Why Did Bob Caldwell Resign?
When Bob Caldwell resigned from the pastorate of Calvary Chapel Boise and then from the Calvary Chapel Association council, the reasons given were that he wanted to devote more time to missions and start a second phase of life.
Multiple sources tell us that the real reason he left will be disclosed to the congregation of CC Boise this Sunday.
We will await that statement, but for now, it looks like another pastor has fallen.
phoenixpreacher@gmail.com.
Didn’t Bob step down during the whole Saeed fiasco?
It was around last Easter…
Why would he wait so long to address the church? Strange… I guess the confusion for me is that I have always believed that One Tim. 5:20 puts responsibility on all of the leadership. If this is true, then coming clean with the “family” (congregation), removes rumors, innuendos which protect the sinner and the other family members. So, to come out now with some sort of confession may cause more damage than good IMNSHO…
covered,
My information is incomplete, but it may be that the board was made aware of the matter after the fact…
My last post @ #4 is only if we assume that he has fallen. Which none of us know now.
we shall see if this is yet another reason to get rid of the moses model. local accountability to elders, i think would be a step forward for all CCs.
Dear God. Time to grieve again. If it’s true, however, he is more honorable than the ones who lie and stay in the pulpit.
richard, AMEN!
I have no skin in this game, Jim. But more honorable?! You’re saying he and the elders didn’t lie when he originally stepped down? That seems to fly in the face of reality. The fact that the REAL reason[s] are going to be given ought to make that clear!
Or JM.
Perhaps the best that can be done at this point is to pray for him, his family and the congregation of CC Boise.
Duane…amen!
What Duane said.
Richard – I ditto the “AMEN!”
For the finger-pointing (or whatever you call it when the pulpit monarchists judge everyone else but themselves do over the radio), I doubt few single changes would’ve made a greater and more lasting effect than to REALLY believe and trust in God’s control than to share accountability, but I’ve already beat this dead horse.
I do want to share though if this is true, it saddens me as I really do respect Bob as he’s been willing to say some sorely-needed things over the years.
Lastly, I wonder how many of these failures will come out before the church sees the need to deal with marriages AS THEY REALLY ARE, instead of a gazillion more yearly “marriage” events/resources, WHEN THE HELL is the church going to start really addressing the realities?
If you’re thinking right now, “well, if the church is going so much ‘to strengthen’ marriage, isn’t that the same thing?”
With respect (and I’m not blaming you), THAT thinking I believe is part of the problem, and is leading to such (and many other failures).
WE (former, current, future CCers) and all those who benefit CCs luuuuved the complete overhaul of “the church” in the 60-70s, even reevaluating long-held traditions, from top-to-bottom, now romanced as “the Spirit moving” (though I don’t know how much “the Spirit” wanted everyone else ridiculed, but I digress).
We did that with the pure motivation (I hope) to benefit from all that God wanted.
For some reason with respect to marriage, we’re continuing a decades-long policy of willful ignorance, and only focus on “strengthening.”
That’s like a cancer patient who sorely needs a tumor removed being told to eat more veggies to “strengthen” themselves!
THE REALITY (I’ve witnessed firsthand in several states now, ALL levels of “ministry,” schools, etc) is that MANY husbands AND wives live most of their lives in schizophrenic “blessing” and misery – guess during marriage events which they portend?
I don’t understand when SO MANY men feel like their sole existence is to be a walking paycheck, their idiots in their own home, they sustain themselves on dreams of different lives (unfortunately many acts on those dreams), HOW does ignoring this help?
How does it help SO MANY women who feel like sex objects, maids, and second-class citizens (spiritually and secular), to NEVER be heard?
Is THIS what Jesus meant by stating He claim to bring abundant life? To be schizophrenic?
God didn’t use a church model or gov structure to illustrate His love for the church!
He use the marriage – THAT is a heck of a lot more important that some freekin’ tax shelter/building!
Ephesians 5:25: “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.” Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
UnCCed, I think I get what you’re saying, but what would it look like, sound like, feel like, etc. if the willful ignorance was undone, if we went in and extracted the tumor instead of strengthening? If the schizophrenia, walking idiot paychecks, and discarded second-class wives were to be out of the picture, WHAT would we have and HOW would it be achieved?
Bobby Grow, I apologize for what may have been a lack of clarity in my statement. It was not meant to be flip in any way. I could only comment with what I knew from Michael’s posting. I was just glad that he stepped down if immorality was the issue. If it turns out that he was forced out because he was going to be “outed”, then that is completely different. All this is speculation, of course. If the elders lied, etc., that is also very different and I completely agree with you.
forced out or “stepped down” … some things should be grieved and prayed for as was stated above… the person/perp shouldn’t run and hide, but should go sit with the pew sitters, learn, contribute and worship the God that, hopefully, they have confessed to: someone back there said, “against You and You only have I sinned” as i recall…
repent is always, always the key – confess and move on in the Faith… and, i might add from my perspective, make sure you divest yourself of whatever outside accoutrements have contributed to the situation… i.e., the Church does not allow for multiple “wives” as was the custom in David’s day (bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh is not stated in the plural)… today we have a lot of trouble with this one – thank God, for grace and mercy
question: does any man grow that kind of a stubble beard for any reason other than to be a chick magnet … or whatever you call it today? beware of “fashionable” pastors 🙂
just my not so humble opinion(s)…
John 20:29…. Quite often I feature stubble on my mug! But I don’t shave part of it off. Currently I haven’t shaved because I nicked myself to the point of bloodletting! 🙂 I’m allowing this to heal before shaving again. The other times I’m just being lazy!!
well, E – i’m sure that you are a chick magnet, so be careful out there … 🙂
Just a thought, if we don’t wish to be like those we often criticize, there should be no rush to judgement. There may already be enough pain in a family and a church to suffice. A better option may be prayer and the exercise of Christian charity. Let us please remember, these are real people created in the image of God for whom Christ died. Wait for the facts, then respond in the spirit of Christ… Again, just a thought.
Personally, I choose to hold on to hope until the news comes in.
I refuse to give in and say that “it’s probably moral failure.” I hope that it’s good news, like: “He was actually working with refugees and for security’s sake we couldn’t reveal it until now…” kind of thing.
Hope for the best, be ready for the worst.
Otherwise, we’re just speculating and perhaps feeding a potential lie through the speculation.
(Unless, of course, MIchaels sources have alluded to something different…;) )
There is more to life than shaving.
Why assume anything about this? Maybe he simply wants to devote more time to missions and start a second phase in life, like he said. If a “real reason” is going to be announced this Sunday, then we only have to wait a few days. It’ll save us from the pride of guessing first or the shame of a wrong accusation.
since we all have advice on how to react to this puzzle – mine is to pray for a good outcome…
no matter what speculations may come to mind and it is certainly natural to speculate when there’s unanswered questions, we must remember that what we’re doing is speculating on unknown whatifs – without malice maybe there are some principles to ponder and understanding to gain… dunno, tho, do i
I have information that alleges moral failure.
Michael. I have a question that is admittedly off topic, but I am going to pose it here for expediency. I am relatively new on this site and do not know your “story”. I suppose that many of us have them as to the things we suffered under the auspices of our respective CC’s. I was a Jesus Freak and foolish enough to go to four different ones (including CCCM) only to realize that their problems were systemic not local. Too many stories. I would genuinely like to know your story, but did not know where to find it on your blog.
JM,
It’s been so long ago and the blog has been up so long I rarely get asked.
In a nutshell, I was part of a local CC church as a pastor in training when I found out that we had significant moral failure and alcohol abuse in the staff, including the senior pastor.
When I confronted this I was kicked out and ostracized by any who knew.
The other local CC pastors refused to deal with any of it and dealt with me the same way.
A few years later the whole thing collapsed and even though it was 20 + years ago the damage remains.
I learned first hand how the system works.
In the early 2000’s this thing called a blog was invented…and here we are.
Michael, i think you were a God plant waay back there for this very purpose – dunno, tho, do i? 🙂
John 20:29,
Because of my belief in the sovereignty of God is providence, I believe you’re probably right.
I often wonder how different life would have been if all of this would have never happened…
Thank you, Michael, for being willing to share even that much. While it is very late to do so, I offer my condolences. Your story is horrendous and absolutely believable based upon what I know about the SOP of CC’s. No wonder you fight to correct those same things to this day. Frankly, it brings up the horrors my own family suffered. Here’s the Reader’s Digest version. Every CC I and/or my family went to had deep and disturbing problems. The first set of incidents were many years ago at CCCM and, while single, there was an accusation towards me of trying to make another “fall”. I was very young and innocent. I was honestly there to worship and serve God and did not know what they were talking about. I left. Much later, it was revealed that there was immorality in all kinds of places–even in the Worship team. Because their hearts were dirty, they simply assumed upon me. Very hurtful. The next CC had a similar problem and many “had” to get married. They always used the “fig leaf” approach rather than advocate true repentance. Who knew that the pastor was likely a pervert like so many others already in place inside this “association”. This CC caused many people who were dear to me to stumble and has affected many in my family to this day. It is too painful to recount. The next one hid what they did with the money (they squandered thousands) and we were giving sacrificially. We were naive enough to still be shocked. As a final test, we watched the pastor regarding the Hocking issue and he refused to deal with it. Because of the pain over that subject from the last CC, we left. If none of that was our cure, the last one was. There was interference from the “Mother Church”/CCCM and it caused cruel and unnecessary firings, a school being turned into a business instead of a ministry, the cover up of essentially embezzlement at another CC and, finally, new believers to go away and never come back. It was so devastating it broke our family in half for awhile. (God is good. All is well now.) When we would see the pastor in public, he would shun us instead of trying to see how were were surviving.
I am much older now and will never put trust in an institution like that again. In our family we have a devotion and prayer time every day. We are not treated well by certain other “believers” because we have not yet committed to another church, but we know the Bible better than any of them and can defend ourselves with Scripture. We no longer give to tax-deductible charities. We give it to those around us who are needy. There are so many women (and some men) who are abandoned by their “Christian” spouses and their own rotten churches, that the need is huge. The church at large has failed in this very basic admonition from Scripture.
I know I have said some very harsh things about CC, but I consider them well-founded. I am not necessarily a fan of Brodersen, but if, indeed, he has been slandered, I really hope that everything comes out and the truth prevails. Likewise, if there is a truth that is exculpatory about the other side, I hope that comes out as well so everything is based upon the truth. I do not know the full of it, but God does. All we here want is that the truth comes to light after all these years–and that the body will finally be served in the light of that truth. Personally, I think both sides should go their separate ways, start over and let the Holy Spirit come and give direction. I saw what was possible over 40 years ago when those of us who were truly seeking were found of God and simplicity is still the best.
I hope you forgive this long entry. I really did not mean to hijack your post. I guess one thought leads to another and this is what results. Again, I cannot but help to wish you healing in your body and refreshing for your spirit. It seems that is what is needed by so many of us. And…thanks for letting me post.
Michael, I think we discover our calling through redirection. We had dinner with a couple who had never found a church they felt a part of in Washington state. They moved to South America and found a church 15 minutes away that they consider their forever home. Who’d have of thunk it?
Your misfortune, and obedience, resulted in spiritual growth for everyone on the blog. We owe a debt of gratitude to you and to God.
Linnea,
Thank you my friend…I’m going though my traditional year end wishing that I’d never bought a computer. 🙂
This too will pass…it always does.
JM,
No need to apologize…it’s actually very helpful to me to be reminded of why we do what we do.
“There are so many women (and some men) who are abandoned by their “Christian” spouses and their own rotten churches, that the need is huge.”
I’m working on the chapter in my book on this issue and it enrages me every time I try to do so…
Thank you for your testimony and know that you have lots of company…and that your willingness to speak is also a voice raised for others.
Michael, what grace you give to me. Thank you! I am glad to hear that you are going to put more light onto the subject of abandonment in the Christian realm. It’s a disgrace and those of us on the ground cannot keep up. Kudos! And, though I might be much more weathered (crusty?), I will speak and advocate (within Biblical parameters, I hope) about those wandering on the hills that continue to be uncared for. While this is the legacy of the church at large, it is also the unfortunate legacy of CC. Their unwillingness to care for it in the face of all that God had given to them will cause them to possibly feel God’s chagrin more than others. “To much is given, much is required.” In keeping with the subject matter of your original post about Caldwell–I would strongly advise all CC pastors new and old to “come clean” if they have committed adultery and tried to hide it. (Also CC’s legacy.) Otherwise, God will not continue to be mocked and He will expose them Himself. You don’t mess with His sheep and you do not misrepresent Him. It simply does not end well.
Lest we all drown in grief over the apparent “legacy” of many CC churches, there ARE faithful leaders who walk in integrity, who do not neglect their families or abuse the power of their position.
I’ve been blessed to have some level of hope restored since participating in a very sweet Calvary Chapel here in Portland. The pastor is humble, God seeking and faithful to his wife, family and calling. Guys like that don’t get much publicity.
Paige, so glad you found a safe place to worship.
Paige, what you describe can only be a good thing. Perhaps your pastor can be part of a group to lobby for repentance by the CC pastors who are abusing their positions by sleeping with the sheep, mismanaging God’s money and, by default, beating the parishioners. The bad ones do a disservice to someone like your pastor and he has every right to speak out and protest against their hypocrisy. I assume if he is a righteous man that he has spoken out. Infact, Scripture would instruct the good pastors (upon the witness of 2 or 3) to expose unrepentant, immoral pastors publicly so that others may fear. Why this is such a rarity by the “good” pastors inside of CC is a bit of a puzzle to me. It would be to the benefit of the good pastors to expose these things and clean out the leaven which quenches the Holy Spirit. All would benefit and many of the disenfranchised sheep would come back. All should be done to protect the sheep from these predators. The sheep should always come first and the shepherds who are to one day answer to the “Good Shepherd” are to always act sacrificially just as Christ did. Silence or the delusion of neutrality on sin within church leadership is not possible. It can lead others to think adultery or its cousins are either not very important or not sins that disqualify leaders. They do. I hope your good pastor is among those that will fight for repentance or consider taking the name off if it continues to become too greatly associated with abuse and immorality. God will not penalize a shepherd who cares for his sheep. It may be a matter of faith. Do people come a certain church because of the name or do they come because the Holy Spirit draws them? And…If your godly pastor were to put the word out that he disavows the “Distinctives” which made all the aforementioned evil possible, would he not receive the blessing of people who are “wandering on the mountains” coming back into fellowship at his very church? It could be a win/win, but I see no takers so far. It’s too bad. Surely some important decisions need to be made by many. I truly wish him well and I truly wish you well.
You know, JM, this faithful and kind pastor is actually ‘retiring’ from pastoring this church as of Jan 8th 2017, after 23 years. Crossroads Church of Vancouver, WA (Daniel Fusco, Gabe Moreno and others) will taking it over as their SW Portland campus… a pretty cool move and exciting solution, following the great example set by Bill Richie. The Pastor of whom I speak, is Terry McNabb of CCP. He is going to be part of a ministry that helps other pastors within the CC movement! Is it rather refreshing to be in the good company of such faithful and solid men, who are not super stars, but actual pastors and disciples themselves. Thus, there IS hope within the movement. I, for one, am encouraged and thankful…. It is deeply encouraging to see the changing of the “guard” without a ball of fire.
JM, every denomination has fallen pastors and bad examples and their failings do not implicate their faithful brothers nor necessitate those brothers resign from their churches or rip their congregations away from the tradition within which they are lead to fellowship.
Hi Captain Kevin,
Sorry for not replying (yet), I’m not used to being engaged in civil conversation.
Your question is a good one.
What it would like like (extracting the tumor) would hopefully be a place where, for possible the first time, members of the body (the REAL church) would be safe to share their struggles in open honesty – what we’re supposed to already have.
For an example, men, and thereby the leadership would/SHOULD be able to share that by and large they/we are treated like frikkin’ idiots in their own home, etc., and this should not be so.
Ladies should be able to share, from just a visible platform, they are equal heirs with us men and thereby aren’t our freekin’ maids.
The best way to “fix” and prevent issues is by open and truthful communication.
UnCCed, im sorry you are in so much pain. We will be praying for you
Steve Wright, If I understand what you said, then I think we agree. Infact, if what I said got translated into pastors who did not commit a sin of disqualification needing to resign, then I owe another apology for my lack of clarity. No need for that or for changing tradition that does not violate Scripture. My point was different. I do make implication that little can be done successfully until the sin is removed from the camp and that there are specific things that need to be done in order to accomplish that. It would necessitate pastors stepping up in a way that I have not seen on a wide scale. The lack of accountability is affecting the whole body. Even if a CC church has autonomy, through the pastor, it is “associated” and has an agreement (tacit or not) with all that comes with it (Distinctives). There is an implication of unity on these points. Silence by a pastor among other associated pastors in the face of known abuse upon any of the flock (sexual sin with a congregant is a type of abuse) simply is not an option. It could possibly imply the fear of retribution from some party, agreement with the sin or, sadly, the inability to stand up for what is right and against what is wrong. None of that is acceptable. If a pastor becomes aware of “sin in the camp”, especially in leadership (because of a leader’s power to harm), and allows it to continue without comment, they are part of the problem. I believe this silence will come back to them eventually. That being said, God’s forgiveness is beyond anything that we can ever understand. It is not, however, available to the unrepentant. Therefore, silence is cruel on two counts. On one count, it sentences the abused to being minimized and keeps the possibility of the abuse open to happening again. On the second count, it sentences the guilty leader to never be challenged to confess and do the right thing. If someone loved the pastor as Christ–they would fight for him, too, perchance he would truly repent and experience the depth of God’s forgiveness. (He also may never repent, but not trying insures bad things will continue to happen. Further, not removing the guilty pastor is cruel to the flock.) If the sinning pastor repents and puts his pride on the altar, he can always serve in another way. The good example of this balanced approach can spread healing and respect for God among His people. This process has been circumvented by Chuck Smith and the Moses Model for so long, that people have gotten used to being allowed to be passive and quiet. I submit this “strategy” has not worked considering the proliferation of certain sins among CC pastors. This is no longer a time for a leader to be passive about any of this. The bad fruit speaks for itself. Separating from a denomination that has refused to properly acknowledge and deal with their disqualified pastors would admittedly be a drastic step and only one of last resort. It does, however, have to be an option if one does not want to be in agreement with all of it. The only way to avoid agreement would be to publicly denounce this unchecked behavior (and the Distinctives) within the association/denomination and, if there is no repentance and no change–go somewhere else. Being present when the Spirit fell among the Jesus Freaks tells me God can do what He wants–if you have the faith to invite Him in and the patience to wait upon Him. This, too, is circumvented by unrepentance and passive agreement with sin and abuse. No one is without resources. God is not stupid, deaf, blind or poor. In all fairness to what Paige has shared, I will not discount the good experience she has had and do not want to. I truly believe her account and do rejoice. I hope and pray that Pastor McNabb does do the work needed inside of CC. It is long overdue. I cannot imagine having animus toward the right thing being done. However, as one who suffered even while trying to make change inside of this “association” for many, many years (I still have not related the whole story), I can tell you that my mistrust is at such a level that it isn’t likely that I will ever set foot inside of any church with the CC name as long as I live. For those like me, “the name” has come to stand for abuse, immorality, pride, stagnancy, unrepentance and defeat. Like it or not, the damage done by so many under the CC banner is so deep and has spread so far that there are armies of people wandering the hills with this same issue. You seem like a good man, Steve, and you also seem to have a sincere concern for the Body of Christ. I ask that you, as a pastor, ponder again the depth of what has happened on the “pew warmer” side. I have not yet addressed the deeply felt pain expressed by UnCCed, but it also reflects a great deal of what I saw and what I suffered. The issues given are extremely valid as many can attest. I pray for this person, too. It seems that Dusty has a soft heart and has attended to this nicely.
Does anyone know why the CC Abuse blog is offline?
The. Man should. Repent period. If. He. Knows. How. And he should. Be taken. Out of any. Leadership. Role at all much. Less do. Anything. About evangelism and sit in the pew. And learn of Yahweh
I was told a year ago that it was Saeed’s wife and Bob that had the affair and that “Saeed and Bob” got into an altercation at sometime. This info. was told to me by someone who knows Bob’s son. (This very well may or may not have happened this way, but we do know that something very wrong has happened).
I attended this church for a while, off and on, about five years ago with my family but stopped because of how out of touch this leadership was toward the Holy Spirit. It is the great responsibility of a leader to feed the body of Christ (if called), and requires a real and personal consecration to our Savior.
Some of the obvious signs that bothered me was that such a worldly style of music used for entertainment/concert, and to be pushed off as worship to the Lord. The pastors messages seemed to offend in manner during the services, frequently using sexual commentary that was to suggestive for my children to be in attendance,,, and other things like this.
The top leadership was just too cool and hip-star, really distasteful and grieving the Holy Spirit from moving among-st his people. The people are spiritually hungry there and need fed the real spiritual meet of the living word, encouraging the people there to share what God is doing in there life. Fellowship is a blessing to be sure.
God’s word tells us to “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,” (1 John 2;15-16). We are to let God deal with us first and walk humbly before him so that it is his will that we follow in ministry and not the opposite. The Word of God is enough for you and I to find and love him, and also to discern from what is right and from what is wrong. “We are to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh.” This is for you and I also and not just for a pastor of a church, (Galatians 5;16-17).
I believe that God will continue to expose Satan’s scheme to all of us as “he Satan” uses false leaders to misguide the flocks astray. There is a” form” in American culture to present Christianity in the manner that it is today. Used to mock God while causing confusion and heart break. A false form of Church out there (with a lot of sincere seekers of God, his manna, and his true blessing). God’s people will always here his voice and follow him as these days seemingly grow darker to us. Even without an official church to go to; we can walk and stay on the narrow path of his Holy written Word, fighting the good fight and given a life in prayer.
For someone so critical, you certainly don’t start well.
I have been covering both this story and the Abedini story…and there is not a shred of evidence for your allegation.
None.
So…if repenting needs to happen it needs to start with you.
re: Pastor Caldwell .. I am 68 yrs. old and new to Christianity. I moved to the Boise area in 2009 and, after accepting Jesus Christ as my Saviour, I started watching Pastor Bob (as I called) him Every Sunday. When I heard he had left CC Boise, I felt lost.
I’ve just now found out it was due to adultery!! I pray this was of Pastor Caldwell’s choice so he might repair his family AND his reputation.
If, however, it it or was the Church’s doing, I am truly hurt and ashamed of YOU … CC Boise .. You and you alone !!!
What ever happened to “Let he who is without Sin, cast the first stone”. We are human and as human’s, are subject to the trials and temptations of that great Liar … Satan.
If, you have contact with Pastor Caldwell, would give him my regards and let him know he has more folks praying for him?
Thank you and best regards,
In Christ,
Jim and Danna Bower
Nampa, ID.
Jim Bower,
The church is REQUIRED to take down a minister who has disqualified himself.
This has nothing to do with casting stones…it has everything to do with guarding the integrity of the church.
Bob hurt many a person who will never be disclosed and he was given a free pass for the damage he did adultery is not ok and manipulation of the church body even worse
Bye Bob hope it was worth hurting us
Bob caldwell is a thief and a liar,
He used us to build cabin and now retains it as a reward for lying and stealing
I will never support another cc related entity you stole from me and I won’t forget it.