By Mallory Mattingly
Multi-time Grammy award winner Amy Grant is in a legal battle to save a church in Nashville, Tennessee, founded by her great-grandfather, Andrew Mizell “A.M.” Burton.
“This is all about the legacy of A.M. Burton,” Grant told the Wall Street Journal about why she and her family are fighting to save the Nashville Church of Christ, formerly the Central Church of Christ. “To me, the family has to get involved because otherwise, that property is at a standstill. And that doesn’t make any sense.”
Burton, a successful insurance company entrepreneur, founded the church in 1925. As his wealth grew, Burton donated much of it to several Christian organizations when he died in 1966. In the deed for the church, Burton said that if stopped “serving as a worship site, the property would revert to his estate,” according to The Christian Post.
In 2017, the church welcomed Shawn Mathis, a businessman who now serves as its the director. Burton’s descendants say that he pushed out longtime members and quickly became an elder. In a short amount of time, he assumed control of the board, which led to significant changes. In 2018, he transferred “control of the church’s assets to a new nonprofit he created called Nashville Church of Christ,” per the Christian Post.
Many of the members did not like the new rules and procedures set by Mathis. When brought to the elder’s attention, he told them to leave if they didn’t like the new rules.
The Tennesseean reported that Nashville Church of Christ shut down Central Church’s ministry operations, including its weekly services. They held their final service in 2018.
It’s now been embroiled in a legal battle with Grant and her family since 2019.
A lawsuit filed by the Tennessee attorney general claimed the church mixed missionary funds with other funds within the church.
Records also show that the church owes over $500,000 in taxes.
Grant shared in a post on her Instagram a picture of the now boarded-up church building in the heart of downtown Nashville.
“Proud to stand up for my family and the charitable legacy of my great-grandfather AM Burton,” she wrote in the caption.
Related: Amy Grant: ‘Prayer Changes Everything’
“This man cast a beautiful shadow over my life and all of our lives,” Grant told the Wall Street Journal.
Grant and her family want the family property back under the 1925 deed restriction. The trial is expected to continue in late June.
Read Next: Amy Grant on Generosity: ‘You Become Something Bigger Than Yourself’
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