A reader sent me a link to the following Daily World article discussing the Christian Life Fellowship situation.
I've already given my opinion, but there are some entertaining bits of information in this news report. I think it's safe to say, that Wendell Smith, Dick Iverson, MFI and Doug Cotton took a bad situation, dragged it out unnecessarily and made it worse. PR 101 says, you admit your mistake, resign and then move on. Evidently, Wendell Smith and Doug Cotton take their PR strategy from House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Brilliant!
The whole article is informative. But the reporter digs into the City Church/Christian Life Fellowship connection:
During the past weeks, Cotton has attended services at The City Church in Seattle, Anderson said. The City Church and Christian Life Fellowship are “network” churches, and there is a relationship between the senior pastors, he said.
Cotton has also sought counsel from pastors at The City Church, the attorney said.
And unlike MaFIa, The City Church (or this blog for that matter), the elders at CLF took the high road:
Cotton was given severance pay from the church, plus any unused vacation time and a bonus for his years of ministry. The elders say Cotton and his family are welcome to continue attending Christian Life Fellowship.
The elders have not yet discussed if or when a new senior pastor will be hired, Moyer said.
"In the meantime, the church will be well cared for. Our mission has not changed at CLF. We are still excited about serving our church and the community through various outreaches and programs and providing a caring atmosphere to worship Jesus," the elders' statement said. "Our hopes and prayers go out to Doug and his family. We wish them nothing but God's best and know that they, like us, did what they felt was right under the circumstances."
Let's hope this is the end of it.
Isn’t this special?
Marginal behavior by pastors seems to be rampant and not just in MaFIa churches.
At a denominational church in the Portland metro area the pastor tells people they need to grow up, they are negative, not a team player, poison, self-centered, you name it …. He says he does not care what the worship service flow is or tempo or the like, yet between services or yet later he will tell the person who led worship that they did something not to his liking or that the tempo was too slow and they might be replaced the next service… Glad to not attend that church!!! Maybe Bishop WendELL could help refine his modus operandi??
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I couldn’t help but laugh when I read this. Can you imagine how this would appear in a secular company?
“Mr. Smith, your outbursts of anger have created an untenable work environment and have caused several of our employees to sue the company for harrassment. We must ask you to agree to take a leave of absence for company-paid treatment, or submit your resignation.”
“I won’t do it unless you gaurantee my job first.”
“You’re kidding, right?….No, you’re not kidding. Ms. Wiggins, can you have security escort Mr. Smith off the premises?”
FICM,
Excellent observation.
a good one for sure.
another thought..what does any of them DO with 1 Cor. 6:7,8 and that admontion NOT to take a brother to court. if they are not going to do that…why the need for lawyers and threats one might ask.
glad it is over…i hope… and one can get on with the business of God’s business… lost souls.
Note that the lawsuite against this blog didn’t go anywhere. Ironically it was the lawyers that talked them out of it, not a concerned pastor or chruch member.
Thank you Davis. Thank you Wright. Thank you Tremaine.
OK.
I have some questions after reading the news article (10-23) from The Daily World.
Last Monday, Cotton’s attorney asked the elders to let the church members vote on whether Cotton should keep his job. The elders agreed and planned to have the vote on Oct. 29. They also said they would present the congregation with the same written causes, charges and supporting statements that were provided to Cotton so members could be fully informed before voting, the elders’ statement said.
It became moot when Cotton decided to resign on Friday.
I have observed that there are CLF people posting on this blog.
What is your understanding of whether you are having the meeting next Sunday? Did Doug Cotton effectively cancel it by resigning? Is it still on? What happens now?
Anderson said he didn’t know if Cotton will seek treatment.
Didn’t CLF agree to pay for counseling? Is that no longer the case?
Asked if Cotton might start his own church, the attorney said, “That is something that he may consider in the future. There is no current plan to do that.â€
Did I read that right?
In the article (which I have not quoted in entirety) and with information from these posts, I read:
1) I’m resigning so there is no chance to vote me out.
2) But it’s NOT my fault.
3) and City Bible Church via their pastor and lawyer) told me to fight to stay in control and then quit right before the vote.
4) I’m not getting counseling because I’m not the problem — it’s the 19 families, the elders, the staff and those fools who believe in this conspiracy.
5) I might come back and start my own church.
6) And did I mention I’ve got a free lawyer from by friend with the BIG CHURCH in the BIG CITY?
My big pastor can beat up your elders…………………..
I can only tell you what i personally know… the offer for counselling is still available to him as they said it was at the meeting after church. we are still all about restoration with pastor doug, all those that have been hurt and ourselves. we love every one that is a part of this mess…even that lawyer. we are praying for him as well. whether Doug avails himself of it is his business. it will be taken off the table after a decent period of time
doug appears to be trying to behave in a more responsible manner in the past few days after burning his own boats. I hope so. i wish him the best. God has a call on that man’s life and he has been my pastor for many years.
he is currently going to City Church in Tacoma they said. i hope that he gets help and heals.. i pray we all heal from this.
as to the meeting…i do not know. we are all tired of this stuff and just want to move on with the process of serving God and seeing Him move in our lives and our church and our cities.
How is all of this affecting the children in the church?
Young children, teenagers………….
Have you talked to your kids about it or are they being shielded?
Have the boys and girls reacted differently?
Are their insecurities about their social structure?
I think it is important for young people to see that their leaders are both fallible and held accountable for their actions. Church leaders should never be beyond reproach. It is one of the chief cultisms of MFI pastors that they are unassailable because they are “God’s anointed”. I hope the kids of this church take a good (and bad) lesson to heart. Just imagine what a positive message Mr. Cotton could have sent to them had he willingly submitted to the chastisement of those who love him. Imagine how willing others in the church would be to open their lives to each other for correction and edification by following an example like that. Instead they saw a bully take legal action against those whom he professed to care about for so many years.
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Now… I have been attending the youth services for the past 5 years… and now more then ever I am seeing more on fire teen leaders come up through all this! I haven’t seen better worship, or better messages ever! I think this situation has been a real eye opener to the youth. We have seen how the elders have responded to help everyone, and it has really been a inspiration to us to see how they could stand up to “Pastor” Doug. I don’t think Doug was that big of a inspiration to me. He didn’t really have any part in the youth. I at best got 5 words from the guy on very rare occasions, and it was usually only for something he wanted. I think that this new generation of teens are really going to blow the lid, so to speak, on how on fire they can be for God. I even attended the meeting with “Pastor” Doug that he had on a Sunday afternoon at another church after the whole incident happened. And do you wanna know what I saw? I saw a creepy thing. He LIED LIED LIED!!!! At the end of the meeting he even used this story about this man he met in a hardware store. He said that he walked up to him and asked him if he was the angry pastor. Doug said yes, and the man told him that he had an anger issue as well and would cuss out his girl friend from time to time, and he would never go to church if that is how he would be treated.
That just makes me very sad. Why would someone be so sick to do that. To lie, to turn people ageist people, to turn friends ageist friends. Doug as an amazingly huge issue. He needs to own up to it. So far he I am amazed in the Elders of CLF. The youth are doing better then ever.
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I guess I hope that we are remembering to pray for those whose egos are too big to recieve council and humility. It appears that correction is difficult for even the biggest, most “influencial” people, and most likley much more difficult. Though I find great comfort in time revealing the true nature of people who have instigated approaches to the gospel that have caused many people confusion and pain, I also encourage everyone that is willing and reads this comment to pray. These congregations are huge and have great potential of becoming much like a hornets nest if not handled correctly. That is thousands of people facing a painful journey in their faith as they are faced with these situations that are clear to a person on the outside looking in. Pray for whatever you might believe they need, pray for your own reactions, and let’s keep living in the light the best we can.
Thanks for the reminder “Just a girl”.