Supervision Of Church Of Christ Children's Home
On the stationery of the Church of Christ Children's Home located in the city of Ontario, California, in bold letters are these words:. "UNDER SUPERVISION OF ELDERS, BROADWAY AND WALNUT CHURCH OF CHRIST, SANTA ANA."
Because there is a tendency of churches not to support a thing unless it is under an "eldership" somewhere, the home here in Ontario was supposedly placed under the oversight of the elders at Santa Ana. Thus, the churches throughout this area who support the home contend that the home is under the "oversight" of the "elders" of the church in Santa Ana.
That the home is not under their oversight AS ELDERS, and is no part of the church in Santa Ana, I set forth proof in this article, using as proof the statements of the elders of the church in Santa Ana.
In a letter to me from the elders at Santa Ana written May 21, 1954 in answer to a question I had asked Brother Jack Bates, "Who owns Ontario Children's Home?" the elders at Sana Ana answer the question as follows:
"Under the laws of California, if an institution such as this home is to remain tax free, there is no longer any question of ownership. The property has to be permanently dedicated to this type of work so that no individual or group of individuals, church, or any other organization, may ever receive one dollar of gain from the sale and disposition of this property. That in itself, eliminates all elements of what is considered ownership and replaces it with trusteeship. In other words, we as directors of the Home are trustees of the work to which the Home is dedicated and are charged by law with holding the property for that work. If the property is sold the money must be impounded until it is reinvested in another piece of property for carrying on the work set forth in the Home's corporate charter. We hope we have made this crystal clear."
Thus brethren, I think it is "crystal clear." The elders at Broadway and Walnut in Santa Ana are not over the home as elders but as trustees of a corporation. That the home is not a part of the church they definitely state: "It isn't. It is a work of the church in Santa Ana but it is not a part of the church in Santa Ana. If we were fortunate enough to establish such a work in Santa Ana, it would still not be a part of the church in Santa Ana ... the home itself is not, and cannot, be a part of the church. It is a SEPARATE ORGANIZATION, A CORPORATE TOOL BY WHICH THE CHURCH DOES THIS WORK ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OF CALIFORNIA." (Emphasis mine, F.E.) From letter, May 21, 1954.
In a letter put out by them in October 15, 1953, they state: "The Children's Home is a corporation, and a corporation is an institution." Brother Jack Bates also quotes this in his article on the home in the December 7, 1953 issue of Bible Advocate. Now, let us look at what we have.
First, the home is not under the elders of the church in Santa Ana as elders but as individual trustees. They could be over any other corporation in the same capacity. The home is not a part of the church in Santa Ana. "The home is not, and cannot be, a part of the church. It is a SEPARATE ORGANIZATION, a CORPORATE TOOL by which the church does this work according to the laws of California." (Emphasis mine, F.E.)
Brethren, the home is not a TOOL by which the church does this work; it is another ORGANIZATION, or INSTITUTION which "is not the church ....and cannot be a part of the church," by which Santa Ana and other churches in California are attempting to do the benevolent work of the church.
The MISSIONARY SOCIETY is an organization, an institution which "is not the church, and cannot be a part of the church." It is a "corporate tool" by which the church does its evangelistic work outside its community. If the church can use one "institution" which is "not the church and can be no part of the church," namely, the Ontario Children's Home to do its BENEVOLENT work, will someone please tell us why the church cannot use the UNITED CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY to do its EVANGELISTIC WORK? The Society is "not the church, and cannot be a part of the church," but it is "a corporate tool by which the church does its EVANGELISTIC work." It would be interesting to see the elders at Broadway and Walnut in Santa Ana deal with this question. I think it would be of profit if they would write an article on WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY? Or, if they desire an easier subject, write on WHY THE CHURCH CANNOT DO ITS BENEVOLENT WORK THROUGH AMERICAN RED CROSS. The Ontario Children's Home and the Missionary Society either stand or fall together. If the church can do its BENEVOLENT work through another institution other than the church, why can it not also do its EVANGELISTIC work in the same way?