Simmering tension reaches a boil with a vote on a young pastor whose takeover caused a rift.
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published August 11, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - The struggle for control of Greater King David International Church has taken a new turn.
Tonight a group of deacons and trustees will hold an election in an attempt to dislodge the Rev. Gordon Morris Curry from the post he inherited from his grandfather about a year ago. The vote will be the second in weeks.
The first, on July 11, was organized by Curry himself. Those results affirm Curry's position as pastor, said his attorney, George Rahdert, who added that tonight's vote would be invalid.
"You can't hand out fliers to the dissidents and say, "Let us have a select group of people in here and have a South American election,' " Rahdert said.
"Basically, his detractors don't seem to be able to follow the church's constitution. He has held an election as he said he would. It was done in accordance with the church's constitution and proctored by a representative of the statewide church and the issue is at an end. It was an overwhelming vote in his favor," said Rahdert, who also represents the St. Petersburg Times.
Those who want Curry removed say the election was rigged, as was the one last year that gave him the pulpit his grandfather had held since 1958. They say Curry did not announce the July 11 election, as required, and notified only his supporters of the date and time of the vote.
"He didn't tell us that he was going to have it that night, or we would have been there," said Earline Mells, a longtime member.
Mrs. Mells is among those who have vowed to fight for the historic former Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church, which Curry renamed after taking over last August.
"I've been a member for 40 years and I refuse to let a 27-year-old child run me away," she said.
Gladys Newton, 72, has belonged to the church for almost 46 years.
"No one hates him. We just want to be heard," she said, adding that she taught Sunday school for 36 years until Curry relieved her of her duties.
Tonight's election could prove difficult to pull off. Because they can't announce the vote from the pulpit, dissidents have been distributing fliers and placing notices on cars in the church's parking lot. Their actions have led to angry confrontations. Fliers have been grabbed from his hands, said deacon Tommy Morris, 85.
The battle escalated last Wednesday, when most deacons and certain lay members were barred from entering the church for that evening's Bible study and prayer meeting. A Curry supporter stood at a door with a list of those forbidden to enter.
Mrs. Mells said her name was added to the list that evening when she helped her friend Mrs. Newton get into the building.
"The church is supposed to be winning souls, so how can you lock people out?" she said.
Mrs. Newton, who thinks she crossed Curry when she questioned his actions during a leadership meeting, said she was told that if she didn't leave, her car would be towed.
"I told them to do what they have to do," she said.
"I felt like it would be a trick to get her out of the church so she couldn't go back in," said Mrs. Mells, who volunteered to go outside and wait for the tow truck, which did not arrive.
Rahdert said Curry had to take action against troublemakers, some of whom have been videotaping services despite being told not to.
"It has become a very disruptive situation," he said.
"We did win in court. At some time, these people will get tired of being disruptive."
Tonight's election will be the second attempt to get rid of Curry. On May 26, he was fired by a majority of church deacons, who got police to issue a trespassing warning and escort him from the property.
A week later, the tables were turned.
Curry took the deacons to court and was reinstated by Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Anthony Rondolino. The judge dismissed the trespassing order that barred Curry from the church at 2550 Ninth Ave. S, near Jordan Park, and said the deacons had not adhered to the organization's constitution. Rondolino also said the government of the Baptist church is vested in its believers, and that meant every member, not just deacons, must have a voice. The congregation needed to vote on the pastor's job, he said.
Curry was originally elected in May 2003, but some in the congregation say the vote was fraudulent and included nonchurch members.
He began his job last August, after his grandfather, the Rev. Joseph Gordon, retired. Gordon, the church's longtime pastor, had made it clear that he wanted his grandson, who has been preaching since he was a teenager, to be his successor. Some members balked, citing Curry's criminal record, which includes spousal abuse. Many left to form Concord Missionary Baptist Church. Some joined other congregations.
Since taking over, Curry has renamed the church and removed any mention of a denominational affiliation. Detractors say he has painted over a mural of Jesus at the front of the church and now preaches from an acrylic lectern, similar to those favored by televangelists.
"He just tore up everything," said Morris, the deacon. "Then he would get in the pulpit and when he got through preaching say, "If you don't like it, you can go somewhere else.' "
Nothing will stop tonight's election, Mrs. Newton said. It will take place in the church's parking lot if necessary, she added.
"If we lose the fight," she said, "the battle belongs to the Lord and whatever he wants to happen will happen."
