Terms of Use Agreement

Thank you for visiting a website of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership.  These terms and conditions of use (“Terms of Use”) govern your use of the website (the “Site”).  Compliance with these rules is a condition to your use of the Site.  If you do not agree to be bound by the Terms of Use, promptly exit this Site.  Please also consult our Privacy Policy for a description of our privacy practices and policies.

1. Who We Are

   The Lewis Center for Church Leadership is a wholly owned and operated subsidiary of Wesley Theological Seminary of the United Methodist Church, a non-profit corporation organized and existing under the laws of Maryland.

2. Definitions

   The terms “we” and “us” refer to the Lewis Center for Church Leadership.  The terms “you” and “user” refer to all individuals and/or entities accessing this Site for any reason.  The term “Site” refers to the web site whose homepage is located at www.lewisonlinelearning.org and includes all web pages whose domain names contain “lewisonlinelearning.org.”

3. Purpose

   The purpose of our site is to provide information about and administer on online learning modules.

4. Ownership of the Site

   All pages within this Site and any material made available for download are the property of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership (“the Organization”).

5. Copyrights

   We own or license the copyright in all the materials on the Site, including without limitation the files, documents, text, photographs, images, audio, and video, and any materials accessed through or made available for use or download through this Site (“Content”), and those rights are protected by United States and international copyright laws and other intellectual property laws. To the extent your use of material on the Site does not constitute “fair use” for which you do not need our permission, the following rules apply to use of the material:

   1. Permitted Distribution. Unless the specific web page from which our text materials is available indicates you may not do so, you may copy or distribute any text materials that appear on the Site in print or digital format only and only for the following non-commercial purposes: research, teaching, and private study.  Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all distributed copies must display the following copyright notice:
      1. Copyright [2017 or other year indicated] Lewis Center for Church Leadership.  Reprinted with permission of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership www.churchleadership.com
   2. Distribution Requiring Advance Written Permission. You must obtain written permission in advance if you wish to reproduce Content that is not text material (e.g., videos, software, drawings, photographs, podcasts, etc.) or if you wish to reproduce any Content for any reason not listed in paragraph 5.a.  You can request this permission by sending us an email at the lewiscenter@wesleyseminary.edu that contains the information listed below:
      1. a complete description of the Content requested, such as the URL of the web page that contains the Content, a description of the sections or paragraphs that will be distributed, and, where applicable, the title and date of the Content;
      2. a description of the intended audience;
      3. a description of the manner of distribution;
      4. the length, retail price, and approximate size of first printing or circulation that will include the Content;
      5. a description of the geographic scope of the distribution and the length of time for which rights are being requested. (Please note that we grant only nonexclusive rights);
      6. contact information for us to respond to you, e.g., a reply fax number or email address and a phone number.
6. Non Solicited Information / Uploads to the Site

   If you submit or upload any information or files to our site (“Submissions”), you agree not to (1) post or transmit anything that is defamatory, abusive, libelous, unlawful, obscene, threatening, harassing, fraudulent, pornographic, or harmful, or that could encourage criminal or unethical behavior, (2) submit or upload anything that violates the copyright or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, (3) post or transmit a virus or any other harmful component, or (4) contact other site users through unsolicited e-mail, telephone calls, mailings or any other method of communication.  We shall have the irrevocable license and right to use all Submissions for our own purposes.  You are responsible for making sure all Submissions that you originate or require are properly backed up so you have ready access thereto in the event of loss, corruption or interruption.  Additionally, unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon in writing by you and us, by posting any material to the Site for display on the Site, you are representing, warranting and covenanting to us that those materials are original to you or you have obtained permissions, releases, rights or licenses, if any are required, and that you assume full responsibility for the posting of such material vis-à-vis third parties, including but not limited to making any payments to third parties with respect to displaying such third party material. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from and against all third party claims, damages and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) against or incurred by us arising out of any Submissions you post or allow to be posted to the Site.

7. Trademarks

   LEWIS CENTER FOR CHURCH LEADERSHIP, LEWIS PASTORAL LEADERSHIP INVENTORY, LPLI, and any other trademarks or service marks (collectively, “Marks”) on the Site are Marks of the Organization unless it is explicitly stated on the Site where a mark appears that the mark is the mark of a third party.  You may not use the Marks for any product or service that does not belong to us, nor in any manner that is likely to cause confusion about whether we are the source, affiliated with, sponsor of, or endorser of any product or services.  In addition, you may not use our Marks in any manner that illegally disparages or discredits us.

8. Access to Site

   In the event access to the Site or a portion thereof is limited requiring a email  and password (“Protected Areas”), you agree to access Protected Areas using only your email and password.  You agree to protect the confidentiality of your user ID and password, and not to share or disclose your user ID or password to any third party.  Your access to the Site may be revoked by us at any time with or without cause.  You agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from and against all third party claims, damages and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) against or incurred by us arising out of your use or access of the Site, or any breach of these Terms of Use.

9. Frames and Metatags

   You may not frame the content of the Site or utilize framing techniques to enclose, or deep link to, any name, trademark, service mark, logo, Content or other proprietary information (including images, text, page layout, or form) of the Organization without our express written consent.  You may not use metatags or any other “hidden text” that incorporates our Marks or our name without our express written consent.

10. Links

    The Site may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for and have no control over these other sites or their content.  Remember that when you link to another site, that other site is governed by its own terms of use and privacy policy, which you should be sure to read.  In addition, a hyperlink to a third party web site does not mean that we endorse or accept any responsibility for the Content, or the use, of the linked site.  It is up to you to take precautions to ensure that whatever you select for your use or download is free of such items as viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other items of a destructive nature. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to this Site, you do this entirely at your own risk.

11. Accuracy and Integrity of Information

    Although we attempt to ensure the integrity and accurateness of the Site, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees whatsoever as to the correctness or accuracy of the Site and Content thereon.  It is possible that the Site could include typographical errors, inaccuracies or other errors, and that unauthorized additions, deletions and alterations could be made to the Site by third parties.  In the event that an inaccuracy arises, please inform us so that it can be corrected.  Information contained on the Site may be changed or updated without notice. Additionally, we shall have no responsibility or liability for information or Content posted to the Site from any non-Organization affiliated third party.

12. No Support for Software.

    We offer some files in common Adobe Acrobat format and may offer other files in other common formats.  We do not offer technical support for any third party software including, but not limited to, Adobe Reader.

13. Reporting Violations

    If you become aware that any other person is violating any of the terms and conditions of this Site, please notify us immediately.

14. Disclaimer of Other Warranties

    THE ORGANIZATION DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SITE WILL BE CORRECTED.  THIS SITE, INCLUDING ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN IT OR ANY SITE-RELATED SERVICE, IS PROVIDED "AS IS," WITH ALL FAULTS, WITH NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUALITY OF INFORMATION, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND TITLE/NON-INFRINGEMENT.  THE ORGANIZATION SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN, OR THE MISUSE OR MISINTERPRETATION OF, ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE.  THE ORGANIZATION DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR TIMELINESS OF THE INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE.

    YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THIS SITE, SITE-RELATED SERVICES, AND HYPERLINKED WEB SITES. THE ORGANIZATION DOES NOT WARRANT THAT FILES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE PROGRAMMING. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING PROCEDURES SUFFICIENT TO SATISFY YOUR NEEDS FOR DATA BACK UP AND SECURITY.  YOU AGREE THAT THE ORGANIZATION SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY COST OR DAMAGE ARISING DIRECTLY OF INDIRECTLY FROM ANY SUCH CODE. YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND OF THE INTERNET.

15. Limitation of Liability

    THE ORGANIZATION AND ANY THIRD PARTIES MENTIONED ON THIS SITE ARE NEITHER RESPONSIBLE NOR LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE RESULTING FROM LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE SITE, SITE-RELATED SERVICES, CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE SITE, AND/OR ANY HYPERLINKED WEB SITE, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY AND WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE, SITE-RELATED SERVICES, AND/OR HYPERLINKED WEB SITES IS TO STOP USING THE SITE AND/OR THOSE SERVICES.

16. Jurisdiction

    The terms of this agreement will be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland applicable to contracts made and performed there without regard to its conflicts of law principles. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the state of Maryland and waive any jurisdictional, venue, or inconvenient forum objections to such courts.

17. General

    These Terms of Service constitute the entire agreement between you and us with respect to the subject matter discussed herein.  Failure by us to enforce any provision of these Terms of Service shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right.  You are prohibited from engaging in, suggesting, or encouraging illegal activity in connection with our Site and we will cooperate with law enforcement officials as appropriate.  In the event that any of the Terms of Use are held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable, such provisions shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that these Terms of Use shall otherwise remain in full force and effect.  In our sole discretion, we may from time-to-time revise these Terms of Use by updating this posting.  You should, therefore, periodically visit this page to review the current Terms of Use, so you are aware of any such revisions to which you are bound.