I have not prepared Newsletters since 2022. However, this ministry is still very alive, actively helping churches organize according to New Testament Church doctrine, counseling, etc.
Archived Newsletters in Downloadable PDF
Archived Announcements in downloadable PDF
Here is Love Vast as the Ocean (Hymn)
JERALD C. FINNEY: BAB, HB, BBA, JD
801 Elgin St.
Amarillo, TX 79118
Phone : (512) 785-8445
E-MAIL: jerald.finney@sbcglobal.net
The photo above shows Dr. Dixon, in blue on the right, and his dear wife Wanda, in white next to Dr. Dixon, in January 2019 with the weekly Bible study class he teaches.
This ministry is a legacy of Dr. Greg J. Dixon.
Freedom’s Phoenix: Links to many of Dr. Dixon’s opinion pieces.
The Late Greg J. Dixon: His Passion and Warfare! (October 27, 2019 Sermon) This is a great message chronicling Dr. Dixon’s spiritual warfare. He was a man ahead of his time, and fought a great fight for Christ and the cause of Christ in America. The sermon by one of Dr. Dixon’s close friends, also gets into some Bible beliefs which he accepted later in life.
Unshackled: Links to Programs on Dr. Dixon’s Life:
Greg Dixon, Part I: Adoption, Anger, Cursing. He had three different names by the time he was nine, yet Greg Dixon would receive an even greater Name at fourteen. Don’t miss this unusual testimony, another true dramatization on UNSHACKLED!
Greg Dixon, Part II: Freedom, Near Death, Religious, Religious Freedom. Imagine having three different names by the time you’re nine years old. Then as a man, Greg Dixon followed the name above all names. Don’t miss the conclusion of his unusual testimony, another true dramatization on UNSHACKLED!
Lest We Forget: Indianapolis Baptist Temple Raided February 13, 2001
The Lord used Dr. Greg Dixon, a true hero of the faith, to build one of the largest Independent Baptist Churches in America, Indianapolis Baptist Temple. During the time he was pastor of IBT, from the late 1950s until the 1990s, he and other IBT members led many to the Lord and many were added to the local church.
Dr. Dixon learned in the late 1970s into the 1980s that legal status for churches violates New Testament church doctrine and grieves the Lord Jesus Christ. He set out to rid IBT of her unholy alliances with the state and federal government standing firm for that cause and educating other believers and churches on God’s desired relationship between church and state and helping new churches to begin as churches under Christ and Christ alone and already established churches to come out from under civil government controls and organize as churches of Christ. He continues that fight until this day.
The Biblical Law Center, founded in the 1980s and directed by Attorney Al Cunningham, helped churches who wanted to operate as churches under Christ only. He was assisted by legal assistant Barbara Ketay helping churches to remain under Christ as non-legal entities. He helped IBT to come out from the authority of Caesar in the 1980s. After Brother Cunningham passed away in 2004, Dr. Dixon took over administration and leadership of the BLC.
Attorney Cunningham started the BLC in the 1980s and administered it until his death in 2004. Cunningham’s wife then gave the BLC to Dr. Dixon. Until 2018, Dr. Dixon and then his son, Greg A. Dixon, continued the work with the assistance of his dad. From 2005 until 2011 Jerald Finney worked with the BLC.
In early 2017, after Ms. Ketay went home to be with the Lord, Attorney Jerald Finney again assisted the Dixons and the BLC. In early 2018, Finney became National Director of the BLC and remained so until late 2018 when the work was continued under the Churches Under Christ Ministry of Charity Baptist Tabernacle. Dr. Dixon graciously advises and assists Finney as the work goes forward.
By the grace of God and for His Glory this work will continue. Please pray for that end.
With time, more will be added to supplement this webpage.
Links to great sermons by Dr. Dixon:
Click the image above to go to ordering information for Dr. Dixon’s groundbreaking book, The Trail of Blood Revisited.
IN MEMORY OF DR. GREG DIXON
The Late Greg J. Dixon: His Passion and Warfare! (October 27, 2019 Sermon)
Dr. Greg Dixon went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, October 20, 2019. Dr. Dixon was my great friend and mentor, a man of God who I greatly loved and respected. He loved the Lord’s churches and devoted himself to the cause of organizing churches under the Headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. He invited me to work as legal counsel for the Biblical Law Center in 2005. Since then, working with Dr. Dixon, I have devoted myself to helping churches organize under Christ and Christ alone. With the Lord’s help, I will continue to devote my life to this cause.
The following e-mail from Brother Henry Long on October 22, 2019 says it better than I ever could. “Prayers, Blessings And Condolences To ALL Of The Family And Friends Of Dr. Greg Dixon; Who I am Very Grateful To, For Guiding me And Showing me The Way To establish A TRUE Church Of And For The LORD; As The HEAD And CORNERSTONE Of The FAITH And NOT The State. To Be Absent from The Body Is The Be PRESENT With The LORD; A Genuine Warrior And Solider Of The LORD, Will Be Greatly Missed; But Forever Will Be Held In High ESTEEM In my Heart For The Duration Of My Stay On This Earth. HALLELUJAH !!! I Hear The ANGELS Singing; Glory, Glory; WELL Done True And Faithful SERVANT, WELL Done. Yours In Christ, For His Glory; Elder/Pastor H.( Bro. Henry) Long.”
Funeral of Dr. Greg Dixon (Youtube).
Jerald Finney
February 16, 2024
I. Introduction
II. Bible Principles
III. Application of Principles
IV. Analysis of False Reasons of Christians and Lawyers for Church Corporate, 501(c)(3) and 508(c)(1)(A) tax exempt Status or Legal Status of Any Kind.
V. Answers to Questions and Comments from Pastors and Other Believers Concerning Church Organization
VI. Contact Information for this Simply Church Ministry
Most believers in America have never considered whether or not God’s Word communicates teachings, doctrines, and principles concerning Christ’s churhes which are at odds with the organization and conduct of the church they attend. They never ask, “Has my church been corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (See, 2 Corinthians 11:3).
Most have not considered whether violation of His principles is important to God or whether there are long term negative consequences for deviating from God’s church rules. Most pastors were never taught, and do not teach, New Testament Church doctrine and its application. They assume that their practices handed them by tradition are in line with God’s will. That would be OK if, indeed, their tradition were in line with God’s Word.
Is a church, according to God, to be:
How is one to know “the nature, purpose, and form of organization of local churches, and the right conduct of such gatherings?” God’s Word, mainly in the epistles of Paul, answers these questions.
As the serpent beguiled Eve, has your church been corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ?” Will you turn your back on God’s Word as regards God’s church principles?
What are the principles and how can a church in America apply them? The essential principles are relatively easy to grasp, but some Bible study is needed to get into the deeper waters of the doctrine.
The basic principles for church organization are rather simple:
In other words, God desires His churches to love and glorify Him by remaining 100% faithful as shown by the fact that they are in relationship with no entity other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
For more thorough studies of the Bible doctrines of government, church, and relationship of church and state, see Separation of Church and State/God’s Churches, Spiritual or Legal Entities?; God Betrayed/Separation of Church and State: The Biblical Principles and the American Application; The Bible Doctrine of Government; The Bible Doctrine of the Church; The Bible Doctrine Concerning the Relationship of Church and State;
Do the following methods of church organization by which a church becomes a “legal entity” violate God’s principles:
The answer to the three questions above is yes. To understand this, one must understand the Bible principles and then make the application of those principles to a particular type of organization. For links to short answers explaining the facts about church incorporation, tax exempt status, etc. Go to Short Answers to Some Important Questions (each short answer links to additional more in depth studies.)
See the following for short answers which link to additional resources which give more in depth answers:
Sadly, Satan, through his subtilty, has beguiled most churches in America, as he did Eve, from the simplicity that is in Christ. Most are temporal worldly organizations who, to one degree or another name the name of Christ but keep the commandments of men as opposed to the principles of God.
In America, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (the highest man-made law of the land) and corresponding provisions of the Constitutions of all the states allow a church the freedom, without persecution, to apply God church principles. See, Religious Liberty in America, The History and Meaning of the First Amendment, or An Abridged History of the First Amendment. Even though man’s highest laws in America regarding the relationship of church and state protect those churches who choose to honor God in the matter, most churches follow American tradition rather than God’s word in their relationship to civil government, mainly by incorporating and applying for Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3) status or claiming 501(c)(3) status under Internal Revenue Code § 508(c)(1)(A).
How can a church organize as did the churches in the New Testament and according to the New Testament Church doctrine? This website gives you God’s principles, the way to apply those principles, and information on many related matters. For a concise explanation of the Bible principles and application of those principles, see Simply Church: The Holy Union of Christ and His Local Church; see also, for more information and links to more resources, Bible Trust: Principles and Application.
Among false reasons given for church incorporation, federal tax exempt status under Internal Revenue Code §§ 501(c)(3) or 508(c)(1)(A), or become some other kind of legal entity are:
A. To Own Property
B. The church must operate as a business
C. So that the church can go into debt
D. So that the church may enter into contracts
E. So that the church can manage their employee payroll and tax matters
F. Limited liability
G. Romans 13 and other verses require a believer and church “to obey every ordinance of ma”
H. Just follow your convictions, but it is best to incorporate your church and get federal tax exempt status
I. To be “practical” a church must incorporate and get federal tax exempt status
J. etc.
JERALD C. FINNEY
BAB, HB, BBA, JD
801 Elgin St.
Amarillo, TX 79118
Phone : (512) 785-8445
E-MAIL: jeraldfinney157@gmail.com
Simply Church 