Rumblings and Ramblings

Even with the transition in my life, one thing that I have been watching and waiting on is the investigation on the misuse of BGCT mission dollars in the Valley, or affectionately known as “Valleygate”.  This time last year, a prviate investigation was concluding and we were waiting on a report to the Executive Board of the BGCT.  The report revealed at least 1.3 million mission dollars spent on new churches that never existed.  Some believe that amount is only half of what was lost.  We have an Executive Director that has been slow to investigate this matter.  In December 2006 I believe that he reported to the Executive Committee of the BGCT that he turned over this report to federal authorites in the Valley of Texas.  Since then not much has been heard about the investigation officially.

David Montoya, http://spiritualsamurai.wordpress.com/, has been keeping many abreast of what is going on, or more likely what has not been going on.  David, I believe has been practicing restraint on this matter since the report was turned over to the authorities.  He has been asking questions on his blog, and every so often he has mentioned that nothing has been heard about concerning the investigation.  Eventually, David wrote a letter to the US District Attorney for that area of Texas.  In a respone to David’s letter, the Assistant DA in charge of fraud investigation told David that he has never seen a report on this issue!

So now what is gong on?  Did our Executive Director actually turn over this report to the proper authorities?  Has this investigation even begun?  Or has report in the middle of the landfill for Dallas slowly decomposing?  I would love to give the leadership of our state convention the benefit of the doubt, but they have shown that they do not deserve it.  I want to call the state office, but I doubt that I will get a straight answer.

Charles Wade is retiring in January 2008.  Our Executive Board is meeting next week.  I pray that the board will demand answers on this investigation.  If Charles Wade has messed up this investigation, he needs to be shown the door.  We can make it without a Executive Director for a few months as the search committee continues their search.  As I think about it, I believe that we may have not had an Executive Director for a few years now?!?!

Well it has been close to a year since I’ve posted.  A lot has transpired since then.  I’ve gone from youth ministry to the pastorate.  A church running close to 200 in Sunday School to a church that had 54 in Sunday School yesterday.  People kept telling me that God was going to get me to this position of pastoring ….. I just laughed.  Now they are laughing at me. 

Anyway this has been a fun ride.  I feel like I’m playing catch up more than ever.  How can God use a person like me to lead this congregation is beyond my understanding.  But I know this for sure.  I’m loving every minute of it.  I feel more alive and more used now than I have in a long time.  This is not to say that I did not love the youth ministry, I do!  I don’t think that blood will ever run out of me, but God has given me some life that I seemed to have lost the past few years.  God is good!

Anyway God is moving in this small congregation.  The life is coming back due to God’s work in all of us.  It will be exciting to see what God will do.  I’ll keep you posted.