Hello Folks,
     At Anderson Camp Meeting during the General Assembly a resolution came to the floor that calls upon congregations to conditional deed their physical properties to the State Ministries of their respective states.  It also called upon each congregation to agree to fulfill the requirements of a "healthy" congregation that are listed in the new Credentials Manual.  I found myself in oppostion to that resolution for a number of reasons but most of those who were there, about 406 voting members, decided that it was acceptable.
     Here are the reasons for my opposition.  First, while I trust those who are in leadership today I wonder what might happen in the generations to come.  Could it be that a congregation would conditionally deed their property to state ministries, or national, and have them depart from the biblical truth that is so important to us?  I am sure the Episcoal Church never thought they would be in the situation they are now where local congregations are having to give up their properties due to their desire to disassociate themselves from their national stance on homosexuality.  Just suppose your congregation decides to conditionally deed their property and they find themselve in complete oppostion and refuse to give financially to state ministries.  Since that is one of the 15 expectations of a healthy congregation, and since our General Assembly has place a stamp of approval on it could they walk in and take your property?  It would seem that is exactly the case--again I do not think this generation has to worry but what about 2 or 3 generations in the future?  Will those who follow us rise up and call us traitors? 
     Second, this seems to be a step toward denominationalism to me.  While this may be a small step at this time there could be great and dire unintended conseqences.  We are hearing a number of people telling us that automony is bad but they are not telling us what they think it should be replaced with.  The biblical picture seems to me to be mutual accountability but the problem we all have is that we want others to be accountable to us but we do not want to be accountable to them.  Is the call to rename our State Ministers Association as Overseers a symptom of this issue?  Is that another incremental step that is being taken?  Now, again I do not think there are devious intentions in any of these issues but the law of unintended consequences could be the result. 
     Third, while I know some are saying that conditional deeding is needed, and I struggle with that question myself, to keep other groups from acts of piracy where local congregational properties are concerned, I would remind state and national ministries that the properties do not belong to them either!  If a local congregation does not deal with those issues in a manner that rejects allowing people to sit in leadership that are not convinced of the message of the Church of God Reformation Movement then that is their decision, however wrong that might be.  Our state ministries ought not to appear to want to take ownership for the purpose of funding for their own budgets.  Again, this may not be what is desired but this might be the unintended consequences that some are confronted with in years to come.
     This is something for all of us to ponder as we all are responsible for the those who follow us.

Have a great one,

HGRudd