Phoenix pastor jailed for operating a "church"

[Kilika]

It's all in the details. I remember this case. Apparently the guy can't read. You gather a bunch of people together in one place, it's called a church by Caesar if the gathering is in excess of the average single-family residence. And they were exceeding it regularly so much they built an extra building? Come on. They were running a church and they know it. He wants to argue over property rights, when "the earth is the Lord's". He can't serve two masters. The world hates the body of Christ, yet people like this insist they play both sides when it suits them. Ironically, they love people like this in the world, because they surely are not of the body of Christ.

http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/homeowner-jailed-for-hosting-bible-study.html

Homeowner Jailed for Hosting Bible Study


Posted in Top Stories | 417 comments
Jul 10, 2012

By Todd Starnes
 
A Phoenix man who violated city zoning laws by hosting a Bible study in the privacy of his home has started serving a 60-day jail sentence for his crimes.
 
Michael Salman was found guilty in the City of Phoenix Court of 67 code violations. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail along with three years of probation and a $12,180 fine. A spokesperson for the city attorney confirmed that Salman reported to a county jail Monday afternoon.
 
Members of Salman’s Bible study group posted video of their teacher as he self-reported to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. It was an emotional scene.
 
“We believe that people should not be prohibiting other people from having Bible studies in their homes,” Salman said outside the jail. “We believe what they are doing is wrong. It’s private property. It’s our home.”
 
Salman embraced some of his Bible study members before offering final remarks.
 
“At the very end, after all is said and done, God will ultimately have glory in this,” he said. “We do this for the glory of the Lord.”
 
Someone off camera could be heard remarking, “I love you, pastor.”
 
Salman’s incarceration is the result of a long-running feud between the ordained pastor and the city of Phoenix over weekly Bible studies that Salman and his wife hosted in their home. City officials determined that the weekly gatherings constituted a church – and therefore violated a number of code regulations.
 
The controversy erupted in 2009 when nearly a dozen police officers raided the Salman’s home and a 2,000 square foot building in their backyard. The family had moved their Bible study into the building after the group outgrew their living room.
 
The charges that sent Salman to jail were a result of that raid – ranging from not posting exit lights above their doors – to not having handicap ramps or handicap parking.
 
Salman told Fox News Radio the attacks on his family were nothing more than a crackdown on religious liberty.
 
“They’re attacking what I – as a Christian – do in the privacy of my home,” he said. “At what point does the government have the right to state that you cannot have family and friends over at your home three times a week?”
 
But city officials said it was a matter of zoning and proper permitting  – not religious freedom. They said he was given a permit to convert a garage into a game room – not a church.
 
“Any other occupancy or use – business, commercial, assembly, church, etc. is expressly prohibited pursuant to the city of Phoenix building code and ordinances,” said Vicki Hill, the chief assistant city prosecutor.
 
The irony of that rule was not lost on Salman.
 

The Salman Family
 
“If I had people coming to my home on a regular basis for poker night or Monday Night Football, it would be permitted,” he said. “But when someone says to us we are not allowed to gather because of religious purposes – that is when you have discrimination.”
 
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council said the attack against Salman should serve as a wake-up call to Christians across the nation.
 
“Any time religious freedom or the freedom of speech is infringed upon, Americans should be concerned,” Perkins told Fox News Radio. “We are seeing jurisdictions using zoning ordinances to crack down the exercise of religious freedom.”
 
Perkins said there is a movement in recent years for churches to move back to an Early Church model where Christians met in private homes – rather than church facilities. As a result, he said some communities are in fact cracking down on what people do in the privacy of their homes.
 
“We’re seeing more Bible studies, home-based churches, small groups meeting together,” he said. “and people are not able to do with their own property that which is an exercise of their religious freedom.”
 
Perkins also took issue with the city of Phoenix deciding what constituted a church.
 
“The definition is nebulous,” he said. “A family of more than eight people who gather for prayer could meet the definition of a church.”
 
“It goes back to religious freedom,” Perkins said. “As long as it’s not posing a threat or a nuisance to the surrounding property owners, people should be free to do with their property as they see fit.”
 
Salman’s friends have launched an online petition urging that he be set free. Click here. (cont.)

[Psalm 51:17]

I went to his youtube channel - even though on his church's web site he uses KJV verses, in his preaching, he uses the NIV.

Now THIS really doesn't sit well with me - this shows he KNOWS the truth, but has abandoned it for obvious reasons(ie-to appease his flock). He's not pleasing God, but trying to please men.

[Christian40]

PHOENIX, ARIZONA (Worthy News) – Arizona Pastor Michael Salman is looking at more than three years of probation along with monthly inspections because of the Bible study he led in his Phoenix home.

Salman is currently serving a 60-day jail sentence for violating city zoning code regulations formerly applied to only commercial properties.

Salman, who is is due to be released in September, faces ten days of house arrest and three-and-a-half years of probation; in addition, the city of Phoenix can carry out unannounced inspections of Salman’s property once a month in order to ensure he's not holding Bible studies of more than 12 people.

One of Salman's attourneys, John Whitehead, noted that zoning officials in Phoenix had no issues with family reunions, football parties, or Boy Scout meetings. However, harassment of the Salmans soon began after Phoenix officials concluded that residential religious activities had to be governed by building codes meant for churches and commercial buildings.

http://www.worthynews.com/11685-pastor-faces-probation-for-home-study

[Kilika]

However, harassment of the Salmans soon began after Phoenix officials concluded that residential religious activities had to be governed by building codes meant for churches and commercial buildings.

That's because the guy was operating a church at his home. A few people is one thing, but they obviously were taking advantage of the situation and running a full blown church that was zoned for single family residence.

[Christian40]

So it would be better to obey the law in this case

[Kilika]

No, it would be better to obey the Word of God, and quit butting heads with the world while insisting on having it their way.

People cannot play in the world and expect to get their way spiritually. Not going to happen. The world won't allow it. As I understand the gospel, we are not to make waves in the world, or get all caught up in it. Those people were basically giving the world the finger with their church in a residence, which they knew exactly what they were doing.

We aren't suppose to get in the face of the world. We are to be humble and take the low seat, and not demand our rights in the world. Jesus will see to our every need.

[Psalm 51:17]

FYI, his "church" is a 501c3.

501c3: The Devil's Church
http://www.creationliberty.com/articles/501c3.php

I still believe that most preachers and churches are walking right into the 501c3 trap without realizing what they have done, and for example, a pastor Salman in Arizona recently came on to youtube and pleaded with American Christians to sign a petition to get him out of jail because he had been arrested for having a home church. Normally, I would have joined in the fight to demand they be released, until I found out that he had hidden the fact that he registered his home church under 501(c)(3).

This is NOT about religious liberty. This is about a contract that a pastor signed to willingly hand over his religious liberty, and his agreement to comply with all federal regulations, building codes, and permits for a church by state definitions. He agreed by contract to meet these standards, and he LIED by not complying with what he agreed to do. 

Also to throw this out there too - this was also pretty much the agenda of the "religious right"/"moral majority" since 1980 - 2008(the latter year was when they finally "stood down", the year Obama got "elected") - to keep Churchianity from seeing the elephant in the room, by having them focusing TOO much on these "social issues", and completely ignore 501c3.