The Chapel, Akron – Just One More Question!


“Church leaders should not try to silence those who have been hurt, especially if they have been hurt by leaders in the church. Silencing victims will always result in more pain being expressed. Also, those victims will seek solace from friends. These friends may become angry or concerned for their friends and speak to others. This is normal life. The church should be open about the pain that has occurred and should not spend its capital on hushing everyone up. Instead, they should eagerly seek help in dealing with this. We should actively love, protect and attempt to heal our fellow church members who have been hurt.” -Dee Parsons, The Wartburg Watch


The only way our Church can move forward in unity is to bring all things into the light. The Board desires truth above all in these matters. Therefore, over the next several weeks, the Constitution Committee will prayerfully, humbly, and soberly examine the facts of the matter. Once completed, The Board will present the findings to the entire church body, in the spirit of utmost transparency.
-The Chapel Leadership Updates, May 22, 2021



On September 18th, The Chapel leadership published their 14th update regarding the scandal involving their former senior pastor, Tim Armstrong and Mike Castelli, the lead pastor at the Green Campus. Below is a copy of that update.

Below is a quote from The Chapel Leadership Update, dated July 30, 2021:

After extensive review, the evidence reveals a consistent pattern of conduct that substantiates the concerns raised about Pastor Tim’s leadership of the staff. Given this troubling and consistent fact-pattern, The Constitution Committee unanimously recommended to the Trustees that Pastor Tim, 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.

The Constitutionally outlined process for removal of Tim Armstrong was not followed by The Chapel leaders. That sets off alarm bells in my head. Below is a quote from The Chapel’s Constitution:

Involuntary termination related to inability to fulfill duties of the office, immorality, or infidelity to the Chapel doctrinal statement requires a two-thirds vote of the constitution committee (Article VII, Sec. 2). A two-thirds vote of the board of trustees, and a two- thirds vote of the members voting at a members’ meeting called for this purpose shall also be required.


I understand the response of some who have said that since Armstrong resigned, there was no need to have a membership vote to remove him. While I agree with that sentiment, my question is why was a leadership meeting with Armstrong conducted prior to the constitutional process being completed? Could it be that there are some issues that neither Tim Armstrong nor leadership of The Chapel want to reveal to the membership at large?

Additionally, based on The Chapel Leadership Update of September 24, 2021 it appears that The Chapel leadership once again failed to follow their Constitution in reinstating Mike Castelli. Here is the applicable paragraph from the Leadership Update:

After extensive review and conversations with Pastor Mike, The Constitution Committee unanimously recommended to the Trustees that Pastor Mike, in accordance with language outlined in The Chapel’s Constitution be fully restored to his role as Lead Pastor of The Chapel, Green Campus, and removed from administrative leave. The Trustees responded by unanimously voting to affirm that recommendation.

I hate to break it to The Chapel’s leadership, but complying with two of the three requirements outlined in their Constitution fails to be “in accordance with language outlined in The Chapel’s Constitution.” Again, the third requirement was not met. ( “a two- thirds vote of the members voting at a members’ meeting called for this purpose shall also be required.”)

In my opinion, The Chapel’s leadership is either incredibly incompetent, or they purposely do not wish to be open and honest with the membership, which would be necessary if they were to comply with the third requirement outlined in their Constitution.

The first choice – they are incredibly incompetent – is not likely. Stephen Neumeyer, pastor of the Cuyahoga Falls campus, is a member of the Constitution Committee.  Neumeyer was also a former Assistant Prosecutor in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. I have listened to several of his sermons and he is a bright man, not the kind of individual who would overlook the precise duties of his committee as outlined in their Constitution.

I must therefore conclude that there are individuals either on the Board of Trustees, the Constitution Committee, or both, that are working contrary to their promise of “utmost transparency” with church members. These leaders need to be exposed by men of integrity on the Board of Trustees and the Constitution Committee. Not to do so is unethical, compromises their integrity, and may ultimately cause the total implosion of The Chapel.


The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Staight

I will now address The Chapel’s leadership plan they rolled out to finally share with membership what has transpired since May 2021. The paragraph below is from the Leadership Update of September 18:

As a reminder, you will receive the Summary of Findings document on Friday, October 1. This document will be prepared by the consultants from The Center, based on their findings, and will come to you without any edits or changes made by The Chapel.

Based on the preceding paragraph, I can’t help but assume that The Chapel leadership have a very low opinion of the intelligence of their average member. This will become more evident as you read this article.

Are we expected to believe that the Center Consulting firm, who have undoubtedly received a significant amount of money, courtesy of the generous tithes and offerings of The Chapel members, have not worked “hand in glove” with leaders of The Chapel?  Let me remind you of how much time these two entities have spent together over the last several months:

“This week, our campus pastors, central administration team, and staff teams from the Akron and Green campuses had the opportunity to visit in person with Billy Dunn, a representative from The Center Consulting Group. Billy has walked closely alongside our Constitution Committee and Board of Trustees throughout our present leadership situation and was available this week to share insights, answer questions, and offer clarity for Chapel staff members where needed.”

You can bet that Billy and his highly remunerated colleagues from The Center Consulting Group worked closely with Chip Weisel, Zac Derr, and the boys to churn out a “Summary of Findings” that will be highly sanitized. Once they all came to a mutual agreement on what “findings” would be released for public consumption The Chapel contingent left it up to The Center Consulting Group to compile the document. Of course, no further edits or changes were needed by The Chapel leadership at this point!

If Chip, Zac and the boys really believed in transparency they would release the initial report they were given by the Center to the membership. (Ed Caswell is the husband of Vicki Caswell. The Wartburg Watch ran her story here.)


Next, I will look into the process The Chapel leadership intended to utilize for those who wished to submit questions regarding the Tim Armstrong scandal. Again, I quote from The Chapel Leadership Update of September 18th:

“We will use a web-based tool called Slido that will allow you to submit questions for us to address during the series of meetings next month. We like Slido because of its ability to set expectations—your questions, though submitted anonymously, will be publicly viewable and will be seen by the church at large. Everyone in the congregation will know exactly what’s been asked, what still needs to be addressed, and what they can expect from the discussion.

We are relying on your input to shape the content of our town hall meetings. Your votes will help us understand which questions are of highest priority.”

Never having heard of “Slido” I decided to look into the company and what they offer. I specifically wanted to see if those utilizing their product had the ability to moderate the questions; that is if, as The Chapel leaders stated above, “everyone in the congregation will know exactly what’s been asked.” Here is what I found:

Based on the video above, the Chapel leaders have the ability with Slido to moderate questions. What I next wanted to find out is if The Chapel Leaders were, in fact, moderating questions.

The answer is yes, The Chapel Leaders are moderating questions. I found this out by submitting a few questions to see what happens.

As you can see, both of these questions entered “moderation.” Neither question was ever listed publicly.

In the case of my first question, there was a similar question already available for the public to view. Here it is:

I am doubtful this question will be answered by The Chapel Leadership, but it should be. I feel it is very important and a full explanation and accounting of the money needs to be given to members. It very well may have been a factor in why Armstrong resigned. To answer the question above I submit the screenshot below.

So yes, the Chapel took $1.2 million of the taxpayers money in the form of a PPP loan. Many other well known Evangelical churches and Christian para-church organizations did the same. Basically, as long as you didn’t lay-off any employees during a certain time frame these loans were forgiven. Not a penny was returned. This was a gift from the taxpayers. Also, the recipient of the loan had to attest that without the infusion of taxpayer dollars the church would not be able to continue operations.  (Attest means to state formally that you believe something is true, correct, or real.)

Serious? You better believe it. It appears to me that what many churches did with the money was “technically” legal – that is, they used the money to pay employees. This is similar to the way gambling was sold to various states – they were told that all the profits will go to the public schools. It was a shell game. Money from the gaming industry did go to the public schools, but money from general revenue that used to go to the public schools no longer did. Instead it went to some politician’s pet project and the schools had no increase in funding.

What I suggest needs to be done is everyone who has accepted PPP money should have their books closely examined by an independent accounting agency. In fact, the government has started checking into this.

I’m not saying anything illegal was done with the money The Chapel accepted, but I believe it should be looked into. I don’t believe Tim Armstrong resigned because of his “harsh-fear based leadership.” Why couldn’t Armstrong have been left on administrative leave and assigned classes through the Center Consulting Group to assist him in changing his leadership methods? Mike Castelli, who reportedly was the good guy in this mess, “agreed” to take some classes through the Center.

I was also told that Tim Armstrong and Jim Mitchell were accompanied by their lawyers when they met for questioning. If true, (A good question for the church-wide meeting!) I find this very alarming. I don’t believe Mitchell was even accused of anything other than being close to Armstrong.

I did have one question that made it through moderation. Well, to be more precise, it made it through moderation, then it was removed from public view, then it was placed back in public view. (Perhaps just a clerical error?)  My question is the middle of the three below, having to do with following the Constitution.

You should also be aware that even if your question makes it through moderation, that doesn’t guarantee The Chapel leadership will answer it. They plan on answering the most popular questions. Popularity is determined by how many people click on each question, and that process can be easily manipulated. Nothing appears to be in place to allow only members to submit questions or vote on questions, therefore, if you have a few hundred loyal friends, you could ask them all to vote for a question of your choice and manipulate the questions that will be answered.

As an experienced blogger, I know enough to make screenshots of things I plan on writing about, so on September 18th I took screenshots of all the questions that had made it through moderation up to that time.  They follow below. I post these for a purpose, which you will see if you continue reading.

Again, the questions above were all from September 18th.  I did not see any particularly offensive questions. They all seemed sincere and worthy of a response. But then on September 22nd I received word that The Chapel leadership had removed all questions and replaced them with several statements on the public question forum. Here is what they posted:

I find this response by leadership condescending and childish. If they had issues with questions, why did they publish them? Obviously the option to not publish questions was being exercised; as I displayed above –  two of my questions did not make it through moderation.

I have to say that were I a member of The Chapel and had made it through this past “summer of discontent” I would be looking for a new church. The exception to this would be if I attended the Green campus, in which case I would remain long enough to welcome Mike Castelli back and see if there were plans to take the campus independent. If not, I would move on as The Chapel leadership seems totally inept.

2021-09-24 The Chapel Leade… by Todd Wilhelm

Comments

The Chapel, Akron – Just One More Question! — 56 Comments

  1. Very thoughtful and well written causes me to do some more evaluation. As difficult as it may be we cannot hide our heads in the sand I can only speak for the green campus I believe it should be independent and there are some really amazing pastors and lay people who serve there. Great article.

  2. I should say and make it clear that I am not speaking for the green campus I am speaking from my perspective as part of the congregation at the green campus.

  3. Your assertion that The Chapel leadership misled or falsely obtained PPP loans is not correct. Non profits just like any small business were indeed facing economic insecurities when the program was started. That was the only econmic requirement to obtain a PPP loan. As long as they were able to document that the money was spent within the guidelines of the program there was no fraud. Insinuating that only “Mega churches” benefitted from this program is misleading at best.

  4. Why, Todd, did you give up your blog, Thou Art the Man? Love your reporting.
    Does anyone think the guy in the red glasses is really a good judge of anything? Just sayin’

  5. Oops, also: my church uses Slido for congregational gatherings and now I know why the questions they answer are so innocuous–they hand pick them.

  6. Jon: Your assertion that The Chapel leadership misled or falsely obtained PPP loans is not correct.

    Jon,
    I did not assert that The Chapel falsely obtained a PPP handout. I know it was legal for churches to obtain taxpayer’s money and I have screenshots of many well known churches, seminaries, and para-church organizations who have done so.

    What I would like to see is an accounting of funds from all of the 501(c)3 organizations to see if these funds were in fact used to pay salaries, and it needs to go one step deeper, as I attempted to explain in the article. There needs to be an audit to see that the taxpayer’s money was not used in a shell game, that is, that the church cooked the books to make the appearance that the taxpayer’s money went to meet payroll when all they did was apply the gift from the taxpayers to the payroll which was already funded from the church’s giving and then move the church money that was going to be used for payroll to the church building fund, or something even more nefarious.

    Also, as my screenshot shows, church leaders were to “attest” to the fact that the taxpayer’s money was “necessary for their continuing operation.” As I interpret that phrase it means that without the taxpayer’s free handout the organization would have to close their doors – go out of business. Was The Chapel in such dire straits? I don’t know, but the church members deserve to know.

    In my opinion, the church members needed to have a voice in whether their church should even accept the PPP handout in the first place. I wager that there are plenty of members who hold the same view that I do – I oppose churches taking government handouts because of my view of the First Amendment. I think it is unethical and displays a lack of trust in God’s provision. Further, if a church accepts government handouts they should never say a word about repealing their tax-free status.

  7. P.S. to Jon.

    How much has The Chapel paid to The Center Consulting Group?

    I find it hard to believe that they attested to the fact that without the government handout they would have to close their doors, yet they were able to afford paying The Center.

  8. Todd Wilhelm: In my opinion, the church members needed to have a voice in whether their church should even accept the PPP handout in the first place. I wager that there are plenty of members who hold the same view that I do – I oppose churches taking government handouts because of my view of the First Amendment. I think it is unethical and displays a lack of trust in God’s provision. Further, if a church accepts government handouts they should never say a word about repealing their tax-free status.

    They want it both ways.

  9. we know ‘Church’ and ‘politics’ don’t mix well at all;
    but I’m starting to think that ‘Church’ and ‘money’ are also a bad mix

    throw in a misogynous leadership and a hormone-stokes youth pastor and you’ve got the fixings for real scandal

    That SAYING: God uses scandal=ridden Churches also; might want to re-think that as
    ‘Satan’ uses scandal-ridden’ Churches to drive people away’

    venting, hopeless venting, please forgive

  10. Todd Wilhelm: go out of business

    This is so odd. When is church a business? Tentmaking anyone? Pivot? Many real businesses have pivoted.

    Just visited a farm to buy produce and an owner said the farmers in their area are doing super well. Customers want to leave the cities and patronize farms … totally safe.

    Agree with everything you are documenting here.

    Thx for your voice of reason.

  11. “Scandal never stops God from using us”

    Oh Brother! I doubt that God would want us dragging Him into our scandals. That would be … scandalous.

  12. Max: “Scandal never stops God from using us”

    This brings to mind something that has been repeatedly noted in the context of various posts at TWW:

    Many people who ought to know better seem to be deeply unfamiliar with the 2nd half of David’s reign, the period that followed the scandal of David’s crimes in the Uriah/Bathsheba matter.

    While it might be true that David’s scandalous conduct did not interfere with God’s governance of Israel (but one could make the case that it did interfere, since David basically lost the moral authority to rule both his own family and even the nation), there were severe consequences.

    Perhaps the remark could be made a little less self-serving with some adjustments:

    “Scandal in the church gives God opportunity to vindicate His Name by disciplining the wrongdoers”

    If that’s how one wants to “be used of God”, … well, as they say, there’s no accounting for taste.

  13. Todd Wilhelm,

    There was never any requirement for any organization that received a PPP loan to attest to anything other than the fear of economic uncertainty. Quit trying to insinuate the leadership of the Chapel had any other nefarious intentions to spend the money somewhere else. To get the loan forgiven they had to provide documentation of payroll expenses equal to the amount of the loan for the period specified by the government. Quarterly 941 filings and other documentation. It’s just that simple. Quit throwing out other issues that have nothing to do with TA’s leadership issues in regards to how he treated the employees of the church.

  14. Jon: Todd Wilhelm,… Quit trying to …

    Quit trying to ask good questions? When it’s taxpayers’ $$$, then taxpayers should ask the questions.

    So, Todd Wilhelm, keep asking these questions. Thx.

  15. Jon: There was never any requirement for any organization that received a PPP loan to attest to anything other than the fear of economic uncertainty…
    Quit throwing out other issues that have nothing to do with TA’s leadership issues in regards to how he treated the employees of the church.

    Jon,
    You are incorrect. To obtain a PPP loan required the completion of SBA Form 2483. Included in this form were the following items, all of which must be certified by the loan applicant:

    “CERTIFICATIONS

    The authorized representative of the Applicant must certify in good faith to all of the below by initialing next to each one:

    The Applicant was in operation on February 15, 2020 and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or paid independent contractors, as reported on Form(s) 1099-MISC.

    Current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.

    The funds will be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments, as specified under the Paycheck Protection Program Rule; I understand that if the funds are knowingly used for unauthorized purposes, the federal government may hold me legally liable, such as for charges of fraud.

    The Applicant will provide to the Lender documentation verifying the number of full-time equivalent employees on the Applicant’s payroll
    as well as the dollar amounts of payroll costs, covered mortgage interest payments, covered rent payments, and covered utilities for the
    24-week period following this loan.

    I understand that loan forgiveness will be provided for the sum of documented payroll costs, covered mortgage interest payments, covered
    rent payments, and covered utilities, and not more than 40% of the forgiven amount may be for non-payroll costs.

    During the period beginning on February 15, 2020 and ending on December 31, 2020, the Applicant has not and will not receive another loan under the Paycheck Protection Program.

    I further certify that the information provided in this application and the information provided in all supporting documents and forms is
    true and accurate in all material respects.

    I understand that knowingly making a false statement to obtain a guaranteed loan from SBA is punishable under the law, including under 18 USC 1001 and 3571 by imprisonment of not more than five years and/or a fine of up to $250,000; under 15 USC 645 by imprisonment of not more than two years and/or a fine of not more than $5,000; and, if submitted to a federally insured institution, under 18 USC 1014 by imprisonment of not more than thirty years and/or a fine of not more than $1,000,000.

    I acknowledge that the lender will confirm the eligible loan amount using required documents submitted. I understand, acknowledge and agree that the Lender can share any tax information that I have provided with SBA’s authorized representatives, including authorized representatives of the SBA Office of Inspector General, for the purpose of compliance with SBA Loan Program Requirements and all SBA reviews. ‘

    Source: https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/PPP%20Borrower%20Application%20Form%20%28Revised%20June%2012%202020%29-Fillable-508.pdf

    Your suggestion that I “quit throwing out other issues that have nothing to do with TA’s leadership issues in regards to how he treated the employees of the church,” will not be complied with.

    Tim Armstrong and current leadership of The Chapel would like you to believe that the sole reason Armstrong resigned was due to his “harsh, fear-based leadership.” Although it’s true that Armstrong was abusive to employees, and it’s reason enough for an elder to be removed from his position, I have solid reasons to believe there is more to the story. Unfortunately, from my vantage point it does not look as if The Chapel Leadership has any intention of being transparent with membership and sharing all they know. Some of the questions asked in Slido vaguely hint at the issue. That’s all I will say. I would encourage members to think clearly, ask the hard questions, and don’t stop until you receive answers.

  16. Todd Wilhelm,

    Yep. My husband was the officer who had to sign that form where he works. When the second round of PPP loans were being offered, he knew the company didn’t need the additional loans and he told the owner he wouldn’t be able to sign the certification for an additional loan. His boss agreed.

  17. Todd Wilhelm,

    On May 13, 2020, the SBA provided a safe harbor for any borrower that, together with its affiliates, received PPP loans with an original principal amount of less than $2 million. These borrowers would automatically be deemed to have met the required certification that the loan request was made in good faith. Feb 19, 2021

    Jon, is correct. If you had the payroll over 24 weeks your loan was forgiven.

  18. Todd Wilhelm: I would encourage members to think clearly, ask the hard questions, and don’t stop until you receive answers.

    Yes.

    Furthermore, regarding the government “loans”, if the institution is of another religion (Muslim, for example), do these question-silencer anti-transparency people feel the same? How about of another religion and mainly representative of another race?

  19. Samuel Conner: Many people who ought to know better seem to be deeply unfamiliar with the 2nd half of David’s reign … consequences

    Cherry-picking your way through ministry by ignoring the whole of Scripture works only for a season. Repent or else.

  20. AUCPA: Jon, is correct. If you had the payroll over 24 weeks your loan was forgiven.

    AUCPA,

    Neither Jon nor I were discussing the PPP loans being forgiven, and I am aware that all the loans were forgiven. All applicants were also aware of this prior to filing paperwork to obtain the loan. Word spread like wildfire among the Evangelical world and they jumped on the free money like a duck on a junebug.

    My point of contention with Jon was that to obtain the government handout you had to certify that the loan request was necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.

  21. Todd, you seem to be criticizing the Chapel for monitoring the “Slido” questions, “Based on the video above, the Chapel leaders have the ability with Slido to moderate questions. What I next wanted to find out is if The Chapel Leaders were, in fact, moderating questions”, yet you did the same exact things as you deleted my comment twice…”Todd, where have you been for the last 18 months? Locking down people in their homes, shutting down their churches, and sending them helicopter money via “stimulus checks” is the very definition of “free lunches”!” Maybe you shouldn’t throw rocks as you stand in your glass house!

  22. Todd Wilhelm:
    AUCPA,

    P.S.

    There are no free lunches.

    Todd, where have you been for the last 18 months? Locking down people in their homes, shutting down their churches, and sending them helicopter money via “stimulus checks” is the very definition of “free lunches”! Stop the rumor mongering as you show your true colors!

  23. Ed,

    Ed,
    I write for this blog, I don’t make the policies, sorry. If you would have taken the time to read the policies of this blog you would have seen this:

    “Everyone will get moderated when they first comment. Get over it. It’s a SPAM fighting thing. No one is singled out when they first comment.”

    My checking to see if Slido questions were moderated was to investigate The Chapel’s claim made in their September 18th Update that, “Everyone in the congregation will know exactly what’s been asked.”

    In fact, that is not an accurate statement.

    I feel if questions are being moderated by The Chapel they should have said so.

    In my opinion, using the Slido program could be useful for a company meeting, but The Chapel’s use of it seems to be an avenue to control discussion.

    I have said in earlier articles that I think the ideal forum for The Chapel membership meetings would be to have open mics and allow people to state their questions from the floor. The meeting should continue until everyone that has a question to ask has had the opportunity to ask it.

    I’m not following the point you are attempting to make in your last paragraph, Ed.

  24. Todd Wilhelm: I’m not following the point you are attempting to make in your last paragraph, Ed.

    The point is real simple, when you post this statement.. “Tim Armstrong and current leadership of The Chapel would like you to believe that the sole reason Armstrong resigned was due to his “harsh, fear-based leadership.” Although it’s true that Armstrong was abusive to employees, and it’s reason enough for an elder to be removed from his position, I have solid reasons to believe there is more to the story.” this is nothing more than pure rumor mongering as you have seem to have a great desire to pile on during a difficult time.

  25. As I have said before, withhold your giving and encourage others NOT TO GIVE, until your questions are answered. These churches need money , a lot, hundreds of people withholding their giving will get their attention fast.

  26. Ed: this is nothing more than pure rumor mongering as you have seem to have a great desire to pile on during a difficult time.

    “If you’re catching flak, you’re probably over the target.”

    In my years of blogging this has proven to be true time after time.

    I know there is more to the story, Ed and I assume you do too. Thus your cries of “Stop the rumor mongering as you show your true colors!” And Jon’s “Quit throwing out other issues that have nothing to do with TA’s leadership issues in regards to how he treated the employees of the church.”

    Are you and Jon friends, Ed?

    Is it your practice to attempt to shut down free speech, Ed? I am not intimidated by heavy-handed authoritarians who think they can tell me what I can say.

    When the truth comes out (and it will) I hope you will have the integrity to come back to this forum and issue an apology to me, Ed. Few ever do.

  27. Todd Wilhelm,

    Todd,

    A few things:

    – I speak for no one other than myself.
    – It is a bit hyperbolic to suggest that pointing out false assertions / statements is somehow intimidation by “heavy-handed authoritarians”. You created a blog whereby your readers could comment on your articles and when you get called out for your rumor mongering by bringing up an issue that had absolutely nothing to do with the current circumstances, you resort to over the top name-calling. It’s your platform, do with it as you please, but don’t be surprised when you get push back from people who may actually know what they are talking about. Stating that there is “more to the story” because you received “a tip from someone who had some inside information” does not make you an authority on this subject as evidenced by your ridiculous effort to pile on by bringing a completely unrelated subject into the current circumstances.

  28. In my opinion, this is what is taking place at The Chapel.

    “And nothing stays hidden without help. It takes others to keep a secret of abuse. Abusers often have to rely upon other people’s cooperation to keep their show going. Just as most stage plays have a cast of actors, Goffman calls those who cooperate in the show “performance teams.” Consciously or not, people end up working together to protect secrets, often by managing the flow of information. For example, organizations often try to save face after a scandal by overcommunicating some facts and undercommunicating others to the “audience.” Whether the audience is the public, other members of the organization, the media, victims, or the civil authorities, the abuser and the performance teams around them omit or undercommunicate what Goffman calls “disruptive information,” facts that threaten the audience’s image of the abuser. At the same time, the abuser and performance teams selectively disclose information that improves the abuser’s image. It’s information control. All of the actors do what they can to keep the audience from gaining disruptive information that would redefine what they’re seeing.

    I sat in one meeting where senior leadership acknowledged numerous failures to the rest of the staff. They knew an employee had caused significant harm but did nothing to confront him or have him removed until the staff began writing letters to the board. The staff was upset with the entire senior leadership for enabling the abuse and looking the other way. The senior leadership called a meeting where they presented a catalog of wrongs, which looked like an act of tremendous transparency. They were thanked and applauded for it. But the most disruptive information—the facts that would have disclosed the full extent of the abuse—remained a secret. The audience’s approval was based on a limited view of the situation. It was obscurity disguised as transparency.

    Secrets can be potent in the right kind of environment, allowing deception to fester and evil to rule.”

    Mullen, Wade. Something’s Not Right: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abuse–and Freeing Yourself from Its Power (pp. 15-16). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

  29. Todd Wilhelm,

    Todd are you either a member or a regular attender of The Chapel past or present? While you were trying to stir up trouble in this article, you claimed you submitted the following question on the Slido platform: “Why wasn’t the process of dealing with Tim Armstrong per the Constitution followed. Prior to the to meeting with him the membership should have voted”. If you are a member / regular attender then this is acceptable but if you are neither I would suggest you have no business even submitting a question. Think of the protocol in our elections. You don’t get to vote in the state of Florida if you are a resident of Ohio and likewise you don’t have any business asking any question on a platform that was intended for Chapel members / regular attenders / past attenders. You can write all the blog articles you want but to submit a question (if you don’t attend there or never have) is out of line and therefore should be ignored entirely. Once again IF this is your church then this is certainly acceptable.

  30. Todd Wilhelm: “Great damage occurs when others use power to silence, cover up abuses theoretically “for the sake of God’s work”

    “FOR THE CAUSE OF THE REVOLUTION, COMRADES!”

  31. Ed,

    LOL on the “None of your business” nonsense.

    Body of Christ. Love God, Love your neighbor as yourself. Neighbor, not just inhouse family members.

    Thanks, Todd, for caring about the Body of Christ, and sticking your neck out when all may not be as it seems with the neighbors.

    Thanks, Apostle Paul, for sticking your nose in everyone’s business back in the day, and writing about it, which eventually went public. NT blog watcher Paul.

  32. Ed: You can write all the blog articles you want but to submit a question (if you don’t attend there or never have) is out of line and therefore should be ignored entirely. Once again IF this is your church then this is certainly acceptable.

    Tim Armstrong was very public and wanted a global following. This makes global accountability appropriate. If he wanted to keep things local he should have kept things local.
    https://theworthywalk.com/about-us/

  33. Ava Aaronson: LOL on the “None of your business” nonsense.

    Body of Christ. Love God, Love your neighbor as yourself. Neighbor, not just inhouse family members.

    Thanks, Todd, for caring about the Body of Christ, and sticking your neck out when all may not be as it seems with the neighbors.

    Claiming that there is “more to a story” by inserting issues that have NOTHING to do with the current circumstances is NOT a way to “love your neighbor” nor is it “sticking your neck out” it’s actually called bearing false witness against your neighbor!

  34. Ed: it’s actually called bearing false witness against your neighbor!

    It’s only false witness if it is false. Did Todd post anything that is not true?

  35. Ken F (aka Tweed): It’s only false witness if it is false. Did Todd post anything that is not true?

    Using so-called facts and spinning them into a false narrative is absolutely bearing false witness! I won’t dignify this lie by repeating it. Read the article for yourself!

  36. Ed: Using so-called facts and spinning them into a false narrative is absolutely bearing false witness! I won’t dignify this lie by repeating it. Read the article for yourself!

    Ed: Using so-called facts and spinning them into a false narrative is absolutely bearing false witness!

    Is Todd’s narrative actually false? If so, what parts are false?

  37. What a thread! I just found this and already need to make more popcorn!

    Todd, you are a hero. Keep asking questions.

  38. Todd Wilhelm: I find it hard to believe that they attested to the fact that without the government handout they would have to close their doors, yet they were able to afford paying The Center.

    Excellent point, Todd. Their actions don’t line up and lack integrity. Church? Not so much. Money schemes & scams? Possible.

  39. While I believe some have used this site to vent their frustrations and castigate those in cyber space they have not talked to nor confronted in person, and have done so without response or rebuttal by those singled out, I believe the overall tenor and purpose of this reporting has been beneficial in the long run. I believe Mr. Wilhelm overall has provided a significant platform to expose some serious danger not only to The Chapel, but in other churches as well.
    As a former attender and student, I had a good number of friends and mentors on the Chapel staff. And while I feel these first steps of cleaning up these “abuse of leadership” issues are heading in the right direction my fear is that they will be limited and possibly self serving.
    I agree with Mr. Wilhelm that there is much more that went on that has not been brought out into the open or discussed. While I have had only minor exposure to Pastor Zac and Pastor Mike, I believe them both to be good and honorable men. I don’t believe either of them would try to cover anything up. But I haven’t seen anything really transparent either. I believe that wrapping/summing everything that Pastor Tim Armstrong did that was wrong in the statement “unable to fulfill the duties of senior pastor” is rather ambiguous. Did he sin or not? If he sinned, then doesn’t the congregation deserve to know what those sins are? It seems that 1 Timothy 5 has been truncated in this whole process- isn’t an elder to be publicly disciplined? So that the church does not seem to be playing favorites and that other elders (leaders, pastors, etc.) will take warning? I am not a theologian but there seems to be a bit of convenient white washing going on and it seems like PR spin under the guise of all kinds of Christianese sounding niceness. Maybe we aren’t supposed to be nice, but just trust God for the results and tell the truth.
    My questions are- 1) how many people did this man and those who were his shield bearers injure along they? I know when I was there a huge number were fired/layed off/etc. and yet I saw a bunch of money being spent on remodeling and redecorating the whole church. It seemed like there was always a construction project going on. 2) has anyone contacted those who have been fired or injured by this leadership team? I know that there were some really godly men and women who impacted me and other students who suddenly just vaporized- like poof and they were gone. Does anyone know how this man’s abusive leadership impacted them and there families? I don’t know how it is with pastors but it doesn’t seem like if you are fired from a church that it is easy to find another job or that your reputation might be tarnished. I would also guess if the abuse was anything like Mars Hill, a lot of those former staff members probably have health and emotional damage from it all. I can’t imagine someone coming to the Chapel on good faith and then getting abused by this leadership team, and then silenced and forced out being able to recoup what it cost them in time, effort, and money. Has anyone asked what these people who were forced out lost financially?
    Maybe my biggest question is one about character, was Pastor Tim Armstrong a humble, serving, gentle, loving, grace filled leader? If not then what standards are the leadership of the Chapel using to hire/retain a pastor who is supposed to embody the nature of Christ. I was in the morning men’s study and I while I found Pastor Armstrong to be intellectually interesting, I never really saw him serve others with a deep and sacrificial spirit and heart. I really do think he loves Jesus but I wonder if he has lost his way and is no longer the gentle shepherd God desires. Maybe it is time churches stop looking for type A charismatic CEO’s and look for those who would wash other’s feet and believe they are blessed to be able to do so.
    I find it interesting that I haven’t heard about one former pastor or staff bringing a lawsuit against the Chapel because of how they were treated. It could be they were threatened, or maybe they are truly humble godly people who have entrusted their present and future to the Lord. I do find it interesting, if the reports are true, that Pastors Armstrong and Mitchell brought lawyers to their meetings. I wonder what would have happened if the previous staff had done that? I wonder where the biblical grounds for bringing lawyers to these kinds of meetings is found? Was Pastor Castelli afforded legal counsel?
    I do hope the present leadership humbly and deeply digs to the bottom of all of this. And I hope they don’t subscribe or hind behind a group of well paid consultants to guide them in doing the right thing. That is what the Bible and the Holy Spirit are for!

  40. Ed,
    No, I am not, nor was I ever a member or regular attender of The Chapel. Had I ever been a member I would have resigned when Tim Armstrong, as a member of the Cedarville University Board of Trustees, voted to reinstate Thomas White. Armstrong’s vote demonstrated to me he lacks integrity. Google Thomas White and Anthony Moore if you wish to read more about that scandal.

    I did consider whether I should submit any questions via the Slido app to The Chapel. I obviously knew I would write about what I discovered and anticipated questions like Ed asked. I decided the good of exposing the flaws of using Slido and the untruthful statement by The Chapel leaders that members would see all the questions was worth exposing myself to questions such as Ed has asked.

    I was surprised that The Chapel leaders had not implemented a system that would allow for only members to submit questions, I assume Slido has made provisions for that. I believe my submitting questions also shows an additional benefit of having questions asked in person at open mics during the upcoming membership meetings.

    As for Ed accusing me of bearing false witness, rumor mongering, etc., I would echo what some commenters have already stated – my article is truthful. I should add that I have received similar statements from ARBCA pastors when I revealed that ARBCA pastor Tom Chantry had been arrested and charged with sexually molesting children. The attacks continued even after Chantry was found guilty and sentenced to 24 years in the state prison. Of all the pastors in ARBCA, only one has apologized to me. It shows you the corrupt hearts of many of those Baptist preachers. I have had similar charges leveled against me when I have written about other scandals, so it really doesn’t bother me. Charging me with breaking the 10 Commandments seems to be the last refuge of men attempting to coverup the truth.

  41. Tanner Dobson: while I found Pastor Armstrong to be intellectually interesting, I never really saw him serve others with a deep and sacrificial spirit and heart

    “If I speak with the eloquence of men and of angels, but have no love, I become no more than blaring brass or crashing cymbal, an annoying distraction … if I have no love, I amount to nothing at all” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

  42. Tanner Dobson: Maybe it is time churches stop looking for type A charismatic CEO’s and look for those who would wash other’s feet and believe they are blessed to be able to do so.

    And everybody shouted AMEN and AMEN!! (or should have)

  43. Tanner Dobson: I hope they don’t subscribe or hind behind a group of well paid consultants to guide them in doing the right thing. That is what the Bible and the Holy Spirit are for!

    Who needs the Bible and the Holy Spirit when well paid consultants are lined up to guide you through the maze?!! In many places, the American church has lost its way (TWW has recorded many sad stories of wayward ministers and ministries). Unfortunately, the last thing these folks want to do is seek Biblical counsel and Holy Spirit guidance to get back on track as outlined in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

  44. Tanner Dobson: Maybe it is time churches stop looking for type A charismatic CEO’s and look for those who would wash other’s feet and believe they are blessed to be able to do so.

    This is a wonderful idea. I’ve known such humble pastors.

    Two things work against finding and hiring them, though. First, many churches are set up to have a celebrity in charge, or at least a powerful personality. The personality who sets out to “plant” a church today is not going to be a shrinking violet; with churches in every community, the church planter will be loudly attracting people from other congregations, rather than bringing something that was not there.

    Second, for humility to thrive in the pulpit, people have to value humility, and to know it when they see it. I once belonged to a congregation that had an electifying preacher; the place grew by leaps and bounds. When he suddenly left, the church did not hire an interim. Instead they quickly brought in a permanent replacement, a somewhat less dramatic preacher, who had the humility you describe as well as a fine scholarly mind and a gift for presenting complex theology in simple, moving ways. Although we were blessed to have him, a vocal minority in the congregation revolted against him, and gradually made it impossible for him to serve effectively. He left and went on to thrive at a different church.

    On TWW we often point out that there’s no ideal church framework; all can foster abuse. If I were looking for a church, though, I would stay away from new places and from places led by a “founder” with a “vision.” Let the place mature a few decades. See if they survive normal transitions.

  45. Friend: for humility to thrive in the pulpit, people have to value humility, and to know it when they see it

    Exactly! If a church desires humility in the pulpit, that same character should be resident in the pew.

  46. I am a former attender at Akron, where Armstrong was. I agree they are still hiding things under the guise of releasing a little bit of information and calling themselves transparent, open and honest. Armstrong bragged how honest and ethical he was, and the former prosecutor told his congregation that with a criminal you expect them to act a certain way. The report was a fine product of 10 pages of trying to minimize the damage at the church, abounding in vague statements and affirming the trustees actions. The trustees got what they paid for. I love that you submitted questions. I still do not feel safe in a church after being spiritually abused there.

  47. Connie Gould: Armstrong bragged how honest and ethical he was

    When someone brags about their character traits, it usually means they are not. Honesty and ethical behavior are givens for real-deal pastors … they don’t have to tell you they are those things, you know it.

  48. Connie Gould: I am a former attender at Akron, where Armstrong was. I agree they are still hiding things under the guise of releasing a little bit of information and calling themselves transparent, open and honest. Armstrong bragged how honest and ethical he was,

    Them that can, Do.
    Them that can’t, brag about it.

    Like “Peoples” and “Democratic” in the official name of a Third World country; the more adjectives about Democracy in a country’s official name, the nastier a dictatorship it is.