The Death of the United Methodist Church: Part 5 - Tale of Two Husbands
Introduction
The once-great United Methodist Church's demise is symptomatic of a deeper, more troubling theological problem. This problem is not unique to the UMC. Most of the churches in the United States voluntarily participate in this sin without batting an eye. I have been writing and speaking about this problem for many years, and I am shocked at how indifferent pastors and parishioners are.
Two Husbands?
Imagine a wife legally joining herself to another man. What husband would tolerate such behavior? What kind of man would he be if he passively put up with his wife committing legal adultery? God is obvious in His Law that He hates adultery:
You shall not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14
Paul writes in Ephesians 5:25:
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
Revelation 19:7-9 reveals the marriage feast of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, with the Bride, His Church:
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."
The Old Testament says it like this:
For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. Isaiah 54:5
God likens physical adultery to spiritual adultery:
Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the Lord. Jeremiah 3:20
What Is Incorporation?
What does this have to do with the United Methodist Church? Everything! Most of the churches in the United States of America are participating in this same sin. How may you ask? It is through submitting the Church to the State through incorporation.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines incorporation as:
1 a: to unite or work into something already existent so as to form an indistinguishable whole, b: to blend or combine thoroughly
2 a: to form into a legal corporation, b: to admit to membership in a corporate body
3: to give material form to : EMBODY
When a Church incorporates, it becomes united "into something already existent to form an indistinguishable whole.” How many "blend or combine thoroughly" the Church? When the Bride of Christ incorporates with the State "the two become one flesh." (Genesis 3:24)
The second definition is the legal side of the term. To understand this, let us consult the Cornel Law School's legal definition:
A corporation is a legal entity created through the laws of its State of incorporation. Individual states have the power to promulgate laws relating to the creation, organization and dissolution of corporations.
Since when did God give the State permission to create, organize, and dissolve the Church? Never! Neither did He give any church leaders the right to join the Church with the State through incorporation.
The Bride of Christ
Biblically speaking, the Church is the Bride of the great Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is not the only Husband of the Church; He is her Founder and Creator:
Jesus said to Simon Peter, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18
Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Psalm 127:1
The house of God is the church of the living God. 1 Timothy 3:15
Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:20-22
And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. Colossians 1:18
The Wedding of Church and State
When a church voluntarily incorporates, the separation between Church and State is destroyed. Jesus Christ, the sovereign head of the Church, is replaced by a new sovereign. The local expression of the Bride of Christ becomes the wife of a new husband once the corporation papers are accepted. The problem with this is as Jesus so eloquently stated in Matthew 6:24:
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
The Money Connection
Speaking of money, the main reason most churches incorporate is because of money. First of all, Church leaders want the tax-breaks that not-for-profit corporations benefit from in the United States. They also believe the only way people can write off contributed money is through incorporation. No one does their homework to find out that the True Church already has these rights because of Church and State's separation.
They don't tell you that once the church becomes a fictitious legal person created by the State, it becomes taxable. The State cannot tax the True Church because of the separation of Church and State. But now that the church has blended with the State through incorporation, it is now taxable. The next hoop an incorporated church must jump through is to apply for tax-exemption through the 501(c)3 line of the tax code. Once this happens, the marriage is complete.
The other monetary reason churches incorporate is because of the fear of being sued. Even though incorporated churches are sued all the time, and savvy attorneys know how to "pierce the corporate veil." Church leaders line up to voluntarily fill out their incorporation papers out of fear, misinformation, and because of money.
I know from experience that it is possible to plant, pastor, and administer a church that does not incorporate with the State. I was the pastor of the Covenant of Grace Church here in Connecticut for over twelve years. The only inconvenience I had was when stores such as Staples asked for the tax-exemption number. I would explain to them that a church is automatically “tax-exempt.” They would look at me with a blank expression because they need a number to put into their computer. If paying sales tax was the price we had to pay to remain the Bride of One Husband, we gladly paid. My point is that it is possible to be an unincorporated church in the United States. I could write a book on this, but for now, I offer these words of encouragement.
The Church in Oppressed Nation
As a side note, the Church exists in many oppressive nations such as China. However, to legally run a church in many of these countries, you must register the church. If you do not, you may be closed down or put in prison. Non-state churches are illegal, but thanks to the faithful pastors in these countries, they meet anyway. How ironically sad that the Church in the United States voluntarily does what the oppressed Church must do in other nations.
Through incorporation, the State has the legal authority in the United States to dictate what the Church can and cannot preach or do. At this present time, the State exercises little interference, but that can and will change in the blink of an eye.
Sadly, the fragment churches that splinter off the UMC after the split will most likely subject the Bride of Christ's new expression to the sin of incorporation.
Divorce the State
There is only one way out. It is for the Church, in whatever local expression She has, to repent of this sin. The repentance can only be accomplished by each church dissolving their 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporate marriage with the State. Only then will God pour out His blessing once again upon His Beloved Bride. Until then, Christ will remain a jealous Husband.