WELCOME!

Welcome to Christian Legal Society of Birmingham webpage.  We are honored to serve attorneys in the Birmingham, Alabama and surrounding areas, and we hope that we may be of assistance to you.

In our pages, you’ll find a brief discussion of our Chapter and its mission, what it means to be a Christian, a listing of some of our Chapter events and activities, and ways to contact us.

We hope you’ll visit us on the web often.  We also hope to see you at our events.  More than visit, we hope you’ll become a member of Christian Legal Society. Information on joining can be obtained by contacting us or by visiting the Join / Renew link, above.

If you have questions or want more information about anything you’ve read on this website, please let us know.

May God bless you and keep you,

The Officers and Directors of the Christian Legal Society of Birmingham

CONTACT US

We would love to hear from you! If you have questions, comments, or simply want more information about our Chapter, about CLS, or about what it means to be a Christian or a Christian lawyer, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  You may contact our Chapter President: Mark Hogewood at mhogewood@wallacejordan.com, or (205) 870-0555.

About our Chapter:

ABOUT CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY OF BIRMINGHAM

The Vision or purpose of Christian Legal Society of Birmingham is to glorify God by:

• Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to members of the legal profession in the city of Birmingham and the surrounding area through prayer and leadership;
• Serving members of the legal profession through fellowship, encouragement, and prayer, helping them to attain God’s best for their professional lives; and
• Fostering and fulfilling the vision of the Christian Legal Society national organization.

We seek to accomplish our Vision solely through the grace and power of our Lord Jesus Christ by:

• Prayer for each other and for our city . Ephesians 6:18. Recognizing that we are nothing without Christ (John 15:5) and that He has given us great authority and power to come before God the Father, we will pray in the Spirit continually for the lawyers in our city and for the city itself.
• Fellowship. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Romans 15:5-6. Through periodic meetings we will seek to create a network of believers within our profession, so that we may identify, strengthen, and help one another as we fulfill God’s purpose for our professional lives.
• Encouragement. Hebrews 10:25. Through periodic Bible Study, prayer, and discussion of the struggles facing lawyers today, we will seek to fight the disillusionment that plagues our profession, restore the vision and hope that comes from God through His Holy Spirit, and build one another up, renewing our faith and spirit in Christ.
• Leadership. Colossians 3:23, Philippians 2:5-7, John 13:1-17. Believing that as Christians and attorneys we have a twofold capacity to accomplish great things, we will seek to become individuals who lead in godliness through work, attitude, and service.

Christian Legal Society of Birmingham is an association of Christian lawyers in the greater Birmingham area. Although Christian lawyers in Alabama have had a CLS affiliation for many years, our city Chapter has only been in existence since late 2003.

We generally meet for breakfast quarterly, in January, April, August, and November. Our past speakers at these meetings have included several members of the Alabama judiciary. Students from the Cumberland School of Law often attend our meetings. Indeed, we are currently working to establish a mentor relationship with the Cumberland student chapter. Additionally, believing that, as Christians, we are to serve our neighbors through our profession, we are working to establish a Legal Aid program in our area.

Our Chapter currently has three officers: a President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer. These officers serve one-year terms and may be re-elected to serve consecutive terms. We currently have six Members serving on our Board of Directors. Our Board members also serve one-year terms. Christian Legal Society of Birmingham adheres to the CLS Statement of Faith.

Trusting in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we believe in:

One God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
The Deity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary; His vicarious death for our sins through which we receive eternal life; His bodily resurrection and personal return.
The presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the work of regeneration.
The Bible as the inspired Word of God.

Resources:

KNOWING GOD

True Christianity is not a religion. Neither is it a set of do’s and don’ts. It is not about guilt or being better than everyone else. It is about a relationship with God; about knowing Him personally and developing a friendship with Him.

God loves you. He takes an interest in your life and wants to have a relationship with you. Yet the sinful things in your life (things like the small dishonesties, the actions of resentfulness and anger, the hurtful things you’ve said, the moments of lust and greed) have separated you from God. You see, our dishonesty cannot exist with God’s truth; our resentfulness cannot be bound to his love; and our anger, lust and greed separate us from his kindness, justice, and selflessness. The consequence of sin is separation from God and death to your soul.

The truth is that we have all sinned and are separated from God. None of us can reach Him on our own. It is also true that God loves us; He loves you, just the way you are. He loves you enough not to leave you separated from Him. Because you cannot get back to Him on your own, He made a way for you to have a relationship with Him. Years ago, He sent His son, Jesus, to live on Earth. Jesus lived a sinless life, and willingly became separated from His Father and died on a cross. In doing this He took the consequence of your sin on Himself, so that you wouldn’t have to bear it. He did it as a gift to you so that, through His action, you would not have to be separated from God any more.

These things are confirmed in the Bible, in the written accounts of Jesus’ life and words authored by people who knew him:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” John 1:12

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. Noone comes to the Father except through Me.'” John 14:6

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9;

Lawyers know that gifts are made up of three things: an intent of the giver to give, an act of giving, and acceptance by the person to whom the gift is made. Jesus intended to bear the consequences of your sin so that you could have a relationship with God and eternal life for your soul instead of death. He acted on this intent when He died on the cross and became separated from God in your place. The only thing necessary for you to have this gift, for you to have a relationship with God, is to accept it. Christians call this acceptance being “born again” or starting over. (See Chapter 3 of the Gospel of John.) As with any person to whom a gift is made, you have the choice of whether to reject or accept God’s gift.

If you want to accept God’s gift, you need only repent of your sins (admit that you do sin and consciously reject that way of life), invite Jesus into your life and believe that through Him you will be forgiven, and enter into a relationship with God by surrendering control of your life to Him so that He may bring about His best in your life. This acceptance is not purely emotional. It is a conscious act of your will, and must be genuine. And once you have genuinely accepted God’s gift, it is yours forever. (“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” I Peter 3:18; “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:28)

If you want to begin or renew a relationship with God, we invite you to do so now. There are no magic or required words. Simply pray and genuinely tell God that you accept his gift, that you know that you have sinned and are separated from Him, that you want to turn away from your sin, that you want to accept Jesus’ gift and invite Him into your life so that you can have a relationship with God, and that you are surrendering control of your life to Him.

If you chose to accept God’s gift after reading this page, we encourage you to find a Bible and begin reading it in the book called John. We also encourage you to Contact Us (link). We would love to hear from you and help you begin your new relationship with God in a strong way. If you want more information, please Contact Us (link), and we would be happy to talk with you.

Also, we invite you to visit this website: https://www.greatcom.org/laws/englishkgp/default.htm for more information.

Events:

RECENT EVENTS

Legal Aid: Birmingham CLS has been actively partnering with the Alabama State Bar to provide legal services. In 2007, we provided a free clinic for senior citizens to assist them in drafting Living Wills. We had almost 15 CLS members attend and participate. In 2008, we again partnered with the Alabama Bar and assisted in three Wills for Hero’s clinics for Alabama Police and their family. The Wills for Hero’s program began in the aftermath of 9/11 as a way to give back to our public servants and has spread across several states. Again, we had over 10 CLS members assisting in these three clinics.

Student Mentors: Birmingham CLS has participated in a panel discussion with students at the Cumberland School of Law. We hope to continue this relationship.

Quarterly Meetings: Our chapter typically meets for breakfast once each quarter, in January, April, August, and October. Our speakers at these meetings have included Alabama Supreme Court Justice Harold See; Alabama Supreme Court Justice R. Bernard Harwood; Alabama Circuit Court Judge Scott Vowell; Eleventh Circuit Judge Bill Pryor; Mr. Tim Ritchie of Birmingham’s McWane Center; and Dr. John Lennox of Green College, University of Oxford. We have also met as a chapter on the National Day of Prayer.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Please contact our Chapter President, Susan McPherson, at semcpherson@windstream.net or smcpherson@appellate.state.al.us for more information about our upcoming events.