By Michael Gryboski, The Christian Post
Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, successfully raised the $7.8 million the congregation was required to pay Presbyterian Church (USA) by Monday’s deadline to keep its property.
In October 2013, a supermajority of the congregation voted to end their affiliation with PCUSA and join the smaller, more conservative ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.
“The funds for the settlement were raised entirely by the generous giving of the congregation of Highland Park Presbyterian Church. HPPC did not take on any debt to pay the settlement,” Zack House, a spokesman for the church, told The Christian Post.
The $7.8 million settlement amount the church paid to the PCUSA Presbytery of Grace on Monday was part of an agreement the two parties made in September, after a previous attempt to reach a settlement agreement in March 2013 had failed. The amount was based off of the total fair market value of the church’s property divided by the percentage of those who voted to remain affiliated with PCUSA.
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Even more important to Grace Presbytery than the money were the quit-claim deed and bill of sale. That sends a clear message to all the other congregations in Grace: You don’t own the property you paid for. We own it. Even mighty Highland Park acknowledged that lie as a truth. So don’t even think about trying to leave, unless you have the money to pay us off.
If congregations do not own the buildings, then why don’t they act as tenants? That is, ask the presbytery to do the maintenance, like new roofs, new AC units, repair appliances, fix windows, screens, etc. I’m sure the trust clause doesn’t work that way, but it seems like it should. Then maybe the presbyteries would relent and give ownership of the buildings if they didn’t want the responsibility of the upkeep. It might be useful if the Presbyteries had to make a choice between their mostly liberal agenda and upkeep of the buildings.
That does seem fair, doesn’t it?
” blessed are the extortionists, for they shall receive money”
Each time I see that PCUSA has demanded money from a congregation which they acquired by their own efforts, I see more and more clearly how far astray from Christ they have come. Such activities are definitely NOT Christian, and this activity WILL take the PCUSA to the place it is destined to go, into embarrassment and obscurity.
Each time I see a congregation paying huge amounts of money for their own property I think of their enabling an apostate church to continue to exist off their backs like a blood sucking TICK.. What do you think they will do with this money, give it to missions? NO! This only emboldens the enslavers to demand more of other departing congregations and it keeps those who can’t or won’t pay the price in bondage and it allows that apostate denomination to continue their corrupt politics and apostate teachings. They may think it is giving the devil his due but it funds the devil to do more and more.
Stop paying your per capita dues and then pcusa will realize how sinful it is to steal money from righteous communities that are following God’s stand against immorality.
God’s judgment will start in the house of God and even Jesus Christ followed this rule and he kicked out the money exchangers from Gods temple.
This was a missed opportunity.
A church as large and affluent as Highland Park could have carpet-bombed the PCUSA into final, and merciful, submission. Had it done so, it would have spared the nation’s smaller churches the financial pain and suffering so gleefully inflicted on them by the PCUSA.
In that one Highland Park zip code alone, there is more accumulated wealth among the local members of the church than the bottom line of the PCUSA’s balance sheet. And, had Highland Park chosen to fight, it would have had access to millions more, to say nothing of donated legal services.
And where would this have been fought? Why, in the Texas courts! Does anyone on this side of the globe think that the PCUSA would prevail in Texas?
My guess is that one or two members stepped forward and said, “Look. We know we can crush these infidels, but it will take time away from our Jesus Christ-centered mission at Highland Park, so why don’t you let us write a couple of checks for $7 million total, so that we can move on?” And that’s how it unfolded.
It wasn’t capitulation per se, as much as it was a desire to share the Gospel free of the heresy that has engulfed the PCUSA. And a small handful of members made that possible.
Still, if some church would stand up to them, and fight them on scorched earth, so much could be accomplished!
Alas! It does not help that the PCUSA has added $7 million to its war chest. The oppression will continue.
Stop this nonsense. If anyone should be wearing a mask and carrying a gun, it should be the PCUSA.
Having to pay to leave PCUSA is black mail pure and simple. It is not the way that Christians should treat anyone! They don’t own our property…they don’t pay upkeep…they don’t repair what goes wrong…so how can they think that they own our property. PCUSA seems more and more like some cult that wants to extract blood from anyone wanting to leave! The devil has a firm hold in PCUSA!
your comments lost all credibility when you say something like that about a Roman Catholic Bishop. as a PCUSA born and raised convert to the Roman Catholic Church, this comes across as complete hatred towards over 1B people. i listen to this sort of thing in public every day, from lots of Bible thumping so called Christians. you people all need to take a good look in the mirror, dust off your ten Commandments and stop talking about your money. that’s all i ever read about on this website, money money money. quite frankly i pity ALL of you.
One can choose to rail about the injustice of the situation, the billions of the Foundation money or BOP assets, or just the pagan nature of “surprise” dealing or negotiating with pagans. What did Highland Park expect? That the PCUSA would just give them hugs and kisses on the way out? And God bless and be with you? The pagans of the PCUSA are motivated by one thing, and one thing only, money and the supposed power they in their delusions expect it buys.
But rest assured, as I have stated a number of time, the PCUSA can win every case, monitzie every settlement, get into the property management business full time. It cannot and will not save them, no amount of money thrown down the black hole will buy their salvation as a denomination or entity. Once their people have departed or died, or both, they can hug and take comfort in their banks accounts, and when the Good Lord calls them to account, their money will accompany them on their journey, which for them is not a good news day.