Two frightening phrases in the earlier days of the litigation were: “this will destroy the church as we know it” and “this will send us into bankruptcy.” That the church could be changed in a fair settlement is probable. We are already different with our levels of trust. Bankruptcy, though, seems more rooted in fearmongering and institutional selfishness, not institutional survival.

Bankruptcy is a legal instrument to protect assets and enable continued, modified operation. The connectional church has very few directly titled properties. Reaching for school property and local church properties would be a long, arduous, and complex endeavor which will yield little or nothing. Local, incorporated property, even with trust clauses, is more secure than most imagine. Moreover, the connectional church does not have authority to step in and claim local church property to satisfy a debt. We are not organized like the Roman Catholic Church where a diocese has a direct title to church properties.

Bankruptcy is moot, though, for two important factors. 1. The Institution’s properties and negotiable assets are not essential for our operation. 2. We operate on an annual budget. As long as we are collecting assessments, there are resources to structure debts and pay judgements. The threat is not bankruptcy; it is the diminished assets and the ego/business perks which accompany them.

Those who think the current “Settlement” protects the Institution from bankruptcy are falling for a rhetorical, strategic scam. The “Settlement” does not protect from bankruptcy as much as it preserves our current excessive mode of operation. This is especially true if The Institution does not have to deliver additional funds to make participants 100% whole. Limiting a payment to Plaintiffs (actually all of us) is no consolation when exigent circumstances are used to justify the nonpayment of additional funds.

Sure, it is great to operate with a cushion. We don’t do enough in vital areas such as Christian Education, Evangelism and Global Development. Nevertheless, the Institution has made it on a shoe string before, and it can do it again. The Church must address a 100% Whole guarantee with absolute, moral resolve. If the Institution recovers funds from responsible parties, we will rejoice and give thanks. If not, we must tighten our belts. Reorganize. Pay those who served within the last 60 years that which is fair based on contributions and actual interest paid.

It may not be much. It may not be all that it could have been. It is a debt that should not be evaded through bankruptcy, asset manipulation, or disingenuous efforts at preserving the current, lavish Institution at the expense of the dignity of The Church’s salaried servants. Rather than expending so much time and energy on financial assets, we need to focus on our other, most valuable asset: The People who sacrifice to pay assessments and walk as faithful disciples.