…a penalty of revoking any privilege involves a violation of the “free and voluntary” principle. This is contrary to our Constitution.
The PCA General Assembly has approved a proposed amendment to the Book of Church Order that will institute a tax on all churches and ministers to pay for the work of the Administrative Committee’s ministry. Chapter 25 of the Book of Church Order is one of the most important chapters in our Book of Church Order. It establishes a solemn covenant whereby the General Assembly promises never to seek to secure property against the will of that congregation whether they remain in the denomination or leave it.
I believe that the proposed funding plan is contrary to BCO 25:8, 9, 10, and 11. In a series of articles I will explain why. The long and short of it is this. The proposed amendment to BCO 14:1.4 says that there can be a tax. BCO 25:8 says there can be no tax.
The proposed amendment to BCO 14:1.4. says this: “The General Assembly…may require churches, teaching elders, and Presbyteries to contribute to denominational support services by their paying an Annual Registration Fee to assist in underwriting the ministry of the Administrative Committee” (emphasis mine).
This proposed amendment establishes the power of the General Assembly to tax the lower courts. It will require payment and penalize churches and pastors of churches who do not pay. If you do not pay, neither you nor your pastors will be able to vote at General Assembly. If they do not pay for two years, then their name(s) will be reported to the General Assembly for appropriate action (left undefined).
This is clearly a tax. Black’s law dictionary describes a tax this way: “pecuniary burden laid upon individuals or property owners to support the government […] a payment exacted by legislative authority.” The American Heritage Dictionary defines it this way: “A contribution for the support of a government required of persons, groups, or businesses within the domain of that government” (emphasis mine). Clearly, this proposed amendment gives the General Assembly the power to tax.
It is amazing to me that the Committee on Constitutional Business ruled (and did not explain their ruling) that this proposal is not incompatible with other areas of the Constitution. BCO 25:8 states this, “The superior courts of the Church may receive monies or properties from a local church only by free and voluntary action of the latter” (emphasis mine).
Clearly, what this section of our BCO states is that the General Assembly cannot tax. If this amendment passes, we will have one statement saying that the General Assembly can tax and another saying that it cannot tax.
Consider that Black’s Law Dictionary says that a tax “is not a voluntary payment or donation.” Since a tax is not a voluntary payment or donation, and since this is the only way that the higher courts can receive money, it is evident that the General Assembly does not have the power to tax. Since the General Assembly does not have the power to tax, the amendment to BCO 14:1.4 is contrary to the Constitution.
The Administrative Committee (who proposed the tax), however, did express an opinion on how these two contradictory things can be brought together. They explained why the proposed amendment to BCO 14:1.4 was not incompatible with BCO 25:8 this way,
“So as far as we are aware, BCO 25:8 is not being violated because no church is being forced to pay anything nor is its property being taken away.”
The problem with their reasoning is that many taxes do not “force” someone to pay them. By the definition of the Administrative Committee, many taxes would be “free and voluntary.” Force or coercion comes in when someone does not pay these taxes.
In the civil government, if someone does not pay their taxes, their money can be taken by force or a penalty can be imposed. This is precisely what happens when someone does not pay this proposed ecclesiastical tax. They are penalized.
Let us be clear that there is a real penalty for not paying the tax. The BCO currently states: “The General Assembly, which is a permanent court…shall consist of all teaching elders in good standing with their Presbyteries, and ruling elders as elected by their Session” (14-2, emphasis mine).
The proposed amendment changes this section. It says that the membership is the same but that the voting members of General Assembly are those churches who have paid all their taxes (including back taxes for those who have not paid in previous years) and whose pastors have paid all their taxes, pastors who have paid all their taxes and whose churches have paid all their taxes, and all teaching elders in other works who have paid all their taxes.
Thus, if you do not pay all your taxes, then you are penalized by losing your vote at General Assembly. Even if a pastor pays them but the church he is pastoring doesn’t, he still lose your vote. In addition, after two years, the names of those who have not paid their taxes will be handed over to the General Assembly for appropriate action (again, left undefined).
In earlier version of the Strategic Plan chart, the proposed initial penalty included being deprived of vote at Presbytery; perhaps that could be the ‘appropriate action’ for non-compliance, since it is has nowhere been defined or explained.
This leads us to another reason why the Administrative Committee’s reasoning is invalid. The Administrative Committee states, “No one will come and take that church’s property or money by any type of civil force or claim.” Perhaps the Administrative Committee possesses a gift of prophecy of which I am not aware, but, barring this, I do not know how they can make such a definitive claim.
According to the proposed rule, the fees will belong to the General Assembly. Whether you pay them or not, they are the property of the General Assembly. If you do not pay those fees, you are depriving the General Assembly of its constitutionally mandated property. Since the General Assembly has a claim on that money, the General Assembly could claim that money in a civil court. What protection would there be that its representatives would not try to take that money by civil force or claim? In fact, there is nothing in principle that would inhibit such civil force or claim.
So, let me turn the reasoning around. They seem to imply that if someone could use this tax to make a civil claim or take property by civil force, then the amendment would be unconstitutional. But this proposed amendment does lay the groundwork for taking property by a civil claim; therefore, by their own reasoning, this proposed amendment is unconstitutional.
You may object that such civil force or action is contrary to BCO 25:8-11. However, if the General Assembly definitively declares that such fees are not contrary to BCO 25:8-11, then that claim will be difficult to maintain. On the contrary, they could argue that the past fees are actually property that belongs to the General Assembly and thus do not fall under the protection of BCO 25.
A second answer that the Administrative Committee has given to the question of the constitutionality of the tax is that “Any church not paying the Registration Fee may remain in the PCA, function under the PCA 501(c) 3, use the name of the PCA, be involved in its presbytery, and participate in many other privileges and ministries.”
Now, I would ask the Administrative committee the following question. If the penalty for not paying the tax involved being barred from activity in presbytery, use of the PCA name, or other privileges or ministries, would they agree that this WOULD be contrary to BCO 25:8 and violate the principle of monies being given to the General Assembly only by free and voluntary action?
Then, why is barring a Church from voting at General Assembly not contrary to BCO 25:8?
In other words, why does taking away the privilege of voting not involve a violation of giving money or property by free and voluntary action? How many privileges would have to be revoked as a penalty in order for this to constitute a violation?
The answer is that a penalty of revoking any privilege involves a violation of the “free and voluntary” principle. This is contrary to our Constitution.
Let me give an analogy. Let us suppose that the penalty for not paying the tax was that you could not call a pastor. Do you think that such a Church would believe that the tax was free and voluntary just because they could still participate in Presbytery, use the PCA name, and be part of the organization? Of course not. That’s because the tax would not be free and voluntary.
The fact is that the idea of requiring contributions is incompatible with them being free and voluntary. Our BCO is clear, and this was one of the foundational principles of our government. “The superior courts of the Church may receive monies or properties from a local church only by free and voluntary action of the latter.” If we pass this proposed amendment, we will have taken away one of the strongest bulwarks against the potential for the encroachment of a liberalized, centralized ecclesiastical bureaucracy.
And history has shown that such bureaucracies have no scruple at all in seeking to take away the money and property of congregations.
Appendix – the Text of BCO 25-8
The corporation of a particular church, through its duly elected trustees or corporation officers, (or, if unincorporated, through those who are entitled to represent the particular church in matters related to real property) shall have sole title to its property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible or intangible, and shall be sole owner of any equity in any real estate, or any fund or property of any kind held by or belonging to any particular church, or any board, society, committee, Sunday school class or branch thereof. The superior courts of the Church may receive monies or properties from a local church only by free and voluntary action of the latter.
Wes White is the pastor of New Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Spearfish, South Dakota. He blogs regularly at http://johannesweslianus.blogspot.com where this article first appeared. It is used with permission.
[Editor’s note: Pastor White’s blog has moved.]
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