Posted on 09/25/2008 11:25:50 AM PDT by Terriergal
When the church locks were changed on a summer's day two years ago, Zhen Xue and the other congregants were dumbfounded. After all, the Chinese Alliance Church parish owned the Colorado Springs property and had money in the bank to keep it running.
Two days later, on July 2, 2006, the congregation got the explanation: Leaders of the MidAmerica District of the Christian & Missionary Alliance said they were shutting down the church because church membership, and thus donations, had fallen. The district later sold the storefront property to a karate studio for nearly $500,000, records show, and used the money to invest in other C&MA properties.
"I keep praying and asking God why they took our church," Xue, who is 75 and speaks Mandarin, said through a translator. "We can't understand why they took it."
The Chinese congregation is suing C&MA, based in Colorado Springs, and its MidAmerica District in Nebraska to take back the property and the $17,845 the denomination confiscated from the church's bank account.
The crux of the case is a dispute over terminology: Was the Chinese church an "affiliated" or "accredited" member of the MidAmerica District? According to C&MA bylaws, accredited churches can lose their property and assets under certain circumstances, but affiliated churches can't.
"The local church was an accredited church of the denomination and agreed to be bound by the denomination's constitution and rules," C&MA attorney Brent Rychener said.
But Marv Gardner, who helped the congregation form 28 years ago, contends the church was an affiliate, and believes the denomination took advantage of a parish made up mostly of elderly Chinese who haven't assimilated to American culture and speak only Cantonese or Mandarin, or understand English as a second language.
"It was a railroad job," Gardner said. "We feel that a wrong has been committed."
Declining membership
In 1980, a few dozen Chinese immigrants in Colorado Springs formed an independent evangelical church and held their services at various locations throughout town.
Ten years later, the congregation sought guidance from the MidAmerica District of the C&MA, an evangelical denomination with 2,000 U.S. churches, including 72 Chinese congregations. Congregants say the relationship began because the denomination was doing missionary work in China and overseeing Chinese churches in America, but it was Mid-America District, not the Colorado Springs headquarters, that was overseeing the Springs church.
By 1994, average weekly attendance at the church had increased to 90, MidAmerica District records show. That year the Chinese parish purchased church property in a storefront complex at 3617 Betty Drive, near Austin Bluffs Parkway and North Academy Boulevard, and adopted the name Chinese Alliance Church of Colorado Springs. The congregation financed the property through an agent of C&MA, and by 2002 had paid off all property loans.
But the tie to C&MA's Mid-America District continued. Each month from 1994 to June 2006, the Chinese church gave 5 percent of its donations to the district, and ministers licensed by C&MA served as pastors at the church.
The beginning of the end came in the wake of the dotcom crash, when members who had lost technology jobs moved out of state. By 2001, average weekly attendance had dwindled to 30.
Five years later, the Mid-America District downgraded the Chinese Alliance Church to "developing" status in March 2006. According to C&MA bylaws, that meant the district could take control of the church operations and property.
The Rev. Abraham Poon, president of an arm of the C&MA that works with its Chinese worship centers, said the Springs church was closed, in part, because donations fell when members moved away.
Church records, however, indicate a less-than-desperate financial situation. During 2005 the church was in the black by $2,872; from January to June 2006, it was in the red by $282 because, according to founding member Jennie Hu, the MidAmerica District had reduced services, which decreased donations. But the church still had money in its bank account to pay its debts and other future bills.
"We could have survived two more years," Hu said.
Nevertheless, on June 30, 2006, the MidAmerica District changed the church locks, and on July 2, the congregation was told the church was closing.
Parishioners requested the return of their Chinese Bibles and other Christian books. Keith Wong, a former church board member, said district leaders told the congregation it would have to either buy the materials back or establish a new state nonproffit, to which C&MA could donate the materials.
Weeks later, Wong walked past the Betty Drive property.
"I saw the Chinese literature in the Dumpster," he said.
Accredited or affiliated?
The Chinese congregation claims it was not "accredited" but "affiliated" with C&MA. It's an important distinction: An affiliated church remains independent of C&MA and would not be subject to the reversionary clause that MidAmerica District cited to take control of church property.
David Burford, attorney for the Chinese congregation, said that everything about the church indicates it was an independent entity: It had a governing body, a budget and owned its property, having paid $248,000, including finance charges, for the worship-center complex, church records show.
"We had the right to convey our property away or purchase new property without any consent from the C&MA denomination," Burford said.
Also, he noted that accredited C&MA churches sign a document attesting to the designation, but no document has been found. C&MA attorney Rychener declined to say if the document exists.
"They downgraded the church solely to obtain title to the property so they could sell it and use the money for other ministries," Burford said.
Gardner says the district took advantage of the Chinese congregation because language and cultural barriers prevented members from understanding their relationship to C&MA.
C&MA, which also oversees Vietnamese, Hmong and Cambodian parishes, disputes the charge.
"We have a lot of ethnic churches," said Dan Wetzel, assistant vice president of church ministries at C&MA. "We conduct services in at least 32 languages. You don't do that without understanding the complexity of working with people who have English as a second language."
Although C&MA routinely closes 30 to 40 churches annually for similar reasons, it appears that no other congregations have sued to regain church property or confiscated assets.
Moving on
Lawyers on both sides are sifting through C&MA and Chinese church documents to develop strategies that could be used in a trial that might begin as early as next spring.
In the meantime, the Chinese congregation has tried to move on. Members have renamed themselves the Chinese Church of Colorado Springs and re-registered as an independent religious nonprofft.
The 20 or so congregants meet at Garden Ranch Baptist Church, 3830 Van Teylingen Drive, one block from their former church location. Garden Ranch allows the parish to meet for free. The congregation has no pastor, so services are led by guest speakers and parish members.
Although more than two years have passed since the Chinese church on Betty Drive closed, most congregants remain bewildered by C&MA.
"To this day," Xue said through a translator, "I don't understand why they did this to us."
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0367 or .
TIMELINE
1980: Chinese immigrants establish the Chinese Fellowship Church.
June 3, 1990: Church forms a relationship with the MidAmerica District of the Christian & Missionary Alliance. According to C&MA, the Chinese church becomes an "accredited" member of the denomination. Soon after, the church renames itself the Chinese Alliance Church of Colorado Springs.
Feb. 7, 1992: The Chinese Alliance Church is incorporated as a state nonprofit.
Oct. 24, 1994: The church purchases property for a worship center at 3617 Betty Drive, financing the amount through an agent of C&MA.
June 2002: After taking out a second property loan through a C&MA agent, the congregation pays off its mortgage. According to the church, the amount, including finance charges, is $248,000.
March 27, 2006: The MidAmerica District downgrades the Chinese Alliance Church to "developing" status, which, according to church bylaws, means the district has governing authority over the church and its property.
June 30, 2006: The district changes locks on the church doors.
July 2, 2006: The district informs the Chinese congregation that the church is closing.
July 8, 2006: Chinese congregation renames itself the Colorado Springs Chinese Christian Church.
April 8, 2007: Congregation registers as a state nonprofit.
Feb. 28, 2008: C&MA sells the property at Betty Drive for about $500,000 to a buyer who operates a karate studio.
Early 2008: Chinese congregation files lawsuit against C&MA and the MidAmerica District.
Gazette research
ABOUT C&MA
Founded in 1881, the Christian & Missionary Alliance is both a denomination, overseeing 2,000 U.S. churches with more than 415,000 members, and a group of hundreds of missions in 81 countries. It also operates Nyack College, a Christian liberal arts institution, and the Alliance Theological Seminary, both in Nyack, N.Y. Total C&MA assets for the year ending June 30, 2007, were about $843.3 million, an independent audit determined. The organization has headquarters in Colorado Springs.
There is another church in Long Beach CA and eastern PA which booted the pastor for refusing to promote worldly teachings like Purpose Driven and other seeker sensitive methods, and one cranky parishioner managed to get him kicked out for what seems to be no Biblical reason:
Another denomination should step in and help these people. What C&MA is doing here amounts to robbery and If there is another description for what is happening here I would like to hear it.
It sounds as if they are treating places of worship like stores or restaurants. If they aren’t turning a profit, they get closed and their assets are stolen. This is an outrage and whether there are 30, 300, or 3,000 people in the congregation this was wrong. This sounds more like Scientology than Christians who love God and are charged with spreading His Word.
It is my hope that the Baptists, Methodists or some other denomination takes these 30 souls under their care.
Sounds like C&MA is a profit making business which markets its services.It seems an interesting approach to Christianity but not quite traditional.
This doesn’t even resemble any aspect of Christianity...
Astonishing, and a SHAME.
The United Methodist church won't step in. It does the same thing to its own wayward churches. The UMC considers all local properties to be owned in trust by its conferences.
This doesn't happen very often, but it happens.
Google on methodist property trust clause st. luke's
Examples in California, Georgia, Alaska, New York.
I think I know what would happen if such were to happen in Indiana. At the first hearing, the judge would ask the parties to step in to a side room and try to resolve it among themselves, and then report the results to the judge. If this fails, the judge would be forced to enforce contract law. I would guess that the small congregation would lose if it were to come to that, because there is likely a kind of contract in place between the congregation and the denomination's district.
This case is just one more illustration as to why I loathe denominations and denominationalism.
Why Christians in local areas can't establish autonomous congregations is beyond me. I have personally been involved in the establishment of three autonomous Christian congregations in the United States, and two abroad. We would do it and have it NO other way.
Once a local autonomous congregation is formed, presumably by people of like faith, doctrine, practice, and principles, it can call its ministers from any place that is of like faith (and/or raise them up from within). No hierarchy can control it. The local church can cooperate with other congregations of like faith. No hierarchy to control it. The local church can support missionary endeavor through independent missionaries, or through agencies possessing like faith. No hierarchy can control it.
An autonomous congregation can save its own money, purchase its own properties when needed, and no hierarchy can steal anything away.
I just loathe denominationalism.
The United Methodist church won't step in. It does the same thing to its own wayward churches. The UMC considers all local properties to be owned in trust by its conferences.
This doesn't happen very often, but it happens.
Google on methodist property trust clause st. luke's
Examples in California, Georgia, Alaska, New York.
Generally if this was not done according to the church's official procedure (and there should be a paper trail) then the one violating the constitution is the one who will lose.
However this purpose driven nonsense is encouraging people to just get rid of the dissenters and forget about the rules for figuring out which side is being biblical. Most 'little people' just don't have the time to fight that battle on their own. But odd that they would violate an entire group's rights here without following proper procedure. The Bob Iddings case has paperwork proof that the people above Wayne Spriggs said procedure was not followed. However Iddings won't press the case legally, so Spriggs will go off scot free until someone actually does hold him accountable. Why should it be up to us little people to fork over the big cash to get rid of one unethical church leader such as Spriggs? It should be his superiors who are ousting him.
It’s just like Rick Warren.
Not traditional, and not Biblical.
Every denomination is in varying degrees stuck in this ‘business model’ church courtesy of the Purpose Driven paradigm.
Whether they succeed in keeping it or not succeed, my recommendation to them (of course, they would never ask me)would be to continue as an autonomous local assembly and forget the denomination altogether.
This is just one of the many things I don't like about denominational strings.
We plant churches. That's our work along with training men. We always plant independent, autonomous churches. We teach new congregations how to cooperate with and do missionary work with other congregations of like faith and practice without forming supra-church bishoprics and headqaurtered organizations.
Our experience is that local assemblies are quite capable of governing themselves and disciplining their own membership under the Headship of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
With churches as well as with civil government. Local governing is always best. Denominational headquarters is no smarter, nor more spiritual than the local folks
104 independent and autonomous congregations support our endeavors, each receiving our reports and determining for themselves whether our work is worth their missions giving, without any denominational headquarters telling them what to do. There are literally thousands of Gospel-preaching, church-planting Christian missionaries working under the same missions philosophy and serving world-wide.
Denominations can just take a hike (kindly speaking . . . of course). Just as in civil government, the farther you move government away from the local people, the more corrupt it becomes, the more money is squandered, the more people are doing useless jobs at the top which could be done better locally, the more potential disputes there are.
I now have James Grumbine of the mid america district breathing down my neck for mentioning him on my blog.
http://www.purposedrivel.com/2009/02/jim-grumbine-whines-again.html
ping to post 14 I haven ‘t mentioned anything on my blog for about 4 months at the time Jim Grumbine decided to write and complain, and about 6 weeks after he wrote to me I checked the email account he wrote to and found his email. I wrote back saying “NO I won’t remove your name from my blog”
Maybe I’ll replace all mentions of his name with “startes with J rhymes with aims, starts with GR rhymes with umbine”
I don’t know about Colorado state law, but in North Carolina “once a church always a church” is the law.
I think a smart man would have just left this alone and hoped it went away. He never addresses the issue at hand nor rejects the veracity of what you have written, but is very nearly obsessive in pointing out that, “you do not know him”.
It would seem he is trying to insert a straw man into the discourse and threaten legal action to intimidate his critic(s).
We may not “know” Octo-mom, but we know her actions, have seen the results and are capable of intellectual discernment as to whether or not said actions were reasonable or right.
You are wrong. This happens all the time with the C&MA now. Since the vice president John Soper came into office, this is common place. Follow his history of religious political actions and how he got where he is, you will know why all this stuff is happening. He closed a lot of churches for money to fund his power grab. Too sad for a once great denomination. God will deal with this man someday.
The C&MA is moving so far away from its core purpose when it started with A.B.Simpson. The vice president John Soper is treating it like his personal business. He is looking at churches as his assets. If he doesn’t like them, he will close them and then take the funds to do other things he wants with them. He does that with the people in the churches too. He hides it well, but he has destroyed so many pastors and leaders he disagrees with in the denomination. His major weapon is slander, as usual. Since he has risen to power in this once great denomination, it has suffered terribly. Pray that God will remove him soon.
Just read your post. Same thing happened to us and at least 2 of my friends (former C&MA pastors). I tell you, since John Soper has risen in power in this denomination, these are common occurances. You see, he believes in a business way of building “church.” You either succeed or you fail, and he is the one to decide. He is very sneaky in how he does it. He uses the DS’s to do this dirty work and he uses the C&MA’s rule that if even one person accuses a pastor or leader in writing, they can investigate and discipline...even without a fair hearing or trial. Many have been disciplined without ever hearing their charges. Until he repents or is removed, this denomination has no chance.
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