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Skillman church family,
We know we are all in a season of prayer and facing some important decisions. We seek God’s wisdom and direction and, as always, He has been faithful in hearing and answering our calls. Our purpose in this email and the weeks ahead is to further bring clarity to the opportunity before us.
A Brief Recap
After first announcing our desire to pursue joining The Hills Church of Christ in January of this year, your Skillman Elders heard member concerns that more time, study and discernment was needed. So, an Advisory Committee of Skillman members with diverse backgrounds and points of view was formed to investigate this opportunity and better understand The Hills Church. We came together in prayer and patiently waited for the comprehensive, 98-page Advisory Committee Report that was released on March 20, 2022. Also during this time, alternative paths forward were explored by your Elders and by some of our members.
By the end of March, the need for Skillman to hire a law firm became clear, to ensure compliance with Skillman’s governing documents and Texas law. It is critical to us that we proceed with integrity in complying with both.
During all of this time, we remained patient for discernment of God’s will, and listened. We gave Skillman members an opportunity to read the Advisory Committee Report and met directly with of members (individually and in small groups) to hear your thoughts and ideas. We also focused on having a well-run, all-member Town Hall meeting on April 27. This Town Hall meeting provided an opportunity for perspectives and opinions to be expressed.
The Town Hall also provided an opportunity to share with you the specific terms of a new agreement between your Elders and senior leadership at The Hills. This agreement is called the “Assurances”, and its effectiveness is only dependent upon a vote of the Skillman membership. The Assurances were extensively negotiated with support from independent legal counsel for each party. We are also following the lead of our legal counsel to provide a professional voting process that aligns with our bylaws and other governing documents and Texas law. (More information from the Town Hall meeting and on voting will be provided shortly.)
Next Steps
Throughout this process the Skillman Elders have supported the inclusion of all concerned, no matter their beliefs or interpretations of Scripture or their view of The Hills opportunity. Now, three things have become crystal clear:
1. More information: We need to ensure all Skillman members have as much accurate information as possible. We assure you the information we have provided and continue to provide is accurate and dependable.
2. Purpose-driven compliance with Texas law: We continue to see this opportunity as a “joining” of Skillman and The Hills. But Skillman’s governing documents and Texas law require that we choose other, specific legal terms. Those terms are “a sale of assets and assumption of liabilities”, followed by eventual “dissolution” of our Texas non-profit corporation after confirming the terms of the Assurances have been met.
3. Change in voting from May 15 to June 12: We will further heed the request of Skillman members for more time, with voting to now occur after our worship service on June 12, 2022 (along with distribution of mail-in ballots well-in-advance of that date). June 12 also aligns with requirements in our bylaws.
Truth
We have all heard The Hills state on numerous occasions their belief that Skillman and The Hills are better together and more can be done for God’s Kingdom in partnership than could ever be done independent of each other. We believe the same is true from our perspective. Many of the alternative ideas we’ve heard in recent months and at the Town Hall on April 27th regarding strategies to engage our neighbors are already being effectively utilized by The Hills. Partnering with them accelerates our ministry. It certainly does not eliminate our ministry or our heritage. And similar to how their successes will be helpful, the resources God has entrusted to us are also essential to effectively serving this Lakewood community and beyond together.
None of God’s resources at Skillman will disappear in this transaction with The Hills. Quite the opposite, they will be better deployed for their intended purpose of bringing God glory and reaching lost people in our neighborhood, city, nation and world. The truth is this: Whatever fruit and blessings that flow out of this partnership, from Day 1, will add to the legacy of Skillman Church of Christ. We are not disappearing. Rather, we are offering our shoulders to stand upon to propel the advancement of God’s Kingdom. What better heritage could we ask for? Instead of takeover, this is an invitation to be a part of this new work.
We all know we live in a contentious and lawsuit-focused culture. And the process now moving forward will provide the most protection for our church from any unforeseen future legal claims or liabilities. More importantly, when our members vote to join The Hills, it will no longer be an environment of “us and them”. We can all become one united church again, pursuing a common Mission and Vision. It will allow us to be a church that thrives, not just survives.
In Conclusion
Our confidence in a partnership with The Hills is found in our time spent discerning God’s leading, our time spent with these people, and the binding Assurances document, which was provided to you in our email earlier this week. It clearly resolves the vast majority of issues we’ve heard raised by our members in recent months.
Your Skillman Elders are determined to NOT sell our building, NOT re-purpose the Moeller Fund or other restricted funds, NOT cease support of our local, Christian non-profits, and NOT breach our commitments to foreign missionaries. These commitments are all shared by The Hills, as reflected in the Assurances we have negotiated and agreed to. Your Skillman Elders are also determined to NOT lose our bonds with other Churches of Christ or step away from our sole focus on resurrecting this place as a house of worship, including a cappella singing services and thriving Bible classes. Again, The Hills has embraced these objectives in the Assurances.
We have not heard any other proposals that provide the same clear path for moving forward. In fact, we’ve heard the opposite regarding various proposed alternatives, with much uncertainty on many of these core features of Skillman’s heritage.
We have and will continue to listen, seek to discern God’s will, lead, and now provide everyone more time before a vote on June 12. As mentioned above, complete information on the voting process is being finalized now and will be shared with all Skillman members soon.
We hope this email provides clarity by silencing some of the chaos and eliminating the confusion. Our hearts’ desire is for you to seek The Lord and ask for His wisdom and guidance. This will lead to experiencing God’s peace – a peace that will guard your hearts and bring a balm to your soul during these next several weeks and beyond.
In His service,
Shane, Craig and David
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