Last night during the Wednesday night service Jim Smyrl and Mac Brunson revealed the strategy for extending the First Baptist Church Jacksonville brand into St. John's County. Mac's vision that he unveiled in February 2007 included satellite churches, and last night how this will be accomplished was laid out to the church.
The FBC Jacksonville brand extension into St. John's county will be accomplished by recruiting church members to start "in home bible studies" in strategic locations. These in home bible studies will run from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Sunday nights, and will be limited to only 6 FBC Jax members in attendance. The goal of these FBC Jax members will be to invite unchurched members to come their homes on Sunday nights for "home church". Child care will be provided in the home as well.
Jim Smyrl gave a presentation on the three demographic categories of unchurched people we will try to reach, using information I believe was from Lifeway.
Mac Brunson emphasized that these are NOT going to be church "cell groups" where church members get together; these are specifically designed to reach unchurched people. Jim Smyrl added that church members that expressed a desire to attend one of these home churches out of convenience would be told "NO" that they are only for the unchurched.
Some unique aspects of this strategy:
- the members who volunteer will be trained, and all bible study materials will come from the church so that the church knows what is being taught, and any and all church members who are involved in hosting will undergo the same background checks as we have in place at church for those caring for children.
- the homes of these members will be visited and inspected by church staff, particularly making sure they are places suitable for the home church, paying particular attention to safety issues for children who may come to the home church.
- they will meet every Sunday from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, functioning like an "extended Sunday School class" allowing for fellowship time, and bible teaching including the gospel.
Then at some point in 2009, the "converts" from this strategy and the church home points will come together for a celebration service at a new satellite site in the geographic area. This will not be a church plant, but an integral part of the FBC Jacksonville church.
At the conclusion Mac declared that there would be no vote on this strategy, saying "the day we take a vote on whether to do evangelism will be the day Homer Lindsay, Jr. comes out of the grave"....I have no idea the infatuation that he has with Homer rolling around in the grave or coming out of the grave.
If you're interested in being a part of this new, unique strategy of brand extension evangelism, contact Jim Smyrl.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Two Rivers Baptist Church - Lessons for FBC Jax?
FBC Jax members - if there is anything about Mac Brunson and his inner circle that concerns you: whether it be his occasional abusive preaching style, how he talks about us to other churches, how he made significant church bylaws changes with absolutely NO explanation, how he put his wife and son on staff after he came and to this day there is no communication to the congregation as to what specific ministries they are responsible for; or maybe its the spending of $100,000 on the pastor's suite before he even arrived, or the $307K land gift for love and affection, or the wedding reception for his son, or his generally lavish lifestyle - if ANY of those facts concern you, I recommend you carefully review what has happened at Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee.
This is the church pastored by Jerry Sutton - Sutton was a nominee for SBC president back in 2006 - he was the favorite of the big shots in the SBC, and authored the book 'The Conservative Resurgence", but he still lost big to Frank Page anyway.
Here's the summary of what has transpired of late at the church: On Sunday May 12th, 77 long-time, faithful members were kicked out of the fellowship, as they demanded to see church financial records - including expense and salary records. They were concerned that church monies had been spent on the pastor's daughter's wedding reception, and other irregularities. Access to these records was not granted, and they decided to file a lawsuit last year to grant them access to these records that they believed they had the right to inspect under Tennessee law. The suit was dismissed, although the judge did grant access to some records, but still questions remain unanswered by Sutton. Fast forward to May 4th, 2008: a vote was held to ex-"communicate" or remove from the fellowship, the 77 members who inquired about the finances. However, perhaps the Lord intervened, and miraculously, the effort to remove them failed by a very close vote. This did not stop the pastor. He then took matters into his own hands, and since the 77 members being voted on were allowed to vote on the motion, the pastor on May 11th, at the conclusion of the service, held a "show of hands" vote on whether those 77 votes should count. The motion to not count those 77 votes passed, and the members were then kicked out of their church home. Never mind that the church bylaws specifically state that all members are allowed to vote on all motions before the church.
OK, I've probably overlooked a lot in that one paragraph summary of what has transpired. But thankfully, churches like ours have a full record of what has transpired, on the Internet.
You can do your own Internet research, so here are some links for you to visit and read:
1. Read the series of articles at Baptist Press that have to do with Two Rivers. Click here for the list of these.
2. The "dissenters" who are demanding openness and accountability from their church leadership have a website - click here. Visit their website, and notice some of the questions they have of their church leadership, which they have not received answers to.
Just a few things that concern me over events at that church as they relate to our own church:
- the chain of events that has now blown up at Two Rivers into a move by the pastor to kick out long-term members of the church started with some questions that members had in 2006 about spending and personnel decisions at the church. Suppose Sutton just answered the questions. OK, maybe there was some embarrassing information. Maybe even some spending improprieties. Would answering the questions honestly, openly, quickly, humbly have been better in hind sight knowing now what has transpired? Some of the questions were concerning using church funds for personal expenditures of the pastor and his family. Any of this sound familiar?
- the pastor's response to questions regarding salaries, expenditures, etc could have been a move to more openness, more accountability to the people of the church - but instead questions were not answered. Since the pastor was stonewalling information, someone dared to sue the church to exercise what they believed were their rights as members to know details on how money was being spent, and the members who participated in the lawsuit are viewed as the recalcitrants. While our church has not gone that route yet, there are more than 77 people gravely concerned over the decisions of our pastor the past 2 years - and our pastor takes every opportunity he can, and so does Jim Smyrl, to cast a negative light on those who attempt to hold the pastor accountable. While Brunson and his supporters make the issue that his critics are seeking to be "anonymous", Two Rivers shows the issue is not one of anonymity - questions will NOT be answered whether its b y anonymous recalcitrant bloggers or 77 members with their names on letters. And of course its easier to expel members once they put their names on a letter. So don't be fooled by the pastor whining about anonymous emails or bloggers. That won't change anything except maybe invite a very public lawsuit.
- The Two Rivers dispute shows the importance of a church's bylaws. You'll notice as you read about Two Rivers that one of the issues related to expelling these people from the church is what the church bylaws have to say about church membership, church discipline, and pastoral authority. Is it a coincidence that as the lawsuit was unfolding last year at Two Rivers that our pastor, Mac Brunson, clandestinely changed OUR church bylaws to give himself more power, to define how church conflict is handled (which can affect the rights of members to gain access to financial information), and the formation of discipline committee? Why would the pastor make these significant bylaw changes without explaining them in any fashion to his congregation? Why would he not give members copies of the new bylaws before the vote?
Its a shame, but these mega church pastors refuse to move into the 21st century when it comes to church finances and accountability to the people who are giving the money. Is there any wonder that mega churches in the Southern Baptist Convention are on the decline, as admitted by SBC president Frank Page recently? While the trend of mega church pastors in the past 20 years has been to accumulate huge wealth for themselves and their families, and while they keep preaching the need to be willing to change methods and styles to reach a new generation, they ignore the need to be completely accountable to all donors of their churches as to how the money is spent. Pastors like Mac Brunson (who sometimes appear to be CEO wannabes) love to look to the business community for examples on how to run their organizations, how to use the latest marketing and advertising gimmicks to attract people to their church, but one lesson they refuse to learn from business and government is the importance of complete financial transparency. One need only look at the trends in government and corporate governance to know that less accountability and openness as it relates to finances is actually harmful to an organization in the long run - hiding executive salaries from the members is to the advantage solely of the executive, but it does not serve the mission of the organization. It might allow mega church pastors to accumulate more wealth and enjoy more perks for themselves and their families, and it might allow them to serve the interests of the close inner circle of supporters, but it is harmful to the church as a whole. One need only look at Two Rivers and First Baptist Church Jacksonville to see this.
So what can church members do? Well, Two Rivers shows one thing: no matter how ugly the dispute might get, mega church leaders will NOT let church members know how the money is being spent. Period. It will not happen. It took a lawsuit at Two Rivers, and all that did was cause the church members to be expelled as recalcitrants. While our mega church pastors look to corporate America for the latest marketing trends on how to attract new members, the members would do well to learn a business lesson also: corporate America only listens to you as far as it effects their pocketbooks. So, if you have any doubt that your church is spending money on pastor wedding receptions, huge salaries for pastor and family, perks galore, your pastor is accepting huge personal gifts from donors of the church, then my friends and brothers and sisters, there is only ONE way you can "request" and be heard when it comes to more openness regarding church finances: that is with your pocketbook. Churches often ask us to "boycott" companies who take actions that we disagree with as Christians. Why, because they realize that a drop in profits will get the shareholders and leaders attention. I would humbly suggest we do the same. We need to stop our giving (not "to God", but to FBC Jax) until the leadership is more open with all receipts and expenditures: and answers questions about the pastoral transition that involved hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts, perks, and even conversion of valuable ministry building space to a personal office suite. No ugly litigation needed, no blogging needed, nothing but a simple drop in receipts will force the leadership to respond to their donors. The alternative? Just keep giving more and more every time a "special offering" is asked for to further Mac's personal ministry, keep giving your "tithes and offerings", and let Team Brunson spend the $14 million dollars how they see fit. Would you send $1000.00 to someone who assured you he would give $1 to the local food bank? Or to someone who thanked you, told you they loved you, and then kept asking you for more and never gave you any accounting. Would you "trust God to deal with the man" or would you use your God given mental abilities to demand an accounting? Please pray about what God would have you do... We already know what Team Brunson would have you do.
This is the church pastored by Jerry Sutton - Sutton was a nominee for SBC president back in 2006 - he was the favorite of the big shots in the SBC, and authored the book 'The Conservative Resurgence", but he still lost big to Frank Page anyway.
Here's the summary of what has transpired of late at the church: On Sunday May 12th, 77 long-time, faithful members were kicked out of the fellowship, as they demanded to see church financial records - including expense and salary records. They were concerned that church monies had been spent on the pastor's daughter's wedding reception, and other irregularities. Access to these records was not granted, and they decided to file a lawsuit last year to grant them access to these records that they believed they had the right to inspect under Tennessee law. The suit was dismissed, although the judge did grant access to some records, but still questions remain unanswered by Sutton. Fast forward to May 4th, 2008: a vote was held to ex-"communicate" or remove from the fellowship, the 77 members who inquired about the finances. However, perhaps the Lord intervened, and miraculously, the effort to remove them failed by a very close vote. This did not stop the pastor. He then took matters into his own hands, and since the 77 members being voted on were allowed to vote on the motion, the pastor on May 11th, at the conclusion of the service, held a "show of hands" vote on whether those 77 votes should count. The motion to not count those 77 votes passed, and the members were then kicked out of their church home. Never mind that the church bylaws specifically state that all members are allowed to vote on all motions before the church.
OK, I've probably overlooked a lot in that one paragraph summary of what has transpired. But thankfully, churches like ours have a full record of what has transpired, on the Internet.
You can do your own Internet research, so here are some links for you to visit and read:
1. Read the series of articles at Baptist Press that have to do with Two Rivers. Click here for the list of these.
2. The "dissenters" who are demanding openness and accountability from their church leadership have a website - click here. Visit their website, and notice some of the questions they have of their church leadership, which they have not received answers to.
Just a few things that concern me over events at that church as they relate to our own church:
- the chain of events that has now blown up at Two Rivers into a move by the pastor to kick out long-term members of the church started with some questions that members had in 2006 about spending and personnel decisions at the church. Suppose Sutton just answered the questions. OK, maybe there was some embarrassing information. Maybe even some spending improprieties. Would answering the questions honestly, openly, quickly, humbly have been better in hind sight knowing now what has transpired? Some of the questions were concerning using church funds for personal expenditures of the pastor and his family. Any of this sound familiar?
- the pastor's response to questions regarding salaries, expenditures, etc could have been a move to more openness, more accountability to the people of the church - but instead questions were not answered. Since the pastor was stonewalling information, someone dared to sue the church to exercise what they believed were their rights as members to know details on how money was being spent, and the members who participated in the lawsuit are viewed as the recalcitrants. While our church has not gone that route yet, there are more than 77 people gravely concerned over the decisions of our pastor the past 2 years - and our pastor takes every opportunity he can, and so does Jim Smyrl, to cast a negative light on those who attempt to hold the pastor accountable. While Brunson and his supporters make the issue that his critics are seeking to be "anonymous", Two Rivers shows the issue is not one of anonymity - questions will NOT be answered whether its b y anonymous recalcitrant bloggers or 77 members with their names on letters. And of course its easier to expel members once they put their names on a letter. So don't be fooled by the pastor whining about anonymous emails or bloggers. That won't change anything except maybe invite a very public lawsuit.
- The Two Rivers dispute shows the importance of a church's bylaws. You'll notice as you read about Two Rivers that one of the issues related to expelling these people from the church is what the church bylaws have to say about church membership, church discipline, and pastoral authority. Is it a coincidence that as the lawsuit was unfolding last year at Two Rivers that our pastor, Mac Brunson, clandestinely changed OUR church bylaws to give himself more power, to define how church conflict is handled (which can affect the rights of members to gain access to financial information), and the formation of discipline committee? Why would the pastor make these significant bylaw changes without explaining them in any fashion to his congregation? Why would he not give members copies of the new bylaws before the vote?
Its a shame, but these mega church pastors refuse to move into the 21st century when it comes to church finances and accountability to the people who are giving the money. Is there any wonder that mega churches in the Southern Baptist Convention are on the decline, as admitted by SBC president Frank Page recently? While the trend of mega church pastors in the past 20 years has been to accumulate huge wealth for themselves and their families, and while they keep preaching the need to be willing to change methods and styles to reach a new generation, they ignore the need to be completely accountable to all donors of their churches as to how the money is spent. Pastors like Mac Brunson (who sometimes appear to be CEO wannabes) love to look to the business community for examples on how to run their organizations, how to use the latest marketing and advertising gimmicks to attract people to their church, but one lesson they refuse to learn from business and government is the importance of complete financial transparency. One need only look at the trends in government and corporate governance to know that less accountability and openness as it relates to finances is actually harmful to an organization in the long run - hiding executive salaries from the members is to the advantage solely of the executive, but it does not serve the mission of the organization. It might allow mega church pastors to accumulate more wealth and enjoy more perks for themselves and their families, and it might allow them to serve the interests of the close inner circle of supporters, but it is harmful to the church as a whole. One need only look at Two Rivers and First Baptist Church Jacksonville to see this.
So what can church members do? Well, Two Rivers shows one thing: no matter how ugly the dispute might get, mega church leaders will NOT let church members know how the money is being spent. Period. It will not happen. It took a lawsuit at Two Rivers, and all that did was cause the church members to be expelled as recalcitrants. While our mega church pastors look to corporate America for the latest marketing trends on how to attract new members, the members would do well to learn a business lesson also: corporate America only listens to you as far as it effects their pocketbooks. So, if you have any doubt that your church is spending money on pastor wedding receptions, huge salaries for pastor and family, perks galore, your pastor is accepting huge personal gifts from donors of the church, then my friends and brothers and sisters, there is only ONE way you can "request" and be heard when it comes to more openness regarding church finances: that is with your pocketbook. Churches often ask us to "boycott" companies who take actions that we disagree with as Christians. Why, because they realize that a drop in profits will get the shareholders and leaders attention. I would humbly suggest we do the same. We need to stop our giving (not "to God", but to FBC Jax) until the leadership is more open with all receipts and expenditures: and answers questions about the pastoral transition that involved hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts, perks, and even conversion of valuable ministry building space to a personal office suite. No ugly litigation needed, no blogging needed, nothing but a simple drop in receipts will force the leadership to respond to their donors. The alternative? Just keep giving more and more every time a "special offering" is asked for to further Mac's personal ministry, keep giving your "tithes and offerings", and let Team Brunson spend the $14 million dollars how they see fit. Would you send $1000.00 to someone who assured you he would give $1 to the local food bank? Or to someone who thanked you, told you they loved you, and then kept asking you for more and never gave you any accounting. Would you "trust God to deal with the man" or would you use your God given mental abilities to demand an accounting? Please pray about what God would have you do... We already know what Team Brunson would have you do.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Pastor's Office Suite - $100,000 "Investment" in God's Kingdom
A few Sunday nights ago Mac Brunson complimented FBC Jax on how well FBC Jax has made the transition from "legend pastor to a red-neck preacher" in the "Vines to Brunson" transition. Something tells me Deerwood doesn't have too many red-necks in their million dollar homes driving jaguars and BMWs. Don't think "Deerwood and BMWs and Jaquars" are part of Jeff Foxworthy's "you might be a redneck if..." routine. And by the way, I'm still looking for the pick-up truck that Ergun Caner told us Mac drives.
This particular sermon had many Mac-isms we'll look at later, but in the beginning of this sermon, Brunson went on to say how the rest of the convention is watching the FBC Jax transition over the last 2 years, and pastors and churches all over the country are marveled at how well it was done. Brunson said he and Vines should write a book about how to do it, its gone so well. Of course he pointed out how FBC Dallas flubbed their transition from Criswell until Mac came to the rescue.
But did we really do the transition well? By what standard would we say that it has gone well? Oh, we haven't seen a fall-off of attendance, and our budget receipts are steady, sure. Other than the fact that Mac is still here, other than the fact that the transition has been a smashing success personally for "Team Brunson", I don't see how it has gone "well" for the church as a whole. As pointed out on this blog certainly the antics of our lay leaders and Mac Brunson are NOT a model for other churches to follow - there's plenty more to be learned of what NOT to do in a mega church transition than what TO do. This is one of the purposes I hope this blog serves, is that other mega churches look at how we brought Mac in here, how abuses occured unchecked, and that other churches put protections in place to prevent what has happened at our church from happening to them.
More evidence of this terrible transition is when one looks at the conversion of the ground floor Children's Building conference to a personal office suite and library for "Team Brunson". Here's the record from the City of Jacksonville building permit database on this renovation:
Project: Renovations Pastor's office buildout
Business Name: First Baptist Church
Business Type: Religious
Project Address: 600 N. Main St., No. 100, between West Ashley and West Beaver streets
Zip Code: 32202
Entry Date: 3/21/2006
Square Footage: 3,633
Value: $96,750
We spent nearly $100,000 to convert 3633 square feet of the most prime space on our campus to a personal suite for the Brunsons. I mean the average church member doesn't have a HOUSE that large, inclusive of the garage and back porch! How smart was that? Look at the date...the permit was entered 3/21/06, which means that the design for this change had to begin around the time we voted to bring "Team Brunson" to Jax. Was this a requirement for him to come? Whose idea was this?
Why do we ask this? Easy: how in the world could anyone in our staff or lay leadership justify this expenditure and transfer of prime space use in our church? One would think that some clear-thinking member of the finance committee, or one of the staff members of our church involved with facilities management, or certainly one of the trustees, would have had the nerve to stand and say: "Wait a minute! Before we transfer all 3600 square feet of the most prime space on our campus at a cost of $100,000 of God's money, and more than that the opportunity cost of not having that space available in the future for ministry, SHOULDN'T WE AT LEAST WAIT UNTIL THE MAN HAS A CHANCE TO GET BOOTS ON THE GROUND, ASSESS OUR FACILITIES NEEDS AND STRENGTHS, AND COMPARE THOSE WITH ANTICIPATED MINISTRY NEEDS OF THE FUTURE?"
Anyone involved in the transition of leadership in a large organization knows that when undergoing major leadership transition, large expenditures that are not essential to the mission of the organization should be "frozen"...don't spend any unnecessary money, don't commit any valuable resources until the new leadership is in place, can assess the situation and determine the direction of the organization. But noooooo......we had to go and spend $100k to make sure the Brunsons had an office suite FROM DAY 1. In the most prime spot on our campus. That's arrogant. That's an abuse and outright misuse of God's money.
Under what possible scenario, other than a lapse of judgement on the part of lay leadership, or as a demand on the part of the Brunsons for their coming to Jax, would we see a project such as this begin before Mac Brunson arrives to assess our facilities needs as a church?
Fast forward 1 1/2 years, and there is Mac holding a vote to start a school that will be housed in the Children's Building. Where would the ideal spot be for the headmaster and administrative staff? Why of course the ground floor of the Children's Building....nope, sorry, Team Brunson already has already occupied that space. And what in tarnations costs $100,000 in converting that space? Sure, some partition walls, maybe new carpeting...but $100k, my gosh, I'm afraid to find out. Think I'm crazy? A legalist? A slanderer or troublemaker? Let's take a look at a quote from Jim Smyrl in his article "Politics and the Pew" available at his website for his 501(c) 3 ministry organization "Loyal Heart Ministries, Inc." (http://www.loyalheartministries.com/)" In this article Jim parallels wasteful spending on "pastor salaries and staff sabbaticals" to what he considers wasteful spending on children and youth and music ministries.
"...let us look to our own spending of Kingdom funds. The next time you pay to be spiritually nourished by entertaining music ministers, write a check for Jesus cruises, sign over property for the aesthetic pleasures of our children, or fund a mountain top excursion for your teens, make sure you are holding yourself to a higher standard than those who manage our national [government] resources. They will give an account of what they wasted by our standards at the poll. We will give an account of what we wasted by Jesus' standards at the judgment."
This particular sermon had many Mac-isms we'll look at later, but in the beginning of this sermon, Brunson went on to say how the rest of the convention is watching the FBC Jax transition over the last 2 years, and pastors and churches all over the country are marveled at how well it was done. Brunson said he and Vines should write a book about how to do it, its gone so well. Of course he pointed out how FBC Dallas flubbed their transition from Criswell until Mac came to the rescue.
But did we really do the transition well? By what standard would we say that it has gone well? Oh, we haven't seen a fall-off of attendance, and our budget receipts are steady, sure. Other than the fact that Mac is still here, other than the fact that the transition has been a smashing success personally for "Team Brunson", I don't see how it has gone "well" for the church as a whole. As pointed out on this blog certainly the antics of our lay leaders and Mac Brunson are NOT a model for other churches to follow - there's plenty more to be learned of what NOT to do in a mega church transition than what TO do. This is one of the purposes I hope this blog serves, is that other mega churches look at how we brought Mac in here, how abuses occured unchecked, and that other churches put protections in place to prevent what has happened at our church from happening to them.
More evidence of this terrible transition is when one looks at the conversion of the ground floor Children's Building conference to a personal office suite and library for "Team Brunson". Here's the record from the City of Jacksonville building permit database on this renovation:
Project: Renovations Pastor's office buildout
Business Name: First Baptist Church
Business Type: Religious
Project Address: 600 N. Main St., No. 100, between West Ashley and West Beaver streets
Zip Code: 32202
Entry Date: 3/21/2006
Square Footage: 3,633
Value: $96,750
We spent nearly $100,000 to convert 3633 square feet of the most prime space on our campus to a personal suite for the Brunsons. I mean the average church member doesn't have a HOUSE that large, inclusive of the garage and back porch! How smart was that? Look at the date...the permit was entered 3/21/06, which means that the design for this change had to begin around the time we voted to bring "Team Brunson" to Jax. Was this a requirement for him to come? Whose idea was this?
Why do we ask this? Easy: how in the world could anyone in our staff or lay leadership justify this expenditure and transfer of prime space use in our church? One would think that some clear-thinking member of the finance committee, or one of the staff members of our church involved with facilities management, or certainly one of the trustees, would have had the nerve to stand and say: "Wait a minute! Before we transfer all 3600 square feet of the most prime space on our campus at a cost of $100,000 of God's money, and more than that the opportunity cost of not having that space available in the future for ministry, SHOULDN'T WE AT LEAST WAIT UNTIL THE MAN HAS A CHANCE TO GET BOOTS ON THE GROUND, ASSESS OUR FACILITIES NEEDS AND STRENGTHS, AND COMPARE THOSE WITH ANTICIPATED MINISTRY NEEDS OF THE FUTURE?"
Anyone involved in the transition of leadership in a large organization knows that when undergoing major leadership transition, large expenditures that are not essential to the mission of the organization should be "frozen"...don't spend any unnecessary money, don't commit any valuable resources until the new leadership is in place, can assess the situation and determine the direction of the organization. But noooooo......we had to go and spend $100k to make sure the Brunsons had an office suite FROM DAY 1. In the most prime spot on our campus. That's arrogant. That's an abuse and outright misuse of God's money.
Under what possible scenario, other than a lapse of judgement on the part of lay leadership, or as a demand on the part of the Brunsons for their coming to Jax, would we see a project such as this begin before Mac Brunson arrives to assess our facilities needs as a church?
Fast forward 1 1/2 years, and there is Mac holding a vote to start a school that will be housed in the Children's Building. Where would the ideal spot be for the headmaster and administrative staff? Why of course the ground floor of the Children's Building....nope, sorry, Team Brunson already has already occupied that space. And what in tarnations costs $100,000 in converting that space? Sure, some partition walls, maybe new carpeting...but $100k, my gosh, I'm afraid to find out. Think I'm crazy? A legalist? A slanderer or troublemaker? Let's take a look at a quote from Jim Smyrl in his article "Politics and the Pew" available at his website for his 501(c) 3 ministry organization "Loyal Heart Ministries, Inc." (http://www.loyalheartministries.com/)" In this article Jim parallels wasteful spending on "pastor salaries and staff sabbaticals" to what he considers wasteful spending on children and youth and music ministries.
"...let us look to our own spending of Kingdom funds. The next time you pay to be spiritually nourished by entertaining music ministers, write a check for Jesus cruises, sign over property for the aesthetic pleasures of our children, or fund a mountain top excursion for your teens, make sure you are holding yourself to a higher standard than those who manage our national [government] resources. They will give an account of what they wasted by our standards at the poll. We will give an account of what we wasted by Jesus' standards at the judgment."
Couldn't have said it better myself Jim.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Pastors Unhurt By Economy Slowdown...
Jeff Brumley, religion writer for the Florida Times Union, had an interesting article last Thursday about how the slowdown in the economy has hurt the giving of parishioners of churches around town. Click here for his article.
I found his article headline and sub-headlines interesting:
Offering plates take hit in lean economy
TITHES: Parishioners cut back on their giving to buy gas and food.
MINISTRIES CUT BACK: Less money coming in, but more are in need.
Although Brumley didn't differentiate in his article between large and small churches, a quick review of how the pastors of the areas larger churches are living, including Mac Brunson, would suggest that the weak economy might be affecting their church's giving and their ministries, but not certainly not the pastors' lifestyle.
Looking at the home values of some of the areas most popular churches and ministries reveals that a number of pastors are "living large" in homes well above the average parishioner.
Here are the "Top 5" home values of local pastors...for all but Gilyard and Brunson I have left the names off...I'll let Brumley or someone else publish those:
1. $1,600,00 - Pastor of Mandarin area church
2. $1,100,000 - Pastor of local church and TV minister
3. $1,030,000 - Mac Brunson, Pastor of FBC Jacksonville
4. $992,000 - Pastor of historic Baptist church
5. $724,000 - Darrel Gilyard, former Shiloh Pastor
All but FBC Jax are predominantly African American churches.
All but Mac Brunson have lengthy tenures at their church of 10 years or more. Mac began construction of his home just weeks after he arrived in Jacksonville in 2006, on the $300,000 1/2 acre lot given to Mac just weeks after he took the helm of FBC Jax.
The only Southern Baptist Convention church in the list is Mac Brunson at $1.03 million.
Two of these top 5 churches have pastors or former pastors serving on Mayor Peyton's crime prevention steering committee, both have woeful attendance records at the committee meetings of less than 30%.
The other pastors of rather large local churches, some of them multi-campus, some even that are on TV in the local market, are in the $500k and below range.
Do you suppose if the economy gets much worse it will be harder for parishioners to stroke their weekly check, knowing that while they are getting the squeeze, their pastors are living large?
I found his article headline and sub-headlines interesting:
Offering plates take hit in lean economy
TITHES: Parishioners cut back on their giving to buy gas and food.
MINISTRIES CUT BACK: Less money coming in, but more are in need.
Although Brumley didn't differentiate in his article between large and small churches, a quick review of how the pastors of the areas larger churches are living, including Mac Brunson, would suggest that the weak economy might be affecting their church's giving and their ministries, but not certainly not the pastors' lifestyle.
Looking at the home values of some of the areas most popular churches and ministries reveals that a number of pastors are "living large" in homes well above the average parishioner.
Here are the "Top 5" home values of local pastors...for all but Gilyard and Brunson I have left the names off...I'll let Brumley or someone else publish those:
1. $1,600,00 - Pastor of Mandarin area church
2. $1,100,000 - Pastor of local church and TV minister
3. $1,030,000 - Mac Brunson, Pastor of FBC Jacksonville
4. $992,000 - Pastor of historic Baptist church
5. $724,000 - Darrel Gilyard, former Shiloh Pastor
All but FBC Jax are predominantly African American churches.
All but Mac Brunson have lengthy tenures at their church of 10 years or more. Mac began construction of his home just weeks after he arrived in Jacksonville in 2006, on the $300,000 1/2 acre lot given to Mac just weeks after he took the helm of FBC Jax.
The only Southern Baptist Convention church in the list is Mac Brunson at $1.03 million.
Two of these top 5 churches have pastors or former pastors serving on Mayor Peyton's crime prevention steering committee, both have woeful attendance records at the committee meetings of less than 30%.
The other pastors of rather large local churches, some of them multi-campus, some even that are on TV in the local market, are in the $500k and below range.
Do you suppose if the economy gets much worse it will be harder for parishioners to stroke their weekly check, knowing that while they are getting the squeeze, their pastors are living large?
Saturday, May 3, 2008
REVISED AGAIN: The Brunson-Collins-Holland Link
UPDATE: Here is link to audio of Mac's sermon where he included a commercial for the Collins Homebuilders in the middle of his March 16, 2008 sermon. Its about 5 MB, so might take a minute to download. Notice after his very emotional description of Jesus in the Garden, and how Jesus trusted God when God's plan didn't make sense at the time, Mac transitions into the current day example of trusting God in how the Collins boys decided to close their sales offices on Sundays. You'll of course only hear the audio of the commercial here, but it was a very professional piece that was done - I guess by our own media resources at the church, but very nicely done and edited. Again, this company is owned by the sons of the man who gifted Mac Brunson the $307,000 lot in Deerwood. Not saying this is quid-pro-quo...just giving you the facts and I'll let YOU decide. Since Mac included this commercial smack dab in the middle of his sermon, it was broadcast in the local Jacksonville TV market the following Sunday in HD on TV-12.
Thank you to poster "Ghost" for the following article on the infamous $307,000 "land gift" that our pastor accepted just weeks after arriving in Jacksonville ...those of you visiting this site for the first time, let me get you caught up before you read the "Ghost Post" article below on this gift.
Just weeks after arriving to Jacksonville to be our new pastor, Mac Brunson, accepted a land gift worth $307,000 - a 1/2 acre plot located in exclusive, gated development known as "Deerwood" in Jacksonville, Florida. Here is a link to the property record in the City of Jacksonville property appraisor website. The home and land is valued at over $1 million, making Mac one of the most lavish-living pastors in Jacksonville. This land gift was never disclosed and explained to the congregation, and questions of who on the search committee knew of this gift offer and when Mac Brunson knew of this gift still remain.
When did Mac accept this land gift? Mac preached his first sermon as pastor of FBC Jacksonville on April 9, 2006. The deed for the land transfer was executed on May 1, 2006, just 3 weeks after the Brunsons arrived in Jacksonville. The deed shows that the gift was given for "love and affection". Click here to see the deed for yourself. The construction on their 5200 square foot, 6 bedroom 4.5 bath home began in July 2006.
Now for the Ghost article:
-----------------------------------
Perhaps some of the confusion comes from people not knowing who J.D. Collins is. For those of you who do not know, J.D. Collins is a local real estate developer who is very powerful in the City of Jacksonville. He has a very long track record of giving money to politicians in Jacksonville and throughout the state. J.D. Collins has over 20 Corporations through which he donates money to political campaigns. Campaign contributions can be searched through at the State of Florida Campaign Web Site or the City of Jacksonville Campaign Reports . I will not bother to list all of J.D. Collins' corporations but they all are listed under the address 3840 Crown Point Road Suite A ,Jacksonville, FL 32257.
For those of you who do not wish to search through contributions I have searched through many of them myself and will list his political contributions from the last election cycle for the City of Jacksonville. In the 2007 election cycle J.D. Collins made the following political donations to candidates in Jacksonville:
Mayor John Peyton-$10,000
Supervisor of Elections,Jerry Holland-$15,000
City Councilman At Large Group 1, Ronnie Fussell-$10,000
Candidate for City Council at Large Group 2, Jay Jabour-$7,500
Candidate for City Council At Large Group 3, Stephen Joost-$5,000
City Councilman at Large Group 4, Kevin Hyde-$5,000
City Councilwoman At Large Group 5, Glorious Johnson-$1,000
Candidates for City Council District 1:Clay Yarborough-$1,500 Cheryl Grymes-$1,000
City Councilman District 3, Richard Clark-$5,000
Candidates for City Council District 4:George Banks-$500
Don Redman-$7,000
City Councilman District 5, Art Shad-$5,000
Candidates for City Council District 6: Jack Webb-$1,500, Sean Richard-$4,000
Candidate for City Council District 7, Johnny Gaffney-$1,500
Candidate for City Council District 8, E. Denise Lee-$5,000
Candidate for City Council District, Warren Jones-$1,000
Candidate for City Council District10, Mia Jones-$2,500
Candidates for City Council District 11:Ray Holt-$1,000, Mike Saylor-$1,000
City Councilman District 12, Daniel Davis-$10,000
City Councilman District 13, Art Graham-$5,000
City Councilman District 14, Michael Corrigan-$5,000
You may say, what does this have to do with our church? While I apologize for the long listI wanted to make a point that J.D. Collins has a long history (this is only from one election cycle!) of making donations to people to whom he wants something in return. There is no correlation in his giving in regard to political party/ideology as he gave generously to Democrats Johnny Gaffney, Mia Jones, Denise Lee, and Warren Jones (when Warren had a Republican opponent). He even in FOUR RACES gave money to multiple candidates in the SAME RACE to ensure that he had his bases covered no matter who won (see Council Districts 1, 4, 6, and 11).
So, Robert, you claim that this land gift to Pastor Brunson was a "gift from the Lord." I ask, were these donations of over 100,000 dollars to local candidates in one election cycle also gifts from the Lord? I personally don't see how anyone could claim that over 100,000 dollars in political donations is a gift from the Lord. What makes the gift to Mac any different? How do the Brunson supporters know that Mac is not expected to give J.D. Collins something in return, just as he expects every politician at City Hall to be indebted to him? We have already seen a commercial played during the morning service advertising for Collins...what's next? Could new buildings or building improvements contracted through J.D. Collins be far off?
Also, I found another very interesting tidbit when I Googled J.D. Collins name. We all know that it was Jacksonville's Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland was one of three church members who leaked to the media that Mac Brunson was going to be our new pastor. I discovered a Folio Weekly article from 2000 that states: “J.D. Collins is more than just another powerful developer to Jacksonville City Councilman Jerry Holland. He’s an underwriter. Not only does Collins help pay Holland’s mortgage (his wife, Beverly Holland, is an executive officer in more than 12 Collins corporations, and Holland himself used to work for Collins), but the powerful builder also subsidized a fair chunk of Holland’s council bid in 1998. Collins, through his numerous businesses, gave 18 donations of $500 each - $9,000 - to Holland’s campaign coffers.”
This shows a link between Jerry Holland and J.D. Collins that I did not know existed. How did Jerry Holland know that Mac Brunson was coming to FBC? Could it be that he found out through his wife who works for J.D. Collins because the J.D. Collins land deal was what enticed Mac Brunson to come to Jacksonville in the first place? So again the question First Baptist Church of Jacksonville deserves an answer to is Did Mac Brunson know about this $300,000 land gift before he accepted the job as Pastor of First Baptist Church Jacksonville? This is a question that our church deserves an answer to, and yes Robert we will keep on "whining and griping" until it is eventually answered.
Thank you to poster "Ghost" for the following article on the infamous $307,000 "land gift" that our pastor accepted just weeks after arriving in Jacksonville ...those of you visiting this site for the first time, let me get you caught up before you read the "Ghost Post" article below on this gift.
Just weeks after arriving to Jacksonville to be our new pastor, Mac Brunson, accepted a land gift worth $307,000 - a 1/2 acre plot located in exclusive, gated development known as "Deerwood" in Jacksonville, Florida. Here is a link to the property record in the City of Jacksonville property appraisor website. The home and land is valued at over $1 million, making Mac one of the most lavish-living pastors in Jacksonville. This land gift was never disclosed and explained to the congregation, and questions of who on the search committee knew of this gift offer and when Mac Brunson knew of this gift still remain.
When did Mac accept this land gift? Mac preached his first sermon as pastor of FBC Jacksonville on April 9, 2006. The deed for the land transfer was executed on May 1, 2006, just 3 weeks after the Brunsons arrived in Jacksonville. The deed shows that the gift was given for "love and affection". Click here to see the deed for yourself. The construction on their 5200 square foot, 6 bedroom 4.5 bath home began in July 2006.
Now for the Ghost article:
-----------------------------------
Perhaps some of the confusion comes from people not knowing who J.D. Collins is. For those of you who do not know, J.D. Collins is a local real estate developer who is very powerful in the City of Jacksonville. He has a very long track record of giving money to politicians in Jacksonville and throughout the state. J.D. Collins has over 20 Corporations through which he donates money to political campaigns. Campaign contributions can be searched through at the State of Florida Campaign Web Site or the City of Jacksonville Campaign Reports . I will not bother to list all of J.D. Collins' corporations but they all are listed under the address 3840 Crown Point Road Suite A ,Jacksonville, FL 32257.
For those of you who do not wish to search through contributions I have searched through many of them myself and will list his political contributions from the last election cycle for the City of Jacksonville. In the 2007 election cycle J.D. Collins made the following political donations to candidates in Jacksonville:
Mayor John Peyton-$10,000
Supervisor of Elections,Jerry Holland-$15,000
City Councilman At Large Group 1, Ronnie Fussell-$10,000
Candidate for City Council at Large Group 2, Jay Jabour-$7,500
Candidate for City Council At Large Group 3, Stephen Joost-$5,000
City Councilman at Large Group 4, Kevin Hyde-$5,000
City Councilwoman At Large Group 5, Glorious Johnson-$1,000
Candidates for City Council District 1:Clay Yarborough-$1,500 Cheryl Grymes-$1,000
City Councilman District 3, Richard Clark-$5,000
Candidates for City Council District 4:George Banks-$500
Don Redman-$7,000
City Councilman District 5, Art Shad-$5,000
Candidates for City Council District 6: Jack Webb-$1,500, Sean Richard-$4,000
Candidate for City Council District 7, Johnny Gaffney-$1,500
Candidate for City Council District 8, E. Denise Lee-$5,000
Candidate for City Council District, Warren Jones-$1,000
Candidate for City Council District10, Mia Jones-$2,500
Candidates for City Council District 11:Ray Holt-$1,000, Mike Saylor-$1,000
City Councilman District 12, Daniel Davis-$10,000
City Councilman District 13, Art Graham-$5,000
City Councilman District 14, Michael Corrigan-$5,000
You may say, what does this have to do with our church? While I apologize for the long listI wanted to make a point that J.D. Collins has a long history (this is only from one election cycle!) of making donations to people to whom he wants something in return. There is no correlation in his giving in regard to political party/ideology as he gave generously to Democrats Johnny Gaffney, Mia Jones, Denise Lee, and Warren Jones (when Warren had a Republican opponent). He even in FOUR RACES gave money to multiple candidates in the SAME RACE to ensure that he had his bases covered no matter who won (see Council Districts 1, 4, 6, and 11).
So, Robert, you claim that this land gift to Pastor Brunson was a "gift from the Lord." I ask, were these donations of over 100,000 dollars to local candidates in one election cycle also gifts from the Lord? I personally don't see how anyone could claim that over 100,000 dollars in political donations is a gift from the Lord. What makes the gift to Mac any different? How do the Brunson supporters know that Mac is not expected to give J.D. Collins something in return, just as he expects every politician at City Hall to be indebted to him? We have already seen a commercial played during the morning service advertising for Collins...what's next? Could new buildings or building improvements contracted through J.D. Collins be far off?
Also, I found another very interesting tidbit when I Googled J.D. Collins name. We all know that it was Jacksonville's Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland was one of three church members who leaked to the media that Mac Brunson was going to be our new pastor. I discovered a Folio Weekly article from 2000 that states: “J.D. Collins is more than just another powerful developer to Jacksonville City Councilman Jerry Holland. He’s an underwriter. Not only does Collins help pay Holland’s mortgage (his wife, Beverly Holland, is an executive officer in more than 12 Collins corporations, and Holland himself used to work for Collins), but the powerful builder also subsidized a fair chunk of Holland’s council bid in 1998. Collins, through his numerous businesses, gave 18 donations of $500 each - $9,000 - to Holland’s campaign coffers.”
This shows a link between Jerry Holland and J.D. Collins that I did not know existed. How did Jerry Holland know that Mac Brunson was coming to FBC? Could it be that he found out through his wife who works for J.D. Collins because the J.D. Collins land deal was what enticed Mac Brunson to come to Jacksonville in the first place? So again the question First Baptist Church of Jacksonville deserves an answer to is Did Mac Brunson know about this $300,000 land gift before he accepted the job as Pastor of First Baptist Church Jacksonville? This is a question that our church deserves an answer to, and yes Robert we will keep on "whining and griping" until it is eventually answered.
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