William Thornton

That's what is being reported by numerous sources - here, here, here. Excerpt from WaPo: The Republicans’ bill would make it legal for ministers and other religious leaders to endorse candidates from the pulpit but stops short of allowing other political participation such as financial contributions from churches to campaigns. The bill stipulates that a religious institution wouldn’t be found to have violated the law “solely because of the content of any homily, sermon, teaching, dialectic, or other presentation made during religious services or gatherings.” That’s the protection that … [Read more...] about Tax bill would allow churches to endorse candidates?

Suppose, beloved pastor, you wanted to know how much money your church had on hand today. How would you find out? You could ask the financial secretary and she would give you a number but how do you know this is accurate? (Hint: You don't). You could find the latest financial report given to the church but this might not be current and, besides, the figure might not be correct. You could call the bank if you are an authorized church person and they would tell you. While this would answer the question, you might not on the bank's list of approved persons to whom they may release … [Read more...] about How much money does your church have in the bank? Today.

In sorting out some of my material I ran across a folder with the April 26, 1912, local paper, The Athens Banner. The Titanic had just sunk. My parents had not been born. The last member of my family who served in the Civil War had died three years earlier and numerous other CSA veterans had died a decade or two earlier. Almost all of these veterans' children and grandchildren were alive, including my two grandfathers. Their grandparents (and in one case, a parent) were the CSA veterans. The issue of the Banner was a special Confederate Memorial Day edition which contained a number of articles … [Read more...] about A bit of the Lost Cause and monuments

Doesn't take much to stir me up these days. Consider these. Who will be the first brave pastor who bans service dogs from his church service? I see these dogs around and read about them being everywhere - airplanes, businesses, schools - you name it. Now, I'm seeing one at church for worship. The cute mutt isn't a problem so far as I know, and I'm sympathetic to the human handler. I don't know if the dog is in training or is for the emotional well being of the handler. I do know that I really don't care to worship with dogs. Perhaps someone will enlighten me. There are people who have pet … [Read more...] about Pent up irascibility

So the NAMB announcement was reported by SBC This Week. NAMB President Kevin Ezell announced today that this year's AAEO was the highest on record at a whopping $59.6 million. This total eclipses the previous record of $59,463,281 given in 2007 as well as the 2016 amount of $58,860,553. This is one thing happening around the SBC. I would have predicted a slight decline. All SBC entities have their critics but this offering is a measure of support for NAMB's work. Glad to see it. _____ (not to distract from other topics here) … [Read more...] about Record Annie Armstrong offering

Guarranteed to stir the clergy masses into paroxisms of righteous indignation would be if congress, as a part of a comprehensive tax reform, attempted to make changes to our Sacred Clergy Tax Break, the minister's housing allowance. It's a little early to speculate but, as pundits are want to do, there is speculation afoot: Tax Breaks Could Kill Tax Reform There are special tax breaks for ministers and veterans and life insurance companies and blind people and gamblers. If you're robbed or you have huge medical bills or you're in a shipwreck or you ride your bike to work, you get a tax … [Read more...] about Will (should) tax reform reform the clergy housing allowance?

There are others who know more. I'll link their stuff as I see it. Basic facts: The Freedom From Religion Foundation is suing over this question: The question in this case is whether Congress may give a subset of religious employees an income tax exemption for which no one else qualifies. At issue is the constitutionality of  26 U.S.C. § 107(2), which excludes from the gross income of a “minister of the gospel” a “rental allowance paid to him as part of his compensation.” The suit is aimed at the "cash" housing allowance. That is, those who receive part of their paycheck designated as … [Read more...] about Simple evaluation of the ruling that the housing allowance is unconstitutional

This was expected. Same court. Same judge. Too late for me to slog through the decision tonight. I'll let some GuideStone and ERLC people on the payroll do that. ...and have a nice weekend.   … [Read more...] about Housing allowance struck down by federal judge, again

*******'s mother told the AJC they had attempted suicide two years ago and had battled depression for most of their life. This line from a story in my local paper about a sad case, and this is the media phrase for it, of "suicide by cop." An individual was in a confrontation with campus police in which the individual was shot and killed by police. It was national news and you probably read about it. The quote above may logically lead the reader to think that perhaps the mother and father had jointly attempted suicide, or maybe there was a Romeo and Juliette, forlorn, forbidden love … [Read more...] about The strange world of gender