Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico)
July 1, 2006 Saturday
Is Heitzig Back? Calvary's Future Revealed Tonight; Church set to announce identity of new permanent senior pastor
BYLINE: DEBRA DOMINGUEZ-LUND Journal Staff Writer
SECTION: METRO & NEW MEXICO; Pg. E1
LENGTH: 294 words
Rumors about whether former Calvary Chapel Albuquerque founder Skip Heitzig will return as the church's senior pastor will either be quashed or validated tonight.
Calvary of Albuquerque's Interim Senior Pastor Dave Row will announce who the group's new permanent senior pastor will be during a 6:30 p.m. service at the chapel, 4001 Osuna NE.
The major announcement will be repeated for the church congregation at three services Sunday - 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Speculation about Heitzig's return as Calvary's senior pastor - a post he held since founding the group in the mid-1980s until early 2004 - has circulated on Internet Web logs and among church insiders since his resignation from the church board in March.
Last week, Heitzig apologized to Calvary's congregation for his role in a highly publicized struggle for control of the megachurch that eventually led to his resignation from the board of directors.
A Denver pastor recently contended Heitzig had "buyer's remorse" after moving to California and became reluctant to turn over the reins at Calvary to his hand-picked successor, Pete Nelson.
That triggered a power struggle that led to the surprise resignation of Nelson on Feb. 19, according to the report by Pastor Tom Stipe of Crossroads Church in Denver.
The power struggle between Heitzig and Nelson became public when the Journal obtained a copy of Nelson's resignation letter that outlined a list of grievances against the Calvary founder and the board.
The controversy came to a head in March when a group of church members asked that Heitzig and other out-of-state board members resign. The group also sought more transparency in financial and personnel dealings.
The church has been operating under interim leadership since Nelson's departure.
LOAD-DATE: July 3, 2006
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: JOURNAL FILE Last week, Skip Heitzig was a guest speaker at Calvary Chapel Albuquerque.
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2006 Albuquerque Journal
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