I used to attend a church they( Ron Stewart and his wife Colleen) were the pastors of before going to Florida. He is now the senior pastor at Abundant Life Church of God in Lakeland, FL,
They were there for 10 years and in that time the put 2 of their 3 sons on the pastoral staff doubling all of their salaries.,to well above what they should've been for the size of the church (actual members and well above the tithe and offering that were brought into the church.)
The pastor would bring in his twin brother to have him preach, and give him a fee of $3000 per Sunday when he spoke. He did that with all of his guest speakers (generally people who were previously associated with him).
He then hired on Sister Shiver to do the accounting for the church...after they left (the Stewarts...) There were a lot of accounting irregularities found in the books at the church. (if this had been a public corporation Pastor Stewart would be on trial for raiding corporate funds). For example, the had on the books over $30,000 in miscellaneous office supplies but no receipts for any of these items.
The Shivers have since moved on to Abundant life in Florida...
The former clerk at the church was told by 'Pastor' Stewart to write out a check for something that he thought should be done. When the clerk questioned him about it, (and the legality of it) he told the clerk "I'm the pastor here and what I say goes, if you don't like it too bad". Shortly thereafter the clerk resigned and went to another church. (He, the clerk, is one of the most honest people you'd ever meet)
To put it bluntly they're crooks.
When Pastor Stewart left Victorious Life Church of God in Ypsilanti, MI they left it over $2 million dollars in the hole.
When they first got there, the church had money in the bank and had paid its mortgage off. Pastor Stewart and the council decided to build a new building which was financed, but even at that, the payments were manageable based on the number of tithing members. It was the 'Pastors' doubling of his salary, and hiring 2 of his 3 sons on staff and doubling their salaries, and using the church coffers as their own personal bank that really screwed the current pastor and left the church with a $2million debt that they will now have to pay off over the next 30 years.
He'll do almost anything to protect his or his families reputation so that it doesn't tarnish their 'ministry'. Rather then having them step down temporarily to work out the problem/situation, he wants them in their 'ministry'. Its only a matter of time before 'what was done in the darkness, will be brought into the light"
His favorite phrase to try and defend his and his family's transgressions is 'dont mess with God's annointed' . What the turd doesn't realize is that all Christians are God's annointed .
Stay blessed Tampa and Abundant Life COG run those crooks out of town before its too late.
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What else do we need to know about the Stewart clan? I fear the same thing may be happening at our church.
Virdie it is happening. The only way to fix it is to have them leave. Either by having the church council ask him to leave, or go to the State. Even with his newer position of "bishop" it may be too late.
The other option is contact the higher ups in Cleveland, Tennessee.
I would love to hear more about your experiences with "The Stewarts". I have found the statements in your blogs to be very accurate. Thank you for being willing to "SHED LIGHT" on this subject.
I thought that Pastor Ron Pastor Stewart and his wife Colleen, were very giving people!
I had an experience were my wife and I were victims of police brutality. Pastor Ron Stewart and His wife Colleen really help my wife and I with food, and gas for our car, and many others items!
The Stewart's were their for us when no one else was!
Perhaps the discrepancies in the accounting was when they helped people, and just called is
miscellaneous supplies!
As far as what The church board paid his son's is really none of anyone's business. The son's really needed help, they had come very far from a rough life, and Pastor Stewart was just showing his sons that he believed in them!
The salaries were in the boundaries of what the government allows per size of the church.
As far what the guest speakers were paid like Pastor Stewart's Brother. Those monies were in the boundaries of what the government allows per distance that the speaker came from. Plane ticket alone was about 1,500.00 dollars from Texas, on short notice, and first class for God's man. And there is nothing wrong his ministers of the gospel flying first class, and staying in nice hotels, and being fed quality food.
As far as leaving the church in debt, the economy in Michigan is one of the worst in the country!
The tithes were up real high, and then hit rock bottom! Michigan had a mass exodus, millions of people leaving that state due to the economy!
I percieve that jealously is in your hearts, because he did not get a position that you thought you should have! Well, pehaps you did not pay the PRICE, to get the anointing. The PRICE of much prayer, Bible study, faithfulness in serving,and ministry training!
Sincerely,
Rev. Joseph And Faith
Its always easy to be generous with someone else's money, especially when there is no one to hold you accountable in how that money is spent.
There is a discrepancy in accounting because they used the churches credit cards for their personal use and decided to get rid of the receipts to cover up various purchase that were not chuech/ ministry related. There are now more people coming forward and e-mailing me this information. All I can say is one day they will be held accountable. Hopefully before man and God. Ir this rype od behavior that sours the message of the gospel. and to have another pastor try and explain/ justify the wrongdoings is wrong itself. "Should I continue on sinning, that through it Christ might be glorified? Of course not." Pastoe, why don't you examine the book of Romans and tell me where Paul says that behavior is ok for generous people or anyone claiming to be a Christian. I'm pretty certain it doesn't.
Excuse my spelling typos. My EVO's keyboard is guessing which words i'm typing
And as for the.perceived jealousy. Don't be foolish. I have no desire to be a liar,cheat or adulterer. I am willing and openly seek counsel from others and my women's bible study group keeps me accountable for other areas in my life. Good luck with your perception. I perceive you're gullible and likely a beneficiary of "pastor" Stewart's 'generosity' or speaking fees.
--Lynn Guinni, Esq.
Christian,
What do you know about Pastor Stewart's sons. When I initially commented I was actually referring to your Pastor Stewart's son, Ronnie. Our church was very sound financially when he arrived. Now that they are gone it has been a real struggle. Does the Church of God care about the people of the congregations that have been affected by these people?
Thanks for your time. The experience our church had with the Stewarts definately took a toll.
@iamme...I know enough about them. I used to hang out with them at the clubs and after church. So for a long time I was close friends with Jamie and both sons(Justin and Ronnie.)
So for those of you with 'perception' issues: 1. I am not jealous of these two (or that family as a whole). 2. I'm certain, that "manofthecloth" will perceive I'm jealous of Jamie or Krystal...that couldn't be further from the truth. 3. I am glad that I never fooled around with them (the guys)despite their attempts (before they both were married).
4. "Two distinguishing marks of the early church were: 1) Poverty 2) Power." Neither of these are principles that the COG or the Stewarts follow or embrace. So again generosity with other people's money is ok...why not give all they (the Stewarts) have and follow Him? Or is that too much of a sacrifice?
@ "manofthecloth" just a quick note for your snide remark about annointing "I percieve that jealously is in your hearts, because he did not get a position that you thought you should have! Well, pehaps you did not pay the PRICE, to get the anointing. The PRICE of much prayer, Bible study, faithfulness in serving,and ministry training!"
---Umm there are so many things wrong with that statement that who ever issued you your ministry credentials may want to retest you.
1. The anointing comes from God, and not from any man. It can not be bought or sold by any man.
According to the Bible every Christian is anointed. . All Christians are anointed with the same Holy Spirit so they are not lacking access to any truth which as been revealed by God. (2 COR 1:21; 1JN 2:20 1JN 2:27. Those are the only 3 verses in the NT that mention the believers being anointed or having an anointment.)
See my women's Bible study is good for edification of both myself and the body :D
2. Not everyone is called to the various parts of 'the calling'. But I guarantee you the gifts that God has given me do not go unused and are not unnoticed.
3. No plane ticket from TX cost $1500. Unless you charted a private flight. I know people who constantly fly to other countries for business and legal issues and a flight to AUSTRALIA each way are only around the $600 mark...so,yeah, good luck selling that story.
I just happened across this website and am amazed that the COG has let this go on in so many churches. I was also a "victim" of the Stewarts sinking of a church. While ALCOG is suffering financially and having bills sent to collections, he is driving new cars...a Mercedes after the two Cadillacs. The church is also suffering from the spirits that they have allowed to enter....adultery is running rampant and devouring marriage after marriage. It almost feels like a cult the way the church is run. But still, the COG does nothing. I believe they have to know....is it possible the entire denomination is corrupt?
SURE WISH OUR CHURCH HAD SEEN THIS BEFORE WE GOT RIPPED OFF TO THE TUNE OF OVER $100,000 BY RONNIE STEWART JR. AND HIS FAMILY. EVERYTHING THAT CHRISTIAN IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE. EVIL IS THE ONLY DESCRIPTION FOR THE STEWART CLAN. THEY NEED TO BE PROSECUTED BUT NO ONE SEEMS TO WANT TO STAND UP TO THEM. SO SAD BECAUSE THIS ENABLES THEM TO CONTINUE TO HURT MANY CHURCHES AND MANY CHRISTIANS.
Just a heads up to anyone viewing or posting on this blog..
I just received an email from some kind of investigative law firm in Tallahassee, FL that warned me that they are monitoring every IP address that enters this blog... They said its due to the fact that this users blog is under investigation for slander and defamation of character on behalf of the Stewart Family... I emailed them back and asked them why it was slander (Because of freedom of speech laws) and they informed me Quote: "The comments that have been made are only the opinion of the writer but has been presented as fact. No proof or evidence of these slanderous acts have been submitted...
Just trying to help the innocent people like myself that only enter the blog for sheer information.
I doubt Al Broder's comment so very much.
1. They'd have to first get a warrant to get the IP address of every MAC address that passed through and hit this page 2. Warrants are generally obtained by law enforcement agencies. 3. Proxy servers. They'd then have to determine which IP address is real and which might be faked using what is called an Proxy server.
4. What is the name of the law firm in Tallahassee? 5. It's only slander if it's not true. (same deal with defamation) and if she has people coming forward, I'm certain they'd be more than happy to appear in court if it ever came to that
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