Chapter 16: Myth—God Owns Solid Rock

Page 64

Myth—God Owns Solid Rock

The congregation was asked to make a minor change, but Matthews

made wholesale changes to the Articles of Incorporation. He filed the falsified Articles with the Secretary of State under sworn oath that they were actions of the members of the corporation. The District Office realized that the Article changes disenfranchised the denomination that built this church.

Matthews isolated the District from the congregation through his lawyers. The District Office thought the congregation had voted in the changes. The congregation didn’t even know about most of the changes. We just believed Matthews when he told us the District was trying to take away our church.

What a setup! Matthews’ con duped the Minnesota District Assembly of God Office and the congregation simultaneously. When the District Office settled the lawsuit it was all about money, because it was going to cost a small fortune in legal fees to continue with the lawsuit. The District Office did not know that their settlement was also based on Matthews’ fraud. He

had lied about the Articles changes; the congregation did not authorize them as the District Office had been led to believe. The swindle was succeeding.

The next event of the con was a denomination switch. A meeting was

held in July of 1995. Matthews’ pitch was to change from an Assembly of God Church (AG) to an Association of Faith Churches and Ministers Church (AFCM). 3 The AFCM is a ministry of Jim Kaseman in Branson, Missouri. The local District authority was Mac Hammond4 of Living Word Ministries

in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Matthews taught that the Assembly of God wanted to stifle the move of God, which was in our church. At the business meeting, he discussed a critical report that was sent to Assembly churches concerning Word of Faith churches and what seemed “counterfeit miracles,

signs and wonders.” You know, the stuff of 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12. It was a warning to Assembly churches that was endorsed by the District.

Matthews did not provide copies of the report at the business meeting,

which was hastily called to discuss his concerns. There were no Article changes even proposed at the meeting. A resolution was approved to check out the changes required to Articles and By-laws to become an AFCM church. A committee was to report back to the congregation on the changes

needed, but this never happened. Instead, in October 1995, Matthews’ filed another final set of fraudulent wholesale Article changes.