Monday, June 7, 2010
An Open Letter to Pastors and Christian Leader
To brothers and sisters from other churches, especially from AOG churches, please PRINT A COPY for your Pastors and Leaders to read.
This is an Open Letter addressed to Pastors and Christian Leaders. By now we believe the Calvary Church Crisis (CCC) is no longer confined to Calvary Church members and friends alone. It is now known all over Malaysia and abroad. While we have received many encouragements and support from the general Christian community, we also understand that there are many Pastors and Christian Leaders who does not agreed with the TTG people for using the public channel to seek justice for Calvary Church members. Our appeal to you is that you will read this Letter with an open mind and answer the questions with all honesty as unto God.
AFTER THAT, try to place yourself in our shoes as Ordinary Members in the Church, who have supported the Church with your TIME, your TALENTS and your FINANCES and to find your Pastors have abused your trust and have lied to you – WOULD YOU HAVE DONE THE SAME?
If for the past two years you have run around looking for help from Pastors, Christian Leaders and even looked to the Christian Organizations in and out of the country to help but no one cared enough to do something – WHO ELSE CAN YOU GO TO?
If you are just an Ordinary Member who have been serving and supporting your Church and your Pastors since becoming a Christian, then together with other faithful Christian brothers and sisters many whom you did not know before, feel this strong passion in your heart to stand up for what is right – not just as a Christian but as a person in general living in a community – WOULD YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE SATANIC?
If all you are asking for is that Truth, Transparency and Good (Godly) Governance is practiced in the Church – DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE PLANNING TO BECOME THE NEXT PASTOR?
Continue reading @ http://calvarytoday.blogspot.com/2010/06/open-letter-to-pastors-and-christian.html
A call to support and participate in the “Malaysia” A4J (Awakening for Jesus) revival
Greetings in Christ! According to a national survey conducted last year by the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF), 80% of churches in Malaysia are facing a crisis in the declining numbers of youths and young adults in their congregation. This phenomenon has severely affected a church’s ability to expand its ministry and to pass the baton to the next generation of Christians.
In view of this, several church leaders within the Klang Valley have come to realize the severity of this problem 7 years ago and have come together to initiate the movement as mentioned above.
May-31-2010
Church and Politics
by Bishop Hwa Yung
1. Church is non-partisan, but we’ll keep the money, 28 May 2010
Indeed the problem in our country is that most of the money for religious bodies is usually given to one particular religious community, with relatively much smaller proportions given to other communities. In so far as the money was given to the churches this time round, it can be said that the government is trying to right a past wrong.
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/itunalily2/20100531
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
BIG TROUBLE at CALVARY - The RICHEST Church in Malaysia.
by George Choo
http://georgechooalloutformalaysia.blogspot.com/2009/11/big-trouble-at-calvary-richest-church.html
Readers of the blog know that I do not blog on matters relating to religion.But today I am going to blog about the GREAT FINANCIAL TROUBLE of CALVARY - The RICHEST Church in Malaysia.
I first came across about Calvary Church in 1985 when I read the financial accounts of the church for 1984. The first item that catches my eye was in the balance sheet and it shows that the church have RM 500K in FIXED DEPOSIT at that time. It does not surprise me in 2004 when a customer of mine who is the church member told me that CALVARY CHURCH bought a piece of land which is beside the Bukit Jalil Golf Club from Berjaya for RM 25 Million.It also does not surprise me that the church will bulit a RM 100 Million convention center as I always believe that the church will be able to honour its obligations. I am a golfer and I always go to Bukit Jalil driving range which is directly beside the land under construction of the Calvary Convention Center.
Surprisingly, in April this year construction work at the site stop for the second time as a result of no payment to the main contractor Nam Fatt. I did some checking and found out that the first stoppage is due to technical matters but the second and current stoppage is due to the inability of the church to pay the main contractor Nam Fatt. The church is having financial problems due to mismanagement of funds by the top management of the church. A police report was lodged this year on the mismanagement of funds and the members are demanding for accountability and transparency over the use of church funds from the church Board of Deacons. Unless the church is able to raise funds,it will not be able to complete the construction of the convention center as the cost have escalate by RM 50 Million to RM 150 Million because of increase in material and other construction costs even though this project is schedule to complete in October 2009.
Currently, the project is only 55% completed. In this difficult economic environment with a weak stock market and many members quitting the church,it will be a huge task for CALVARY to raise the necessary funds to complete the convention center.It was also alleged by the group of members calling themselves the Truth,Transparency and Good Governance Group that substantial church funds was transferred to the personal accounts of a top church official. A deacon of 11 years Dr Lum was sacked in Nov 2008 for speaking out against the Board of Deacons on how the church funds are managed.
The problems of the Church is small compared to the financial problems of the govt of Malaysia which is on the verge of BANKRUPT as result of massive corruption.
Posted by George Choo at 9:51 PM
Crisis Rocks Calvary Church
By CHARLES FERNANDEZ and STUART MICHAEL
THE Calvary church in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur, is rocked with controversy over alleged mismanagement of funds.
A group of church members, who call themselves the Truth, Transparency and Good Governance Group (TTG), is demanding for accountability and transparency over the use of church funds from the Calvary Church’s Board of Deacons (BOD) led by senior pastor (SP) Rev. Tan Sri Prince Guneratnam.
A member of the TTG, which is said to be supported by 300 church members, had also lodged a police report over the matter at the Brickfields police station early this year.
The feud between the two groups has now even gone onto cyberspace with both sides trading accusations over various issues.
The disagreement, among others, includes the rising construction costs of the Calvary Convention Centre at Bukit Jalil, alleged transfer of substantial funds from the church into the accounts of a personal ministry headed by the SP without members’ knowledge, poor financial management, claims of nepotism, and the sacking of a well-respected deacon for speaking out.
The spat, which began 19 months ago, was said to be the main cause for the dwindling congregation at the church.
There were attempts by mediators to get both groups to resolve their dispute for the betterment of the church, but it never materialised.
Futuristic: An artist impression of space ship-like Calvary Convention Centre , a project by Malaysian architect Datuk Dr Ken Yeang.
A check with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) revealed that the Calvary Church in Damansara Heights is not registered with the body. However, a ROS spokesman said all church accounts should be made available for scrutiny by church members at all times.
A Council of Churches Malaysia spokesman said the church being a religious body, there was no reason for a spat, as they were all required to follow high ethical standards.
“It’s public money. In this case, the church members have a right to know how their money is being spent. It is a practice for all religious bodies to make available the accounts for scrutiny. Apart from the Catholic Church, there is a retirement age for deacons/pastors. The church cannot have someone on their payroll for life,” said the spokesman when asked to comment on church accounts and retirement age.
The disagreement over the lack of transparency over church funds led to the resignation of Dr Lum Siew Heng, who had been a deacon for 11 years, from the BOD in November last year.
Following this, the TTG wanted the rest of the deacons, including the SP, to emulate Dr Lum and resign so that the church could continue to move forward.
“The SP is the voice of the church; he is the head of the deacons and what he says has a significant influence on the rest of the board of deacons,” said a TTG spokesman.
The TTG claims that while the whole church waits in anticipation for a conclusion to the 19-month saga that has caused much hurt, confusion, strife and division in the church, another threat looms on the horizon: financial disaster can erupt in the event of the failure of the Calvary Convention Centre (CCC) in Bukit Jalil.
The CCC, the TTG claims, has been dogged by controversy right from the beginning. The project was supposed to cost RM50mil, excluding land cost, but this has now ballooned to RM150mil.
Although the project started with much hope for a new beginning for the Calvary Church, work on the project subsequently took a bad turn.
The project, which was scheduled to have been completed by October this year, is now left temporarily abandoned due to the stoppage of work by the main contractor since April this year. Two Sundays ago, the pastors announced that the church had issued a Notice of Default to the main contractor,
“The church commenced the project, knowing right from the start that there were not enough funds to complete it. Despite selling some properties and obtaining a bank loan, the church still has to continue raising a lot of funds to finish this extravagant project.”
The escalation of construction and material costs has added to the financial woes and the congregation are concerned that the church will not be able to raise enough money to pay for the construction.
Questions are also being asked on the RM9mil Calvaryland project, a large welfare home designed for orphans, the homeless and single mothers in Sungei Pelek. The home, which was built to house at least 200 people, is almost empty with only four residents.
When met to get his side of the story pertaining to the claims made by the TTG, Rev. Guneratnam said he was fully aware of the allegations made against him and the BOD.
“Yes, I am aware of all the accusations and I know who those people are. They have even made police reports but this is not the way to solve a church problem. A church problem should be contained within the sanctity of the church and not be made available for public consumption,” Guneratnam said.
Guneratnam said everything was done above board and he had even invited the TTG to sit and discuss the issues for the benefit of the church.
However, a recent effort by two Christian leaders to mediate between the two groups failed because the SP and his deacons could not make it on the agreed date.
Related: Borrowing to Build
An Open Letter to Pastors and Christian Leader
To brothers and sisters from other churches, especially from AOG churches, please PRINT A COPY for your Pastors and Leaders to read.
This is an Open Letter addressed to Pastors and Christian Leaders. By now we believe the Calvary Church Crisis (CCC) is no longer confined to Calvary Church members and friends alone. It is now known all over Malaysia and abroad. While we have received many encouragements and support from the general Christian community, we also understand that there are many Pastors and Christian Leaders who does not agreed with the TTG people for using the public channel to seek justice for Calvary Church members. Our appeal to you is that you will read this Letter with an open mind and answer the questions with all honesty as unto God.
AFTER THAT, try to place yourself in our shoes as Ordinary Members in the Church, who have supported the Church with your TIME, your TALENTS and your FINANCES and to find your Pastors have abused your trust and have lied to you – WOULD YOU HAVE DONE THE SAME?
If for the past two years you have run around looking for help from Pastors, Christian Leaders and even looked to the Christian Organizations in and out of the country to help but no one cared enough to do something – WHO ELSE CAN YOU GO TO?
If you are just an Ordinary Member who have been serving and supporting your Church and your Pastors since becoming a Christian, then together with other faithful Christian brothers and sisters many whom you did not know before, feel this strong passion in your heart to stand up for what is right – not just as a Christian but as a person in general living in a community – WOULD YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE SATANIC?
If all you are asking for is that Truth, Transparency and Good (Godly) Governance is practiced in the Church – DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE PLANNING TO BECOME THE NEXT PASTOR?
Continue reading @ http://calvarytoday.blogspot.com/2010/06/open-letter-to-pastors-and-christian.html
A call to support and participate in the “Malaysia” A4J (Awakening for Jesus) revival
Greetings in Christ! According to a national survey conducted last year by the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF), 80% of churches in Malaysia are facing a crisis in the declining numbers of youths and young adults in their congregation. This phenomenon has severely affected a church’s ability to expand its ministry and to pass the baton to the next generation of Christians.
In view of this, several church leaders within the Klang Valley have come to realize the severity of this problem 7 years ago and have come together to initiate the movement as mentioned above.
May-31-2010
Church and Politics
by Bishop Hwa Yung
1. Church is non-partisan, but we’ll keep the money, 28 May 2010
Indeed the problem in our country is that most of the money for religious bodies is usually given to one particular religious community, with relatively much smaller proportions given to other communities. In so far as the money was given to the churches this time round, it can be said that the government is trying to right a past wrong.
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/itunalily2/20100531
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
BIG TROUBLE at CALVARY - The RICHEST Church in Malaysia.
by George Choo
http://georgechooalloutformalaysia.blogspot.com/2009/11/big-trouble-at-calvary-richest-church.html
Readers of the blog know that I do not blog on matters relating to religion.But today I am going to blog about the GREAT FINANCIAL TROUBLE of CALVARY - The RICHEST Church in Malaysia.
I first came across about Calvary Church in 1985 when I read the financial accounts of the church for 1984. The first item that catches my eye was in the balance sheet and it shows that the church have RM 500K in FIXED DEPOSIT at that time. It does not surprise me in 2004 when a customer of mine who is the church member told me that CALVARY CHURCH bought a piece of land which is beside the Bukit Jalil Golf Club from Berjaya for RM 25 Million.It also does not surprise me that the church will bulit a RM 100 Million convention center as I always believe that the church will be able to honour its obligations. I am a golfer and I always go to Bukit Jalil driving range which is directly beside the land under construction of the Calvary Convention Center.
Surprisingly, in April this year construction work at the site stop for the second time as a result of no payment to the main contractor Nam Fatt. I did some checking and found out that the first stoppage is due to technical matters but the second and current stoppage is due to the inability of the church to pay the main contractor Nam Fatt. The church is having financial problems due to mismanagement of funds by the top management of the church. A police report was lodged this year on the mismanagement of funds and the members are demanding for accountability and transparency over the use of church funds from the church Board of Deacons. Unless the church is able to raise funds,it will not be able to complete the construction of the convention center as the cost have escalate by RM 50 Million to RM 150 Million because of increase in material and other construction costs even though this project is schedule to complete in October 2009.
Currently, the project is only 55% completed. In this difficult economic environment with a weak stock market and many members quitting the church,it will be a huge task for CALVARY to raise the necessary funds to complete the convention center.It was also alleged by the group of members calling themselves the Truth,Transparency and Good Governance Group that substantial church funds was transferred to the personal accounts of a top church official. A deacon of 11 years Dr Lum was sacked in Nov 2008 for speaking out against the Board of Deacons on how the church funds are managed.
The problems of the Church is small compared to the financial problems of the govt of Malaysia which is on the verge of BANKRUPT as result of massive corruption.
Posted by George Choo at 9:51 PM
Crisis Rocks Calvary Church
By CHARLES FERNANDEZ and STUART MICHAEL
THE Calvary church in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur, is rocked with controversy over alleged mismanagement of funds.
A group of church members, who call themselves the Truth, Transparency and Good Governance Group (TTG), is demanding for accountability and transparency over the use of church funds from the Calvary Church’s Board of Deacons (BOD) led by senior pastor (SP) Rev. Tan Sri Prince Guneratnam.
A member of the TTG, which is said to be supported by 300 church members, had also lodged a police report over the matter at the Brickfields police station early this year.
The feud between the two groups has now even gone onto cyberspace with both sides trading accusations over various issues.
The disagreement, among others, includes the rising construction costs of the Calvary Convention Centre at Bukit Jalil, alleged transfer of substantial funds from the church into the accounts of a personal ministry headed by the SP without members’ knowledge, poor financial management, claims of nepotism, and the sacking of a well-respected deacon for speaking out.
The spat, which began 19 months ago, was said to be the main cause for the dwindling congregation at the church.
There were attempts by mediators to get both groups to resolve their dispute for the betterment of the church, but it never materialised.
Futuristic: An artist impression of space ship-like Calvary Convention Centre , a project by Malaysian architect Datuk Dr Ken Yeang.
A check with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) revealed that the Calvary Church in Damansara Heights is not registered with the body. However, a ROS spokesman said all church accounts should be made available for scrutiny by church members at all times.
A Council of Churches Malaysia spokesman said the church being a religious body, there was no reason for a spat, as they were all required to follow high ethical standards.
“It’s public money. In this case, the church members have a right to know how their money is being spent. It is a practice for all religious bodies to make available the accounts for scrutiny. Apart from the Catholic Church, there is a retirement age for deacons/pastors. The church cannot have someone on their payroll for life,” said the spokesman when asked to comment on church accounts and retirement age.
The disagreement over the lack of transparency over church funds led to the resignation of Dr Lum Siew Heng, who had been a deacon for 11 years, from the BOD in November last year.
Following this, the TTG wanted the rest of the deacons, including the SP, to emulate Dr Lum and resign so that the church could continue to move forward.
“The SP is the voice of the church; he is the head of the deacons and what he says has a significant influence on the rest of the board of deacons,” said a TTG spokesman.
The TTG claims that while the whole church waits in anticipation for a conclusion to the 19-month saga that has caused much hurt, confusion, strife and division in the church, another threat looms on the horizon: financial disaster can erupt in the event of the failure of the Calvary Convention Centre (CCC) in Bukit Jalil.
The CCC, the TTG claims, has been dogged by controversy right from the beginning. The project was supposed to cost RM50mil, excluding land cost, but this has now ballooned to RM150mil.
Although the project started with much hope for a new beginning for the Calvary Church, work on the project subsequently took a bad turn.
The project, which was scheduled to have been completed by October this year, is now left temporarily abandoned due to the stoppage of work by the main contractor since April this year. Two Sundays ago, the pastors announced that the church had issued a Notice of Default to the main contractor,
“The church commenced the project, knowing right from the start that there were not enough funds to complete it. Despite selling some properties and obtaining a bank loan, the church still has to continue raising a lot of funds to finish this extravagant project.”
The escalation of construction and material costs has added to the financial woes and the congregation are concerned that the church will not be able to raise enough money to pay for the construction.
Questions are also being asked on the RM9mil Calvaryland project, a large welfare home designed for orphans, the homeless and single mothers in Sungei Pelek. The home, which was built to house at least 200 people, is almost empty with only four residents.
When met to get his side of the story pertaining to the claims made by the TTG, Rev. Guneratnam said he was fully aware of the allegations made against him and the BOD.
“Yes, I am aware of all the accusations and I know who those people are. They have even made police reports but this is not the way to solve a church problem. A church problem should be contained within the sanctity of the church and not be made available for public consumption,” Guneratnam said.
Guneratnam said everything was done above board and he had even invited the TTG to sit and discuss the issues for the benefit of the church.
However, a recent effort by two Christian leaders to mediate between the two groups failed because the SP and his deacons could not make it on the agreed date.
Related: Borrowing to Build
No comments:
Post a Comment