Thankfully the jury ruled in favor of the two local churches and awarded the property rights to them. Had we lost our case in the Chatham County Superior Court we would not have appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court. We were not prepared to do so nor were we financially able to do so. In my case I would have been forced to move out of the church manse with my wife and four children and arrange other housing.�

We never took the presbytery to court, they took us to court, The Administrative Commission of Savannah Presbytery declared the churches vacant. They removed all authority from all the ruling elders and the two ministers. They stated that they would secure ministerial leadership and continue to provide worship services for all who wished to continue their membership in the two local churches. By their action they claimed jurisdiction and ownership of the local church properties. The two churches then sought an injunction to prevent the presbytery from forcefully coming on the church property. This issued in the matter going to the Savannah Georgia Chatham County Superior Court for adjudication.
I ought to mention that one crucial issue for the jury to decide was our argument that the PCUS had violated its church constitution by advocating and endorsing civil disobedience. We cited The Westminster Confession of Faith on The Civil Magistrate, Chapter XXIII.4, to show that what they endorsed and advocated by Civil Disobedience was a violation of our church constitution:

iv. It is the duty of people to pray for magistrates, to honor their persons, to pay them tribute or other dues, to obey their lawful commands, and to be subject to their authority, for conscience' sake. Infidelity, or difference in religion, doth not make void the magistrates' just and legal authority, nor free the people from their due obedience to them: from which ecclesiastical persons are not exempted, much less hath the pope any power and jurisdiction over them in their dominions, or over any of their people; and, least of all, to deprive them of their dominions, or lives, if he shall judge them to be heretics, or upon any other pretense whatsoever.

We gave evidence to the Jury to show that this was going on at that time in Georgia. After the trial was over, I learned that one woman on the jury needed to be persuaded and convinced that civil disobedience was sufficient justification under the denomination�s constitution for the two churches to withdraw from the denomination. She did finally agree with the other jurors and the jury vote was unanimous in favor of both local churches to withdraw from the PCUS with their church property.

Remember that we had to argue the way we did because the law at that time in Georgia was a case known as Mack versus Kime, which stated that a trust was established between a denomination and the local churches affiliated with it. We had to show to the jury that the PCUS had violated the trust between us by having violated the church constitution, which was the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.

After the United States Supreme Court decision remanded the case back to the Georgia Supreme Court with its decision to use neutral principles of law in adjudicating church property disputes the Georgia Supreme Court then strut down Mack vs. Kime.� Mack vs. Kime is no longer the law in Georgia and based on the neutral principles of law the court ruled unanimously in favor of the two local churches, awarding them their church property.

I believe it is significant to note that all five court decisions were decided unanimously.

I have been comforted in considering my personal involvement in 3 1/2 years of litigation against my brethren in Savannah Presbytery that there were other elders and church members who stood with me. But sad to say there were many other Christians and denominations who stood with the Savannah Presbytery in their case against us. However, I can honestly say that during the long years of litigation and to this very day I never in my heart bore them any ill will and that I love them in our Lord Jesus Christ.

I also fully believe that God�s sovereign hand was manifested in the outcome of this case. All glory goes to Him! I praise God that when the litigation in this matter was finalized the PCA came into existence and that our PCA Book of Church Order protects the property rights of local churches. I thank God that there is a continuing Presbyterian Church today proclaiming the doctrines of the Reformed faith, and especially is that true here at Midway Presbyterian Church.