We take a strong stance that the government should not be involved in the affairs of the church. It comes, in part, from this teaching in Luke 20.
The state has no proprietorship over the church and by that I mean the people and property. Now we need to be good citizens and pay our taxes. We need to recognize that these buildings and this ministry and the scope of this ministry belong to Jesus Christ. The state has no intrusionary rights upon the ministry of our church.
I Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
If the fire department has an ordinance of safety, then we want to comply with that ordinance as they often come in to inspect our Preschool. We do not want to be rebellious or defiant against safety issues.
However, if someone wanted to tell us who could play our piano or teach a Growth Group class, we have a problem. NO ONE should ever tell us what to teach. If someone were to tell us that we cannot preach the whole counsel of God then that time comes when we say, we must obey God rather than man.
The church belongs to Jesus Christ. The state does not own our church. Therefore, we hold a sacred trust before God almighty and should never intentionally misuse our facilities in a manner that would bring shame and reproach on Him. We should always look to Jesus for our guidance and help here at TBC.