By Steve Salyards, The GA Junkie.
As I have often commented in this space, I really don’t want to go chasing church property cases in the civil courts as they can vary so widely by jurisdiction. I am going to take this opportunity to update one situation I have previously covered in detail and use it as an opportunity to consolidate reporting on a couple more and in the process demonstrate the variety that there is, the moving target that it can be and the legal technicalities involved.
Let me begin with the legal landscape in Texas which I have written on to some extent before. In particular, I covered a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court back in August 2013 that set forth neutral principles as the standard of decision for the state. However, that decision, at least in my reading, left a little opening for a hierarchical church to make a claim under the trust clause.
Well, two decisions in the last couple of weeks don’t see it that way and the local judicatories won summary judgements over higher governing bodies in the trial courts on pure property ownership and Texas trust law arguments.
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I still don’t get why the pcusa want these properties so bad, it has to be because they’re never wrong (pride), or they’re just greedy? Taking something that you never paid for is stealing, but then again we’re dealing with people who’s Book that closest to their Hearts’ is the book of order, not the Holy Bible.
I think in most cases (probably there are some exceptions), the presbyteries don’t want the properties. They just use the leverage of their “ownership” of the properties to extract exit payments from departing congregations, and to keep the denomination from going to mass schism, which would happen if congregations had clear ownership of their own properties.
As one commenter on this site has pointed out, there’s a silver lining to all this: denominations will never again be able to institute anything like the trust clause, now that everyone understands what its ultimate purpose was all along.
I think the broader implication is that denominational “trust clause” systems are problematic at best when exposed to full civil tort and are an anachronism, much like the ‘pew rental’ tax of the 18th and 19th century. Those denominations with such an arrangement ECUSA, PCUSA are both in death spirals brought on by governmental incompetence, apostasy, but made far worse by the trust clause property fights.
Witness the the scandal plagued “1001”, which on many levels are nothing more than sham web sites seeking funding. No one in their right mind, especially Millennials, would ever associate or place their fortunes with a denominational system that says, “what is mine is mine, and what is yours is mine”. Per capita assessments are now off close to 70% the last 5 years across the PCUSA. Even the liberals who blindly throw money at the church, know a losing proposition when they see it.
This matter has been a classical church verses state case.
It is called “covering their Presbyterian butts” and wanting to pad the funds for their pensions. Nothing is more despicable when we hear Presbyterian preachers say “I can not leave the PCUSA because I might lose my pension”. These preachers should make their decision based on Biblical truth. Not thinking about their wallets. If these dudes do not have the integrity to support right verses wrong, they are in the wrong line of work.
A MEN!