Churchome employs between 80 to 100 people. Plaintiffs are suing for both compensatory and exemplary damages. Plaintiffs attorney Eric Nusser has indicated that other current or former church employees can reach out to him regarding this issue.
Churchome Defends Its Tithing Policy
A Churchome lawyer provided ChurchLeaders with a statement, which said, “The First Amendment protects a church’s right to restrict employment to those employees who choose to abide by church teaching.” The statement indicated plans to “vigorously defend the rights of all religious institutions to live, teach, and model their faith through their employees.”
Churchome said it doesn’t deduct tithes from staff members’ paychecks and doesn’t hide its policies. “For many years,” said the statement, “Churchome’s Statement of Faith and employee handbook have included a statement on tithing. Churchome believes the Bible invites Christians to tithe, and that tithing is the worshipful act of paying the first ten percent of our income to God, given in an attitude of faith and in response to what Jesus has already given us.”
In addition, the church says it asks “all employees to live out this faith practice.” It noted that “Pastors Judah and Chelsea Smith, CEO David Kroll, and other Churchome employees give at least 10% of their income to Churchome.”
A Case of David vs. Goliath?
For her part, Kellogg denies trying to “make a buck off” the church or its leaders. “What I’m here for is just holding them accountable for what they’re not supposed to be doing but are getting away with,” she said. The tithing requirement takes away the “cheerful giver” aspect, Kellogg added, and replaces it with being a “fearful giver.”
Toby Marshall, legal counsel for Kellogg, described his client as “David” and Churchome as “the big, giant Goliath.” The class-action complaint alleges that plaintiffs “have been victimized by Defendants’ unlawful compensation practices, unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and unfair methods of competition.” Defendants use the church’s tithing requirement, the complaint adds, “in pursuit of financial gain or livelihood” for themselves and their “marital community.”
This article has been updated with a statement from Churchome.
