Matt Chandler Proves That the Membership Covenant Is a Legal Document

By Dee Parsons
Wartburg Watch
June 13, 2019

https://bit.ly/2wX3r1i

This is a public service announcement from TWW to help all of you who want to buy one of Matt Chandler’s *clean* steaks from the Texas Craft Steaks. This picture is NOT a joke even if my words are a bit snarky.He owns this company.

“I went to law school. And I became a prosecutor. I took on a specialty that very few choose to pursue. I prosecuted child abuse and child homicide cases. Cases that were truly gut-wrenching. But standing up for those kids, being their voice for justice was the honor of a lifetime.” Susana Martinez

Hey folks. I am still recuperating and catching up on some interesting things which will see the light in posts in the coming weeks. However, I realized that I wanted to look again at membership convenants in light of the Matt Chandler scandal in the NYT: Attorneys Boz Tchividjian and Mitch Little Help a Sex Abuse Victim in Her Quest to Hold Matt Chandler and The Village Church Accountable

Please reread the NYT (link in above post) and pay particular attention to the  statements surrounding the “You can’t sue the church, you signed the *covenant.*”

I plan to write more on this subject and have someone helping compile a number of comments regarding Chandler coming out of the conference. Chandler appeared and made a statement about his *problem* at the convention that was promptly removed from the website. Thankfully, Leonardo Blair posted it on You Tube. I found Chandler’s statement to be self indulgent. Maybe that’s why the SBC removed the video. They are beginning to understand “optics.*

After viewing the video, you may want to read an old post which I added below the video. It was one of many post I wrote proving that membership covenants are legal documents to help the church prevent you from suing them when they do something really, really bad. It also allows them to do some really, really bad things to you.

In that post, if you are concerned that you have signed one of these contracts, we have a suggestion on how to get out of it.

Folks, do not sign these things. Caveat emptor and all that jazz.

Contract law is essentially a defensive scorched-earth battleground where the constant question is, “if my business partner was possessed by a brain-eating monster from beyond space-time tomorrow, what is the worst thing they could do to me?” ― Charles Stross link

Stop before you sign.

It’s Labor Day and I’ve decided to rerun a post we wrote in 2014 which needs to be discussed for the sake of new readers.

TWW is one of the few blogs out there which discusses the problems with membership covenants which we call a membership contract.We contend that it is a legal contract and that churches will use that contract to keep members *under their umbrellas.*

We advise, when asked (and sometimes even when not asked,) that readers do NOT sign these documents without getting legal advice. We find it odd (or par for the course) that churches rarely, if ever, explain that the member is signing a legal contract. This lack of transparency on the part of the church should be noted by those being urged sign said contract. Why won’t they tell you? Ask them straight out and see what they say…

IMPORTANT FACT: The church will not disclose what actions they will discipline a priori. That means, folks, it could be anything from skipping Sunday school for a few weeks to asking too many awkward questions about the budget or the conferences the pastor is attended. Like Geico, we have seen it all.

What if you have signed such a contract and now regret doing so?

Please read the post which will help you to understand that you have singed a legal contract. However, the legal contract can become null and void at any time of your choosing, even if the church says you cannot leave the church while under church discipline. They are absolutely WRONG. In fact, they are lying to you if they say this.

In the United States, just as you may join an organization, you can leave the organization whenever you darn well please. What authority driven churches won’t tell you is that YOU hold the power and can sue them if they decide to put your *under church discipline* retroactively, MaTT Chandler did that to Karen Hinckley at The Village Church. She had resigned in writing and they *wouldn’t let her.* Needless to say, Chandler got schooled in the matter and backed off, with an apology.

Read on and learn how to get out of your church contract.

One point: I have had a couple of pastors claim that they have *covenants* and would never use it as a contract. Isn’t that nice…. We believe that if the time comes, and they are sufficiently into *I’m the authority around here,* they will discover the beauty of the legal aspects of the church contract.

Please call us if we can be of assistance in helping you to leave your church or to simply drop your membership. Follow the steps below and we can assure you that many churches will back off and the ones who do not are just plumb stupid.

Read on to put the power back in your court.

Happy Labor Day.

I had to post this! The quote TGC article and its recommendations are going to pushed next week at TGC’s conference.

Recently, I did a search on church membership covenants/contracts and realized that this website is one of the few which actually is raising questions about this current push to have members sign these things. What don’t they want you to know?

YOU ARE SIGNING (OR HAVE SIGNED)A LEGAL DOCUMENT! 

Yes, I know this is shouting but everyone who is being asked to sign these contracts/covenants or has already signed one needs to know the intent of these agreements. They are not some loosey goosey “let’s all pray for one another” agreement. They are designed to prevent the church from getting sued when they discipline you.

This morning I saw a post at The Gospel™ Coalition website called 5 Actions Churches Should Take in a Changing Legal Culture. 

At first I thought this was going to be limited to the concern that churches would be forced by the government to perform same sex marriages. In fact that is how the article started off. But, the following got slipped in further down in the article.

This advice will be given at next week’s TGC conference.

Download the free Protecting Your Ministry resource, or visit booth 109 at The Gospel Coalition National Conference in Orlando, April 13 to 15, to grab a hard copy and enter to win one of six $500 gift certificates to the conference bookstore.

The post is written by an attorney and she is in the business of protecting churches, not individuals.

Christiana Holcomb is litigation counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom in its Scottsdale, Arizona, office. Holcomb specializes in protecting the freedom and autonomy of churches and ministries.

She strongly recommends that churches adopt a written membership policy.

Carefully read her advice.

5. Adopt a written membership policy.

Only those persons who “unite” with the church have consented to the church’s authority over them. As a result, churches with formal members have greater legal protection when it becomes necessary to exercise church discipline. Churches are encouraged to adopt a written membership policy that explains the procedure for becoming a church member, procedures for member discipline, and procedures for rescinding church membership.

Of course, this recommendation does not mean that a church should adopt a form of church government to which it does not subscribe. Churches can still have designated members who affirm they are committed to and part of a church body, even if there is no voting or say in church practices.

Let’s review what she said.

• Unite is a nice word for signing on the dotted line.
• If you unite, you agree to the church’s authority over you.
• If you unite, the church has legal protection to apply church discipline.
• There is no definition for what violations church discipline is instituted; merely the procedures to do so.
• Corollary: They can discipline what ever they darn well please and they do so in many churches.
• There should be procedures for rescinding church membership.
• Corollary: That means they can also NOT rescind church membership.

The final point is the most important for all to understand in this entire essay. They can tell you that you are not allowed to resign your membership until ….whatever.

A church does not have to give you any say or vote in church practices.

Do you understand this? Let me say it another way. A  church can do whatever they darn well like in the way of discipline and they do not have to listen to your disagreement or concerns, whatsoever. You are merely a silent sheep who gives money to the church. Do not think a *plurality* of elders will give you protection. Elders become elders by agreeing with the pastors in the vast majority of churches.

TWW recommends that potential members of churches carefully consider if they are willing to give away legal protection and their freedom by signing these covenants. This blog has highlighted story after story of poorly applied and abusive church discipline. We are currently sitting on a huge story of a well known, TGC linked church that applied church discipline in a shocking manner. We hope to be able to tell the story within the next 2 weeks.

How to get out of a previously signed covenant.

You may be able to get out of a covenant/contract by following the advice in this TWW post. We are still working on a resource page on this matter since we seem to be one of the few sources educating church goers of this concerning trend.

Once again, you are signing a legal contract no matter what cutesy, spiritual name they apply to it. 

Here is a brief excerpt from that post!

The Membership Covenant

Did you know that most churches consult attorneys to draw up these covenants? Are you aware that they were developed, not for purposes of sweet fellowship, but to protect the church in case an angry church member sues them? Did you know that some angry church members are actually justified? For those of you who have signed such a document (Dee has and has successfully gotten out of one), were you advised that you were signing a document that had been vetted by lawyers? (Dee was not). An open and honest church should advise unsuspecting potential members of this fact and encourage them to seek similar advice.

How to Resign

Three years ago, I spoke with a nationally well-known attorney who informed me that the only power that churches have is the ability to throw members out of the church. They can do that with very little recrimination. But, they could have some legal trouble announcing a member’s supposed “sins” to the full church if said member employs the following procedure. What we are about to discuss has been “run by” legal experts. However, TWW states categorically that this should not be taken to mean it is an official legal position. Please seek advice of an attorney for an authorized opinion.

The Steps:

• Resign your church membership prior to the all-church announcement. Better yet, before harsh discipline is applied.
• Keep your lips sealed.
• Do not tell anyone that you are going to take the following action. You do not want Sally Sycophant (we all know a few of these) to run to the pastors and report this, giving them an opportunity quickly schedule the all church gossip session.

The Letter:  (We give special thanks to ARCE, who knows a thing or two, for sending this format to TWW.)

1. Send the following letter, return receipt requested (and tracking, in case the Post Office lets them have it without returning the card).
2. Put the return receipt number on the heading of the letter (you can get the form with the number at the PO, before typing the letter).
3. The format

Date
To the pastors and administrators at ____________ church.

This letter is notice that I am not longer a member [attendee] at _______________ church, effective with the date of this letter.
As a non-member, I am no longer subject to any of your discipline as of (date on letter). After (date on letter), any publication, notice, or speaking about me by any church staff or recognized church leader is no longer authorized by me.
Any negative remark or statement about me, any encouragement that people shun me, or any action other than deleting me from your records will be evaluated for possible legal action for libel or other tort claim against the individuals involved and the organization.
If any one asks about me, refer them to me, any other action may result in a tort claim against you.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. You must desist from any act that may harm my reputation or me or come between me and other persons of my acquaintance. Legal action may ensue.
Sincerely,

Sending this letter and the aftermath

• You must mail the letter on the date on the letter and they will not receive it for a couple of days thereafter.
• Keep a copy, print out the tracking showing when it was delivered, keep the green card or, if it is refused, the returned letter (they are legally responsible for the content if they refuse it).
• Document any response or any failure to comply. If they (leadership or staff) call, listen but do not talk, except to say “I disagree” if they make a false statement about you.
• Document the conversation.
• Go to an attorney if they proceed to trash your reputation or that of your business.
• Do not respond by trashing the organization.