Our pastors certainly need our prayers, especially those that barely make enough to support their families. Here is a message many of us received from our pastor regarding exactly what you're talking about, Solo. I submitted this for prayer here on this forum back on 12 March:
Court Case Affecting Religious Workers
The following letter was written by my senior pastor, Rick Warren, Saddleback Church. All pastors, priests, rabbis, missionaries and religious workers of small churches will be affected if the opposition has its way. The following will explain in more detail. Your treasured prayers are needed!
COURT CASE AFFECTING RELIGIOUS WORKERS
March 11, 2002
Dear Church Family,
In the days ahead, you may hear my name in the media connected to an important court case so I wanted to give you some background. I won't bore you with all the technical details, but I want you to know my motivation if anyone asks about it.
I've always had a heart for pastors of small churches. I publish a free weekly training newsletter that serves tens of thousands of pastors around the world. I dedicated my book, The Purpose Driven Church, to bi-vocational pastors, who serve with little or no salary. My father and Kay's father were pastors of small churches, and we both spent time living in a "parsonage"
growing up. A parsonage is a home, often next door to the church, provided tax free by the church for its pastor or priest. In 1929 Congress amended the tax code to allow clergy who were renting or purchasing a home this same benefit, known as a "parsonage allowance."
In 1996, I was talking with my tax preparer, who has filed returns for over 11,000 ministers in America. During a routine audit of our personal tax return, he explained to me that from his perspective, the IRS was unfairly
hurting thousands of pastors, particularly those in small churches. When he said "The IRS has been bullying pastors on this issue for years," I decided that I should be the one to champion this cause for all ministers. Fully aware that it would cost me a lot of time and money, I intentionally challenged the IRS in a court case to get this vague, unfair ruling changed.
Over the years, as the legal costs mounted, the IRS offered to settle with me if I'd drop the court case. They did not want their vague standard challenged, but Kay and I refused. My explanation was, "I'm fighting this battle for every minister and church worker in America. These ministers deserve a fair court ruling."
Finally, on May 16, 2000, we got that ruling. The United States Tax Court gave us, in Warren vs. Commissioner, a stunning victory. We didn't just win by a small margin; the 17 judges ruled 14 to 3 in our favor. They agreed
with every single point we made in the case. It was a four- year battle, but the court decided that the IRS had clearly misinterpreted the law as enacted by Congress. This case was reported in numerous legal publications
as a major victory for every minister in America.
But last week, the case was resurrected with a totally different twist. On Tuesday, March 5, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, questioned the "constitutionality" of the parsonage allowance, which has been a law for nearly 75 years.
What is amazing is that no one, not even the IRS, had raised this question. In fact, both the IRS and the Justice Department filed briefs backing my position that the parsonage law is constitutional. But Judge Reinhardt, and another judge, ignored their opinions, as well as the opinion of a 3rd judge on the panel, and appointed Erwin Chermerinsky, a USC law professor,
to write an opposing opinion.
If Judge Reinhardt throws out this 73 year old law, it will have a devastating effect on all churches and pastors, missionaries, ministers, priests, rabbis, and religious workers in America. The parsonage allowance is the only way many small churches can afford a pastor, and it's the only way many ministers are able to survive on a meager salary. The loss of it would close an untold
number of small churches in small towns across America.
Judge Reinhardt will likely declare the parsonage law unconstitutional in the next few months. If that happens, a coalition of Christian ministries and churches will undoubtedly take this issue to the Supreme Court. While my name is attached to the first case (which we won), the issue has been morphed by Judge Reinhardt into a constitutionality issue and is not really about the rule I challenged anymore. However, it is still a battle that will affect all churches.
We will not be surprised when anti-religious groups and the secular media try to "spin" this issue with false headlines and personal accusations. I knew when I chose to champion this cause for ministers that it would
attract criticism, but the truth is, fourteen Tax Court judges ruled that we were right in challenging the IRS, agreeing with us on every single point in the case.
While I won the first case for ministers, others will now take up this new cause while I'm finishing The Purpose Driven Life book. In closing, I ask you to pray for 2 things: 1) Pray that what others have intended to harm God's people, God will use for good. (Gen. 50:20) 2) Pray for those who will represent this case on the behalf of all the churches in America.
Thanks. I love you all.
Pastor Rick
