Sobre la crisis economica.

Interesante artículo en Ingles sobre la reciente decisión de incrementar el "techo de la deuda". Siga este enlace.

http://www.issuesinperspective.com/2011/08/11-08-06-1

 Otro sobre la forma de evitar caer en fraudes en la “Bolsa de Valores” y como protegernos de esta crisis.

Ambos muy interesantes y recomendables.

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/turning-point/read/articles/security-fraudplaying-the-world-market-12035.html?utm_source=OneVoice&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=08/12/2011

Malpractice Lawsuits Against Pastors

Counseling has always been an important part of ministry
Counseling has always been an important part of Pastor Ned's ministry, so much so that he has made it a point to spend 10 to 12 hours per week practicing many forms of counseling. From premarital counseling and couple's counseling to just plain pastoral counseling, Pastor Ned has done it all, and fairly successfully he thought...until Edward came to his office that day in search of some answers to his trials and tribulations. Needing to offer some sort of solace and direction, Pastor Ned gleaned scriptural answers for Edward to the best of his ability, though he had to admit he felt a bit inadequate to advise in the financial capacity that Edward was seeking.

Edward in tough financial times

Edward was going through a very tough financial time now that his business had taken a downturn with the economy. The depletion of profits led to a painful and reluctant 65% staff reduction, the results of which could not seem to preserve his rapidly dwindling savings account. In an effort to recoup some of his losses, he began to contemplate an investment opportunity that could potentially double his investment in as little as four weeks. In search of an objective point of view, Edward sought out his pastor's advice. During their meeting he shared how his business had suffered the effects of the financial downturn in the economy and that sales were down over 60%. Pastor Ned, as usual, opened with prayer, listened very carefully and spoke very little. However, when Edward asked if Pastor Ned thought that the investment idea was solid, Pastor Ned's answer was that he did not see anything disturbing in the investment idea and that to the best of his knowledge many people had engaged in those types of investments. Edward took it as confirmation that he needed to go ahead and do it.

Six weeks later

To say Edward's investment went badly is an understatement. The entire investment was completely lost, and Edward's dwindling business nearly diminished right along with it. Having interpreted the time with his pastor as a word from the Lord, Edward now battled confusion about whether it had actually been God's will for him to engage in that particular investment in the attempt to save his company. As resentment over the failed investment set in, Edward began to feel anger towards God and his pastor and even considered a malpractice lawsuit against him, feeling he had rendered advice to Edward that was outside of his qualifications.

Malpractice lawsuit?

Does Edward have a case against his pastor? Can Pastor Ned be held liable for malpractice because he rendered advice outside of a religious nature? Historically, courts have rejected the notion that clergy can be held liable for advice or counseling they give that is religiously based. What that means is that a pastor should not fear being sued simply because his advice is unacceptable or displeasing. Moreover, there are times when in a counseling session certain behaviors or lifestyles are condemned as sinful and it causes the recipient of the counseling session to feel great discomfort. When done in his/her capacity as clergy and within a religious context, courts will not accept the validity of a claim for clergy malpractice.
In Bladen v. First Presbyterian Church, the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a claim made against a pastor, stating, "Once a court enters the realm of trying to define the nature of advice a minister should give a parishioner, serious First Amendment issues are implicated,"
In a Utah case the State Supreme Court ruled that to " . . . embroil the courts in establishing the training, skill and standards applicable for members of the clergy . . . is as impossible as it is unconstitutional."

What if the person commits suicide?

How about a pastor of an independent church who's only training is his local ordination? What if he/she is counseling someone who is depressed and considering suicide? What if the minister feels that he/she can walk them through it and does not refer it out to a licensed professional and the person commits suicide? The California Supreme Court ruled on such a case when 24-year-old Kenneth Nally committed suicide. He was being counseled by four of the church's pastors. Nally's mother claimed that the pastors should have referred him to a licensed professional and that the pastors lacked sufficient training to counsel him. The court rejected her claim stating that it is " . . . inappropriate to impose a duty to refer-which may stifle all gratuitous or religious counseling." Please see "do's and don'ts of counseling" below for my opinion on referring out cases.

What about non-religious counseling/advice?

Do certain crossable lines exist in counseling that is outside of a religious context? Over the last decade an increasing number of pastors have engaged in business outside of the church and have used their positions to give financial or business advice. In many cases, pastors have allowed multi-level marketing companies or individuals involved in such businesses to recruit church members into the business. While the pastor's intentions are good, this can lead to trouble, not to mention the distraction it causes. The fact is, in today's litigious society an individual can claim breech of fiduciary duty because the pastor used his/her position of authority for personal gain. Another claim is that the pastor did not exercise his/her duty to protect by allowing individuals to prey upon the flock and thus bringing financial disaster to them. While these claims may be novel, what prevents an individual from bringing them? The courts have long held that religious counseling is outside the scope of malpractice suits, but these are claims that have yet to be tested. Who wants to be first?

Do's and don'ts of counseling

When engaging in counseling there are some definite do's and don'ts that need to be followed. They are listed below.
When counseling always do the following:
1. Counsel within a scriptural context: Always stay within a scriptural context when rendering advice or any type of counseling? When asked for financial advice, be sure that you base your advice on Scripture and that you make it clear that you do so as a minister.
2. Report child abuse: Many states require clergy to report to proper officials knowledge of child abuse, which includes a child reporting it to the minister.
3. Take notes: Keeping notes is the best way to ensure a record that protects you and the church. It also allows you to better remember counseling sessions that may have happened years ago.
When counseling never do the following:
1. Refer a case out to a specific individual: This may sound strange, but many pastors have referred extreme cases out to licensed professionals for fear that they may get sued for violating the "standards of care" that apply to licensed professionals. Keep in mind that courts have consistently ruled against those claims. On the contrary, it is possible that if a minister refers a case out to a specific licensed professional, and the counselee gets worse, that a case may be made to hold the minister liable for the referral made.
2. Counsel outside a religious context: Many pastors often feel that they need to be "answers people." Never engage in rendering advice that is outside of a religious context. Whether it is financial, business, retirement or other areas, make sure you base it on a scriptural standard.
3. Disclose any information: I have seen instances where a pastor shares personally with his pastoral staff some of the information he gleans from a member during a counseling session. While this may at times be appropriate to better help the church member, it should not be done without his/her permission. Moreover, what if the staff member shares it with someone else? This could bring an invasion of privacy, defamation and other claims.

Interesting world

It certainly is an interesting world. It was not until the 1980's that church lawsuits began. Now it is very popular. Many in America have lost the fear of God and have no problem suing their church or pastor if they feel it is in their own personal best interest. Do not let this discourage you from ministry. Whatever temporal suffering we go though in this lifetime could never compare with a life of eternal glory before The Great King.

Not Just Tithes and Offerings But Also Ecclesiastical Entrepreneurism

Over three years ago, I engaged in a six-month study of the economy that God established for Israel and how the priesthood would prosper.  In the book of Numbers, chapter 18, shortly after setting aside Levi and his sons as the leaders of the priesthood, God gave them duties and by the very performance of those duties they received their provision from the Lord.  However, just before Israel entered the Promised Land God prescribed a new plan of provision.  In Numbers 35 God commanded that forty-eight cities be apportioned to the Levites from among the eleven tribes.  Each city was to have pasturelands that surrounded it.  It is here that we find how the priesthood would not just survive but prosper.   Because they would receive a tithe of the animals and of the grain, it was the priests' responsibility to take that tithe and multiply it on their pasturelands.  It was their way of investing a portion of what was given to them and making it grow.

97% of church money is spent on administrative costs

In today's church environment over 97% of tithes and offerings collected are spent in administrative costs such as salaries and building facilities, and the other 3% usually goes into a savings or low yield CD of some sort.  I am not seeing churches embrace the concept of ecclesiastical entrepreneurism.  It is what the Levites embraced.  And they grew not just in numbers but also in wealth.  The idea behind ecclesiastical entrepreneurism is that a church stewards what has been given to it in the same way that the Levites did.  This concept is found in the Old Testament and also in the New Testament in Matthew 25:14-30.  In this passage three men were each given certain amounts of wealth to manage.  After an unknown period of time, each was called to account for their returns on investment; the only one with which the king was upset was the one who did not multiply it.
Chances are, at the very moment you are reading this article, the dream and vision in your heart is much bigger than your finances.  It is a most common struggle in American ministry today!  Yet, there is an answer that lies closer to you than what you may think:  ecclesiastical entrepreneurism-a concept I would like to develop in the mind of each and every single pastor and Christian leader in America.  Let me give some examples:
Example 1:  Pastor Tom loves to preach every Sunday using illustrations that involve a multimedia experience, whether music and video, PowerPoint, Bible verses on screen, or sermon notes being distributed.  He is able to that because his church uses the services of a video/multimedia company.  Every week Pastor Tom gets the invoice from this company and it is $0.00.  Why is it FREE?  Well, that is because his church owns 100% of the issued shares of the business.  Wow!  Amazing!  It's a real for profit business that the church owns.  In addition, the business pays the church a quarterly dividend of around $12,000.00.  Those dividends are tax free to the church.
Example 2:  When Christian Outreach Church moved into a new facility, they had to hire a cleaning company.  At first, they paid around $1,450.00 per month to keep the church facilities clean and the bathrooms stocked.  Now they don't pay anything!  It's free.  Why?  Because the pastor decided that the church would start a cleaning company, as a church owned business.   The pastor, and church board, appointed a young, energetic couple from the church as the new part-time, and mostly volunteer, CEO and CFO.  With the money that the company received when the church purchased its shares, it was able to print business cards and to purchase minimal cleaning and maintenance equipment.  The church was its first client.  Instead of the church paying the other company, it paid its newly owned business.   Soon the funds in the business began to grow.  The church owned business began to buy new equipment and extend its customer base.  Within two years it was cleaning movie theatres, office buildings and high-end homes.  Now the church gets all of its cleaning for free and enjoys occasional dividends. The young couple now works full time for the company, which has 13 employees, many of which are members of the church.

Opportunity surrounds you

Business opportunities come to your ministry more often than you think.  When you embrace ecclesiastical entrepreneurism as a God-thing, you begin to find that many of the areas of need in your church are the areas where for profit businesses owned by the church will be the solution.   Think of it this way!  If you have to pay for something, why not just pay yourself?  Let me explain.
There are certain costs you will run into on a regular basis that result from ministry vision and growth.  These costs often times force you to scale back.  What if you confront these costs by forming companies that provide your ministry with needed services, and at a cheaper price than the competition?  With the ministry as a client, the business can produce income and continue to expand until it is sustainable even while offering its services to the ministry at no charge.  Here are three things to consider when starting a church owned business:
1.     Rely on the talents of church members:  There are many responsible individuals who would jump at the opportunity to spearhead business ventures for the church.  This gives them a chance to get involved in the ministry and make something out of nothing.
2.      Your best volunteers may become the best entrepreneurs:  One thing that churches and ministries learn quickly when deciding whom to hire is that the best volunteers make the best employees.  The opposite also true, bad volunteers make bad employees regardless of their talent.  When considering who should lead a for profit concern, you must find a leader who is a good volunteer and equally talented.
3.    Seek business opportunities that require minimal investment:  The phrase that says, "it takes money to make money" is not true.  In today's world, there are literally thousands of business opportunities that require little to no money to become successful.  Seek those out first.  Make it a part of your daily routine in prayer to ask the Lord to open your eyes and awaken your mind to the countless opportunities that exist. 

You are called to ecclesiastical entrepreneurism

Your call to lead a ministry requires that you steward the finances and find ways to increase them.  In the parable of the talents, we find that two of the men given talents actually put them to work.  Though the Scripture never tells us if or how the master instructed them regarding what methods to use, it does clearly state they were required to multiply the finances, and that they did so immediately.  Likewise, as you properly use the finances in your ministry, you will find opportunities to multiply them, and your success will attract more success.  One thing is for sure, people flock to glean wisdom and understanding from those who know how to do something well.  That open door greatly increases your opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ.  As increased authority, stewardship and overflow become permanent residents in your ministry, you will truly get to know that good stewardship is very rewarding.

No Minutes? Then No Board Meeting!

Does Your Ministry Keep Minutes?

I recently had a conversation with an administrator who had just joined the staff of his church.  He mentioned that in the three months he had been there, he had found no trace of any board meeting records for the last decade.  He asked what could happen if he could not find any minutes.  My reply was simple:  A board meeting without minutes is merely fellowship.  When a church has a board meeting, it MUST be documented.  Minutes must be taken and properly formatted.  The minutes are documented discussions and decisions made by the board of directors.  Those minutes must also be read by each board member and approved by a vote of the board.  If the board got together and had a board meeting without minutes, the board simply had a time of fellowship.

What if my board members live in different cities or states?

If your church started out with board members living in different states, you understand the difficulties in gathering for a meeting.  The answer to this dilemma lies in your bylaws.  What your bylaws state about board meeting minutes can make or break you.  Every church, ministry, and any other type of nonprofit should include language in their bylaws that allow for board meetings to take place through electronic means.  State laws make provisions for this, so why not have clauses within your bylaws that allow for electronic means of attendance at a board meeting and unanimous written consent by email?  These provisions allow board members that live in other states to participate as if they were physically at the meetings.

Different types of board meetings

The laws of all 50 states clearly require that, at a minimum, one board meeting take place and that minutes be taken to document the decisions made. This meeting is called the annual meeting of the directors.  In this meeting, you discuss salaries, policies and procedures, housing allowances, retirement programs, insurance, financial reports, and a myriad of other items.  This is often known as the big board meeting of the year.

The other type of board meeting is known as a special board meeting.  This type of meeting takes place throughout the year in between annual meetings of the directors.  It is to discuss plans and things that are important enough that they cannot wait for the annual meeting.  Below are some things that come up during the year that require special board meetings.   

1. Building repairs
2. Hiring an employee
3. Major purchases such as real estate and automobiles
4. Loans
5. Resignations
6. Member disputes
7. Amendments to legal foundation (bylaws, articles of incorporation, ordination programs, etc.)
8. Adopting new policies
9. Adding or removing a board member
10. Discipline of church member

How to Keep Minutes

Below is a quick checklist of how to properly schedule a board meeting and how to keep meeting minutes.  Our resource, titled Corporate Records Kit , will teach you step-by-step how to maintain board meeting minutes along with all of your other corporate records, including the corporate seal.

1. Create an agenda and properly format it with the call to order, reading of previous minutes, new business, old business, etc.
2. Send out the notice of a board meeting to each board member, giving sufficient time as required by your state's law.
3. Create an attendance list and use it to keep attendance of those present and those absent.
4. Keep detailed notes of the discussions and decisions using a form based on the agenda (StartCHURCH provides that form in the Corporate Records Kit).
5. Use the notes to create the actual minutes using the format we recommend in our Corporate Records Kit.
6. Send a copy to each board member.
7. At the next board meeting, ratify the copy of the minutes you sent to each board member.

Minutes and Corporate Records

What good will board meetings be if the minutes do not appear in the corporate records?  Section 16.01(a), The model corporation of 1987, states that "A corporation shall keep as permanent records minutes of all meetings . . ." It also states that the corporation shall keep the following records in the office of the church or ministry:

1. Articles, or restated articles, of incorporation and all amendments to them currently in effect;
2. Bylaws, or restated bylaws, and all amendments to them currently in effect;
3. Resolutions adopted by its board of directors relating to the characteristics, qualifications, rights, limitations and obligations of members, or any class or category of members;
4. Minutes of all meetings of members and records of all actions approved by the members for the past three years;
5. All written communications to members, generally within the past three years, including the financial statements furnished for the past three years;
6. A list of the names and business, or home, addresses of its current directors and officers;
7. Its most recent annual report delivered to the secretary of state.

Final Thoughts

A federal Court in Washington ruled that a church did not have a valid board of directors because minutes were never taken to document the election or appointment of the actual board members.  Failure to keep minutes allows for a court to pierce the corporate veil.  Additionally, in an audit, the only proof you have to show that your ministry operates in a manner consistent with your purpose, bylaws and section 501(c)(3), is well documented board meeting minutes.   Failure to keep minutes may cause you significant grief.