And so the battle is drawn

And so it begins.

Let's offer some explanation before we get knee deep into this thing.

The United Methodist denomination is a series of churches all operating as a connectional entity. The local church is governed, in theory, by a book called the Book of Discipline, which outlines what the churches can and cannot do. The local churches are divided into geographical sections called conferences, then further divided for governing purposes called districts. My local church is in the Louisiana Annual Conference and in the Shreveport District, for example.

The local church, no matter that it has a deed to the land upon which it stands in some local sheltering place or no matter who paid for it to be built, is “owned” by the denomination.

Its ownership falls under something called the Trust Clause, which dates back to 1797 and holds that, “The United Methodist Church is organized as a connectional structure, and titles to all real and personal, tangible and intangible property held …by a local church or charge … shall be held in trust for The United Methodist Church and subject to the provision of its (Book of) Discipline (Paragraph 2501).

"Although all titles and deeds are to include such provisions, The Book of Discipline, makes it clear that the Trust Clause still applies (Paragraph 2503.6) even if the provisions aren’t included."

Ah. There’s the rub. You can pay a million bucks to built your church, but it still will be "owned" by the United Methodist Church.

In June, Wesley Church in Quarryville, Penn.,  left the United Methodist Church after several months of negotiations with UMC’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

The theologically conservative church voted 441-5 on May 17 to withdraw from the United Methodist Church. The congregation has grown from 30 to 341 members under Rev. R. Blake Deibler, lead pastor. Sunday attendance often exceeds 600.

Rev. Larry Rineer, executive pastor at the church, said the "split was difficult but inevitable given what pastors and the congregation saw as the denomination’s liberalization and UMC’s unwillingness to enforce its Book of Discipline with regard to homosexuality."

One note: It isn't a split. It's a leaving. But I digress...

The church paid $100,000 to the conference for the right to leave, and was allowed to do so, seemingly setting a precedent.

But.

And it’s a huge but, that didn't mean that would be operational standards for ever conference, or every church, or every church member.

In the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of The United Methodist Church things are different. The conference there has filed suit against one of its member congregations that declared its independence from the denomination in March.

The lawsuit was filed last week in Pulaski County Circuit Court against Ohio Chapel Church, formerly known as the Ohio Chapel United Methodist Church based in Grand Chain in the Cache River District.

The lawsuit seeks permanent injunctive relief, enjoining the congregation from “occupying, possessing or otherwise exercising control over the real and personal property” of the former United Methodist congregation. The suit also seeks a declaration from the court that all of the property possessed by the congregation is held pursuant to the United Methodist Church’s Trust Clause and that an accounting be made to the Conference of all assets held by congregation since their self-declared independence.

On or about March 16, a letter was sent from various members of Ohio Chapel to Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton and Cache River District Superintendent Roger Russell, requesting to leave the United Methodist denomination and asking that the Conference release the congregation from the Trust Clause requirement

On April 6, Rev. Tammy Horn, a part-time local pastor appointed to Ohio Chapel UMC for the past 11 years, sent a letter to Russell, indicating her intention of discontinuing as a part-time local pastor, effective June 30. Horn’s name is still posted on the church’s bulletin board as the congregation’s pastor.

Eight days later, Horn sent an email to Russell asking whether the congregation could purchase the church property from the Conference.

On May 31, Russell announced to Ohio Chapel that Bishop Keaton had appointed the Rev. Alan Milligan, a conference evangelist and pastor of Karnak and Olmstead UMC’s, to serve Ohio Chapel as well, effective July 1. For several years, Karnak UMC and Ohio Chapel UMC have held a joint Vacation Bible School.

When Rev. Milligan arrived on July 5 to conduct worship, he was met by members in the parking lot, advised that the church was locked and he would not be allowed entry into the building to conduct a worship service. What a scene that must have been. Amazingly, Rev. Milligan conducted a brief peaceable prayer service in the parking lot.

On July 12, Rev. Milligan returned to Ohio Chapel to conduct worship and was met by a Pulaski County deputy sheriff, who advised Milligan that “no uninvited guests” would be permitted on the grounds of the church property and that Rev. Milligan was considered an uninvited guest by the congregation. They got the law involved. Doesn't that sound at least a touch pharisaical?

  

On July 14, Ohio Chapel filed documents with the Illinois Secretary of State, seeking to change the name of Ohio Chapel United Methodist Church to Ohio Chapel Church.

We'll see.

What we have here, folks, is the first cannon shot across the bow from both those who would leave the denomination because they don’t think they can stay and a shot fired back by those who say, “well, you can leave, but your assets will stay right where they are.”

This is the beginning, I believe, of a battle that will be watched closely by churches across the country. I’ve made little secret of my belief that the church big C will be better off if we stay together, those United Methodists.

I also believe that what will keep the denomination intact is the trust clause, for assets are what leverage those who want the church to remain intact have. Without it, I suspect there will be many more churches saying, “We’re gone.”

Then we'll have chaos as each conference does what it wants or thinks is best and we'll have chaos as each church does what it wants or thinks is best, and we'll have chaos as people line up to do what they want or think is best, and the only ones truly hurt are those who are wandering around in the desert in need of a bit of living water.

And so it begins.