Charles Michael Blizzard

Charles Michael "Mike" Blizzard, born November 20, 1947 is a Southern Baptist Pastor at Cornerstone Baptist Church

Biography and early pastoral career

Education

Blizzard was a 1965 honor graduate of the A.R. Willingham Senior High School for Boys in Macon, Georgia where he served as student body president. He graduated from Mercer University in Macon, GA with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Majors in Speech and English Literature. In 1972, he received a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Fort Worth, Texas. He received a Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Candler School of Theology of Emory University Atlanta, Georgia in 1978.

Pastoral Ministry

Blizzard was licensed to the Gospel Ministry in February, 1966 and ordained to the Gospel Ministry in August, 1966 by the Mabel White Memorial Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia. His next pastorates included: Pendleton Homes Chapel a mission church in Macon, GA; North Avenue Baptist Church in Whitesboro, Texas; Lizella Baptist Church in Lizella, Georgia; Indian Creek Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia; Tabernacle Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia. Since January 1, 1995 he has served as pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia.

Professional

Blizzard served for Four Years on the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, Nashville, Tennessee. He is also a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.

Author

Blizzard is the author of the controversial and self published "A Bottle Full of Tears" (Brentwood Christian Press 1995). "Blizzard's account of his problems at Tabernacle, the accusations of financial wrongdoing, the subsequent trial, the 15 months he spent in prison, and the hardships he faced trying to rebuild his life are covered in a recently self-published book, ``A Bottle Full of Tears.' ``I wrote the book for three reasons, he said. ``No. 1, it was a ministry to me a cathartic experience. Secondly, I've encountered a number of people with problems of all sorts who don't really feel like they have a viable place to go for help. I wrote this book for people who are troubled. And (third) I wrote it for the helping professions, people who help people.'In the book's introduction, Blizzard explained that the book was about his own tears of shame, humiliation, embarrassment, regret, pain, loss, remorse and more.

Getting the book to market was difficult. "Numerous established publishers declined to publish Blizzard's book. He eventually had to self-publish it last August. But even after Blizzard had the finished product in his hand, he faced roadblocks.``The Macon Christian Bookstore bought some books and paid the discounted price for them up front, Blizzard said. Then he received a call from the owner, Chris Childers, saying the book would not be displayed and not promoted. The copies he had left would be kept hidden.``It didn't meet the criteria we were looking for, said Childers. ``It was condemning a local pastor, and it was not uplifting to the church. Childers said he read the book and asked some other people to read it. That's when he decided it was unfit for his store. ``A Bottle Full of Tears, doesn't mention any names of the people at Tabernacle. Blizzard does not believe that his stating what happened is condemning. He also left about two dozen books at the Baptist Book Store on Tom Hill Boulevard to be sold on consignment. He received another call. ``They said there had been some complaints, and they didn't know if they had the authority to stock it, anyway, he said. The store operates under the auspices of the Southeast Regional Baptist Book Stores in Nashville. Roy Daniel, acting manager at the local Baptist Book Store at the time, said he received a call from the bookstore's regional director, Chris Rogers. ``He said he had received a phone call from someone locally complaining about the book. Daniel said. Daniel was instructed to pull the book. Rogers didn't remember the specific complaint but defended the decision. ``We try not to carry things that offend people, Rogers said. ``For the integrity of the store, if people complain about a book, we don't carry it. Blizzard, who said he's not made a profit from the book, finally found a welcome market at Books A-Million. ``It's one of our bestselling books in the regional section, said Valerie Evans, who works at Books A-Million. ``A lot of people have commented on how well written it is, how good the story line is and how easy it is to read."

Advertisng was an issue as well. "But distribution wasn't the only problem Blizzard had. ``I bought an ad in The Christian Index, the official newspaper of the Georgia Baptist Convention, said Blizzard. He sent a check for $315 to the paper with the ad copy. ``The copy that ran had a few typos, so I called to see if it could be corrected, said Blizzard. The representative apologized for the errors and offered to run the ad for another week at no charge. ``The next thing I knew I received a letter from the editor and a check for $315, said Blizzard. The editor said the newspaper would not run any more ads for the book because of complaints from the Macon Christian community. Blizzard returned the money. He wasn't looking for free advertisement. William T. Neal III, editor of The Christian Index, said he had received half a dozen complaints about Blizzard's book. ``I had not read the book, but people in Macon said it attacked the people still in the church and was not a fair and accurate portrayal of what happened, said Neal. He decided to stop the ad not because it was controversial, but because it was one sided. ``We do run ads for controversial books if they are balanced, said Neal ``but we turn some down if they are inconsistent with our philosophy. He said he read parts of the book and determined that Blizzard was trying to defend himself and make excuses for what happened. ``I'm not trying to pass judgment, said Neal. ``I don't even know the man, but a lot of people were upset about the book.

Tabernacle Baptist Church

Blizzard became pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in downtown Macon, GA in June 1, 1980. He was 32 years old at the time. By all accounts, Blizzard was a handsome, charismatic leader. The early years of his pastorate produced unprecedented growth in church members, church staff and church budget. He also had affairs with more than one female congregant. Blizzard successfully carried on these liaisons concurrently without the female congregants or his wife knowing of each other for some time, until two of the congregants discovered Blizzard had approached both of them with sexual advances. The congregants networked to discover other victims, which they found. Soon the matter was brought to the attention of church leaders, who made preparations for Blizzard to take a six-month leave of absence from the church so he could get counseling and try to repair his marriage. Blizzard announced this leave of absence to the general congregation December 9, 1984. Blizzard stated the reason for the leave of absence was stress, pressure and exhaustion.

Financial Misconduct

After Blizzard's leave of absence began, the Financial Secretary notified the Minister of Music of salary advances received by the pastor. After this disclosure on December 11, 1984 several church leaders requested his written resignation, which he reluctantly agreed to sign. At this point, Tabernacle Baptist Church severed all ties with Blizzard and his family except for three key points.On January 16, 1985 the church voted no to an audit by an outside accounting firm. Subsequently, in February 1985, the church voted to forgive the salary advance funds. Lastly, two days prior to Blizzard's release date, May 1, 1987, the Tabernacle membership voted to remove him as a church member.

In March, 1985 an attorney congregant went to the office of the Bibb County District Attorney with a criminal complaint against Blizzard for the unauthorized use of church funds. This individual was acting on his own behalf, not at the request of Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Blizzard was indicted for 44 counts of theft by taking and 2 counts of theft by conversion by a Grand Jury on September 5, 1985. His trial started November 18, 1985. Cameras were allowed into the courtroom for this trial. On November 21, 1985 Blizzard pled guilty to 5 felony counts and the rest of the charges were dismissed. Sentencing occurred January 27, 1986 where Blizzard was sentenced to fifteen years in the state penitentiary. His incarceration began immediately.

Incarceration

Blizzard was incarcerated January 27, 1986 and released May 1, 1987. He served time at the following facilities: the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center, the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center in Jackson, GA and the Central Correctional Institution in south Bibb County.

Personal Repercussions

After disability insurance payments lapsed due to lack of filed claimed forms, Blizzard's loss of income forced his home into foreclosure and his estate into Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in 1986. His wife and the children were forced to relocate to a rental house in Macon. The IRS began pressuring for returns for tax years 1984, 1985 and 1986. They treated all the funds involved in the thefts as taxable at the tax table rate plus charged interest, as well as an underpayment penalty. For years the clock ticked while Blizzard made offers-in-compromise to settle. These were all rejected in 1991, when the bill was well over six figures.

The IRS put tax liens on both Blizzard and his wife with at Notice of Intent to Levy at any time. Determined to stay in the Macon area, Blizzard struggled to find employment after his release from incarceration. Beginning in late 1988, he served as a consultant for a medical waste treatment company which showed real promise for several years, it went out of business in 1993. His family, now with two children in college, was forced to move into a small apartment to economize.

Cornerstone Baptist Church

Ten years to the day since Blizzard left Tabernacle for the last time, he preached both the morning and evening sermons at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Macon, GA. Blizzard became the pastor on January 1, 1995.>

Another Resignation with Reversal

November 8, 1998 The Macon Telegraph reported Blizzard's letter of resignation was read to the congregation of Cornerstone Baptist Church November 5, 1998. The letter stated Blizzard acknowledged being completely responsible for unspecified actions that resulted in his inability to minister to the church any longer. Church members said Blizzard's resignation stemmed from at least one church woman's complaints about his advances. Walter Wren, a church deacon, stated "I don't know the women involved. I was told it was ladies, plural". Wrenn also said the church had loaned Blizzard $10,000 to settle a dispute with the IRS which was garnishing the pastor's wages.

November 18, 1998 The Macon Telegraph reported Blizzard wanted to take back his resignation as pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church."The Rev. C. Michael Blizzard wants to take back his resignation as pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church, saying he can explain allegations of improper conduct with female church members as well as his handling of personal loans." In his resignation letter, Blizzard wrote, "I regret that situations for which I am completely responsible have developed, rendering my ability to minister to you totally ineffective." In the letter rescinding his resignation, Blizzard said he resigned "under extreme duress and followed a response from my wife that seemed to render any defense hopeless.""After much heart-rendering prayer, I am assured that God placed me at Cornerstone for a work that Satan is now attempting to destroy," he wrote. "I cannot walk away from my mission."The final disposition of his job, Blizzard wrote, "must be decided by the church and not by any individual or group that is being misguided by an evil agenda." The church agreed to let Blizzard keep his job as pastor, and no break in service is noted on the church website.

Amidst More Financial Complaints, Another Investigation

On April 3, 2002 the Macon Telegraph reported that three church members filed a complaint that week against Blizzard, alleging he improperly removed them from their leadership positions after they questioned him about financial concerns. "The three asked a judge to restrict Blizzard's access to financial records. Three members of Cornerstone Baptist Church filed a complaint this week against pastor Charles Michael Blizzard asking the court to, among other things, restrain his access to the church's financial documents.The plaintiffs, who include members of the church's finance committee and its chief financial officer, allege they were improperly removed from their leadership positions after they questioned Blizzard about financial concerns involving the church. The plaintiffs want the court to issue a temporary restraining order and injunction to prevent Blizzard from denying them access to the building, to prevent Blizzard from having contact with the corporation's accountant without the CFO present and to prevent Blizzard from obligating the church financially without prior approval of the finance committee.""In the latest allegations, the Cornerstone members allege their removal from office occurred after they "became aware of unusual business circumstances including, but not limited to, no cash deposits over a eleven week period" though a "significant portion" of the church's weekly deposits were in cash, the complaint said."

On April 5, 2002 The Bibb County DA announced an investigation."The district attorney's office said Thursday that it's investigating Cornerstone Baptist Church Rev. Charles Michael Blizzard.District Attorney Howard Simms said the church, which is located on Hartley Bridge Road, itself was not being examined, but declined to comment further."I cannot comment on an ongoing investigation," Simms said." During a worship service Wednesday night, Blizzard told members of Cornerstone the district attorney's office had received information accusing the pastor of embezzlement. Blizzard said the accusation was based on a lack of cash deposits, and the district attorney's office wanted to inventory the church records. The article also states:"Now the DA is not going to be going through our church," Blizzard said. The district attorney's office would not answer specific questions about the case. In response to the allegations in the complaint, Blizzard said he has locked the church down and frozen its assets until the issues are resolved. The civil complaint does not make specific allegations about financial problems, but instead alleges the three plaintiffs were improperly removed from leadership positions. The plaintiffs said the removal was done by the administrative deacons and not the church corporation, which they allege is proper procedure. Blizzard told members he was soliciting statements of support from a majority of the church leadership and planned to ask the membership to validate the decision to remove the three members from office. "Satan has entered into somebody and messed up our church," Blizzard said Wednesday. "Father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing".

On April 20, 2002 the Macon Telegraph reported that Blizzard no longer faced civil allegations of improperly removing church leaders from office. The voluntary dismissal of the civil complaint comes about a week after a majority of the church membership voted to uphold the decision by Blizzard and some of the deacons to remove the three members of the financial committee. Blizzard told some members of the congregation the three were removed in an emergency action because they were being disruptive to the mission of the church."The Rev. Charles Michael Blizzard no longer faces civil allegations of improperly removing church leaders from office, but the preacher who once served prison time for stealing from another church still is under investigation by the district attorney's office. Three former leaders in Cornerstone Baptist Church dropped a civil complaint Friday that alleged Blizzard had them removed from office after they brought some financial concerns to his attention. The voluntary dismissal of the civil complaint comes about a week after a majority of the church membership voted to uphold the decision by Blizzard and some of the deacons to remove Wiley Leverett, Larry Garrett and Connie Holland from office. The three were all members of the finance committee, and Leverett also served as treasurer and chief financial officer. About 170 church members turned out for an April 10 meeting in which two-thirds of the membership voted to uphold Blizzard's decision, said attorney Sam Alderman, who is representing the plaintiffs. "It was really apparent to my clients that while they felt they were acting in the best interest of the church, the church clearly was not behind them," he said." "District Attorney Howard Simms said Friday the dismissal of the civil complaint did not affect his office's investigation of Blizzard. He has declined further comment on details of that investigation."

Lawsuit Against Church Members

One year later, April 3 2003, The Macon Telegraph reports Blizzard is suing church members. "The pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church has filed suit, alleging six former members of his congregation are defaming him by saying he stole money from the church. Three of the six people named in the Rev. C. Michael Blizzard's defamation lawsuit sued him last year after they were removed from leadership positions in the church. They said they were fired because they asked questions about church finances. At the time, Blizzard was under investigation by the Bibb County District Attorney's Office.That investigation is no longer active, and the lawsuit against Blizzard has been dropped." "Blizzard's attorney, Luther Strickland Jr., said the reverend did not want to sue, but said it was the only way to prevent continuing false statements. "He keeps getting reports of statements being made by individuals that are harmful to his ministry and his church," Stickland said. Strickland declined further comment, and said the lawsuit speaks for itself. In the suit, Blizzard says the six members of the congregation have caused other members to leave. The church has shrunk by one third because of the defendants' statements or actions, the lawsuit says. The church has also been denied credit as a result of the negative publicity, Blizzard says in the suit. Named in the suit are Wiley and Geraldine Leverett, Connie and Fred Holland, Larry Garrett, Bessie Stewart and five John Does. "It just seems to me like a lawsuit based on unmitigated gall," said Michael Moore, an attorney representing the Leveretts and Garrett. "I can't imagine what a preacher's motivations are to do this. It does not seem to me to be appropriate for a man who calls himself a minister." Moore said he finds it disturbing that a minister would sue because his congregation is shrinking. "I've always thought it was God's church," Moore said, "not a place for the preacher."Concerning the DA Investigation, the article states: "This week, Simms said there is no longer an active investigation of Blizzard. "We do not have enough evidence at this time to indict him," Simms said. The district attorney's office, he said, does not exonerate nor does it assign guilt on those it investigates. If enough evidence is found, the case goes to a grand jury. If sufficient evidence is not found, the case is dropped. "We are not actively looking for evidence," Simms said. "But if allegations surface, we will look at them." Moore said he thinks Simms will be a "big player" in the defendants' case and said he was looking forward "to having Blizzard under oath."

Bankruptcy and Loss of Property

Cornerstone Baptist Church filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in Federal Court 17 May 2011, Case number 11–51573, assigned to Judge James P. Smith. In the original petition, the church owed Blizzard $166,250 in salary among other unsecured debts and $750,000 in secured debt to SunMark Community Bank (SCB) of Hawkinsville GA for the church real property. As the case dragged on, SCB was not amused and filed an Objection to Confirmation of the Debtor's Proposed Plan of Reorganization on 9 Jan 2012 which stated:

"The debtor corporation filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code on May 17, 2011. At that time, the Debtor was in default on its payments to Movant. Movant sent notice to the Debtor and duly advertised the real property for foreclosure. The real property was scheduled for foreclosure on 17 May, 2011. The bankruptcy was intentionally filed on the day the property was scheduled for sale solely to prevent the foreclosure. The Debtor failed to file a plan of reorganization until December 2, 2011, more than six (6) months from the date of filing. In the meantime, there have been no payments made to Movant in the form of adequate protection, interest, or otherwise."

"According to the Debtor’s plan of reorganization, its projected source of income is solely in the form of offerings or gifts. Movant shows that there is no guarantee of payment by church members or members of the community in an amount sufficient to pay this creditor or to maintain the required insurance on the real estate or to repay other creditors. The debtor is relying on an unsubstantiated form of income which cannot be guaranteed. They have been unable to pay the debts to their creditors in the past based on a lack of offerings or any other source of income and there is no evidence to indicate that offerings will now begin to be forthcoming in order to provide sufficient income to fund the plan as proposed. Given the state of the current economy, it is unlikely that offerings will begin to increase in an amount sufficient to maintain creditor obligations."

"The Debtor names no solid source of income in its proposed plan of reorganization, further, it proposes to continue to pay its sole member/employee [Blizzard]a monthly salary rather than allocating these funds to repay its creditors, a priority in order to maintain the property necessary for operating the church."

"Movant further shows that the Debtor proposes to cram down the claim of this Creditor by proposing to repay the debt at a value lower than the current value of the real estate and at an interest rate substantially lower than the contract rate. The debtor also makes a provision that if Movant objects, its claim may be further crammed down. Movant shows that there is sufficient value in the collateral to repay its claim in full and in accordance with the interest rate provided in the most recent note and deed to secure debt in favor of Movant. Any other treatment or cram down is unauthorized by law. Movant is the only secured creditor and holds the collateral necessary to maintain and operate the Debtor’s business."

On 10 Apr 2012, Blizzard, as President signed a Quit Claim Deed for Cornerstone Baptist Church to SCB to transfer title to the property in lieu of foreclosure.

References

This article "Charles Michael Blizzard" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Charles Michael Blizzard. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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