Council Corner
Church Council Update–
The Church Council Board of Directors met on February 26th to review and discuss changes to our Bylaws. We are in the process of drafting the necessary changes and a subsequent meeting will be scheduled with the Board. The meeting for the final bylaw review and approval will most likely be sometime in May but the exact date has not yet been determined. The February meeting was scheduled solely for the Bylaw review and discussion, but John White took the opportunity as the out-going Lay Leader to provide his written comments about his tenure in various positions of leadership in our church and his vision for the church’s future. I reviewed the information provided and passed it on to the Lay Ministry chairperson and the In-coming Lay Leader for their review and consideration as we move forward with our pastor search. No further discussion of this information occurred. Our next Council meeting is scheduled for April 16th at 6 PM in the Education Building. The agenda has not yet been finalized but will include the review of the candidate(s) for the Lay Ministry Committee chairperson and hopefully his/her approval.
Separation Update–
Our National Center for Life and Liberty (NCLL) lawyer lead, Jonathan Bailie held a conference call with all or most of the SC churches on the afternoon of March 24th where the following information was provided.
• He compared our stand and fight for separation from the UMC with the stand and fight that our forefathers undertook to separate from the rule of the British empire. Our forefathers declared their independence with the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but the battles with British government had begun previously in 1775. The Revolutionary War involved many battles, both large and small, and did not end until 1783 when the British finally surrendered. During the war, the country and its leaders patiently devised the plans and implemented them to ensure and protect our independence. St. John and its leaders also began our struggles with the UMC prior to our declaring independence early last year. We too will experience many struggles along the way, but we will continue to move forward with the necessary steps to ensure and protect our independence from the UMC.
• NCLL continues to stress that time is on our side with respect to the future court ruling and decision. The longer that we are working and succeeding as an independent entity without any support from the UMC, the stronger that our case becomes. Therefore, NCLL is in a response mode – they are leaving the burden of pushing the case forward with the UMC and its lawyers.
• A preliminary hearing was scheduled last November, but the judge postponed the hearing until the UMC had filed all lawsuits and our NCLL lawyers had the opportunity to respond. NCLL presently represents seventy (70) churches throughout our state in their separation efforts from the UMC. At the time of the call, all but one lawsuit has been filed by the UMC and NCLL has responded to all but three. NCLL expects the filing/responding process will be complete in the next couple of weeks and is expecting the hearing to occur sometime in mid to late April. NCLL is not expecting the judge to approve the motion to dismiss at this time so they are preparing for additional litigation.
• The basis for the UMC case against all the churches is that each has not followed the Book of Discipline. NCLL is prepared to show many instances where the UMC has also failed to follow the Book of Discipline with respect to its support and nurturing of the individual churches. This “asymmetry” issue with respect to compliance with the Book of Discipline will likely lead to further delays as the court listens to the arguments and renders a decision. As an example, this same “asymmetry” issue has resulted in more than a two (2) year delay in the process. If the court rules in favor of the UMC, NCLL will file appeals with specifics for each individual church and how the UMC has failed to support them. If the court rules against the UMC, NCLL is expecting appeals from them as well.
On a separate note, Lynn Chapman provided me with an article published March 25th concerning an Alabama church’s struggle with the UMC and its claims to the church property. The Houston County Circuit Court Judge ruled in favor of Harvest Church in its legal battle with the UMC over their claim to its property. Its struggles began in 2022 so this is further evidence that this process can take some time for resolution. During the court case, Harvest Church also disaffiliated from the UMC over conflicting views, but the article does not make it clear as to what process was used for its disaffiliation. While this case may not be identical to our situation, it does provide a recent example where the court system has reached a reasonable (my opinion) verdict with respect to the ownership of church property and provides hope that the same can occur in the courts in our state.
Please continue to pray for our church, its leaders, and our lawyers as this process continues.
SC House Bill 4754–
As previously discussed, this bill would eliminate the land trusts that Religious Corporations (such as the UMC) have implemented over SC churches and their property/assets. This bill is on the list of issues that may be discussed at the Domestic Relations, Business, and Probate Laws Subcommittee meeting on March 31st at 10:30 AM. Since this information is being prepared for the monthly newsletter prior to the time of this meeting, there is no way to know whether the bill will be discussed or the outcome of its discussion. Any additional information concerning this bill and the outcome of the meeting will be provided in future Council Corner information. Please also keep this bill, the spirit of its intent, and the overall review/approval process for it in your prayers.
As always, please contact me in person or via text/call if you have any comments or questions about any of the information provided.
In Christ,
Peyton Northington
803-645-6396