First Christian Church

I tried to like First Christian Church (FCC) of Albany. I attended for 5 years & served as co-chair of the board for 2, so I got to lift some stones & see the skin & bones. The 1st thing to be said about FCC is that many of its people are amazing, kind, compassionate & intelligent individuals who take Jesus' command seriously that we love others as we love ourselves. Unfortunately, that's where the goodness of this church ends. This church is a mess as a corporate entity. The lead pastor is weak & not suited for leadership, and the church board is bullied and dominated by a particularly selfish and hateful member (Chet). The problem starts at the top with the lead pastor, Tim. He is little more than an executive figurehead whose idea of church leadership apparently requires abdicating any responsibility for vision-casting and guiding the congregation, much less offering the board/church any direction at all. He is a spineless and cowardly pastor who merely panders to whatever constituency is in front of him at the moment, and then completely flip-flops and says what he thinks the next audience wants to hear, even when it's the complete opposite of what he said to the original patrons. It took me awhile to figure this out, but it became painfully obvious as time went on. Tim doesn't think twice before selling people out, and he has demonstrated utter inability to follow through on what he says to people whenever it means he has to endure even a modicum of discomfort. I don't think he does this because he *wants* to be duplicitous, but rather because he is scared to death of confrontation, being unpopular, and difficult conversations, even when it's at the expense of his own integrity. He is not a leader. But the impoverished quality of this church is not all the lead pastor's fault. During my tenure on this church's board of directors, I heard open and disparaging remarks made against immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community. Even the homeless community that this church "says" they support was consistently sneered at from various members of the church board. Most of this unChristian and hate-filled attitude came from one individual, Chet Houser, who has secured for himself a permanent position on the church board, but he had an entire chorus of complicit enablers. This church is one of the most unhealthy congregations I have ever witnessed. If you want authentic community that takes Jesus seriously as a healthy congregation and a pastor your can count on, don't waste your energy on FCC, Albany. Short Review : I wanted to like First Christian Church (FCC) of Albany. I attended for 5 years & served as co-chair of the board for 2, so I got to lift some stones & see the skin & bones. The 1st thing to be said about FCC is that many of its people are amazing, kind, compassionate & intelligent individuals who take Jesus' command seriously that we love others as we love ourselves. Unfortunately, that's where the goodness of this church ends. This church is a mess as a corporate entity. The lead pastor is weak & not suited for leadership, and the church board is bullied and dominated by a particularly selfish and hateful member (Chet). The problem starts at the top with the lead pastor, Tim. He is little more than an executive figurehead whose idea of church leadership apparently requires abdicating any responsibility for vision-casting and guiding the congregation, much less offering the board/church any direction at all. He is a spineless and cowardly pastor who merely panders to whatever constituency is in front of him at the moment. He is scared to death of confrontation, being unpopular, and difficult conversations, even when it's at the expense of his own integrity. He is not a leader. But the impoverished quality of this church is not all the lead pastor's fault. During my tenure on this church's board of directors, I heard open and disparaging remarks made against immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community. Even the homeless community that this church "says" they support was consistently sneered at from various members of the church board. Most of this unChristian and hate-filled attitude came from one individual, Chet Houser, who has secured for himself a permanent position on the church board, but he had an entire chorus of complicit enablers. This church is one of the most unhealthy congregations I have ever witnessed. If you want authentic community that takes Jesus seriously as a healthy congregation and a pastor your can count on, don't waste your energy on FCC, Albany.