Calvary Chapel Abuse

Calvary Chapel Melbourne and Pastor Mark Balmer accused of going on the attack when confronted by long-time non-member member of the "we are NOT a denomination" Denomination (or Calvary Chapel) over Financial Disclosure. Another example of Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel's DNA of Financial Opacity, spiritual abuse and not being "the Servant of All" as Jesus commands.

Chip Rohlke says:
April 19, 2012 at 7:30 am

Calvary Chapel Melbourne issue of financial disclosure:

I thought I’d attach a letter I sent Pastor Mark Balmer about my situation with the church here in Melbourne (I’ve been attending for 12 years). I’m very disturbed about the lack of financial disclosure and the way the church reacted to my questioning it. I wrote Chuck Smith who I met on a trip to Israel with him in ’93 but got no response. I’d like to let all those who attend [Calvary Chapel Melbourne] know what’s going on but haven’t figured out a way to do it. After that I’m leaving it in God’s hands and feel it’s all I can do to change things.

Chip Rohlke
President, Christ is Creator Ministries

May 10,2009

Dear Pastor Mark:

I’ve been involved in Christian Ministry for 28 years and only once was I called before the elders of a church for discipline. The sad thing is that it wasn’t for a moral failure like fornication, or stealing, or lying, or being abusive. It was for asking a simple question within a church body- “Are the churches finances open to examination”. Now that’s an amazing thing…for nowhere in scripture did I see church authority to impose intimidation and coercion in an area of non-Biblical areas of procedure and preference like financial transparency. Funny how pagan companies and government are required to be totally transparent but the church of Christ isn’t?

I’ve struggled with writing you about this for many months for when your elders called me to meet with them I was subjected to something that I can only describe as a form of spiritual abuse. Never in my life have I been so humiliated, character and motives questioned, intimidated and coerced into accepting what is generally described by numerous pastors I’ve met with as ‘a very bad policy and borderline abusive reaction’. I talked this over with the Pastor of the 1st Baptist Eau Gallie, Larry Booth (Our Father’s House), Jack Taylor, Dr. Francis Schaeffers staff at L’Abri, and Billy Graham’s ministry.

All without exception were not surprised by what happened to me but sad that any church would behave in such an unbiblical and un-Christlike manner-not to mention they all thought financial disclosure was essential to a healthy church. Reminds me of Martin Luther at Wurm where the church wanted to kill the messenger rather than hear the message.

Personally I was offended when the elders at this meeting impuned my character and also rejected the idea that I could be speaking for God. What arrogance! When I wanted to meet with you to discuss this you told me in the commons, “I’m not interested”. In my 15 years with Peter Lord’s church he would have never said such a rude thing to any of his flock…no matter how he felt about them. But I guess you’re not Peter.

I hope you take this in the right light. Whether you change your policy or not is between you, the church and God. In any case I certainly think a public apology is warranted. Otherwise I’m planning on going public with this experience that the body might be aware that the church is entering an area of control that I have only experienced in religious cults.

Sincerely,
Chip Rohlke

"Accountability"....a dirty word in Calvary Chapel.

Pastor Michael Newnham over at Phoenixpreacher.net did a podcast recently with Jason Stellman, a former Calvary Chapel missionary who is now the pastor and teaching elder at Exile Presbyterian church in Washington state.

Calvary Chapel has a big problem…and some justice, I believe, is on the coming horizon.

How does sin, abuse and corruption blow up to the level that requires what’s coming? Well, a lack of addressing abuses, corruption, sin in the Camp, etc in a just and righteous way, is one big reason. When you let sin fester, it grows…and when it grows and is continually ignored by Leadership (like Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Boards, etc) it gets really big and the consequences to that sin get really bad.

Here’s how the Presby’s do their thing…seems to be an option worth considering (click on the link below to access the podcast):

http://phoenixpreacher.net/?p=11303

Former Calvary Chapel Visalia employee alleges theft, fraud and tax violations by Bob Grenier and Calvary Chapel Visalia.

Bob Grenier pastor of Calvary Chapel Visalia’s child abuse (confirmed in testimony by 24 year CCV Board member Glen C.) and allegations by Paul Grenier of molestation are well documented on this site. Following is a first person testimony from a former Calvary Chapel Visalia employee that alleges theft, fraud and tax violations.

“…when Bob goes on trips he takes cash from the church. What is suppose to happen is Bob or Gayle turn in receipts and the change after a trip.. What happens is they take the cash and there is no questions asked about how it is spent. This could be from $50 to $400. Also the Cafe is not paying taxes on food sales. As a food service it is suppose to collect and pay taxes they do neither. They also use the bookstores resale license to get their food orders and supplies.”

Paul Grenier testifies that he was the direct beneficiary of “expensive sunglasses” and many other items that were paid for out of the Calvary Chapel cash envelope. Paul says that spending the petty cash on personal items was a regular practice of Bob Grenier’s when they were on what was billed as Church business to Southern California and elsewhere.

Two other former Calvary Chapel employees, in addition to Paul’s testimony and the quoted testimony above, recount similar testimony of Bob Grenier playing fast and loose with the Church cash.

“The cafe really works at a loss. Salaries paid for cafe work come out of the general fund. Gayle gets paid, Susie gets paid and I think Kathie Smee, and there are a couple of others that get paid. Bob usually flies business but always trys to upgrade.”

“Salaries take over 50%. Besides salary, he gets book allowance, housing allowance and he gets an extra months pay for vacation. And then his car is paid for by the church. Insurance, gas, cleaning is all paid for by the church. There is i think about $1800 a month for pension. Missions there are about 20 different missionaries who get support from the church. Helping people part doesn’t happen often at all. I’m not good at percentages. The church grounds are now done in house so it’s just Josh and his helpers salaries. Some of these may have changed in the last eight months.”

The above information is corroborated by two other former employees (in part or in whole).

“One other thing I thought of. Susie supposedly gets paid for working in the Cafe, but it is really suppose to be salary for Greg. But they can’t pay Greg or it will mess up his disability.”

This is possibly the most serious allegation…it appears to be Disability Fraud. The information is corroborated by two additional former Calvary Chapel Visalia employees and is reported to be known by several others connected to Calvary Chapel Visalia.

“I have a few things to clear about a post of Paul’s. He was right about the credit card, Bob and Gayle have full use of the card with no approval needed. The checks always have needed two signatures on them. Also the church pays for Gayle’s and Greg’s cell phones. Greg also upgrades and buys supplies with no approval needed.”

These matters were reported to Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and Roger Wing of CCOF. It is reported by sources that Roger Wing of CCOF did an audit (yet Chuck Smith claims Calvary Chapels are all 100% independent…if so, what is CCOF and Roger Wing doing performing an audit after receiving information of financial abuse allegations?).

What were the results of the audit? Was there any evidence that supports the Disability Fraud allegations? Any findings of theft and tax violations?

Has there been an attempt to cover up any of the issues divulged in the whistleblower’s testimony?

Calvary Chapel Visalia is a 501c3 and an Institution of Trust. Bob Grenier is also a Police Chaplain at the Visalia Police Department and the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department. Current Calvary Chapel Visalia Board Members include Brent Calvin, Dean of College of the Sequoias and Jeff Fly of Turning Point.

What do the Calvary Chapel Visalia Board Members know about these allegations? Raul Ries of Calvary Chapel Golden Springs, David Rosales of Calvary Chapel Chino Valley and Gary Ruff of Calvary Chapel Sun Valley were also Calvary Chapel Visalia Board Members during the time of these allegations. If the allegations are true, did they knowingly participate in any fraud or tax violation? Do these Pastors and Directors of separate 501c3 Corporations practice similar things?

Right now the voices are saying, "Hamburger...with fries".

OK, it’s pretty much a straight copy of PhxP…but I like the premise.

1. I’m pretty sure Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa loses the Idaho Child Molestation Lawsuit (or settles and pays out some BIG bucks). I got clarification, my source now tells me it is Calvary Chapel Rathdrum that is suing the parents of one of the Calvary Chapel Child Molestation Victims and not CCCM, though there is some question as to whether CCCM is consulting on it or is in communication with Rathdrum about the suit. When I have the suit, I’ll post it. I’m sure CCCM would be upfront and answer some questions for clarification…or probably not. Maybe we can get Chuck Smith on his home phone again and see if he thinks it’s kosher that a Calvary Chapel is suing the Molestation Victim’s parents (as if they haven’t been through enough already). Maybe Chuck can remind me of “what the Bible says about forgiveness, it says an awful lot about that!” I’m fairly convinced it’s not very Christian-like for a Calvary Chapel to be suing the parents of the Calvary Chapel Child Molestation Victims, but I’d have to defer to the High Holy Profit Chuck Smith on that one…

2. Mike Macintosh, Raul Ries, David Rosales and some other Calvary Chapel Glitteratti will be rubbing shoulders and giving their endorsement for confirmed Child Abuser and alleged Child Molester Bob Grenier of Calvary Chapel Visalia. They are attending Bob’s Event this week, details here: http://www.ccvisalia.com/resources/events-at-calvary.html Might be a surprise in store, we’ll see… They all know of the allegations of Molestation and the corroboration and admission of Child Abuse to Bob’s Board (which included Ries and Rosales). They simply could care less. Paul the Apostle speaks to this stuff here: 1 Corinthians 5, but that’s just the bible and doesn’t apply if you’re buddies with the abuser…it’s business as usual.

3. Our FED (Federal Reserve) has been successful in helping the US avoid a Great Depression II by selling the Car Crash and buying the Cancer. They won a key battle in the Economic World War III Currency War we’ve been in…unfortunately, we will lose the war thanks to their over-reaching. Details of “why” are here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/alex-joye-grenier/economic-wwiii-currency-wars-the-fed-won-the-battle-but-weve-all-lost-the-war-a-/279741358760893 The end result will be a World Central Bank and new World Reserve Currency supplanting the US Dollar as said WRC. It’ll happen in my lifetime. Before you cry “Conspiracy Theory!”…read the Note linked above with corresponding “in plain sight” data and corroboration.

4. I used to be an avid Baseball Fan, die-hard blue bleeding Dodger. Like with the Church, the business and money aspect of the Game has ruined it for me. Spring Training is almost here, and I could frankly care less. Mc”Bankruptcy”Court has gutted my team anyways.

5. Local Politics mirror Church Politics. I see virtually no difference. What does that say about the Church?

6. The US Military just cleaned out all of Federal Ammunition’s 5.56 ammo (according to a well-connected source in the Gun Industry). South Korea cleaned out PMC’s 5.56 ammo as well. Prelude to something? Just stocking up for no reason? Doubtful. We’ll see what happens…

7. With all the finger pointing going on in Presidential Politics and blame game for the sucky Economy… “It’s George Bush’s fault!”…”Barack Obama is a Socialist!”…etc etc…it always amazes me how illiterate most Americans are about how the Macro-Economy really works. The Office of President has very little to do with it. Our Economy is largely a function of the Federal Reserve (a.k.a. the FED) in cooperation with the Treasury Department and of course the powerful Big Corporate Lobbies and Wall Street/Big Corp/Big Bank System. Monetary Policy, Tax Law, Global Trade, so-called “Free Trade” and NAFTA have IMMENSELY more of an impact on High Unemployment, Stagnant Wages and Offshoring everything in sight, then who is President. The 2 Parties are not very far apart (outside of some Social Issues). GW Bush = Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson (Goldman Sachs). Barack Obama = Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner (Goldman Sachs). Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. The only candidate in the current Landscape who would push for meaningful “change” is Ron Paul.

8. I’ve been discussing a lot of things with Mormon friends. The more we talk, the more similarity I see in their End Times emphasis and their Dispensationalism and other dynamics as Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel. One difference, though, my Mormon friends are much nicer and more honest and seem to care more about people…and their Bishops get held accountable.

9. My Atheist friends still can’t resolve the dilemma: Only two choices for this Existence: 1. Infinite/Eternal Loop (Universe has always existed, no beginning, no first cause, and no end) or 2. An Uncaused Cause (something which is eternal with no beginning that is outside of all Closed Systems and has no cause) Caused the first stuff…and then the Chain of Causation took hold. No other option. Even M Theory asserts two Membranes collided causing our Universe. Where’d the two membranes come from? What caused them?

10. I’m not a big fan of cats. If it was legal, I’d hunt them. Make your own application (Wow, there are some cat lovers out there See that laughing thingy over yonder? That means I’m kidding. Lighten up folks )

Grace, Mercy, Forgiveness...it's all conditional. Here's why...

Ever seen the movie Despicable Me?

Remember the parts where Gru goes “Light bulb!”

Well, I had one of those moments on Phoenixpreacher.net the other day.

I have participated in that Online Community (formerly more of a CC Watchdog Blog) for something like three years now. My participation has been a net positive or a complete nuisance depending on the half you poll over there. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not your normal person. I’m one weird dude. My mind is always operating at multiple levels…all at the same time. Conversations trigger ongoing hashings out of particular topics or Philosophical Positions/Premises that I’m always testing, always gathering information to formulate a Conclusion.

However, there are other factors going on, I’m often expressing some honest (and blunt) reactions to certain things, I’m often defending a particular Position, I’m often interested in a particular issue that has to do with the topic at hand, but as it relates to the Calvary Chapel Situation (and often Bob Grenier more specifically). The angle is often connected to the topic at hand, but tends to be on the periphery with a few degrees of separation…and most don’t notice that nuance or could care less, they just want me to shut up and go away.

The last factor is: I’m a sinner and can be a jerk, especially when others pile on (and the Group Dynamics of that Community are pretty clear to me…I see the unwritten rules and know the people who have marked me as an Enemy and those who have marked me as an Ally and those who remain neutral and those who simply ignore me…this is typical Human Behavior, very predictable, very real, very normal).

The topic that just got me banned (and really I got banned for not following the unwritten rules, which is understandable and appropriate, I have well learned the Boundaries and I ventured outside the lines in taking over that thread and engaging the many who poked at me) was about showing Grace to a Bully.

This got my attention straight away…and, of course, my underlying interest was with regards to Bob Grenier (I know, shocker).

Now, mixed in with that issue was my Hypocro-Meter blaring like a horn in my ear, realizing that I’ve been judged by many on there as a sort of bully myself (though I would disagree and say that word is too strong, I consider a bully someone who beats up women and children, like Bob Grenier, but I’ll cop to say being a persistent jerk and taking over conversations or something like that).

“We must show GRACE to the bullies!” was the message.

My counter was, “We must uphold Justice and not let Bullies get away with their crap and we must keep a close eye on them!”

…and I made the point over and over until I got banned. Hey, it was some accountability and justice, which I’m all about.

Then, “Light bulb!”

Grace is entirely CONDITIONAL…both with regards to Human to Human relations and with regard to God to Human relations.

Where is there unconditional Grace? Show me? It ain’t there folks.

For instance, I must conform to the Group Dynamics and “Rules” of the PhxP Community or I (and others) get banned. It’s right. I agree with it. And, the others there would agree with it as well. At some point, the person who continues to offend, be a jerk, not follow the rules etc MUST change…or they face some accountability and justice, NO?

Likewise, if one doesn’t Confess, Repent and Believe…does God still forgive them and are they still saved? Nope. Not in the bible I read.

Grace is AVAILABLE, but it is entirely Conditional on our actions and behaviors and conformity and SUBMISSION to a set of Rules…both in Human to Human Relations and God to Human. Show me otherwise.

Which brings me to poor ‘ol victim Bob Grenier, the High and Holy Pastor of Calvary Chapel Visalia.

I’ve sat across the table from the Higher Holy Prophet, Chuck Smith himself, I’ve tussled with the Guru on the radio etc. I’ve asked for Justice and Accountability with Bob Grenier.

What’s Chuck’s answer? What’s CC’s answer? “What does God say about forgiveness?” etc etc. as a rationale for Chuck and CC’s Position to just “forgive” and “show Grace” etc etc.

Well, what if the person apologizes, but keeps repeating the same behavior again and again? What if the person claims repentance, but keeps repeating the same behavior again and again? Then what?

What if I kick Chuck in the nuts…and then apologize. “Hey, show me some Grace bro, I’m sorry”.

What if the very next day, I walk up and kick him in the nuts again. “Sorry dude, Grace me, Jesus wants you to forgive”.

…next day, foot…meet nuts.

And, so on and so forth.

Is Chuck Smith going to stand there and keep getting kicked in the nuts? Not likely. He’s going to want some justice and accountability, and rightfully so. He’s not going to keep extending Grace and Mercy and Forgiveness to me, when it is clear that while I may be saying the right words (“Sorry, I’ve repented”)…I really haven’t repented nor has anything changed, other than I get to keep kicking him in the nuts when he Graces me.

Bob Grenier is the nut kicker. Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel keep hiding behind the nonsense that Grace and Forgiveness is unconditional.

Truth is, Justice, Accountability, Submission to it and true Repentance is pre-requisite to Grace and Mercy and Forgiveness.

…in terms of Salvation and in terms of Human to Human relationship.