Monthly Archives: August 2011

Breaking Up with the Church

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A reader sends in this scathing blog post from a church member who decides to seperate from the church.

The church is the popular kids in high school picking on the artists for being different. This is NOT what Jesus intended, and I cannot be a part of that anymore.

So yeah, I’m kind of bitter, but to be clear, it’s at the institutions of the church, not the people who make up the community. I love and cherish the people we’ve met through our journey through the church, and I’ve made some real lifelong friends that I know will never abandon me despite my mad rantings. The people are really what make up the church not the ideas or structures that oppress. There are some amazing people trying to make a difference in the world through the church, and I am honored to know and have served alongside them.  Many of my friends are some of the best parts of the church.

Totally agree. On an individual level the people who make up the church are great. But sadly, on a corporate level, they kind of suck.

A Couple More Fun Reads

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And by fun, I mean, "Touch not God's Annointed!"

A pastor in Houston refuses to give his church communion because they refuse to give him their tax refunds.  He wants to build a new parking lot for the church, but does not have enough money.  This sounds harsh. But to be fair to the pastor, there is a little known verse in the Bible, where Jesus commands his disclipes to "Go out and create parking lots across the world".

And here is another article discussing The Church at South Las Vegas's recent bankruptcy. The article gives a few more details about the reasons for the bankruptcy. Sounds like Benny Perez might be in for a bigger fight than he imagined. I am so torn on this battle. The two institutions I despise most in America are Mega-Churches that preach Prosperity Jesus and large banks.  A pox on both their houses.

Thanks to Scrupe and Monte for bringing these articles to my attention.

The Church at South Las Vegas files for Bankruptcy

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From reader Detox, we get news that Benny Perez's church has filed for bankruptcy in Las Vegas. Benny Perez is the pastor of The Church at South Las Vegas and is Judah Smith's brother-in-law. Which, you know, makes this story that much more delightful. 

Here are the details:

The Church of South Las Vegas paid $4.5 million for 3.3 acres of Las Vegas Valley land three years ago. In March, that land appraised for $475,000—a 90 percent decline. The church owes a combined $7.7 million on the property and land. It appraised for $2.3 million. So, like many property owners in Las Vegas—one of the hardest hit real estate markets in the nation—Perez is upside down … $5.4 million upside down.

And Benny's justification:

 All I know is that for us as a church, it is a stewardship issue. Would you keep throwing thousands of dollars into a black hole? The bank wants to milk our savings and everything we have until we can’t pay anymore. Bankruptcy was a business decision.”


Ha! IT IS ALL A BUSINESS DECISION! From the color of the carpet, to the size of the pews, to the attractiveness of your associate pastors, every decision you make, Benny, is a business decision. But hey, at least you finally admit it.

For me personally, the decision to strategically default raises a few issues. (To those who are unaware: A strategic default is one where you refuse to pay your loan even though you have the income to pay the loan. This is different from a traditional default, where you simply do not have the money to pay the loan. Benny can pay his loan to the bank, he just does not want to.)

Legally speaking, as long as the church filed the proper paper work and got a judge to sign off on the bankruptcy then they are operating completely within the law.  Of course, when the bank forecloses and takes the church, the bank will be operating completely within the law as well.

From a practical side, I tend to think the strategic default was probably a smart move. The church property and building were unlikely to ever appreciate to the levels at which they were purchased. Thus, defaulting on the loan will likely end up saving The Church at South Las Vegas millions of dollars in the long run.  Now, if the church loses the building and it destroys the church in the process, then this will not look like such a smart decision.

From a moral perspective, I am kind of torn.  Do you have a moral obligation to continue to honor a contract as long as you still can?  Benny Perez could continue to pay his loan, he just felt it was in his financial best interest to default. He broke a contract. It is one thing to default if you simply cannot pay, and you are doing your best to pay. It is another issue entirely to stop paying a loan, simply because you want to use the money for something else. Does Benny Perez have a moral obligation to uphold his contract? I honestly do not know. It all comes down to how you view contracts. Are they simply financial transactions or is there an element of morality involved. Before the housing crisis, I would have argued that everyone should continue to honor their contracts with the bank as long as they could continue to pay the mortgage. However, after the housing crisis and seeing the way the banks behaved, I am beginning to believe that there is no moral aspect in dealing with banks. 

And of course, the $64,000 question is how long before City Bible Church files for bankruptcy.  It may never happen, but I would almost guarantee that the discussion has been had. 

Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?

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On Andrew Sullivan's blog they are having an interesting discussion on whether Adam & Eve actually existed, And whether they were the first two humans created. I kind of always thought the story of Adam & Eve was just an allegory for the fall of man and the eventual need for the redemptive love of Christ. But of course, others disagree. 

One theory I had not heard, which I found fascinating was that "God created Adam as a beachhead on an already fallen earth."

More specifically, the theory goes: 

"The angelic fall preceded the fall from Eden and so the Earth and its inhabitants were already evolving (yes, evolving) in a spiritually-fallen universe.  The opening Genesis narrative is specifically the view from within Eden – a plot of land freshly created (or carved out) to launch God's spiritual plan and battle for redemption.  And the plan, on a spiritual level, required the creation of two, unfallen human beings.  The creation of Adam and Eve within this Eden requires no more of a leap of faith than any other Biblical miracle (think the Immaculate Conception).

This is the Cliff's notes version of the theory, of course.  But it starts us down the road of reconciling science with Christian theology and the actual Biblical narrative."

Interesting theory.  

Allow Me To Shamelessly Promote Myself

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You know what is awesome? When I ignore this blog and then only show up to promote myself.

But here I go:  

So, I moved back to Portland, Oregon and am currently attempting to start up my own legal practice. As such, if any of you have a legal question, please feel free to contact me. I am only too happy to help readers of this blog. 

I also created a website for my practice and I am creating links to my website to help improve my search engine results.  Thus, here is a link to my website, Morton Law, LLC.  As a bonus, if you click on the link, you can see my intense intimidating lawyer face.

Thanks as always for reading and commenting. I may not play as active a role as I used to, but I continue to remain impressed with the level of participation from you readers.  The "Warning Against Church of the Harvest" post is only a couple of dozen comments away from being the most commented post on this blog. Well played, folks. Well played. 

New Apostolic Reformation

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From an article discussing Texas Governor Rick Perry's presidential aspirations:

Joel 2, the specific Old Testament chapter Perry is referring to, has a special meaning for many evangelical Christians—and more specifically among a small but growing movement called the New Apostolic Reformation. Its adherents believe the nation has become unmoored from its moral foundations, and that our present misfortunes are a direct consequence. They believe it will take a new push by modern-day apostles—messengers who've received their instructions directly from God—to put things back on course. And the apostles, as the Texas Observer's Forrest Wilder has detailed, believe Perry is one of them.

I have been out of the loop for a few years. But I have never heard of this New Apostolic Reformation movement.  Is this a Texas thing? A Christian Tea-Party? Do some of you readers consider yourself apart of this movement? I'm genuinely curious.

Evangelicals Who Truly Live Their Faith

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In my quest to find Evangelicals who are actually living Christ-like lives, I give you this article from Nick Kristof. He notes the many Evangelicals who are doing amazing things for the poor and needy across the world.


Those self-appointed evangelical leaders come across as hypocrites, monetizing Jesus rather than emulating him. Some seem homophobic, and many who claim to be “pro-life” seem little concerned with human life post-uterus. Those are the preachers who won headlines and disdain.

But in reporting on poverty, disease and oppression, I’ve seen so many others. Evangelicals are disproportionately likely to donate 10 percent of their incomes to charities, mostly church-related. More important, go to the front lines, at home or abroad, in the battles against hunger, malaria, prison rape, obstetric fistula, human trafficking or genocide, and some of the bravest people you meet are evangelical Christians (or conservative Catholics, similar in many ways) who truly live their faith.

I’m not particularly religious myself, but I stand in awe of those I’ve seen risking their lives in this way — and it sickens me to see that faith mocked at New York cocktail parties.

Why does all this matter?

Because religious people and secular people alike do fantastic work on humanitarian issues — but they often don’t work together because of mutual suspicions. If we could bridge this “God gulf,” we would make far more progress on the world’s ills.

And that would be, well, a godsend.

The wrong pastors get all the headlines.