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Safeguarding Your Ministry: Legal Strategies to Protect Against Discrimination

Navigate the legal implications of same-sex marriage and sexual orientation laws to safeguard your ministry. Learn key preparation strategies and policies to uphold your beliefs while complying with regulations in the current legal landscape.

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Safeguarding Your Ministry: Legal Strategies to Protect Against Discrimination

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  1. Protecting Your Ministry Thomas S. Brandon, Jr., Esq. Whitaker Chalk Swindle & Schwartz, PLLC 301 Commerce St., Ste. 3500 Fort Worth, TX 76102 (817) 878-0532

  2. The Current Legal Landscape: Same-Sex Marriage

  3. The Current Legal Landscape: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity Laws Sexual orientation, gender identity laws (“SOGIs”) make it • illegal • for businesses or public places • to treat people differently (“discriminate”) • based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

  4. Barronelle Stutzman

  5. Donald & Evelyn Knapp

  6. SOGIs Nationwide

  7. Litigation Progression

  8. The Church’s Response:Preparation

  9. Strategies to Protect Your Church Statement on Marriage/Gender Religious Employment Criteria Facility Use Policy Formal Membership Policy Marriage Policy

  10. (1) Statement on Marriage/Gender We believe that … God created marriage to be exclusively the union of one man and one woman, and that intimate sexual activity is to occur exclusively within this union. God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as either male or female, and that these two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God.

  11. (2) Religious Employment Criteria Require all employees to sign statement of faith Establish religious job descriptions

  12. (3) Facility Use Policy Identify the religious purpose of the building & restrict facility use to those acting consistent with your beliefs Detailed application/approval process Facility use guidelines Fee

  13. (4) Formal Membership Policy Procedures for becoming a church member Procedures for church member discipline Procedures for disassociating from church membership

  14. (5) Marriage Policy Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman, and Himself, [the church] will only recognize marriages between a biological man and a biological woman….

  15. The Church’s Response:Rebuilding a Marriage Culture

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