Whose Property is it, Anyway?
 
They can say they are going by the rules, following the Book of Order in good conscience. They can say “them’s the rules” and champion their legal rights in regard to property. But the real question is this: When did we decide that property is more 
 important than the people who paid for it? What happened to our once-generous hands? Our singular focus on using what we have in order to spread the Gospel, even sacrificially? Like one of the more infamous medieval popes or archbishops, the PCUSA is starting to look like a bloated land-grabber, preparing lawsuits to feed the Beast of Louisville. Honestly, what justification is there ever for taking property out from under a congregation that has paid for and maintained that property--one that continues to proclaim the Reformed faith in perfect, historical continuity? When did we decide that property is more 
 important than the Gospel mission? If a congregation is not tow-the-line-obediently in conformity to the rather progressive terms that continue to fuel our inner conflicts (PUP, sex, etc.), then you are suspect. What is the right thing for the PCUSA to do? Simple. Let congregations go that want to go, no strings attached. Shed a tear if we must, but our more-conservative congregations despise what is passing for justice-love theology and feel their consciences would be better-served by disaffiliation. We see it with the Episcopalians going Anglican--no difference. The Christian thing to do is to launch them out of the nest with a fair distribution of holdings in common. The PCUSA should be like the Father of the Prodigal Son, hoping and praying that the prodigal congregations will in fact come to their senses and return home in the end. Why the PCUSA isn’t doing it now. The PCUSA doesn’t believe in itself. Conservative congregations tend to grow while liberal ones tend to slowly erode. Conservatives are always the ones to break off, historically-speaking, in any denomination. Why do they go? Because they believe they can make it on their own. They trust in God to provide for them as they pursue their vision of what is right and good ministry. They take the leap and bear all the risks of new church life. We should always allow them this chance. The PCUSA doesn’t believe that it will survive without a fat reserve of property to sit upon. If the large, more-conservative congregations want to leave, then there’s a sizable chunk of change the denomination can no longer count as its own. The Bible calls it by a word: “greed.” We should be more interested in doing the right thing than in surviving. We are all about sacrificial love and sacrificial giving. Give the prodigals their fair share and let them go without a single court battle. Pray for their return. But let’s not repeat our Roman brothers’ and sisters’ ugly history. It’s just property, and no one lives forever.
A New Way of Doing Church!
Monday, October 16, 2006