Steeplejacking Exploits Independent Churches' Governance Vulnerabilities
TL;DR
- Churches with declining congregations and valuable assets are vulnerable to "steeplejacking," where individuals take control to exploit financial assets, diverting from original religious intent.
- The original deed's provision for reversion to the founder's family if services cease enabled a legal fight, highlighting the importance of clear property clauses in religious institutions.
- Steeplejacking exploits the decentralized nature of independent churches, which often lack hierarchical oversight and transparent financial controls, making them difficult to track and regulate.
- The Nashville church case demonstrates how legal battles over religious property can become protracted due to First Amendment protections, complicating resolution and asset recovery.
- A settlement involving the Nashville church resulted in the building reverting to the founder's estate for sale, with proceeds split, illustrating a compromise in property disputes.
- The founder's descendants aim to repurpose the church building into a community center for the homeless, mirroring the original intent of the church's mission.
Deep Dive
Churches with declining congregations and valuable assets are increasingly vulnerable to "steeplejacking," a hostile takeover where younger individuals infiltrate and seize control, often for financial gain, rather than spiritual revival. This phenomenon, exemplified by the Nashville Central Church of Christ case, highlights systemic weaknesses in the governance of independent religious organizations, leaving them open to exploitation and diverting assets from their original charitable or community-focused missions.
The Nashville Central Church of Christ, founded in 1925 as a community hub for the poor, dwindled to a small, aging congregation by 2017, leaving its significant assets--an $11 million building, valuable parking lots, and substantial cash reserves--under the management of a few elderly members. Sean Mathis, a younger newcomer, was welcomed and quickly assumed leadership, promising revival through internet outreach. However, under his control, the church was renamed, weekly services ceased, and Mathis and his father began receiving salaries and stipends. This shift from community service to financial self-enrichment and a focus on global missionary work via a new non-profit, rather than local support, alarmed long-time members and the descendants of the church's founder, including Christian pop star Amy Grant. The family's claim to the property, based on a deed provision stating the building reverts to the family if services cease, ignited a multi-year legal battle.
The core implication of the Nashville case and the broader steeplejacking trend is the exploitation of inherent vulnerabilities in independent church structures. Unlike hierarchical denominations like the Catholic Church, which maintain centralized oversight of assets and finances, many independent churches lack robust governance and financial controls. This creates an environment where a small, dedicated group, or even an individual like Mathis, can gain control of significant assets with little accountability. The legal system's reluctance to intervene in religious matters, due to First Amendment protections, further complicates efforts to reclaim or protect church assets. The settlement in Nashville, where the building reverts to the founder's estate for sale and distribution, acknowledges the diversion of intent, but the parking lots remain with Mathis's group, indicating that complete restitution is not always achieved.
Ultimately, this situation reveals a concerning pattern: as church memberships decline and physical assets appreciate in value, these institutions become attractive targets for those who prioritize financial gain over their foundational spiritual and charitable purposes. The Nashville case serves as a stark illustration of how a legacy of community service can be "steeple-jacked" for personal enrichment, prompting questions about how similar organizations can safeguard their assets and missions against such exploitation. Amy Grant's vision for the building to become a center for the homeless echoes the original intent of the church, suggesting a potential path forward for repurposing these valuable assets for community benefit rather than financial capture.
Action Items
- Audit church governance: Identify 3-5 common vulnerabilities in independent church structures that enable "steeplejacking" (ref: deed restrictions, aging congregations).
- Draft church asset protection policy: Define 5 key clauses to safeguard property and financial assets against hostile takeovers (ref: reversionary clauses, board oversight).
- Analyze 3-5 historical church deeds: Identify common provisions or lack thereof that create or mitigate risks of asset diversion.
- Develop a framework for evaluating church leadership transitions: Establish 3 criteria for assessing succession plans and preventing asset misuse.
Key Quotes
"Mathis was quickly elevated to leadership and before long he effectively took control of the church but for some congregants things did not go the way they had imagined the accusation that has been leveled against the people who took over this church is that their goals were primarily financial and that they were trying to basically use the assets of an older church with an older congregation take it over and use it for their own benefit."
This quote highlights the central conflict in the story: the accusation that Sean Mathis and his group financially exploited an aging congregation. Cameron McWhirter explains that the core of the dispute revolves around whether Mathis's intentions were to revive the church or to profit from its assets.
"The church is tax exempt as a house of worship and the building itself is valued at 11 million according to a 2025 assessment and those two parking lots bring in about 40 000 a month and then there were people who had left particularly one person had left a large amount of money hundreds of thousands of dollars into an endowment fund for a missionary work for the church to sponsor missionaries to go in the united states and abroad to spread the word."
Cameron McWhirter details the significant financial assets held by the Central Church of Christ, which made it a target. These assets included a valuable building, income-generating parking lots, and an endowment fund, all managed by a small group of aging congregants.
"steeplejacking is like carjacking a group or an individual comes along usually a younger person to the elderly congregation expresses interest in joining the church and the next thing you know they're in charge steeplejacking is happening all around the country especially in the midwest and south we are in a situation in america where churches are in decline many of them and some of them have a lot of assets because they were at one point in america churches were incredibly wealthy and prominent in society so they'll have buildings that are worth a lot of money they'll own property that's worth a lot of money a lot of them a lot of people when they died in their wills they would leave money to their churches so there's a lot of cash in a lot of these places but they have a very small membership often and a very limited group controlling who's whose in charge of all that."
This quote, from Cameron McWhirter, introduces and defines the term "steeplejacking" to describe the phenomenon of hostile takeovers of churches. McWhirter explains that this practice often targets declining, asset-rich churches with elderly congregations, where a younger group can infiltrate and seize control.
"well i'd love it to do exactly what central church of christ did people would gather and sing and pray every week if somebody was homeless they were fed without question um i mean it's it's not an impossible dream that's all for today"
Amy Grant expresses her vision for the future of the church building, as relayed by Ryan Knutson. Grant hopes the property can be repurposed to serve the community, echoing the original mission of her great-grandfather's church by providing for the homeless and fostering community gathering.
Resources
External Resources
Books
- "The Journal" by WSJ's Cameron McWhirter - Mentioned in relation to the podcast episode's subject matter.
Articles & Papers
- ‘Exmo’ Influencers Are Taking On Mormonism - Listed as a "Further Listening" suggestion.
- The Financial Mess Facing the Vatican - Listed as a "Further Listening" suggestion.
- Why the New Pope Is Taking on AI - Listed as a "Further Listening" suggestion.
People
- Amy Grant - Mentioned as a great-grandchild of the church's co-founder and a Christian pop star involved in the legal battle.
- A. M. Burton - Mentioned as the co-founder of the Central Church of Christ in 1925.
- Sean Mathis - Mentioned as the individual who took over leadership of the church.
- Ryan Knutson - Mentioned as the host of "The Journal" podcast and the person to whom Cameron McWhirter explains the church takeover.
- Cameron McWhirter - Mentioned as a WSJ colleague who explains the church takeover situation.
- Andy Burton - Mentioned as Amy Grant's cousin and a local dentist who investigated the church situation.
- Walton Goggins - Mentioned as an actor endorsing GoDaddy Aero.
Organizations & Institutions
- The Journal - Mentioned as the podcast name for the episode.
- WSJ (Wall Street Journal) - Mentioned as the source of the podcast and its reporting.
- Central Church of Christ - Mentioned as the original church founded by A. M. Burton.
- Nashville Church of Christ - Mentioned as the renamed church under Sean Mathis's leadership.
- US Bank - Mentioned as a sponsor of the podcast episode.
- Indeed - Mentioned as a sponsor of the podcast episode.
- United Health Group - Mentioned as a sponsor of the podcast episode.
- Depop - Mentioned as a platform for selling vintage clothing.
- GoDaddy Aero - Mentioned as an AI tool for starting a business.
Websites & Online Resources
- megaphone.fm/adchoices - Mentioned as a link for learning more about ad choices.
- usbank.com - Mentioned for learning more about US Bank.
- indeed.com/journal - Mentioned as the URL for a sponsored job credit.
- uhg.com - Mentioned for learning more about United Health Group.
- godaddy.com/arrow - Mentioned as the URL to get started with GoDaddy Aero.
Other Resources
- Steeplejacking - Mentioned as a term for the hostile takeover of churches.