Dear Calvarites,
We had hope that there would not be a need for a 6th update but much to our sadness, our leaders have proven to be rather unresponsive, indecisive or simply just slow to act. Firstly, none of the issues we have brought up at our meeting with the Board of Deacons on 31 May 2008 (as set out in our 4th Update) has been addressed. None of our proposed solutions has been adopted despite the ample time given.
Then, after the shocking discovery of the various transfers of funds from the Missions Fund to Senior Pastor's Calvary International Ministry (CIM) (as set out in our 5th Update), we had expected the deacons to wake up, take up their responsibility and do the right thing. Instead, the deacons issued a rather disturbing public announcement on Sunday 6th July that the "allegations" were malicious and none found to be true. We are not certain which statement that we have made was considered as "malicious allegation" because we have always stated the facts. If they are referring to other rumours circulating around, then they should not have made general references and sweeping statements.
Nonetheless, the public announcement made matters worse. It caused much confusion to those who have been totally unaware of the current crisis in our church while, at the same time, elicited much anger and disappointment among the teh tarik groups. As a result, some of our members have recently taken a stand and given a petition and ultimatum to the deacons to take action to dissolve CIM, return the balance of RM1.4 million to the Church and to get Senior Pastor to retire by 31 July 2008, failing which, several of them have indicated their willingness to refer the matter to the authorities. They have also informed the Assemblies of God General Council of their intended course of action.
Almost simultaneously, another course of action was put into motion and that is a requisition to the Board of Deacons to convene an EGM to remove Senior Pastor from office pursuant to the rules set out in the Church Constitution. The signature drive has already started. They say that every cloud has a silver lining and what the public announcement has also done is something beyond our imagination. Truly, God is with us and is in full control of the situation. Because of the public announcement, many of our church members and worshippers who have been in the dark hitherto, have been approaching our group and other teh tarik groups for clarifications and many have been enlightened with the truth of what is happening in our church.
The enquiries from these Calvarites were overwhelming and therefore, we have decided to have a meeting to brief all concerned members and regular worshippers on what is happening in our church. It will also be a forum where we will be able to address questions and concerns the members may have.
SATURDAY MEETING AT KOLEJ BANDAR UTAMA
The meeting is scheduled for this Saturday 26th at Kolej Bandar Utama at 3pm. We wish to clarify here that we had made a request to our church Executive Pastor on 17th July to use either DH or DP as our venue for this meeting. This is in line with Senior Pastor's call at our last AGM to use our church premises for our teh tarik sessions instead of meeting outside.
We are not certain why the Executive Pastor has chosen not to make a decision on our request but instead, relegated the responsibility of making this decision to the Board of Deacons. We were expecting a simple "yes" or "no" answer to our request to hold the meeting in church but the final decision of the Board of Deacons which was faxed to us yesterday simply left us dumb-founded! Their reply was neither a "yes" or "no" but rather a note to inform us that they are convening an EGM soon to clarify certain matters raised by some members of the Church and that they are "of the view that the members can raise their queries or share their views at this EGM". By implication, we take their response as a "no".
Please come for this Saturday 's meeting and bring along other Calvarites who share the same concern and burden for our beloved church. Feel free to inform other Calvarites or forward this notice of meeting to them. Don't worry, this meeting is not an illegal meeting because we shall not make any decisions or pass any resolutions on behalf of the Church. That can only happen at a properly convened EGM. All deacons and pastors of Calvary are most welcome!
God Bless,
KC & some Teh Tarik members
Showing posts with label The Start of TTG Journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Start of TTG Journey. Show all posts
Friday, September 5, 2008
4th Update to CC Members (10.06.08)
Dear Calvarites,
On behalf of our group of teh tarik members, we wish to put on record our appreciation of your kind words of encouragement and support which we have received from many of you via email as well as personally. Many of you have boldly approached us at different times before and after church services to thank us and encourage us in our struggle to bring about greater transparency and accountability in our beloved church and leadership.
We acknowledge that it has not been easy to convince our leaders of the need to change for the greater good of our church. You can see for yourselves how the pulpit is misused to continously whacked the "opposition" camp. Yesterday's sermon at DH during the 2nd service was a good example. The Senior Pastor, during his sermon on kings and priests, told the congregation to the effect that whoever says he is preaching prosperity gospel, should go and jump into the lake. This is one of the most shocking statements we never imagined can come from his mouth. Who can ever believe that our Senior Pastor is capable of saying such a vicious, vindictive, hateful comment to his sheep. Of course, in Luke 6:45, the Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So by making that condemning statement, we can clearly see what is in his heart which is certainly not good things. He also made a remark that all men are liars which is not totally wrong but we hope he realises that he is also included in that category.
We also wish to address allegations that we are the enemies who are trying to break up our church. On the contrary, if you had witnessed the way the recent AGM was conducted, the witch-hunt that took place thereafter, the lies the 'supporters" of the leadership are now spreading, the unholy remarks from the pulpit like the one mentioned above, you can easily make your own judgment as to who the real enemy of our church is, who is causing a division in our church.
By now, you would have heard of Senior Pastor's "Tan Sri" award. One member, on hearing the news, sms me that "it sucks". While some of you may agree that "it sucks", you must also remember that the higher one climbs, the harder the fall. We heard about his getting the award a few weeks ago and we could have easily stop it then but we were not sure whether it was the right thing to do. On hindsight, perhaps we should have stopped it but let the past be the past. May God forgive us if we have failed.
Anyway, the purpose of today's email is to update you on what transpired at last Saturday's meeting between the Board of Deacons, Pastor Peter and four of us. It was a three and a half hour meeting. We brought out many issues that our church is facing today which are threatening to break up our church. A copy of our letter to the deacons on the current state of our church is attached herewith.
One deacon remarked that we should let God be God. We (or at least I was) were dumb-struck by this remark. Doesn't that deacon realised that if the pastors and deacons have let God be God all these years, our church would not be in this troubled state now. If they have let God be God and not allowed God to be overshadowed by someone or something, we would now be a true fountain-head church, vibrant, spirit-filled, growing and touching lives, not a dwindling, lifeless, dying church that is totally oblivious to the revival happening all around us. While we are pursuing the CCC vision, the churches out there are growing by leaps and bounds. We need to dig up the dirt that has blocked our fountain spout so that our water can flow again and begin bringing in the souls like we used to in our earlier years.
When will our pastors and deacons wake up and realise that God can also be talking to us, that we could be right. Anyway, how can they say we are wrong and deemed as enemies when all we asked for is that the leadership practice good stewardship, governance, accountability and transparency. These are virtues all Christians should strive for.
For your info, we set below the major or crucial issues which were discussed at the meeting and our proposals to resolve them:-
CALVARY INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES (CIM)
We had earlier discovered, to our shock that for several years now, our Missions Dept has transferred RM200,000 a year to CIM from the faith promise pledges made by members. We told the deacons that this is an outright misappropriation of funds or CBT and an obvious conflict of interest. It is misappropriation because the members have never been informed of this. In all our faith promise budgets and accounts over the years, this contribution to SP's personal ministry has never been declared and members' approval has never been sought. It is a conflict because SP is the head of Missions Dept (as stated in the Missions Manual) and sole founder and owner of CIM.
We also informed the deacons that while SP and deacons proclaim CIM as a personal ministry of SP, the NECF deemed CIM as a part of Calvary Church. This is an obvious misrepresentation especially when it carries the "Calvary" name. It can easily lead other churches to believe that they are contributing to a ministry of Calvary Church when it is actually a personal ministry. We proposed that CIM be dissolved immediately and all balance funds be returned to Calvary Church.
CHURCH CONSTITUTION
We proposed various changes to the constitution concerning the position, tenure, authority, roles and responsibilities of the Senior Pastor (referring to the office, not the individual) and the appointment of deacons and Elders. We also pointed out a few possible breaches of the Church constitution relating to the appointment of associate pastors and assistant pastors. Our constitution does not provide for the positions or offices of assistant pastors, Senior Executive Pastor, Executive Pastor and Executive Administrator, all of which are filled by various individuals presently.
CALVARYLAND
We proposed that if the ownership of the property has indeed been transferred to Calvaryland as a separate entity, then an EGM must be convened to seek members' approval to ratify the transfer. We also proposed that the accounts of Calvaryland be consolidated into the main Church accounts, that a definitive plan for this project be presented to the members as it now appears to be a failure and that the person who came out with this vision seek the church for forgiveness for this debacle.
CALVARY CONVENTION CENTRE
We questioned whether this CCC project is a man's vision or God's vision. Many years ago, the leadership was convinced of God's vision to build a 5,000 seating church in Sri Hartamas which did not materalised. Then, they had a vision of a new sanctuary at our present Damansara Heights site using a horse-shoe design, which again was not approved by the authorities. Including Calvaryland, we have had three failed visions. Thus arose the question on the CCC project. Our contention is that a project which is approved based on a lie (we told the authorities that we are building a convention centre when it is actually a church), designed by a Freemason, proceeded without proper members' approval and where members are constantly told half-truths about the costs, cannot be in the will of God. If the CCC is the vision of God, He will surely open the gates of heaven and pour out His blessings. There will be no need to sell paper bricks and certainly, no need to appeal to members to fulfill their Leap of Faith pledges.
We requested this project be re-evaluated and an EGM be convened to get proper members' approval by secret ballot. This will allow the leadership to gauge the actual number of supporters for the CCC. What is happening now is that they are pushing ahead in the belief that the whole church is behind them when it is not so.
SENIOR PASTOR'S POSITION
We highlighted various examples of SP's unscriptural conduct and requested that the deacons advise him to retire in the best interest of the church and perhaps, go full time to fulfil God's calling upon his life to do world evangelism as revealed to us by one of the deacons. Alternatively, they may consider a proposal by Bro Wong Hong Meng for the setting up of an Independent Truth Committee to investigate all the allegations of wrong doing. This way, if SP is innocent, he will be cleared of all allegations and rumours which are going around. We emphasised that the deacons should take immediate action to address the above matters as the present state of affairs in our church is unhealthy and worrisome and could destroy our 47-year old church, if left unchecked.
Only the deacons have the mandate and authority to act to save what Dr Guynes (our church founder) started 47 years ago. We, the teh tarik members, can do nothing except be that mouth-piece for God and pray.
God bless,
KC, Karen & some Teh Tarik members
*****************************************************
ADDENDUM
PRESENT STATE OF CALVARY CHURCH
(This article by Bro KC was attached to the 4th Update to members)
There has been a growing discontent among the members over the past few years. What is happening in our church today did not spring forth overnight. The emotions which are riding high among the growing group of ‘unhappy’ members were not because they attended a ‘teh tarik’ session or swayed by a circulating juicy story.
The flurry of emails, allegations and rumours making its rounds in cyberspace
among members and also non-members are the expressions of frustrations residing deep in their hearts which are now gradually coming out.
For many years now, many members has felt a sense of ‘something wrong’ in our church, be it in the sermons preached from the pulpit, the way our pastors treat those serving in various ministries, the pride and arrogance seen in our Senior Pastor and Sister, the way they are served like gods rather than being the servant, their display of wealth and lavishness of their lifestyle, the rapid rise of the Guneratnam children and their spouses in the church hierarchy, the unfriendliness of the church staff, the unhappiness of those staff who have left, the dryness in our worship services, the almost non-existent words of prophesy, signs and miracles in our services that we used to see, the failure and closure of various ministries, the departure of many faithful and talented leaders and members to other churches, the gradual transformation of an charismatic, lively, tongue-speaking congregation into a solemn, quiet, ‘dead’ group of pew-sitters and countless other examples and personal experiences. Being Christian-like, everyone has kept their thoughts and feelings to themselves, not realizing that they are not alone in their thinking.
What then brought about this change of assertion and mindset which now threatens to cause a rift in our church and destroy a work started 47 years ago?
The introduction of the CCC was the first major pebble cast into the calm waters. The ripple caused by the pebble grew wider as the members were continuously, to put it bluntly, lied to or told half-truths about the costs of the CCC and the shoving down their throats of the extravagant design of the majestic monument that will, in the minds of the members, serve only to bring great glory to him, not Him. The push to proceed with the project despite not obtaining a legal valid approval from the members worsen the situation.
The second event that triggered the change in the member’s attitude was the political change in our country. The demand for transparency and good governance broke the stronghold of Barisan Nasional. The call for transparency and corporate governance has been slowly evolving in the corporate world and the world at large. The mentality of this new generation has changed. Transparency, accountability and governance are the keywords of today and our members are beginning to move with the trend. The members now realized that these keywords are the true definition of good Christian stewardship, a role they have previously taken lightly.
The third significant trigger was what transpired at the recent AGM and the ‘witch-hunt’ that took place immediately after the AGM. The conduct of Senior Pastor during the AGM and his open rebuke of the ‘teh tarik’ members did not go well with the members. The removal of leaders after the AGM again made matters worse. The leadership has tried to justify their actions but the members can no longer be fooled. They have not witnessed the forgiveness and love that the pastors preached about but only saw vengefulness in the leaders’ actions.
Presently, there is no one single ‘opposition’ camp. Instead, there are several different groups and individuals, all handling the situation in their own respective or personal ways. Some choose the soft approach by writing letters to the leadership, some stay in the cyberworld and speak their minds, some fast and pray while others are waiting to report to the authorities.
This present situation now calls for immediate action on the part of the Board of Deacons. Only the deacons can rectify and turn around the situation by addressing the issues and concerns raised by the members. The ball is now at the Deacons’ feet and time, unfortunately, is not on our side.
The BOD must accept that they have failed miserably in the discharge of their duties to ensure good stewardship of monies given by the members, good and proper governance of church matters, the welfare of the body of Christ and the spiritual well-being of the members.
SP and the BOD must take full responsibility for the mess our Church is in, the confusion and division they have caused, the hurt they have brought to the members.
On behalf of our group of teh tarik members, we wish to put on record our appreciation of your kind words of encouragement and support which we have received from many of you via email as well as personally. Many of you have boldly approached us at different times before and after church services to thank us and encourage us in our struggle to bring about greater transparency and accountability in our beloved church and leadership.
We acknowledge that it has not been easy to convince our leaders of the need to change for the greater good of our church. You can see for yourselves how the pulpit is misused to continously whacked the "opposition" camp. Yesterday's sermon at DH during the 2nd service was a good example. The Senior Pastor, during his sermon on kings and priests, told the congregation to the effect that whoever says he is preaching prosperity gospel, should go and jump into the lake. This is one of the most shocking statements we never imagined can come from his mouth. Who can ever believe that our Senior Pastor is capable of saying such a vicious, vindictive, hateful comment to his sheep. Of course, in Luke 6:45, the Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So by making that condemning statement, we can clearly see what is in his heart which is certainly not good things. He also made a remark that all men are liars which is not totally wrong but we hope he realises that he is also included in that category.
We also wish to address allegations that we are the enemies who are trying to break up our church. On the contrary, if you had witnessed the way the recent AGM was conducted, the witch-hunt that took place thereafter, the lies the 'supporters" of the leadership are now spreading, the unholy remarks from the pulpit like the one mentioned above, you can easily make your own judgment as to who the real enemy of our church is, who is causing a division in our church.
By now, you would have heard of Senior Pastor's "Tan Sri" award. One member, on hearing the news, sms me that "it sucks". While some of you may agree that "it sucks", you must also remember that the higher one climbs, the harder the fall. We heard about his getting the award a few weeks ago and we could have easily stop it then but we were not sure whether it was the right thing to do. On hindsight, perhaps we should have stopped it but let the past be the past. May God forgive us if we have failed.
Anyway, the purpose of today's email is to update you on what transpired at last Saturday's meeting between the Board of Deacons, Pastor Peter and four of us. It was a three and a half hour meeting. We brought out many issues that our church is facing today which are threatening to break up our church. A copy of our letter to the deacons on the current state of our church is attached herewith.
One deacon remarked that we should let God be God. We (or at least I was) were dumb-struck by this remark. Doesn't that deacon realised that if the pastors and deacons have let God be God all these years, our church would not be in this troubled state now. If they have let God be God and not allowed God to be overshadowed by someone or something, we would now be a true fountain-head church, vibrant, spirit-filled, growing and touching lives, not a dwindling, lifeless, dying church that is totally oblivious to the revival happening all around us. While we are pursuing the CCC vision, the churches out there are growing by leaps and bounds. We need to dig up the dirt that has blocked our fountain spout so that our water can flow again and begin bringing in the souls like we used to in our earlier years.
When will our pastors and deacons wake up and realise that God can also be talking to us, that we could be right. Anyway, how can they say we are wrong and deemed as enemies when all we asked for is that the leadership practice good stewardship, governance, accountability and transparency. These are virtues all Christians should strive for.
For your info, we set below the major or crucial issues which were discussed at the meeting and our proposals to resolve them:-
CALVARY INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES (CIM)
We had earlier discovered, to our shock that for several years now, our Missions Dept has transferred RM200,000 a year to CIM from the faith promise pledges made by members. We told the deacons that this is an outright misappropriation of funds or CBT and an obvious conflict of interest. It is misappropriation because the members have never been informed of this. In all our faith promise budgets and accounts over the years, this contribution to SP's personal ministry has never been declared and members' approval has never been sought. It is a conflict because SP is the head of Missions Dept (as stated in the Missions Manual) and sole founder and owner of CIM.
We also informed the deacons that while SP and deacons proclaim CIM as a personal ministry of SP, the NECF deemed CIM as a part of Calvary Church. This is an obvious misrepresentation especially when it carries the "Calvary" name. It can easily lead other churches to believe that they are contributing to a ministry of Calvary Church when it is actually a personal ministry. We proposed that CIM be dissolved immediately and all balance funds be returned to Calvary Church.
CHURCH CONSTITUTION
We proposed various changes to the constitution concerning the position, tenure, authority, roles and responsibilities of the Senior Pastor (referring to the office, not the individual) and the appointment of deacons and Elders. We also pointed out a few possible breaches of the Church constitution relating to the appointment of associate pastors and assistant pastors. Our constitution does not provide for the positions or offices of assistant pastors, Senior Executive Pastor, Executive Pastor and Executive Administrator, all of which are filled by various individuals presently.
CALVARYLAND
We proposed that if the ownership of the property has indeed been transferred to Calvaryland as a separate entity, then an EGM must be convened to seek members' approval to ratify the transfer. We also proposed that the accounts of Calvaryland be consolidated into the main Church accounts, that a definitive plan for this project be presented to the members as it now appears to be a failure and that the person who came out with this vision seek the church for forgiveness for this debacle.
CALVARY CONVENTION CENTRE
We questioned whether this CCC project is a man's vision or God's vision. Many years ago, the leadership was convinced of God's vision to build a 5,000 seating church in Sri Hartamas which did not materalised. Then, they had a vision of a new sanctuary at our present Damansara Heights site using a horse-shoe design, which again was not approved by the authorities. Including Calvaryland, we have had three failed visions. Thus arose the question on the CCC project. Our contention is that a project which is approved based on a lie (we told the authorities that we are building a convention centre when it is actually a church), designed by a Freemason, proceeded without proper members' approval and where members are constantly told half-truths about the costs, cannot be in the will of God. If the CCC is the vision of God, He will surely open the gates of heaven and pour out His blessings. There will be no need to sell paper bricks and certainly, no need to appeal to members to fulfill their Leap of Faith pledges.
We requested this project be re-evaluated and an EGM be convened to get proper members' approval by secret ballot. This will allow the leadership to gauge the actual number of supporters for the CCC. What is happening now is that they are pushing ahead in the belief that the whole church is behind them when it is not so.
SENIOR PASTOR'S POSITION
We highlighted various examples of SP's unscriptural conduct and requested that the deacons advise him to retire in the best interest of the church and perhaps, go full time to fulfil God's calling upon his life to do world evangelism as revealed to us by one of the deacons. Alternatively, they may consider a proposal by Bro Wong Hong Meng for the setting up of an Independent Truth Committee to investigate all the allegations of wrong doing. This way, if SP is innocent, he will be cleared of all allegations and rumours which are going around. We emphasised that the deacons should take immediate action to address the above matters as the present state of affairs in our church is unhealthy and worrisome and could destroy our 47-year old church, if left unchecked.
Only the deacons have the mandate and authority to act to save what Dr Guynes (our church founder) started 47 years ago. We, the teh tarik members, can do nothing except be that mouth-piece for God and pray.
God bless,
KC, Karen & some Teh Tarik members
*****************************************************
ADDENDUM
PRESENT STATE OF CALVARY CHURCH
(This article by Bro KC was attached to the 4th Update to members)
There has been a growing discontent among the members over the past few years. What is happening in our church today did not spring forth overnight. The emotions which are riding high among the growing group of ‘unhappy’ members were not because they attended a ‘teh tarik’ session or swayed by a circulating juicy story.
The flurry of emails, allegations and rumours making its rounds in cyberspace
among members and also non-members are the expressions of frustrations residing deep in their hearts which are now gradually coming out.
For many years now, many members has felt a sense of ‘something wrong’ in our church, be it in the sermons preached from the pulpit, the way our pastors treat those serving in various ministries, the pride and arrogance seen in our Senior Pastor and Sister, the way they are served like gods rather than being the servant, their display of wealth and lavishness of their lifestyle, the rapid rise of the Guneratnam children and their spouses in the church hierarchy, the unfriendliness of the church staff, the unhappiness of those staff who have left, the dryness in our worship services, the almost non-existent words of prophesy, signs and miracles in our services that we used to see, the failure and closure of various ministries, the departure of many faithful and talented leaders and members to other churches, the gradual transformation of an charismatic, lively, tongue-speaking congregation into a solemn, quiet, ‘dead’ group of pew-sitters and countless other examples and personal experiences. Being Christian-like, everyone has kept their thoughts and feelings to themselves, not realizing that they are not alone in their thinking.
What then brought about this change of assertion and mindset which now threatens to cause a rift in our church and destroy a work started 47 years ago?
The introduction of the CCC was the first major pebble cast into the calm waters. The ripple caused by the pebble grew wider as the members were continuously, to put it bluntly, lied to or told half-truths about the costs of the CCC and the shoving down their throats of the extravagant design of the majestic monument that will, in the minds of the members, serve only to bring great glory to him, not Him. The push to proceed with the project despite not obtaining a legal valid approval from the members worsen the situation.
The second event that triggered the change in the member’s attitude was the political change in our country. The demand for transparency and good governance broke the stronghold of Barisan Nasional. The call for transparency and corporate governance has been slowly evolving in the corporate world and the world at large. The mentality of this new generation has changed. Transparency, accountability and governance are the keywords of today and our members are beginning to move with the trend. The members now realized that these keywords are the true definition of good Christian stewardship, a role they have previously taken lightly.
The third significant trigger was what transpired at the recent AGM and the ‘witch-hunt’ that took place immediately after the AGM. The conduct of Senior Pastor during the AGM and his open rebuke of the ‘teh tarik’ members did not go well with the members. The removal of leaders after the AGM again made matters worse. The leadership has tried to justify their actions but the members can no longer be fooled. They have not witnessed the forgiveness and love that the pastors preached about but only saw vengefulness in the leaders’ actions.
Presently, there is no one single ‘opposition’ camp. Instead, there are several different groups and individuals, all handling the situation in their own respective or personal ways. Some choose the soft approach by writing letters to the leadership, some stay in the cyberworld and speak their minds, some fast and pray while others are waiting to report to the authorities.
This present situation now calls for immediate action on the part of the Board of Deacons. Only the deacons can rectify and turn around the situation by addressing the issues and concerns raised by the members. The ball is now at the Deacons’ feet and time, unfortunately, is not on our side.
The BOD must accept that they have failed miserably in the discharge of their duties to ensure good stewardship of monies given by the members, good and proper governance of church matters, the welfare of the body of Christ and the spiritual well-being of the members.
SP and the BOD must take full responsibility for the mess our Church is in, the confusion and division they have caused, the hurt they have brought to the members.
HM's Memo to BOD on Extended Ministries (27.12.07)
To: Bro Edward Rajasingam
cc: Bro Lee Tuck Heng
Bro Chow Sang Hoe
Through: Sis Bernadette Tay
From: Wong Hong Meng
Date: 27th December 2007
Dear Bro Edward,
Calvary Church Extended Ministries (“EMs”)
First of all I must apologize for taking so long to write this note to you. After our meeting in early April with you, Pastor Peter Ong, Pastor Timothy Ong, Deacon Patrick Wong, Deaconess Bernadette Tay and Bro David Peters, I had received the answers to my questions. As I said at the AGM the answers to my questions would help me understand what is going on with the EMs. From our discussion I also believed you know the potential issues that can be raised with regards to the accounts as presented to the members. As such there was no real hurry or need for my input. Nonetheless I would like to submit my gratuitous input for your consideration. I am copying this note to the auditors as they are responsible to the members for the truth and fairness of the accounts as presented by you to the members. I was waiting for the right time to be in the right frame of mind to be contributive and constructive and not come across as confrontational or critical. Yet I was always aware that I would have to do it before the year end. Therefore I hope you would receive this note in the right spirit as I know you will.
As I recollect from my notes, I received the following information at the meeting. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Separate accounts are maintained for each of the EM. The annual accounts are audited by the Church auditors and presented to the Board of Deacons.
The EMs do receive offerings and other income in their own names and issue receipts in their own names.
The EMs can contract and incur expenditure in their own names.
They have their own assets and liabilities and balance sheets.
They operate their own bank accounts. The signatories are the Senior Pastor or Pastor Peter Ong and either of two officers of the respective EM.
They maintain their own payroll which would include the heads of the EMs but if the head is a pastor he /she would be on the Church payroll.
The EMs are accountable to the Missions Committee.
Management and policy decisions are made by the Senior Pastor and the Missions Committee.
Management accounts are presented monthly to the Missions Department.
Deficits, if any, in the EMs are covered by the Missions Department based on justified requests.
Surpluses are retained within the EMs and are not re-channelled back to the Missions Department.
The annual budgets of the EMs are presented to the Board of Deacons for approval.
From the above it would appear that the EMs operate quite independently under the direction of the Senior Pastor and the Missions Director. Nonetheless after due consideration I am of the view that these EMs are legally and operationally part of Calvary Church and their financials must be reported to the members at general meetings.
The only reason advanced at that meeting for not including the EMs in the financials of the Church as presented to the members was that it was intended (by the Board I presume) to eventually constitute the EMs as independent entities, separate from Calvary Church. The Gemas Church was given as an example. I am of the opinion that this reason is not able to support the non-disclosure of the EMs financials to the members of the Church.
Firstly you and I know that the accounts cannot be made to reflect mere intentions. When an EM is legally separate then you can treat it as separate entity, accounting wise. In the meantime before the actualization of the intentions the financials of these entities must be incorporated in the report to the members at general meetings.
Secondly, the example of Gemas was not appropriate. Gemas was started as an outreach church which eventually became independent. Its ministries were not part and parcel of Calvary Church. It eventually became an independent church with its own legal status under the AG umbrella accountable to its own members.
On the other hand the EMs are part and parcel of the ministries of Calvary Church. These ministries are an integral part of the Church ministries. Without them the ministry coverage of Calvary Church would be that much poorer. They were set up to add to and enrich the work of Calvary Church. I do not see how we can intend for any of the ministries of the EMs to be separate from Calvary Church. And what possible benefits would accrue to the Church by having these ministries as separate entities independent of the Church? If there are no benefits then why are we intending to do it?
I also suspect that you might indeed run foul of the IRS if the EMs are treated as separate entities especially those with operating surpluses. If they are at the moment tax exempt I would suggest that the IRS, based upon our submission, has treated them as part of Calvary Church which enjoys tax exempt status. Is it possible that quite unwittingly we are having one accounting treatment for the IRS and another for the members?
Thirdly from the discussion it would appear that the ultimate ”owner” of the EMs is Calvary Church. This is true even in the case of Calvary Land. Although the properties are registered in the names of the Trustees of the AG General Council, the General Council is neither the legal or beneficial owner. They are just trustees. This is similar to the Church properties which are registered in the name of the three Church trustees. The trustees are neither the legal nor beneficial owners. Calvary Church is. I believe you will find words on the land titles to the effect that they are acting as trustees for Calvary Church. If legal ownership had indeed been transferred to the AG and the General Council is not acting as trustees then it begs the question as to under what authority had the Board made this transfer.
Also if the General Council is the legal owner then the properties of Calvary Land must be reflected in the accounts of the General Council. I believe this is not the case. Any artificial entity, not being a natural person, with assets and liabilities must have an ultimate owner. Who owns Calvary Land? If it is Calvary Church then it must be reflected in its accounts. If it is the General Council it must be reflected in their accounts. It cannot own itself. Societies and companies have members. So does a church or a ministry.
If they are ultimately constituted legally as separate ministries they must still be reflected in the Church accounts. They would be “subsidiaries” of the Church. If ownership of the assets and liabilities of the EMs are transferred to another legal entity then I believe the Board would need the approval of the members at general meetings. I suspect if it is done without the approval of the members it may be construed as a breach of trust. You may wish to check with Bro David Peters who was at our meeting.
Fourthly these EMs have no legal status of their own. They operate under the auspices of Calvary Church. They are neither societies nor companies. Their legal rights and responsibilities flow from and to Calvary Church. I do not know if the AG has granted legal cover to independent ministries that can collect money in its own name but ownership is vested only in the promoters of the ministry and their financials are not reflected in the AG accounts. If it had, then I would suggest that the AG need to look at its legal obligations and liabilities in relation to these independent ministries. I am confident that it was never the intention of the Board to have the EMs “owned” by those running the ministries.
Therefore I am of the opinion that the financials of Calvary Church are not complete if the financials of the EMs are not included. The financials of very significant activities had been omitted from the annual report to the members of the Church. If the EMs are not accountable to the members at general meetings then to whom are they accountable? At the meeting I was told that they are accountable to the Missions Department. As the Missions Department is accountable to the members at general meeting then it stands to reason that the EMs must also be accountable, ultimately, to the members at general meetings. The flow of accountability is from the EMs to the Missions Department to the Board and then to the members at general meetings. All activities carried out for and on behalf of Calvary Church must ultimately be reported to the members of Calvary Church at general meetings.
I believe that quite unintentionally the Board had removed the performance and financials of the EMs from the purview of the members of the Church. There is no accountability to the members for these activities which are part and parcel of the ministries of Calvary Church.
I am sure you are well aware of the debacle at Enron. Certain activities were left out of the accounts and members of the company were not aware of the financial implications of those transactions. In the corporate world there may be justifiable reasons to disclose only the barest minimum as required by the law. But in a Church such reasons do not exist. Therefore it would be reasonable to expect complete transparency and accountability. And I believe this has been the declared intention of the Board and of Senior Pastor. After all the Church Constitution grants each member the right of reasonable access to the accounting records of the Church. This right is never available to shareholders of a company. I am sure there is absolutely no intention to conceal or deceive but if the accounts are in any way incomplete then transparency and accountability would be impaired. The absence of bad intentions does not negate the need for due care and diligence in accounting and reporting. I am personally convinced, as were many of his church members and even some aggrieved ex-employees, that Kenneth Lay had no intention to cheat or defraud. He was a sincere and committed Christian. Nonetheless the Court found him guilty of all fifteen charges. Let’s err on the side of caution.
Accountability is providing relevant and pertinent information to the members before they are asked for. By reading the annual report we should have enough information to fulfil our responsibilities as members. We should know what is going on in each and every ministry in the Church. We would then be well equipped to pray intelligently for each ministry. We would also know which ministry needs special support and encouragement.
I therefore request that the audited accounts of each EM be attached to the Annual Report to the members. I have taken note that Calvary International Ministry is not an EM. Rightly so as it is a personal ministry of Senior Pastor although it bears the name of Calvary. You may wish to check on its legal status vis-à-vis Calvary Church.
The audited accounts of the EMs are already available and are presented to the Board. Just include them in the annual report. There is no need to be burdened with a consolidation exercise. Indeed consolidation may be meaningless as the activities of each EM are quite unique and distinct. For the members to know what is happening in each EM we need to have the separate accounts of each. What possible harm can come from providing this information to the members? The objective of the Board is to have well informed and knowledgeable members. The degree of transparency is obviously higher with separate accounts for each EM than with consolidated financial statements. Without the EMs I suspect the accounts as presented in the annual report may not truly be “true and fair”.
I thank Bernadette for arranging the meeting at which I was able to understand what has happened in the accounting treatment of the EMs. I see no valid reason for excluding the EMs from your reporting to the members. I trust you can receive my opinion for what it is intended to be; an attempt to improve the overall governance in the Church. Your role as Church Treasurer is to provide financial control over the entire church and all its activities. My role as a responsible member is to contribute in any way for the betterment of the Church. Our roles are different but towards the same objective. Ultimately both of us are accountable to God for what we do and what we fail to do. I write this note in fulfilment of my responsibilities. I leave it to you how you wish to fulfil yours.
Thanking you for a listening ear and a caring heart which had made me comfortable to put this note to you.
Together in His Service and For His Glory Only.
cc: Bro Lee Tuck Heng
Bro Chow Sang Hoe
Through: Sis Bernadette Tay
From: Wong Hong Meng
Date: 27th December 2007
Dear Bro Edward,
Calvary Church Extended Ministries (“EMs”)
First of all I must apologize for taking so long to write this note to you. After our meeting in early April with you, Pastor Peter Ong, Pastor Timothy Ong, Deacon Patrick Wong, Deaconess Bernadette Tay and Bro David Peters, I had received the answers to my questions. As I said at the AGM the answers to my questions would help me understand what is going on with the EMs. From our discussion I also believed you know the potential issues that can be raised with regards to the accounts as presented to the members. As such there was no real hurry or need for my input. Nonetheless I would like to submit my gratuitous input for your consideration. I am copying this note to the auditors as they are responsible to the members for the truth and fairness of the accounts as presented by you to the members. I was waiting for the right time to be in the right frame of mind to be contributive and constructive and not come across as confrontational or critical. Yet I was always aware that I would have to do it before the year end. Therefore I hope you would receive this note in the right spirit as I know you will.
As I recollect from my notes, I received the following information at the meeting. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Separate accounts are maintained for each of the EM. The annual accounts are audited by the Church auditors and presented to the Board of Deacons.
The EMs do receive offerings and other income in their own names and issue receipts in their own names.
The EMs can contract and incur expenditure in their own names.
They have their own assets and liabilities and balance sheets.
They operate their own bank accounts. The signatories are the Senior Pastor or Pastor Peter Ong and either of two officers of the respective EM.
They maintain their own payroll which would include the heads of the EMs but if the head is a pastor he /she would be on the Church payroll.
The EMs are accountable to the Missions Committee.
Management and policy decisions are made by the Senior Pastor and the Missions Committee.
Management accounts are presented monthly to the Missions Department.
Deficits, if any, in the EMs are covered by the Missions Department based on justified requests.
Surpluses are retained within the EMs and are not re-channelled back to the Missions Department.
The annual budgets of the EMs are presented to the Board of Deacons for approval.
From the above it would appear that the EMs operate quite independently under the direction of the Senior Pastor and the Missions Director. Nonetheless after due consideration I am of the view that these EMs are legally and operationally part of Calvary Church and their financials must be reported to the members at general meetings.
The only reason advanced at that meeting for not including the EMs in the financials of the Church as presented to the members was that it was intended (by the Board I presume) to eventually constitute the EMs as independent entities, separate from Calvary Church. The Gemas Church was given as an example. I am of the opinion that this reason is not able to support the non-disclosure of the EMs financials to the members of the Church.
Firstly you and I know that the accounts cannot be made to reflect mere intentions. When an EM is legally separate then you can treat it as separate entity, accounting wise. In the meantime before the actualization of the intentions the financials of these entities must be incorporated in the report to the members at general meetings.
Secondly, the example of Gemas was not appropriate. Gemas was started as an outreach church which eventually became independent. Its ministries were not part and parcel of Calvary Church. It eventually became an independent church with its own legal status under the AG umbrella accountable to its own members.
On the other hand the EMs are part and parcel of the ministries of Calvary Church. These ministries are an integral part of the Church ministries. Without them the ministry coverage of Calvary Church would be that much poorer. They were set up to add to and enrich the work of Calvary Church. I do not see how we can intend for any of the ministries of the EMs to be separate from Calvary Church. And what possible benefits would accrue to the Church by having these ministries as separate entities independent of the Church? If there are no benefits then why are we intending to do it?
I also suspect that you might indeed run foul of the IRS if the EMs are treated as separate entities especially those with operating surpluses. If they are at the moment tax exempt I would suggest that the IRS, based upon our submission, has treated them as part of Calvary Church which enjoys tax exempt status. Is it possible that quite unwittingly we are having one accounting treatment for the IRS and another for the members?
Thirdly from the discussion it would appear that the ultimate ”owner” of the EMs is Calvary Church. This is true even in the case of Calvary Land. Although the properties are registered in the names of the Trustees of the AG General Council, the General Council is neither the legal or beneficial owner. They are just trustees. This is similar to the Church properties which are registered in the name of the three Church trustees. The trustees are neither the legal nor beneficial owners. Calvary Church is. I believe you will find words on the land titles to the effect that they are acting as trustees for Calvary Church. If legal ownership had indeed been transferred to the AG and the General Council is not acting as trustees then it begs the question as to under what authority had the Board made this transfer.
Also if the General Council is the legal owner then the properties of Calvary Land must be reflected in the accounts of the General Council. I believe this is not the case. Any artificial entity, not being a natural person, with assets and liabilities must have an ultimate owner. Who owns Calvary Land? If it is Calvary Church then it must be reflected in its accounts. If it is the General Council it must be reflected in their accounts. It cannot own itself. Societies and companies have members. So does a church or a ministry.
If they are ultimately constituted legally as separate ministries they must still be reflected in the Church accounts. They would be “subsidiaries” of the Church. If ownership of the assets and liabilities of the EMs are transferred to another legal entity then I believe the Board would need the approval of the members at general meetings. I suspect if it is done without the approval of the members it may be construed as a breach of trust. You may wish to check with Bro David Peters who was at our meeting.
Fourthly these EMs have no legal status of their own. They operate under the auspices of Calvary Church. They are neither societies nor companies. Their legal rights and responsibilities flow from and to Calvary Church. I do not know if the AG has granted legal cover to independent ministries that can collect money in its own name but ownership is vested only in the promoters of the ministry and their financials are not reflected in the AG accounts. If it had, then I would suggest that the AG need to look at its legal obligations and liabilities in relation to these independent ministries. I am confident that it was never the intention of the Board to have the EMs “owned” by those running the ministries.
Therefore I am of the opinion that the financials of Calvary Church are not complete if the financials of the EMs are not included. The financials of very significant activities had been omitted from the annual report to the members of the Church. If the EMs are not accountable to the members at general meetings then to whom are they accountable? At the meeting I was told that they are accountable to the Missions Department. As the Missions Department is accountable to the members at general meeting then it stands to reason that the EMs must also be accountable, ultimately, to the members at general meetings. The flow of accountability is from the EMs to the Missions Department to the Board and then to the members at general meetings. All activities carried out for and on behalf of Calvary Church must ultimately be reported to the members of Calvary Church at general meetings.
I believe that quite unintentionally the Board had removed the performance and financials of the EMs from the purview of the members of the Church. There is no accountability to the members for these activities which are part and parcel of the ministries of Calvary Church.
I am sure you are well aware of the debacle at Enron. Certain activities were left out of the accounts and members of the company were not aware of the financial implications of those transactions. In the corporate world there may be justifiable reasons to disclose only the barest minimum as required by the law. But in a Church such reasons do not exist. Therefore it would be reasonable to expect complete transparency and accountability. And I believe this has been the declared intention of the Board and of Senior Pastor. After all the Church Constitution grants each member the right of reasonable access to the accounting records of the Church. This right is never available to shareholders of a company. I am sure there is absolutely no intention to conceal or deceive but if the accounts are in any way incomplete then transparency and accountability would be impaired. The absence of bad intentions does not negate the need for due care and diligence in accounting and reporting. I am personally convinced, as were many of his church members and even some aggrieved ex-employees, that Kenneth Lay had no intention to cheat or defraud. He was a sincere and committed Christian. Nonetheless the Court found him guilty of all fifteen charges. Let’s err on the side of caution.
Accountability is providing relevant and pertinent information to the members before they are asked for. By reading the annual report we should have enough information to fulfil our responsibilities as members. We should know what is going on in each and every ministry in the Church. We would then be well equipped to pray intelligently for each ministry. We would also know which ministry needs special support and encouragement.
I therefore request that the audited accounts of each EM be attached to the Annual Report to the members. I have taken note that Calvary International Ministry is not an EM. Rightly so as it is a personal ministry of Senior Pastor although it bears the name of Calvary. You may wish to check on its legal status vis-à-vis Calvary Church.
The audited accounts of the EMs are already available and are presented to the Board. Just include them in the annual report. There is no need to be burdened with a consolidation exercise. Indeed consolidation may be meaningless as the activities of each EM are quite unique and distinct. For the members to know what is happening in each EM we need to have the separate accounts of each. What possible harm can come from providing this information to the members? The objective of the Board is to have well informed and knowledgeable members. The degree of transparency is obviously higher with separate accounts for each EM than with consolidated financial statements. Without the EMs I suspect the accounts as presented in the annual report may not truly be “true and fair”.
I thank Bernadette for arranging the meeting at which I was able to understand what has happened in the accounting treatment of the EMs. I see no valid reason for excluding the EMs from your reporting to the members. I trust you can receive my opinion for what it is intended to be; an attempt to improve the overall governance in the Church. Your role as Church Treasurer is to provide financial control over the entire church and all its activities. My role as a responsible member is to contribute in any way for the betterment of the Church. Our roles are different but towards the same objective. Ultimately both of us are accountable to God for what we do and what we fail to do. I write this note in fulfilment of my responsibilities. I leave it to you how you wish to fulfil yours.
Thanking you for a listening ear and a caring heart which had made me comfortable to put this note to you.
Together in His Service and For His Glory Only.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The Purpose and Objective of this Blog
The Purpose
For the mutual encouragement, enlightenment and empowerment of Calvarites; members and worshippers at Calvary Church Kuala Lumpur.
To eliminate speculations, rumours and gossips and always for the Truth to be established on all matters regarding Calvary Church.
To enhance awareness among Calvarites on transparency, accountability and governance issues in the Church.
To provide the Church leadership with objective and useful feedback from Calvarites helping them to fulfill their calling as chosen leaders in the Church.
To help the Church leadership enhance and improve transparency, accountability and governance in the Church.
To help restore Calvary Church Kuala Lumpur as a fountainhead church fulfilling the role that God has for it.
Objectives of the Blog
To be an easily available source of information on the issues raised commencing from the questions asked at the 2007 AGM on CalvaryLand and the Extended Ministries.
To provide a platform for continuing open discussion on the issues raised, to solicit for constructive comments and suggestions towards the peaceable and amicable resolution of the issues in a Christ like manner.
To garner support for the establishment of two independent committees; the Truth and Reconciliation Committee and the Constitution Review Committee.
For the mutual encouragement, enlightenment and empowerment of Calvarites; members and worshippers at Calvary Church Kuala Lumpur.
To eliminate speculations, rumours and gossips and always for the Truth to be established on all matters regarding Calvary Church.
To enhance awareness among Calvarites on transparency, accountability and governance issues in the Church.
To provide the Church leadership with objective and useful feedback from Calvarites helping them to fulfill their calling as chosen leaders in the Church.
To help the Church leadership enhance and improve transparency, accountability and governance in the Church.
To help restore Calvary Church Kuala Lumpur as a fountainhead church fulfilling the role that God has for it.
Objectives of the Blog
To be an easily available source of information on the issues raised commencing from the questions asked at the 2007 AGM on CalvaryLand and the Extended Ministries.
To provide a platform for continuing open discussion on the issues raised, to solicit for constructive comments and suggestions towards the peaceable and amicable resolution of the issues in a Christ like manner.
To garner support for the establishment of two independent committees; the Truth and Reconciliation Committee and the Constitution Review Committee.
