Here at Main Street Church, you will hear opinion on a variety of current topics including political commentary. Some people have worried that this sort of commentary could be conceived of as "politically incorrect" or even risking our tax exempt status. We feel differently.

In the early days of our country, our churches were the platform for guidance with not only moral issues and social values, but also with guidance in the political arena. Preachers would stand up and express their political views from the pulpit in order to help guide their parish in the right direction.

Since the IRS's advent of 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, some preachers have been reluctant to continue this practice for fear of losing their tax exempt status. However, there are at least two reasons why this is an unnecessary course of action or worry.

First, according to the IRS United States Code, Title 26, 508(c)(1)(A), "a church, its integrated auxiliaries, and conventions and associations of the church are excluded from taxation." For this reason, it's hard to understand why a church would seek out tax exempt status in the first place, let alone worry about whether their preaching might effect it. Donations to an unregistered, unincorporated church are automatically tax-deductible (26 USC 170-B) without 501(c)(3) status.

Secondly, even if a church does find some comfort in filing for tax exempt status, the law does not prevent the preacher from expressing his own personal views from the pulpit. There are many preachers who understand this fact and use it to help their congregations understand how they feel about politics, candidates and policy.

Here at Main Street Church, you will hear discussions about plenty of controversial topics. We don't run from them. Rather, we embrace them and reach out to you with the answers you seek. We hope you enjoy our sermons.