Articles for tag: Confidentiality Policy

March 9, 2008

By Tim Woodroof and Leland Vickers Policy statements are frequently viewed as imposing unnecessary structure and tending to give churches a more corporate flavor. However, developing a policy statement in an area as critical as how we interact with those who are hurting provides a method of doing much preplanning and prevents some of the mistakes made in the heat of an emergency situation. Below is the text of a brief policy statement being proposed for our home congregation. As church leaders (elders, ministers, staff, counseling volunteers), we welcome and encourage members and friends to come to us with spiritual,

March 9, 2008

Christian Standard

Care & Counseling

Your Church”s Confidentiality Policy

By Douglas A. Spears In the early 1990s there was a startling increase in the number and intensity of lawsuits against ministers and churches. Big-city seminars sponsored by the American Bar Association on topics such as “Tort Liability of Charitable, Religious, and Nonprofit Institutions” and “Tort Liability and Religion” helped show lawyers how to successfully sue clergy and churches. Today we are not surprised when we see the church (or members) in court. In the last 25 years we have seen more court cases involving ministers, church leaders, and churches than ever before. What might be most surprising is that