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Saturday, September 24, 2011

Christ Church, Savannah breakaway from Episcopal Church: Report

Report on Christ Church, Savannah, GA and its breakway from the Episcopal Church: a look at a Property Dispute, too
by Peter Menkin
Christ Church, Savannah. Poster circa 1920.

  
Worldwide, Anglicans who were upper class women of England mostly–100 years ago–are today on average an African Black woman of about 21, poor, with one child. It is a very different world for Anglicans than 100 years ago. (A Facebook posting.)










The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States, but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe. The Episcopal Church is the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States and most other territories where it has a presence (excluding Europe). The Episcopal Church describes itself as being “Protestant, Yet Catholic”. In 2009, the Episcopal Church had a baptized membership of 2,175,616 both inside and outside the U.S. In the United States, it had a baptized membership of 2,006,343, making it the nation’s fifteenth largest denomination. (Episcopal Church Facebook.)










The Anglican Church in North America unites some 100,000 Anglicans in nearly 1,000 congregations across the United States and Canada. The Anglican Church is a Province-in-formation in the global Anglican Communion committed to reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. The Most Rev. Robert Duncan is the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America and Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. (Anglican Church in North America Facebook.)

In this article-interview that covers the property dispute between the Episcopal Church and Christ Church, Savannah regarding the breakaway Christ Church leaving that Communion and joining the Anglican Church in North America, this writer had the privilege of talking with a number of key people. Included in this group of people with whom the writer spoke was The Reverend Jim Elliott, an attorney who is Chancellor of the Diocese of Georgia (Episcopal Church). Reverend Jim is the lead attorney in the case before the State of Georgia Supreme Court asking for the Episcopal Church Communion’s property back. The breakaway Communion and the two Christ Church, Savannah claimants have a conflict of belief, so Christ Church, Savannah who holds the property says.









This email was sent to Reverend Jim Elliott in the course of our conversation by phone and conversation by email:


Dear Reverend Chancellor:
Here from my notes of a conversation with Archbishop Duncan are a few of the theological arguments for Christ Church, Savannah leaving the Episcopal Church Communion. I spoke with him while he was in London just this week for about 15 minutes. During this appointment by phone, when he arrived in his office after a trip from another place in the city by underground, the conversation focused on theological matters. Because he had a meeting with the Primate of the Southeast Asia part of the Anglican Communion, we were unable to get to the property issue questions involved in the Georgia Supreme Court case. That was too bad, for it meets my needs and purposes for the article. Perhaps to your mind the last attribution to him in this list of notes and quotes is relevant to property issues.












Archbishop Robert Duncan,
Anglican Communion in North America,
called, "his Grace."











The theological issues in brief:

Quote:
If you wanted to understand at the very root the theological issues are, they all surround the English reformation that the Holy Scriptures were the ultimate of the faith. The Bible is determinative of what the faith says, or what the order of the Church Christian morality would say. Everything really hangs on that affirmation of the Reformation. That was reiterated in the Chicago Quadrilateral.

From notes, not a quote:
The Episcopal Church has in the areas of Christology: Jesus is what he says he is. Is Jesus the Son of God? Is there any other way to go? The answer is no. The Episcopal Church has increasingly answered those questions in a different way. Towards universalism or … a multifaith way towards salvation. That is at the heart of the Christological issue.


Again, a paraphrase from notes:
The morality issues of marriage, chasteness, same sex (marriages)– The Episcopal Church is giving different answers (from us). You can see how this has all tied back to the scripture as understanding. 

Notes on a statement by the Archbishop re Property Rights and Issues:
In that case, it’s true for Pittsburgh, San Joaquin, [both Episcopal Diocese that left the Episcopal Church] we didn’t leave anything [that is, these Dioceses did not leave the Episcopl Church, but the Episcopal Church left the Dioceses]. The Episcopal Church is claiming when the Church changes the parishes or diocese have to change. The Saints did not change. We would claim you can’t change from the faith once delivered. We’re thankful for their courage.

Your comment to these individually or as a group is welcomed and hoped for, and if you want to frame it as a Property Issue, do so—even in the negative to say these are not relevant to the case before the Georgia Supreme Court, or that they do not bear witness to the dispute at hand either in a legal or any other sense. I encouraged this so I will have a clear statement for the published piece regarding the position of the Episcopal Church as seen both by you as attorney in the case and for The Diocese of Georgia.

With thanks for your consideration, and early response,
I am yours sincerely,
Peter
Peter Menkin


In a lengthy and complete reply, The Reverend Jim Elliott wrote an almost 900 word statement regarding the Diocese of Georgia arguments and position about the property dispute. In so doing, he reveals some of the attitudes and some of the bitterness in this legal fight for property. He does not believe that theology has much if anything to do with the issue of who owns the property, and who is the legitimate historic Christ Church of Savannah, Georgia.

The Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop said “No,” to making a remark or statement on this case of dispute through her spokeswoman. The Diocese of Georgia’s Bishop chose to make no remark or statement regarding the issue, so its spokesman said. They did make available a written commentary on the case, some of which is quoted in this article. It is expected that the Georgia Supreme Court will rule on the matter by the end of 2011. An inquiry to the Court indicated there was no statement on the case available at this time.

The New York Times reports in November, 2010, in an article titled, “A Church is Divided, and Headed for Court,” by Ellen Goodman, December 5, 2007:

In November, the Diocese of Georgia filed a lawsuit to keep control of Christ Church’s assets, which include a $3 million historic building and an endowment estimated at $2 million to $3 million.
Its claim is based on a church law, adopted in the 1970s, called the Dennis Canon, which says that all parishes hold their property in trust for the diocese. But Christ Church, which was established in 1733, asserts that it has firm legal footing to keep control of its building and property because it existed before the Episcopal denomination, which was established in the United States in 1789.
“That would make the case a pure property case rather than a religious liberty case,” Mr. Witte said. “They will have to argue that their church is closer to the values of the late 18th century” than the Episcopal Church is today. And that, he added, is “an argument that hasn’t been tested in federal courts.”

 
   



Churches of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia



A video showing the 70 churches, 3 chapels and convent in the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, which encompasses the lower two-thirds of the state.




Here is The Reverend Jim Elliott’s statement in its full text:

I am a Priest in The Episcopal Church and a practicing lawyer. I have practiced law in Georgia for twenty-six years and have been the Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia since 2004. In our Diocese, the Chancellor is appointed by the Bishop and confirmed by our annual Diocesan Convention, which is the elected governing body of the Diocese.
I am counsel to the Diocese and Christ Church Episcopal in their suit against the former rector and former members of the vestry (the local church’s governing board) who left The Episcopal Church and who remain in possession of my clients’ property.

  • Christ Church Episcopal is the Mother Church of Georgia. Christ Church Episcopal remains a faithful Parish in The Episcopal Church and we want them restored to their rightful church home.
  • The suit that we filed on behalf of the Parish and the Diocese is to recover the property. The suit is not and indeed cannot be about theological disagreements. The United States Constitution prohibits our courts from adjudicating theological disagreements.
  • The group currently in possession of The Episcopal Church’s historic church building in Savannah is no longer part of The Episcopal Church. That group of individuals left The Episcopal Church and joined another church which is not nor has it ever been a part of The Episcopal Church. They have since apparently affiliated themselves with a different group which is not nor has it ever been a part of The Episcopal Church. They are not Episcopalians.
  • That group left The Episcopal Church and joined the Church of Uganda, taking our property with them in violation of the rules of the Church and Georgia law.
  • Their clergy and members of the church’s governing board all took an oath promising to uphold and follow the rules of The Episcopal Church but they have refused to do so.
  • We have had to resort to the courts to regain the property in which faithful Episcopalians have worshiped for generations.
  • The Chatham County Superior Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals have upheld longstanding legal precedent in our state and have confirmed that Christ Church Episcopal and the Diocese of Georgia are entitled to possession of the property that the departing group of individuals took with them when they decided to join a different church.
  • The law in Georgia has held for over 200 years that churches such as ours and many other non-congregational churches hold their property subject to the rules and mode of government of the church. That was the law when Christ Church became a parish in the Diocese of Georgia in 1823 and it is still the law today.
  • Churches such as The Episcopal Church (which has an elected representative form of government) and many other denominations require that the church’s property be held for the benefit of those who remain part of the denomination. Georgia law and the rules of such churches do not permit removal of property to another church or denomination.
  • The Georgia Court of Appeals’ ruling upholds the longstanding rule that churches such as ours have a Constitutional right to govern themselves as they choose without fear that their property will be taken away from those who wish to remain part of the church.
  • Congregational churches govern themselves differently and have local control over their property by virtue of the way they choose to govern themselves. The Court of Appeals’ ruling in our case does not change that.
  • However, the Court of Appeals has said that all of our property should be returned to us and that the group that left the Church has no right to it. The decision of the Georgia Court of Appeals has been appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court.
  • The individuals in possession of the Church’s property argue that our Supreme Court should cast aside longstanding Georgia law purportedly in the name of “religious liberty”. They ask the Court to ignore generations-old rules of the Church and the promises made by church members and clergy to uphold and follow those rules. They ask the Court to tell churches that they are no longer free to govern themselves as they choose. They ask the Court to rule that a group of local church members can deprive faithful Episcopalians and the Episcopal Church of their property. They ask the Court to deprive Christ Church Episcopal of its religious liberty because a group of people decided they wanted to join another church.
  • The individuals that left The Episcopal Church are certainly free leave and join another church but they may not take with them a church which was built as a Parish of The Episcopal Church and consecrated and set aside for divine worship in The Episcopal Church. They may not deprive faithful Episcopalians of property which may only be used for the mission and ministry of The Episcopal Church.
  • The Supreme Court of Georgia heard oral argument in May and we expect a decision before the end of 2011. Regardless of the outcome, we will remain what we as Episcopalians have always been. We will remain faithful witnesses in word and in deed to the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


The Diocese of Georgia says this is its theological premise:

Our Beliefs
We believe first and foremost that we can best come to know God, our creator, through a relationship with his son, Jesus Christ. The clearest statements of what we believe are to be found in The Apostle’s Creed and The Nicene Creed. These 2,000-year-old creeds (short statements of faith) are held to be true by billions of people around the world today. Beyond that, the best place to learn what Episcopalians believe is the Bible, which is the source of our theology, and the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). The BCP is not only the guide to our conduct of worship, but it is also articulates our theology.



Life of the breakaway Parish continues its appeal to friends and Parishioners to come to the aid of their cause, give money to the defense of their position as owners of the historic property. This YouTube shows their Rector Marc Robertson in that appeal.


Christ Church Savannah: Gospel Defense Fund


 INTERVIEW WITH THE REVEREND MARC ROBERTSON
In its websites remarks of welcome, the Parish statement reads: Christ Church, the Mother Church of Georgia, has been an Anglican house of worship since 1733. We seek to know Christ by being a Bible-based congregation, we seek to grow in Christ by being a family-focused community of faith, and we seek to go in the name of Christ by being a mission-minded parish.
In a world of confusion and unbelief, Christ Church stands for the historic Christian faith. It is our joy and privilege to join God in His mission to expand His kingdom and raise up faithful servant-leaders to minister to the last, the least, and the lost of this world. We invite you to join us in this profound mission. If you live in Savannah, you are welcomed to be a part of this Christian family. If you are planning to visit Savannah, please join us for worship – we look forward to seeing you. – Marc Robertson, Rector

The Church website reports of the Rector:

Marc was born in Gadsden, Alabama, where he grew up in the Episcopal Church. He received his B.A. degree from the College of William and Mary, with theological studies at St. Mary’s Divinity School in St. Andrews, Scotland. He holds masters degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary and St. Luke’s School of Theology (Sewanee, TN), and a doctorate (D. Min.) from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Marc has been rector at Christ Church since January of 1992. He and his wife Alice, and their two sons, Jon and Matt, live with a number of animals (mainly dogs) at his home south of the parish.


Email mrobertson@christchurchsavannah.org, or call (912) 232-4131 x 102

The Reverend Marc Robertson (left)

This interview held by phone has been both transcribed from that conversation between this writer, and The Reverend Marc Robertson. As well, Reverend Marc has made some written comments as additions. Some paraphrase to help with clarity was done by this writer. Made by phone to the Rector’s office at his Church in Savannah, this writer spoke from his home office north of San Francisco. No tape recording was done of the phone conversation. The date of the interview is August 22, 2011.

1.      Please tell us something of the historic nature of Christ Church, Savannah and in what ways (the how, if you will) that this move from the Episcopal Church to the Anglican Church in North America is a theological statement of historic kind? Will you also say something of the theological areas that are of positive value you’ve found outside the Episcopal Church with the Anglican Church in North America?

The interesting thing historically of our move from the Episcopal Church was [it was] the Episcopal Church that moved, not Christ Church that moved. It was the Episcopal Church that failed to follow traditional values. They introduced a new understanding of marriage, and they introduced a new understanding of what it means to be a Bishop. In our view, we just wanted to remain where we were. We were not prepared to go with the Episcopal Church with its innovations. Having said that, we had to take deliberate actions to disaffiliate ourselves from the Episcopal Church.

Our decision was to stay; the decision of The Episcopal Church (TEC) was to move, to embrace innovations that went beyond the historic identity of Christian Faith and Practice. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) affirms Jesus as “the way, the truth, and the life” and “no one comes to the Father except through Him” (John 14:6) in its opening Theological Statement.

In the ensuring seven affirmations, the ACNA clearly affirms its belief in the authority of Holy Scripture, the two “gospel sacraments” of Baptism and Eucharist, the historic creeds and Ecumenical Councils, the Book of Common Prayer (the 1662 Book being the standard), and the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion. All of these affirmations are clear and unwavering, and are either abandoned or significantly weakened in formal affirmations of TEC. (See http://anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/about-acna)

Of course, some of those actions included several years of study, engagement both with our members of our congregation, and with the Bishop and staff members of the Diocese. The issues for us had to do with the Episcopal Church’s move away from … Biblical creedal Christianity. One example for me is … the book, “Dirt, greed, and Sex,” by William Countryman.

As a paraphrase, one of the footnotes refers … [to] … the Church not having any concern with such things as bestiality…
… “Dirt, Greed, and Sex,” was published in the early 80s. It was copyright 1988. If you stop and think about that it was over 20 years. It’s been a generation of seminary students who have been engaged with this kind of ethical thinking.

Countryman’s work has served as an ethics textbook in several seminaries. I think matters of like this go quietly underneath the radar. I would be glad to have a charitable debate on this. But seminarians will take this at face value without any opportunities for critical analysis or comparison with traditional Christian ethics. That’s just one example, but rather pointed.



2.      The Christ Church, Savannah congregation has been on a journey of change and prayerful decision making in its relationship with the Episcopal Church. In a phone conversation with you, some of your remarks went: They [the Vestry and congregation] did not want to drag the church and the congregation into unnecessary and serious considerations [of leaving the Episcopal Church]; [and they] very seriously weighed out all the possibilities to avoid the dynamics of walking out. [In the Parish’s decision to leave], there is an historic statement that is made, a weight of history of elements of their identity that few congregations …have [had] to weigh. Our obligations as stewards of the Gospel [were] to take this move. We’re obligated to be stewards of the mother church of Georgia in this area and in the world. We’re the home of the first hymnal in the US language, the oldest continuous running orphanage. We have also a member who was a founder of the Girl Scouts. We have a strong history of an identity that influences the Church well beyond our walls… Talk for a minute or more about this journey, (1) its difficulties, and (2) how it weighed on the congregation, and, (3) finally some of the theological concerns that led to the decision to leave the Episcopal Church?

The difficulties: I want to talk personally of the impact it had one me. I’ve been an Episcopalian all my life. I was baptized in the Episcopal Church in 1954. I’m like many people in today’s denomination. I remained faithful to the Episcopal Church my entire life…until the Episcopal Church began to express an expression of Christianity I could not recognize. In terms of our congregation, we were founded in 1733, which means we [not only] predate the founding of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, but the foundation of the Episcopal Church in the colonies. From my understanding our participation in the first meeting of the Episcopal Church was negligible. But in the early 1800s, we were one of the founding Churches of the Diocese. For some of us, the fifth and sixth generational members here, this [split and property dispute] is incredibly disruptive.

Clarification: It is my understanding that the Christ Church sent a representative to the General Convention, but that he was more or less a “bystander,” and did not take the lead in any matter of Convention. It is quite possible the representative did not stay for the entirety of the Convention (something not unusual in that day), but I cannot say that for certain. The point of this ambivalence is that Christ Church considered itself an independent parish from the founding of the Episcopal Church. It did not acquiesce to the formal structure and governance of The Episcopal Church right away, and has carried with it a sense of historic “independence” in many ways throughout.


The Reverend Marc Robertson was interviewed. He Rector of breakaway Christ Church, Savannah.
We have worshiping with us three generations or more of the same family: parents, grandchildren and children. That same family is buried [here], their parents and grandparents before them, [also].  So the prospects of being forcibly evicted from the building are enormous. Another aspect is a lot of folks are good friends with those locked up in the legal problem. That is just what happens.

I have parishioners who have college buddies they no longer have relationships with. We have married couples who are divided between husband and wife. They do everything to maintain their marriage, but it becomes very painful in their life.

At this time the words that Jesus said become alive: Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law… (Matthew 10:34-35). But this is just one verse in the Bible among scores of verses which were hypothetical for us, but now they’ve become very tangible.

I’m very well aware that distress falls on both sides here. We’re not the only ones who distress falls upon… Some of the other burdens of our journey are the embarrassing misrepresentations of us. We’ve been called prejudiced against homosexual persons, as bigots, or just plain stupid. I would be the first to say we fall short. We are sinners. But that doesn’t make it any less painful when we are misrepresented over the television or in the newspapers.

What I’m trying to say here is that I acknowledge the pain on both sides of this issue. There are those who feel they have been “dispossessed” by Christ Church, “run out” of their home congregation and forced to worship in a building not their own.

My reply would be: You are always welcomed at Christ Church. It was your decision to leave us. You may disagree with the duly-elected leadership and the direction taken by the church, but leaving and then turning around and bringing legal action against us is a bit like killing your parents and then pleading for mercy because you are an orphan.

With regards to misrepresentation in the press: This is a complex matter, and theological differences [between us] do not sell papers. Thus, it is understandable when I am interviewed that media representatives are looking for something “juicy,” “sensational,” or rife with conflict. It is my responsibility, however, to bring to the discussion the theological underpinnings of this decision. I have no desire to ridicule my opponents; I do, however, wish to refute their arguments with charity as well as clarity.
While the courts cannot legally give attention to such matters, I can do so in and through the media, when they allow me. There is some resemblance to Paul’s appeal to Caesar in the book of Acts. Paul waded through the secular law courts of Rome, and while he was being tried as a seditionist and a threat to the Roman state, his message was constantly about the bodily resurrection of Jesus and its implications for humanity.

3.      The Times-Herald reporter writes on July 11, 2011 about one significant issue of theological kind that divides Christ Church, Savannah from The Episcopal Church and may have been one key reason the Church chose to leave the Communion and join the Anglican Church in North America. He says, The “Mother Church” of Episcopalianism in Georgia has sharp divisions that reflect national trends in that denomination — and have led to a protracted lawsuit.

The Times Herald Reporter talks about issues… among important theological ones…the ordaining of gay clergy… That they may not be married and that their relationships are blessed. That becomes the exotic issue that moves the press along. That is the tip of the iceberg. In order to get to that point where one can get to gay marriage or support the ordination of non-celibate persons, be they homosexual or heterosexual, they have to bypass or undermine five tenants of Christian faith: 1. Authority of Scripture; 2. Nature of marriage; 3. Our understanding of human nature itself as complimentary to the sexes; 4. The nature of Epistemology (the understanding of truth); 5. The historic Christian assertion that we live in a moral universe.



4.      In what ways does the Anglican Church in North America welcome the Parish, Christ Church, and will you tell us something of how it speaks to your parish in ways important in liturgy, communion, and faith? You’re quoted as saying, This disagreement is not about real estate. It is about the basic tenets of the historic faith, proclaiming Jesus as the way, the truth and the life. And it is about freedom: freedom of religion, freedom to practice our religion as and where we have for over 275 years, freedom to choose to follow the Jesus Christ of Holy Scripture and not a culturally-manufactured Jesus.

First of all, and I would speak … personally… the leadership of ACNA has been very warm, cordial and receptive to me and to Christ Church. It has been refreshing for me to be a part of a community of faithful, dedicated individuals who seek to come together as a living Church with a common mission. Not that we are all cut out of the same cloth. By no means. Some of us are Anglo-Catholics, some are Evangelicals, and some are Charismatics. And there are other expressions of diversity in our ranks. But we are one in our affirmation in Christ, his Lord, of a Biblical and creedal Christianity, and of the classic Anglican tradition.

The ACNA …affirms the authority of scripture, the divinity of Jesus Christ, the historic creeds, and other similar professions of historic Christianity. Now the ACNA has also stated in its constitution in writing (as well as our Diocese here in the South East), there is no interest in congregational property in any way, unless it is clearly stated by the congregation in a legally, recognized form. [This is different from the claim of the Episcopal Church.]

Also the ACNA affirms the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as the liturgical standard for us along with the majority of the Anglican Communion. In our two Sunday morning services here at Christ Church, one is the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the other at the main service (10:30 o’clock) is the modern form of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Both are affirmed by the ACNA.

Archbishop Robert Duncan,
Anglican Communion in North America

I think it is interesting to add that … Archbishop, Bob Duncan, has given me his personal cell phone number. My first bishop in ACNA, John Guernsey, called me on Christmas Eve (!) and prayed with me over the phone… that my sermons would be powerful and my pastoral ministry effective on that important day. I have known my current bishop, Neil Lebhar, for twenty-five years, and we are part of a support group that meets annually to review our ministries and encourage one another. I never had such offers of support, friendship, and mutual partnership in ministry in my 25 years as a priest in The Episcopal Church.

Thank you for your willingness to do this interview. It’s been good making your acquaintance in this way. If there is something you want to add or say, will you do so here for I may have missed a good issue or question. A major part of the confusion and complexity in this matter is the use of language. The Episcopal Church continues to use religious language, with words like “resurrection,” “the Bible as the Word of God,” or “Jesus is the Son of God.” But when you explore more deeply what such words or phrases mean, they diverge in to a hodge-podge of various personal opinions that can, in the final analysis, only be described as one’s own personal taste or preference…not the historic Faith handed down from generation to generation.

The leadership of The Episcopal Church, much like the leadership of much of mainline Protestantism in the U.S., has consciously or unconsciously embraced the post-modern skepticism as it pertains to language. It is the “Humpty-Dumpty” philosophy of language, when Humpty tells Alice, “When I use a word, it means precisely what I want it to mean; no more, no less.”

Alice retorts, “The question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things.” Humpty then replies with a telling rejoinder: “The question is which is to be master – that’s all.”
In a universe where no objective Truth or Morality exists, all that is left is power and control, and words can be twisted to meet those purposes. In The Episcopal Church (and more broadly, Western society), where a universe is posited that has no objective Truth or Morality, language is a means to an end, and that “end” is reduced to who has the power or control. So we have over fifty lawsuits in The Episcopal Church, almost all of which have been initiated by TEC, in an effort to gain power and control. Our appeal to Truth and Morality seems antiquated in today’s post-modern world, but it is an appeal we believe is true to the Christian Faith.


For readers who want to dig deeper into the legal arguments between the two Communions and specifically the two Christ Church, Savannah contenders over property and identity (who is the real Christ Church, Savannah), these links lead to the oral arguments made in May, 2011 before the Georgia Supreme Court. These the oral statements in video as available on The Daily Report website. This is an earlier story from the Savannah Morning News (January 15, 2011), here. A reader can see that the property issue is no small matter either to the two Christ Church parishes in contention, or to other denominations that have a similar structure.

In a comment to the Savannah Morning News report published in January, 2011, someone who calls himself, “Old Verger,” writes:



Old Verger

… The Episcopal Church is a hierarchical church. It is governed at the national level, with about 100 subordinate units called dioceses. Each diocese has subordinate units that are generally called parishes or missions. Most parishes are organized as individual corporations. But according to Church law, they must hold their property in trust for the next highest organizational unit (the diocese). And church law also prohibits “alienating” property without approval of the next highest organizational unit (the diocese). Christ Church agreed to all of this when the Diocese of Georgia was formed, which is how it was allowed to become an Episcopal Church in the first place. Christ Church is still a Parish in the Episcopal Church. Unfortunately, its congregation is being deprived of its own meeting place at the present time. What this legal matter is really about is the right of the continuing congregation of Christ Church, Episcopal, to occupy and enjoy its own property. Secular courts are required to recognize the authority of Church law in these matters, and the Georgia courts have done that. That is what the original trail court did and what the court of appeals upheld. Of course, individuals are free to leave the Episcopal Church at any time, and some do. However, they may not take the Episcopal Church’s real property, bank accounts and altar silver when they go.



The conservative editor of the news service Virtue talked with this writer by phone and made remarks about the litigation that has gone on between the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion of North America about previous property disputes that went to court.

Editor David Virtue does not paint a positive picture for the outcome for the Episcopal Church if they win the Georgia Supreme Court case. He says there are, “millions of dollars” in property, and that, “The property has tremendous historic value. The Diocese will claim their history. The Parish will say we lost the building and we will take the theology of Wesley with us. The Diocese will have a pyrrhic victory. They will have to sell the building, if they can’t sustain it with the remaining of the congregation.”

He reports with opinion that his remarks reflect, “What’s happening in Virginia, Pittsburg… the bishop’s cut deals. You can have the building at cost, but you cannot join an Anglican Jurisdiction in five years.” The reason deals are being made, he explains, “It’s not just worth the litigation costs anymore.”

Editor of the online Virtue news service indicates his prophetic opinion regarding an outcome in Georgia for Episcopal Church: “Even if they win the property, they aren’t going to win the people. The judge in Diocese of Fort Worth case remarked, I don’t want to see any more empty churches. The Dioceses think they are winning, but they are losing.” To support this remark, Editor Virtue points out, “The average Episcopalian is now in his 60s and the average parish is 68.” He foresees this result for the Episcopal Church and arguing about Gay Marriage and other issues of sexual acceptance by the Episcopal Church sees, “The juncturing or merging of Diocese.” He pointedly remarks, “Sexual sin never wins; they’ll empty the Church doing so [the Episcopal Church will]. They are not winning the hearts of the people. The Episcopal Church is slowly going downhill…Those that are Gospel driven are growing.” He claims about his news service, Virtue Online, “We’re the largest orthodox Anglican news service online.”



Christ Church Episcopal, in a press statement says, with this remark by their Rector:

Father White … “We know that if the Court upholds the two previous favorable rulings, we will return to our church home on Johnson Square and maintain our abiding commitment to Christian grace, joy, humility, and forgiveness.”
 Rector Michael S. White, Christ Church Episcopal, Savannah

“The case involves a dispute over the control of the real and personal property of Christ Church,” said Mimi Jones, the junior warden for Christ Church Episcopal. “It is not about religious faith or depriving someone from practicing their faith; however, such individuals should not do so from the Christ Church building which does not belong to them.”

Father White also noted, “Each day, we seek to be faithful stewards of Christ’s Word and Sacraments. We are a people grounded in the worship of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our congregation continues to be inspired by the strong support and encouragement from the Savannah community and from so many religious organizations in the U.S.”

An important question for Episcopalians is this: What of the validity of the movement, Rediscovering Christian Orthodoxy in the Anglican Tradition. The 111 page paper in PDF by George F. Woodliff III is a kind of favored work by Orthodox Christian Episcopalians. Or so I understand from the Rector of Christ Church, Georgia (ACNA) who recommends it.

A significant premise of the paper is apparent from the preface, written by The Rt. Reverend C. Fitzimons Allison:

George Woodliff’s careful work exposes the impotence of human conjecture to give rational solid ground to the very structures of civilized society. He shows, step by step, how the Episcopal Church has embraced a view of sexuality that is not scientific, biblical, or part of the historic faith. This loss of Christian heritage is not only a problem in the Episcopal Church; it is a dividing issue in virtually every denomination and tradition in the West.

The infiltration of secularism in Christian churches, and its rapid replacement of Christianity in industrial nations, has been spearheaded by the issue of homosexuality. It is conceded on all sides that same-sex behavior has gained unprecedented approval in the media, entertainment, and academic worlds in an astonishingly short time. Michel Foucault observed that “the sodomite has been a temporary aberration; the homosexual was now a species [The History of Sexuality, Volume 1, An Introduction, Tr. Robert Hurley (NY 1980), p. 43].”

Jerry Z. Muller, Professor at Notre Dame, noting the rapidity of this transition attributes it “in large part to a total lack of articulate resistance [by which] homosexual ideology has achieved an unquestioned and uncontested legitimacy in American life.” (First Things, Aug. / Sept. 1993). George Woodliff’s book is a masterful and articulate exposure of the groundless claims of recent sexual ideology.

One must ask: how was this radical change possible? Among the many factors is the contemporary epistemological naïveté that omits the role of trust in gaining knowledge (cp. St. Anselm, M. Polanyi, et al.). The exclusively skeptical hermeneutic in the study of scripture since
the 19th century has inhibited and undermined confidence in Revelation within the churches.
Another factor is the loss of the concept of sin (cf. Carl Menninger, Whatever Became of Sin?) coupled with the culture’s trivialization of God (cf. Donald W. McCullough, The Trivialization of God).

The Rt. Reverend Allison, author of the Preface, is a former Episcopal Bishop, now part of the breakaway Communion, Anglican Communion in North America.



It is clear that the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia sees the dispute as legal, not at all theologically based. They want the property returned. In May, 5 2011 in Savannah Georgia they say in a press statement:


Several Christian denominations representing a broad spectrum of religious faiths have filed with the Georgia Supreme Court “amicus curiae” or “friend-of-the-court” briefs supporting The Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia and Christ Church Episcopal in a case involving the ownership of the historic church building located on Johnson Square and other Church properties and assets.
Those filing briefs supporting the Episcopalians include the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the United Methodist Church and the Church of God.
“These denominations have similar structures to that of the Episcopal Church, so their positions are very relevant. We are indebted to our Christian brothers and sisters for supporting our effort,” said Bishop Scott Anson Benhase. He added, “We remain steadfast and confident in our cause and are humbled and gratified by the overwhelming support we have received not only from our community but also from the world-wide Anglican Communion and a broad spectrum of other Christian denominations.”
The friend-of-the-court briefs ask the Georgia Supreme Court, which will hear the case on May 9, to affirm the Georgia Court of Appeals’ July 2010 ruling in favor of the Episcopalians. That ruling upheld Superior Court Judge Michael L. Karpf’s October 27, 2009 judgment that that the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia is entitled to legal possession of the historic Christ Church building and other Church assets for the benefit of those who remain faithful to the Diocese and The Episcopal Church.
In affirming



 
   


In the meantime, over the four or so years of dispute, life at the Parish Church of the Anglican Communion in North America continues its work and activities. If that Parish that is breakaway from the Episcopal Church feels stunned to the point of inactivity or depressed faith over the split, it doesn’t appear so in this YouTube offered below of a beautiful Compline.

Compline at Christ Church Savannah
[ACNA] (The Final Préces)



 
   

ADDENDUM I

There is another Communion of Anglicans in the United States, for the reader’s information. Called Convocation of Anglicans in North America, they say of themselves:

Definition of CANA:
CANA is the “Convocation of Anglicans in North America” which is a missionary district sponsored by the largest and most vibrant province of the Anglican Communion, the Church of Nigeria which at c.19 million members accounts for about 25% of the membership of the entire Anglican Communion. CANA’s members, who reflect a wide scope of ethnic and racial identities, embody a healthy balance of the catholic, evangelical, and charismatic streams of Anglican Christianity.

Mission of CANA:
The mission of CANA is to provide orthodox clergy and congregations in North America with (a) an episcopate based in North America that has an authentic connection to the Anglican Communion, and (b) an ecclesiastical structure with representative leadership by member clergy and congregations.

Vision of CANA:
The vision of CANA is to be a building block and an incubator that works to build up the Anglican Church in North America as the provincial structure for orthodox Anglicanism in North America within the next several years.

Distinctives of CANA:
  • CANA’s clergy and congregations are authentically in the Anglican Communion through the sponsorship of the Church of Nigeria.
  • CANA’s clergy and congregations are full-fledged members of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), by virtue of CANA being a founder of the ACNA.
  • CANA’s episcopate and ecclesiastical structure is based in North America.
  • CANA’s structure maintains the Anglican tradition of the “councils of the church” with representative leadership by CANA clergy and lay delegates from CANA congregations.
  • CANA offers a comprehensive competitively priced national healthcare insurance policy, 403b retirement fund, and other insurance plans for clergy and congregational employees.
  • CANA’s episcopate and clergy are a blessed reflection of the diversity of the American populace, with significant numbers of immigrants and minorities.
  • CANA is committed to modeling for American Anglicans the possibility of respecting both integrities regarding the ordination of women within one ecclesial body.
  • CANA is a gift to American Anglicanism with no strings attached—with an American financial structure, there are no requirements to provide financial support to its founding province.
  • CANA has built mission partnerships with Anglican provinces in the majority world based on decades-long relationships.
  • CANA was established after TEC had rejected the Anglican Communion’s unanimous recommendations in “The Windsor Report.”
  • CANA’s episcopate is led by Bishop Martyn Minns, with Suffragan Bishops Roger Ames, David Anderson, David Bena, Amos Fagbamiye; supported by two CANA archdeacons and Canon Missioner Julian Dobbs.
  • CANA’s Chaplains Deanery is led by Lt. Col. Derek Jones (USAF ret.) and is an endorsing agent with the Department of Defense.

ADDENDUM II


Note written during the writing process of this article-interview posted to this writer’s Facebook page:

More notes on the writing of the piece about the breakaway Christ Church, Savannah property dispute w/Episcopal Church
by Peter Menkin on Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 9:04am
Still doing some work intermittently on the piece about the breakaway Christ Church, Savannah. It occurs to me that it is still an awkward manuscript. Compiled by piecing together related material. Now at 4,408 words it needs help, including the piece that is the interview with Rector Marc Robertson. This is an important part of the article, certainly. Sometimes one reaches an impasse with this kind of process and must take a break; also one must look for more relevant material that will move the piece along and aid the reader with worthwhile material that if it doesn’t illuminate, will inform. Now I’m thinking of how to end the piece, and so far have thought of creating an Addendum. The piece is important because it is supposed to be fair and equitable, give the Christ Church, Savannah side while keeping the Episcopal Church represented well. Some people may be less interested in this dispute, as one press officer of the Episcopal Church told me, “As to the piece about a breakaway church in Georgia, I really have no interest in that as a topic. We’ve moved on.” Seems touchy, touchy, touchy in response to me. The Georgia Supreme Court rules on the property dispute at the end of the year (2011), so it is a very much a live issue. I would say others of the Episcopal Church also don’t want to hear about the subject published, as when talking to New York’s Episcopal Church national press officer, her curt and touchy, touchy, touchy response showed a similar impatience of recognizing even the existence of the breakaway Communion with one word on getting a quote or comment from the Presiding Bishop or national Church: “No.”

Bishop of the Episcopal Church Diocese of Georgia
 who had no current comment, either.











AThe Reverend Jim Elliott of Diocese of Georgia,
 Chancellor and attorney
for the Episcopal Church Diocese gave a detailed statement for attribution.


ADDENDUM III

In another property dispute with the Episcopal Church over a breakaway Parish in California, George Conger of The Church of England Newspaper, London wrote in part:

First published in The Church of England Newspaper. This version from The Reverend Canon George Conger’s blog, here.
Civil courts may not adjudicate ecclesiastical disputes, the California Court of Appeals has ruled. On Nov 18 the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Fresno overturned a lower court order that had given trusteeship of the property of the Diocese of San Joaquin to a faction loyal to the national Episcopal Church.
In its 11 page decision the Fifth Court of Appeal held that while civil courts would accept the determination of the Episcopal Church as to whom it recognized as one of its bishops or dioceses, the court would not extend that power to the disposition of property. Church property disputes in California would be governed by “neutral principals of law” where the court would look to title deeds and trusts, and not to canon law or church polity, in determining ownership.
The “First Amendment rights of individuals and corporations” along with “general California statutory and common law principles governing transfer of title by the legal title holder, the law of trusts, … and general principles of corporate governance” control the disposition of church property in California.
The court held the dispute “whether Schofield or Lamb is the incumbent Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, is quintessentially ecclesiastical. Accordingly, the trial court erred in adjudicating that cause of action and, upon proper motion, must dismiss that cause of action.”
Both sides in the San Joaquin case have hailed the court’s decision as a victory. However, the ruling is likely to undercut the church’s national legal campaign. Its “strategy of claiming the property of a departing diocese because it is somehow ‘hierarchical’ today went down to defeat in Fresno,” canon lawyer Allan Haley said…

…Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori responded by deposing Bishop Schofield and calling a special meeting of synod, which elected the retired Bishop of Northern California as the diocese’s acting bishop. Bishop Lamb and the minority faction then deposed the clergy who supported the secession, and initiated a lawsuit seeking control over the diocese’s property.
On July 21, 2009 the trial court granted a motion in summary judgment on the first count of the complaint brought by Bishop Lamb, which asked for a “judicial declaration that the amendments finally adopted by the Diocese in December 2007 were illegal and void under the Constitution and Canons of ECUSA, and that as a consequence Bishop Lamb had succeeded to the position as bishop of the Diocese, incumbent of its corporation sole, and president/trustee of its associated property-holding entities.”
Bishop Schofield and the now Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin appealed the motion, which effectively gave the minority faction absolute control of the property. However, in its ruling the Court of Appeals held the trial court erred in determining who the proper bishop of San Joaquin was.
The trial court was instructed to determine who the lawful owner of the property was by way of a review of the property transfers made by Bishop Schofield and to determine if these transfers were valid under civil law.
In a statement released after the verdict, attorneys for Bishop Lamb accounted the decision as a victor. San Joaquin Chancellor Michael Glass claimed the decision means “the defendants can no longer assert in court that a Diocese has the right to unilaterally secede from The Episcopal Church, or that Bishop Lamb is somehow not the Bishop of the Diocese.”

  
Episcopal Church Katherine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop,
shown with Bishop Jerry Lamb. Bishop Lamb came out of retirement
to lead a California Diocese that was reformed after
the original Diocese broke away from Episcopal Church


  
ADDENDUM IV









In this case regarding a property dispute, web site, Thinking Anglicans comments and reports this on their web page, quoted in part; but for the full text, look here:


  
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Appeals Court upholds Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh
Updated again Saturday morning
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports: Court upholds Episcopal Diocese’s claim to assets.
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has upheld an Allegheny Common Pleas decision awarding centrally held property of the Episcopal diocese that split in 2008 to the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh rather than to the rival Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.
About $20 million in endowment funds and other assets is at stake. The ruling has no direct impact on ownership of parish property, other than indicating that Anglican parishes must apply to the Episcopal diocese to negotiate for their property, rather than vice versa.
The Anglican diocese has not decided whether to pursue a further appeal.
Lionel Deimel has further details of this, see Details of Commonwealth Court Ruling.
The full text of the judgment can be read from a PDF file here.
There is now a fuller story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Episcopal diocese wins a legal round.
Episcopal Bishop Kenneth Price Jr. welcomed the decision, which arrived the day his diocese reached the first settlement with an Anglican parish. It required that parish to cut ties with the Anglican diocese for five years.
“We are pleased with the court’s findings and hope this will be the final legal challenge concerning this issue,” he said…
…The Episcopal Diocese has issued this press release: Appeals Court Upholds Diocese in Assets Case



ADDENDUM V

Litigation History and Background
Historical Matters

Christ Church was the first church in the Colony of Georgia, and in 1758 an act of the Royal Council granted it ownership of the church building and cemetery (now known as the “Colonial Cemetery”, on Abercorn Street). Subsequent to the Revolution the Georgia legislature granted a charter of incorporation to Christ Church, giving the corporate entity the name The Church Wardens and Vestry Men of the episcopal church in Savannah, called Christ church [sic], and confirmed the corporation’s ownership of all property then held by it or afterwards coming into its possession. (Note that the name of the corporation subsequently was changed to The Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen of Christ Church in Savannah, which it remains to this day.) The Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen of Christ Church in Savannah (herein generally called “Christ Church”) has not conveyed title to its real property to any other party, nor has it assigned any ownership interest in its personal property other than as security for the repayment of certain loans from time to time.
In 1823, three churches in Georgia, namely Christ Church, St. Paul’s, Augusta, and Christ Church, Frederica, created the Diocese of Georgia and contributed funds for its operations and mission. Christ Church has contributed to the financial support of the diocese ever since. The diocese has never given any financial support to Christ Church.

In 1918 the corporate charter of Christ Church was amended, for reasons that are somewhat unclear, to provide that Christ Church “does hereby acknowledge and accede to the doctrine, discipline and worship and the Constitution and Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America [the national Episcopal organization, now called “The Episcopal Church”], and the Constitution and Canons of the same church in the Diocese of Georgia.” The Constitution and Canons of the national church and the Diocese of Georgia at that time did not include the Dennis Canon.

In 1979 the General Convention of The Episcopal Church (”TEC”) purportedly adopted Canon I.7, Sec. 4, the so-called “Dennis Canon”, (see a copy at the link below) in response to certain judicial developments arising out of controversies in the Presbyterian Church in the 1970s.
On March 30, 2006, the corporate charter of Christ Church was revised so as to repeal all amendments thereto since the original act of incorporation in 1789, and to add appropriate modern provisions required by the internal revenue code of 1986 and the Georgia Non-profit Corporation Code. One result of these revisions was the repeal of the 1918 charter amendment described above, and the addition of a provision that Christ Church “shall be in full communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacraments and Discipline of the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church as the Lord has commanded in His Holy Word and as the same are received and taught in the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal of 1662, and in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion.”
Lawsuit

On October 14, 2007, the congregation of Christ Church voted to recognize that TEC and the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia had abandoned the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer and the historic Christian Faith as received, and in so doing had abandoned the communion previously existing between themselves and Christ Church. (See a copy of the resolution at the link below.) On November 14, 2007, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, Inc., (hereinafter called the “Bishop” or the “Diocese”) filed suit in the Superior Court of Chatham County against Christ Church, Fr. Marc Robertson, and the individual members of the vestry (including the clerk) (Civil Action No. CV 07-2039KA). The lawsuit seeks a declaration from the court that all “real and personal property of Christ Church is held in trust for The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Georgia”, and a temporary and permanent injunction ordering Christ Church (i) to stop using such property except for “the mission of The Episcopal Church” and (ii) to relinquish control of such property. It also seeks a judgment against Fr. Marc for all “pecuniary benefits” (salary, etc.,) paid by Christ Church since March 30, 2006, a judgment against the individual vestry members for funds of Christ Church used for purposes other than the “mission and ministry of The Episcopal Church”, and for “such further relief as may be necessary and proper.”

On January 10, 2008, the parties met for formal mediation in an attempt to reach some resolution without litigation. In preliminary discussions prior to the mediation certain ground rules had been laid down regarding what matters were open for discussion and so forth. However, when the parties met for the mediation it became apparent immediately that the Bishop did not intend to follow the agreed protocol. Among other things, the Bishop attempted to bring to the table certain former members of Christ Church, not parties to the lawsuit, and allow them to participate equally in the mediation.

On January 11, 2008, TEC filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit, that is, to be allowed to participate in the lawsuit as a plaintiff. Both Christ Church and the Bishop consented to such intervention.

On May 27, 2008, a group calling itself the “Wardens and Vestry of Christ Church Episcopal” (hereinafter called “CCE”) filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit as a party plaintiff. Christ Church opposed this motion on the bases that (i) there was no showing that CCE was a legal entity with capacity to sue, and (ii) CCE’s intervention would improperly introduce new issues into the lawsuit. A hearing was held on the matter, and CCE amended its motion to allege that it was an unincorporated association with legal capacity. The court then granted the motion and CCE joined the lawsuit as a party plaintiff on September 9, 2008.
Legal Matters

The primary basis for the claims of the Bishop, TEC, and CCE is the Dennis Canon. The Dennis Canon purports to create a trust for the benefit of TEC and for the local diocese over any property held by or for a parish. The main issues are (i) whether the Dennis Canon was effective to create a trust, and (ii) if so, what effect that has on the authority of the vestry of Christ Church to deal with the church’s assets.

Several questions have been raised as to whether the Dennis Canon was properly adopted, i.e., whether the procedures required by TEC’s own Constitution and Canons were followed. Strangely, critical portions of the official records kept at the time of the 1979 General Convention dealing with the Dennis Canon have disappeared from the custody of TEC. Even if the Dennis Canon was validly adopted in accordance with TEC’s rules, its legal effectiveness to create a trust has been called in question in several court cases and never directly decided in a final judgment. Cases presently are pending in the Supreme Court of California in which it is anticipated the court will decide whether the Dennis Canon is legally effective under California law. The court is expected to rule sometime no later than January, 2009.

Note that the legal effectiveness of the Dennis Canon to create a trust in favor of TEC and the local Bishop is a matter of state law, which governs the creation and operation of trusts. Thus, whether and to what extent a court decision from another state bears on Christ Church’s case depends on the precise rationale of the decision, the degree of similarity between the trust laws of Georgia and the other state, and related matters.

A “trust” is defined generally as a fiduciary relationship with respect to property, arising from a manifestation of intent to create that relationship, and subjecting the person who holds title to the property to certain duties to deal with it for the benefit of one or more other parties. It is useful to think of the ownership of property as consisting of two essential aspects: the right to control and manage the property, and the right to benefit from the property. Most of the time these two aspects of ownership are held by the same person, but where a trust exists they are separated. The right of control is held by one or more parties called the “trustee(s)” and the right to the benefits of the property (e.g., its income) are held by one or more other parties, each of whom is called a “beneficiary”. Where a trust exists the trustee has full control over the management of the property but must exercise this authority for the sole benefit of the beneficiary of the trust. The beneficiary generally has little or no power to control the management of the trust assets so long as the trustee is not abusing its power in some way. It is axiomatic that the person creating the trust (termed the “settler” or “grantor”) must own the property over which the trust is imposed at the time the trust is created. This is the great issue with the Dennis Canon, aside from the question of whether it was validly adopted in the first place.

This report appeared originally in Church of England Newspaper, London, September, 2011 by Peter Menkin.

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Review: Film on fatherhood titled, "Courageous"--worth seeing

Review: The movie Courageous with book excerpts, produced by Sherwood Baptist Church--film with a statement on fatherhood...
Peter Menkin



Kendrick Brothers: Collaborating writers, film makers, Southern Baptist pastors





For a Church gathering, there are many areas of discussion, thought, and even Christian conversation the movie Courageous plays to and is good play as a movie to see. One of these areas comes to the science-vs.-faith discussion, for its worldview is Christian, and its means of portraying character and ways to live is based on religious moral tenants, mostly derived from the Old and New Testament. One area of worldview is the Christian demand that Christians see the world as it is, for its reality and for what is going on in their lives and life.



To this end the question of sociology and its science, the area of economic and other areas of modern ways of worldview, for how they form human lives plays a part. Is the cause of the fall of fatherhood, the rise of family disintegration and the declining if disappearing middle class the result of a poor economy? Is it the result of societal pressures, and norms, reacting to changes in the culture and society? This writer wants to explore the film’s worldview and emphasize the area of cultural and social sensibility portrayed in the religious community of this movie Courageous. Let us also look briefly at what kind of courage it takes for an individual, and a community, let alone a nation, to deal with decaying situations that are not only material, but moral, spiritual, and even value driven. Certainly, these are areas of the human heart, as is courage of men an area of the male heart. So the film says.



Finally, as a note in this introduction, let us if only briefly consider that many of the people and their values, though Biblically and religiously motivated, are colored by the class values of the American middle class. For this is a movie that the middle class, those who were middle class, and those who want to be or live its way of life in value see the world.







Cookout

In the film “Courageous,” released September 2011, there are artistic artifices that caught this writer’s attention. The primary one portrayed by cultural and social sensibility, of even religious community, was reliance on the myth of the American middle class. Is there much of a middle class in America anymore, and significantly does story of the film in its fiction really make for a way of life that is both desirous to emulate as shown in the film; and is it even something relevant to the way American’s live today in the present economic and social realities? For this writer, the movies dramatic framework is a picture of the last phenomenon of the missing, not shrinking so much, middle class and its portrayal of a good life. Shall we call this an economic matter, rather than glance at the artistic vision that shows a 1950s way of wanting life to be in its post-World War II affluence.



The magazine, The Atlantic, explores this issue of the existence of an American middle class in their September 2011 issue, “Can the Middle Class be Saved?” by Don Peck. Maybe the film Courageous, an action adventure movie produced by the work of a Southern Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia (filmed in Albany, Georgia, too), with the help of friends and benefactors. They are responsible in great part for financing the million dollar production, could also hold a similar cry, “Can the Middle Class be Saved?” In this support by this large group of Churches, businesses, and people, we see an American dream. Nay, an American promise.



But more so, the movie about the father’s role in a family, and the promise to be a good father within the sight of God as part of a religious community, speaks to the moral shortcomings of American society today. After all, though a cultural property with a social statement, the film is really one founded in religious, Christian sensibility. The film wants and plans to emulate American cultural promise, not counter-cultural statement. The film admires and says the religious life is the middle class life, both in material style and in value sense. The middle class is here and now for this movie about American men and fatherhood. In short, the middle class exists and its American Christianity, for which it fights to engage and make model of its religious and Church community world, is attainable.



But for The Atlantic piece, it says America is more Plutocracy today (21st Century), than anything else. It is akin in the present national sense of eras, in the real America of today in the here and now America to two eras of the American past: The Gilded Age, and the Roaring Twenties.



What has this to do with the movie? It shows a kind of disconnect between what is in America today, and what has been and continues to be a cultural and economic American dream of a real middle class. It more than hints a middle class life is necessary to relationship with God, or at least the desired means of relationship.



Nonetheless, this movie is not a true propaganda film, nor does it spellbind the viewer to succumb to a sense that this is a Christian education film. The movie is a true moral story. That is a great strength; Courageous speaks to America today in these ways best.



The film speaks to the serious and real moral failings of the society today, portraying a positive sense of possibility, and offering male sensibilities of how to live one’s life in the family, and in society. Even the title speaks this message: Courage.



Though the film depicts physical courage by men in action it does not solely rely on this as the measure of manhood and courage. Testosterone alone is not what courage and bravery are about. An example of courage, military in kind albeit, is demonstrated by a recent winner of the Medal of Honor. For this is an honor given for bravery, honor, and a moral strength of courage in the face of fear and death in sacrifice for others. That’s the idea.





Here is The Los Angeles Times reporting on the American winner of a recent, and rarely received Medal of Honor:



Dakota Meyer



A Marine sergeant will receive the Medal of Honor for bravery in Afghanistan from President Obama on Sept. 15, the White House announced Friday.
Dakota Meyer, 23, a scout-sniper from Columbia, Ky., fought through fire from enemy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to help rescue and evacuate more than 15 wounded Afghan soldiers and recover the bodies of four American service personnel. The incident occurred Sept. 8, 2009, in a remote mountainous village during an hours-long firefight with Taliban fighters.
Meyer’s heroism is detailed in the book “The Wrong War” by Bing West, former Marine and former assistant secretary of Defense. West said that Meyer dominated the battlefield by fearlessly pumping rifle and machine-gun rounds into enemy positions during the rescue attempt. At the time, Meyer was a corporal, the most junior advisor in the firefight. Meyer is now part of the inactive ready reserve of the Marine Corps Reserve.





From Military Times by John Hayward:





Cpl. Meyer was amazing:
Meyer, then 21, went into the kill zone on foot after helicopter pilots called on to respond said they could not help retrieve the four missing service members because the fighting on the ground was too fierce, according to a witness statement he provided the military. He found his buddies in a trench where pilots had spotted them.
“I checked them all for a pulse. There [sic] bodies were already stiff,” Meyer said in a sworn statement he was asked to provide military investigators. “I found SSgt Kenefick facedown in the trench w/ his GPS in his hand. His face appeared as if he were screaming. He had been shot in the head.”
Meyer was already suffering from shrapnel wounds at the time. He nevertheless assisted in the retrieval of the bodies. All four of the fallen soldiers were subsequently honored with Bronze Stars.

And from another The Los Angeles Times report:



Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, 25, will receive the nation’s highest award for valor for rushing directly into enemy fire during a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan on Oct. 25, 2007, and pulling three wounded soldiers to safety, according to a Pentagon account. Giunta had been knocked down by a bullet that slammed into a thick plate of his body armor, but recovered in time to fire his automatic rifle and hurl a grenade at the attackers.

…Giunta first rescued two soldiers who had been wounded during the ambush along a wooded ridgeline in the rugged Korengal Valley in Kunar province, according to the Pentagon account. He then spotted two insurgents attempting to haul off a wounded American paratrooper and opened fire, forcing them to abandon the soldier and retreat…



This man Giunta exhibited extraordinary courage to the point of real gallantry. But so did, and as well, the recent courageous man, Dakota Meyer. There’s the operative word: gallantry.







America does not lack courage. No. But it does have to face the male challenge of fatherhood, its responsibilities, whether one agrees with the spiritual and religious message of the film or not. This editorial commentary is made in the face of a changed condition of economic promise and vanishing of the middle class for the new reality of the existence of what has become for the society: Plutocracy.



From The Atlantic article by Don Peck:



One of the most salient features of severe downturn is that they tend to accelerate deep economic shifts that are already under way. Declining industries and companies fail, spurring workers and capital toward rising sectors declining cities shrink faster, leaving blight, workers whose roles have been partly usurped by technology are pushed out en masse and never asked to return. Some economists have argued that in one sense, periods like these do nations a service by clearing a way for new innovation, more efficient production, and faster growth. Whether or not that’s true, they typically allow us to see, with rare and brutal clarity, where society is heading—and what sorts of people and places it is leaving behind.





Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.



Let us engage in the movie Courageous, and as in movie viewing indulge our imaginations and surrender to the artifice of the artists, who are many actors of professional kind, and some members of the Southern Baptist Church responsible for the making of as well as creation of this filmic work that does hold the viewer’s attention, and also entertains with its acting, scenes, and dialogue. Remember, the movie about courage requires a moral compass and standpoint, as we believe true courage offers in its value.



Time magazine says of the films produced so far by the Church group of its economically successful history in an article by Richard Corliss Monday, Oct. 06, 2008: Here we learn about the Kendrick brothers, both ordained Southern Baptist Ministers.



Alex, 38, and Stephen, 35, grew up in metro Atlanta, the second and third sons of a minister. (Their older brother works at IBM). Both earned communication degrees at Georgia’s Kennesaw State University, attended seminary and got ministerial jobs at Sherwood. After reading a study about the influence of movies on culture and the relative lack of influence of the church, the brothers decided to return to what had been an adolescent hobby, playing with a video camera. In 2003, they asked their church for $20,000 to form a production company, Sherwood Pictures, and make a movie, Flywheel, about a dishonest used car salesman who sees the light. Flywheel got a local theatrical release and a pickup by Blockbuster Video, and went on to sell more than 200,000 DVDs. But it was Sherwood Pictures’ second film, Facing the Giants, a 2006 parable of football and faith, that earned the Kendricks notice in Hollywood. Produced for $100,000, the movie was dismissed by mainstream critics as too earnest and heavy-handed. But due to the recommendations of pastors and Christian publications, the film went on to earn more than $10 million at the box office, and it sold 1.6 million DVDs.

The movie Courageous speaks, that is it plays well and entertains, more than holding the audience’s interest and attention. In its way, it edifies with an author’s message. But there is a review of the film in this article-interview, and there is an interview with one of the writers, Alex Kendrick (a Southern Baptist pastor).



What sticks out in the movie, like the thumb of a hand, are these bulleted points. They caught this writer’s attention, and were good fuel for discussing the merits of the writing and the values entertained in the movie. It is because the film, though not of artistic and dramatic merit like many Hollywood films, raises interesting and important subjects of religious living in relationship to family and God, and offers a way of living life in family (especially and specifically the role of fathers as men) that these points surface:



  • · Is this really how life is lived, or is life messy?
  • · Was Jesus so good and nice as a man? Is it important to God that we be good and nice men and boys and girls, or real?
  • · Has the American family lost its way–so badly?





Time magazine says about the group’s previous film: Fireproof is a family drama, made in rural Georgia by two brothers who are evangelist ministers; it teaches that God is the best marriage counselor, and is made for Christian moviegoers.



Based on the enthusiasm seen so far for the film, Kendrick said he would anticipate a very positive reception. “There is already a ton of momentum on our website, and we’ve got churches across the nation praying for us,” he said. So writes, Jennifer Maddox Parks, staff writer in the Albany Herald (jennifer.parks@albanyherald.com ).







Sherwood Church, at its Sunday evening service November 15, 2009, announced the theme and title for Sherwood Pictures’ fourth movie. Senior Pastor Michael Catt, Executive Pastor Jim McBride, and ministers Stephen and Alex Kendrick—collectively the leadership team of Sherwood Pictures—made the announcement.



  • o “The movie is about fatherhood and the title is one word: COURAGEOUS,” Alex Kendrick said, briefly outlining the plot. “Four fathers who are all in law enforcement—who protect and serve together—go through a terrible tragedy,” he said. “They begin looking at their role as fathers . . . and they begin challenging one another to fulfill God’s intention for fathers.”



  • o That single-word title, Pastor Catt said, echoes God’s call for men to “rise with courage” in their homes and as leaders. This at a time when 4 of 10 marriages end in divorce* and more than a third of all children live away from their biological fathers.



  • o “The statistics on fatherless children are devastating,” McBride said. “And because the family is the building block of society, one important place to rebuild families is through fathers who stay and lead and love.”



  • o “God led us,” co-writer and producer Stephen Kendrick said to the audience of church members, many of them volunteer crew, cast, or catering in earlier Sherwood movies. “We believe God is calling men to rise up with strength and with leadership in their homes, with their families and with their children.”



  • o “For more than a year we’ve prayed to be sure that we’re pursuing God’s idea and not our own,” Catt said. “With action, drama, and humor, this film will embrace God’s promise in the Bible to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.”





Sherwood Church, through its Sherwood Pictures, has a mission for the movies they make. Courageous is distributed by Trystar and Sony Pictures is involved. So this is a big-time reality of movie making and its world. Sherwood describes their film model this way: Sherwood films are good stories, well-told, in which audiences recognize their own lives.The filmmakers weave in important spiritual truths, hoping movie watchers will leave theaters thinking about their own lives and relationships—with God and with others.

Prayer is foundational to Sherwood’s films and precedes each phase of development, production, and marketing. Cast and crew are made up largely of volunteers who become ambassadors to the message once the movie is complete.





Some biographical information from the producers about Alex Kendrick, who was interviewed by this writer by phone are below. The Reverend Alex talked in answer to written questions prepared prior to the interview (the usual fashion of this writer’s preparing questions), and later spent a weekend looking over the typed transcript, and made some changes. Note that The Reverend Alex was a religious DJ, as it were. There is a broadcast tone to the responses in the interview.

Before joining the Sherwood staff, Alex was a college minister at Roswell Street Baptist in Marietta GA. He also announced on Christian radio for five years in Atlanta. He’s spoken at events such as the National Religious Broadcasters Conference, the International Christian Visual Media Conference, and Georgia’s Youth Evangelism Conference.



EDUCATION: Alex graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in communications. He also attended Bryan College, in Dayton TN, and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

FAMILY: Alex and his wife, Christina, married for 17 years, live in Albany and have six children.





What or who is Sherwood Baptist Church. They describe themselves this way:



Sherwood Church operates more than 20 ministry programs from Albany GA’s northwest section. Though internationally known for its film ministry, Sherwood Pictures, the church is many things locally, with a range of services for children of all ages; college, career and singles groups; missionary outreach to other cities; church planting; adult worship and teaching programs. Sherwood sponsors annual community events such as Freedom Fest (Fourth of July) and October’s Candy Fest—and operates a Crisis Pregnancy Center and biblical counseling center for the Southwest Georgia region. Sherwood currently is completing an 82-acre sports park with a family-friendly, Christ-centered atmosphere for the people of Southwest Georgia. Sherwood supports local ministries helping people in need of food and/or help with drug and alcohol-related issues. Dr. Michael Catt, senior pastor, 1989-present.



The Sherwood Church has 3,000-plus members. A typical Sunday morning

reaches thousands of viewers in Albany and beyond through on-campus worship and in classes, TV and radio broadcasts, film, and targeted outreach programs.



The writers talk to us about their film “Courageous”















INTERVIEW

  1. 1. Let’s talk writing a film, the story, and the theological content. Let’s talk a little also about writing the film by looking at the work it takes, the time involved, and significantly, something about the book derived from the screenplay: (When you conceived the film with your brother as co-pastor of your Church, what was it about the genre, the characters in this work, too, that caught your attention and inspired you? How did you find the story playing out in your own mind as you developed the filmic version, and the transformation the characters went through? Will you speak to something of the Gospel and theological dimension of fatherhood, and how it is of meaning to your audience and to your own faith and life?



Writing is not an easy thing. As they say, “story is king”, so the plot has to engage the audience in a significant way to work. For us, that means touching their hearts. Since we are a ministry before anything else, we start with a season of prayer, which is sometimes a year long. This is where we ask God for guidance and for the theme and story direction. Once we have that direction, my brother Stephen and I begin researching and writing. It usually takes three to four months to finish a script, which is then tested through trusted friends and fellow ministers. We get a lot of counsel before finalizing the story. For Courageous, our desire is to show the importance of fathers in a child’s life. We’ve found that a person’s view of God is in many ways similar to their view of their father. In other words, if their dad was a loving, nurturing presence in their life, then it is easier to believe that God loves them and wants a relationship with them. If their father was gone or emotionally disengaged, then they struggle to believe that God cares for them. So being a father automatically has emotional and spiritual implications early on. In the movie, we follow four officers who fight crime on the streets, but struggle in their role as dad at home. Each father is tested in his own way, and we see how courage is needed in a number of scenarios to be a strong, healthy father. It’s very inspiring.



  1. 2. It is so large a project to produce a film, and to have the kind of success with a faith movie (a Christian faith movie) as your company has had. Do you attribute this to the message and the Gospel values that are put forth in the dramatic constructs that the film represents? In what way does the Gospel, that is God’s message in Christ, lead these men and the film forward to a conclusion? Are the scenes and conflicts of the film of a kind that are human in a way that speaks of Biblical kinds of human situations and values?



We center our focus in the movie on Joshua 24:15, where Joshua is calling the men of Israel to make a decision. He tells them to choose today whom they will serve. He goes on to say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. We say that at the end of the movie. Joshua was telling the men not to sit on the fence. Your children need you to make a decision. He makes a resolution in front of the whole nation to challenge men to think in those terms. Stop being wishy washy. Be a man! Just as Joshua did thousands of years ago, we are saying the same thing today. We’re losing the next generation because we’re not standing firm. We are reminding them that this is needed more than ever today. Either Jesus Christ is worth following and trusting, or he is not. But you can’t have it both ways. We use realistic situations in Courageous that most people will identify with, and then show them the results of living out your faith, or compromising and living hypocritically.



  1. 3. Would you call your films kind of a movie version of a television drama, rather than a movie of filmic kind. In other words, how do you categorize the style of the work and its place in the movie world from a writer and movie person’s viewpoint? Tell us something of the actors? Who are they, and where do they come from? And because of who they are, do you think as a writer and director that they fulfill their roles in a way with more meaning and genuineness because they are Church going believers. Or is it that these human stories have an appeal outside the Christian sensibility alone, and a kind of universal dynamic of mankind in the modern world?



Cinematically, Courageous is by far our largest film, both in scale and budget. We’ve taken lessons learned from our first three films and applied them to this one, and I think it shows. The actors share our passion for this theme. They’re comprised of Christian professionals that we pulled from all over the nation, to a few church volunteers that had experience from previous films. In both cases, we spent hours working with them and praying over their roles. And when an actor really believes in the project he or she is working on, it shows. There is something intangible about the way it comes across on screen. Audiences that have seen the pre-screenings have noted how real the scenarios were to their own lives, and how realistic the actors reflected their emotions. Although artistic in its presentation, we show the grittiness of tension, grief, humor, and redemption. There’s no sugar-coating in Courageous, and I think the audience appreciates that, no matter their religious affiliation.



  1. 4. What part of the film script is most important or prominent in the book based on the script? Can you tell us where to find it in the book, and will you give this writer an excerpt of it from the book itself, and also from the screenplay so people may see the similarities and differences? Tell us the difference between these two forms the difficulty in moving from one to the other? Do you think someone who enjoys the movie Courageous will want the book, too? Why? Or does the book have a life of its own outside the movie?



First, there are two books directly related to the movie. One is the story in novel form, written from our screenplay by Randy Alcorn. He takes the two hour script and greatly expands it to include numerous subplots and additional themes. It’s a totally different experience than just watching the movie. Because a book is not as limited in length, you can explore backstories and characters in much greater detail. For many people, the movie can never compete with a good novel. The other book is non-fiction, and is called The Resolution for Men. My brother Stephen and I wrote this one, and it was the most challenging thing we’ve ever written. We take everything the scriptures say about fatherhood and present it as God’s design and purpose for men in today’s culture. After working on it, we had to raise our own standards of how strategic our time is with our children. God calls fathers to mentor and be the primary influence in the lives of their children. When we compared where we were with what scripture says, we realized we weren’t as good as we thought. The Resolution for Men is definitely a game-changer! After men see the movie, they will want to read this book as the next step in their own journey of growing as a man and as a father.



  1. 5. I’m certain I’ve missed much that you want to tell us about the script and your work as a writer, in collaboration with your brother. But it seems that the script and movie is collaboration. Speak to us about the collaborative screen process, and if you had any conversations on the Bible between you two in its writing? Did you speak of the modern, 21st century family dynamics and needs between the two of you? Tell us about some of those needs that are developed in the film? What needs did you miss? I’m sure you can’t say everything in one film.



Since we are both ministers at Sherwood Church in Albany, Georgia, we interact and see families every week. Stephen and I also have different strengths. After writing the script together, I direct the movie while he produces. It’s rare that we disagree on the direction the movie needs to go. But we do challenge everything along the way. If the story plots and themes are solid, then they will stand, but if not, we cut them out. Nothing is assumed. As far as the dynamics of the biblical themes, we have found that God’s truths are as applicable today as when they were first written. Culture changes, and values sway with the wind, but truth is truth, no matter who challenges it. God appointed the father to be the primary leader in the life of a child. Although the mother is vitally important, she cannot adequately represent both roles as effectively. Every child needs a masculine presence in their lives that demonstrates truth, love, justice, integrity, and protection. When those things are not represented well, or are not there from a father, then the child struggles with them throughout life.



  1. 6. Thank you for the opportunity to make your acquaintance in this interview. If you have anything you want to add, or say, will you tell us now?



Courageous will shake men up a bit. It is an entertaining film, but it will also touch a deep part of every man who watches it. Women will find both comfort and concern when they see it, but will gain a greater reason to cheer their husbands or fathers along. The movie comes out in theaters September 30th in the US and Canada, and follows in theaters a few months later in Mexico, South Africa, and Nigeria. The website is www.courageousthemovie.com, and visitors can view the trailer, clips, and read about the story. The Courageous novel and the book The Resolution for Men is available now in bookstores everywhere.









When discussing the film with his assistant, Linda Shirado, this writer was asked by her, Where does the money go? This interview with Sherwood Church’s Senior Pastor, Dr. Michael Catt, tells us something of Where does the money go?



Q. What missions does Sherwood Church support with movie funds?

A. Through the North American Mission Board, Sherwood has helped three start-up churches in the US: two in Baltimore (one urban, one suburban), one in San Francisco (near the financial district). Through the International Mission Board, Sherwood supports missions worldwide. At home, Sherwood funds local outreaches such as The Lord’s Pantry (food pantry), a crisis pregnancy program, and a drug-and-alcohol treatment center. Giving may change, of course, as needs and opportunities change.

Q. How did Sherwood Church arrive at how it would allocate Sherwood Pictures’ revenue?

A. Well before FIREPROOF was a DVD, a team of former deacon chairmen began praying with Pastor Catt to help the church project to the year 2020. Their prayers: how do we continue to reach the world from Albany, Georgia—and not just through movies? In what other ministries should we invest in and participate? What impact might we make? All decision making related to money is prayerful and deliberate.

Q. The operative word is prayer?

A. A visiting pastor said of the Sherwood Church prayer tower: I’ve preached across the world and this country, and this is the only church that proclaims at its front door: We are committed to prayer. We are! Prayer buoys our unity, vision, purpose, missions, and giving. We’d rather be known as a people of prayer than the folks who made the movies.

Besides monthly finance meetings, Executive Pastor Jim McBride meets weekly to pray with members of the finance committee—covering church members’ giving, illnesses, lost jobs (many examples of answered prayer!) the church budget . . . and good stewardship.

Every week, 200 men pray for Pastor Michael Catt’s Sunday sermon. In building the sports park, church members walked and prayed over every single acre. At the base of the large cross central to the park, church leaders buried a capsule of prayer cards from the last five years.





REVIEW





Trailer for the film





Matters of the Male Heart and the way of Fatherhood: a Review of Courageous







The entertaining and thought provoking movie, Courageous starts with a thrilling car robbery. Sony Pictures is involved with worldwide acquisitions, and surprisingly the work was shot in Albany, Georgia. The producers of the film describe the storyline this way, and it is an accurate statement:



“The movie is about fatherhood and the title is one word: COURAGEOUS,” co-writer of the screenplay and pastor Alex Kendrick says, briefly outlining the plot. “Four fathers who are all in law enforcement—who protect and serve together—go through a terrible tragedy,” he said. “They begin looking at their role as fathers . . . and they begin challenging one another to fulfill God’s intention for fathers.”



The author’s message and the basic premise of the film is introduced in an early scene by the Sheriff himself who speaks to the problems of young people and the need for fathering in their community. It shows how the film plays for the actors with the challenge of portraying male bonding and the relational actions, some real action packed moments and other conversations between the men when off duty together. There is the tension and drama of police work, but the thrust of the film is written to focus on these sheriff officers as people, and especially as fathers.



Among the storyline concerns is the contemporary one of gangs and gang members in their conflicts, and even in the violence of their relationships and criminality. These are not all white officers, but fathers from different ethnic areas: White, African-American, and Hispanic. Set in the South, there is a true friendship between these men and even a kind of fatherhood of the group that shares their lives together.



This writer calls this movie, designed for Christian audiences, but attractive to the general viewer, one that adapts the Biblical message of Joshua 24:15, where Joshua is calling the men of Israel to make a decision. He tells them to choose today whom they will serve. He goes on to say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. We say that at the end of the movie. Joshua was telling the men not to sit on the fence. Your children need you to make a decision. He makes a resolution in front of the whole nation to challenge men to think in those terms. (So says the co-writer The Reverend Alex Kendrick in an interview with this writer.)



The producers use as a model for the community where the movie plays out its life, their own community, Albany, Georgia which they report these demographics:Males: 34,914 Females: 40,917

Percentages: 64.80 African American, 33.21 White

Military population: approximately 18,000 Albany residents active or retired military and military support personnel.











The result of the movie-making ministry of Sherwood Church (Southern Baptist) in Albany, Georgia, their religious, Christian film with references to God and intentional faith in human everyday life and predicaments has a refreshing quality. The result of their candor and willingness to portray people in various scenes of living who are part of a Church Community is one strong attraction for audiences. Most of the Christian references are to “God,” rather than “Christ,” though it is clear that this is a film by and for Christians, for not only is “Christ” mentioned by name, but the ending is a kind-of preaching statement that talks in an attractive and engaging way of the trials and tribulations of living this kind of Christian life dramatized in the film in the popular American genre of action-packed Americana. There is even a kind of innocence to the film, so characteristic of the American personality. This comes out as both a worthwhile earnestness and a genuine honesty to be more in relationship to God in Christ in a Church community.



From this writer’s notes when screening the film, is this: Some would call this a salvation film. This is a “very Christian” film. Is it for a general audience? It is a film about Christians and Christianity in a Christian community.



One emotion the film lacks is a sense of bitterness about contemporary American life. Often it is too dear. This writer thinks it is tuned to an audience, and so must Sony in many ways for they are involved with the movie, one that stands on its own feet and plays well to probably most audiences… Enough so to get good exposure and sell tickets.



In this film there is some unusual activity, not seen in the average Hollywood film, or the general release. People pray in this film and share their prayers with others. For this writer, this works. But it is not high drama, not as the drama plays out in the movie. This is a failing of the movie. One’s relationship with God has areas of tension, argument, and is in fact not as bland in meaning and story as to be without more drama. Is not the work of God, prayer, high drama in itself?



Essentially, there is a kind of redundancy in the message that works well, and convincingly. It engages the viewer with its: Christian message, Christian message, Christian message…given over and over. But not so it puts off even this critical member of the screening audience.



It is clear that the co-writers, who are Southern Baptist pastors, offer a pastor’s view of life and fatherhood: Successfully dealing with matters of the male heart; the Bible film displays these values in its cinema methods professionally done to the 21st Century modern world of American values. It does tell a story of family life well.







ADDENDUM I





This excerpt from the book Courageous is reprinted by permission of the producers of the film, Courageous.











Randy dedicates this book to:

My precious wife, Nanci,

my wonderful daughters, Karina and Angela,

my excellent sons-in-law, Dan Franklin and Dan Stump,

and my beloved grandsons, Jake, Matt, Tyler, and Jack.

For each of you, my family, no man could be more grateful to God than I am.

Alex and Stephen dedicate this book to:

Our wives, Christina and Jill—your love and support have added momentum to our pursuit of God’s calling on our lives. You are an incredible treasure! May God continue blessing, teaching, and drawing us closer together and closer to Him. We love and need you desperately.

Sherwood Baptist Church—may the love you have for Christ and each other continue to shine brighter with each passing year. Keep praying, serving, giving, and growing. It has already been worth it, but your greatest reward is still to come! May the world know that Jesus Christ is your Lord! To Him be the glory!







C h a p t e r O n e


A ROYAL-RED Ford F-150 SuperCrew rolled through the streets of Albany, Georgia. The pickup’s driver brimmed with optimism, so much that he couldn’t possibly foresee the battles about to hit his hometown.

Life here is going to be good, thirty-seven-year-old Nathan Hayes told himself. After eight years in Atlanta, Nathan had come home to Albany, three hours south, with his wife and three children. New job. New house. New start. Even a new truck.

Sleeves rolled up and windows rolled down, Nathan enjoyed the south Georgia sunshine. He pulled into a service station in west Albany, a remodeled version of the very one he’d stopped at twenty years earlier after getting his driver’s license. He’d been nervous. Wasn’t his part of town—mostly white folks, and in those days he didn’t know many. But gas had been cheap and the drive beautiful.

Nathan allowed himself a long, lazy stretch. He inserted his credit card and pumped gas, humming contentedly. Albany was the birthplace of Ray Charles, “Georgia on My Mind,” and some of the best home cookin’ in the galaxy. One-third white, two-thirds black, a quarter of the population below the poverty level, Albany had survived several Flint River floods and a his­tory of racial tension. But with all its beauties and flaws, Albany was home.

Nathan topped off his tank, got into his pickup, and turned the key before he remembered the carnage. A half-dozen big, clumsy june bugs had given their all to make an impression on his windshield.

He got out and plunged a squeegee into a wash bucket only to find it bone-dry.

As he searched for another bucket, Nathan noticed the mix of people at the station: an overly cautious senior citizen creeping his Buick onto Newton Road, a middle-aged woman texting in the driver’s seat, a guy in a do-rag leaning against a spotless silver Denali.

Nathan left his truck running and door open; he turned away only seconds—or so it seemed. When the door slammed, he swung around as his truck pulled away from the pump!

Adrenaline surged. He ran toward the driver’s side while his pickup squealed toward the street.

“Hey! Stop! No!” Nathan’s skills from Dougherty High foot­ball kicked in. He lunged, thrust his right arm through the open window, and grabbed the steering wheel, running next to the moving pickup.

“Stop the car!” Nathan yelled. “Stop the car!”

The carjacker, TJ, was twenty-eight years old and tougher than boot leather—the undisputed leader of the Gangster Nation, one of Albany’s biggest gangs.

“What’s wrong wichu, man?” TJ could bench-press 410 and outweighed this dude by sixty pounds. He had no intention of giving back this ride.

He accelerated onto the main road, but Nathan wouldn’t let

go. TJ repeatedly smacked Nathan’s face with a vicious right jab, then pounded his fingers to break their grip. “You gonna die, man; you gonna die.”

Nathan’s toes screamed at him, his Mizuno running shoes no match for the asphalt. Occasionally his right foot found the narrow running board for a little relief, only to lose it again when his head took another blow. While one hand gripped the wheel, Nathan clawed at the thief. The pickup veered right and left. Leaning back to avoid the punches, Nathan saw the oncoming traffic.

TJ saw too, and he angled into it, hoping the cars would peel this fool off.

First a silver Toyota whizzed by, then a white Chevy; each veered off to avoid the swerving truck. Nathan Hayes dangled like a Hollywood stuntman.

“Let go, fool!”

Finally Nathan got a good toehold on the running board and used every remaining ounce of strength to yank the steering wheel. The truck lost control and careened off the road. Nathan rolled onto gravel and rough grass.

TJ smashed into a tree, and the air bag exploded into his face, leaving it red with blood. The gangbanger stumbled out of the truck, dazed and bleeding, trying to find his legs. TJ wanted some get-back on this dude who’d dared to challenge him, but he could barely negotiate a few steps without faltering.

The silver Denali from the gas station screeched to a halt just a few feet from TJ. “Hurry up, man,” the driver yelled. “It ain’t worth it, dawg. Get in. Let’s go!”

TJ staggered into the Denali, which sped away.

Stunned, Nathan pulled himself toward his vehicle. His face was red and scratched, his blue tattersall shirt stained. His jeans were ripped, his right shoe torn open, sock bloody.







Located in Carol Stream, Illinois, Tyndale House Publishers was founded in 1962 by Dr. Kenneth N. Taylor as a means of publishing The Living Bible. Tyndale publishes Christian fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, and other resources, including Bibles in the New Living Translation (NLT). Tyndale products include many New York Times best sellers, including the popular Left Behind fiction series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, novels by Karen Kingsbury and Joel C. Rosenberg, plus numerous nonfiction works. Tyndale House Publishers is substantially owned by Tyndale House Foundation. As a result, the company’s profits help underwrite the foundation’s mission, which is to spread the Good News of Christ around the world.



Note about the publisher Tyndale House by Hoovers, a D & B Company: Christian-focused publisher Tyndale House Publishers publishes fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books, as well as bibles. One of its best-selling titles is the novel Left Behind, a fictional account of the apocalypse written by Jerry B. Jenkins. The titles success inspired the Left Behind series of novels, which has sole some 63 million copies, as well as Left Behind comic books, music, and three movies. Tyndale House was founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor, who wrote The Living Bible in order to translate the old English in the King James Version of the Bible into a more accessible language for his children. Taylor, who died in 2005, named the company after 16th Century English translator William Tyndale.





From the creators of Fireproof comes an inspiring new story about everyday heroes who long to be the kinds of dads that make a lifelong impact on their children. As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, and their partners willingly stand up to the worst the world can offer. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood. While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they’re quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark.

They know that God desires to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, but their children are beginning to drift farther and farther away from them. Will they be able to find a way to serve and protect those who are most dear to them? When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God . . . and to their children?





Randy Alcorn

Randy Alcorn is the founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM). Prior to starting EPM, he served as a pastor for fourteen years. He has spoken around the world and taught on the adjunct faculties of Multnomah University and Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon.

Randy is the best-selling author of over 40 books. His seven fiction books include the Gold Medallion winner Safely Home. His nonfiction works include The Treasure Principle; Heaven; and If God is Good. Randy has written for many magazines and has been a guest on hundreds of radio and television programs.

The father of two married daughters, Randy lives in Oregon, with his wife and best friend, Nanci. They are the proud grandparents of four grandsons. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research and reading.







Excerpt of credits



Courageous : a novelization / by Randy Alcorn ; based on the screenplay by Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick.



Edited by Caleb Sjogren

Some Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version,® NIV.® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Some Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Some Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible,® copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 197





Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Carol Stream, Illinois



Visit Tyndale online at www.tyndale.com.

To learn more about Courageous, visit CourageoustheMovie.com.

Designed by Dean H. Renninger

Edited by Caleb Sjogren













ADDENDUM II





This excerpt of the book The Resolution for Men is reprinted here by permission of the producers of the film, Courageous.



The work is written by Stephen & Alex Kendrick with Randy Alcorn—edited by Lawrence Kimbrough.





Excerpt



The Resolution for Men





Weak men will not be able to handle the contents of this book.

The Resolution is not for the faint of heart, and those who commit to it will be more accountable in the future.

You will be challenged to get out of your comfort zone, work through hidden issues from your past, and make strategic sacrifices for the sake of your family and your faith.

But those who step up to the challenge will find that living out the Resolution will radically impact their priorities and assist them in becoming strong men who are found faithful.

It will take courage. But it will be worth it all.

You’ve been warned.







Excerpt



This vivid story illustrates where countless men are today. Disengaged and drifting. They have been given the position of leadership over their families and have been placed in the driver’s seat. But over time, they have been lulled into a dream by their own passivity and the allures of a dark, seductive culture.

In this dream world, men often feel permission to be irresponsible, immature, and carelessly negligent in their roles as husbands and fathers. In the meantime, they have placed their families in moral and spiritual danger, threatening their marriages, their children, and their faith. They don’t realize that they can’t have it both ways.

As a result, the mothers of their children become the ones who (by default and necessity) are carrying the weight of the family on their shoulders in order to survive. These women are stressed out and longing for the man in their lives to wake up, rescue them, and grab the wheel again.

That’s why before it’s too late, we are sounding the call and asking men if they are awake at the wheel. Or more importantly, to see if they even realize they are in the driver’s seat at all.

God’s Word commands husbands and fathers to lovingly lead their homes. As men, we are to walk in honor and integrity and fully embrace our responsibilities as shepherds over our families. We are called to model a loving, Christlike example for our wives and children.

Therefore—because this is God’s calling—it’s no mystery that a godless culture would mock and constantly undermine fatherhood, attacking and inverting what God designs and values. Men are being told they don’t have the permission or responsibility to lead. But the culture is not your authority. God is.

You need to be willing to ask yourself some revealing questions:

• Is your wife weary, worn out, and always feeling like she is car­rying too much on her shoulders?

• Does your marriage lack clear direction, romance, and true intimacy?

• Are your children, whether young or grown, emotionally dis­tant from you and spiritually apathetic toward God?

Is your own faith and spiritual condition weak or mediocre at best?

If your wife has been calling all the shots in the family and has her hands on the wheel, then very likely it’s because you have not. Regardless of what she does, God has intentionally placed you in the driver’s seat and wants you to lead. You need her deeply; but leading is your God-ordained responsibility, not hers.







The Resolution for Men: Book Trailer





Excerpt of credits





Copyright © 2011 by Kendrick Bros., LLC

All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-4336-7122-7

B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible (nasb), © the Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977; used by permission.

Also used: The English Standard Version® (esv), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Also used: The Holy Bible, New International Version (niv), copy­right © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

Also used: The New Living Translation (nlt), copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Also used: New King James Version (nkjv), copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.















ADDENDUM III





The producers of the movie Courageous provided this Fact Sheet on fatherhood in the United States. Their rationale for making a film statement on fathers and fatherhood, the need for same, is convincing. This writer found it interesting and worthwhile on its own merits, so with the risk of belaboring the Addendum of this interview-article, here it is in full, as offered by the producers, Sherwood Pictures:





THE FACTS ABOUT FATHERHOOD



He’s not here. Some 24.7 million American children (36.3 percent) live without their biological fathers. Only 60 percent of these children have seen their fathers in the past year.



Side effects. Children living without their biological fathers, on average, are more likely to be poor and to have educational, health, emotional, and psychological problems, to suffer child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior, than peers living with their married, biological mother and father.



Fatherless homes produce:

  • · 63 percent of youth suicides (Bureau of the Census)
  • · 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children (CDC)
  • · 85 percent of all children with behavioral disorders (CDC)
  • · 85 percent of all youths in prisons (Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, TX Dept. of Corrections 1992)

(All Pro Dads, © 2010 Family First)



No substitute. As a male parent, a father brings unique contributions to the job of parenting that a mother cannot. There is no substitute for a father’s love, involvement and presence in the life of his children. As noted sociologist David Popenoe explains, “Fathers are far more than just ‘second adults’ in the home. Involved fathers—especially biological fathers—bring positive benefits to their children that no other person is as likely to bring.” – Why Children Need Father Love and Mother Love and How Fathers Matter for Healthy Child Development, both by Glen P. Stanton, Focus on the Family. (Original Source: David Popenoe, Life Without Father New York: The Free Press, 1996), p. 163.



American problem. In a recent survey 7 out of 10 participants agreed that the physical absence of fathers from the home is the most significant family or social problem facing America. (FocusFamilyINSIGHT Global Strategic Development – Family Research, Glenn T. Stanton, June 19, 2009 – full sourcing included below)

Mothers only. “Nearly one-fourth of America’s children live in mother-only families.” (Arlene F. Saluter, Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1994)

Prime time TV. A National Fatherhood Initiative analysis found that of the 102 prime-time networks TV shows in 1998, only 15 featured a father as a central character. Of these, the majority portrayed him as uninvolved, incompetent or both. (From National Center for Public Policy Research. Specific source from NCPPR website: “NFI Issues Report on Fatherhood and TV,” Fatherhood Today, Spring 1999, National Fatherhood Initiative, Gaithersburg, Maryland.)



Poverty predictor. “The likelihood that a family would fall below the poverty line doubled during the first four month period of the father’s absence, increasing from 18.5 percent to 37.6 percent.” (Duncan, Wayne Journal of Clinical and Child Psychology, 1994 Health)





Five Things You Didn’t Know Fathers Do



  1. 1. Fathers Teach Empathy—A 26-year study published by the American Psychological Association found that children with actively involved fathers in their lives are more likely to be sensitive to the needs of others in adulthood compared to those who do not have involved fathers.



2. Fathers Give Confidence—Fathers are more likely to challenge their children to try difficult things by taking safe and measured risks. Fathers’ more physical and active play style and slower response to help their children through frustrating situations creates greater problem-solving capacity and confidence in both boys and girls.



3. Fathers Increase Vocabulary—Children who spend extended time with their dads during their childhoods are more likely to have larger and more complex vocabularies. A mother, being more attentive to the needs of her children, tends to talk more on the level of the child. Dads’ directions to their children tend to be longer than moms’, providing children with the opportunity to hear more words and then learn how they fit together to convey a thought.



4. Fathers Protect Against Crime and Violence—Fathers are more likely to keep their sons out of gangs, but more importantly, fathers give boys the things that can make gang life attractive. Boys learn from their dads that they matter, and don’t feel they have to force their way into manhood. Likewise, girls with good fathers are not as likely to fall to the pressure of sexually enterprising young boys, because well-fathered girls are more confident, having already gained the love of a good man.



5. Fathers Promote Better Treatment of Women—A good father demonstrates to both sons and daughters how a good man should treat women. This is shown by a father’s role modeling, as well as his less-than-good behavior. Research from the University of California looked at 90 different cultures to study how men’s participation in child care related to the status of women in these cultures. They found a very close connection, explaining, “Societies with significant paternal involvement in routine child care are more likely than father-absent societies to include women in public decisions and to allow women access to positions of authority.”



(Summary of Study Findings, 2009 National Fathering Survey, © 2009 National Center for Fathering)



President George Bush. Over the past four decades, fatherlessness has emerged as one of our greatest social problems. We know that children who grow up with absent fathers can suffer lasting damage. They are more likely to end up in poverty or drop out of school, become addicted to drugs, have a child out of wedlock, or end up in prison. Fatherlessness is not the only cause of these things but our nation but recognize it is an important factor. June 2001



  • · FocusFamilyINSIGHT Global Strategic Development – Family Research, Glenn T. Stanton, June 19, 2009
  • · Richard Koestner, et al., “The Family Origins of Empathic Concern: A Twenty-Six Year Longitudinal Study,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58 (1990): 709-717.
  • · Kyle D. Pruett, Fatherneed: Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child, (New York: The Free Press, 2000).
  • · Eleanor E. Maccoby, The Two Sexes: Growing Up Apart; Coming Together, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999).
  • · Catherine Tamis-Lemonda, et al., “Fathers and Mothers Play with their 2- and 3-Year Olds: Contributions to Language and Cognitive Development” Child Development 75 (2004) 1806-1820.
  • · Paul R. Amato and Fernando Rivera, “Paternal Involvement and Children’s Behavior Problems,” Journal of Marriage and the Family 61(1999): 375-384.
  • · Henry B. Biller, Father and Families: Paternal Factors in Child Development (Westport, CT: Auburn House, 1993).
  • · Frank Furstenberg and Kathleen Harris, “When and Why Fathers Matter: Impacts of Father Involvement on Children of Adolescent Mothers,” in Young Unwed Fathers: Changing Roles and Emerging Policies, R. Lerman and T. Ooms, eds. (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993).
  • · Scott Coltrane, “Father-Child Relationships and the Status of Women: A Cross-Cultural Study,” American Journal of Sociology, (1988) 93:1060-1095.









ADDENDUM IV



The sponsors and workers, the credits of the film Courageous are long and include this list of businesses that contributed to the making of the film:



“Choose Today Who You Will Serve,

But As for Me My House, We Will Serve the Lord.”

-Joshua 24:15





SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS



Abbott’s Food Center

Adams Exterminators Inc.

Advertising with Lisa

Albany Fire Station Number 1

Albany Communications Inc.

Albany Dougherty Search & Rescue

Albany Fire Department

Albany High School

Albany Police Department

Albany Rec. and Parks Dept.

Albany State Athletic Dept.

Austin’s BBQ

Autoland Service

Backwoods Outdoors Inc.

Bates Gas Company

Battery Source

Belk Depart. Store of Albany Mall

Bill Chambers Motors

Blackbeard’s B & B Bar-B-Que

Buffalo Rock Company

Carlstedt’s

Carter’s Grill & Restaurant

Chicas Bridal and Boutique

Chick fil-A Drive Thru of Albany

City of Albany

Classy Caramels & Catering

Coats & Clark

CVS Pharmacy

David Smith Autoland

Dillard’s of Albany Mall

Dougherty County Commissioners

DOCO Emergency Medical Services

Dougherty County Jail

Dougherty County Police Dept.

Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office

Dougherty Glass Company

Faith and Prayer Church

Flint Community Bank

Frison Realty

Fresh Plants, Inc of Americus, GA.

Georgia-Pacific Corrugated, LLC

Georgia Power Company

Gill’s Furniture

Harveys-Dawson Road

Henry Campbell’s

Home Depot

Hong Kong Café

IKON Office Solutions

Impressions Made Easy

Ivey’s Outdoor & Farm Supply

Johnny Carino’s Italian Grill

Kimbrell-Stern Funeral Directors

Krispy Kreme Doughnut Co.

Little Havanna Restaurant

Little Red Doghouse

Longleaf Financial Advisors, LLC

Los Vaqueros Mexican Restaurant

Lowe’s

LRA Constructors Inc.

Making Memories Catering

Mark William Fine Art Jeweler

Meatslanger’s Bar-B-Que

Matthews Casket Company, A Division of Matthews Int.

Mean Clean Steam Extraction

Mint Julep Spa and Boutique

Moe’s Southwest Grill

Musculoskeletal Assoc. and NW Plaza ASC

No Limitz Gymnastics

Ole Times Country Buffet & BBQ

Parker and Bramlett Custom Memorials

Papa John’s Pizza

PeDeBe LLC

Petal Pushers Flower Shop

Phoebe Northwest Convenient Care

Phoebe Putney Café

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital

PROBuild

Publix Super Markets

Quillian Powell Construction

Railway Freight

Reddy Ice

Rental Depot

Riley’s Cleaners and Shirt Laundry

Rite Aid Pharmacy

Riverfront Bar-b-que

Riverside Cemetery

Riverside Uniform Manufacturing Comp.

Rubos-Leesburg

Sam’s Club

Save-A-Lot

S & S Roofing & Construction

Sherwood Acres Elem. School

Sherwood Baptist Church

Sherwood Christian Academy

Sherwood Legacy Park

Shutters Plus Inc.

Southern Family Markets

Star Brokers

Stone’s Landscape Management

Southwest Oral and Maxillo Facial Surgery

Sherwin-Williams Co

The Bread House

The Crate

The Flower Basket

Thelma’s Bridal & Formal Wear

Tony’s Gym Inc.

Trailerland

Walgreen Drug Store

Walmart

Water, Gas & Light Commission of Albany

Winn-Dixie of Albany

Winn-Dixie of Leesburg

Directed by: Alex Kendrick



Written by: Alex and Stephen Kendrick



Produced by: Stephen Kendrick



Executive Producers: Michael C. Catt

Jim McBride

Terry Hemmings



Director of Photography: Bob Scott





Edited By: Alex Kendrick

Stephen Hullfish

Bill Ebel



Music By: Mark Willard



Production Designers: Darian Corley

Sheila McBride





Costume Designer: Terri Catt



Associate Producers: Dennis Wiemer

Larry Frenzel





Sherwood Pictures

In Association with

Provident Films,

Affirm Films and

TriStar Pictures Presents





A Kendrick Bros Production







CAST

(In order of appearance)



Nathan Hayes KEN BEVEL

Adam Mitchell ALEX KENDRICK

Shane Fuller KEVIN DOWNES

Victoria Mitchell RENEE JEWELL

Dylan Mitchell RUSTY MARTIN