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My view....

The Church of God, if it holds the deed, can almost certainly make the stronger case for disposing of the church as they see fit.BUT...But there is a PR issue too. If the Church of God knew that the TV stations, newspapers, etc., would pick up the story about the the poor, faithful members who have labored so hard for their church, but have to close the doors due to the big, bad denominational leaders, it likely would exert enough pressure to create some sort of compromise.

Re: Hypothetically speaking...

Hi Darrell,I'll tell you this much from personal experience.After a decent convo with one of our former AB's this very subject you mentioned came up & the question evolved around these extraordinarily expensive properties in our state. A simple 2 acre parcel in Calif. can be worth millions.The former AB said, it is not in the best interest of either party to have to engage in a lawsuit but if it did happen we simply don't have the resources to fight every case in court ...we would probably just have to let those types of lawsuits go to the local church, especially since they were the ones who paid for the property. The big issue for some would be how much of the CoG name did they use & did they build their identity off of the denomination.If the name of the church was Wildside Center of Worship & the place looked like most indie churches with very little CoG identity associated with it, chances are the courts would side with the local congregation. But if you pulled up to the church & the sign read like: Southside Church of God Established in 1935 Bishop Cedric J Jones Pastor Southside CoG is a member of the CoG, Cleveland, Tenn.And when you walk inside the building the DoF is hanging in the entryway, the colors of the place are blue & gold, posters abound describing youth camp, missions works, camp meeting, general assembly, women's ministry & of course Lee U., don't be shocked if the courts side with the denom.Here in Calif. this very lawsuit came about between the Episcopal Church & it's member churches. Several of their congregations would not accept the gay marriage position of endorsement the denom was taking, so they sued to keep their properties & maintain their adherents. They lost the court battle because they had benefitted from the denominational name & identity. The courts found that the local congregation experienced noticeable growth in attendance based on denominational name identity & the fact that inside the church the congregations had all the typical printed material of events that were sponsored by their state & regional offices Empty nest syndrome is for the birds!Email me at: [email protected] planters are focused on just one thing ...introducing people to Jesus!

So THAT's why....

Hi Darrell,I'll tell you this much from personal experience.After a decent convo with one of our former AB's this very subject you mentioned came up & the question evolved around these extraordinarily expensive properties in our state. A simple 2 acre parcel in Calif. can be worth millions.The former AB said, it is not in the best interest of either party to have to engage in a lawsuit but if it did happen we simply don't have the resources to fight every case in court ...we would probably just have to let those types of lawsuits go to the local church, especially since they were the ones who paid for the property. The big issue for some would be how much of the CoG name did they use & did they build their identity off of the denomination.If the name of the church was Wildside Center of Worship & the place looked like most indie churches with very little CoG identity associated with it, chances are the courts would side with the local congregation. But if you pulled up to the church & the sign read like: Southside Church of God Established in 1935 Bishop Cedric J Jones Pastor Southside CoG is a member of the CoG, Cleveland, Tenn.And when you walk inside the building the DoF is hanging in the entryway, the colors of the place are blue & gold, posters abound describing youth camp, missions works, camp meeting, general assembly, women's ministry & of course Lee U., don't be shocked if the courts side with the denom.Here in Calif. this very lawsuit came about between the Episcopal Church & it's member churches. Several of their congregations would not accept the gay marriage position of endorsement the denom was taking, so they sued to keep their properties & maintain their adherents. They lost the court battle because they had benefitted from the denominational name & identity. The courts found that the local congregation experienced noticeable growth in attendance based on denominational name identity & the fact that inside the church the congregations had all the typical printed material of events that were sponsored by their state & regional offices.

I only know of one situation, well publicized. Paw Creek COG. when the law suit came up, a family member was the Evangelism Director at the time. He told me that the Catholic & Methodist denominations contacted NC State HQ to offer finances for attorneys if needed to stay the course.I do understand many ministers are setting the stage if need be, by renting vs buying, or leasing from members to ensure they have the upper hand financially.I am at the point where I do not blame them. Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/