Pastor Greg Glover arrested

Pastor Greg Scott Glover of ConnectPoint Church (cache), was arrested for allegedly stealing Vicodin from a wheelchair bound elderly parishioner. No word yet as to if he was supplying them to others or taking them himself.

Detective Mark Fox arrested Glover at a ConnectPoint member’s North Park Road home in Spokane Valley. The woman, who had foot surgery and uses a wheelchair, told a Crime Check dispatcher on Oct. 1 that she suspected Glover had been stealing 45 to 60 Hydrocodone pills a month for about six months.

The victim used a video camera to bust this jagoff. Who steals pills from an injured elderly woman? His face looks very punchable, as I bet he’s learning in county lock up right about now.

His church was very hip and relevant. His website is down for maintenance while they scramble for a new pastor. Perhaps they should call David Trotter?

Hat tip to Joe My God and my secret news source.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Misconduct,Drugs

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David Trotter and the Awaken church

David Trotter was a pastor who resigned from the church he founded because he left his wife and kids to have an affair with his wife’s best friend. This relentless self-promoter eventually returned to his family, reconciled with his wife, and then wrote a tell-all book about his experience. He markets himself as a motivational speaker hoping to help other couples who are dealing with the trauma of infidelity. All of this happened in the last 2.5 years. That’s right - an affair, resignation, reconciliation, and book – all in the last 2.5 years.

I wrote about his fall here and reviewed his book here. I was going to let Trotter go on with his happy-ending life. I figured it would take some time for him to ease back into a support role in a church and with time rebuild his reputation, and regain the pulpit and the trust of a new congregation. That is what a sensible person would do. Who would follow a man who has demonstrated his immaturity and lack of impulse control so blatantly? I was wrong – he started the Awaken church (his old church was named Revolution). People follow him. Among his new followers are two people I know and who tipped me off to this developing travesty. My spies are in place.

When it comes to clergy misconduct, I’ve developed a working theory that says we must judge pastors by what they do, not by what they say. In this case, Trotter performed poorly twice before. He was fired from his first gig as a pastor for questionable conduct (immaturity at worst), and resigned from his second leadership role in disgrace. He has a history of failure and now wants a second chance. He even refers to himself as “people of the second chance.” No legitimate church would have him, not with the stain of immaturity and infidelity on him. And any lesser roles would not appeal to a founding pastor like David Trotter. No, he’s a visionary leader (He even refers to himself as having CEO level skills). Accepting a role that is beneath him would be unappealing and hinder his self-marketing effort. He will book more speaking gigs and sell more books if he has the “pastor” title associated with his name. He’s working on his brand.

Why do I care? I met Jim Jones once as a young man. Trotter reminds me of Jones in some ways. It’s enough for me to keep an eye on him. Plus, I’ve stated before that I feel a strange kinship with Trotter. We are alike in many ways – too many really. Plus, I too failed at about the same age. It was a professional failing. One that cost me a career. It was not the mistake that cost me the most (I did not make one), it was the poor quality of my relationships. When I needed support, there was nobody around who would step up. I had poisoned the well. I changed careers, started at the bottom, and worked my way back into a leadership position. I worked hard at repairing my short-comings, and it was not easy work. At times I wanted to give up. My new career was much harder than the previous. I had no aptitude for IT/IS. Over time I mastered many new things. I taught myself how to write (the original purpose of this blog). I went back to school and finished my degree, and went on to get an MBA. And finally, after many years of hard work, I am again at the top of my game. Heck, I’m even speaking at a convention in Silicon Valley next month. It feels good. It feels honest.

What did David Trotter do? He formed a church without the traditional oversight of an established church, senior pastor, or even a board of deacons. He’s planning to build the church into a real brick and mortar presence serving Long Beach, CA. He’s stepped back into the role of pastor without so much as a second thought about the the risk of his doing so. Did he fix himself? Did he heal? Did he learn how to repair his defect? No, he’s back in the saddle serving Jesus, and nobody is looking over his shoulder because it a religious thing. Hot tip people – if he serves Kool-Aid, run for the door.

[Well – David Trotter has seen fit to limit the embedding of his video – but you can watch it at this link, until he deletes that too.. AWAKEN Church from David Trotter on Vimeo.]

I’ve spoke with a few local area pastors. They agree that the idea of a new church is a bad one. They agree that Trotter needs mentoring and time to regain what he has lost. They also agree that Trotter should not be placed in a position where he can be tempted to fail again (Why does he not see this?) And finally, they all agree that he’s a remarkable young man with a bright future, but likely to fail again because he’s not taken the time to actually heal. Come to think of it, he sounds a lot like Ted Haggard too.

Technorati Tags: David Trotter,Clergy Misconduct

Book Review: David Trotter’s Lost + Found

Lost + Found, Finding Myself by Getting Lost in an Affair by former pastor David Trotter is a self-published memoir about a local pastor from an influential church and his subsequent fall from grace because of an extramarital affair. It’s an easy read but I fear my time would have been better served by finishing the more challenging Hitch 22 by Christopher Hitchens.

I am not somebody who should offer writing advice, so these next words may seem funny to some of my readers. I could tell the book was self-published by the numerous spelling, word choice and punctuation errors. My advice is to hire an editor and clean it up before the next edition. If I can see the errors, they will be glaringly obvious to a reader with better skills.

I found the story of Trotter’s fall superficial. He was verbose and effusive in describing his distance from his wife and his boredom at work, but he left out whole swaths of content related to his decision making process. It was nice (and necessary) to know that David no longer found his wife interesting or that their relationship was unfulfilling, but there was no analysis of his failure. It was interesting to know that he worked hard for many long years to build a church, and that as a result, he was burnt out. What are missing are the connections to his role as a pastor and the apparent loss of connection to his passion for God. How did he come to a point where he could turn his back on the moral teaching of his faith so callously as to assume that God was in his corner during the planned seduction of another man’s wife and his eventual dishonoring of his marital vows? My read shows a sophomoric “God wants me to be happy” attitude from a seasoned and accomplished pastor. It does not reconcile and feels inauthentic, no, if feels dishonest. How was he able to reconcile a life spend in service to God with the moral turpitude which followed his immature, selfish and even willfully hateful separation from his role as a pastor and husband? It feels like he left it out on purpose so that he could have a path back to the pulpit.

I started David Trotter’s book

David Trotter wrote Lost + Found: Finding Myself by Getting lost in a Affair. I’ve finished the first chapter, it starts with background and positioning. I now understand how he felt about his job as founding pastor of the Revolution Church, and about his emotionally distant marriage. It’s interesting that many of the traits Trotter recalls are the same traits that drive pastors to abuse power, children, women, or, as in the stories circulating around Pastor Eddie Jones, young men.

Trotter was involved in all aspects of the running of his church. It was “his church”. Every aspect was something he cared about and apparently micromanaged. Typical management techniques, like division of labor, fiduciary and behavioral safeguards, professional management, even old school (but necessary) role power based command structures, are not mentioned. Which is a shame since these are the techniques we use to solve the business problems he complains about. For a man who claims to be slowly dying under the pressure of a job he no longer finds appealing, his words appear as an excuse to justify his future excesses.

He mentioned the pastor from El Dorado Park Community Church, I know the pastor. I’ve played disc golf with him a few times and have crossed paths with him at a few social events. I know him for what he is, an authoritarian who’s disconnected from the needs of his parishioners (I still know a bunch of these people too), and a man who chewed up a good youth pastor I know (and play disc golf with), not to mention his rocky relationship with another pastor who I mentor. Ah good times. It is truly a small world.

I will read Trotter’s book, but I’m already asking, “Who was this written for, and why?”

Technorati Tags: David Trotter,Reviews,Christians

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David Trotter – I feel a strange connection

David Trotter is the former pastor of the Revolution Church is Lakewood. Services are held at Artesia High School where my wife an I met back in 79. You might remember Trotter from my post The Fall of David Trotter or How to win a car on Easter. Trotter crashed and burned after a devastatingly public affair. The good news is that he’s since reunited with his wife and family and seems to have his life together. He’s even written a book about the experience called Lost + Found: Finding myself by Getting Lost in an Affair.  I bought a copy yesterday. A review will follow.

How do I see the strange connection? He lives is my old neighborhood. I used to help a friend deliver papers to the house where he lives now. He managed Revolution Church, which was planted (I think that’s the right word) by El Dorado Park Community church were I grew up as a Christian, and where I eventually lost my faith. He’s working as a wedding and portrait photographer, which is something I used to do and is a hobby that I love to this day. He has my photographic eye – when I first saw his photos I was shocked at the look and feel. I have photos that look very much like those he uses to promote himself. He collects cameras, and I do too. In fact, We collect the same cameras. He shows off a couple of Box Brownies in a promotional video. I have a shelf full of them in my office. And his favorite camera, the one that means the most to him, yep, it sits on a shelf next to my desk, and for the same reason. I’m talking weird here, it’s like I’m looking a version of me.

Of course, I’m not going to cut him any slack in my review. He deserves that much. I already have a problem with his aggressive self-marketing. He had a public affair and is now publicizing his recovery. The message is clear. He’s saying that he was once a good man but that he fell, and now through the magic of a Ted Haggard like restoration, he’s no longer a cheating lout. There is more, you can book him (or his wife) to speak at your church or meeting. He’s profiting from his downfall under the auspices of helping others. Is that right? I don’t think so. All this from a man that a scant 2.5 years ago, fell.

I did something today that I rarely do. I removed two posts about a pastor who had made a mistake and was now trying to make things right. I care about people. I care about the truth, about honesty, and about fairness. The pastor in question screwed up, but he hurt no one besides himself. His recovery is hampered by my posts. It was a simple call, I pulled the posts. Would I do the same for Trotter? I don’t think so. For starters, he has not asked. But my real reason is much more cynical. I don’t trust him. He should never lead a church again, and it feels like he’s aiming for the pulpit. Perhaps his book will change my mind.

Technorati Tags: David Trotter,Christians,Restoration

How does one impersonate an Atheist?

I found a disturbing story via Atheist Revolution. It seems that Baptist Pastor Chris Fox felt the need to impersonate an atheist in the comment threads of a post on Unreasonable Faith. He was attempting to build a dialog based on a lie. I put off posting because I needed to let my outrage build and then subside. You see, I don't dialog online much with Christians about religion or atheism, so when they do something stupid on an atheist blog, I write it off as conduct expected. I should know better.

I kept coming back to this story. There was something about the insipid artlessness of the impersonation that struck me as fundamentally tainted. It is difficult to believe that a person can be this ignorant.

What’s wrong with killing babies? I see no problem with it. I have enough mouths to feed. I don’t get the argument and I am an atheist. Since I don’t believe in God, I don’t believe in anything characterized as good, bad / right, wrong. So, what’s the big deal?

The closest analogy is sports. I have no interest in mainstream sports. I don’t watch them, read about them, or go to many games. I play disc golf. When I tell a sports fan about disc golf, their response is typical, they think I’m a dope smoking hippy. In reality, I am a highly educated IT project manager with a knack for managing complexity that few people possess. I am as far from a dope smoking hippy as I am from an amoral baby eater, and so are the rest of my brethren.

So how does it get this bad? How does a Christian pastor develop such a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be an atheist? How do atheists develop the same bias? I think its obvious that ignorance and hasty generalizations promote the misunderstanding.

When I write about bad pastors, I don’t make the illogical leap of thinking that all pastors are bad. In fact, most pastors I know are good people who I am proud to call friends. The difference is in deeds. What people do is always more important than what people say. There are always outliers. The David Trotter's of the world are more than offset by the good of people like my friend Pastor Brad.

Vjack questioned his own motives in a post yesterday. He reads a few Christian blogs and takes the time to post comments, but wonders about the hostility of his iconic avatar. I know enough from my Christian friends to understand that simply asserting that there is no God is offensive to them. So yes, the image might offend. But the dialog is vital. And who better to do it? It is the rational dialog of the likes of vjack and Daniel Florien which present the best hope of offsetting our shared misconceptions.

Pastor Chris Fox apologized. His words were simple and honest. It could not have been easy.

I want to express to you how deeply sorry I am for coming on this site and making the remarks I did and violating my own faith. It was out of bounds. I allowed the “debater” part of me go too far. I messed up and I have come to ask for your forgiveness. Thank you for allowing me back on.

Daniel Florin graciously accepted the apology. Does Pastor Fox qualify for a profile on Hypocrisy Watch? I don’t think so. It comes back to my core value of acting on what people do, not what the say. When you own up to your mistakes you are not a hypocrite, you are simply human, just like the rest of us.

I don’t know how to impersonate a Christian. Nor do I think a Christian knows how to impersonate an atheist. The best we can do is try to understand each other.

Technorati tags: Atheism, Religion

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The fall of David Trotter

The pastor of the righteously annoying Revolution Church in Long Beach has resigned his post as head pastor in a scandal. You might remember David as the pastor who gave away a car to lure people into church back on Easter of 06. We exchanged a few emails over the subject. I had this feeling about him, something was off with his ego. Two Christian friends defended him vigorously to me. They talked about his character and vision. I had reservations. It turns out I was right. According to A little bit of us, David Trotter resigned over an affair with another women from his church. He also left his wife and children, and turned his back on his calling - apparently because it was all about him in the first place. Which, for those of you who read my blog, is the main problem I have with the hypocrites who run so many of America's churches.

I know, DT, that you are reading these blogs and that you don't care. I know you said that when you two read our blogs that it just pushes you farther away. And that is sad. When did your heart turn to stone? Are you proud? I hope that every time you look at your tattoo on your wrist you are reminded that you are no longer a Revolutionary or a Christ follower. You have now become a DT follower.

You say that you are with the Lord and you are following His way? Where in the Bible does it say to leave your wife, leave your kids, and start an adulterous affair? That is not God you are following, that is the devil!!

Source: A little bit of us....: This is not what I wanted my post to be about....

I am really not surprised - He was all about branding his name. It was all over the web. There was even a DavidTrotter.com for a while, but its gone now, he's left to follow his heart... Apparently after ripping the hearts from the chests of his followers.

Technorati tags: David Trotter, Revolution Church, hypocrisy

Today in the mail

My wife dropped this mailer in front of me tonight with a laugh. It's going in my "odd things from Christians file". In this case, the Knott Avenue Christian Church, which is not to be confused with the Knott Avenue 1st Christian Church, of the Christian Church of Knott Avenue, or the Knott Avenue Reformed Church - I can go on and on... The last thing either of us need to do is take sex lessons from our fundie neighbors. Yuck. Repeat after me - everything I need to know about sex I learned through practice.

Whatever packs em in I guess. I wonder if David Trotter and the Revolution Church will use this approach next? Let me see, appeal to greed, appeal to titillation, appeal to what next - gluttony?

Technorati tags: Knott Avenue Christian Church, Revolution Chruch

More on how to win a car on Easter

I recently posted Come to church and win a car. The Pastor of Revolution Church, David Trotter, posted a thank you in the comments. It caused me to dig a little deeper. I guess Trotter thinks any publicity is good publicity. He should read my blog.

I found this video of local press coverage for the car give away on YouTube. Pastor David Trotter (blog) has been kind enough to post it. Trotter words are enthusiastic, he believes in what his is doing. Check out what he has to say. I think he's whacked. Here is why.

The rational of giving an extravagant gift meant to emulate the gift God gave of his son to humanity (Trotters rational), smacks of crass commercialism, and worst of all, it sounds like a lie. Like something made up to explain why a pastor would try to entice people into his church by giving away a car.

I support a business doing whatever is required to build its base. A church is a business. They are opening a new "campus". If giving away a few toys helps build the asset base of the church by pulling in more members, then they have accomplished their mission. However, they should at least be honest about their intentions.

If I were a member, I would not be happy donating a car to some random Joe when the Hawaiian Gardens neighborhood the Church serves is desperately poor, and hungry too. Perhaps a donation to the Hawaiian Gardens Food Bank would be more appropriate. I know, a car sounds so much more... Hip? But we are talking about needs versus wants. I want a car. I need a meal. At Easter, which seem more appropriate? A Church with true generosity of spirit helps those who are in need. (IMHO)

Technorati tags: Religion, I Need A Revolution, Easter, hypocrisy