 |
|
|
|
Posted on 08/19/2007 11:08:17 AM PDT by Terriergal
By Isadora Vail
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, August 17, 2007
A longtime Round Rock pastor was arrested after telling authorities he embezzled at least $500,000 from his church, according to court records.
Donald "Roddy" Clyde, 48, turned himself in to authorities Wednesday and was charged with felony theft of more than $200,000 from the Fellowship at Forest Creek Church. Clyde's bail was set at $400,000, and he could face 99 years in prison if convicted.
Clyde told police that he used the church's bank account and credit card to buy land, horses, vacations and other property, according to his arrest affidavit.
Lawrence Swicegood, a church spokesman, said a private investigation is under way to determine how long the church has been missing money and how much might have been taken.
Swicegood said a church accountant noticed some strange charges on the church credit card and bank account about three weeks ago. The church's leadership team then began to look at the receipts and charges, he said. Police interviewed Clyde about the charges Monday, and he stepped down that day.
"The church has always been about the people and not about one individual," Swicegood said of the 1,500-member congregation. "We are greatly saddened that our pastor had to resign, but we are pulling together to meet the needs of the community and the church."
Clyde's home in Round Rock's Forest Ridge subdivision is valued at about $350,000, according to the Williamson County appraisal district, and he also owns land in Taylor.
Glenn Hamilton, a church member, said the congregation's feelings about Clyde, who had been at the church since 1992, are divided.
"There are people that, despite what he's admitted to, don't want to go on without him, and then there are those that feel betrayed," Hamilton said.
An Austin fraud specialist said that Clyde could have stolen more than the $500,000 he reportedly admitted to taking.
"If he's saying $500,000, in my experience, I would look for a lot more because when perpetrators do estimate, it's always grossly underestimated," said Jim Ratley, president of Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
ivail@statesman.com; 246-005
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Find this article at: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/08/17/0817pastor.html |
Ken Silva writes:
Apart from the above alleged church "transition" you should also know that "Senior Teaching Pastor" Clyde also had been working with Church Transitions:
Roddy is a nation-wide transition coach and consultant and frequent conference speaker on topics of transition, leadership, lay ministry development and church planting.
CRN readers might also remember Roddy Clyde from the Wall Street Journal article by Suzanne Sataline concerning Rick Warren called Veneration Gap: A Popular Strategy for Church Growth Splits Congregants, reprinted here at Apprising Ministries where we were informed: Some pastors learn how to make their churches purpose-driven through training workshops. Speakers at Church Transitions Inc., a Waxhaw, N.C., nonprofit that works closely with Mr. Warren’s church, stress that the transition will be rough. At a seminar outside of Austin, Texas, in April, the Revs. Roddy Clyde and Glen Sartain advised 80 audience members to trust very few people with their plans. "All the forces of hell are going to come at you when you wake up that church," said Mr. Sartain, who has taught the material at Mr. Warren’s Saddleback Church.
During a session titled "Dealing with Opposition," Mr. Clyde recommended that the pastor speak to critical members, then help them leave if they don’t stop objecting. Then when those congregants join a new church, Mr. Clyde instructed, pastors should call their new minister and suggest that the congregants be barred from any leadership role.
"There are moments when you’ve got to play hardball," said the Rev. Dan Southerland, Church Transitions’ president, in an interview. "You cannot transition a church…and placate every whiny Christian along the way."
The one redeeming thing about this story is that he turned himself in. But this kind of self-serving attitude is so prevalent in these churches that focus on 'self-fulfillment gospel' or "purpose driven" or other corruptions of the Gospel.
OUR ANNUAL BUDGET INCLUDING PASTORS SALARY IS 75K,THIS YEAR WE HAD A $5.00 DESCREPIONCY IN OUR AUDIT. 5 SOLAS!Nice looking house of worship.
Where is it?
You guys need to dig a little deeper [:^)
***
Oh my, like a bad drug they are hooked and addicted to the crooked, conniving, manipulative and lying man and cannot even let him go after they know what he does.
What page of the bible is that quote in????
****
And this also, like something out of the sopranos (which I don’t watch or any tv for that matter) but sounds mobbish, hotel california-ish - you can check in but you can’t check out - No wonder folks are afraid to come to “church”.
I think that Rowdy Roddy Clyde sure had some purpose in mind.
I think that as the Saddleback-influenced operations are more closely examined, we’re going to find a whole bunch of purpose-driven transactions.
The whole “purpose driven” Willow Creek movement is spiritually bankrupt.
Do you remember during the last couple of election cycles that Rick Warren gave first Clinton, then Gore a platform and softball questions, allowing both to avoid the partial birth abortion issue?
I left a willow creek affiliated church in texas shortly after they spent $$$ beaming via satellite the democratic propaganda from willow creek. Never looked back. When I confronted the pastor about spending $$$ on this nonsense, he defend it saying “95% of the church doesn’t even know we are willow creek affiliated”. This church originally was a Baptist church, has now removed the word “baptist” from the name, and does not require baptism. They have this new thing called “Watchcare” that you can do in exchange for baptism.
Originally CRI (Hank Hannegraph) was against willow creek, until they started advertising and promoting the books....
At any rate, I have watched the # of Willow Creek associated churches drop steadily in the last 8 years in Texas as “the word” has gotten out that all is not right at “Six Flags over Christianity”.
The whole new church movement is full of liars, thieves and homosexuals. Many are now getting ubber political on stuff like Global warming even.... nut cases to the last one of them.
Reminds me of the old joke about a pastor who absconded with $5,000 of the church's funds (that's how old the joke is LOL $5,000 bucks was alot)
Anyhoo, they caught him and when one church member was asked if they got the money back, the church member replied: "No. He spent $3,000 on wine and women, and wasted the other $2,000."
Just as I thought, an all white church!! (;^D
Though, I admit it is not a very loving compassionate way to address the stubborn, manipulative, pig headed, stiff necked people who sometimes run churches like the condo commandos from Florida retirement communities, like personal fiefdoms.
People who in regular life are basically nobodies, but find though the lack of able leadership in churches wind up running things and are the most vocal, nasty people to deal with.
I know from experience.
So when are we going to arrest politicians for stealing from the taxpayers to buy themselves votes and further their Marxist agendas?
Sounds to me like he was more “purchase driven.”
Who set you up to be the judge? There is plenty of evil in this world, but smearing someone with guilt by association doesn’t correct any of it.
Don’t misinterpret me. I just got back from attending Church with my family.
To say that there is a problem with a particular influence on the church is not to indite the church universal.
People who don’t hold church leaders up to scrutiny allow them to continue in what they do - for example the catholic church should clean house of pedophiles - not doing so harms the church and the name of Christ.
Government is another matter entirely. it’s a neccessary evil. And believe me, I advocate cleaning both houses (secular and church) regularly.....do you agree?
http://www.constantiacenter.com/
COME VISIT IF YOU’RE IN THE AREA,WE ARE A SOVEREIGN GRACE
COMMUNITY.
The Good Book warns about false prophets. The woods and pulpits are chock full of them. We have an ongoing one here.
Lew, in Ks
You really should get out more. Willow Creek, and Purpose Driven are destroying churches all across the country. Happening to a number of Baptist church right here in Memphis. Tenn.
Looks like a nice little fellowship, be proud and rejoice.
Is the pastor a part timer, and is his salary about - oh - $50,000.00 a year for maybe one day’s work total a week? Not to sound cynical nor criticize your church or pastor (as I don’t know anything about it); but I have come to the conclusion that a lot of pastors and their wives use their churches for cash cows or ATM machines. - I came out of a very controlling pastor/ church situation where this was the case. This preacher was making about $500.00 a week (plus bonus) for probably a total of five hours of “work” a week (including the occasional hospital visit that a very small congregation entailed). $100 an hour may not sound like much; but when it’s coming from people struggling to live on little more than minimum wage, it’s a lot. We were always having to take up “love offerings” and do fundraising to pay for the musical entertainment his wife demanded as song leader. (Note: We didn’t need a song leader when the congregation was sometimes less than 20 people.)
It’s my observation that generally people aren’t willing to look at the deal their preacher is getting with a realistic eye because they are given the impression that he has an inside track and a hotline to God and they aren’t going to risk their ticket to heaven by offending a “man of God”. Anyone who crosses these guys and gets off the reservation is punished by the enforcers in the core group that labels those who leave as inferior and blazes them with the icy hate stare ever after when they meet them on the street (no matter how much they GAVE and GAVE and GAVE when they were in that church).
Hmmm...
I attend a “purpose driven” church. Our purpose is to worship God, study His word to gain a better understanding of His purpose for us, accept and remember His grace in the gift of His son for our salvation, and to bring others to Christ by example and teaching.
I take it that the author is referring to some other meaning of “purpose driven” church.
Can you or anyone give me a brief explanation of what in the world their code-words are intended to mean in this bewildering new context?
The Elders, which I am one of, participate in discipleship, i.e. hospital visits, funerals, births, visiting the homebound including meal preparation and delivery, etc.
WE DO THAT AS PART OF CHRIST’S COMMUNITY.
5 SOLAS!
So I guess when a Pastor from a non purpose driven church steals that proves that all non purpose driven churches/people are wrong in their non purpose driven teaching?
Wow, that is a lot of pent up bitterness.
I’ve only followed our preacher a few days on the weekend. I don’t know how he does it. He is constantly being called by church members needing help. Friday, he was on a roof helping to fix a leak that one of our elderly members could not afford to fix. Yesterday, he was moving furniture for another member that had to move. He works at least 8 hours a day for the church members and does not get Sundays off.
The average Minister is laying up their treasure in heaven, not on Earth.
I thought according to MSM and some freepers it was only the Catholic church that had all these thugs.....
After the crime was discovered. Not much moral high ground there.
Suggestion for the church web site - add the address and directions.
I suspect there are more thieves, drunkards and adulterers in most churches than pedophiles.
ping
It can go both ways.
I totally agree.
Probably on song.
Bitterness? - The “power couple” which I describe are, I think, more prevalent than you might think in the churches today. I have suffered a lot as a result of their callous (whether planned or not) attitudes toward all those “Teflon People” who come to “their church” and then leave, I suspect for similar reasons to mine. - I do feel that I should open the eyes of anyone who is trapped in such a mess as I was in there and give them the help to REALLY LOOK at the fact that their preacher and his lovely wife may possibly be enjoying pedestal living way too much.
Good for you if your preacher works 24/7. The one to whom I refer did not. - Being accused of “bitterness” is easily employed by someone whose experience is good. Wait until you encounter one who drives a wedge between you and your mate while using them and raking in the dough from poor people’s pockets. (This guy’s main job was a car salesman. The church was apparently just a cash cow.) They were always ridiculing all the “Teflon People” who came there and left. I finally realized what was Teflon, and it wasn’t all the good people those two had driven off from there either.
Believe me, I have forgiven them - but that has not stopped me from commenting appropriately when this subject comes up.
If I were “bitter” as you say, I would not have left up there quietly two and a half years ago but would have stayed on and started a whispering campaign against them instead of GETTING OUT OF THE WAY! It is shameful how people like that use their position as a so-called “man of God” to intimidate people. I an NOT talking about your preacher, just what I have personally observed and experienced. - Christ is their judge ultimately, and so I leave it to His discretion, but will always comment upon these preachers who are abusing the pulpit for their own ends.
Twinkie
I hear lots of good things about the Sovereign Grace churches.
oh, my.
This is why i do not go to church. I can read God’s word at home. It is my belief that 50 to 75% of church people need to read ACT 5: Ananias and Sapphira.
Sovereign Grace is a code-word for 5 point Calvanism.
You either agree with 5 point Calvanism or you don’t.
My problem with Calvanism is - why do we need a construct to help us understand the clear teachings of the bible? If it’s not a clear teaching, why do we add a framework to help us understand it?
Was not the ENTIRE reformation REALLY based on SOLA SRITURA?
Is or is not the bible the sole document needed to form the church? -— or do I need to add the 5 points of Calvanism? I may /may not agree (to various extents) with each of the 5 points - because I can only go as far as scripture - no further.
God has left SOME things in tension - why do we think we *can* answer or *should* answer every question? Isn’t it OK to say “we don’t know, but in the fullness of time, and with the revelation of God, in his presence, we shall know....and when we do, we will know the glory of God, in that God is good, and there is no darkness in him, and that all things have worked together for the benefit of those who believe in Him.”
I currently attend a Church that professes full 5 point Calvanism, which is why I am not an elder....I do not agree with them in the adoption of Calvin. Just because the Catholic church was in error does not mean that everything the reformers came up with was correct, either. Strangely enough, the very thing the Reformers fought and died for (Sola Scriptura, The Priesthood of Jesus to the believer directly, etc) is being dimished to defend out modern interpretation of “The Reformation”.
Just my 2 cents.
My freep name is BereanBrain......if you know who the Bereans were in the bible, then you have my philosophy of church.
We do need Christian fellowship, even if it’s just a handful of people meeting in each others’ homes, sitting in a circle actually fellowshipping; reading Scripture, singing hymns, psalms and spiritual songs, seeking Christ to actually BE there instead of lined up in pews, staring at the backs of someone’s heads for an hour listening to some guy read a couple of verses and tell funny stories for half an hour after some singing *star* entertains the congregation for a few minutes, and then smiling, nodding and then off to a restaurant for lunch most times.
Constantia’s not tooooo far from where I live. Nice looking, old fashioned little country church!
Our pastors certainly don’t make thousands of dollars a year and they sure don’t work one day a week. That’s such a lie. MOST pastors are busy every day, even when they work at another job and many do. Tending to the flock is a full time job. Putting out the fires that always crop up is also a full time job. I don’t envy pastors or their wives because they work far more for far less than most. God bless them!
AMEN, doc. I don’t know too many true pastors who are sitting around on their laurels six days a week.
They’re all saintly to many here, until they get caught, or long after they got caught. and long after they declared that the Soviet Union is, why, a worshipper’s paradise, and that oh, them ladies just luv Billy Jeff (the rapist)!
Hmmmm.
You know the website doesn’t provide an address for the church :-)
The only reason he probably turned himself in was because the church accountant noticed something was wrong with the books. What is astonishing is that some in the congregation would like to give him another chance.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.