Ryan Knudson

There's kind of a bit of a running joke on our podcast about how like when I have people on, I sometimes make a joke about trying to get them to sing.

But I think you might be the first person with the actual chops to sing.

Sadly, no, we are not singing today.

Amy politely declined.

Okay, back to the story.

Amy heard from her cousin Andy Burton, a local dentist, who had caught wind of what Mathis was doing at their great-grandfather's old church.

Even though Amy hadn't gone to the church since her great-grandfather's funeral, she often saw it when she played concerts downtown.

Why did you feel like it was something worth fighting for?

But Amy and the Burton family had found a way to fight for control of the church.

That's next.

When A.M.

Burton set up the Central Church of Christ back in 1925, it, like all buildings, had a deed to go with it.

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.