Pastor took $100,000 from church account

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/November 30, 1997
By Tom Vanden Brook

Before leaving Mequon, minister transferred funds

Chuckie Burris, the flamboyant pastor who raised thousands of dollars before abruptly closing his church here this fall, recently transferred $100,000 in church assets to himself, according to documents obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

He used those funds in September in an attempt to purchase a $528,000, six-bedroom home in a gated community in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Burris eventually did buy the home, which features an in-ground pool, two fireplaces, vaulted ceilings and granite countertops in the kitchen, documents show.

On Nov. 23, the Journal Sentinel reported that Burris had raised some $600,000 from his congregation in 1996 alone, much of the fund-raising associated with attempts to retire the debt for a new church at 2415 W. Mequon Road, according to former church members.

Those church members have said that authorities won't investigate the matter because they had given money freely.

Records showed that Burris, 40, also claimed an impressive stable of luxury automobiles as pastor of Rhema Worship Center, including a 1992 Rolls-Royce, a 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo and a 1996 Land Rover.

It was learned last week that Burris has opened a new ministry at a Ramada Inn in Arizona.

Calls to Burris at the Ramada Valley Ho Resort in Scottsdale, where he was scheduled to hold services Tuesday nights, were not returned. Other attempts to reach Burris also have been unsuccessful.

Former members of Burris' Rhema Worship Center here and a pastor for another congregation continue to question Burris' hasty exit from Mequon.

A small group of churchgoers has followed Burris to Scottsdale, according to some of their relatives and former Rhema members.

"A lot of them left in the middle of the night in a group," said Shirley Tucker, a former leader in the church.

About the same time the church closed, copies of two cashier's checks showed that $100,000 would be paid to Burris from a church account controlled by Burris and his wife.

Burris, his wife, Alethea, and a woman named Phoebe Humphries make up the board of directors of Rhema Worship Center, according to records filed in October with the state Department of Financial Institutions.

An arrangement of that sort invites problems for a congregation, said James White, a Milwaukee County supervisor and associate pastor at Christian Faith Fellowship Church, 8633 W. Good Hope Road.

To avoid potential conflicts of interest, ministries typically insulate pastors from financial matters, White said.

"Most pastors have accountability measures in place," White said. "That usually means the pastor would touch no money, couldn't set his own salary and would have no check-signing authorization.

"They should allow non-relatives to deal with issues of integrity."

White, who called Burris' dissolution of Rhema "a besmirching on the community," offered to assist church members and urged them to call him.

Willie Maddox, a former financial officer for the church, said last week that the dates on the checks from late September seemed to coincide with Burris' plans to sell the Porsche and other Milwaukee-area property.

Burris sold his home in Brown Deer for $165,900, closing on Oct. 30, according to real estate records.

"He was just moving out of Milwaukee and just liquidating assets," Maddox said. "The dates on the checks are consistent with his move."

Said a former Rhema member, Brenda Dandy: "He was just funneling church money to himself."

While in the Milwaukee area, Burris appeared for a time on local and national cable television. He was a demonstrative preacher who dressed in dark suits, bright sport coats and trendy band-collar shirts. He also pitched inspirational audio and videotapes on his show.

Visible throughout one televised sermon from the Rhema Worship Center this summer was a banner announcing a fund drive billed as "Supernatural Debt Cancellation, The 1997 Club."

"He was never shy about asking people for money," said a vendor to his ministry who asked not to be named. "I was at a service when he asked for $2,000 for two new suits he said he needed for the dedication of the new church. He said he needed to look good."

Church members confirm the vendor's account.

The assessor's office in Maricopa County, Ariz., confirmed last week that Burris is the owner of the Scottsdale property.

The house is in an upscale Scottsdale subdivision about two miles from the Mayo Clinic. Scottsdale, a suburb of Phoenix with a population of about 150,000, is known for its art galleries, crafts shops, golf courses and torch-lit swimming pools.

The home itself boasts 4,300 square feet, four and a half baths and an automatic sprinkler system. It is described in real estate documents as a ranch-style home with stucco walls, a tile roof and masonry fence situated on a professionally landscaped lot.

Recently, Burris and his wife have appeared on a televised ad in the Phoenix area, inviting new members to join them in a "life-changing ministry."

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