The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
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The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
When Your Church Faces the Government: The Summit Church Battle
Summit Church in North Carolina is suing Chatham County for religious discrimination after their rezoning request was unanimously rejected despite meeting all requirements. County officials claimed the church wouldn't provide enough tax revenue or jobs and wouldn't fit the "rural character" of the area, raising questions about whether churches should fight back legally or seek alternative solutions.
• Summit Church operates 13 campuses across North Carolina's Triangle region
• Chapel Hill campus currently has 800 attendees meeting in a high school
• Church secured an option to buy 97 acres in Chatham County
• Initial community reception was positive, but county officials later opposed
• Lawsuit cites First and Fourteenth Amendments and Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act
• Legal action could strengthen church zoning protections nationwide if successful
• Churches facing similar situations should do homework early on zoning laws
• Building community support is crucial before pursuing development plans
• Know when to fight discriminatory practices and when to adapt plans
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So what would you do if the government told your church sorry, you don't belong here. That's exactly what's happening to JP Greer's church, summit Church, down in North Carolina. They made a request to rezone land for a new campus and that request was rejected, despite following all the legal steps. So now the Summit Church is suing the county for religious discrimination. All right, so let's talk about that today here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Thanks for joining me. My name is Todd Rhodes, one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom. So let's unpack this a little bit, because there are a lot of different nuances here. I think that we could discuss and kind of pick apart here. But first of all, is this a necessary legal fight? Or are local officials right to push back? And what if you're starting a church and you're facing maybe some similar roadblocks? All right, so let's unpack this a little bit. Here's the backstory, all right. The Summit Church, north Carolina, led by JD Greer pretty popular. They operate 13 campuses across North Carolina's Triangle region. Now, their goal is to ensure that no one lives more than 15 minutes away from a thriving evangelical church. Okay, but here's the problem. Their Chapel Hill campus currently meets in a high school, but with 800 attendees, they need a permanent location. So the church secured an option to buy 97 acres in Chatham County, land originally planned for a 55-plus housing community that was never ever built. Okay, so that was the plan. Here's the opposition. Okay, initially county officials had no problem with the church's plans, no problem at all. The community meeting was positive, all the locals excited about the church's presence. But during the final zoning hearings Chatham County officials pushed back hard and some claimed that a megachurch was a poor fit and not part of rural character, whatever that means. Others worried about outsiders, I guess people outside of the community that would drive in and worship there. The verdict was despite no clear legal objections, the county voted unanimously. It was unanimous, okay to reject the church's request and the official reason that they gave the project didn't provide enough tax revenue or jobs. Okay, so that's where things stood. Okay, so the lawsuit? All right.
Speaker 1:Summit Church is arguing that this decision violates their religious rights and cites the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Okay, or as they like to call it, the RLUIPA. Of course, the yeah, I won't even try and say it again, but you get the gist here. All right. So that's the lay of the land, pun intended. But here's the question that I would like to pose Should churches fight back like this? Should Summit Church have said okay, our rights are being violated, we're going to sue essentially, the local government? This is where the decision and the discussion might get a little tricky, and so just bear with me here. There may be some that are going to be way over here and some that are way over here. I'm going to probably be somewhere in the middle because I'm trying to figure this stuff out too.
Speaker 1:Is this a good thing? Should churches take legal action to fight zoning decisions? Let's look at some of the positive things, reasons why this might be the right move. Okay, some would say, hey, religious freedom's at stake. If counties can block churches for not fitting in, then what stops this from happening elsewhere all over the country? Right, don't let the precedent take foot right. The church followed all the rules. They did everything right. The summit church met all the zoning requirements, yet they got denied, and that is a concerning precedent. Okay, so if this goes unchecked, other churches could be targeted based on their beliefs or size or cultural differences. Okay, so that could be a reason why this is a good thing, okay.
Speaker 1:Reasons why this whole lawsuit thing the church suing the local government could be problematic, okay. So taking the devil's advocate side of it now, a church suing its community can create division, matter of fact, it's going to create division. And even if they win, even if they win in the court of law, will this build goodwill? It probably won't. The question probably is will they be able to get back any of that goodwill that they've lost? So land use concerns do matter. Not every community wants a 3,000 church in a rural area it's called not in my backyard whether it's a 3,000 seat, megachurch or a prison, those two are two totally different things. I get it, but this could be problematic. Right, is a lawsuit the best witness?
Speaker 1:Some might argue that churches should work through relationships rather than through lawsuits. But what do you do when you try to work through them, when you do everything right and it seems like there's no other way? So what do you think? Should churches take local governments to court over zoning? I would love to hear your comments. We've given you some of the pros and some of the cons. I just wonder if they win the lawsuit and they build the church, how do you repair? I think that would be my biggest question. How do you repair the damage? Because there's going to be some people really ticked off and you're not going to have the favor of the local government. And let's face it, local governments can create a lot of problems if they're not on your side. So what would you do if you were facing a similar church planting challenge? If you're starting a church and facing some kind of resistance like this, what can you do? All right, let me share three different things I think that you can do Now. This doesn't mean that it's going to make all your problems go away, but it might make them a little easier to handle.
Speaker 1:First is do your homework early. Those zoning laws matter. Church did nothing wrong here. They met everything. But before buying land, get clarity on what's allowed and meet with the planning officials early to see if you think that the people on the local zoning board or the local city council are going to be a problem. Find that out early.
Speaker 1:Okay, so do your homework early. Number two build community support. Engage in your neighborhoods. The more local support you have, the harder it is for officials to block your church. Host some community meetings, listen to concerns show how your church will benefit the area. And I'm not saying that Summit didn't do this. I'm just saying anything you can do to build community support. If you've ever gone into a new community and planted a church, you know how important it is, not just to get people to come to your church, but how to build support in your community and how to get people in your community to be happy that your church is actually coming into the community. And then, number three, know when to fight and when to adapt.
Speaker 1:Legal action obviously should be the last resort, and if you face opposition, the first thing you probably need to ask is can we adjust our plans to fit the concerns? Is there a way to work with local leaders instead of against them? And if legal action is necessary, how can we make sure it's a clear case of discrimination, not just disagreement over land use? Okay, so final thoughts on this. I'll wrap this up. I'm probably making some people cheer and other people very angry. I don't mean to do that. I just want to put this out there because this is something that this is not the first time I've heard of zoning and local community sentiment, particularly against a larger church building, being an issue. So here's my final thoughts.
Speaker 1:Summit Church case is one to watch. Okay, if they win, it could strengthen church zoning protections nationwide. This could have some national benefits or repercussions, however you want to look at it. If they lose the case, it might make it harder for churches to expand in certain communities. Either way, it raises some really big questions for how churches navigate growth and government resistance. And if you're a church planter, this is a critical lesson. You need to know the laws. You need to engage your community. You need to be prepared for challenges. Not everybody's going to be excited that you're coming into the community. All right, what do you think Summit Church should do here? Should they sue? Should churches fight zoning restrictions like this? Should they not fight them and look for a different plan? What do you think they should do?
Speaker 1:I'd love to hear your comments. You can email me your comments podcastchemistrystaffingcom. If you're watching on YouTube, you can leave a comment in the comment section. I would love to hear from you, and each and every day we share things like this. I work at a staffing company. Right, this has nothing to do with staffing, but it has something to do with interest of church staff and building a healthy church staff culture and healthy churches, and we talk about that each and every day, each and every weekday here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.
Speaker 1:If there's any way that I can help you or your church, whether it's staff-related, health-related I would love for you to reach out to me. You can reach out to me anytime. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. Either I or someone on my team would love to be able to help you wherever you're at and come alongside you, and you're not alone. You've got some people here that care, that love Jesus, that love the church and love what you're doing, and would love to come alongside you and partner with you if we have the opportunity. So reach out to me, podcast at chemistrystaffingcom, and join me again next week right here on the Huffington Church Staff Podcast. Good night you.
