Ex-Mequon pastor's case not unique, expert says

Journal Sentinel/December 22, 1997
By Tom Vanden Brook

Scottsdale, Ariz. -- Church members give generously to their congregation in a Midwestern city.

Ultimately, some members become disillusioned with their pastor's lavish spending, reject his "Rhema Bible" teachings and begin to speak out. The pastor and a small group of believers then pack up and move south, opening a new church and soliciting members.

It could be the story of Chuckie Burris, the Rhema Worship Center he closed in Mequon and his eventual move to the Arizona desert.

But the story is also nearly identical to the Victory Church in Grand Forks, N.D., says Rick Ross, a Phoenix-based cult expert.

"There are so many parallels between the two," Ross said. "Controversial minister moves from the Snow Belt to the Sun Belt under questionable financial circumstances. It's the same old, same old."

The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, in a 1994 article, noted the arrival of Ed and Renee Julison who had moved to open a new ministry with a few families from North Dakota amid allegations that thousands of dollars had been taken from former congregants.

That paper noted former Victory Church members had criticized the Julisons for handling all of the congregation's money and the lack of oversight on how it was spent. The Julisons denied any wrongdoing and blamed the criticism on disgruntled former members and media bias against evangelical religious groups.

In the case of Burris, the 40-year-old pastor under federal investigation in Milwaukee, the Journal Sentinel has reported that he had raised nearly $1.5 million from his congregation, owned a variety of luxury automobiles and apparently used church funds to help him buy a $528,000 home in Scottsdale.

Burris, along with his wife, Alethea, and Phoebe Humphries also retain control of the non-profit corporation that ran Rhema Worship Center, according to Wisconsin records.

However, Burris seems to have had trouble establishing a new ministry in Arizona. A local television station has pulled the plug on his weekly gospel program, he no longer rents space at the inn where he had held services and the 20-family contingent that moved with him from the Milwaukee area has remained tight-lipped about its reasons for joining him here.

Burris has remained silent about the allegations. His wife, Alethea, 39, has said from her home in a gated community here that Chuckie Burris will not comment. She told the Journal Sentinel that she will notify police if any further efforts are made to reach either of them at their house.

Ross, a full-time consultant who has tracked religious and extremist organizations since 1986, said a ministry like Burris' relies on standard techniques to establish control over their members.

The minister will use individual "counseling" sessions to learn intimate details about new members, Ross said. Those details are often divulged to the congregation.

"He'll basically use that information to tear down the self-esteem of vulnerable people," Ross said. "They'll be subject to petty humiliation. That way, they'll never talk back to him or question him."

Former Rhema members say those that questioned Burris or who left the church were outcast and contact with them was forbidden.

Members also are encouraged to break ties to family members and longtime friends, people often described by the minister as non-believers.

"That means that church members no longer have an outside frame of reference because they're isolated," Ross said. "So what may seem to an objective person to be outrageous behavior -- buying a Rolls-Royce or a fancy house as Chuckie did -- is viewed by church members as normal."

Control of the members is solidified by convincing them that the minister holds a "spiritual covering" for them, Ross said.

"A spiritual covering means they feel they can't leave the minister or something terrible will happen to them," Ross said.

Ross said people should avoid churches that provide no meaningful financial disclosure, such as an independent financial audit.