I have removed all of Greg Dixon's quotes from our 501c3 teaching, and I removed all the contact information to his ministry and the Biblical Law Center. I was always told the story about how Dixon was Christian martyr for the faith of private liberty-based churches, and I foolishly repeated what I was told, but it turns out that, in truth, he was a liar and thief that would not repent. If you want to learn more, read this excerpt from our newly renovated article:
From 501c3: The Devil's Church
Some readers may recognize the name Indianapolis Baptist Temple (IBT - Greenwood, Indiana), which was owned and operated by the late Greg Dixon Sr. (now run by his son, Greg Dixon Jr.), who has had a 501c3 contract since 1989, but they did used to have one from early after it was established in 1954, up through 1989. Dixon is often considered to be a Christian martyr for the sake of unregistered, non-501c3 churches around the country, due to the fact that he was raided by the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) in 2001, and I bought into the same hype when I was first told about the man, but after I did some investigation on what happened to Greg Dixon and IBT, I was able to piece together the truth. I know there are numerous churchgoers out there who will be furious with me that I would dare rebuke Greg Dixon, but I discovered that what he did was actually wrong, and it will also help explain why the courts denied Jack Taylor his tax deduction.
Justia US Law gives background on the court case
UNITED STATES of America vs. INDIANAPOLIS BAPTIST TEMPLE, Gregory Jerome Dixon, which gives us more details that IBT and their followers won't talk about:
"In March 1950, the independent Baptist church known as 'Indianapolis Baptist Temple' was founded. The church began operating at 2711 South East Street, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and has been at that location ever since. Over the years, the church has used various entities to manage its affairs. Until May 22, 1983, a not-for-profit corporation named "Indianapolis Baptist Temple, Inc." (hereinafter, "the corporation") managed the church's affairs and ministries. (Defendant's Exhibit B at 8 ). The corporation obtained federal Employer Identification Number XX-XXXXXXX, withheld employment taxes from the wages of its workers, filed employment tax returns, and paid employment taxes to the federal government. (Defendant's Exhibit A at 3; Defendant's Exhibit B at 8 )."-Justia US Law, "United States v. Indianapolis Baptist Temple, 61 F. Supp. 2d 836 (S.D. Ind. 1999)," June 29, 1999, retrieved May 23, 2018, [law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/61/836/2501090/]In a nutshell, Dixon had been reading publications back in 1983 that stated that a true New Testament church should not be 501c3 incorporated, and he was converted to that philosophy, but he decided that he was immediately going to stop all payments to the IRS, even though he already had a 501c3 corporate contract. If you go on to read the minutes of the court trial, what he did next was very deceptive. Dixon transferred as many assests as he could to other non-501c3, private entities (which breaks his 501c3 charter), and the land was given to Greg Dixon personally instead of being filed under the corporate name, and then he legally changed the name of INDIANAPOLIS BAPTIST TEMPLE INC. to NOT A CHURCH INC.
For the next five years, Dixon waited for his contract to be dissolved, and his 501c3 corporate contract was legally dissolved on July 31, 1989; however, Dixon still had employees registered on his non-profit under W-4s (employee tax form/contract where they take out Federal Income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes), and so for five years, he refused to pay those taxes. From 1984-1989, Dixon accrued a large amount of debt to the IRS through his breach of contract, and with interest over the course of 17 years, by 2001, Dixon owed around $5 million.
(See Internal Revenue Service, "Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate," U.S. Department of the Treasury, Form W-4, OMB No. 1545-0074, retrieved May 30, 2018, [irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf])The IRS was extraordinarily patient with Dixon, waiting to be paid the money he owed for 17 years before finally getting an Indiana judge to approve seizure of his property to pay debts owed. Dixon made every effort he could to get church buildings around America to consider him a martyr for this faith, when in reality, he was a liar and tax cheat. If Dixon had simply stayed honest to his IRS contract, paid the money he owed, and waited until his contract was officially dissolved in 1989, there would have been no problem with the IRS, there wouldn't have been an overblown raid of the church building, and I wouldn't have to be rebuking his sin in this article.
In fact, when I read the accounts of those who were there when it happened, they tell this sob story about almost a hundred agents being brought out with helicopters and snipers on the roof of the K-Mart across the street. What they don't tell you is that none of that was originally planned, but when local militias publically stated they would come to Dixon's defense, it made a mountain out of a molehill, and so the agents needed to take precautions to defend themselves (because they have wives and children too).
On top of that, most people don't realize that no arrests were ever made. The churchgoers were free to meet anywhere they wanted for worship; no rights were being infringed. The agents simply escorted people out of the building so it could be seized to pay for lawful debts owed, and Dixon made such a childish fuss, they had to strap him to a medical gurney and wheel him out while he prayed in hypocrisy that God would forgive them for their sins.
Greg Dixon of Indianapolis Baptist Temple was not a martyr.
He was a liar and deceiver who unbiblically rebelled against his contract.I know I'll get branded as a heretic for daring to question the holy-sacred-cow Greg Dixon, because his followers believe he's some sort of holy man of God. Look, I've given creation presentations in Dixon's church building (now called The Life Center at Southport) back before I understood any of what happened, and I've met both him and his son personally, but I don't know if Dixon was of Christ or not. All I know is that, in this instance, what he did was wrong, he's guilty of lying to (and theft from) the state, Dixon needed to repent (which I don't think he ever did), and I'm going to tell people the truth, whether they want to hear it or not.
Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
-Galatians 4:16If Greg Dixon really loved God, then he wouldn't have lied (or he would have repented in grief and godly sorrow for lying), but he loved that money more than God.
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
-Matthew 6:24(Mammon = money)
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
-1 Timothy 6:10I commend Dixon on his desire to sanctify the church, but we ought not commit sin in order to accomplish that goal, and it also shows us that just because a man gets rid of 501c3, cleaning the outside of the cup and platter, it doesn't mean he's cleaned up the leaven on the inside. If it wasn't for the leaven of Greg Dixon, perhaps he wouldn't have signed up so quickly for 501c3 corporate status in the first place.
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
-Matthew 23:26
