Hipster Megachurch in Shambles Over Pastor's Alleged Affair "I don't think none of us was that dum

[multigraincracker]

When volunteers at Venue Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, arrived at their pastor’s house last November, they were hoping to raise his spirits with a surprise visit. Instead they got a shock: Pastor Tavner Smith was alone with a female church employee—she in a towel, he in his boxers.

The charismatic 41-year-old hurriedly explained that the two of them had been making chili and hot dogs and gotten food on their clothes, according to one volunteer who was present. But, as the volunteer put it, “I don’t think none of us was that dumb.”

“If she dropped chili on her clothes, why are you in your boxers?” she recalled thinking. “Was y’all like, throwing chili at each other?”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/hipster-megachurch-shambles-over-pastor-045337396.html

[Sherman A1]

1. They were making something

But I suspect chili had very little to do with it.

[Blue Owl]

20. A sex tape most likely

Don't just sin... SIN BIG!

[madaboutharry]

2. This guy is just another shake down artist.

The venue may change, but the story is always the same.

[4Q2u2]

3. Hot Dog and Chilli

Is that what you call it in your part of Tennessee?
“I don’t think none of us was that dumb.” Well you do believe in some magical guy in the sky. So there's that.

[SammyWinstonJack]

23. Well you do believe in some magical guy in the sky. So there's that

[Emile]

4. As judgemental Church People, I'm sure that went over like a lead balloon!

[Jetheels]

5. Ok I looked at the picture of the church........

Can someone explain to me, and by the way I’m newly planted in the south, from NYC, but why is every fuking building everywhere all look the same strip mall design, even down to the bricks. There’s a new church going up near me, it looks no different than the Best Buy or the Walmart. I don’t understand. Is there only one architect and only one building material here?

[Emile]

6. +1 Around here all the new Churches look like really nice pole barns.

[japple]

10. Same here in Marjorie Taylor Greene's district. My late husband always called

them Butler Steel churches!!!

https://www.butlermfg.com/

[Alice Kramden]

12. LOL

Too true!

[Alexander Of Assyria]

21. Pastors...is that what u call yourself when the internet "u r a pastor now" papers arrives?

And then u set up a church? Tax free?

What a scam.

How I get in on that?

[Chainfire]

24. My son wanted my daughter to officiate his wedding.

She ordered up a ordainment and got it done. Not bad for a couple of atheist. So far as I know, she has not done any preaching since.

[PatrickforB]

9. That makes sense because clearly the God of some of these right-wingers is

actually the almighty dollar. So sure the church is like a strip mall. Definitely a transactional situation. The victim goes in, hears a sermon, and has to pay for it with a donation. This donation is pretty substantial too. It is called a tithe, and many of these people actually give their megachurch 10% or more of their gross.

[2naSalit]

19. +1

[PatrickforB]

36. Since you +1ed me, I have a funny story to share.

It is from the way-back-when, maybe 55 years ago.

I was in elementary school at the time, in an affluent district. I got to wondering about religion, because my best friend was Catholic, and he was in catechism, and some of my other friends were Jewish, so they talked about bar and bat mitzvahs for older siblings. In the meantime, we went to this Church of Religious Science, a la Ernest Holmes.

So, I was understandably confused. I asked my dad which church was better and which I should be in, mainly because I wanted to go the catechism with my bestie.

He said, "Well, I can't really answer that because it is something you will have to decide for yourself. As you get older, you will have to 'read up' on different faiths and then make your own decision. But be careful, because when you go to a church, they might ask you for money. They might ask you for a lot of money, like one dollar for every ten. This is called a tithe."

If this happens, he went on, I should pull my money out of my wallet and throw it up in the air in front of the pastor. While I did that, he said, I should tell the pastor, "What stays up there is God's, and what comes down is mine."

In other words, don't be paying a church big bucks.

[2naSalit]

37. Wise dad!

We had multiple religions in our clan and so my siblings and I were subjected to the great religion wars where our lives were shaped by arguments about which faith we should chose. When I told the zealots that I would not subscribe to any, I was shunned and called a snake!

I still have only the religion of 2na and I'm the only one who belongs to it.

[PatrickforB]

38. You just have to remember that capitalism wants 2nas who taste good, not

2nas with good taste!

[2naSalit]

40. Indeed.

My inability to conform has been the reason I am where I am today. Capitalism is only for a few and pretends it is for the best for all.

I'm in a not all that bad of a place in life right now so I am trying to enjoy it for all I can. At least I haven't any religious bunch to answer to or who judge me at every breath I take so I'm good with what it is for now.

[paleotn]

11. That's a good question. Maybe there is only 1.

It may be because they're just not the most creative or contemplative people in the world. That question came up decades ago about why American evangelicals build churches that look like office parks. Best answer I remember was, they're profit making operations. Might as well look like the part.

[localroger]

15. cuz we luv gawd so much we built 'em a warehouse! nt

[TlalocW]

17. I can tell you that in a suburb of Tulsa where I used to live

Is a Bible "College" called Rhema. A friend liked to say, "Rhema pisses you off 11 months out of the year then makes up for it with their Christmas lights." Anyway, it seems like Rhema's SOP is to bankrupt their students first with ridiculous prices for classes and books while at the same time encouraging them to start their own off-campus prayer groups and even churches. This keeps the students in the area, which keeps them more likely to keep donating after graduating, encouraging their flock to donate, and encouraging their flock to send their kids to Rhema. So unable to afford to move anywhere, they keep their group/mini-church meeting in someone's living room then when they can afford it, they move into an empty spot in a strip mall, and then they buy a plot of land and have a steel building with a fake stone facade made, etc.

You would think that the Tulsa area - home of Oral Roberts University, Rhema, and then another one, Victory College/Victory Bible Institute - that there were enough churches, but I imagine they all do something to make a portion of their students stay in the area after graduation. Whenever I drove by an area being cleared for construction, I would jokingly say, "Bet another church is going up." I was often right.

TlalocW

[Jetheels]

32. A few years ago I visited a friend in Tucson.

I noted there were more churches than homes with solar panels. Not that the two things have anything to do with one another.
She told me how the energy companies made it too difficult for people to use solar energy.
And this is AZ, their biggest resource is the sun.

Yeah, it seems like there’s never not enough room for another church.

[LastDemocratInSC]

26. They look like commercial enterprises because that's what they are.

Those who create these big box temples have never understood the differences between sacred things and profane things.

[TNNurse]

27. It says the church was in an old Sam's Club building.

I am usually in favor of reusing old buildings rather than building something new beside them... but this was not a good plan.

[Jetheels]

33. Did they keep the Sams Club cash registers? Lol.

[jmowreader]

51. That's only funny because it's true

On January 8th I attended my oldest sister's funeral at her church. (Cancer, not COVID.) The church has two credit card terminals in the lobby.

[3Hotdogs]

28. Move to New Jersey. Among our cultural and intellectual benefits....

well, a new church hasn't been built in my neck of the woods in 50 years.

Better yet, some Catholic parishes are closing and merging with other parishes. And Catholic schools are closing.

[Skittles]

50. when the business fails, it needs to be compatible with the biz that takes over

hence, generic

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. As soon as I saw his photo, I said, yep, typical megachurch narcissist asshole charlatan

if the dude even has a college degree, I'll be surprised. He certainly has no seminary or other legitimate training to be a pattor, and I'm sure absolutely no accountability to any organization or group, either.

$17,000 a month - holy crap.

[Icanthinkformyself]

8. Morals?

Who needs 'em, right Mr. Pastor? I think it's a safe assumption, in light of the decline in membership of religious groups, that, as the decline continues the concentration of crazy, rapey, pedophilic and stupid within the groups will increase. The future is not very bright for these people. They have proven that one half of them are so stupid they are just like the other half.

[paleotn]

13. I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked!!!

One bright note is declining evangelical membership. Guess the jig is up on that brand of hate filled, magical thinking.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/08/rapid-decline-white-evangelical-america/

[Emile]

14. Back in the late 50s our pastor left his wife and ran off with the organ player!

[llmart]

18. I have a similar story.

I don't belong to any church myself, but the small, rural town next to mine has a church where the exact same thing happened except it was a parishioner and not the organ player.

And, by the way, I chuckled about the "organ player" but I'll keep the obvious puns to myself.

[3catwoman3]

34. Oh, go for it! It will be fun.

We all know which organ was being played -

[llmart]

41. LOL

Exactly what I was thinking.

[3catwoman3]

43. And to go further into the gutter, was the instrument a wind...

...instrument requiring a precise embouchure, or more of a slide trombone arrangement?

I think I'm done here -

[llmart]

45. Hmm...

you must be a fellow flute player to know the term embouchure????

As a flute player, I endured my share of off color jokes about "skin flutes".

LOL

[3catwoman3]

46. Yes, I am a fellow flute player.

I still have my Gemeinhardt flute that my parents bought for me when I was about 12, which would make it 58 years old. I had new pads put in it a few years ago.

I only play when I'm home alone. One of my cats always shows up when I do, meowing loudly. I can't figure out if she likes the sound and is trying to sing along, or if she hates it and it trying to tell me to knock it off.

Playing the flute is the reason I can't type without looking at the keyboard. My senior year high school schedule had a conflict between band and typing, and I wanted to be in the band.

[Sherman A1]

25. Great

[LiberalFighter]

16. Mega Churches increases the pool of people available for sex.

They are probably not as closely knitted together to keep track of each other as smaller groups would be.

[Iggo]

47. Why not, you know, just go out and have sex?

That’s what I used to do.

[bucolic_frolic]

22. Hypocrites should be fired and defrocked

Congregation should rise up and stand for themselves and the wherewithal they've poured into their congregation.

Sometimes I think we should here at DU start a church! Look at the tax benefits!

[OneBro]

29. "I don't think none of us was that dumb."

That double negative is circling back with irony aplenty.

[3catwoman3]

44. Indeed.

[NJCher]

30. Common denominator with trump cult

Is loneliness. Toward the end of the story, the reader finds that is a big reason for joining this “church.”

In many of the Q cult stories, it is similar.

I can really see how this can happen. I see it everywhere. Practically everyone in America stays home at night, being entertained with a fabulous array of tv programming. Sure it’s fun for those of us who have our emotional needs met, but clearly it is not working for a good share of the population.

In speech communication classes I’ve taught, I learned a great many people suffer from CA, communication apprehension. This means they do not feel like they can, for example, carry on a conversation with a stranger. Well, all of our friends were once strangers.

This problem needs to be dealt with. We see how dangerous it is for vulnerable people with such con artists as this one. Trump, too, is nothing but a predator.

[Chainfire]

31. In my opinion, all Churches are scams

The difference in First Baptist or St. Mary's and Church of the Almighty Dollar is only one of degree. They sell immortality through the promise of salvation, and it makes for a good business. No one has ever crossed back over the River Jordan to complain about being fleeced. Many times, tithing is simply hedging one's bet. The most likely people to tithe are the poor, who can afford it the least. My MIL tithed every year of her adult life. As far as I can tell, she is still dead as a doorknob.

As far as the preacher, that is the subject of this story, all I can say is even preachers need a little vitamin S every now and again. I wonder if his partner was the organists?

[Wounded Bear]

35. I've often said the Catholic Church was the first multinational corporation...

[DBoon]

49. I think the Roman Empire actually was

and the Catholic Church took over from them

[Fla Dem]

39. Not his first "at bat"

Staffers quit Venue Church after confronting pastor with allegations of affair, misconduct
CP CHURCH & MINISTRIES | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021


At least eight employees of Venue Church, a fast-growing congregation based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have reportedly quit their jobs over alleged misconduct by Pastor Tavner Smith, who is allegedly shown kissing a woman who is not his wife in a video that recently surfaced online.

Last Friday afternoon, staff and volunteers confronted Smith about the video recorded in North Georgia, The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

Two former employees and four volunteers or members previously connected to the church told the newspaper that the eight employees quit after confronting the pastor about a rumored affair with a church employee.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/staffers-quit-venue-church-over-allegations-of-pastor-misconduct.html

However, in fairness, he and his wife are divorcing.
From same article.

Court records show that the pastor and his wife, Danielle Smith, who have three kids, began divorce proceedings in May, according to The Times Free Press.

[Major Nikon]

42. At least Jesus still loves him

[CottonBear]

52. LMAO!

[NNadir]

48. Rather reminds me of...

...Kip McKean.

In my extended family some resources went down that money hole. We could do no more than shake our heads.