1.
True Authority
2.
Commitment To Christian Ministries
3.
Complete Solution
4.
All Reasonable Costs
Disclosed Up Front
5.
An
Excellent Guarantee
1. True Authority:
In selecting a book/resource or lawyer/consultant to
help you start a church, always look for
True Authority.
True Authority is essentially the
Competence and
Expertise one
derives from
Education,
Training, Research, Experience and an
Ongoing Commitment
to a ministry of starting, advising and protecting
churches.
You'll find that most books/resources that purport
to help you start a church are based on
no authority at
all. Lawyers and consultants are often generic -
involved in too many diverse activities to
authoritatively serve Christian ministries.
Would you
hire
(1) a college engineering student to help you build
a bridge, (2) a paralegal to try your complex
business claim, or (3) a store clerk to start up your
new
business?
There is an appropriate professional for nearly
every task you need to accomplish. Ministers and church administrators
have their specific roles, which have little or
nothing to
do with handling the complex legal, business and
ecclesiastical (not the same as ministry/outreach) aspects of
starting a church.
I've
worked closely with hundreds of ministers and church
administrators who were bright, capable individuals. But
they had a job to do. They did not have time to get the
necessary education, training or experience to handle
all the
specific issues of law, religion and business for
the purpose of starting churches.
They
knew ministry and administration, and small matters to
support the starting of churches. But they knew
little about tax exemptions, nonprofit or corporate
matters, board training, ecclesiastical
structures, models of authority, risk management
frameworks, or church law in general.
Had they tried to develop the skills and
qualifications to excellently and fully accomplish a
church start-up, they would not have been
effective ministers or administrators.
In short, most ministers and church
administrators may know something about the
subject matter and are probably well-intentioned. But in all likelihood,
they fall short of what
it takes to competently and responsibly handle all the
most important tasks.
Of particular concern are
books/resources that appear to have
been written by "hired
hands."
Does anyone really believe that
church-starting books/resources, written by generic
lawyers whose convictions you know
nothing about, should
have the stamp of authority?
Think twice before
using a book or service
to start a church, from someone without the credentials to write or
accomplish it with True
Authority.
The
legal and business
aspects of starting a church are based on ever-changing
local, state and federal laws, regulations, standards and
practices that can profoundly impact your church. And
the process of starting a church
requires a complex mix of skills and experiences.
The level of ability that is required to start a church
demands a professional who is committed to
starting and serving churches day in and
day out, on an ongoing basis. It cannot simply be an
automated internet business.
In
choosing a book/resource or lawyer/consultant to use
in starting a church, here's
what you should do:
Look for the
writer/provider's credentials and
expect them to be disclosed up front.
More importantly,
expect
the resources or services provided to be in line with that person's
education, training, experience, expertise and ongoing
commitment to serving churches.
Don't just take 1,000
testimonials as proof of competence and expertise.
People often receive something of value for a
testimonial, which is helpful to them if they can no
longer return the book or resource.
Your church startup is much too valuable to put in just
anyone's hands. You should rely only on books/resources
or lawyers/consultants whom you determine have
True Authority.
If you're not convinced that it's present in a
book/resource or lawyer/consultant you're
considering, keep looking.
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2.
Commitment To Christian Ministries:
You'll find that many providers are not committed to
serving primarily Christian ministries. Some mostly
serve generic nonprofits.
Many are willing to start almost any kind of
nonprofit organization, even those whose goals may
offend Christian values.
But, as you know... if you don't stand for
something, you fall for everything.
Some providers are willing to start any kind of
religious organization, including Eastern, mystic
and fringe groups. Some have a separate website for
each type of religious organization they cater to.
Does that sound like a commitment to serving the
needs of Christian ministries?
With respect to books or resources, too many were
written by "hired hands" and are largely dated.
In fact, most vendors
of church-starting resources have
no verifiable ongoing
commitment to starting, advising or protecting
churches... other than selling their products on the
internet.
In
my opinion, anyone who does not serve Christian
ministries above all other types of organizations,
provides them services mostly as a matter of
business. Of greater concern is the fact that
their lack
of commitment means they don't have the level of
understanding and skill-refinement which are
essential to competently serve churches.
In
choosing a book/resource or lawyer/consultant to
use in starting a church, make sure they don't cater
to all comers, while pretending to know the needs of
Christian ministries. Also, make sure you are not
relying on a book that was written
some time ago probably by a "hired hand," and sold
by someone who merely runs an automated internet
business.
Remember, anyone you allow to influence your church
start-up should not only be unabashedly
pro-Christian and pro-church, but must also be
committed to serving your unique needs as a Disciple
of Jesus Christ, each and every day.
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3. Complete Solution:
In researching options on the internet for just 15
minutes, you'll find an alarming breadth of books/resources
and legal/consulting services provided by all kinds
of people. Some
providers
sell only “ordination certificates.” Others
sell a series of pricy, non-authoritative
booklets.
Some
only incorporate. Others only file IRS forms. Some
do both, but not much else. The problem is that none
of those vendors provides a truly complete church starting
solution in one book or resource.
Lawyers and consultants similarly ignore
the most important tasks that are essential for
protecting churches into the future. Why is it that
no one seems to provide a complete church-starting
solution for Christian ministries? I believe the
reasons are many.
First, I believe
most providers
lack the education, training, experience and expertise
regarding the unique needs of Christian ministries.
They lack an ongoing commitment to starting,
advising, protecting or serving churches in any
meaningful way. Which of course means they are not aware of
and lack
understanding about the most important
tasks in starting Christian ministries.
Second, many
providers are busy starting mostly secular nonprofits and other
kinds of religious organizations. Because of their
"jack-of-all-religions" approach, they limit what they can
do for Christian ministries.
Third, many providers are essentially businessmen
who make business judgments to limit services to churches
because they have to spread themselves thin over a
diverse group of clients. Obviously lacking a
ministry focus, these
providers are little more than automated
internet businesses.
Fourth, even for providers who seem more geared toward churches, their
research and preparation falls woefully short. They've never
served churches by starting, advising and protecting
them at such an extraordinary level of responsibility.
So, obviously they simply don't know what they're doing.
Fifth, nearly all providers lack the ongoing
commitment to serving Christian ministries day in
and day out. They don't maintain a rigorous schedule
of daily research. They don't communicate daily with
other ministries. And they aren't personally
involved in starting churches. They've put their
businesses on autopilot and probably don't think
much beyond their daily online revenues.
Sixth, some providers are simply out of their
league. They mean well. But have never served in
capacities beyond the pastoral ministry, or simple
administration.
In short, most providers
cannot give you a complete
solution because they just don't know
what it really takes to do that.
In
choosing a book/resource or lawyer/consultant to
use in starting a church, remember that you need a
complete solution. You shouldn't have to pay
over and over for bits and pieces here and there.
And you shouldn't end up with an incomplete
solution.
A complete, effective solution by someone with the
experience and expertise to provide it will not
necessarily be the "cheapest" solution.
So, you may wonder if you can afford a complete
solution. But when your goal is to help build God's
church - often called the most important institution
in the history of mankind - can
you afford not to?
The bottom line is that you need
a complete solution. If you don't see it in front of
you, keep looking.
Of what use is an incomplete
solution to you?
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4.
All Reasonable Costs Disclosed Up Front:
Some providers, particularly the
lawyers/consultants, fail to clearly disclose all
costs associated with their services up front.
Some state a low fee for which they provide very limited
services. Some charge
additional time at an hourly rate, say $200 to $300 per hour. But they
make no commitment to limit the fees they will bill
you for.
Some providers offer services for which they
overcharge, separately charge or just don’t disclose
what they charge. Others offer limited products or
resources for various prices.
Some who cannot offer important services
promise to
refer you to a friend who is known to handle certain
tasks, such as 501c3 tax exemption applications.
They warn to be prepared to give a "love offering."
Some providers simply don't say exactly what they'll do or what
they charge.
Then, there's the provider who
breaks up all the tasks into separate,
non-authoritative, individually-priced booklets. The
purpose of this tactic is to exact as much of your
ministry funding as possible, while making you feel
that unless you buy every booklet, you'll be left
without a complete solution. In fact, you are then required to buy the booklets all
over again any time you want to start another
church.
This is all nonsense. The only purpose for the smoke
and mirrors is to create the opportunity to charge
you as much as you can possibly pay.
In
choosing a book/resource or lawyer/consultant to use
in starting a church, remember this very important
rule:
Any provider who truly
knows what they're doing and can offer you a
Complete Solution, should know exactly what you need
and exactly what it should cost you.
Then, those fees or costs should be disclosed up
front and fully honored. If you don't find this to
be the case, keep looking.
It's very
rare that you don't end up paying more than you
planned to when you don't know all the fees and
costs up front.
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5. An
Excellent Guarantee:
Anyone with the
experience and expertise to write an excellent book
about starting a church should be willing to stand
behind it 100%. By law, you already have an automatic
30-Day money back guarantee when you buy online. So,
it’s nothing special when a vendor offers this guarantee
as though they’re doing you a favor.
Few,
if any, vendors will offer a 60 or 90 day guarantee. But
think about it. Is a 2 or 3 month period really enough
time to determine if that resource is what you need? Not
when you’re starting a church.
It takes time to
incorporate, find a qualified board of directors, draft
and adopt bylaws and a constitution, have meetings, complete a 501c3
application and wait for an IRS response, hire ministry
personnel, assist them in filing tax returns, claim
state tax-exemptions, train staff, etc.
Because of the length of time and the many tasks involved, you
can’t possibly evaluate the usefulness of a
church-starting resource in less than 9 to 12 months.
Some vendors give many excuses for not offering
more then 30 or 60 days. But remember, they’re only
excuses. You should expect no less than a 9 month, and
preferably a 12 month, no-questions-asked, money-back
guarantee. Do not settle for less.
Similarly, lawyers and consultants should offer to absorb all
fees, penalties, assessments or costs associated
with any errors or omissions. To err is human. It
can and will happen. But a lawyers/consultants
errors should not be charged to you.
The guarantee should further involve your personal satisfaction with all aspects of the
representation.
Since lawyers' and consultants' services are based
on time, it does not have to be, and most likely will not
be, a money-back guarantee.
But the guarantee should involve a commitment to
continue working at no additional cost to you, until
all promised tasks are completed to your
satisfaction, and all forms, documents and
applications that require approval by outside
agencies, are fully approved.
In
choosing any book/resource or lawyer/consultant to
use in starting a church, look for an excellent
guarantee that will not leave you high and dry
should an error occur, or if you're less than fully satisfied with the
product or services you paid for.
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