Christian Church or Social Club?

A letter from Bob Evers, a member of the Committee:

My name is Bob Evers, and I have not only been a Bay Ridge resident for 35 years, but have had the Honor and pleasure of raising 7 Children in this wonderful neighborhood.

I have been receiving all the emails from your organization and so many of it's members, and appreciate the time and energy you have spent trying to save the "Green Church"...

Being part of the "Older" Boomer generation that still feels and acts like children at times, I have been interested in the Battle lines formed here. It's like so many of the Feel Good movies where the typical Buck Hungry Developer tries to speed up a deal and ruin a neighborhood before anyone finds out how Bad the result will actually be.

But in this case the real Bad Guys seem to be the Congregation. "We don't want to grow". If that is their wish then why don't they open a social club somewhere, because they are not a "Church".

...The discussion of the church's responsibility never came up...its responsibility as a Church, a House of God, The Body of Christ.

As a Christian Church, it's ONLY Goal is to spread the Word of the Gospel, the Good News, to all who will listen. Christ's life was the culmination of thousands of years of Human History interspersed with the Word of God through His Prophets -- the continual Prophesy of the Coming of the Messiah. The ONLY Doctrine that matters in Any Christian Denomination is the Teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, and our responsibility as Christians is to bring those teachings to all who will listen.

We, as part of any Christian Congregation, are supposed to be Stewards of this mission, Disciples of His teachings, His Life being the Culmination of all the Books of the Old Testament... The New Testament ended with His Statement that we " Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature". This is the Foundation of Christian Doctrine.

To do anything less, to say "We can no longer do this", "We have other objectives" or "We do not want to grow" disenfranchises you from being a Christian Church. If you are not a Church carrying out the Doctrine that makes you a Church, gives Reason for your existence, then you are a Social Organization for "People of Good Feelings". Nothing more, nothing less.

The Organization of the "People of Good Feelings" should not have protection as a Church. It should not be protected by Federal, State or City Law... The sale should not go forth with special accommodations... If they want to give up their responsibility...their dedication to their own Church Doctrine, then they should be stopped in Court from benefiting from committing Fraud.

If they were a real Church, they would...be able to explain how their sale would benefit their congregation in its stated goal of growing, reaching out and expanding its obligations to teach the Gospel to as many as possible. Instead, it is easy to see how they are simply trying to maximize the monetary benefit to the Social Organization of the "People of Good Feelings".

...This... is... a Logical, Legal and Ethical question that could and should be put before the Court...

Bob Evers