In 2019, after a period of restoration, Hodges returned to the pulpit at Freedom House Church, an ARC member church in Charlotte, North Carolina. A ministry that would help such people sounds like a good thing, although a good aspect of such a ministry might be to help a fallen prominent leader to transition to a different career that being in a prominent leadership role is not a right or the only way a forgiven and restored believer can serve God. Interview with Church of the Highlands Pastor Chris Hodges 51,474 views Jun 15, 2016 509 Dislike Share ABC 33/40 11.9K subscribers Church of the Highlands Senior Pastor Chris Hodges talks. They did their part, until all of us brought it down., Hodges said he has a piece of the Berlin wall that he had put in a box in 2001 and stored in his attic. Also does not the restoring of pastors typically happen at a higher denominational level.? The church has been referred to as a cult by people who left the program. But the wall was still up. Similarly, Hodges son, Michael Hodges, also experienced an undisclosed moral failing and was removed as a pastor at COTHs Greystone campus in 2017. For the past 12 weeks, the Church of the Highlands has held online worship services without Sunday morning in-person group gatherings. Sharing life through community is part of our design, but meaningful relationships arent always easy to find. Let me get this straight, a Pastor is caught in adultery or embezzlement, and these guys want to restore the pastor to leadership??? The Roys Report seeks to foster thoughtful and respectful dialogue. Chris has a deep passion for developing leaders and planting life-giving churches. We just have to love alike.. I posted a picture of him wearing a Supreme-Louis Vuitton hoodie, he says in the doc. I want to hear.. On an FAQ page for pastors at ARCs website, it says, We ask you to make ARC a part of your regular missions giving. Ralph Northam with two men wearing blackface and a KKK costume with the caption Progressive Leftist Ralph Northam in the 1980s.. We are protected by Trustees. So he made a quick $307,500-$410,000., Chris said he invited a guest speaker to speak this past Sunday because he had been busy with training 41 pastors this past week. Whites carried their churches with them, they moved to the suburbs. White folk have proved they don't want to live next door to us, or be our neighbors, or worship with us," Jordan said in an earlier report. No, he took that amount as revenue. So he made a quick $307,500-$410,000. Amy Spreeman Association of Related Churches: Time to get off the ARC: https://bereanresearch.org/association-of-related-churches-time-to-get-off-the-arc/, Chris Rosebrough Che Ahn Modern-Day (Restoration of) Apostles: http://www.piratechristian.com/fightingforthefaith/2019/1/if-im-a-butterfly-why-am-i-still-crawling, Chris Rosebrough Che Ahn Who Are the Apostles: http://www.piratechristian.com/fightingforthefaith/2018/7/live-fearless, Chris Rosebrough Chris Hodges: Do You Love Me? I would be upset if it comes off as me judging him. In 2001 Chris Hodges founded Church of the Highlands, now known as one of the largest churches in the U.S. with over 60,000 members and 23 campuses. The lawsuit alleges that other victims reported similar misconduct by the same pastor to the church and Rizzo as early as 2016. Larrry Stockstill is Pastor Chris' longtime friend and mentor, and currently serves as teaching pastor at Bethany Church. Lentz became Hillsongs shining star, skyrocketing to such fame that he rubbed elbows with the likes of Bieber and Oprah Winfrey. Be quick to listen, slow to speak.. Chris remains the senior pastor and Chancellor of Highlands College, a ministry training school that has trained and launched hundreds of students into full-time ministry careers all over the world. Through the months that we were seeing each other, I started to realize that it was always his way or no way. GrowLeader is also committed to generosity by supporting organizations like Highlands College. Michael Hodges (pictured) son of founder and Senior Pastor of the nearly 40,000 member Church of the Highlands in Alabama, Chris Hodges, was recently removed as pastor of the Greystone campus due to a moral failing. Hes been a friend of our family for a very, very long time, Maxwell said. AL.com's religion reporter Greg Garrison talks about the incident. Its better to get to know the person before you look them up. That was the weirdest answer I had ever heard, she says. On Reddit, a post to an account called Allabout COTHa group with 1.3K members discussing alleged financial and spiritual abuse at COTHnoted that the event netted hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Church of the Highlands Senior Pastor Leadership Team are: 2. Location Map. It is headquartered next to COTHs Greystone Campus in Birmingham, Alabama. , a ministry training school that has trained and launched hundreds of students into full-time ministry careers all over the world. He claims Brian Houston told him, You know, its your fault all of this happened. To think we can is just another example of the evangelical worlds sickness. Highlands Auburn East Campus is located a short distance from Interstate 85 in a facility on Samford Avenue in Auburn. He speaks at conferences worldwide and is a New York Times best selling author of Fresh Air, Four Cups, The Daniel Dilemma, Whats Next?, Out of the Cave and Pray First. But restoring a fallen pastor after a year at a new congregation that doesnt even know him is nuts. Chris Hodges, founder and leader ofChurch of the Highlands, one of the largest churches in America, apologized Sunday for liking social media posts of Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk that have been criticized as racially insensitive. uhhhhhh never mind.. At first I was put off at what appeared to be putting down a ministry to restore ministers who fell into sexual sin. He said he proposed to his wife, Tammy, in Germany in 1986 when the wall still stood. They provide counsel to the Senior Pastor Leadership Team regarding the major financial commitments of the church. According to Karim, over the course of their affair, Lentz cried in front of her, which she took as a sign of his vulnerability. What he failed to tell everyone is his RoundTable cost $7500 for the Pastor or $10,000 if they bring their spouse. I find it difficult to call a sin that demands execution in the Torah a moral failing. Theres never been a pastor in the history of my life who has given my sons, so thank God for the opportunity to stand here but thank you sir for loving my sons the way you do. Prior to being appointed the Greystone campus pastor, Michael had been on Church of the Highlands staff since 2015, serving in capacities such as director of ministry partnership and placement, and member of the Highlands College Team, which teaches students at the churchs ministry training program, AL.com said. Tell me what I dont know, he said. Church of the Highlands (COTH)a 43,000-member megachurch in Alabama, which recently sparked controversy for trying to rehabilitate a pastor accused of sexual assaultis building a $4.5-million lodge to restore pastors. I AM an RZ survivor. Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed is produced by Breaklight Pictures in association with New York Post Entertainment for Discovery+. Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! Church of the Highlands exists to help people Know God, Find Freedom, Discover their Purpose, and Make a Difference. The same should be done with Dino. Lentz told Hayes and her then-boyfriend to stop seeing each other, and they did, to their mutual heartbreak. IT IS A PRIVILEGE TO BE ON THIS STAGE. After founding AppOne, a national financial tech company acquired by a multi-billion dollar company 10 years later, Lee served as CEO until retiring in 2011. I want you to know that I believe it makes God angry and it makes us angry too. Some church planting assessments Ive seen practically invite narcissistic leadership. I have often wondered if he was talking about ARC. Joel Stockstill, the older brother of Bethanys current lead pastor, Jonathan Stockstill, is said to have been the ringleader of the $5,000 program. I can relate, Vicki! Theyre wondering, where do you really stand? Oxford | Campuses | Church of the Highlands Oxford About Events Campus Staff Oxford Our Oxford location meets at the Oxford Civic Center. Michael R. Jordan of New Era Baptist Church in Birmingham slammed the Church of the Highlands as racist and "hypocritical" in its bid to start a church plant in one of Birmingham's most violent neighborhoods. So, its quite possible some of the pastors involved in the Grow Leader course have checkered pasts. That hoodie at the time was on the resale market for $10[,000] to $15,000. Unless youre hiding something.. Grow, now called Highlands Resources,continues to provide resources to over 16,500 churches globally at no cost. I dont take it personally. His brother who is a member of the Freedom House congregation spoke at the South End campus. Church of the Highlands faces social media firestorm. Church of the Highlands did not disclose what Michael's "moral failing" was in the fall of 2017 when he was stripped of his leadership responsibilities, but after his father announced his removal, all his social media accounts as well as at least one belonging to his wife, Katie, were disabled. ixated on Religion, Politics, Media. Since Pastor Chris Hodges founded Church of the Highlands in 2001, meeting in a rented auditorium at Mountain Brook High School, it has spiraled outward in popularity from Birminghams suburbs to become Alabamas largest church, with at least 22 branches spread out from Huntsville to Mobile, Tuscaloosa to Auburn. Hodges now serves as special projects director at Highlands College, a COTH-affiliated school on its Greystone campus. The focus isnt on exalting Christ from that statement, ex. They don't plant new churches and function as a denomination. Information. This [womanizing] was a very known thing about Carl.. This year, two lawsuits have been filed against ARC or its Executive Director Dino Rizzo for negligence or cover-up in sexual harassment or abuse cases involving ARC pastors. Theres no evidence given that restoring pastors is lucrative. Though The Roys Report has done much to create conversation about the sicknesses in the world of evangelicalism, much that is good and right (I loved the article about the Tomlin-Hillsong experience), it often falls short of its stated mission: reporting the truth. May Jesus be Exalted. 1 Peter 4:11 challenges those who speak to speak as it were the very words of God.. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. "Whites left the inner city. How so? The Stockstill family still runs Bethany Church in Baton Rouge, LA as well as their other campuses. They got little pick-axes. One of the posts, according to AL.com, shows two photos one featuring President Donald Trump standing next to Muhammad Ali and Rosa Parks with the caption The racist Donald Trump in the 1980s, and the other featuring Democratic Virginia Gov. Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Watch Now. Thats fine. In 2001 Chris Hodges founded Church of the Highlands, now known as one of the largest churches in the U.S. with over 60,000 members and 23 campuses. The church can help the nation change, he said. I had to. But behind the scenes, he was not practicing what he preached. Highlands College is a biblical higher education institution that exists to supply the Church with leaders of competence, character, and spiritual maturity, holistically trained to lead lives of eternal impact by fulfilling the Great Commission. Before the coronavirus lockdown, more than 50,000 people attended weekly services at 22 branch campuses statewide, including in Anniston, Auburn, Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile Bay, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa, with one across the state line in Columbus, Ga. Hodges said he met in the past week with the four black campus pastors of Church of the Highlands branches Jamil Gilleylen of Woodlawn, Mychal Smith of Riverchase, Mayo Sowell of West Birmingham and Steven Winston of McCalla, along with their spouses. Grow quickly multiplied year over year, and it became evident that church leaders are hungry to be trained and equipped in a very practical, hands-on way. According to Guidestar, ARC is classified as a church by the IRS so it is not required to file a form 990, revealing executive salaries and the identities of its board members. I love doing that. We used to wave at the guards in the towers, the East German guards. Do you think Chris Hodges is setting himself to take over when John Maxwell is no longer able to do conferences? Recently, Hodges and Lee Domingue, COTH Legacy Pastor, launched Grow Leader, a for-profit limited liability corporation (LLC) aiming to grow leaders who grow churches and businesses., Grow Leader offers numerous services, including Hodges speaking services and professional coaching and consulting. ", On Monday, once again, an unarmed black man died needlessly, as a police officer knelt on George Floyds neck," Hodges said. In the case of Rizzos inappropriate relationship, we dont know all the facts, much less the truth. We live in a society that wants instant feedback. The social media controversy over Hodges resulted in the Birmingham Housing Authority and Birmingham Board of Education taking action against him, the church and the health clinic the church started. Church of the Highlands (COTH)a 43,000-member megachurch in Alabama, which recently sparked controversy for trying to rehabilitate a pastor accused of sexual assaultis building a $4.5-million lodge to "restore" pastors. After Lentzs allegedaffair with Karim made headlines, Hayes watched the news and remembered how Lentz split her from her boyfriend, simply because they had had premarital sex. Restoration of the morally fallen is another entirely, and it must begin with godly sorrow as described in 2 Corinthians 7:10. In Step One you'll discover more about our beliefs, leadership, church government, membership, how we handle money, and how we intentionally organize our church. for pastors that need rest or restoration., An earlier pamphlet stated, The Lodge would serve as a place where pastors, leaders, and their families could come to be mentored, counseled, refreshed, and restored. Im not absolute that certain things ban a pastor for lifeif Paul can murder Stephen and become an apostle, that seems to exceed the Biblical restraintbut I do think that its key that a person demonstrate good behavior for a few years before resuming ministry. Hes been a mentor to me, a friend to me, golfing partner. I remember I would go to leaders meetings, and he would hammer in our heads, Do not have sex before marriage. He was aggressive about it., Meanwhile, the staffer claims, I had a friend Carl tried to sleep with her. EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthur Shamed, Excommunicated Mother for Refusing to Take Back Child Abuser, Days-long Revival Sweeping Asbury University in Kentucky, EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthur Covered Up Pastors Sexual Abuse, Witnesses Say, EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthurs Church Supported Convicted Child Abuser & Pedophile, Records Show, Dante Bowe Posts, Then Removes, Apology for Behavior Causing Split with Maverick City Music, Matt Chandler Steps Aside After Admitting Inappropriate Online Relationship, John MacArthur Pulls Out of Ligonier Conference, Pastor Resigns From Houston Megachurch After Admitting Affair, Televangelist Creflo Dollar Renounces Past Teachings on Tithing, But Questions Persist. Clergy = HIghborn, Laity = Lowborn. We come together with one purpose, to change the world together., Cancel Chris Hodges? During that time, Lee committedto help business leaders live out their legacy by partnering through their local church. We dont have to be alike. And, Ill own it, by the way, but that is not what I believe., The church spent much of their time over the weekend addressing the issue of racism and Hodges said dealing with the coronavirus and the explosion of racial tensions at the same time has made it an incredibly tough season for our nation.