Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 4

Folk said of his objection to the transfer. just gifting (the station) to Calvary; it went straight to The Christian Broadcasting Academy Board chaired by Saber voted to give the 31-year- old radio station to a nonprofit subsidiary of Calvary called Connection Communications Associates. The president of Connection Communications was Heitzig, who founded Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque, and at the time was its senior pastor. Connection Communications ran another Albuquerque station, KTKN. The FCC permitted the transfer of KLYT and its statewide network of translators on Jan.

1, 2001. Radio ministry Fast forward to 2006, when a simmering dispute at the biggest nondenominational church boils over into public view. The resignation letter by hand-picked successor, Pete Nelson, said Heitzig in March 2004 proposed transferring the radio station assets to a company he controlled. Nelson and board members from Albuquerque voted against the move, which did not occur. were both well aware that the radio stations were very valuable CA (Calvary Albuquerque) Nelson wrote in his letter.

it was my understanding that these radio station assets serve as collateral under a bond indenture of CA and could not be transferred breaching the CA covenants under the debt Heitzig released letters and statements last week concerning the controversy. He said proposals involving the radio station were simply matters for discussion and exploration, then rejected. Although Heitzig left Albuquerque in early 2004 to lead Ocean Hills Community Church in California, the local church still funds daily half-hour radio program. The program is heard on radio stations around the country and on the Internet. Both the radio stations and are supported by church funds, generated by tithings and donations, as well as merchandise sold by the producers of said Calvary Associate Pastor and spokesman Chip Lusko.

the revenues come back to the church to help underwrite the cost of the radio he said. That merchandise includes a vast collection of books, CDs and other materials produced or written by Heitzig and his wife, Lenya. In a 2004 letter to church officials, former Calvary board member Greg Zanetti said the church had subsidized to the tune of $6 million since 1994 and was continuing to support it with $500,000 per year, despite the fact Heitzig had left Calvary. Some former church officials, including Nelson, have contended that Heitzig was using local church money to advance a nationwide ministry and have questioned the loyalties of its largely out-of-state board. vision appears to have (Calvary Albuquerque) serving as part of this larger national ministry and includes having (Calvary Albuquerque) provide significant financial resources to fund this national Nelson wrote in his resignation letter to the board.

In late December, Heitzig wrote to Nelson that, even as he transitioned out of his pastoral duties in Albuququerque, he never intended to leave the radio ministry in New Mexico. was gifted to Calvary ABQ because of my past track record in the community with reaching out to He wrote that the board specifically insisted on his involvement in order that the programming and expansion be sustained. Spreading the gospel Radio especially low-power FM stations with networks of inexpensive translator stations is one of evangelical key mediums for spreading the gospel. A 2000 study by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research found that nearly 50 percent of megachurches those with 2,000 or more members used radio as part of communicating to the flock. The global Calvary movement also operates a nationwide radio network, Calvary Satellite Network, or CSN, which showcases music and sermons from evangelists like Billy Graham, national Calvary founder Chuck Smith and Heitzig.

Today, Calvary operates two radio stations. KLYT, otherwise known as M88, plays youth-oriented Christian music and programs statewide and in southern Colorado. First founded in the mid- 1970s and run by a network of evangelical churches, KLYT has been frequently referred to as one of the longest- running youth-oriented Christian radio stations. KNKT, or Connection 107.1, is an adult-oriented station broadcasting contemporary music, talk and religious services in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It has operated since 1986.

Stations were key assets Because churches do not have to report to the Internal Revenue Service, tracking financial information for Calvary is difficult. But the scant records available for the short- lived nonprofit Connection Communications Association show that the two radio stations were key church assets. At the end of 2000, an IRS form 990 filed by Christian Broadcasting Academy showed KLYT had assets of $300,219. It had total annual revenues of about $26,000, lost nearly $500,000 per year and depended largely on donations from listeners and fundraising concerts and other events for its survival. Christian Broadcasting Academy dissolved in 2001, and Connection Communication Association filed its first 990, reporting on its year running KLYT and KTKN.

That report placed total assets at $3.5 million after accounts payable and other expenses. Total revenues were $4.7 million, most of which came from direct public support totaling $4.2 million. The tax filing did not detail the source of that funding. Lusko said he did not know where the $4.2 million came from. The nonprofit Connection Communications Association continued to run the stations for two more years, recording annual revenues of $600,000 to $700,000.

Expenses exceeded revenues by about $100,000 for those two years. In 2003, all the radio assets were donated by the Connection Communications Association to Calvary Chapel, which does not have to report to the IRS, and no financial information is available after 2003. Connection Communications is still cited as the copyright holder on Web sites for the two radio stations and for radio show, A4 A LBUQUERQUE OURNAL ONDAY ARCH 20,2006 Church Funds Support Radio Show Board To Discuss Resignation spilled into public view Feb. 19 when then-senior pastor Pete Nelson abruptly stepped down. In his resignation letter, obtained by the Journal, Nelson cited a struggle with Heitzig for control of Calvary.

Nelson wrote that Heitzig, who left Albuquerque in early 2004 to lead Ocean Hills Community Church in California, was not allowing him to choose his own board members or enough autonomy to run the megachurch as he saw fit. A November 2004 letter written by then-board member Greg Zanetti raised many of the same concerns. letter, also obtained by the Journal, said Heitzig had tried to wrest control of two multi-million dollar radio stations from the church. Zanetti also expressed concern that Heitzig had loaded board of directors with his friends, who did not live in Albuquerque or attend Calvary, and who were more loyal to Heitzig than to the church. Finally, during the first week of March, a group of church members headed by John Ackerman went to the board and demanded that Heitzig and all other out-of-state board members resign.

Ackerman, former president of Public Service Company of New Mexico and an ethics professor at Anderson Schools of Management, is a longtime member of Calvary. The group he leads wants more transparency and accountability in financial and personnel moves, and asserts local governance is a key first step to achieving those objectives. At meeting will be Heitzig, Gino Geraci, Paul Saber, Raul Ries, Paul Scozzafava and Michael Rosenblum, according to Garrity. John Fidel, a certified public accountant, is on sabbatical until the end of tax season. Geraci, Saber and Ries all live out of state.

Scozzafava lives in Santa Fe; Rosenblum and Fidel the two most recent appointments live in Albuquerque. Zanetti said that, on March 8, Heitzig promised his resignation along with those of Geraci, Saber and Ries. On that same day, Heitzig told the Journal that he clear on the resignations, and that he needed to speak with Zanetti again on the matter. Heitzig has not returned telephone calls from the Journal since March 8, and Zanetti said Heitzig did not get back in touch with him until last week. It appears that will be the lone resignation discussed by the board Tuesday.

not aware of any other resignations that could be coming down the pike right Garrity said Sunday, but he left open the possibility the others could step down. The board will act on three other items Tuesday: selection of an interim senior pastor; a selection process to find a permanent senior pastor; and internal realignment of staff to meet existing and future church needs. Garrity said Heitzig is to fill the role of interim senior pastor. But he said Heitzig may return sometime down the road either as senior pastor or as a board member. has a strong place in his heart for Calvary of Garrity said.

those feeling will bring him back, I For now, there is no of candidates to step in as senior pastor. In fact, on Tuesday the board will simply discuss a process to find the next top preacher. As for Garrity said, the church has at least two spots to fill on its pastoral staff. Bob Church and C.B. Blankenship both members of the staff resigned about the same time as Nelson last month, he said.

Garrity, president of the Garrity Group LLC, said he was hired last week by Calvary Associate Pastor Chip Lusko, who normally handles media inquiries for the church. Garrity counts as recent clients the Albuquerque Public Schools, Intel, New Mexico Senate Democrats, Supermarkets and the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. He said his salary is being paid by the Calvary board of directors but declined to say how much. role, he said, is to manage communications and public for Calvary. church is in the midst of a transition, and the pastoral staff more than has its work cut out for he said.

one of the underlying reasons I was brought Zanetti and Ackerman have criticized hiring of a public relations firm. find it revealing that Skip Heitzig and Chip Lusko are using Calvary Albuquerque funds to pay a public relations Zanetti said in an interview. hard-earned tithings and offerings in this manner is deplorable. Truth does not need spin or Ackerman said Sunday that none of his concerns have been addressed so far. principal concerns continue to be a governance process and behavior that lacks accountability, transparency and he wrote in an email response to Journal questions.

firms are hired to improve image. The best way to improve the current image is to adopt accountability, transparency and truth. It is cheaper than a P.R. firm, and may even be Journal staffer Paul Logan contributed to this report. JOURNAL FILE With 14,000 members, Calvary Chapel is one of the largest churches in New Mexico.

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