News

City Shuts Down Church Club

Gang outreach slammed as dangerous business.

Tim Reid / Chattanooga Times Free Press

A Christmas Eve shootout prompted a government crackdown and eviction of a Chattanooga, Tennessee, church and its controversial gang-outreach program.

Residents have criticized Club Fathom, run by Mosaic Arts Venue pastor Tim Reid, for hosting secular concerts for teens that have turned rowdy. Police have responded to at least 19 assault calls there since 2006.

City officials asked for an injunction to close down the club and the church after a Christmas Eve event attended by about 400 people ended in a gunfight that wounded 9.

A judge granted a 15-day restraining order, allowing only church services and Bible studies and capping occupancy at 100. Soon thereafter, Mosaic's landlord evicted the church.

"Under the current mayor's administration and court rulings telling us how we are to conduct our worship services and what types of people we can or cannot allow—it makes it impossible to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ to love and accept all," Reid posted on Mosaic's Facebook page.

But Mayor Ron Littlefield calls Mosaic a "business masquerading as a church."

Tennessee's religious freedom laws require that the government show a compelling interest before interfering in a church's dealings, said Thomas Berg, a church-state expert at St. Thomas School of Law in Minnesota.

"Physical violence, rape, and other criminal acts are the kind of thing that, under any theory of religious freedom, the city has the authority to punish," he said. If such acts happen often enough, a city can rely on the doctrine of "general nuisance," which is what happened in the Mosaic case, he said.

Security is imperative in outreach to gangs, said Boston pastor Eugene Rivers. "If one is going to host quasi-secular events and entertainment, and be in the inner-city community, you've got to secure your space in the most literal sense," he said. "If you cannot guarantee the safety and security of people who participate in your program, you shouldn't do it."

Mosaic has the right goal, said Rivers, but finding effective strategies is difficult.

"The [church's] current wineskins and paradigms are inadequate for meeting the needs of 20- to 40-year-old males in the inner city," he said. "I suspect [Reid] is in a period of trial and error where he's experimenting with ways to reach out to the lost."

Anyone experimenting with new models is going to make mistakes, but tactics cannot compromise integrity, he said.

Sonny Arguinzoni Jr., senior pastor of Victory Outreach in Chino, California, agrees. Gang ministries walk a fine line between being accommodating and being prophetic.

"We're not just duplicating what's already out there in the world," he said. "Jesus didn't have to become a prostitute to reach a prostitute, or a drug addict to reach a drug addict. We don't want to make it so worldly that there is no difference between the light and darkness."

How you present the gospel is important, said Arguinzoni. "You can't make the gospel look gray or shady when Jesus says, 'You have to leave this and follow me.'"

Reid did not respond to requests for an interview. Mosaic pastor Chris Edwards told the Chattanooga Times Free Press, "We would do anything to be relevant with the culture; the lost are that important to us. We believe God can use anything."

Copyright © 2012 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Previous Christianity Today articles on challenges in missions and ministry include:

Counterterrorism Laws Hamper Humanitarian Aid | The red tape preventing relief. (January 16, 2012)

How Charity Can Be Toxic, Just in Time for Christmas | Bob Lupton explains how to avoid destroying dignity. (December 21, 2011)

Persecution Prompts Missions Agency to Transform | Operation Mobilization India transforms itself into a local witness. (October 21, 2011)

See Christianity Today's news section and liveblog for more news updates.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

The Missing Factor in Higher Education

Vicarious Humanity: By His Birth We Are Healed

Wilson's Bookmarks

Review

Could God Have Created a World Without Suffering?

Michael Patton Brews a Potent Theology

My Top 5 Books On Archaeology

Review

The Heart of Christian Life: Pillars of Hospitality

Are Secular Television Shows with Moral Messages Good for Christian Children?

Why Are Our Communion Meals So Paltry?

Interview: Julie Lee

The 'Above All' Commandment of the Sabbath

Family as Calling: Finding Vocation In and Near the Home

News

Evangelical Foundations See Surge in Donations

Editorial

The Supreme Court's Religious Freedom Reality Check

The Evangelistic Question That Died

News

Persecution in VBS Materials: How Much Information is Too Much for Children?

News

Tsunami Aftermath: Second Chances in Japan

Excerpt

Your Church Is Too Safe

Sailing into the Storm: Philip Ryken and D. Michael Lindsay on the Challenges in Christian Higher Education

News

Presbyterians Form a New Denomination, Court Upholds Ultrasound Law, and More

Letters to the Editor

Learning Life Lessons from Russian Babushkas

Little Colleges That Could

GCB: Desperate Christian Housewives

News

Quotation Marks

News

Is Mercury Pollution's Effect on Newborns a Pro-Life Issue?

Review

Out of the Darkness of Porn

More Media

Books to Note

Two Minutes With ... Julie Lee

Folkie Finds Love

Online Poll

News

Go Figure

News

Passages

Why Last Saturday's Political Conclave of Evangelical Leaders Was Dangerous

View issue

Our Latest

Excerpt

There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Proper’ Christmas Carol

As we learn from the surprising journeys of several holiday classics, the term defies easy definition.

Glory to God in the Highest Calling

Motherhood is honorable, but being a disciple of Jesus is every woman’s primary biblical vocation.

Advent Doesn’t Have to Make Sense

As a curator, I love how contemporary art makes the world feel strange. So does the story of Jesus’ birth.

Advent Calls Us Out of Our Despair

Sitting in the dark helps us truly appreciate the light.

News

As Malibu Burns, Pepperdine Withstands the Fire

University president praises the community’s “calm resilience” as students and staff shelter in place in fireproof buildings.

The Russell Moore Show

My Favorite Books of 2024

Ashley Hales, CT’s editorial director for print, and Russell discuss this year’s reads.

News

The Door Is Now Open to Churches in Nepal

Seventeen years after the former Hindu kingdom became a secular state, Christians have a pathway to legal recognition.

The Holy Family and Mine

Nativity scenes show us the loving parents we all need—and remind me that my own parents estranged me over my faith.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube