Long Beach Baptists Sue to Oust Pastor

The First Baptist Church of Long Beach, established around the turn of the century, is undergoing an internal tug of war over its longtime affiliation with the American Baptist denomination.

A suit has been filed in Los Angeles Superior Court to remove the pastor, the Rev. Larry Chappell, and the board of trustees for alleged fraud and deceit. The suit charges that Chappell, contrary to what he said before being hired, wants to pull the church out of the national body.

The suit was filed by a committee representing a minority of congregation members. Herman Simpson, chairman of the Concerned Members committee, said he is one of 51 plaintiffs and that his committee numbers at least 200.

The suit also claims that the pastor has attempted “to purge the membership rolls of people loyal to the (American Baptist Churches).”

At the church’s annual membership meeting Wednesday night, it was revealed that active membership stood at 3,082 on Jan. 1 and was down to 2,015 by the end of the year, Simpson said. “We are challenging the removal of these people from the active rolls,” he said.

‘Progress’ Cited The pastor said the pared roll reflects more realistically the participation level in church activities. He said the church has seen “progress in every category,” adding more than 300 members, including 262 converts.

“I love my church and I want God’s best for it,” Chappell said.

Chappell, 42, a former missionary who calls himself an “independent Baptist,” declined to comment on charges because of the pending case.

The suit, filed last month, asks the court to supervise any voting that might be called to break the church’s American Baptist ties and to conduct an audit of the membership rolls.

Simpson contended that since Chappell became pastor in December, 1980, he has sought to disassociate the church leadership and the denomination.

During the heyday of downtown churches in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, Long Beach First Baptist, at the corner of 10th and Pine streets, had one pastor who served as a national president and another who became regional administrator for American Baptists.

The suit charges that Chappell has “falsely stated that the (American Baptist Churches) condone communism, satanism and other immoral and anti-religious doctrines and practices.”

As for the congregation’s health, Chappell and Simpson differed on statistics in telephone interviews following the meeting Wednesday.

Budget for Missions Simpson said the total $460,725 church budget approved for 1985 includes $13,046 for support of American Baptist missions, down from $24,928 last year. “That’s inaccurate,” Chappell said. “I’m sure it’s down some, but not that much.”

The minister and the layman also disagreed on average attendance at worship. Chappell said it is 837 per Sunday, compared to 725 last year, and Simpson said attendance averages 418 and would total 688 if those in Sunday School were counted.

Long Beach First Baptist is one of the 12 largest American Baptist congregations among the 350 churches affiliated with the Pacific Southwest District, which includes Southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii.

Baptist churches historically have cherished local autonomy, regardless of affiliation, but many have joined associations or “conventions” to support educational and missionary work.

The Rev. Ken Giacoletto, deputy executive minister for the Pacific Southwest District, said in a telephone interview from his Covina office that the situation in Long Beach First Baptist raises serious questions over whether a new pastor “can simply come and take over and change the direction of that institution” after a long association.

ALthough the courts have been loath to interfere in ecclesiastical or doctrinal disputes in churches, Judith Chirlin, attorney for the members who filed the suit, said there is precedent for taking action in matters that take place in any kind of corporation.

Two regional Lutheran headquarters have been considering moving their district offices in Los Angeles to suburban campuses; only one group has made it a serious proposal.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s Southern California District will vote in April whether to move to Christ College, Irvine, and build more spacious quarters on the denominationally affiliated campus. The present office, on Pomona Boulevard in East Los Angeles, could possibly be retained as a “multicultural center” and for other uses, said Randy Bosch, chairman of the district’s study committee.

The South Pacific District of the American Lutheran Church has considered moving from its central city location in the parish education wing of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Los Angeles, where is has been for 20 years. A building once thought to be available on the California Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks is not, however.

Although a feasibility committee is pondering relocation, Howard Wennes, a district administrator, said the matter has a relatively low priority.

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Long Beach continues to add its voice to international efforts to focus attention on Raoul Wallenberg, a special Swedish envoy to Budapest during World War II credited with saving 120,000 lives. Some think he is still alive, imprisoned in the Soviet Union.

An ecumenical service recalling the 40th anniversary of Wallenberg’s arrest by Soviet forces will be held Wednesday at the church. The main speaker will be Lowell Almen, editor of the Lutheran Standard, who was instrumental in getting the Lutheran World Federation Congress to address the case last summer in Hungary.

Wallenberg was eventually made an honorary American citizen after it was disclosed that he had acted as a secret envoy for President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Budapest.