Members of the Indianapolis Baptist Temple, led by Rev. Greg A. Dixon, remained at the church Wednesday morning, long after the deadline for the seizure of the property had passed.

In an order on Sept. 28, U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker ruled in favor of the IRS and ordered members of the congregation to vacate the property by noon on Nov. 14 to satisfy a $6 million debt to the agency. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month rejected the church's request for a stay that would have delayed the seizure of the property.

But noon came and went, and Dixon and other members of the church remained at the site.

"We're regrouping after last night," Dixon said, talking on a cell phone from inside the church Wednesday morning. "We're holding a service at 1:00 today in the main auditorium."

Dixon said the church has secured other places for worship services in anticipation of the seizure of the property.

"Little by little, we're going to try to get back to normal," he said.

Roughly a thousand people have been coming and going from the church since yesterday, Dixon said.

Media reports say the case may be the first in which the seizure of a church has been ordered to satisfy a tax debt.

The dispute involves $6 million in uncollected taxes, penalties and interest dating back to 1987. Members of the church believe it to be sin for the church to pay taxes.

According to court documents, the IBT stopped filing federal employment tax returns and paying federal employment taxes in 1986, the year it renounced its status as an unincorporated religious society, and began defining itself as a New Testament Church, based on "its belief that the exclusive sovereignty of Jesus Christ over the church required it to disassociate itself from secular government authority."

Asked if he thought a compromise was possible, Dixon responded, "There is no compromise. The federal government is out of control."

"Churches in America should be separate (from government) by the First Amendment," Dixon said, adding, "The courts have a socialist agenda."

A spokeswoman for the IRS said the agency could not comment on the case because of privacy rules.

-- By Melissa Klein

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