pastor’s Legal Playbook,” we tackle an essential question for every new pastor: What can I change—and how do I legally change it?

Before changing anything, you first have to understand the church’s existing governing documents. What do the bylaws actually require? Who has authority to approve a change? Is congregational approval required? What notice must be given? Is there a quorum requirement? And what happens when the amendment process itself is part of the problem?

This episode introduces three different levels of authority churches should consider when structuring their governing documents: doctrinal, operational, and procedural. A church’s statement of faith should not necessarily be as easy to change as a children’s ministry safety policy. At the same time, churches should not make routine operational or urgent procedural changes so difficult that leadership cannot effectively respond when circumstances require action.

We also discuss one of the most important rules when updating church governance: you cannot amend your old bylaws by following the procedures you wish you had. You must first follow the amendment requirements that currently exist. Only then can the church establish a better framework for future decisions.

For a new pastor, effective leadership is not simply about knowing what needs to change. It is about understanding who has authority to make that change, following the proper process, and building a governance structure that makes important things difficult to change while allowing necessary things to change when they should.

Stepping into a new pastoral role means inheriting more than a congregation, staff, and Sunday schedule. You are also stepping into an existing organization—with bylaws, policies, leadership structures, and years of established practices.

In Episode 1 of Church Counsel’s new mini-series, “A New Pastor’s Legal Playbook,” we start with one of the most important things a pastor can do when arriving at a new church: understand how the church is actually governed.

Who has authority to make decisions? Is the church congregationally governed, pastor-led, elder-led, board-led, or some combination? What can the pastor change? What requires approval? And do the church’s actual practices match what its governing documents require?

These questions can seem administrative until the church faces major change, personnel decisions, financial issues, or disagreement over who actually has authority.

This episode discusses why new pastors should understand the church’s existing governance structure before trying to change it, why the church’s written documents need to match its actual practices, and how identifying these issues early can prevent significant leadership and legal problems later.

Throughout “A New Pastor’s Legal Playbook,” we’ll examine the legal and organizational issues pastors should understand when entering a new ministry—from governance and decision-making authority to emergency powers, liability, organizational change, and even the provisions governing a pastor’s own removal.

Before you can effectively lead an organization, you need to understand the organization you have been asked to lead.

One quick way to reduce your church’s liability is to make sure your church is incorporated as anon-profit corporation. Why does this matter? If your church is not a non-profit corporation, you are an unincorporated association. You may have been an unincorporated association for years and years. A good indication that your church is formed as an unincorporated association is if your church has a constitution and not by-laws. What this means is that if sued, and if there is not insurance coverage or enough insurance coverage, the liability for judgment is going to rest on the shoulders of all the members of the church (not the church itself), and they will have to pay the judgment. Those with the highest net worth may be the most at risk, because the judgment would be joint and several with all the members, and the member with the deepest pocket is the one who would be at the most risk. By incorporating your church, you limit the liability to only the assets of the church and thereby reduce the liability of the members of your church. 

As a church leader, you are pulled in many different directions. Sunday is always coming, there are meetings, counseling sessions, and lots of sheep in the flock that need to be led. With so many things to keep up with, its easy to ignore the things that are most important. Since the squeaky wheel gets the grease, what happens if the wheels are about to fall off but they don’t make a sound? The urgent is not always as critical as the important, and this is where church liability is located. It is most of the time not urgent, but one of the most important things that needs to be done.The fastest way you can find your church with real liability is to ignore the risks your church may have right now. This is why we have assembled these five quick wins that can drastically reduce your church’s liability quickly without you having to stop ministering but investing the time to keep your ministry safe.

Today, we will provide actionable tips on how to legally use music, images, videos, and other creative works in your ministry while respecting the rights of content creators. We'll also discuss practical steps to educate your church staff and volunteers on copyright matters, creating a culture of compliance and respect for intellectual property. This is a follow up to our last episode!

The Church Counsel Podcast is the essential podcast for pastors, worship leaders, and church media teams seeking to honor God and the work of artists while staying on the right side of the law. Subscribe now and join us on this enlightening journey toward a more informed, responsible, and copyright-compliant church community!

Welcome to The Church Counsel Podcast! Our show is hosted by seasoned attorney Travis Story and this episode aims to empower churches with the knowledge they need to avoid potential violations.

Today, we will  will provide actionable tips on how to legally use music, images, videos, and other creative works in your ministry while respecting the rights of content creators. We'll also discuss practical steps to educate your church staff and volunteers on copyright matters, creating a culture of compliance and respect for intellectual property.

The Church Counsel Podcast is the essential podcast for pastors, worship leaders, and church media teams seeking to honor God and the work of artists while staying on the right side of the law. Subscribe now and join us on this enlightening journey toward a more informed, responsible, and copyright-compliant church community!

One of the most overlooked rights and responsibilities of a church is something everyone sees all the time. One of the many jobs of your church or organization is communication, however, to do that well, you use images and branding in a way, which could cause copyright or trademark issues in the future. In todays episode we will break down the differences between copyright and trademarks and expound on the topic of intellectual property for your church or organization.

This podcast will explore the roles and responsibilities of officers in a church and a non profit board of directors. We will discuss the different types of officers, their roles and responsibilities, and how to ensure proper governance and oversight. We will also look at the different types of board members, such as members-at-large, executive directors, and other leaders, and how they help to shape the organization’s mission and vision. We will also discuss the importance of communication and collaboration between the board and officers of a church and a non profit. Through interviews and conversations with experienced professionals, we will provide listeners with insight into the complexities of managing a successful organization and how to ensure it is working towards its goals.

In this episode, Travis will discuss what types of service animals are allowed inside a church building. We will explore the different types of service animals, such as emotional support animals and guide dogs. We will discuss the relevant laws and regulations that pertain to service animals and churches. We will also provide some tips on how to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for service animals in churches. Tune in to learn what type of service animals are allowed in your church building.