Wow. Just… wow.
The IRS just did something shocking.
For the first time in decades…
It opened the door for pastors and churches to freely speak out from the pulpit – not just on politics in general and on issues in general – but on specific political candidates.[1]
Yes, you read that right.
This changes everything.
And it could be the most powerful transformation of the 2026 election you’ve never heard about… until now.
For 70 years, fear ruled the pulpit.
Pastors were silenced.
Churches were threatened.
Donors were warned their gifts might not be tax deductible.
The IRS even sent chilling letters.
And radical left groups added fuel to the fire—targeting churches, intimidating leadership, and crushing political speech with lawsuits and scare tactics.
It worked.
For decades, pastors backed off.
And millions of believers stayed home on Election Day, believing that Christianity and politics had nothing to do with each other.
I know—I’ve spent 25 years encouraging pastors to break the silence…
To stand up.
To speak the truth.
And to mobilize their congregations.
Many brave ones did.
But far too many others used one excuse: “We don’t want to lose our tax-exempt status.”
Now that excuse is gone.
Here are 7 shocking facts every Christian—and every American—must know:
Fact #1. It all started with politics.
In 1954, then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson shoved through an amendment to the IRS tax code that banned churches and all other Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations from endorsing political candidates.
Why?
Because conservative pastors were opposing Johnson’s re-election to the Senate.
It was raw political retaliation.
And it worked.
The “Johnson Amendment” became law—and pastors were muzzled for decades.
- Donald Trump cracked the door open – then blew it off the hinges.
In 2016, Shelly and I were invited to a private meeting in New York.
Donald Trump was campaigning for his first term as president.
The room was electric.
Some of the attendees were anti-Trump.
Some were skeptical.
Others were supportive.
Some big names were there:
- James Dobson
- Greg Laurie
- My wife and I were at this table with Hank Hanegraaff and mega-church pastors.
Then Donald Trump took the stage.
His first words?
“As President, I will abolish the Johnson Amendment.”[2]
Stunned silence… Followed by a roaring standing ovation.
No presidential candidate had ever dared say it.
He tried.
During his first term, he signed an executive order to protect churches.
But Biden killed it his first week in office.
- So how did this breakthrough happen now?
Two Texas churches and the National Religious Broadcasters challenged the “Johnson Amendment” in the 1954 IRS tax code—head-on.
They filed a lawsuit claiming the rule “unconstitutionally prohibits § 501(c)(3) [non-profit, tax-exempt] organizations from engaging in political speech.”[3]
Shockingly, Billy Long, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, agreed.
The original lawsuit had previously asked a federal court in Texas to rule that all nonprofits, religious and secular, would be free to endorse candidates to their members.
Instead, the IRS agreed to a narrower exemption— that churches and other houses of worship can endorse political candidates to their congregations.[4]
Suddenly, everything changed.
- The IRS response was absolutely stunning.
They agreed the church could speak out to their congregations without losing their tax-exempt status.
They filed a joint motion with the two churches and the National Religious Broadcasters Association, requesting a federal judge to enter an order allowing pastors and other religious leaders to endorse political candidates to their congregations without losing their tax-exempt status.[5]
The joint motion states that “To ‘participate’ in a political campaign is ‘to take part’ in the political campaign, and to ‘intervene’ in a political campaign is ‘to interfere with the outcome or course’ of the political campaign.”[6]
“Bona fide communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services, do neither of those things, any more than does a family discussion concerning candidates.”[7]
“Thus, communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted,” the IRS said.[8]
Further, the agency said in the motion that if a church endorsed a candidate to its congregants, the IRS would view that not as campaigning but as a private matter, like “a family discussion concerning candidates.”[9]
- Christian leaders across the country are rejoicing.
Some call the ruling “a divine opportunity.”
Others are calling it “a window of freedom.”
Still other are saying the court motion “unshackles” pulpits from unfair speech restrictions.[10]
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council – a national Christian organization which has supported efforts in the past to repeal the Johnson Amendment, called the move “a long time in coming.”[11]
Minnesota pastor Doug Pagitt said he believes that the “decision to allow churches to endorse candidates from the pulpit levels a playing field that has been lopsided for decades.”[12]
All agree that now is the time for pastors and churches to act.
- The radical left is furious.
They are calling it “an attack on democracy.”
Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called the move “a brazen attack on church-state separation” and fears it could turn churches into pseudo political action committees.[13]
She also said it “threatens our democracy by favoring houses of worship over other nonprofits and inserting them into partisan politics… Weakening this law [the Johnson Amendment] would undermine houses of worship and nonprofits by transforming them into political action committees, flooding our elections with even more dark money.”[14]
Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), said the IRS agreement not to enforce the Johnson Amendment on churches is discriminatory toward non-religious nonprofits.
The rule has applied not only to religious institutions, but also to 501(c)(3) educational, literary and scientific groups.
“This is not the repeal of the Johnson Amendment,” Gaylor stated. “This is the IRS choosing to ignore it when churches violate it.”[15]
“The law hasn’t changed — but the will to enforce it has,” added FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “This decision is just… the Christian nationalist plan to reshape the U.S. government.”[16]
They’re demanding the IRS reverse course.
And they’re already planning lawsuits and media attacks.
- What your church should do—right now.
- Talk to your pastor.
- Share this news.
- Start voter registration drives.
- Educate your congregation on the issues.
- Preach truth—boldly and unapologetically.
This moment could trigger the biggest evangelical, pro-freedom, pro-faith voter turnout in American history.
Remember:
- In the average church, 30–40% aren’t even registered.
- And 40–50% of those who are registered don’t vote.
That’s about to change.
Because this IRS shift isn’t just a policy change.
It’s a miracle.
And it could decide the future of our nation.
What do you think? Email me at [email protected]
[1]https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.232590/gov.uscourts.txed.232590.35.0.pdf
[2] Melanie Sun, https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/churches-can-endorse-political-candidates-to-their-members-irs-5884222
[3] Ibid.
[4] David A. Fahrenthold, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/us/politics/irs-churches-politics-endorse-candidates.html?unlocked_article_code=1.U08.o2PL.cKuaS5TLqTkI&smid=url-share#
[5] Michael Gryboski, https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-secular-orgs-react-to-irs-allowing-pastor-endorsement.html
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] David A. Fahrenthold, op. cit.
[9] David A. Fahrenthold, op. cit.
[10] Michael Gryboski, op. cit.
[11] Michael Gryboski, https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-secular-orgs-react-to-irs-allowing-pastor-endorsement.html?page=2
[12] Michael Gryboski, https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-secular-orgs-react-to-irs-allowing-pastor-endorsement.html?page=5
[13] Michael Gryboski, https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-secular-orgs-react-to-irs-allowing-pastor-endorsement.html?page=6
[14] Ibid.
[15] Michael Gryboski, https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-secular-orgs-react-to-irs-allowing-pastor-endorsement.html?page=3
[16] Ibid.