Chapter 20: Myth—Politics Doesn’t Matter

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Just like the Chuck, I too was poor. I had been living off of borrowed funds and did not have the finances to hire legal help after I realized how

William Neal Matthews stole Solid Rock Church. When I sought legal help, the only firm who would take the case quoted $200,000 in estimated total costs and would not start without $100,000 in up front funds. It was out of the question. As I sought God in prayer, I came to the conclusion to file a

private lawsuit seeking some stock returned. I, and over 300 others, had been duped into transferring assets into a corporation that was illegally altered without the consent of its non-profit voting members. In the civil sense, Matthews had successfully “converted” my personal property and that

of others by lying. In the criminal sense, conversion is referred to as theft.

Court Round #1

There were two rounds of litigation in the court. In the first round I had no idea of what I had to do in terms of pro se litigation. That is when

you file suit as an individual and litigate the matter by yourself. However, I knew I was a fast learner and a quick study. I filed discovery requests and a summary judgment motion. Some of my legal buddies gave me pointers. The church filed for a stay of discovery and for summary judgment. The

initial document request had flushed out prima facie proof of the theft that took place at Solid Rock. That proof was in the form of the actual corporate meeting minutes as compared to the state filings that Matthews had made.

Matthews’ first filing was supposed to be a corporate name change, but he made wholesale illegal articles filings with the Minnesota Secretary of State. Two years later at a meeting in which no changes were authorized, Matthews filed changes eliminating all voting rights except his own family.

The second filing was proof of scienter, meaning that the filings had the full knowledge of Matthews and were aimed directly at stealing the church.

I got my chance in Court. The seasoned and righteous Judge I found

myself in front of said he wanted to talk with both parties in his chambers before hearing any further arguments. As the Judge talked in his chambers, he told Matthews’ attorneys that he would not grant their summary judgment motion and that unless they settled with me, we would both wind up in court

arguing our cases. My mental reaction was — wow! The judge understands the nature of Matthews’ clever church theft!