Church and Ministry Liability in 2026: Employment Claims, Clergy Misconduct, Church Autonomy, Revival Windows, and Election-Year Pulpit Speech

Sally Wagenmaker, Founder and Partner | Wagenmaker & Oberly

Sally Wagenmaker is an attorney whose work focuses on legal issues affecting churches and religious organizations. Her association with Church Law & Tax as a Senior Editorial Advisor reflects her involvement in providing legal insight and guidance on matters relevant to church leadership, governance, and organizational compliance.

• Education & Credentials

Sally earned her Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi. She is admitted to practice law in Illinois, Georgia, and Michigan and serves clients from offices in Chicago, Illinois, and Grand Haven, Michigan.

• Recognition & Leadership

Sally previously served as president of the Christian Legal Society (CLS) and has contributed to legal education and professional development for attorneys and nonprofit leaders. As a Senior Editorial Advisor for Church Law & Tax, she contributes legal insight and expertise to resources addressing issues faced by churches and other religious organizations.

• Professional Involvement

Sally regularly presents at workshops, conferences, and educational programs for nonprofit leaders and legal and tax professionals. She also writes extensively on nonprofit legal issues through her firm’s blog, with publications addressing federal tax exemption, religious liberty, state tax exemptions, nonprofit governance, and political advocacy. Her work helps nonprofit organizations understand their legal responsibilities and address emerging compliance concerns.

• Experience

Sally is a founding partner of Wagenmaker & Oberly, where she provides legal counsel to tax-exempt organizations, including churches, religious organizations, public charities, private foundations, trade associations, schools, and social service providers. Her practice encompasses corporate law, tax, employment, and real estate matters. She also advises on legal risks affecting churches and ministries, including organizational governance, employment practices, liability prevention, and compliance. Through her legal practice and editorial work, she helps nonprofit leaders identify potential legal challenges and make informed decisions about their organizations.

Patrick Sternal, Of Counsel | Holtzman Vogel

Patrick Sternal is Of Counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Holtzman Vogel, where his practice areas include Faith-Based Organizations, Corporate Governance, Non-Profit and Tax-Exempt Organizations, Political Law, Government Ethics Compliance, and Higher Education Compliance. He brings nearly 20 years of experience with tax-exempt and nonprofit clients, providing legal and tax advice to charities, social welfare organizations, and other exempt entities on formation, obtaining and maintaining exempt status, ongoing tax and governance matters, mergers, and dissolutions. He also drafts contracts and other agreements and advises on a range of nonprofit transactions.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Sternal earned his LL.M. in Taxation with high distinction from Loyola Law School, his J.D. from Ave Maria School of Law, and his B.A. in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College. He is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Sternal is a member of the TEGE Exempt Organizations Council and the Catholic Bar Association. He writes on the tax, governance, and political-activity questions facing religious and charitable organizations; publications listed under his profile at the firm include “Religious Organizations and Political Activity: A 2026 Election-Year Guide,” “Charitable Organizations in an Election Year: Frequently Asked Questions,” “IRS Enters into Consent Decree Limiting Application of Johnson Amendment,” “Back to Basics: Good Governance as Regulatory Prophylaxis,” “Tax Court Upholds Steep Penalties on Charity Insiders Who Diverted Funds,” and “IRS Form 990 Is Changing; Here’s Why Your Nonprofit Should Pay Attention.”

• Experience

Before joining Holtzman Vogel in 2025, Mr. Sternal was counsel at a boutique law firm, where he provided nonprofit tax and governance advice. He previously spent nearly ten years in the federal government, first as a Tax Law Specialist in the IRS Office of Tax Exempt and Government Entities, Rulings and Agreements, where he focused on exempt organization determinations and compliance, and then as an Attorney Advisor in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, Exempt Organizations, where he drafted guidance and advised the IRS operating division on exempt organization matters.

That combination of agency and private-practice experience informs his counsel to churches, ministries, and other faith-based organizations on how the IRS approaches exempt status, governance, and political activity, and structuring their operations and documents to withstand regulatory and litigation scrutiny.

SESSION 1 – Religious Employment Law and Clergy Misconduct: Legal Duties and Risk Management | Sally Wagenmaker | 2:30pm – 3:30pm

This session examines the intersection of employment law and religion dimensions significantly impacting religious institutions, including wage claims, hiring and firing decisions, sexual harassment claims, and defamation.  Key legal lessons from Lorenzo v. San Francisco Zen Center and Union Gospel Mission of Yakima will be shared, to help attorneys advise clients on strengthening employer protections, distinguishing secular claims, and applying ministerial exception guardrails.  Tools include job descriptions, employee handbooks, governance documents, and effective pre-litigation steps.  Clergy misconduct will be addressed too within employment law parameters including expanded statute of limitation laws, trending nondisclosure legal restrictions, and negligent hiring, supervision, and retention frameworks that may generate institutional liability independent of individual wrongdoer conduct. Attendees will leave with a working framework for advising religious employer clients on employment practices, optimal legal protections, and pro-active steps to minimize litigation risk and foster organizational flourishing.

BREAK | 3:30pm – 3:40pm

SESSION 2 – Governance and Legal Protections for Religious Institutions | Patrick Sternal | 3:40pm – 4:40pm

This session examines the three most consequential governance and liability issues facing religious institutions heading into 2026: the pending Supreme Court cert petition in USCCB v. O’Connell that could redefine church autonomy as immunity rather than a mere defense, the final dismissal of the Johnson Amendment challenge and its practical implications for pulpit speech before the November 2026 election, and the accelerating wave of state revival window legislation exposing institutions to decades-old abuse claims. Attorneys gain a practical framework for advising religious institutions on governance structures, document retention, insurance adequacy, and litigation posture under each of these intersecting doctrines. Competencies gained include applying church autonomy doctrine to early-dismissal strategy, distinguishing risk tiers in pre-election pastoral and institutional speech, and assessing institutional exposure under state-specific SOL revival windows.