Straight Talk…! From Chuck Cooper, Christian Writer/Blogger rvchuck@msn.com July 1, 2015
Straight Talk…!
From Chuck Cooper, Christian
Writer/Blogger
rvchuck@msn.com July 1, 2015
LifeWay’s Glorieta
Baptist Conference Center
Forces Unfair Theft
of Residents’ Homes
(Part
One)
Author’s Note:
it is NOT my intent in writing this investigative blog to damage or demean the reputations of either LifeWay Christian
Resources or the Southern Baptist Convention by exposing what I believe was
“ungodly” treatment and financial extortion of former property owners at Glorieta Conference
Center in Glorieta, NM.
My ONLY intent is to inform Southern Baptists so
they will voluntarily apply enough pressure on LifeWay and SBC executives and
trustees to correct the emotional and financial damage their decisions have
forced on loyal, trusting homeowners and churches. I pray those decision makers will, after the
fact, take the high moral and scriptural ground and fairly compensate all
leaseholders for the houses and buildings they built, purchased or improved.
I have no dog in this hunt other than telling
the stories of how these fellow Christians have been treated. I leave any
consequences of my efforts up to the readers.
--
Chuck Cooper
Their stories are true; they are real people; their
stories are personal and their accounts are heart-breaking. The treatment they
received from their beloved Southern Baptist denomination is disappointing,
infuriating, ungodly and sinful, but spiritually enlightening for some.
........... All are
among the some 65 former home and building owners (about half SBC Churches) who
built or purchased existing units on leased land owned by Glorieta
Baptist Conference
Center in Glorieta, NM.
All
believe they have been financially swindled and defrauded by
LifeWay Christian Resources, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention
headquartered in Nashville, TN. (The Southern Baptist Convention is the world’s largest Baptist denomination and
the largest Protestant body in the USA with nearly 16 million members
as of 2012.)
“Swindled” and “defrauded” are strong words; you decide if they are
appropriate when you learn the details of what LifeWay decision makers did to
its loyal, trusting Christian homeowners.
What
follows has been collected from the homeowners, court documents, letters from
Lifeway and Glorieta 2.0, as well as from published articles in Baptist
publications.
The BACKSTORY: (Here’s enough of the “background” to acquaint you with what
LifeWay/Glorieta forced on its trusting homeowners.)
Since 1952, when the Glorieta encampment was established
by the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board (now Lifeway Christian Resources, Inc.),
Southern Baptist individuals and churches were strongly encouraged to invest in
the ministry by leasing building lots on which to build and maintain personal
residences, homes and lodges.
During the next 63 years, the Glorieta ministry developed
many innovative and exciting Gospel-based programs and events for folks of all
ages. More than 200,000 attendees claim Glorieta as their spiritual home where
they developed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Beginning in 2011,
LifeWay executives began seeking possible buyers for the sale of the 2,400-acre
Glorieta Conference Center. Citing changes in church practices, rising
costs and a volatile economy, LifeWay offered to sell the 2,400-acre facility
to other SBC entities and Baptist state conventions. Because Lifeway would not
indemnify any of their sister entity buyers, none were interested.
The SALE: But, on June 13, 2013, Marty Smith, LifeWay communication
director, published the lead article in LifeWay’s online newsletter “Facts and Trends”
announcing that LifeWay trustees had approved the sale of Glorieta to a group
of Texas-based Christian camping investors named “Glorieta 2.0” for one
dollar. You read that correctly, the
sale was for $1.00!
In
his announcement, Mr. Smith reported that Jerry Rhyne, LifeWay vice president
and chief financial officer, previously told homeowners that “one of the most
important requirements for any sale of Glorieta was that the new owners would
provide options that were fair, reasonable and prudent.” Several leaseholders
have verified that Mr. Rhyne made similar statements to them.
Based
on the options offered by Glorieta 2.0 below, it is evident that Mr. Rhyne’s
promises were empty ones and that his definitions of “fair, reasonable and
prudent” by Glorieta 2.0 is a far cry from the definitions of leaseholders.
The OFFERS: Shortly after the announcement, an email to
leaseholders from Anthony Scott, the on-site representative of Glorieta 2.0,
advised that all leases would expire on Sept. 30, 2013 and presented the
following options:
·
Donate your property
outright.
·
Lease the land for 12
years and then donate your home.
·
Accept $40,000 for your
home.
Infuriated
at what they considered to be totally unfair and “ungodly” offers, some 100 local
Glorieta campus leaseholders met for nearly four hours on Tuesday, July 9, 2013
with Scott; Hal Hill, then director of Glorieta Conference Center; Jerry Rhyne,
Lifeway CFO; Art Sneed; and David Weekley, Director of Glorieta 2.0. Ed
Stetzer, President of LifeWay Research, a division of LifeWay, moderated the discussion.
During this
meeting, Glorieta home and lodge owners expressed their concerns about the
offers and asked why the sales agreement did not protect their financial
investments in Glorieta. David Weekley expressed his surprise upon arriving on
Glorieta Campus that the $2.5 million dollars set aside in the Glorieta 2.0
Business Plan to purchase leaseholder homes and lodges was inadequate. Mr.
Weekley said, "The real value for the 65 homes and lodges was $12
million,” but his business plan was firm in offering only $2.5 million. Why?
Three days later, Glorieta 2.0 offered the following “Revised,
Amended and Restated” options in an unsigned letter on Glorieta 2.0 letterhead.
• OPTION 1: A one-time buyout for $30
per square foot, with a minimum $40,000 and maximum $100,000 payment,
regardless of the appraised
value. If accepted, must vacate premises by Dec. 1, 2013. (Does it seem strange, even deceptive,
that this option is based on square footage rather than on a percentage of appraised value? Customarily,
construction costs are based upon square footage and selling
price is based upon appraised value.
• OPTION 2: A new 12-year lease at
$1,800 per year plus utilities with
annual cost of living adjustments. At the end of the lease, the building will go to Glorieta 2.0 as a donation. If the
leaseholder opts out of lease before
it expires in 2025, they would forfeit a pro-rated amount of the Option 1 offer.
•
OPTION 3: Donate the building to
Glorieta 2.0 if you want a tax deduction but advise Glorieta 2.0 by Sept. 1, 2013.
Added to the re-stated options was a
provision that “truly permanent residents” would be allowed to continue leasing
at $1,800 per year after the 12 years and can stay “as long as you want and are
physically able to be a permanent resident there.” An additional caveat states that if a
homeowner under this agreement is deemed physically unable to function, their
home would be automatically donated without compensation. How sad.
Bottom
line for leaseholders from Glorieta 2.0: “…we are trying to go the extra
mile to make this work…in order for us to be good stewards this is as far as we
can go…this is a big stretch for us. ---
from Glorieta 2.0 “Dear Glorieta Friend” letter
Bottom
line for leaseholders from Glorieta: Good luck in getting a fair
compensation. “I would have never signed
the original lease.” --- Jerry Rhyne’s reply when a homeowner asked him in
2011 how many employees owned homes at Glorieta.
In spite of
a provision in the leases for the parties to seek “mediation” in case of
differences, officials from both LifeWay and Glorieta refused requests from
leaseholders to do so.
The
provision says: “Any dispute, controversy or claim arising under, out of, in
connection with or in relation to this Agreement, or the breach, termination,
validity or enforceability of any provision of this Agreement, shall be settled
by mediation and, if necessary, legally binding arbitration in accordance with
the Rules of Procedure for Christian Conciliation of the Institute for
Christian Conciliation.”
The LAWSUIT: Failing
further successful negotiations with LifeWay, a majority of homeowners
officially appointed homeowner Kirk Tompkins as their “Attorney General” after
the lawsuit was filed against LifeWay seeking a jury trial.
The
suit was filed on Sept. 4, 2013 in the U.S District Court of New Mexico but was
later dismissed after 20 months, without prejudice, for lack of standing citing
that Tompkins could not bring the lawsuit because he was not a member of the
ecclesiastical group that included Lifeway or Southern Baptist Convention.
The
plaintiffs have since appealed that ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for
the Tenth Circuit. In fact, Tompkins filed his brief June 25, 2015. He said
this is the same Appellate Court that reversed the lower court decision in the
Hobby Lobby lawsuit, but he says he doesn’t expect a ruling any time soon. A
jury trial decision will provide the discovery for additional Lifeway records,
minutes of meetings, and contracts important to disclosing the truths presented
in the lawsuit.
All
former homeowners except Tompkins, Buck Cheshire, Pastor Glen Strock, and Amarillo First Baptist
have accepted the buyout offered by Glorieta 2.0 and vacated their homes and
lodges. A majority of these homes and lodges are now occupied by Glorieta 2.0
staff as part of their compensation.
The
$1 SALE?: The
“million dollar” questions (pun intended) remain.
1.
Why did LifeWay agree to sell the 2,400-acre facility for the “giveaway” price of a mere $1.00?
2. Why
did LifeWay negotiators approve a sales agreement with Glorieta 2.0 that did not include Mr. Rhyne’s promise to
protect its homeowners with options that
were fair, reasonable and prudent?
LifeWay President Thom Rainer addressed the $1.00
sale in his report to church messengers attending the 2014 SBC annual meeting. According
to an Associated Baptist Press report published in the Baptist
Standard on June 13, 2014, Dr. Ranier said: “We could have sold Glorieta
for several million dollars, according to the appraisal, but it would have been
sold to a commercial entity, and we don’t know what would have been at the
place called Glorieta.”
He later
noted: “I would rather sell Glorieta and see the gospel continue than to see a
casino go on what is this sacred ground.” Since Glorieta sits on
off-reservation land, the building of a casino there is impossible without
jumping through very complicated state and federal hoops.
Dr. Rainer’s “casino” comment is nothing less
than an empty attempt to justify not selling to a major corporation for
“millions”.
Also
according the Baptist Standard article, a Glorieta homeowner and retired
pastor/missionary, quizzed Dr. Ranier point blank: “So I’m asking you, Dr. Rainer,
would you provide a fair market value to homeowners and churches that were
invested in the campus of Glorieta?” Dr. Ranier expressed sympathy for the
homeowners, but provided no answer to the question.
In
the interest of fairness, I attempted twice to get comments and answers from
Dr. Ranier to use here – once by e-mail and once by registered letter. Neither request has received a response at
this time.
The RESOLUTION: It
appears that only intercession by Holy Spirit or a court of law or both will ever
provide a resolution to this continuing issue which continues to fester in the
minds and hearts of the offended.
Unless,
of course, you Baptist readers will share and discuss this report with your
pastors who, in turn, will apply enough pressure on LifeWay and SBC leaders to
voluntarily correct this wrong.
Or,
perhaps your pastor, like one I know, will cancel his church’s LifeWay account until
this issue is fairly resolved. When orders for materials from LifeWay decline
enough, the bottom line will determine the LifeWay response.
Or, as Mr. Tompkins asked me rhetorically: “How long
would it take LifeWay to change its policy and pay fair value to Glorieta
homeowners if one well known Southern Baptist executive or pastor complained publicly?”
Perhaps
you, personally, could help generate an answer to that question!
Stay tuned!
There’s more….a whole lot more… more about this
issue that space doesn’t allow revealing here. Part Two is coming soon. It will reveal the heart-wrenching, highly
emotional stories from several former homeowners, including the incredible
financial devastation they are enduring.
