The Reason That Star Is Not a Pastor
For most of us, we have spent much of our lives following one man. Despite deferring to God in many of his words, Star has set the tone and the direction of the fellowship of Calvary Temple for almost 50 years. His oversight has been regarded as God's will and has seemingly resulted in a greater and greater commitment to God, the church, and perhaps indirectly to Star himself. Like it or not, Star has not only controlled hundreds of lives as the representative of God, he has also reaped large financial and social benefits. But none of that matters if he is TRULY God's man. After all, God has historically rewarded those who are his servants. Unfortunately despite his great claims, Star, by his own definition and teaching, is not a chosen man of God.
It all started almost 50 years ago. Star Scott, an upstart youth minister, was attending Herndon Assemblies of God. His head pastor, Ron Wahlrobe was plugged into the Christian denomination called the Assemblies of God. Not unlike other Christian structures before it, the Assemblies of God was founded in 1914, with the idea that the gifts of the spirit should be manifest in our days. As a result of that firm belief, they are currently the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world. Like most religious bodies, they have leaders who help determine doctrine, and set the tone for the rest of the subsidiary churches to follow. It is presumed that Herndon Assemblies of God was no different.
When Star took over the church, he has made it clear in his teachings that hands were laid upon him to carry forth the ministry, consistent with much of the teaching we have received. According to the church website, when Star took over the ministry in 1973, the church continued to be an Assemblies of God church.
It was not until later that Star departed the Assemblies of God denomination. Throughout his teachings I have heard two reasons for his breaking away. 1) Star had differences of opinion regarding how much he believed the Gifts of the Spirit should be manifested today. He said that the Assemblies of God did not have as strong of a belief as he did in current day miracles. 2) Star believed that missionaries should be solely sponsored by the sending church. He believed that the missionary shouldn't have to scrounge for supporters. While I'm unsure of the specific context of both of these reasons, Star broke away from any of his potential oversight. This decision to break from the Assemblies of God is crucial.
Have you caught the last couple teachings in Calvary? They are largely about spiritual authority. The emphasis has been on the exclusivity of the church's shepherds in curating the Bible for their specific flock. He has studiously covered the Scriptures in Acts about the decision made by church leadership to begin evangelizing to the Gentiles. He has reemphasized the need for marking, and the power of spiritual authority to make those decisions to cut off members from their families. Star has proclaimed that he and the pastors are "almost" always correct when it comes to the application of Scriptures, and disobedience to church leadership is disobedience to God. This has been taught time and again. "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourself."
Based upon the facts that have shared with us, Star is passionate about church leadership when he is in charge. So why was it so easy for him to leave the Assemblies of God all of those years ago?
Initially I thought the answer was that his involvement with the denomination was minimal. After all, Herndon and Sterling were small rural towns. But this doesn't check out. Star has given us stories in which he was on boards or committees. Also, he gives those very specific reasons that he broke away. That implies that he had conflict with members who felt differently in a very specific context.
Now throughout the years, Star has had doctrinal differences with members of the church and pastors. In each of those situations, he demanded submission to his authority. Those who disobey him have been told that they are outside of the will of God if they are not submitting to the leaders that "God placed over them". The implication is that if you are attending Calvary Temple, God placed you there.
With that logic, is it safe to say that God placed Star under the Assemblies of God leadership? And if he turns his back on the oversight that God put in his life, is he disobeying God?
Now this might sound like religious bureaucracy at its worst, but let's put this in context. Families have been separated and destroyed because they had a doctrinal difference with Star and decided to go to a new church. The Fosters, Molly Fitch, Ellen Kusar, and Michelle Freeman are a couple of well-known cases that were publicized. There have been many, many more. Disobedience to authority and an independent spirit have been the primary accusation against these folks. And yet, we have to look at Star with the same critical eye. He left because he didn't agree with the application of Scripture by the AOG elders.
The description above is exactly what most members of the church are accused of. "They can't point out any doctrinal issues," Star says. "They can only argue with how we apply it." But Star also abandoned his overseers because of a difference in application.
As a result of his disobedience to God (based upon his definition), Star has gained increased power over the fellowship.
He withdrew so much money for his own purposes that the IRS had to step in to make sure that he only gave himself a salary.
Markings increased drastically, largely for the purpose of silencing anyone who disagreed with him or exposed past sins.
Elders have been caught in serious sin, but consequences were rarely meted out unless the sin threatened to become public.
Members have been encouraged to deemphasize family time, and give more time to the fellowship than ever before. When members are not as engaged, they are pressured to either fit in or fit out.
Think back to when Star Jr accused Star Scott of molesting his 9 and 11 year-old nieces while he was a youth pastor. If Star had overseers, much of his ministry would have been put on hold. An investigation would have taken place, and the elders would have to make a determination if he was still eligible to lead with such a background. Based on Scripture he would likely be told to step down. But the only elders were ones that had been placed by Star or were at least subservient to him. They knew that they had no replacement for the leadership role that he filled. None of them were in a position to challenge him, and they didn't. One of the pastors at the time said, "I don't know that man described in [Star Jr's accusation]." He meant it as a positive, but it shows how quickly he was willing to disregard the potential pedophilia. Most pedophilia is performed by men who seem perfectly normal.
Many years ago, Janet Scott passed away, and 55 year-old Star immediately chose a 19 year-old virgin, and declared it God's will that she marry him. As a loyal Christian who respected and obeyed those over her, she accepted the honor placed in front of her. They were married two weeks later. The Scripture Star used was an obscure one regarding high priests being remarried to a virgin if they became widowers. The decision rocked the church, and many left because of it. True leadership might have encouraged Star to wait longer than two weeks and spend some time courting a potential mate. This would have caused far fewer members to stumble. It might have also resulted in Star finding an intellectual and spiritual equal, not a subservient youth that he could groom as he wished.
The trite expression, "absolute power corrupts absolutely" is only trite because of its reliability. Holy men of God, when unrestrained, almost always abuse their authority. Look at David. Look at Saul. Ravi Zacharias. Catholic priests. Sexual abuse in Calvary Temple. Star's hypocrisy has allowed him to avoid authority, while proclaiming himself an apostle. If he can question and abandon the Assemblies of God without being marked, it only makes sense that you and I can leave without major consequence. You and I should be able to question church application based upon the Bible (like a Berean) and go our own way without Star giving up our souls for destruction, marking us, and ruining our lives. He can't believe in authority only when he holds it, and lash out at anyone who questions him.
Personally I struggle with all of these points. But what would happen to me if I expressed them? I would no longer have my wife and kids and parents. See the problem?
