This just in from The Worthy Walk:
Sad news…
Effective July 30, Pastor Armstrong chose to resign from The Chapel in Akron, Ohio. He will be moving on to new ministry opportunities. Once he has established himself, we will post updates to let our listening audience know.
The Worthy Walk radio program on WCRF Moody Radio Cleveland is no longer airing. You can still listen on WKJA 90.9 in Barberton, and on WNPQ 95.9 in Canton until August 29. At that time, the program will no longer air on any radio stations.
The website will be updated on occasion but no further programs will be created for the foreseeable future.
Sad news? Well, turn that frown upside down my Christian celebrity-loving friends. Tim Armstrong is just one more preacher-gone-bad in a long line of Christian celebrities to quickly land another job in the lucrative field of Christian Ministry. Generally, most disgraced preacher types take a minimum of six months before reappearing on the scene; having repented, rebranded, and ready to spread their version of the gospel, having heard directly from the Lord Almighty that His Kingdom cannot prevail without their unique ministry. But Armstrong is apparently so vital to the growth of the Kingdom that after a mere three weeks since his forced resignation from the Chapel the Lord has opened the door to a new ministry.
This, from the same website today:
Tim Armstrong was the founder and senior pastor of Crossroads Community Church in Mansfield, Ohio. In 2014, he became the 5th senior pastor for The Chapel in Akron, Ohio. He is currently relocating and will be starting a new ministry soon. >>>
Well, I have to give Armstrong’s handlers credit for cleverly crafting the statements above. It is true that Armstrong did resign, but they left out an important piece of information, that is, had he not resigned he would have been fired.
It would appear that Cedarville University President, Thomas White is a two-time loser when it comes to discerning Christian character, or perhaps he is a perfectly fine judge of character, but when it comes to choosing between character or friendship, White will choose friendship every time.
Readers may recall that White hired Anthony Moore, his long-time friend from their days together at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary after Moore was fired from the Village Church for filming another friend of his (and assistant pastor) on numerous occasions in the shower.
According to an article written by Julie Roys on May 1, 2020:
Cedarville University President Thomas White maintains that he was told an “incomplete narrative” about Anthony Moore—the man he hired in 2017 after Moore had been fired by The Village Church (TVC) for “grievous sexual immoral actions.”
However, today an elder at TVC’s Fort Worth campus disputed White’s narrative. He also named two other leaders, a pastor and a professor, whom he says were fully informed about Moore in 2017.
During an interview last week, White told me he knew that Moore had recorded multiple videos of another man showering in Moore’s home. But White said he thought Moore had recorded at most two videos and that Moore’s problem “was not a habitual, perpetual deal” but a “slip into temptation.”
White fired Moore last Friday, claiming that he had just learned that Moore had recorded at least five videos over a span of at least five months.
Then we have this video, recorded at a Cedarville University chapel service, of Thomas White introducing his good friend, hunting buddy, and member of the Cedarville University Board of Trustees, Tim Armstrong. At the time Armstrong was the senior pastor of The Chapel Church in Akron, OH. He also had a radio program called “The Worthy Walk.” The radio program is no longer airing and Tim Armstrong resigned from his position of senior pastor after both the Constitution Committee and the Board of Trustees from The Chapel Church voted unanimously that Armstrong, “in accordance with language outlined in The Chapel’s Constitution, is unable to fulfill the duties of senior pastor and therefore cannot be restored to the role of senior pastor of The Chapel. The Trustees unanimously voted to affirm that recommendation. Pastor Tim agreed to resign, effective immediately.”
As far as we know, Armstrong has retained his position on the Cedarville University Board of Trustees. His presence on the Board has paid dividends for both Armstrong and White; Armstrong’s twin daughters received a free education at Cedarville University and he also voted with the majority to reinstate Thomas White as president of Cedarville. (It should be noted that Danny Akin and Mark Vroegop resigned their positions on the Board of Trustees because of their strong disagreement with the decision.)
We are left wondering what will happen first, Tim Armstrong announces his new ministry job or The Chapel leadership restores Mike Castelli and Jim Mitchell to their jobs. I don’t believe we will have to wait much longer.
Yuck / 1st?
Thanks, Todd, for keeping us informed!
Reminds me of another local Northeast Ohio pastor/missionary, Tom Randall, who was allowed to quietly resign from CCC Hudson after it was made clear he had covered up abuse at Sankey Samaritan children’s home in the Philippines. And victims have also come forward about grooming and abuse by him as well. Didn’t matter, though, as he’s moved to Florida and started a new ministry. JusticeForSankey.com
Inevitably Tim Armstrong will find a new place and start a new ministry as well. This is what happens when we shuffle off bullies, narcissists, and abusers to the next place with no real repercussions or consequences.
Armstrong only resigned in the past few weeks and he’s already talking about his new ministry? Is that a record for TWW?
And here’s The Chapel touting CCC Hudson as one of its church plants:
https://saturatemovement.life/about/
“Our history of church planting > ‘1982 — Pastor Jim Colledge is sent out to plant The Chapel in Hudson, now known as Christ Community Chapel’.”
The whole video “scene/intro” by Thomas White is very disturbing to me……… is what their “ chapels” are like??
Jeffrey Chalmers,
typo
.. is “that” what their “chapels” are like?
We need a one-word term for “resigned under duress.” The closest I can come is two words: ‘ran away.’
Dr Who fans will be amused by the proposal for “Pastor Ran Away.”
It might be that authoritarian character is preferred as a useful means for the advancement of movement goals. And in theologies with strong understandings of divine sovereignty, there’s never really a reason to apologize for what the Creator has decreed that one would do.
See chameleon
Lying there in the sun
All things to everyone
Run, run away!
— Slade
According to Chesterton, in Magick it is The Dark Powers who have the reputation for Getting Things Done.
But to get the Dark Powers to do your will, you must become as Dark and Corrupt as them.
Allow me to paraphrase: “I gotta find me a new town full of empty heads and full pockets!” How do these guys keep starting all these ‘new ministries’ after treating people the way they do? Don’t HR departments or search committees ask questions like, “Why did you leave your previous employer” and check them out?!?
Gee whiz, every job interview I ever had asked that!
Again, I’ll refer back to a relevant Professor Harold Hill quote from “The Music Man”.
Salesman: “How far you going, friend?”
Harold Hill: “Wherever the people are as green as the money…friend!”
I attended The Chapel for 5 out of the 7 years TA was there:
1. They know I have accused TA and The Chapel of spiritual and leadership abuse.
2. The trustees claim they just heard about TA leadership style is wrong. He got rid of anyone who opposed him in anything so they had trouble getting to this point.
3. I think this “waiting” period is nothing but a stall tactic to allow what’s left of their congregation to adjust. I think they have made the decisions already.
4. Was the one former staff member silenced by The Chapel after speaking out?
5. What else will they lie about to protect themselves instead of trying to help the people negatively affected?
6. Evidently CU thinks TA has the character, integrity and values of Christ. What does that say about CU as a Christian College?
You might like this song. https://youtu.be/qeCa9VDBlH0
The same thing it says about all the other BOT members, save Akin and Vroegop, who voted to reinstate Thomas White after the hiring of Anthony Moore.
My daughter is a Senior looking at colleges, and Cedarville University is a place I would not consider letting her close to! (even if she wanted to, which she doesn’t) Not to be confused with CU Boulder (University of Colorado, though it goes by CU), where one can get a good education.
Every inappropriate leader has a misguided community keeping him in place:
https://wildmustangmall.com/blog/f/3-pillars-of-predators
Regarding being a part of the supporting community, sometimes it takes experience to figure out what really goes on with leaders.
That being said, it’s usually women who are the first offended, and often churches don’t validate the testimonies of women. Bethlehem Baptist case in point. Natalie Hoffman told her story years ago, and now several top clergy have resigned, abused. The men didn’t validate her testimony & ignored her, or maybe they even participated in abusing her, too. Now these men & their wives want to be heard.
Ask the M.B.A.s who live high off Golden Parachutes while leaving a trail of bankrupt dead companies and unemployed workers behind them.
These guys just don’t know how to do anything else to make money besides bilk naive Christians.
Headless Unicorn Guy,
Hey, the Church wants to operate like American businesses, so this is not surprising…. look at all the NDA’s, and documents that church employees have to “sign” when they leave… just like American businesses…
Because, hey, Americana is a “Christian” at it gets!!
No one “has” to sign an NDA when they leave a job. An employee may choose to sign one as a condition of accepting employment… if that employee holds a moral objection to a faith-based organization requiring an NDA, then at the time the NDA is presented would be the time to walk away.
Jitterbug,
Many places require NDA’s on the way out. They dangle things like 401K contributions, severance pay, etc… as a condition of signing an NDA.
Those are all very good reasons to sign one. Very clarifying about one’s values: would I rather have severance pay, or would I rather reserve the right to air my grievances about this organization? I know everyone would rather have both but that’s not how things work. Just like an organization firing a troublesome employee would rather have them go away but not disparage the organization… they don’t always get what they want either.
“I chose to resign” is just another way to say “I was one step ahead of the axe.” The Chapel Church Board of Trustees not only failed TCC membership by not firing Mr. Armstrong, they failed the Body of Christ at large for releasing him to freely launch another ministry. A stronger statement was needed by them to ensure this man could not so easily keep moving through Christendom.
readingalong,
I know of three young women who are going to Cedarville or Liberty. I pray for their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual protection.
Cedarville….ugh. I received a degree there as did my husband. It has lost its way. It took awhile to clean out some trustees (ABWE’s Loftus, SBC’s Patterson,…) and this Armstrong guy must go. Now. And Randall…he needs to be closely watched. As does White. Something very off with White. I wish I knew what. It seems all ‘show.’
It’s the American way.
You’ve heard of slash and burn ‘farming’ in Brazil?
Same difference here in the USA with our unregulated financial system.
jojo,
As a fellow CU alum, I couldn’t agree more with your assessment. White is all ego thriving under the “God ordained authority umbrella” which means there is no accountability… so the the abuse of power will continue. Don’t ever forget who his mentor was… and don’t let the cowboy boots fool you.
Yes. This was very much my experience, of a leader acting in a very heavy-handed way toward myself and showing a completely different face toward my husband.
think it is a matter of power. Because women (often in these churches) have no power, an abusive leader is less cautious to hide the less-savory aspects of his (or her) character around women than around men. When they become more entrenched, then they’re more open.
It’s funny, now that I think about it. I worked for two different women deans (one who retired, and then her successor) as an administrative assistant in my pre-SAHM days. The two deans had very different personalities and management styles. But both had a firm finger on the pulse of how individual faculty members treated myself and other non-faculty staff in the department. Boundaries were firmly put in place for already-entrenched faculty who liked to throw their weight around. And those who weren’t already entrenched and tried to throw their weight around, were not kept around for long.
Being a pew peon is a position similar to being a lowly admin assistant in academia. I would go back to work for either of those deans in a heartbeat. But the interim male dean who wasn’t great at boundaries? I came close to quitting. Context as to why this would have been a big deal – I had just been awarded a nationally-recognized “award of excellence” by the campus (nominated by my department’s faculty, no less; I was quite touched), had been appointed to the college’s strategic planning committee, and was openly acknowledged as one of the best (or the best, depending on which dean was asked) support staff on campus. I may have been a peon on the org chart, but no one denied that I added value as an individual.
I think sometimes leaders at the top of the org chart forget that they wouldn’t get very far without all the peons who add value to their organization (with tithe and volunteer hours, if nothing else). And they forget that those peons have the power to quit, should the fancy strike them.
I don’t know where I’m going with this ramble. Except to say that, yes, seeing how someone treats those in less-powerful positions has been, in my experience, a good foretelling of how they will treat those in more-powerful positions once they themselves gain a little power.
Always be friendly to the secretary! She (or he) often has more of an influence than is easily apparent from a simple job title.
True… with a caveat.
If someone is the sole income earner for a family, in a career with more job candidates than jobs, in a field where the hiring process moves v e r y s l o w l y…
And a soon-to-be-former employer says that signing an NDA is a prerequisite to being given a severance package that will include enough money to hold the family over until the next job opportunity (which is at a minimum three months down the road), plus continued medical benefits (and Jr. needs his asthma medication and the Mrs. is pregnant), plus the implication that a glowing review to potential new employers will only happen if this pesky, inconsequential little thing called an NDA just needs only teeny little signature here…
Things suddenly aren’t so clear cut.
Key.
So who is signing up to work with this TA guy now that the cat is out of the bag?
Damn! If dat ain’t da tru…. Sorry let me try again Oh My! Your comment is full of grace and truth! There’s one guy at BBC&S who, if he wanted to do the right thing, could launch an investigation of the all the abuses.
And I don’t care if they put Emeritus or Chancellor in his title. He might bring back some guys who resigned or bring some sitters back to the pews. Instead, I’m writing about my hero Edwards— speculating he might have owned other people for Bible (tried to type noble but kept getting Bible) purposes. If I keep going on this line, I’ll get as un-empathetic as Rigney and his mentor Wilson. And don’t think if I were to suggest it’d be a shame if an accident happened to Joe (wink wink) he wouldn’t be fired in a heartbeat.
Max,
TA had his attorney present at the Board of Trustees. My feeling is he agreed to resign, they agreed to the less harsh language. If TA hadn’t of agreed to resign, the BOT would have had to”come clean” with the congregation of all that had transpired since he was Sr Pastor and then the congregation would have voted whether to fire him or not. This would have caused massive negative exposure, disruption and division within the church so BOT & TA probably would have wanted to avoid this scenario. Speaking less harsh of TA may have been seen as the lesser of the two…
Wild Honey,
It is called extortion… organized crime is really good at it!
And we can’t have that!
With or without the Private Revelation/Vision from God/Angelic Encounter commanding him to plant his own One True Church and re-enter Ministry?
So are Hexerai and Conjure-men in PA Dutch and Appalachian folk tales, using their Supernatural Powers as the “or else” threat.
The usual 22-year-old Elders/Pastorjugend?
The word for this is “Hush Money”.
But in the cases covered here at TWW, they come with the addition of Long Prayers for Justification.
Filling in the last word of that sentence may very well be what we are dealing with. It’s a dirty shame that TCC’s Board of Trustees allowed Mr. Armstrong so much wiggle room … for years! He left a legacy of much heartache among those who worked for him at TCC … not exactly a Christian testimony … and now he is free to do whatever again to the Body of Christ. Unfortunately, such treatment of bad-boy pastors by elder teams is not unusual in the American church. I suppose they were trying to protect the congregation and church reputation, but future congregations may now have to deal with him down the road (unless the new ministry he launches will not take him back to the pulpit).
Manipulation, intimidation and domination … he continued to operate that way to the very end.
That’s a fair point. But the necessary implication of the “hush money” aspersion is that it is morally equivalent to a bribe: if that is the case, both parties to such an agreement are wrong. If, on the other hand, settlements/NDAs and the like serve a legitimate, lawful purpose in the resolution of civil disputes among humans… then that is what it is.
We could always have a system with no civil settlement mechanisms… where you win or lose on the cold hard law of the case, as decided by a court. In that case, things tend to turn out substantially worse for the less-powerful party in the dispute. Be careful what you wish for.
There is no shortage of like-minded men in positions of leadership in Churchianity. Birds of a feather, etc. Thomas White immediately comes to mind.
When the red flags are flying high warning of a toxic culture, yet these men sign up, and it bites them back, then like they teach at BBC, sorry, no empathy. They were amply forewarned.
What do they say about the Holocaust (authoritarianism, to the extreme)? I didn’t speak up for others, and then they came for me.
Too many of today’s “churches” are nothing more than organized crime syndicates, covered in lots of expensive make up. Lipstick on pigs……. wolves in sheeps’ clothing.
Hey y’all……. is it just me, or does Tim Armstrong look a lot like Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor from the “Home Improvement” sit com?????
I mean no insult to the fictional character. At least when he messed up, it wasn’t intentional.
Now I have it stuck in my head. Going to listen to Joe the Georgian to drive it out. Some of these religious comrades might become the next Joe if they had the chance, and throw us one by one over the side.
Dave A A,
Oops, that’s CAST us one by one over the side. But it worked.
Which is why I quipped awhile back that if there’s ever an expose film about the CIC (christian industrial complex), it should be narrated by Joe Pesci.
And man-o-manischewitz them guys can pray.
“Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”
— Ecclesiastes 5:2 —
If you’re referring to me, I have been far from “silenced” and am about to get even louder! Our local newspaper (Akron Beacon Journal) contacted me and I spoke for an hour to the reporter last night.
I cannot fathom the extreme arrogance of TA. And am calling down Matthew 23 all over his sorry existence.
Vicki Caswell,
I look forward to reading it!
Boss Ed Asner/Lou Grant to employee Mary Tyler Moore on her show:
“If I don’t like you, I’ll fire you! And … if you don’t like me, I’ll fire you!”
The 9 to 5 activists who organized women clerical workers for equal pay and respect, surveyed women workers, then awarded their bosses for:
– most abusive
– most harassing
– most inappropriate
etc.
This is part of labor history. Also noted, the bosses, because the workers were women, thought the whole of idea of “worst boss” was funny, comical. They laughed at the women and were proud of the award, or shrugged it off.
Church workers, church attendees could be surveyed about their pastors and leaders, for awards.
Oh, there’s plenty more just like him in the New Calvinist movement! You can invoke Matthew 23 on the whole bunch while you are at it. “Love” is not the first word that pops to mind when describing these guys … “arrogance” is the primary identifier.
And a new name appears in regards to sexual misconduct and assault: https://julieroys.com/oregon-pastor-ben-courson-alleged-sexual-misconduct/
Apparently he was sleeping with three women at once and a fourth has filed sexual assault charges with the local police.
They cannot touch the principle of 401K contribution, only their “match” if they do that. 401K money is yours. One is instantly “vested” except for the matching money, in the unlikely event they actually do that.
I told my now former employer that I am surprised they thought my sufficiently gullible as to sign one. They did not match 401Ks and they had only a weeks vacation to play with. In the end I did not sign, and they gave me the vacation pay anyway. Cheated my out of a holiday pay though.
Ever hear of “Chainsaw Al?” My brother used to work for him, he was an MBA. Morally Bankrupt Accountant, he got tons of $$$$$, 15000 employees were out of a job.
Chainsaw Al is downright ethical compared to some of these guys.
There will be a reckoning one day, if not in this world, the next one for sure.
It doesn’t carry much weight because Paul did not write it.
Max – here is one for you. A quote from Courson: ““He said at the time he didn’t like to identify as a pastor, more like a motivational speaker,” the woman said. “He said because he doesn’t speak on anything sexual that what he was doing was OK.” That as he was putting moves on one of the four.
Vicki, I hope the Beacon publishes your account Vicki. I contacted them on the 6th and that’s they wrote the follow-up story for the next day’s paper. Since I wasn’t on staff, I didn’t want to give them a leading or biased account due to the complexity of everything.
I did notice there’s a story out now about the Green campus wanting to separate from the rest of The Chapel campuses: https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/local/2021/08/18/petition-calls-green-campus-split-the-chapel-amid-crisis-akron-church/8164490002/
I can’t say I’m surprised.
His fans have no need to worry … he’ll be back after a short leave of absence to be “restored.” He has only been suffering from an inability to keep his pants on around church women, an ailment that no longer affects a “pastor” from having a successful ministry in America.
By the way, the subject of this post Mr. Armstrong holds the “restoration” record! In less than a month, with the smoke from his exit at TCC still in the room, he announced an unrepentant comeback! He’ll be bullying his way again through the church before you know it.
“The priests rule on their own authority; and My people love to have it so!” (Jeremiah 5:31)
There could be an award for biggest church bullies.
Indeed! The leading candidates are frequent subjects of TWW posts.
“Bully pulpits” aren’t anything new in Christendom, but this immature NeoCal bunch are putting a new bad-boy spin on authoritarianism. When older pastors start to retire or die off, congregations take a chance on some of these younger ministers – they’re moving onto greener pastors.
Laying low just long enough for the heat to blow over and details to be forgotten (The Sin Of Gossip(TM)) before hitting the comeback trail. Maybe with an Angel Encounter miracle story at a gas station in Wyoming where God personally Anoints his New Ministry.
Not an ailment, Max.
A Privilege of Pastoral Rank.
Just like how in that Peculiar Institution, Massa in his Plantation Big House had total sexual rights over all his Animate Property. Like a pre-Christian (pagan) Roman Paterfamilias
Like this TED talk about tips of the Motivational Speaker trade?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o
Again, the Christianese tunnel vision on Pelvic Issues.
i.e. It’s OK as long as you Don’t Get Caught.
They’ll know we are Christians by Our Arrogance.
Probably getting “ATTABOY!”s from all the other Pastors.
Reminds me of an afternoon drive-time phone-in during Monicagate:
Guy phoned in and in a perfect Beavis & Butthead voice crowed,
“You’re Just Jealous of Clinton ’cause HE SCORED! HEH-HUH! HEH-HUH! HEH-hUH!”
Just like these guys’ Defenders of The Faith, but more direct and less Bible.
While “I’m an M.B.A.” walked away with Million$.
“I don’t want a thing to change
Now That I GOT MINE!”
— Glenn Frey
Gotta be visible “in this world”, or all we’re doing is sitting quietly with folded hands piously reciting Pious Platitudes.
Paul or Calvin.
IN THE NEWS
Thomas White lieutenant Rick Melson gets university of his own to preside over, headed to Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, Missouri:
https://wordandway.org/2021/08/20/sbu-picks-new-president-with-history-at-controversy-plagued-institutions/
“Rick Melson, vice president for advancement at Cedarville University in Ohio, will become SBU’s 26th president, after a career of working for controversy-plagued Christian institutions.”
“SBU’s presidential vacancy started after Eric Turner announced his resignation on Oct. 20, 2020…Turner found himself at odds with Missouri Baptist Convention leaders pushing for greater legal control over the institution.”
“Melson is no stranger to such institutional conflict. His current school, Cedarville, previously underwent turmoil much like SBU’s, and Melson worked for Mars Hills Church under the leadership of the controversial Mark Driscoll. Melson also worked for several years at Bethlehem Baptist Church under John Piper”
Beyond his acts of sexual harassment and assault (which were UNQUESTIONABLY wrong): Using the above bogus rationalization of why “what he was doing was OK” reveals him as a disgusting predator. He was looking for women who would trust him to go along with something that even he knew was clearly wrong. Why else would he carefully instruct them all not to tell anyone?
He steadfastly claims it was all consensual with all the women. Well, if anyone is wondering why pastors teachers etc. should NEVER be in any kind of romantic or sexual relationship with those they lead, and why such relationships and activities are NEVER merely “consensual” when there is a power differential… look no further than this case.
I would like to see “Pastor” Courson try telling God that on Judgment Day.
Well, if there was any doubt about the shifting theology at SBC-affiliated colleges, let it be removed. Melson is as hardcore New Calvinist as you can get! Sad, SBU used to be such a good school. Faculty can now expect to sign onto Calvinist tenets of faith (or else) and students can expect indoctrination to reformed theology in their classes. But, not a surprising development … all SBC entities have surrendered to the New Calvinist movement – the denomination is well on its way to being fully Calvinized.
And Southern Baptists in the pew still ain’t got a clue that they have financed the New Calvinist takeover of their denomination. One of the darnedest things I’ve ever seen … and I’ve witnessed a LOT of darn things during my long life!
Sarah Connor will fix his wagon before it even gets that high.
Mrs. Courson should have!
Doing Four Women (more likely juggling than all at once?
Pastor Horndog’s got hisself a regular HAREM, there.
He’d get attaboy fist-pumps from Beavis, Butthead, and his fellow Pastors (“HE SCOOORED!”), but from who else?
Especially tell each other?
A Playa does NOT want one of his honeys on the side finding out about the others and comparing notes. Really puts a damper on the “My One And Only/Soulmate” shtick.
Does Pastor Ben look like a motivational speaker?! … https://www.applegatefellowship.org/message-from-ben-august-2021
Well, I guess he did motivate several church women to do something they might not otherwise have done.
Shouldn’t you have inserted “(pbuh)” after his name?
He got divorced before this latest bout started. All of this makes me wonder what caused that? And this is a nepotism problem as the founding pastor, the dad, holds all power and transferred it to the son when he went into semi-retirement. So there is no one who can/will hold the man accountable. They tried to cover this up. With a police investigation that is impossible. The report also says people are leaving the mega in droves. I guess at this point it stops being entertaining having your motivational speaker under suspicion of sexual assault.
Update on The Chapel church situation: Pastor Jim Mitchell decided to resign and Pastor Mike Castelli will return to the location in Green, OH after six weeks.
https://thechapel.blob.core.windows.net/media/ehok2yea/trustee_board_letter_aug20.pdf
Which indicates that Applegate was/is a personality cult not a Gospel church where the Great God Entertainment was/is on the throne, not Jesus. Fallen mega-pastors just pop up again somewhere else in mega-mania … mega-pewsitters will look for another entertaining spot … the beat goes on … Jesus weeps.
Chapel attendee,
The Chapel’s trustees seem to be doing a fairly good job in this situation, compared to the way many of these situations play out. That’s admittedly a low bar, but recognizing that their structure is flawed and planning steps to update it is quite responsible.
Max,
On Julie Roys’ website, where she covered this story, there’s a video with a friend of this “pastor” talking. The friend explains that the “pastor” has a p*rn habit. Maybe that’s legal, but it doesn’t seem pastoral. If true, maybe that was a contributory factor in the divorce.
The women consented to be in his harem? Consensual in being with a polygamist pastor? They knew about the other women and agreed to take turns with the same guy?
With the amount of time, effort & money expended on this clown show, remind me again what the point of church is?
All I see is tax free parasitism.
Isn’t that an oxymoron?
And litigation free sexual predation. Because… grace, forgiveness, boyz restoring boyz, touch not the anointed, misogyny, submit, etc.
Ken F (aka Tweed),
Yes, “doctrine” would be a better word than “faith.” Not all religious doctrine = genuine faith in God.
We don’t want to know how many “pastors” have that habit … I suspect it is a significant percentage of pulpiteers. I personally know pastors who “struggle” with that. The organized church is a mess in a lot of ways. Praise God for the real deal Body of Christ and faithful men of God … if you can find them in your area.
Chapel attendee,
I hope and pray that everything works out well for you and others at The Chapel Church once this dark chapter is behind you.
As someone who has been in the #churchtoo and #missionstoo advocacy world for several years now, I’m unimpressed with what’s transpired with my former home church, The Chapel. On paper perhaps and for the average church goer, it might appear “handled,” but I would disagree.
Why does Pastor Castelli, who has already been on basically a forced sabbatical since late May, need another 6 weeks of healing and “coaching?” Why will none of the findings of the investigation be released until the town hall meetings in October? What really went on with Jim Mitchell? Why were former employees, who were fired by Tim Armstrong, never contacted by the investigative group? Where will Tim Armstrong land next and how can we be sure he won’t bully/spiritually abuse others in his next place of employment? (Of course, we can’t!) And finally, how can I, as a former member, be convinced this isn’t a systemic issue that runs to the very core of leadership?
The whole thing needs reevaluated. All the campuses. The BOT. All of it.
Jim Mitchell also resigned. Mike Castelli will be restored as pastor of the Green campus in 6 weeks.
You know there was another pastor at The Chapel who has to resign in April right before all this started over an affair.
Sarah, as someone who has deep roots at the Chapel (not attending there
for quite a few years now, though), I agree with you. Why does Mike need “coaching”? He brought to light a cancer there and in the letter from the board dated yesterday, they praised him for it. Why wait 6 weeks to bring him back to Green? I read where Knute Larson is being brought in to help Akron find a new pastor…I wish they’d have Dave Burnham help too. Although 87, he’s still sharp and would lend much wisdom and discernment.
Agreed. It’s tough at this point to determine who the good guys are from the bad guys. But, who would do the reevaluating? Independent third parties in these situations are never truly “independent” if the church is paying them. It’s just another mess in the Big Mess within the Christian Industrial Complex. The Body of Christ deserves better than this.
Not at all Lowlandseer, well reasoned dissent from what some claim to be the-one-and-only true faith and orthodoxy, is a good thing.
A propos of nothing, a lot of folks seem to have an invisible cross-stitched throw pillow that says “I am the only one who is allowed to disagree.” Or maybe these days it’s a tattoo, by crackey.
/fogey
It’s not a snide remark, it is my conclusion that in Calvinism faith does not matter directly. All that matters is whether or not one was predetermined to have faith. In Calvinism the elect will be given faith no matter what, and the non-elect will be denied faith no matter what. So for all the talk about the importance of faith, it doesn’t make a difference. The only thing that matters is whether or not one is on the unchangeable list of the elect that was made in eternity past. Or do you think that it’s possible for any of the elect to end up in hell?
I wrote nothing against Paul. My comment was in relation to some Christians who appear to give priority to Paul and don’t appear to put much emphasis on the Gospels and the actual words of Jesus. As Max says, Paul should be interpreted through the Gospels and not the other way around. The ancient church gave priority to the four Gospels for a reason. We should do the same.
The New Calvinists being the most prominent in that camp.
Who was that?
Boy, what a crew!
“In’shal’lah…”
Remember this:
CALVIN ISLAM-IZED THE REFORMATION.
X-Treme Predestination, The Will Of GOD, having God All Figured Out, the Final Prophet after Jesus…
Similar pattern as Mohammed. With similar corollaries and side effects.
It’s hard to find someone in either who will engage in rational dialogue. After the mandatory scolding that “you don’t understand ______” they either take their ball and go home or they dig deeper into their word salad and put words and verses in bold as if that will make a difference. Saying “I don’t know” seems to be highly discouraged. Even when presented with incontrovertible evidence they find a way to prove why the evidence means something else. I find it very dishonest.
Indeed! If you read Paul first (the epistles), you might miss Jesus. But, if you read Jesus first (the Gospels), the writings of Paul come into perspective. New Calvinists have built their house on sand.
Connie Gould,
Now I need to know too (I’m a Chapel Green member), who
was that?
Now I need to know too (I’m a Chapel Green member), who was that?
As a Chapel Green member I’d like to know also, who was that?