PG bulldozes through AGM

Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam (PG) once again displayed his autocratic style as he bulldozed his way through another AGM last Friday. After having unconstitutionally and unethically removed 400 members, PG had it comparatively easy with only a handful of concerned members including the Plaintiffs to contend with.

The 5 Plaintiffs present put up a brave front, voicing their concerns on various church issues and questioning the irregularities in the previous AGM and EGM minutes, amidst the occasional jeering from the Church staff and die-hard fans of PG. 

Similar to previous AGM/EGM, PG continued his infamous style of switching off the microphones whenever he wished to stop anyone from speaking further, rudely instructing members to sit down before they could finish their questions or statements and constantly threatening to remove anyone who refuses to sit when instructed.

The meeting began with a motion from the Board of Deacons to ratify the convening of the current AGM session without the issuance of a fresh preliminary notice calling for the AGM. At this point, Bro Joseph stood up to raise the issue of the termination or reclassification of some 400 Voting and Associate members in March this year. He questioned the unconstitutional removal of the 400 members, using rules from an old outdated Church Constitution which has long been repealed and superseded. He contented that the holding of the AGM without the presence of the 400 terminated members is gross injustice and unconstitutional. (The 400 members who had been removed comprised mostly those who had voiced out their concerns on the lack of transparency in the Church and those who had questioned PG's mismanagement of Church funds and his abuse of power.)

Bro Joseph was threatened with removal from the meeting when he persisted in demanding an explanation from PG on the matter. PG had his way and the members then voted to ratify the convening of the AGM. The motion was passed with a handful of objections from the floor.

Clip 1 : Listen to the exchange of words between PG and Bro Joseph in the audio clip below.

Having gotten the approval of the members present to proceed with the AGM,  PG then proceeded with the Agenda for the meeting. At this point, Bro KC stood to inform that he had submitted a Motion of No Confidence in the Senior Pastor but it had been rejected by the Board of Deacons for reasons which are disputable. He requested PG to allow the members present to decide if the motion should be tabled as the members at a General Meeting has full authority under the Constitution to make such a decision. However, PG rejected the request and got Deacon David Peters to explain that the motion was rejected because it was submitted by Bro KC past the prescribed period of 7 days from the date of the original Preliminary Notice of AGM issued in March this year. Apparently Bro KC stood up wanting to clarify the matter but PG suddenly has vision problems and did not see Bro KC standing with his hand raised despite Bro KC standing a mere 20 feet away in front of him. PG quickly proceeded to put the agenda to the vote and it was passed.

Soon after,  the members got to witness the cold-heartedness of  PG when Sis Liza stood to state a point of order but she was asked by PG to clarify her point of order to the usher controlling the microphone, who will then conveyed her statement to PG before he decides if she could speak. Sis Liza questioned the logic of having to talk to a third party when PG is the Chairman and insisted on stating her point of order directly to the Chair. PG then invited her to go onto the stage to talk to him personally. What transpired on stage only Sis Liza and PG knows. An argument ensued and PG ordered a few “bouncers’ to escort her from the stage. Such is the high-handedness of PG.

Clip 2 : Listen to Bro KC’s question and the “personal” conversation on stage between Sis Liza and PG.

The next item concerned the passing of the previous 2009 AGM minutes. During this motion, Bro Teng spoke and questioned the non-inclusion of material amendments to the 2008 EGM minutes which were highlighted at the last 2009 AGM. The amendments had then been agreed to by both PG and the Secretary but conveniently left out again. The material amendments left out related to the eventual utilization of the Indonesian Earthquake Fund for a different purpose which the Board of Deacons deemed as “good business sense” after the rightful return of the funds from PG’s personal Calvary International Ministry (CIM) back to Missions Dept. 

Both Sis Liza and Bro Teng continued to maintain that minutes must always reflect what is actually said but however, PG continued his display of high-handedness and decided to bulldoze his way through and proposed that the minutes be accepted as it is without any amendments. 

This is a dangerous precedent but sadly, the members present voted and passed the minutes without changes. They either voted out of fear or out of blind loyalty or perhaps, they just couldn’t care less. Whatever the reasons, it was certainly a black day for Calvary Church. It is a license for PG to minute what he wants in future and then get the members to endorse it. This is the early signs of a cult when members are no longer able to think rationally but just listen and follow blindly what their leader says.

Clip 3 : Listen to Bro Teng and Sis Liza’s coments on the minutes

Clip 4 : Liza continues to highlight the inaccuracies of the Minutes.

The next item on the agenda was the Treasurer’s Report and the Extended Ministries’ Reports, which were tabled and passed.. During question time, Bro Teng highlighted the fact that the Missions Manual which has been in use all the while, has never been approved by the members at any AGM or EGM. He raised the concern that the Board of Deacons has no jurisdiction over the usage of the Missions Funds and that PG, under the Missions Manual, has full authority over the usage of the funds. PG merely responded that he had always sought the approval of his Deacons on all decisions concerning the utilization of missions funds. If members recall, it is in this weakness in the Missions Fund administration,  is precisely how PG was able to transfer RM1.9 million of Missions Fund into his personal ministry, CIM without the approval or knowledge of the members.

Clip 5  : Listen to Bro Teng’s questions on the Missions Manual

Sis Liza then highlighted that the reporting by the Missions Director also wrongly identified and mixed up the two different entities of CARE and CARED. Sis Liza clarified that CARE (a humanitarian fund) is a ministry set up under the Missions Dept many years ago while CARED is subsidiary of CIM which was formed much later. Pas Steven, however, clarified the opposite but later, admitted that he spoke from his own knowledge and that he will check out the matter. Sis Liza offered to meet and show him the evidence. It was the close semblance of name of these two entities which caused much confusion when it was first discovered that funds from CARE (started by the church missions department) had been moved to CARED (started by PG under his personal ministry CIM). This was part of the RM1.9 million transferred from the Missions Fund to CIM.

Clip 5 : Listen to Sis Liza's explanation on CARE and CARED

The election of Deacons was carried out smoothly with Bro Stephen Liu and Bro Edward Rajasingam being re-elected and Bro Chow Sang Hoe (past church auditor) being elected. The meeting was also informed of Bro Philip Tan’s resignation from the Board.

The resolutions for the appointment of external auditors to audit the main Church accounts and the Extended Ministries’ accounts were passed without objection.

The last item on the agenda was the report on the Calvary Convention Centre (CCC).

The members were informed that new contractors have been appointed to complete Phase 1A which comprises the Reinforced Foundation, Roof and Steel Structure and Fascade and Wall Cladding. Phase 1B will consists of Mechanical and Electrical Works, Architectural Works and Interior Design Works. The estimated date of completion of both phases is sometime in 2013. 

Phase 1A will cost RM75.3 million while Phase 1B will cost RM79.8 million. The new expenditure of  Phase 1A and Phase 1B totalling RM155.1 million together with the costs incurred todate of RM35.8 million, committed fees of RM7.7 million and land costs of RM35 million will result in a total costs of RM233.6 million. For this total costs, we will ONLY SEE  the completion of the 5,000 seat auditorium WITHOUT the education block, office, recreational facilities and all the ancillary facilities. 

Due to the receipt of only RM6 million in advances from members as opposed to PG’s target of RM35 million, the Church has to now borrow RM35 million from a bank and borrow a further RM47 million or sell an equivalent amount of Church assets to just complete Phase 1A and 1B, i.e just the Auditorium. Is the Church heading for financial disaster?

The meeting ended at about 10.30pm.

A NOTE OF THANKS: 

CT appreciates the help of several members who attended the AGM last Friday in 

coming out with this article. This is because the Administrators, were among  the 400 sacked members, therefore were unable to attend the meeting. CT also wishes to thank the members who sent in recordings of the meeting. It is comforting to know that among the existing members and leaders, there is still a remnant of concerned Christians with a Godly conscience. May God bless them richly!

2010 AGM - Report in progress

Any AGM News said...

Calvary Today,

Please let us know what happened at AGM last night. We have been reclassified to inactive members list so not allowed to attend AGM.
We have been praying for God's intervention to happen... and trusting that God is working something beyond our imagination!

October 2, 2010 11:06 AM

CT's Reply.

We are in the midst of collecting information from various people who attended the AGM last night and will put out a report as soon as possible, as the Administrators of CT were also among the 400 members who were reclassified and therefore were unable to attend last night's AGM.

We would most likely be able to put out a report sometime next week. 

Meanwhile, tomorrow being the Lord's Day, let us be found in the Lord's house to give Him due praise, honor and worship with all of our hearts.

God Bless

Bamboo Conspiracy said...

ADULLAM'S CAVE: A PLACE OF ISOLATION FOR A REVELATION.

Dear TTG, - ‘rejected but not forgotten’

To David, the cave of Adullam was a symbol of rejection. He had been rejected by his family and he was in constant danger in the royal court. The only save place for him and his followers was a dark, lonely cave.

Moses too was rejected by his people and had to hide in the ‘backside of the desert’. Read church history and know that the path of rejection is the high road to untold blessings.

TTG too now has been ‘rejected’ by the present leadership ……………. But we too like you KNOW that “God is working something beyond our imagination!”

It is beyond my comprehension how leadership can be so cruel and remove members from the Church registry but it has happened MANY TIMES! My wife and I could not imagine the church we had once served so faithfully many years ago could throw us out. But it happened and YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT IT WAS THE LORD WHO HAD HARDENED THE HEARTS OF THE LEADERSHIP TO REMOVE YOU FROM THE MEMBERSHIP. What HE does now you will not understand BUT later you will.

WE THANK THE LORD DAILY THAT HE CAUSED THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR PREVIOUS CHURCH TO REJECT US. WE NEVER COULD HAVE IMAGINED THE UNTOLD BLESSINGS THAT THE LORD HAS PREPARED FOR US WHEN WE WERE REMOVED.

LIKEWISE – TTG – LIKE DAVID, MOSES, PAUL ETC. YOU HAVE BEEN REJECTED BY MEN BUT NOT BY GOD. THE CHURCH IS NOT THE BUILDING - YOU ARE THE CHURCH AND LIKE DAVID, MOSES, PAUL ETC. HE WILL RESTORE THE CHURCH TO THE RIGHTFUL PLACE.

DAVID, MOSES, PAUL ALL WERE RETURNED TO THE VERY PLACE THEY WERE REJECTED. YOU ARE NOT CALLED TO START ANOTHER CALVARY CHURCH. YOU ARE TO TRUST THE LORD TO RETURN YOU TO THE VERY CHURCH THAT HAS NOW REMOVED YOU. DAVID DID NOT START ANOTHER KINGDOM. GOD REJECTED SAUL AND DAVID BECAME KING. GOD REMOVED PHAROAH AND MOSES BECAME THEIR LEADER.

DO NOT LOOSE HEART BUT REJOICE FOR THE LORD HAS UNTOLD BLESSINGS FOR YOU. YOU WILL ONE DAY LOOK BACK AND THANK THE LORD FOR THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES. YOU WILL WALK ONE DAY WITH YOUR HEADS HELD UP HIGH AND SEE THE SPOILS OF YOUR LABOUR. YOUR WORK IS NOT IN VAIN. THEY WHO REJECTED YOU WILL ONE DAY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT GOD WAS ON YOUR SIDE BUT THEY DID NOT SEE IT. MANY OF YOUR ENEMIES WILL REPEANT AND ASK YOUR FORGIVENESS BUT OTHERS WILL BE LOST FOREVER.

God always will allow certain situations to knock us out of your comfort zones in order for Him to reposition us for the Prophetic place of DESTINY.

REJOICE BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHOSE NAMES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM CALVARY CHURCH. YOU ARE ALL DESTINED FOR GREATER WORKS. DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED BUT REJOICE AND SING PRAISES TO THE LORD. MY WIFE AND I SHARE THIS FROM EXPERIENCE. EVERY DARK DAYS OF OUR LIVES, EVERY DISAPPOINTMENT, EVERY FRIEND WHO HAD BETRAYED US – ALL WE THANK THE LORD BECAUSE OUT OF THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL –GOD HAD PREPARED A TABLE OF UNTOLD BLESSINGS IN THE WILDERNESS IN THE PRESENCE OF OUR ENEMIES!

THE SECRET IS NOT YOUR FAITH BUT THE FAITH OF GOD. IT IS HIS FAITH THAT WILL DELIVER YOU. TO THE PRESENT LEADERSHIP, THEY THINK YOUR FOOTPRINTS IN THE SANDS OF CALVARY CHURCH ARE GONE FOREVER. BUT THEY FORGET IT IS ONLY BECAUSE GOD IS NOW CARRYING YOU. IT IS HIS FAITH THAT WILL SUSTAIN YOU PROVIDED YOU BELIEVE IN GOD AND NOT YOURSELF. ONE DAY YOUR FOOTPRINTS WILL RETURN!

PS. I HAVE NO FAITH IN MY FAITH. I LIVE BY THE FAITH OF GOD.

Vijay

October 3, 2010 7:44 AM

Did AOG Malaysia Lie to the Court?

On 5 July 2010, the Kuala Lumpur High Court had allowed Assemblies of God’s (AOG) application to strike out the Originating Summons which cited them as the Third Defendant. This means that the Court agreed that the AOG is not a party to the case.


The 7 Plaintiffs, who are concerned members of Calvary Church, had included the AOG as the Third Defendant on the basis that the AOG is the supreme body of all the Assemblies of God churches in Malaysia including Calvary Church and as the supreme body, they ought to look after the welfare of the members of their member-churches.


All the concerned members of Calvary Church are naturally disappointed with the Court’s decision as they strongly hold to the belief that the AOG should take responsibility and intervene in the affairs of Calvary Church which has become a joke in the Christian community. The AOG’s act of applying to Court to strike out the Plaintiff’s inclusion of them as the Third Defendant is testament of their “couldn’t-care-less” attitude. The shame is on the AOG and their Executive Council members.


But what shocked the CT team were The Statements made by the AOG in their sworn Affidavits filed in Court. In their attempt to “wash their hands off” the matter, they resorted to twisted interpretation of their Constitution and telling half-truths.


The following are some of what the AOG has stated in their sworn Affidavits:-


1. AOG not responsible for Calvary Church


AOG claimed that Calvary Church is only affiliated to AOG and that it has no authority over Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam or the Board of Deacons (BOD).


A) AOG Constitution Article III, Aims and Objects, states under (D):
“To have the right to establish churches and provide for their development…”


B) Article V.A.3 of their Bylaws further states:
“The church shall submit its annual report of its progress and financial statement to the General Council.”


Does this not mean that Calvary Church is established by AOG and under its control?


Isn’t it a fact that all pastors of AOG churches are ordained by the AOG and receive their credentials from them?


The mere fact that the AOG can remove and have, in the past, removed the credentials of their AOG pastors is evident of their authority over their AOG pastors.


2. Calvary Church members are not Members of AOG Malaysia


They denied that the AOG Malaysia is a family to members of Calvary Church and stated that Calvary Church members are not members of AOG Malaysia.


Their Article VI, Membership of the AOG of Malaysia says:


A. “The membership of the AOG of Malaysia shall consist of all ministers….”


B. “The membership shall also consist of all members of local assemblies which have been set in order by a duly constituted official of the AOG of Malaysia and have been granted a Certificate of Affiliation.”


Article VII (B) even provides for one lay delegate to be sent from each sovereign church to attend and vote at the AOG General Council.


Yet they submitted to the Court that Calvary Church members are not members of the AOG.


3. Calvary Church Constitution not approved by AOG Malaysia


They denied that Calvary Church’s Constitution was approved by them. They denied that they are a party to the Calvary Church Constitution. They claimed that they only endorsed the Constitution based solely on the approval and acceptance of the Calvary Church Constitution by the church members.


Their Article V.C.1 clearly states:


“Amendments to the constitution (of local church) may be made at any general meeting of the church provided that the proposed amendments have been submitted in writing to all voting members of the church at least one month before the meeting in question. The proposed and accepted amendments will only come into effect after a written approval of the Executive Committee of the General Council has been given”

Their submission to Court clearly contradicted what is stated in their Constitution. If they “only endorsed the church constitution based solely on the approval and acceptance of the church members”, then why is there a need for a written approval of the Executive Committee of the AOG for amendments to the churches’ Constitutions? This is clearly twisting the facts.


4. Calvary Church Attendance Figures


In the AOG Commemorative Year Book 2002, they had stated that Calvary Church has 10,000 members. In their sworn affidavit filed in Court, they told the Court that Calvary Church has only more than 1000 members and its regular service were attended by more than 3000 persons.


So if the figures they stated in the affidavit are true, then did they lie in the Commemorative Year Book? Obviously so, especially bearing in mind that in the 48-year history of Calvary Church, they have never ever had such a large membership!


5. Ronnie Chin’s Role at the AGM


They admitted that their Assistant General Superintendent Pastor Ronnie Chin met with some of the Calvary Church Deacons before the 2009 AGM but claimed that it was only for him to be briefed. They denied that it was for these Deacons and Ronnie Chin to strategize how to throw out the Resolutions from the concerned members.


The fact still remains that 6 out of 7 Resolutions were thrown out by Ronnie Chin on the request by Philip Tan (on behalf of the BOD) at the AGM.


Was there a conspiracy between Ronnie Chin who was representing the AOG and these Deacons?


Did the AOG lie to the court?


Certainly looks obvious. Anyway you look at it, the fact that Ronnie Chin was briefed by the Deacons beforehand goes against the very basic principle of corporate governance, ethics and transparency and reflect very badly on the AOG.


6. Coup d’etat


This is the mother of lies!


The AOG claimed that the High Court proceedings taken by the Plaintiffs appeared to be an attempt by a minority of just 69 members to try to take over control of the Church against the wishes of the majority.


There has never been any Resolution proposed to place any of the concerned members onto the Board of Deacons. There was never any attempt to remove the Deacons from their position. In fact for the 2009 AGM, the concerned members advised the church members to vote wisely to place responsible Deacons on the Board.


One of the Proposed Resolutions actually called for the intervention of the AOG into the affairs of Calvary Church and to manage the Church. Certainly none of the Plaintiffs has any desire to pastor or to take control of Calvary Church.


Some of the Plaintiffs are personally known to some of the Executive Council members and these Council Members know that there is no such intention by the Plaintiffs.


The AOG therefore, knows this is a blatant lie and yet they can swear this under oath. Where is their conscience and Christian principles? It is sad indeed that a national Christian body like AOG which represents the largest growing Christian denomination in Malaysia can stooped this low.


It is even more sad to a few of the Plaintiffs who had done so much for the AOG and Bible College of Malaysia (BCM) and were actually in very good terms with AOG and BCM.


From what we have gathered, one of the 7 Plaintiffs was instrumental in acquiring the building in which the AOG Headquarters today occupies. This Plaintiff personally raised half of the Purchase Price of this building. He also helped out financially many times towards the needs of BCM.


Another one of the 7 Plaintiffs bought a brand new van for BCM a couple of years ago. Today that vehicle is still being used to ferry BCM students around and for missions work. This same person has also helped out financially many times towards the needs of BCM. He also sponsored the entire cost of the AOG Widows’ Fund-raising dinner held last year.


It is certainly ironic or rather the humour of God to have chosen the above two Plaintiffs, out of the thousands of Christians in Malaysia, years before this Calvary Saga started, to be a channel of His blessings to AOG and BCM. There must be a lesson that God wants us to learn from and a message He wants us to heed and follow in this test that God has placed before us all as Christians and as Church organizations through this CCC – Calvary Church Crisis!


Whatever the outcome of the Originating Summons is, it does not matter to the concerned members and the Plaintiffs. It is not their battle but the Lord’s. But through this chain of events, one can clearly see that God is certainly in control. The true colours and character of the Church leaders are being exposed today. God is cleansing His Church in Malaysia and in His time, we shall all see His glory and His purposes for His Church in this land.

Footnote: After this article was published, CT received a request from one of the above two Plaintiffs to delete the mention of his contributions to AOG and BCM. Much as CT appreciates the wish of the person to remain anonymous, CT is of the opinion that since no names were mentioned, the anonymity of the person remains intact. CT wishes to elaborate that the purpose was not to highlight the contributions or the contributor but to expose the ungratefulness, nonchalance and gutlessness of the AOG leaders when push comes to shove.

Court Of Appeal Decision

The appeal by the 7 Plaintiffs (concerned church members) and the cross appeal by the Respondents (Pastor Prince and the Board of Deacons) on the matter of the Interlocutory Injunction was heard before the Court of Appeal this morning.

After hearing the submissions from both the Plaintiffs and Respondents’ lawyers, the Court dismissed both the appeal of the Plaintiffs and cross appeal of the Respondents.

The Court commented that these interlocutory proceedings and actions were unnecessary and ordered both parties to return to the High Court and seek an early trial for the Originating Summons.

In dismissing the appeal by the Plaintiffs for the reinstatement of the 400 terminated or reclassified church members, the Court stated that this issue should not be part of this proceeding as the termination or reclassification of the 400 members occurred after the Originating Summons was filed. This issue should be pursued as a separate court action.

The Court rejected the cross appeal by the Respondents against the reinstatement of the 7 Plaintiffs by the High Court. The church membership of the 7 Plaintiffs, therefore, remain reinstated.

The most interesting statement made by the Court in summing up their decision was that the AGM is the supreme authority in any organization. In simple terms, this means that the members in an AGM has full authority over everything else including the Board of Directors or Deacons, in our case.

To recap, an Originating Summons was on filed on 12 November by the Plaintiffs against the Respondents to seek the High Court’s ruling for the following:-

i. that the AGM held on 19th and 20th June 2009 be declared null and void;

ii. that the committee members appointed during the AGM held on 19th and 20th June 2009 be annulled and be declared void;

iii. that the Defendants convene an EGM within 30days from the date of the Court Order for the tabling of the resolutions which had been submitted by the Plaintiffs;

iv. that the removal of Dr. Lum Siew Heng as a member of Calvary Church on 20th March 2009 be annulled and to be declared void.

The Originating Summons is currently fixed for mention on 23 September 2010. At this mention, both parties will be seeking an early date for trial.

Please continue to uphold the matter in prayer.