Legendary Hollywood Presbyterian Church is in turmoil

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — In a liberal denomination that for decades has lost as many as 40,000 members annually, First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood was an exception, in recent years attracting hundreds of young people to an increasingly diverse and active congregation.

But in the wake of a clash with denomination hierarchy, the self-described “evangelical” church that helped launch Bill Bright and Lloyd Ogilvie ministries, attendance has dropped perhaps 20 percent in recent weeks, and organizers of its successful contemporary service have left to start a new church.

“Last Sunday our parking lots were empty and I was stunned,” said Elder Marla Gardner. “We’re already seeing a dramatic loss.”

Some press accounts laid blame on “worship wars” pitting stodgy traditionalists against tattooed, pierced “seekers” who prefer Christian rock music. And considering the 2.5 million-member denomination’s history of infighting, some might attribute the troubles to a liberal-conservative theological dispute.

But neither explanation appears to be the root of the problem, although theological differences may now come to the fore.

What occurred at First Presbyterian Church seems to be centered instead on a small, mostly anonymous, minority of members that targeted the top pastors regarding deficit spending and personal management style.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) regional Presbytery of the Pacific stepped in May 3 to place senior Pastor Alan J. Meenan and associate Pastor David Manock on paid administrative leave, and the church under supervision of an appointed administrative commission. The action followed complaints from about 40 of the 2,700-member church’s congregation and staff, and after the church administration had spent $840,000 more than it took in last year.

A Presbytery examining committee reported that Meenan and Manock could not “provide effective leadership at this time in the life of the church.” But two-thirds of the church’s elders and, by most accounts, a majority of church members disagree. The session, the local church governing body made up of elders, already has acted to meet the financial shortfall by deciding to sell off-campus church property and cut spending.

Complaint filed
Church attorneys meanwhile filed a complaint with the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii, to reverse the Presbytery’s action and return control to elected elders.

Press inquires to the administrative commission were referred to the Presbytery, which did not return phone calls.

“Unfortunately I don’t see any church coming out of an issue like this larger. It will be smaller,” said Sarah Berry, clerk of the session. “I think a church that has these sorts of difficulties perhaps isn’t the most attractive job offer a person can get. But I don’t want to even go there. Our pastors are still our pastors.”

Just how long Meenan and Manock will be pastors at First Presbyterian remains to be seen. But former director of communications Jeff Traintime and Brandon Dickerson, who together organized the church’s innovative Contemporary Urban Experience (CUE) worship service, have left with many congregants to establish a new church, Ecclesia.

“None of the concerns were theological or ethical,” said Dickerson, an ordained Baptist minister who “hosted” CUE, which featured rock music. But the message was delivered by Pastor Meenan, just as he did at First Presbyterian’s other three services. “I don’t see it as a theological problem. I see it as a political problem.”

Local control lost
CUE founders felt called to leave First Presbyterian once it became clear that “Hollywood Presbyterian was no longer in control of Hollywood Presbyterian,” Dickerson said.

Once the Presbytery wrested control, Dickerson felt outsiders, “didn’t have our best interest at heart,” which made it “difficult for trust to be built … It really threw flames on the fire.”

“Now there is divisiveness,” he said. “There are people concerned about theology now that the Presbytery is helping run the church.”

Church elders’ formal response took exception to the Presbytery’s allegations, claiming their church “… is a vibrant, growing, racially and economically diverse congregation … Hollywood Presbyterian Church is thriving … Those who have complained do not represent the majority opinion of HPC’s congregation, staff and session.”

Elder Gardner said the session, “had no opportunity to deal with any of the complaints prior to the Presbytery taking action. That is not customary at all.”

The basic complaints were “ineffective leadership.” What was made available to the session, “included anonymous quotes from the letters, most of which said thing like ‘I find the pastor arrogant,’ or that people were personally disappointed in these pastors.”

“It’s not shocking to me that some people are disappointed with their pastors,” she said. “What’s shocking is that they don’t try to resolve it with the church ... At this time we are discouraged. Our pastors are not allowed to speak with us.

“The number in the congregation is clearly a minority that wants the pastors let go,” Gardner said. “The majority of us want our pastors back.”

Dim outlook?
Gardner is not optimistic.

“I’m still there because I hope God will do something dramatic,” she said. “But my gut says it might not ... Less and less people show up each week.”

Gardner is considering finding a new church, probably in a different denomination, “but certainly not this Presbytery.”

“The Presbytery as a whole has more churches that are theologically liberal,” Gardner said. “Our church is quite evangelical in its theology.”

The dispute spilled over to the long-standing riff between conservative and liberal PCUSA factions. The Presbyterian Lay Committee, which calls for the dropping of the denomination’s support of partial birth abortion and is opposed to efforts to ordain homosexuals, has published numerous articles critical of the Presbytery’s action.

“If ever there were a case of a presbytery killing a vibrant evangelical church, this is it,” Parker T. Williamson, chief executive officer and editor of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, wrote in a column. “Why these harsh tactics against a faithful, growing congregation? Why not allow this church’s duly elected session to deal with its own problems? The corporate world has a term for it. It is called ‘hostile takeover.’”

Published, July 2005

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