Pastor of my dreams - Baptist Bible Tribune

IndianapolisComebackBy Keith BasshamEight years ago this February 13, at8:40 a.m., United States Marshalsentered the property of IndianapolisBaptist Temple in Indianapolis,Indiana, with the intention of seizingthe church property on behalf of the InternalRevenue Service for the allegedfailure to withhold and pay income andsocial security taxes for employees ofthe church. The judgment eventuallycame to something between five millionand six million dollars.The church, pastored at first byGreg J. Dixon and then later by his son,Greg A. Dixon (since 1996), had arguedfor several years that a New Testamentchurch was not subject to federal taxlaws, and it continues to maintain thatposition. In fact, taxes were paid by theindividuals who had received incomefrom the church and school, and thegovernment never disputed that. Thechurch never taught that Christiansshould not pay taxes. The church alsoattempted to change its corporate statusin efforts to satisfy lawful demandswithout compromising church integrity.In short, the arguments failed topersuade the court the church was inthe right, and after all appeals were exhausted,the church’s physical propertywas seized for the debt. That property,including furniture and books, was soldat auction March 23, 2001. Thus endedthe case United States of America vs.Indianapolis Baptist Temple. At least,that ended the court case, and in theeyes of many, it was the end of thechurch. But for Dixon and the Templechurch, it was a new beginning.For example, today, on the formersite of the church stands a charterschool, Christel House Academy. Insidethe school, members of IndianapolisBaptist Temple teach regular Bibleclasses. Not too far away, other IBTmembers are involved in inner-cityministry among children, and a littlefurther down the street, IndianapolisBaptist Temple is helping sponsor aHispanic congregation. On the weekends,the IBT members gather Sundaymornings and evenings at The LifeCenter at Southport for regular worshipservices, and during the week,the Life Center is host for communityevents. That is hardly the stuff of afailed church.On the contrary, in a conversationwith me in late 2008, Dixon said, “If theIRS had nottaken the property,I don’tknow that wewould be thechurch we aretoday.”But that’s running with the storya bit. Ecclesiology 101 for Baptiststeaches that people are the church, andbuildings are not. That said, in manycases, the loss of property would beconsidered a deathblow. Dixon had evidentlyplanned for the eventuality. Serviceswere held the next Sunday, andfor several months after, the churchmet in a local school building, and thenlater a banquet facility in a hotel. Gregpreached in a conference later that yearabout being a church without walls,and he and his congregation were livingout the sermon.Eventually, however, they foundan alternative. Today, they lease (theydo not own) a 76,000-square-foot facilityinto which the congregation pouredtens of thousands of dollars in renovationswith the idea that they would notonly have a home for their church andactivities, but a place for ministering16 Baptist Bible Tribune [ February 2009 ]