Christians, churches, and ministries need clear legal standards that give members, donors, employees, and participants confidence that the ministry or organization operates ethically. This first draft of standards is being prepared in response to reports of abuse of Non-Disclosure Agreements by Christian ministries and organizations in the United States.
These draft standards will be revised based on feedback received and continued study of scripture.
The first study is how the ninth commandment should influence a Christian’s use of Non-Disclosure Agreements. The goal is to create a standard ethic that ministries and organizations can publicly adopt.
A Christian cannot legally prohibit another believer from disclosing matters of judgment and justice without violating the ninth commandment.
An appropriate standard will allow for appropriate uses of Non-Disclosure Agreements, such as: vendor agreements, financial consulting, business development, ministry planning, advertising and marketing strategy development, counseling confidentiality (such as HR and related family counseling), and technology services. The standard must also give members, donors, employees, and participants confidence that Non-Disclosure Agreements are not being used to silence allegations of misconduct by the organizations or its representatives.
By adopting the standard, organizations declare that they are not involved in abusive restriction of allegations of misconduct and release anyone previously bound by such restrictions.
In addition to contributing to Evangel Presbytery‘s Abortion and the Church, as part of my classes at New Geneva Academy I wrote on The Image of God in an Early Embryonic Zygote for a Systematic Theology class and a Christian View of the Ethics of Hormonal Birth Control / Oral Contraceptives.
This page is authored and maintained by Daniel Coughlin.
*DISCLAIMER* This is not legal advice. I am not your attorney. Adopting these draft standards may have significant legal impact on you or your organization. You should consult with an attorney before adopting these standards for legal advice on how the standards may impact your organization.