It is fair to say many non-profit lawyers would prefer not to file Form 990 every year. It is long, complicated, and truth be told, a bit intrusive if you prefer salary confidentiality. But it is the law.

Churches are lucky non-profits because they don't have to file the form. That's why the definition of a “church” is so important to non-profit religious organizations. Yet, oddly, neither Congress nor the IRS ever spelled out exactly what a church is. The courts filled the breach by coming up with the crucial characteristic that defines a church. They call it the “associational test.” It means you're not a church unless you have a congregation that meets regularly–an opportunity for members to form a religious fellowship through communal worship. In other words, people have to be with each other in the same room to pray, cry, touch, sing, rejoice, laugh and engage in other such human interactions.

That test seems reasonable until you consider the social media explosion we are experiencing every day. We speak of virtual communities, friending and unfriending, chatting, texting, interactive wikis, vlogs, instant messaging, and who knows what next? I bet some younger Internet users would say they have formed close associations with others without ever being in the same room with them. A recent episode of the TV series “Modern Family,” for example, featured an 11-year old girl who was hoping to be kissed by a boy with whom she had exchanged only text messages. If that is not an intimate level of connection, I don't know what is.