And in the world of "you can't make this up if you tried". I am good friends with a staff member, who may or may not still be there. But there is a reason I waited so long to post this. This is what alot of people inside the church was calling "The Great Embarrassment". http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/10860649/ The man mentioned in the WRAL article was a former 10 year member. He was very active in different church ministries over the years From January 2011 to Februrary 2012 was an ABF (Sunday School) teacher. He left after hearing that 02/12/2012. He (being an ABF teacher and thus receiving some emails from the church that not everyone received) "put it together" that the associate pastor had been fired in January. He wrote some emails (maybe alot of emails) to the church. He NEVER threatened anyone. He just kept asking "Where will (the associate pastor) be in the summer?". Ok, I didn't get to read all the emails, but he just sent a bunch of emails. Again, NOTHING threatening at all. Well, apparently an "edict" went out that no one from the church was to email him back. Then the man went on Amazon and ordered a bunch of books and CD's to be delivered to the staff there. 3 items for the 20 or so pastor staff. Ray Stedman "Portrait of Integrity" (A biography of a pastor who went to the same seminary as Stephen Davey.) "9 Marks of a Healthy Church" (A book by a pastor who once spoke at CBC) And some CD, "Michael W Smith" "Life the Life". Again, the man did not personally send any packages to the church. He ordered things on Amazon (used-items in some cases) and had them delivered to the church. I guess it was some sort of passive (emphasis on the passive) protest about what had happened to the associate pastor. And in the church leader's paranoia, they must have contacted the police or something. No one really knows because they won't talk about it, and they won't tell the truth about it most of the time. (What church wants to admit the police were involved with a 10 year member who got upset about the firing of a pastor). Here is what was not reported. The police visited the man at his work and asked him questions. He cooperated completely. I am guessing that he probably just brought up his Amazon ordering page and showed them a bunch of orders for Christian books and CD's. one person told me the man allowed the police to search his home. They didn't find anything, besides some commentaries he was using to teach an ABF (Sunday School Class) a few weeks earlier. My theory (and this is not substantiated at all, its just my theory) is that the church called the police and were on the verge of pressing cyber stalking charges (because he sent emails asking about the associate pastor) and the church got a little more than they bargained for. Don't blame the police on this one. Blame the paranoia of the church leaders. There have been other pastor firings in the past and the only people who really get upset with Davey is people in his own congregation. Again, there was nothing in the packages but a few books and cds. Thus why it is called "The Great Embarrassment" inside the church. BTW, he did contact WRAL. But it was along the lines of "There may be a large number of people leaving this church after they learn about the recent pastor firing.". As the WRAL states, it was a non threatening email. SD preached some very good sermons while I was there. I will never say otherwise. But there is a huge disconnect from the message coming from the pulpit to what happens behind closed doors. If you know of any members, I would suggest that you do not challenge SD or his church. They will bite your head off for suggesting he is not the "ultimate christian champion". And you should feel sorry for them. They cannot wrap their head around the idea that the man who preaches these great sermons treats some of this congregation the way he does. I am hoping that the other elders of this church will put things into place that will put some checks and balances into place. But that will be difficult, since the paid elders (pastors) are afraid for their jobs, and any non paid elders who disagree with Stephen Davey will be asked to step down because they are not "on board" with "vision of the church". "Vision of the church" is a code-phrase for "anything and everything that Stephen Davey wants". Oh yeah. "The church" gave Stephen Davey a check for $25,000 at the 25th anniversary. It was basically the elders who voted for it I guess, because none of the deacons were involved in the decision. Who knows who was involved? A handful of men (who do nothing but bow down to Stephen Davey) run the entire church. Look at his own words from the 02/12/2012 sermon if you don't believe me. This sermon ticked alot of people off, yet SD would never say "I goofed up" to anyone, ever. And the people who said "that's not really biblical" were labeled trouble makers. read more

I want to make it perfectly clear for the reader that CBC and SD is a "Joe Paterno" situation before anyone in America heard the name "Jerry Sandusky". He has pulled the wool over the eyes of so many people and he continues to do so. I am a former deacon (who stepped down a few years ago but stayed at the church until recently) who sadly has "seen the light" about what really happens at CBC. I was there for over 16 years. I was a casual member for most of those years, only somewhat recently becoming a deacon. While what SD does is not as horrible as what Jerry Sandusky did (few things are worst than child rape), what SD does is completely legal, just down right dirty. He fires people on his staff (including associate pastors) for the flimsiest of reasons. Anything you've read on the church website about the church being run by a group of men is a complete fabrication. SD runs the church. It is "his" church. Any elder or deacon or other leader who dares question him and his decisions are tossed out. He has created an environment where he is accountable to no one, despite what you may read. First, a few examples. The pastor for Adult Ministries was fired in early 2012. Alot of people don't even know he's gone. Most people who asked about the decision were lied to by elders. I repeat for clarity. Many people were told a fabricated story about what happened to this associate pastor. What I do not know is if SD and the "inner circle" lied to the elder that told me the lie, or all the elders are in on the lie. The pastor of Outreach was fired in Summer of 2009. The congregation was told that this man had "doctrinal issues". Doctrinal issues does not mean core christian beliefs at cbc. Doctrinal issues at cbc means you had some kind of disagreement with SD about how things should be run. The church threw this man and his family out on the street (financially speaking). I was embarrassed to learn the truth. There have been many staff and associate pastors who have went missing all of the sudden. And the unwritten policy at this church is "don't ask too many questions". SD is consumed with authority and power and control. Don't believe me? Read his own words. 02/12/2012. http://media.colonial.org/files/PDFs/CBC/20120212-am.pdf Fourthly, the elders have priority in their leadership. In other words, they rule the flock and they are to be obeyed. The church, ladies and gentlemen, as counter- culture as this may sound, especially to American ears - is not a democracy. It isn't even a republic. Elders are not elected officials so that they might represent their various constituencies in the church body. The elders are not representatives of the people to bring the opinions of the people into the boardroom. In fact, they are not accountable to the people - they are accountable to God as they lead the people. This sermon is a few weeks after the pastor for Adult Ministries was fired. I believe he was saying "I'll make any personnel decision I want. We (elders) rule the church." Here is another quote: We're also told more specifically that some elders are deserving of greater honor. Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:17-18 that those elders who worked hard at preaching and teaching were worthy of double honor - a word for remuneration. Which by the way also informs us that all the elders in a church body didn't necessarily preach or teach and it implied that ruling authority was given to some elders who had more authority than other elders. Here is the peculiar thing. When I asked (as an former deacon and active church member) for a list of the elders who "had more authority", No list could be provided. This list (I presume) exists only in SD's head. And for the life of me, I have never heard of his doctrine. My opinion is that he fabricated this doctrine so he could retain ultimate control of his church. Let me give you an example. If Stephen Davey decided he wanted a dancing monkey up on stage with him during a sermon, and every other person in the church did not want a dancing monkey on stage with him, there would (without a doubt) be a dancing monkey on stage with him. A more practical example. There are 3 services at the church. Many, many, many people asked if there could be a more contemporary service (music wise) for ONE of the services. Well, since Stephen Davey does not like anything resembling contemporary there. It does not matter what the congregation desires. (See quote above about democracy and boardrooms, etc.) Here is what was said at a deacons' meeting one time. "The most important thing that happens at CBC is SD's preaching. Everything else should support that." Other facts (without any personal opinions): In September of 2011, a check was presented to SD and his family for $25,000. (It was the 25th anniversary of the church). I could go on but I've run out of room. read more

The Lord led me to Colonial over a year ago. I couldn't be happier with the preaching, the music (is phenomenal!) and the fellowship. Yes, it is a bit daunting to enter such a large group of people and not know anyone, but it takes time, experiences and effort to make friends no matter where you go. 'To have friends, you must show yourself to be friendly.' I would encourage you to look at the website: colonial.org and see for yourself the ministries that are available, whether you need help, or you want to help. There are videos of Stephen's past messages (he can also be heard on 92.5fm WYFL), and a wealth of information about the ABF -Adult Bible Fellowship (Sunday School) classes. The church is run in decency and order. A great testimony. Pray about it! read more

Thanks for the Christian fellowship & hospitality shown those attending the Collingsworth Family concert 8/17/14. I felt the warmth of your love for our Lord from the moment I saw the natural beauty & comfortable accommodations as we arrived. Handicapped folks were looked for & escorted into seating & not a bad seat inside the auditorium. . Bathrooms were clean & easily available. When service was over the friendliness & hospitality along with the wonderful food was unheard of - a first of this magnitude for me. God bless the outreach to the community & showing the love of Jesus to strangers. Charlene. read more

This church is all about appearances. They love to judge people and gossip. It got so bad for a friend that asking for a bible study to stop propagating gossip and falsehoods didn't change a thing. They had to threaten a defamation lawsuit to get it to stop. Where is the love of Jesus and common decency? read more

Wonderful, church The preaching is outstanding it has been my great pleasure to work there and volunteer there for the last 16 years. read more