Another Church Power Struggle Hits the Papers
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Thu, July 28, 2005
- Viewed 153
- (31) comments so far
Whenever I post something along this line, I always get an email saying to the effect, "why are you publicizing something that's so negative?" Well, there are really two reasons...
1. I find the topic of conflict in churches to be extremely interesting. As I've said before, I often don't understand how relationships get so 'out of whack' in churches. Things like firing your senior pastor's right-hand-man without telling the pastor are amazing to me... I just wonder how that kind of think happens. (again, I don't know the merits of whether the pastor in question should have had his position eliminated or not... just the circumstances are very interesting).
2. I do think there is some value in stories of this kind for another reason: It can serve as a wake up call to each of us in our ministry that we need to maintain our relationships every day. Seeing the consequences of not doing so may be the incentive we need to keep things on track today.
OK... that being said, here's the article. I'm interested in hearing your take after you read it...
During more than 10 years in the pulpit at Calvary Assembly, the megachurch overlooking Interstate 4 in Winter Park, the Rev. Clark Whitten has been known for his plain speaking.
It surprised no one when he announced the contentious end of his ministry in a typically direct way, before thousands of worshippers at services Sunday.
Whitten said he was quitting because the church's board of elders, without his knowledge, had voted to eliminate the position of senior executive pastor, held by the Rev. David Smith.
"I didn't agree with the elders' conclusion -- and I still don't," Whitten, 55, told the congregation, according to an audiotape of the service. "That's just honest, but it doesn't mean that we can't disagree and be friends and love each other, and we do."
He will deliver his last sermon at Calvary this Sunday.
"The honesty was refreshing," said Becky Meeks of Ocoee, a Calvary member for 18 years. Whitten's candor "is one of the things I like best about him."
In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel last week, the Rev. Bill Snell, an executive pastor and an elder, had made no mention of discord related to Whitten's departure, citing the pastor's "desire to just enjoy life at a different level."
Neither Whitten nor Smith could be reached for comment last week. Snell told the Sentinel at the time that both were out of state, playing golf.
Snell did not respond to repeated requests for comment this week.
However, in the sanctuary last Sunday, both sides described what amounted to a power struggle.
Gary Hall, speaking for the elders, said the board had become concerned about "some management issues," according to the tape. He said Smith, whom Whitten had brought from Oklahoma in 1999, was seen as an administrative "bottleneck." The five executive pastors reported to Smith, who reported to Whitten.
In what Hall said was a unanimous decision -- and without consulting Whitten, who had just returned from a two-month sabbatical -- the elders voted to eliminate Smith's position. They offered Smith the opportunity to join the five executive pastors, but he resigned immediately.
Hall called Smith's departure "a great loss." He described the minister as "the most talented pastor I've ever met," and said that, when it came to administrative ability, there was "nobody in the country better than David Smith."
Whitten told worshippers he had a sharply different view of the board's actions, and he criticized their tactics. Especially galling, Whitten said, was that the board's action "was done in my absence and it was done without my consultation. That was a situation that I couldn't reconcile."
Jack Norman of Longwood, an elder and a church member for more than 30 years, said he thought Whitten "knew what we were doing." He added that "looking back, I guess we should have called him and told him that this is what we had in mind."
Whitten's tenure at Calvary was marked by stability.
In previous years, the congregation had lost one pastor after a sex scandal and another after an expansion that left the church millions of dollars in debt. Under Whitten's leadership, the congregation's remaining $10.8 million debt was erased by 2000, as the minister had pledged.
Longtime Calvary members voiced regret at the pastor's departure.
"Clark Whitten has done excellent work as our senior pastor, and I'm truly disappointed that he has decided to leave," said Andrew Roberts of Lake Mary, a member for 23 years. "I wish he was deciding to stay another 10 years. He will be missed."
At an interview at their home earlier this week, Whitten said he and his wife, Martha, had considered several options -- from remaining in the pulpit under the new administrative arrangement, to taking their case to Calvary's membership. In the end, he decided it was God's will that he resign.
Anything that would divide the church he loved was out of the question.
"I don't see how any of that honors God," he said. "I have no desire to be part of that. I am submissive to authority. I teach it and I believe it."
The minister said his decision had left him both sad and relieved, and he said he is not angry with the elders.
"I honestly believe they just made a mistake," he said, although it was a "monumental" error, and he predicted that ultimately they would have to apologize to the congregation.
"How it was done was the most egregious thing on a personal level," he said. "They were wrong in their position and in their vision of how a large church is run."
The Whittens, who have two grown children, put their lakefront home up for sale, although they said they intend to remain in Central Florida. "Our time spent here was very good -- the best years of our lives," he said.
Whitten said he plans to write, speak and teach -- "I'm not going to sit around" -- and that he will not take another pulpit.
What are your first impressions/takes from this article?
Well… guess what… it happened again. Different church, different scenario… but big media coverage about a church in conflict. This is an article that made the Orlando Sentinel today. Again, I know nothing of the situation. I don’t know the internal workings of this church; but I do know that things could’ve been handled better… way better…
Comments
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Larry on Wed, September 21, 2005
I have known Clark Whitten, since his arrival at Calvary Assembly. He and David are men of Intergirity. It is clear to me that the Elders wanted David out and they did not want Clark there when they confronted David. They told DAVID that he was welcome to stay and assume one of the pastoral functions. He did not think that was a good deal, and resigned. Yes he did resign but the writing was on the wall. David was one of the best administrators that we had, but was not accepted since his arrival, and to make things worse 1. The gossip mill worked overtime and 2 He followed Wayne Jordall. He was doomed from the start. Calvary has lost two great men of God, who put the church back on the right track. And don’t think that David didn’t call Clark after the meeting to let him know about the situation.
pk on Sat, October 01, 2005
After reading articles, and the comments posted, I feel compeled to make comment about this situation. However, because of the close relationship I have with the Whitten’s that has spanned 30 years, I am reluctanct to talk in anything other than generalities.
It is hard enough to stand from a distance and see the termoil that a church is going thru and then form opinions based only on what is at best sketchy information. But, to have known, been influenced at an early age, and followed the ministry of an anionted man such as Clark Whitten, I can tell you that it trully breaks my heart. In 1975, Clark came to my Church as it’s youth minister. I was then 12 and my family had been long time foundational members since before my birth. My father was, and had been, a long time leading deacon and both my parents were youth workers. Our family became very close to the Whitten’s and my father regarded Clark like a son, as I know that Clark also expressed that my father was like a father to him. After serving at the church for two years, a crisis came about that was brought to the attention of the authority and congregation of the church by Clark himself. It was his courage and commitment to righteousness that ultimately put him in a most aukward position over the matter and led to a split in the church. The result of which was the formation of a new church in which our family became charter members. Clark was called as its pastor, so he became my pastor for all of my teenage and a few years of my adult life. I can tell you that the out right miraculous move of the Lord, not only in the church but also in our community, during that time was an experience that I nor many of those that were involved have experienced before or after. Two years ago, Clark came back here for a 25 year aniversary and he said himself that he has not experienced a move of the Lord since that time as we did in those early years of that church. That having been said, over the years I have thought, prayed, studied scripture, and now come to my own conculsions over what happened 30 years ago. I am absolutely convinced that the split, while God used it in many great and powerful ways, was more the result of selfish human pride on both sides of the issue and less about scriptual and spiritual expediency. It should never have happened, and I have yet to find a scriptual precidence for what has become an out right epidemic in our modern religious culture. Since that initial split, many churches in this community have split, some more than once. That initial split was one of the most tramadic experiences of my life. It pitted friend against friend, and even family members against family members. And even tho the initial result was a wonderful miraculous move of the Lord, the end result has been the rendering of both churches completely ineffectual in this community and the community itself sliding into a dark and sinful culture of contention, crime, and denial.
Now I don’t know all that has happened in this situation at Calvary Assembly. Since it happened, I have thought many times of calling Clark and then decided it was best to just keep out of it. And the only information I get are from others here that are closesly tied to the situation and even what they know is not a lot. And for me to make a judgement one way or another is just as difficult. I have been thru similar situations since that time with two other churches. And if I had been in Clark’s position, maybe I would have done the same thing. But I will say this, it doesn’t matter much what I think I would or wouldn’t do. What matters is what God’s word teaches us on the subject, and I am convinced, from the example of the early church and the way that the apostle Paul dealt with them, that the Lord never meant nor condones the splitting or the leaving of any church because of disagreable situations (or might I add, even sinful situations). It is my opinion that personal selfishness and pride are two of the major flaws in the American church today and this epedimic of splitting churches is in my opinion evidence that we as the corperate body of Christ no longer have the faith that He is in control and His will should be far above our own. I preach this to myself first as I now find myself in a disagreable situation in my own church, but I am resolved not to leave this time and trust the Lord that he is in control and that it is His power and not my own that will bring about righteousness where it is needed, even if it is in my life that it needs to take place. Brother’s and Sister’s, I humbly believe that it is time that we start taking personal responsibility for what is happening in are churches that is leading to these tragic situations and look inward at what we as Christians are doing or not doing to facilitate these occurences and also how we are responding to them…..whether it is trully in love and righteousness or just our own personal selfish desires. We can discuss for eternity whether or not decisions on both sides were made poorly and what should have been done to prevent them. But the bottom line is the lost world is looking at us and getting the message that the body of Christ can not deal with itself in the same manner that it preaches to them that they should. And so we as a body are actually undermining the witness that our Lord has given us charge and responsibility over.
IDJ on Wed, October 05, 2005
As an 8 year member of Calvary Assembly, I must say that the situation leading to Pastor Clark Whitten leaving, is a sad testimony of the leadership within our church. Of course, not all the details were laid out by the media and the gossip flows like beer in a bar. The fact is, Pastor David Smith was offered a position at another church early this year, he declined that position in order to remain at Calvary because he felt led by God to do so. While Pastor Whitten was on his two month sabbatical, the elders decided to show short films every Sunday, a “spoof” of how someone was spying to see who was trying to get rid of Pastor Whitten in order to take his place as Senior Pastor. In the meantime, the elders made a decision (in which THEY as well felt led by God) to get rid of Pastor Smith’s position, calling it a unified decision even though they left Pastor Whitten (a fellow elder) out of the loop. David Smith decided he would take the offer that was presented to him earlier this year rather than remain. So who exactly heard God in this??
I love Pastor Whitten and was crushed to see him go, he was my mentor and he was my most avid backing in the church. I am not your average christian that looks normal and I was not cut out of the christian cookie cutter. I dye my hair outrageous colors and I sing on the platform on the praise team every week. I knew in my heart that once Pastor Whitten (who enthusiastically encouraged me to be myself) had left that the leadership would start sinking into me about my appearance. Lo and behold, it has become such a big issue that I was not allowed to sing until I agreed to a set of overbearing “guidelines” right down to what kind of barrettes I can wear in my hair.
I don’t know what will happen to Calvary Assembly, I don’t know if I can remain in a church were grace does not abound. I do know however that if this church is not covered in prayer some people are going to be even more hurt and divided to the point of leaving the church, and I mean the church as in any church. I’ve spent 2 months fasting and praying, sheding tear after tear over this church and over Pastor Whitten and his family, and may God’s blessings abound endlessly for this wrong that has been done. As well that Calvary Assembly will be raised back up in all the glory that God intended for this church and the surrrounding communities.
IDJ on Wed, October 05, 2005
As an 8 year member of Calvary Assembly, I must say that the situation leading to Pastor Clark Whitten leaving, is a sad testimony of the leadership within our church. Of course, not all the details were laid out by the media and the gossip flows like beer in a bar. The fact is, Pastor David Smith was offered a position at another church early this year, he declined that position in order to remain at Calvary because he felt led by God to do so. While Pastor Whitten was on his two month sabbatical, the elders decided to show short films every Sunday, a “spoof” of how someone was spying to see who was trying to get rid of Pastor Whitten in order to take his place as Senior Pastor. In the meantime, the elders made a decision (in which THEY as well felt led by God) to get rid of Pastor Smith’s position, calling it a unified decision even though they left Pastor Whitten (a fellow elder) out of the loop. David Smith decided he would take the offer that was presented to him earlier this year rather than remain. So who exactly heard God in this??
I love Pastor Whitten and was crushed to see him go, he was my mentor and he was my most avid backing in the church. I am not your average christian that looks normal and I was not cut out of the christian cookie cutter. I dye my hair outrageous colors and I sing on the platform on the praise team every week. I knew in my heart that once Pastor Whitten (who enthusiastically encouraged me to be myself) had left that the leadership would start sinking into me about my appearance. Lo and behold, it has become such a big issue that I was not allowed to sing until I agreed to a set of overbearing “guidelines” right down to what kind of barrettes I can wear in my hair.
I don’t know what will happen to Calvary Assembly, I don’t know if I can remain in a church were grace does not abound. I do know however that if this church is not covered in prayer some people are going to be even more hurt and divided to the point of leaving the church, and I mean the church as in any church. I’ve spent 2 months fasting and praying, sheding tear after tear over this church and over Pastor Whitten and his family, and may God’s blessings abound endlessly for this wrong that has been done. As well that Calvary Assembly will be raised back up in all the glory that God intended for this church and the surrrounding communities.
Mark DeLisle on Wed, November 02, 2005
The Elders are idiots, plain and simple.
The have choosen ritual over relationship time and again and now have completely shut the door in Christ’s face.
Clark and David both did their best to keep that church on a Grace and Love filled track only to have the Elders hinder them at every turn.
From sticking hymnals back in the pews when the Pastors left town to turning people away from the church because they were wearing a hat these elders have truly proven time and again they are fighting AGAINST the Kingdom, period.
Both David and Clark made it their mission to truly apply God’s word of Grace and Love to their lives and to the church but the Elders could never get out of the 1920’s long enough to understand the impact Clark Whitten and his best friend David Smith’s ministry has on the world.
They would rather have escalators in their church than a man who is as close to Christ as I’ve ever met.
I was blessed to spend a part of my life getting to know Clark, on a personal level, and I have never met a man as annointed as he is.
Shame on you elders, you have robbed your own sheep out of your own self-interest.
Regardless, I pray for the church, God will restore it and whomever recieves either of these men into their “house” will be blessed beyond belief by their wisdom, committment and love.
Phil Hoover-Chicago on Wed, November 02, 2005
A truly sad situation. How it must grieve the heart of God.
We Christians tend to do that rather well here lately.
Larry on Sun, November 06, 2005
Well the search is over. The Reverend George Cope in coming to Calvary on the 27th of November to speak and be voted on by the church. I have read his resume and he appears to be the person that Calvary need to get us back on track and focused to win Orlando to Christ. I hope we can get on with this and he has some good ideas for adding to the membership. He is Assembly of God and has been from day one. I for one hope that he is sent here from God. And the 100-200 people who left to attend Pastor Whitten’s new church will return. Praise God for this new life given to Calvary Assembly.
car on Mon, November 07, 2005
I was not aware that pastor Whitten had a new church. Are you perhaps refering to pastor Chip Kellys new church?
cb on Sun, November 13, 2005
Yes, Pastor Whitten does have a new church and it is AWESOME. No, it is not the same church as Chip Kelly’s. As for those who think the “100-200” people who attend are ex-Calvary membership, they are wrong. While the pastoral staff and “charter members” are close friends of Clark’s life and ministry, many who attend did not attend Calvary, or had previously left before Pastor Whitten resigned. The church is growing consistently, and those at Pastor Whitten’s new church wish nothing but good for the future of Calvary Assembly.
In fact, Pastor Whitten has gone to great strains not to “advertise” his new church or draw Calvary membership away. Those who currently attend hear stricly by word of mouth.
IDJ on Mon, November 14, 2005
“I for one hope that he is sent here from God. And the 100-200 people who left to attend Pastor Whitten’s new church will return. Praise God for this new life given to Calvary Assembly.”
I would hope that christians wouldn’t pray for people to leave another church just to attend their own. At least these people are going to church. But as CB posted, Pastor Whittens church is very wonderful, there is no competition on their behalf to take members from Calvary, nor is there any such prayers that members of Calvary would leave to become members of his church. Don’t you think that a prayer asking God to take people from one church to place them in another is kind of like a kingdom divided against itself?? At some point the competition has to stop; of course God will take care of that.
Don’t be fooled some people have left for other reasons than Pastor Whittens departure from Calvary. There are a lot of other things going on inside that church, a legalism is taking over in some areas that some people who live by grace just can’t comprehend being involved in.
It would be best if we just prayed that God’s will be done in all of this and that He, knowing what is best for EACH of His children, would guide the feet of those to walk where He wants them to walk, to worship where He wants them to worship, and to live by the understanding He has given them and more so that each person be blessed ten fold regardless of which church they attend.
We are all striving for the same outcome, to be in unity with God and living for the same purpose… to spend eternity worshipping at His feet and being all encompassed by His everlasting presence.
May grace abound in all things.
Larry on Tue, November 15, 2005
To CB:
I believe you have misread my posting. I am extremely happy for Clark. I was just stating that if anyone left because of the Clark and David thing that they would give Calvary a return visit. But if they don’t so be it. I have been going to Calvary for many years and I will continue, probably until they carry me out in my Pine Box. I don’t let thngs bother me. I have enough stress in my life without thinking about small things like that. Clark did what God told him to do, and you know that if you know Clark.
IDJ:
What happened to you was terrible. Since I haven’t seen you in a few weeks either your hair is dyed another color or you are going to another church. You go girl. Thanks for all the times when you were on the altar.
Larry
CB on Wed, November 16, 2005
To Larry:
Perhaps I did misinterpret what you were saying, but as IDJ posted, there are many other things going on at Calvary which have cause people to leave. If you do know Clark, and judging from your post you do, you know that he is one of the most kind-hearted men you will ever meet. He would do nothing unless he felt a direct call from God to do so. That is why God is blessing his church—and He is blessing it.
agr on Sun, December 04, 2005
so happy to hear that Pastor Clark is doing well…he is a true man of God and the Lord’s light radiates from him
does anyone know where Pastor Chip is now, and how things are going with him & Bonnie?also, what is going on with Gabriels’s Christmas Story?
l on Thu, April 06, 2006
I was told that Chip Kelly’s church is called 360 Church and meets Sunday mornings at the Winter Park High School auditorium, but I can’t find a phone number or anything by doing a search.
Jeff on Sat, April 29, 2006
I moved away from Orlando and Calvary Assembly in 2004 to start a new career in education. While at Calvary (~3 years), I deeply grew to love Pastor Clark. It was under his ministry and Pastor’s Alan, Bill, and Robin that I grew significantly away from my homosexual past. I am saddened to learn of Pastor Clark’s departure, and of the conditions surrounding it. I will always love him and Calvary for their input into my life! I pray the best for both as they work through their hurt and discover God’s will for their futures.
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