Church crisis, white flag

Well, the time has come. Our church, Crosspointe Community Church, LCMS, has come to the end of the line. As many of you know, there has been an ongoing and bloody battle being waged to keep our church. Crosspointe was sued by our lender, which just happened to be the financial arm of the larger church body, and was foreclosed upon. The property went to Sheriff's auction and was purchased at a fraction of its worth by the above mentioned lender. The lender, ODLCEF, has denied Crosspointe several opportunities to pay what it was owed, even when we had the money they took steps to make it impossible for us to keep our building. We made arrangements to sell off 9 or so acres of land and pay what was due, they put a lien on to prevent that sale, we arranged for a new lender and offered to pay in full what money had been put out, including fees and late charges, but we were denied that opportunity as well. We were told we had 30 days to pay in full, and in less than 18 days the ODLCEF took possession of the clear title and left us out of the loop. We upped the ante and offered to pay not only what was owed, but what they had spent as well and we were told no again. Their behaviour has been completely un-brotherly through this entire ordeal.

BUT>>>>>>>>>>

Let us look at scripture for a moment. The above account, accurate as I understand it, is akin to pointing at the splinter in their eye and ignoring the plank in our own. We failed to be good stewards and stay up with the payments. We failed to stay within our means. We may have done so with good intentions, just as the servant who buried his coin, but we failed none the less.

There was a meeting after church this past Sunday in which we discussed our future options. Nothing is going to kill us. We have already lost the building, and the property. There have been many casualties of this conflict, many families have moved on. Those of us still remaining, however, look at the church as a gathering of brothers and sisters, not a building or a place. Many of these beleaguered warriors are angry. There are those who want to hold a referendum and leave the LCMS. There are those who want to counter sue because it is clear, and its also illegal, to deliberately force a foreclosure in order to gain profit. There are those who are just tired of the blood letting and just want to move on. The major purpose of this meeting was just to discuss that fact that regardless of anything else, we need to concentrate on doing ministry. We are looking at renting a smaller space, or maybe sharing space with another congregation. We are looking at moving all the stuff into storage etc. But, the families that are in this together are in it as brethren. We understand that we make up the Body, it has nothing to do with the building, the amenities, etc. These tools are useful, but Praise, Worship, and Fellowship are the core to ministry, not square footage and acreage. We may get treated like the hairy earlobe of the Body, but we are the Body none the less.

A few of us, myself included, may have gained a new understanding of Peter in all of this. I have said in the past things like, "we are more than conquerors" and "if God is with us, who can stand against us" Well, after being conquered and knocked down at this point maybe its time to assume that God wasn't with us in this. Does that make us bad people, no of course not. Does that make us evil or even wrong for fighting the battle, no not really. This might get a little convoluted so hang with me for a minute.

First, Ephesians tells us to take up arms against our enemies. It defines the Sword as the Word, and goes on to warn us to pick up the shield to guard against the flaming arrows of the enemy. In this light we were called to fight.

Earlier in Ephesians we are told we are created to do good works in Him. Hmm, good works and sword wielding may not be exactly the same thing.

We are told it is okay to get angry and fight, Jesus got rather angry at those in the temple when he tossed over their tables and smashed up their stuff. Jesus also told us to turn the other cheek.

I think we reacted like Peter when the Romans came due to the betrayal. Peter knew things were wrong and reacted ready to fight and die with and for his friend Jesus. I think Crosspointe reacted in a similar way, we jumped up and started loping off ears, but we didn't have Jesus standing in front of us to tell us that this was not the time to fight. Jesus knew Gods plan and that Peter getting into a battle with the Romans would not be productive. We don't know Gods plan for us at Crosspointe but it has become clear that He doesn't want us to stay put. So, we will not stay put, we will most likely change our name and move on. We will most likely stay with the LCMS and move on. We will most likely not counter sue and move on. Why will we not counter sue? I think the scripture that I would chose to apply is this.

We have been asked for our shirt, we should provide our cloak as well.

Well enough of the bad and tiring news. The good news is this. God still has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us. I look forward to being able to look back and say, "oh, that was the plan all along" We can move forward from here, we can worship from here, we can praise from here, and we can minister from here, even if here is in the streets.

It is at this time that we must prayerfully attempt to discern Gods will and get in line behind Him as his servants instead of trying to be out in front of Him as His warriors. It is time to stop casting stones and go back to ministry. It is time to understand as Peter came to, there is a battle, but now is not the time. The Romans have carried off over a million in real property and left us penny less and lost, but, we must just let Him deal with the Romans, and with Judas, and we must get on with the business of sharing the Good News.