Missives

Thank Offering 2021: Christian Law Assoc.

By Bro. Vince Kluth
A ministry we support through our annual Thank offering is the Christian Law Association (CLA), where Dr. David Gibbs, Jr. and other attorneys labor on behalf of our church and many others. They provide free legal services unique to Christian churches. CLA was helpful to us this year with timely legal guidelines concerning vaccine exemptions.

A ministry we support through our annual Thank offering is the Christian Law Association (CLA), where Dr. David Gibbs, Jr. and other attorneys labor on behalf of our church and many others.  They provide free legal services unique to Christian churches. CLA was helpful to us this year with timely legal guidelines concerning vaccine exemptions.

 

CLA’s founder and President wrote that “[over] 40 years ago, the ministry of the Christian Law Association effectively began with a phone call from a pastor in Ohio. As a young attorney, David C. Gibbs, Jr. could hardly believe his ears as the pastor relayed how his church was being sued by the state for operating its ministry. When he reviewed the legal documents, Dr. Gibbs was astonished that such a thing could happen in modern America. From that very first case through the present day, God has blessed Dr. Gibbs’s commitment to legally help churches, pastors, and Christians free of charge. The ministry has grown substantially through God’s blessing over the last 40 years as attorneys, legal assistants, and other ministry workers have joined our team of ‘legal missionaries.’”

 

I have been impressed with CLA’s responsiveness to our inquiries posted using either the phone, their website (www.christianLaw.org) or email (info@christianLaw.org). Their combined experience brings over 500 years of documented legal challenges to churches, offering real-world glimpses into how the devil attacks both God’s sheep and the shepherds in ways you wouldn’t dream of.  Samplings of such are published monthly in their colorful flyer, The Legal Alert

 

Their website’s About Us page states, “Since 1969, CLA has been providing free legal assistance to Bible-believing churches and Christians who are having trouble in practicing their religious faith because of governmental regulation, intrusion, or prohibition in one form or another.  CLA receives more than 100,000 phone calls annually [and] thousands of pieces of correspondence. … These cases involve Christians arrested for witnessing to others in public, public school students being told they do not have the right to read their Bibles at school, churches being excluded from communities, Christians being fired for sharing their faith at work, and thousands of other shocking assaults on our religious freedoms.”

 

As we’ve all seen, government overreach due to the pandemic brought many churches into legal grey zones, and CLA truly helped in these situations.  They note, “The Christian Law Association has received hundreds of calls each day concerning the right of churches to hold their services across America. We have legally dealt with a large number of state officials concerning their shutdown of church services because they have declared that church services are ‘non-essential.’  We vehemently disagree with this position. Church services are always essential, and at a time when this virus is ravaging America, even more so.”

 

They continue, “Many of the authorities we have dealt with, including Riverside County, CA, have changed their shutdown position for [worship on] Sundays, and for that we are truly thankful to the Lord for His grace and help. … Some churches are facing very critical legal complications including authorities giving church attendees citations of a criminal nature for showing up at church. Pastors and leadership have been threatened with arrest.”

 

Their request isn’t for finances; it is to beseech the throne of grace as they remind us of His almighty power through God’s Word (in KJV, no less).  They write, “Once again, please pray. We desperately need God’s hand of blessing on our nation to protect our churches, pastors, and members in this hour. In my personal experience of defending churches and Christians for 50 years, I have never seen anything like this in America. PLEASE PRAY!  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6). And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matthew 21:22). Ye have not, because ye ask not (James 4:2b).”

 

Their humble servant mindset is befitting an exemplary Christian organization.  CLA remains available for help 24/7 to assist any church or Christian having issues with these and other difficulties.  You should consider signing up for their monthly flyer if you’re interested in reading their succinct executive summaries concerning impacts of legal code changes upon conservative ministries.

 

Like this? Consider sharing it to Facebook by clicking the linked icon below.

Visitor Comments (0)

Be the first to post a comment.