I have a question to ask. How many pastors and the like realize that a church or ministry doesn't have to be a 501c3? I searched this out about 6 months ago. Just one of those random questions that came up on why do they do this and can it be avoided without penalties?
What I found was astounding. I will provide a link that will better suit any questions that may be raised as to the legitimacy of all this. http://www.hushmoney.org/
This site is the one I found during my research back in August of 08. It has lot's of information and facts on why churches don't need to be registered with the internal government agency.
My thought was, do most people give to the church just so they can get a "tax deduction" and really don't put any thought about the Lord in their efforts?
That's when I found all of this. I was astounded by what I read and checked it all out. It is legimate. It is not one of those way out there anti-government types of sites.
They present the historical evidence of how we got to where we are.
It seems that as the United States becomes more social that the question "what if" comes to mind.
What if we become fully socialist and the government will already have a foot hold in the church buildings. So essentially what you would have is government registered and run churches.
Everything is in place for that to happen.
Now I will say, I am not an end time zealot who worries about government issues etc.
No, but it is something we should be prepared to deal with as with all aspects of life.
I would ask you if you are reading this to talk with your leaders about this issue and show them the evidence. I feel it is just like other practices we have in our church systems that no one really knows the history of why, they just continue in the same direction that the previous generations brought into the body. While never questioning those practices.
4 comments:
First, I think you meant hushmoney.org rather than .com (which is a less than scrupulous site).
Second, you raise an interesting point. Clearly, we should give based on the purposes of our hearts - not on whether we get a tax break. In fact, our elders are in the midst of conversing about this very thing so I appreciate the link.
Thank you sir for the correction. I try to double check everything before I post and it is those dots..that get me.
I appreciate your imput on this subject.
The whole issue of where my heart was personally lead me to search this out. I want to be giving with a cheerful heart and not out of the tax deductions I can get.
Steven.
Indeed... Jesus said, "Give to Ceaser what is Ceaser's, and give to God what is God's..." Somehow we have engineered a way in which we believe we can do both at the same time... - Daniel
I came across that site too, but wasn't sure how legit the info was. Any time an organization (501c3 or otherwise) takes in money, the tax codes are so difficult to understand that you have to hire an accountant to keep everything in order at tax time!
A possible solution is having a "free" church that doesn't have a financial account or incorporation of any kind. But then suppose someone slips, falls, breaks their leg, and decides to sue you. They are not only able to seize your "church" assets, but also your personal ones. This is a tricky situation and I'm not sure that the answers are all as plain as some would like to believe.
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