Former Pastor Questions Michigan Church Planting

Norman Donald Fistler
Former Michigan Pastor
United States Marine

After serving in the Marine Corps in North Carolina, I have often pondered why my home state of Michigan has such an abysmal Southern Baptist presence. When I lived in North Carolina we would often joke about the numerous Southern Baptist churches, saying “you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting three of them!” Yet you can live your entire life in a Michigan town and never have one person talk to you about the Roman Road.

How do I know? I grew up in a small Michigan town and it wasn’t until I was stationed in Pensacola, Florida, that I had my first encounter with a Baptist who lived like an evangelist. This is what is at stake. Michigan and states like it can either become Gospel powerhouses, or choose to doom endless generations to birth and death where the message of “salvation by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone” will never be delivered to them. Apart from Southern Baptists, communities are gridlocked by “sacraments” of other denominations and the “grace + works” theologies of others that rob people of the power of the Ephesians 2:8-9 Gospel.

The purpose of this article is to explore why Michigan and states like it are ages behind other states. In my years as a pastor and a leader, I have several suggestions that point out why Michigan is falling short.

Theology is Important

In the area of theology, Baptists are distinct in our Ephesians 2:8-9 understanding of salvation “by grace alone, through Christ alone.” Although ecumenicalism is a tool that can be used with discretion, it should never compromise our theology.

Unfortunately, in Michigan, an ecumenical partnership with other denominations has been embraced instead of our distinct view of salvation “by grace alone, through Christ alone.” On the North American Mission Board’s website, there is a list of nineteen church plants in the Detroit area.[1] When researching these churches, one finds that two of the five churches planted from 2015-2017 are charismatic: Life-Giver Church[2] and Crossover Church.[3]

Under the leadership of Tim Patterson—the current executive director of Baptist State Convention of Michigan (BSCM), the North American Mission Board (NAMB) has been partnering with charismatic organizations like the Association of Related Churches (ARC) to plant churches in the Detroit area.

The pastor of Life-Giver Church was educated at Vanguard College—a Pentecostal school. Their church’s statement of faith states: “We believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have not ceased, but will remain active until the coming of Christ (1 Corinthians 13:10).”[4]

When Baptists give through the Cooperative Program (CP), the intent is to plant Southern Baptist churches, not charismatic churches. It is misleading to tell Baptists they are paying to plant Baptist churches, when in reality funds have been used to support the growth of Pentecostals in Michigan communities.

Why would leaders at BSCM fail to understand the theological differences of Baptists and Pentecostals? To answer this question, we should look first at the seminary credentials of the BSCM executive director, Tim Patterson. The highest seminary degree he claimed to have earned when elected to his position was a “master of divinity from the Southern Baptist School for Biblical Studies in Jacksonville, Fla.”[5]

When visiting the Southern Baptist School for Biblical Studies website, there are two things of note. First, this is a degree mill.[6] Second, this “school” does not currently offer a master of divinity degree.[7] As a principle, the theological training of the leader is reflected in the results of ministry.   

CP Funds Being Spent Differently than Advertised

For Southern Baptists, nothing is as sacred when it comes to giving as the “Cooperative Program.” When taking offerings, it is common for churches to point out that “a portion of the offerings given will go to support overseas missions and church planting.” Some churches even play the “Missionary Moments” videos while the offering is being collected.

In one video, it provides us a list of how CP funds claim to be used: “To rescue orphaned children, evangelize college campuses, and educate 20,000 seminary students per year.”[8] But do the “Missionary Moments” videos accurately display where funds go? Or do they present a misleading picture in order to inspire giving? Let’s find out.

In the last year, this is a breakdown of how Michigan Cooperative Program funds were allocated . . .

-BSCM executive salary packages (35.14%—including the Executive Director salary package of 10.94%)

-International Mission Board (17.41%)

-Michigan church planting and evangelism, with funds managed by BSCM (16%)

-BSCM public relations/meetings/office items/building in Fenton, MI (10.18%)

-Seminaries in KY, CA, TX, LA, NC, MO (7.96%)

-Baptist campground in Roscommon, MI overseen by BSCM  (6.01%)

-Lifeway Resources (4.1%)

-SBC Operating/Library (1.81%)

-BSCM disaster relief fund (.99%)

When considering how the Cooperative Program is promoted within churches as “giving to missions,” it is unethical to see what is really done with the funds. The current median household income for Michigan is $51,084, yet the executive director salary package (including salary, benefits, and expense reimbursement) was an astounding $184,938.[9]

Frankly in a state where many are living paycheck to paycheck, and individual Southern Baptist churches often have to reduce their annual budgets, the salaries provided for BSCM executives are excessive. From the percentages above, we see that Michigan executive salary packages gobble up two times more CP funds than international missions! The executive director salary package receives almost twice as much of the CP funds as are distributed to all Southern Baptist seminaries combined. To ask Baptists to give for charitable purposes, then use the money secretly to pay for executive salaries is deceptive and unethical.

What would happen if SBC made a “Missionary Moments” video that included these facts? Would median households living paycheck to paycheck be inspired to continue to pay executive salaries? In this way, SBC uses “Missionary Moments” videos to intentionally deceive people from “median households” to give, then they use the funds to cover salaries in a top-first pyramid scheme. Not only is the use of CP funds deceptive, but it robs those who give from the impact their money could have had for the Gospel. Why should Michigan Baptists pay into the CP fund to build bank accounts for executives, when they could just directly support missionaries through other transparent organizations?

Where’s the Beef?

In the 1980’s, the fast food chain Wendy’s had a series of commercials asking the question: “Where’s the beef?”[10] I would like to pose the same question to the Southern Baptists in Michigan. Where’s the beef? How many churches could be planted if NAMB directly sponsored individual churches planting in their communities, instead of funneling money through a top-heavy executive BSCM Baptist-Pentecostal conglomerate middle-man?

As CP donors we have a right to know specifically what churches have been planted, the names of the churches and their locations. Since the beginning of the BSCM executive director’s tenure, BSCM has received close to $2 million from NAMB for Michigan church planting.[11] After repeated attempts to contact BSCM no information on church plants during the tenure were provided, except for the five on NAMB’s Detroit website (two of which are charismatic, while another is a re-plant—The Church at Clawson[12]). So figuratively speaking, here in Michigan one is left to wonder where the near $2 million of “beef” has gone. Until we receive more information on the dark website of NAMB, we are left to assume that nearly $2 million of CP funds have netted us only 2 Baptist churches in the Detroit area during Patterson’s tenure.

Moving Forward: Five Recommendations

First, churches should conduct oversight on state conventions to make sure they are getting what they are paying for.

Second, the SBC should be planting Baptist churches, not charismatic ones.

Third, it is 2017, and information on “all” church plants should be available, not just the handful in Detroit.

Fourth, leaders should hold theological degrees consistent with their organizational roles. Patterson was voted in “with a 112-0 vote”[13] with his highest credential being from a degree mill. Michigan needs convention leaders with doctorates from actual, accredited SBC seminaries to help us out immediately. We need the expertise of trained leaders to help us with basic theology, getting the biggest bang for our buck, and making sure we are putting the right leaders with the right credentials in the right positions of leadership.

Fifth, our Southern Baptist churches need to be honest. I challenge church leaders to be frank with those who give. Tell the families who are at the poverty level that 35% of their CP funds are going directly into executive salaries for Baptist leaders in another city. I believe conversations like this would lead us to where we should have been from the beginning . . . supporting only efficient, transparent non-profit organizations.

If you have questions or concerns about a similar situation in your ministry context, please comment below or submit an article at [email protected]. By sharing your experience,  you encourage others to speak out as well.

Norm Fistler (M.Div., Th.M.) has pastored churches in California and Michigan, and currently writes for a Christian website. He has published articles on ethics and organizational policy in the Marine Corps Gazette. He served as a U.S. Marine Corps First Sergeant (E-8) and has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

[1] https://www.namb.net/send-cities/detroit/profiles

[2] http://www.lifegiverchurch.net/statement-of-faith/

[3] Ken and Tolice Nethers “Lead Pastors” http://crossover.church/ourstory

[4] http://www.lifegiverchurch.net/statement-of-faith/

[5] http://bpnews.net/44734/mich-baptists-elect-tim-patterson-as-new-exec

[6] (see also http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091299/met_2a1bible.html#.WiHXQUqnGM8)

[7] (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwJ0_-Kyf6ZieXA3d25kMFlBQ2s/view)

[8] http://www.sbc.net/cp/videos.asp

[9] http://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/michigan/

[10] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riH5EsGcmTw

[11] NAMB $626,000 recorded under “Supplements” for 2016, and $591,000 proposed for 2017.

[12] https://www.namb.net/send-cities/detroit/profiles

[13] http://bpnews.net/44734/mich-baptists-elect-tim-patterson-as-new-exec