Ryan Knudson

But this deed had a rather unusual line in it.

Here's my colleague Cam again.

Remember, the church had stopped offering services in the building after Mathis took over.

So Amy and her family thought they could use that provision in the original deed to try and regain control of the church.

It's amazing that your great-grandfather had put that line in the deed in the first place.

Yeah, it's crazy.

In 2019, the Burton family hired a lawyer and prepared to fight for ownership of the building.

But before they made their move, the Nashville Church of Christ, under Mathis, sued Amy and the Burtons.

In a statement, Mathis' lawyer said that attempts to take control of the building and oust Mathis are motivated by the church's rising property value.

For seven years, the church was stuck in legal limbo.

There's actually a term for the kind of hostile takeover that Mathis has been accused of, steeplejacking.

Steeplejacking is happening all around the country, especially in the Midwest and South.

And because steeplejacking most often seems to happen to these independent churches, it's a problem that's hard to track.

After years of fighting, in October, the Burtons and the Nashville Church of Christ settled.

They agreed that the building would revert to the estate of A.M.

Burton, but the parking lots would stay in the hands of the Nashville Church of Christ and Sean Mathis.

The agreement also requires that the property be sold, with the Burton family receiving 80% of the proceeds and Mathis' group receiving 20%.

The church's attorney said his client, quote, made the strategic decision to settle the very narrow litigation related to certain deed restrictions.

The attorney also said the church looks forward to investing its portion of the building sale proceeds into its global mission efforts.

Have you thought about writing a song about what happened with the church?