Calvary Chapel Cary Feud Leads to Closure, Breakaway Church
Scandal spotlights denomination’s accountability concerns
Months after Calvary Chapel Cary discovered its lead pastor, Rodney Finch, had secretly listed the church for sale, the 9.8-acre property in Apex, North Carolina, is back on the market, and weekly services have ceased.
Rodney Finch, preaching at Calvary Chapel Cary in May 2023 / Video screenshot
Meanwhile, a pastor Finch ousted during the dispute has opened a new independent fellowship minutes away.
The real estate scandal was not Finch’s first controversy. Rather, it brought to a boil years of tensions and demands for greater transparency and accountability.
As MinistryWatch previously reported, Finch hid a years’ long drug addiction and pushed the board to secretly cover $50,000 of a luxury rehabilitation program with church funds, but then left the program early without telling anyone. Between 2012 and 2017, he aggressively solicited restricted funds to build a new church, but the work was never started, and funds were secretly put toward other purposes.
In addition, Finch has faced multiple abuse allegations by family members.
In 2019, former staff submitted 50 pages of signed statements to the Calvary Chapel Association’s (CCA) leadership council, alleging Finch hid budget information and even the church by-laws from them. Copies of those statements were provided to MinistryWatch. They claimed he made purchasing decisions without the board’s approval and had unchecked access to church credit cards.
However, after a lengthy investigation and years of complaints, the only disciplinary measure taken against Finch was his removal from the CCA’s online church locator.
Last August, Finch announced an intent to resign, but then abruptly returned to the pulpit in September following a failed retirement payout negotiation with fellow pastors Ralf Stores and Scott Burrell. Finch wanted more money and no strings attached, while Stores and Burrell insisted the contract should be contingent on Finch immediately ceding power.
During that same period, Stores had assured the congregation there would be greater transparency, the by-laws would be made public, and the current leadership structure — which gave the senior pastor near total control and made the board little more than a rubber stamp — would be replaced by a “plurality of leadership.” But then, suddenly, Stores and Burrell were ousted, and Finch was again calling the shots.
Finch continued to preach at Calvary Chapel Cary until at least Nov. 17, the date of the most recent sermon posted online. Now, a popup message on the church’s website says, “Thank you for the many years of ministry & fellowship! Calvary Chapel Cary is no longer holding Sunday Morning nor Wednesday Evening services.”
An estatesales.net listing indicates the church held a three-day estate sale in early December. The listing showcases a wide range of items, such as chairs, sound equipment, toys, kitchen supplies, antiques, a barber chair and a pickup truck.
While Finch liquidates his assets, Burrell now preaches weekly at the new Cornerstone Community Church of Apex, which is unaffiliated with Calvary Chapel and currently meets at a nearby country club. Cornerstone has posted sermon videos dating back to Oct. 13, 2024.
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In a sharp departure from the secrecy of Calvary Chapel Cary, Burrell has made his by-laws publicly available online. Those by-laws call for proposed budgets to be presented to the congregation annually and for the church to be notified of any subsequent changes. The leadership structure limits the power of the senior pastor by making the position “first among equals” in a council of at least four elders and providing a specific procedure for removing the pastor if necessary.
“Recognizing the scriptural principal (sic) of apostolic discipline, the Senior Pastor, and other ministerial staff, if ensnared in immoral conduct, false doctrine, or unethical practices, shall be subject to discipline,” the by-laws read. “In respect to the Senior Pastor, the unanimous agreement of the Council of Elders (less the Senior Pastor) and unanimous agreement of those appointed Deacons, will suffice to terminate employment.”
Some critics point to pastors like Finch as symptoms of a general lack of accountability in the CCA’s structure and its “Moses model” of leadership, which elevates the power and autonomy of senior pastors. According to CCA pastor and author Larry Taylor in his book, “The Ministry of an Assisting Pastor,” elders owe “unconditional loyalty” to their pastor and should resign rather than expose wrongdoing even if it puts the church in “spiritual danger.”
Many frustrations with this approach were previously aired on the now-defunct Calvary Chapel Abuse blog, started in 2010 by Alex Grenier. Grenier had accused his stepfather, Calvary Chapel Visalia pastor Bob Grenier, of physical abuse, prompting the elder Grenier to sue for defamation. In 2017, the family reconciled and Alex discontinued the blog — which also spotlighted many other accusations against his stepfather and other Calvary pastors — but did not recant his claims of physical abuse. Pastor Grenier remained in the pulpit in Visalia until his retirement in 2021.
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