The lead pastor of the Jacksonville-based church said that he will not leave his role despite being the subject of a lawsuit from the church's founder.
Celebration Church lead pastor Tim Timberlake promised the 12,000 strong congregation in Jacksonville, Florida that he isn't "going anywhere" despite being sued by founding pastor Stovall Weems and his wife, Kerri over who leads the church. The lawsuit was filed on February 23.
"It [was] our board of trustees and our church's attorneys' desire to keep those matters private that are now public," Timberlake said during Sunday's sermon, as per the Christian Post. "Not to hide anything, but just because we care about the former leaders. Unfortunately, other parties involved did not desire to do those things."
Weems claimed that he was illegally removed from his role as senior pastor by Celebration Church's board of trustees earlier this year when he attempted to address financial abuse by Kevin Cormier, one of the board's trusties.
Weems alleged that Cormier, who he had recommended for the role of trustee, tried to cover up his abuse and even turned the board against Weems. Earlier this year, the Celebration Church board of trustees accused Weems and his wife of financial impropriety and suspended him from his role as senior pastor. He was also banned from church property.
Celebration Church claimed in a court filing that after an analysis of the church's financial position in December 2021 by the trustees, they discovered that Weems and his wife made several unauthorized large financial transactions in 2021 without permission from the board. Such transactions included "multiple large transfers to new for-profit entities that the Weemses intended to manage going forward." The motion also claimed that Celebration Church had purchased a parsonage for $1.2 million that a company owned by Weems had purchased for $855,000 four months prior, News 4 JAX reported.
The Celebration Church board of trustees also raised their concerns over "the advancement of nine months' salary to Kerri Weems and seven months' salary to Stovall Weems," which violated Florida statutes and church policies "despite neither Stovall nor Kerri Weems performing the duties of the offices that purportedly justified those salaries."
The Weemses were also accused of using up to $1 million in Paycheck Protection Program loan funds to buy a digital currency called TurnCoin.
Weems, who founded Celebration Church in 1998, said that his removal from the role of senior pastor was illegal because the church's bylaws empower him to be the senior pastor and "use complete plenary authority, control, and responsibility for directing missions and spiritual activities of the church."
Weems argued further that the bylaws would give him the right to be the chairman of the board of trustees and president and chief executive officer of Celebration Church, enabling him to direct the church's operations, which included raising funds, establishing budgets, and directing finances.
Timberlake admitted that he did not enjoy seeing Celebration Church in the news under a bad light, but said that he is praying for a "righteous resolution" to the case. He assured the congregation, "Me and Jen aren't going anywhere. We are here to weather this storm with you."
