for 5 MAY 07: A CASCADE OF COMPLAINTS

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find this item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)

We wish you a happy "Cinco de Mayo." Based on our recent e-mails, some people seem to be more in a mood for "Sink-O the Church-O."

Last Saturday we used e-mail "thoughts for the day" about Cascade Hills Church and its pastor to make some Biblical points. The person who e-mailed us clearly did not expect that, and sent this follow-up:

Dear Richard,

In a previous email I mentioned a couple of lies that are perpetrated from the pulpit of Cascade Hills Church, they are easily substantiated. You are correct when you say myself along with a number of former members have some serious issues with Mr Purvis.

My "Thoughts for the day" or PS. of sorts was somewhat tongue in cheek and was not intended to be a dive into biblical theology. I assure you when I say meek I am not talking about quiet wimps. In addition, I assure you Jesus would be enraged with much of what goes on in today's church.

My secular dictionary says meek people have "patience and humility." If people leave Cascade Hills Church in a huff because of faults they find with the pastor, maybe they should ask if THEY fit the definition themselves. You lose the point in tennis if you double-fault, you know....

I agree completely that if people left in a huff simply because they found faults with the pastor they should check and see if they themselves fit the definition. There are many different types of churches and pastors and ever one as you and I know will have faults. This is no secret. However when the deception and dishonesty reaches certain heights then that is a different matter all together. In this case its not just a matter of not liking the music (and who would like the music regardless of what type of music you like, the performance is below mega church quality by a great deal). It is a matter of deception beyond your imagination.

As for the poor: a "church health report" we picked up at Cascade Hills last year showed the church has support classes in divorce and financial management. The two can be connected, you know - if a husband is saddled with big child support and alimony payments

I assure you whatever health report you picked up last year is no longer relevant. Much of the staff has left since that time; classes have changed as have teachers. Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful classes taught by wonderful people at Cascade Hills Church...pearls among swine you might say.

But Cascade Hills Church is known as a tithing church - and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Bible endorses tithing. It's the humans who like to squirm out of it -- such as the late Johnny Hart's " B.C." comic strip, where a man promises to tithe at "the usual three percent."

Cascade Hills is a tithing church and I agree whole heartedly with tithing ten percent and beyond. I do however believe that one should use some discretion as to where they tithe and how wisely it is used. As I have said before, "to tithe at Cascade Hills is to support the life styles of the rich and famous." I am told by several of the employees that Pastor Bill took his entire staff of more than 50 people to the Ritz Carlton Resort for an all expenses paid retreat so the staff could see what "customer service" is supposed to be like. Now I am not familiar with the prices at this retreat, but being the Ritz Carlton I suspect the cost of that trip was easily $30, 000.00 or more for rooms for 50 people. We all have a choice as to where we send our tithe, but i wouldn't want my tithe going to take the entire staff to The Ritz Carlton to find out how to be more Christ like. Maybe I should go to work for a church because I know with my job I have to settle for the Holiday Inn. Oh yea and that little trip to Macy's in New York had to cost Jesus a pretty penny to...remember that rather low quality TV special they had a year or so ago Christmas?

This writer certainly suggests Cascade Hills Church has a pastor who's a liar. I need more evidence of that, before I reach a conclusion one way or another.

First of all Cascade HIlls dosn't so much have a pastor as a pastor has Cascade Hills... You say that you need more evidence before you reach that conclusion. Remember the old saying "how do you know when a Bill Heard Salesman is lying...When his lips are moving". Well it's not quite that bad in this case, but the proof is there. I offered two examples in my original email to you. Let me paste them here so that you might have the opportunity to read them again.

>> You said in an earlier blog that you can imagine there are plenty of lies being told from the stage at Cascade Hills Church...and reference the fact that Bill has said that Jesus was born on December 25th. I have not heard that lie told, although I do believe that Bill Purvis accepts that date as the celebrated date for the birth of Christ. I have however heard him step up and say "Welcome to our third packed service". After looking around I realized that the seats were not full...and since I was there at the two other services volunteering my time I can testify that the other two services were less than half full....What gives Mr. Bill? Remember THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE. If by chance he did get wind of this statement he would laugh it off like it were no big deal...I mean its not that big of a lie now is it? Maybe we should look into some of those bigger lies...like the one about not taking a salary from the church. <<

But if you have suspicions about your minister, should you go to that minister about it? Should you write the newspaper, or e-mail a blogger? Do you go all the way, as I've actually seen people do - and hold silent pickets outside services every weekend?

You mention that if you have suspicions about a minister going to him directly and I agree this is the Biblical and correct approach. However, Bill Purvis is not approachable for such discussion. He is easily approachable for small talk for the short time between services on Sunday and for a brief moment after services on occasion. However he guards himself closely against any confrontation. He has all of his mail and e-mail pre read and any negative communication is not passed on to him. (He has made that statement many times from the stage). He does not office at the church and neither church staff nor membership is aware of his office location. The church receptionist does not have the ability to contact Mr. Purvis directly and he/she does not make appointments for Mr. Purvis. Mr. Purvis' secretary makes his appointments and she offices with him and there is no listed telephone number for the office. His secretary is his wife.

Therefore the choices are limited as to how to disseminate information. The parking lot of the church is guarded by some of Columbus' finest so a picket would not work well, and I am not sure how legal that would be anyway. What newspaper editor do you think would be interested in knowing some of the many things that have gone on and are going on at Columbus' only mega church?

It's easy to decide you can't change a minister's mind on something, especially if there's a question of Bible teaching or doctrine at stake. But after doing a study from Scripture, I've concluded there are times when it's OK for a Christian to speak up and complain. You have to be careful how you do it. And I certainly don't think swear words will get you anywhere.

I have no desire to change Bill Purvis' mind. The things I speak of have nothing to do with Biblical teaching or doctrine, but simply morals and character. I agree swear words wont get you any place….have I used any?

In closing, if you read the bylaws of Cascade Hills Church (I can provide you with a copy if you like) You will see that Bill as set himself up as the sole and final authority of the church by making his family and business partners "the committee" that governs the church. There is no sort of check and balance system. Anyone who questions…leaves.

It has been said;

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad man." - Lord Action

Sincerely…

Starting from the top: I wonder what "megachurch quality" music is. At some churches, I suppose it would be a choir of 500 people - with good singers drowning out the bad ones....

It was quite surprising when Cascade Hills Church seemed to overhaul its "church school" program last year. It offered not merely a dozen or so classes each weekend, but 70. Now THIS is a megachurch - because in the congregation I attend, that would be more than one class per member.

It does seem strange for Pastor Bill Purvis to take his staff to a Ritz-Carlton Resort to learn about good customer service. After all, Green Island Country Club and the Hilton Garden Inn are right in the church's neighborhood.

I attend a church association which holds an annual "General Conference of Elders" this weekend in Cincinnati. The conference will include seminars and workshops on how to become better ministers. I tend to compare it to the "Acts 15 conference" in the Bible -- but at least they don't go all the way to Jerusalem to hold it.

(The big issue on the agenda at this conference is whether to move the association's home office out of Cincinnati, and to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The leaders say it's possible because church income is growing and stable. But I think some elders want to use that money to spread the association's message - that times really are unstable, and this country is doomed.)

Yes, I remember Bill Purvis's "Christmas in New York" special late in 2005. But did you notice he didn't follow it up last year with "Christmas in Dixie," and exclusive interviews with members of the band Alabama?

Perhaps Bill Purvis wants to avoid negative communication from the public because he's trying to practice a Bible verse. The apostle Paul writes in Philippians that we should think about "whatever is true.... honest.... just.... pure... lovely.... of a good report...." My problem as a single guy is that I focus on the "lovely" part -- so that's why I steer clear of the Miss Georgia pageant.

It can be dangerous to only pay attention to the positive things people say about you. Jesus openly faced critics, such as the Pharisees. Sometimes He responded to them. Sometimes He didn't. But Jesus knew what He was doing was right. If Bill Purvis is just as sure - well, he cited the Titanic on TV the other weekend. The ship God supposedly couldn't sink....

Look up Bill Purvis in the Columbus telephone directory, and you'll find the same address and phone number as Cascade Hills Church. That's led me to wonder if he might just LIVE at the church, with a "parsonage" on the top floor scenically overlooking the J.R. Allen Parkway and Lake Oliver.

Yes, Columbus Police officers are on watch at Cascade Hills Church services. But longtime blog readers will recall the "IsOurCitySafe" e-mails, which revealed these officers really are off-duty and paid part-time by the church. I've been on security patrol at some church events over the years - and all I received was a nice badge, and 30 missed minutes of a Bible study.

I never said this e-mailer used swear words, and I didn't mean to imply he did. My point there last Saturday simply was that you shouldn't say anything to a minister which might get you "disqualified" from future opportunities with a congregation. Sadly, I've know a few ministers over the years who actually would start using the four-letter language first.

Pastor Bill Purvis certainly not the first one to put his relatives at the top of a church's "chain of command." Plenty of well-known ministers have been succeeded by their sons. There's Oral and Richard Roberts in Tulsa, John and Joel Osteen in Houston, George Herbert Walker and.... no wait, that's different....

Perhaps I need to see a copy of the Cascade Hills Church bylaws. The "church health report" I picked up last year has this mission statement, based on Matthew 28: "The purpose.... is to make fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ out of irreligious people." Somehow Bill Purvis's name didn't get in there anywhere.

This could have been the end of our Cascade Hills update - but lo and behold, someone else e-mailed us about the church Friday:

I was channel surfing one Saturday night and came upon a promotional sermon. He had Dr Schwindt, a cardiologist, on stage with him telling the congregation what a wonderful doctor he was and recommending that anyone who had or thought they had heart disease should go see Dr Schwindt. I've never seen anything like it before. I wonder what kind of discount Purvis got for his treatment or if he gets a gratuity from the doctor for any new patients he generated?

I have also heard that you had to have a tax return or personal financial statement reviewed by the finance committe in order to become a member.

The membership application shown on the website is more detailed than an application for a SBA loan....

Who gave him the Lexus, Hummer, and million dollar home on Lake Harding?

I recall seeing part of this "Real Time sermon" as well. I think it occurred during January, when the church traditionally focuses on tithing. Cascade Hills tends to do it for four weekends. When I was young, my United Methodist Pastor was more wimpy -- spending one Sunday talking about a big word called "stewardship."

(Would this cardiologist dare to quote to a patient the verse from Jeremiah 17 about the heart? The one which says it's "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked?")

The point of those "personal testimony" sermons was to show examples of how God blesses people who tithe. But those messages need disclaimers, like the TV infomercials for wealth-building systems. I know from personal experience that your actual blessing could be much less than a cardiologist receives - as if you can take financial blessings to the grave with you, anyway.

Cascade Hills Church has a "new member" program, where people are given new engraved Bibles upon completion. The church health report says the members "completed the classes and had their interviews." Whether the interview was with a federal tax auditor, I have no idea....

Please note the application for membership at Cascade Hills Church says nothing about your income. But the "other information" section leaves room for "hobbies" and "other interesting comments." So if your hobby is accumulating income and you want to fund a pastoral retreat to Barbados, I suppose you can mention it there.

Does Pastor Bill Purvis really own two nice cars, not to mention a luxurious home on Lake Harding? If no one can track him down for any length of time after a service, how do you know he and his wife don't slip away in a Volkswagen and eat Sunday dinner at Shoney's?

My own Pastor requested of me several weeks ago: "If you blog me, blog me gently." I'm trying to do that here with Cascade Hills Church and its pastor, even if e-mailers want to hold some kind of inquisition. I've yet to call the church and ask about all these tough accusations - but then again, would Bill Purvis even read a blog like this one lacking a "good report?"

SCHEDULED SUNDAY: The company which hired a "former pitcher" for its commercials makes news again....

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