Disclaimer:
The views expressed here are my personal religious opinions offered in good faith. They are not allegations of legal wrongdoing and do not represent any organization or party.

An Open Letter to the Jeremiah Counsel

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I write to you not as an adversary, but as a fellow believer deeply concerned about the path you have chosen in your dispute with Second Baptist Church leadership. While I understand your frustration with what appears to be secretive governance changes and consolidation of power, I believe your lawsuit fundamentally misapplies Scripture and may prove the very point you're trying to contest.

On 1 Corinthians 6: The Church Is People, Not Property

You argue that 1 Corinthians 6 doesn’t apply because this involves institutional governance and civil statutes rather than personal civil matters. But this distinction presses too hard on a difference that Scripture itself never makes. When Paul wrote to “the church” in Corinth, he wasn’t addressing a corporate entity with bylaws and billion-dollar assets—he was speaking to believers. As you know, the term “church” in Scripture refers to people who belong to Christ, not to organizations registered with the state (though these are often conflated).

Whether you serve as pastors, elders, or members, you are all believers acting in your capacity as believers. Paul’s command not to take civil matters before unbelievers isn’t limited to small, personal disputes. It’s a principle about the witness of the Church in the world: that Christians, whatever their role or rank, must resolve their differences within the household of faith. The New Testament gives no exemption for institutional conflicts simply because an issue involves property, authority, or money.

On Matthew 18: Ignoring Jesus’ Final Instruction

You claim to have followed the Matthew 18 process, and perhaps you have. But you’ve completely abandoned Jesus’ final instruction. When all attempts at reconciliation fail, He said to treat the unrepentant person “as a Gentile and a tax collector.” He didn’t say, “sue them in civil court.”

Again, this isn’t just about personal offenses. Matthew 18 outlines how the body of believers should handle any sin or conflict within the Church, whether between individuals or between members and leaders. To interpret it narrowly—as if it only governs personal conflict—is to miss the very heart of Jesus’ teaching on unity, discipline, and forgiveness. The biblical response to unrepentant leadership isn’t litigation; it’s separation, humility, and prayer for repentance.

The Fundamental Question: What Kind of Institution Are You Fighting Over?

Here lies the central irony of your position: your very lawsuit may prove that Second Baptist is not, in fact, a New Testament church, but rather a business entity operating under Texas corporate law. Suppose you are correct that billion-dollar assets, corporate governance structures, and legal maneuvering define this institution. In that case, you are not fighting over a church—you are fighting over a religious business.

If Second Baptist is indeed structured and operated as a secular corporation (which your legal arguments suggest), then perhaps your civil lawsuit is appropriate. But that raises an uncomfortable question: why are you fighting so hard to control an organization that has moved so far from biblical Christianity that it requires secular courts to settle its disputes?

Your litigation may actually demonstrate that this institution, whatever its name, is no longer a church as Scripture defines it. Churches don’t have billion-dollar balance sheets, corporate bylaws, or litigation departments. Businesses do.

On Divine Justice vs. Human Litigation

If fraud and greed truly lie at the heart of the leadership’s actions, then you can be assured that God’s judgment is coming. “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

Do you really want to be associated with an organization characterized by such behavior, even if you succeed in wresting control of it? What would you actually win—the right to manage a compromised institution built on worldly principles?

A Better Path Forward

I urge you to consider a different course: walk away. Let God judge those who have acted in greed and deception. Find or help establish a church community built on biblical principles of transparency, accountability, and genuine spiritual authority rather than corporate power structures.

Your energy, resources, and obvious passion for righteousness would be better invested in an authentic Christian community than in civil litigation over institutional control. You say you want to protect future generations—protect them by modeling what it looks like to follow Jesus’ actual instructions, even when it’s costly.

The early Christians had no corporate structures, no multimillion-dollar endowments, and no legal recourse when their leaders failed them. Yet they turned the world upside down—not by winning court cases, but by living out the Gospel, leaving judgment to God, and walking away from corrupted institutions to start fresh.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, I fear you have become so focused on institutional preservation that you've lost sight of biblical principles. Your lawsuit, whatever its earthly outcome, represents a departure from the very Scriptures you claim to defend.

Consider this: if your legal action succeeds, you’ll have proven that this institution operates under secular law rather than biblical authority. If it fails, you’ll have spent enormous resources on a worldly battle while an authentic Christian community waited for your attention elsewhere. Either way, the Gospel loses.

And as long as this dispute continues, the members of Second Baptist Church remain caught in the middle—pressured to take sides, uncertain whom to trust, and grieving the disunity of those who should be their spiritual leaders.

I implore you to reconsider. Treat the unrepentant leaders as Jesus instructed. Walk away from an institution that has clearly moved beyond biblical boundaries. Invest your considerable gifts in building something authentically Christian rather than fighting over something that may no longer be a church in any meaningful sense.

The watching world doesn’t need to see Christians litigating over billion-dollar religious corporations. It needs to see followers of Jesus living out His teachings, even when it costs them everything.

May God grant you wisdom, peace, and the courage to choose His path over the world’s methods.

Your Brother,

Chris Caldwell