No lengthy legal opinion required. Just grab your coffee, and we'll get you caught up.

For our first cup, we're looking at a Texas case that raises a fundamental question:

Who Actually Has the Authority to Govern a Church?

A closely watched case involving Second Baptist Church of Houston reminds church leaders that the answer can depend not only on a church's polity, but also on its governing documents and compliance with state nonprofit law.

THE CASE

In 2023, Second Baptist Church adopted amendments to its governing documents that significantly changed its governance structure and eliminated historic member voting rights.

A group of current and former church members organized as Jeremiah Counsel Corporation and challenged those changes in court.

Among the questions raised:

Were the amendments properly adopted?

And perhaps more importantly:

How far can a civil court go when a dispute involves a church's internal governance?

WHAT THE COURT SAID

On July 15, 2026, Judge Grant Dorfman of the Business Court of Texas issued an opinion addressing those questions.

The court found that an amendment to the church's Articles of Incorporation was invalid because the church did not satisfy statutory written-notice requirements.

But the court upheld the church's 2023 Bylaws, concluding that the notice provided satisfied the applicable requirements for the members' meeting.

The court also dismissed many of the remaining claims under principles of church autonomy because deciding them would require the civil court to involve itself in internal church governance.

WHY IT MATTERS

This case highlights an important reality for churches:

First Amendment protections and corporate-law requirements can coexist.

A church may have significant autonomy over matters of internal governance, but when it chooses to operate as a nonprofit corporation, certain neutral requirements of state corporate law can still apply.

For church leaders, that means paying close attention to:

Your Articles and Bylaws. They aren't interchangeable, and different procedures may apply when changing them.

Your process. Notice, voting, documentation, and amendment procedures matter.

Your authority structure. Your governing documents should clearly answer who has authority to select leadership, appoint or remove directors or elders, amend governing documents, and make other significant decisions.

Your documentation. Major governance decisions should be properly approved and recorded—not simply understood as "the way we've always done things."

THE LAST SIP ☕

Here's the takeaway to bring to your next leadership meeting:

Good governance isn't only about what your church decides. It's also about how your church makes the decision.

Governing documents establish authority, preserve institutional decisions, and help define how a church will navigate moments of disagreement or transition.

Understanding them before a conflict arises is far easier than interpreting them in the middle of one.

READY FOR A DEEPER POUR?

Coffee & Counsel gives you the quick read. Our Legal Briefings take you deeper.

Later this month, The Church Attorney® is hosting our first paid Legal Briefing, where we'll move beyond the headlines to unpack important legal developments, practical implications, and the questions church leaders should be asking.

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Blessings!