Victory for Plano Vietnamese Baptist Church!

VICTORY: Judge Rules That Church Can Now Use Their Building!

Thank you for your prayers!  The judge just ruled in favor of the church, and they can now use their building immediately.

Here’s a copy of our press release:

Judge Rules in Favor of Vietnamese Church

Plano Church Can Now Hold Services in New Building

PLANO, Texas – Judge Greg Brewer today ruled in favor of the Plano Vietnamese Baptist Church (PVBC) in their case against the City of Plano, Texas, which has been enforcing an unconstitutional ordinance against small churches.  PVBC recently purchased a building in Plano but was barred from using it because the plot of land is too small to meet the two acre requirement in the existing zoning regulations.

“I’m walking on air,” said Thomas Le, pastor of PVBC, who, with his family, traveled to the United States as a boy to escape the Communism and religious hostility of Vietnam.

With today’s ruling, PVBC will now be allowed to use their worship in their new building, beginning next Sunday.

Jeff Mateer, lead counsel for PVBC, said, “I’m thankful we had a good judge that followed the law and gave these people the religious freedom the have traveled so far to find.”

Many PVBC members fled religious persecution under a Communist regime in Vietnam, traveling to America in the 1980s and 1990s.  Pastor Le started PVBC in 2003 with a handful of individuals, and after the church grew to 50 members, began to look for a building of their own.  The property Pastor Le found on Avenue G in Plano had been a church, but was converted to a daycare, and was sitting unoccupied.

Pastor Le and members of PVBC followed the proper procedures to purchase the property, and many of the members drew from their own life savings. They then petitioned the City of Plano’s Board of Adjustment to make an exception to a two-acre-minimum site requirement, as the Board had done for other churches in the past.  Despite staff’s recommendation for approval, the Board denied Pastor Le’s request, which was overturned by Judge Brewer today.

“This is the kind of thing that makes you proud to be an American,” said Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute and co-counsel in the case.  “Judge Brewer did the right thing and the church is thrilled that they will be able to hold services in their new building immediately.”

Kelly Shackelford in World Magazine

Wrong, bad, and dangerous

Fellow believers holding their church and one another accountable for how we spend ministry money is a good idea. Inviting government to do so is not. Whether I agree with these ministries and churches’ theology or not, what Grassley and the Senate are attempting (“The tall Grass[ley],” May 31) is a massive intrusion into religious freedom and sets a dangerous precedent for government power over the church. It is also morally wrong: The Church Audit Procedures Act was passed in 1984 to stop politically motivated IRS attacks and ensure confidentiality. Dragging churches and ministries into the mud in public and asking them to prove their innocence is morally wrong.

It is also a violation of Scripture for any Christian to promote such a public inquisition. As 1 Corinthians 6 makes clear, exposing Christian conflicts or wrongs in public before a secular audience is a horrible witness and damages the Body of Christ. This public inquisition is wrong morally and biblically, destructive to the Body of Christ, and sets horrible precedent. I assure you that if this government “investigation” is carried out, it will be cited in the future to justify many more incursions into the church. Every believer should demand that it stop before more damage is done.
—Kelly Shackelford, Liberty Legal Institute; Dallas, Texas

Copyright © 2008 WORLD Magazine
September 06, 2008, Vol. 23, No. 18

What are your comments?  Is the Grassley investigation good or bad?

See How the Platforms Stack Up!

Free Market Foundation does not endorse any party or candidate, but we want you to be informed about how the three major parties (Republican, Democrat, Libertarian) address important issues that impact families and freedoms.

On the issue of abortion, the Republican Platform states, “…we assert the inherent dignity and sanctity of all human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.” The Democratic platform says that it “…strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion…” Libertarians address the issue by stating that they “believe the government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscious consideration.”

Regarding the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the platforms directly disagree. The Democratic Platform says, “We oppose the Defense of Marriage Act…” Similarly, the Libertarian Platform states, “Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the rights of individuals by government, such as in current marriage…” However, the Republican Platform says this: “A Republican Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act, affirming the right of states not to recognize same-sex ‘marriages’ licensed in other states.”

On the appointment of judges, the Republican Platform “will insist on the appointment of constitutionalist judges, men and women who will not distort our founding documents to deny the people’s right to self-government, sanction federal powers that violate our liberties, or inject foreign law into American jurisprudence.” The Democratic Platform says, “…we will select and confirm judges who are men and women of unquestionable talent and character, who firmly respect the rule of law, …and who represent the diversity of America. We support the appointment of judges who respect our system of checks and balances and the separation of power among the Executive Branch, Congress, and the Judiciary—and who understand that the Constitution protects not only the powerful, but also the disadvantaged and powerless.” The Libertarian Platform does not address the judiciary or the Constitution.

(All answers given came directly from the national platforms of each party. To read the entire platform, click on the name of the party. To see an evaluation of the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, CLICK HERE.)

So, what do you think about the platforms? If the issue you are most passionate about isn’t on here or you have a question, post it in your comment and we will try to keep the blog updated!

Kelly on Platform and at Republican National Convention

Pictures from Our Austin Event!