Can Service Animals Attend Your Church?
We at Gideon Law recently received questions from several clients here in Tennessee regarding their obligations to admit service animals to their churches. Their concerns involved how to ensure their church is a welcoming place for visitors who use service animals, while also following the law and protecting all people and property involved.
We were glad to provide this guidance to our clients. If you or your church have a similar question, please contact us today. We’d love to begin working on your behalf – for the good of your church and the Church.
The What If Journal: Reflections from a Leader in Progress
What I Learned This Week: What If No One’s Actually Thinking About You? What if we worked from the approval of God rather than for it—and for the benefit of others rather than their applause?
The What If Journal: Reflections from a Leader in Progress
What if you stopped trying to “keep the peace” this week, and instead, stepped into a moment of (potentially awkward) honesty and humility — at work, in your church, or even around your own dinner table — all with the goal of making peace?
The What If Journal: Reflections from a Leader in Progress
What if you slowed down this week and asked “why” one more time before you jumped to solutions — at work, in your church, or in your own home? Could you truly solve a problem rather than just addressing a symptom?
The What If Journal: Reflections from a Leader in Progress
Leadership isn’t a destination. It’s not a point on the map where you finally get to kick back and say, “I’ve made it.” It’s a constant journey of curiosity — of staying open, asking questions, and wondering, “what if?” What if there’s a better way? What if this could be clearer? What if…
Essential Accountability
Accountability is vital to the long term success of a leader and a system of accountability can help missteps from being taken and wise decisions to be made. You should willingly submit to some form of accountability, whether that is a small group of church leadership, or an individual or two that you can trust fully.
Feeling Well
Emotional intelligence will help you lead your team better and even lead yourself better, which is huge for any great leader. Here are some ways to add EQ to your IQ and better develop your toolbelt.
The Hidden Cost of Inactivity: Why Waiting Too Long to Decide Is Still a Decision
Most church leaders don’t set out to avoid decisions. In fact, we’re making them all the time — about staff, budgets, calendars, volunteers, and ministries. But there’s a particular kind of indecision that quietly drains the health and momentum of a church: the failure to act when the moment is ripe.
Part IV: Steward Yourself — The Leader’s Most Overlooked Responsibility
Your church can’t run on an empty tank — and neither can you. Healthy leadership flows from a healthy leader. If you burn out physically, emotionally, or spiritually, it will ripple through your team and congregation. So there is one more stewardship investment we can’t afford to overlook — and it’s the one leaders tend to neglect most: Steward Yourself.
Part II: Steward the People — Why the Right Relationships Deserve Your Best Time
Vision alone won’t move the mission forward. Vision needs carriers — people who believe it, own it, and run with it. That brings us to the second stewardship investment: Steward the People.
The Four Stewardship Investments Every Church Leader Must Make
Stewardship isn’t just about finances. It’s about your vision, your people, your systems, and even your own health. Neglect any one of them, and the cost will eventually show up in your church’s momentum, unity, and mission.
Let’s start with the first investment: Steward the Vision.
Fixing the Issue of Church Political Speech
For decades, there has been a fierce debate about the constitutionality and general legality of the Johnson Amendment. This little-known amendment has been used to restrict the First Amendment rights of churches and faith-based organizations for more than 60 years. But the mission of the church demands that it be encouraged to speak truthfully to America’s postmodern generation. How should the church respond?