Can You Buy a Church?

I was over on ESPN's website hoping to read something interesting previewing tonight's Spurs-Hornets showdown (I think New Orleans will win and San Antonio will get an infusion of foreign talent during the offseason -- Tiago Splitter, etc. -- and win the 2009 championship when the odd-numbered year gives them the edge) but instead my eye was caught by this eye-catching headline: "Wade buys mom a church after she completes turnaround". Can you even buy a church? I wondered. But it turns out that Wade didn't so much buy his mom a church as he bought a building in which to house a church that she founded a bit back. My assumption is that it's not actually possible to buy a church or other non-profit institution, though presumably one non-profit could be folded into a larger, richer one in a purchase-like scenario. Anyways, consider this a basketball/church thread.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/05/can-you-buy-a-church/44968/