A little-noticed provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 now looms over faith communities in America, raising serious questions about religious freedom and the First Amendment. While this provision is a relatively small piece of the overall package, the effect of the policy it created will be felt by the faithful around the country.

This change is a new policy to tax nonprofit organizations—including houses of worship, like the Southern Baptist churches I serve—for the cost of parking and transit benefits provided to employees. This effectively creates an income tax on churches. As Michael Martin of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability has noted, that has never happened in U.S. history.

The imposition of a tax burden on churches, religious schools and other charities is a shocking change in the federal government’s orientation toward these organizations of goodwill. The new tax requires institutions to file federal Form 990-T and possibly pay taxes every year—regardless of whether they engage in any unrelated business activity. In addition to the new federal requirements, many nonprofits will then face the requirement to file state returns and possibly pay state income tax.

Further, in the name of taxing parking lots, the new regulations created a new tax liability. In turn, this creates new operating costs for proper accounting and regulatory compliance at every nonprofit organization. For many nonprofits, these operations costs could exceed the amount of money actually collected by the Internal Revenue Service.

This new tax would extract $1.7 billion from the charities over 10 years….

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I think the tax on churches and charities is wrong and will do serious damage to them https://t.co/EIgwJ9AJdX

— Chris Flick (@Reformed_Rev) November 24, 2018

Slaton explained that Martin’s disbelief was understandable. “You believe for so long this day will never come,” she said. “So it takes a while going from the belief to it’ll never happen, to here it is.”

After about an hour, Martin finally made the decision to call his birth mother, with his wife by his side. When Garza’s phone rang, she had her other two children and grandchildren by her side. As she and Martin began talking, both of them broke down in tears.

“I never expected this day to come,” he told her.

“I always dreamed of this…I never forgot you,” Garza told him.

“That’s amazing to hear,” Martin said.

“I didn’t know anything about you,” Garza continued. “I didn’t know where you were. I didn’t know who adopted you. I didn’t see you after you were born….”

Read it all or watch the video (recommended).

Drinking alcoholic beverages is linked to some 2.8 million deaths each year, according to researchers who concluded that there is no safe level of alcohol use.

The chemical in beer, wine and hard liquor is associated with nearly one in 10 deaths in people ages 15 to 49 around the world, making it the leading risk factor for people in that age range, according to an analysis of earlier studies, published in the Lancet medical journal.

The combined health risks associated with alcohol outweigh any possible benefits, said the University of Washington’s Max Griswold, an author of the analysis, in a statement. Although the study found that alcohol offered some protection against coronary-artery disease in women, “the strong association between alcohol consumption and the risk of cancer, injuries and infectious diseases” offset that.

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No amount of alcohol use is safe, analysis of studies finds https://t.co/Xum96ZPm1l

— Bloomberg (@business) November 24, 2018

The singers are Quire Cleveland under the direction of Peter Bennett. The words are from Psalm 47. Listen to it all–KSH.

O God our Judge and Saviour, set before us the vision of Thy purity, and let us see our sins in the light of Thy countenance; pierce our self-contentment with the shafts of Thy burning love, and let love consume in us all that hinders us from perfect service of Thy cause; for as Thy holiness is our judgement, so are Thy wounds our salvation.

–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951)

Thankfully remembering William Temple today. pic.twitter.com/93F2u6w0mD

— Phillip Tovey (@tovey_philip) November 6, 2018

He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield. By his blessing they multiply greatly; and he does not let their cattle decrease. When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, he pours contempt upon princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; but he raises up the needy out of affliction, and makes their families like flocks. The upright see it and are glad; and all wickedness stops its mouth. Whoever is wise, let him give heed to these things; let men consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

–Psalm 107:33-43