Welcome and Explanation

Thank you for stopping by this blog! What’s this all about, you may be wondering?

Pastor Mac Hammond and the Living Word Christian Center of Brooklyn Park, MN have been making news in recent years—and not just about their spiritual and community work. Starting with Mac’s endorsement of Michele Bachmann for Congress from the “pulpit” in 2006, but continuing with other issues that have come up later, some in and outside the church have questioned whether it is being run with integrity or in keeping with the law. We know that just because concerns have been raised doesn’t necessarily mean there is a real problem—there may be none—but that’s what we’re here to find out and share about. There is too much history to describe in this intro, but we’ll try to provide background in future posts. We will also cover any relevant events that may unfold.

This blog is not an attack on the Living Word Christian Center, its staff, board or its members. We know that many sincere Christians attend the church; devote their time, money and talents to the church; and have found love and inspiration there. It’s also clear that Pastor Mac deserves great credit for starting and leading LWCC, which has grown into such a prominent part of the community. Since the purpose of this blog is to talk mainly about the leadership structure and financial dealings (because that’s where our concerns lie), we will not spend a lot of time on the many active programs and ministries LWCC has going. However, we will try to maintain balance in what we write.

Although we will strive to be as evenhanded as possible, we know that the very fact of this blog’s existence will hurt or anger some people. That’s understandable: sometimes the questioning of a person or program we love feels like an attack. But we believe that raising sincere questions is not an attack and is never a threat to a well-run ministry. We believe that openness in the areas of leadership and finances is the best course for any church. We also recognize that a church, just like a person, can be unhealthy some ways but thriving and healthy in other ways. We also know that people of faith and good will can legitimately disagree about these things.

This blog heartily welcomes questions and comments from all sincere people. You might have information to add based on your own familiarity with LWCC. You might agree or disagree with something you see here. We welcome open conversation, respectfully expressed. The comments will be moderated only to weed out name-calling, personal attacks or the like.