Four more churches have announced they’re leaving an affiliation of churches led by disgraced Pastor Steve Morgan, known as the Network. The news comes just weeks after a Wisconsin church became the first to disaffiliate from the church group.

A sixth Network church, Vista Church in central California, has permanently closed. And a former attender at another Network church, Skyler Taylor, told El Informe Roys (TRR) that when he and his wife tried to attend Vista’s last service, church staff called the county sheriff on them.

“Today, we’re going to keep it closed and just talk to the people who’ve been a part of (Vista),” Vista Church Board of Overseers member Mark Guiles told Taylor on a recording given to TRR.

Minutes later, an officer with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department is heard on the recording, telling the Taylors: “They’re saying, you have to be a member to go to the church . . . It seems weird, to say the least.”

The officer then escorted the couple off the property.

TRR reached out to Vista Church Lead Pastor Luke Williams and to board member Guiles for comment, but did not receive a response. 

“I wasn’t prepared for the intimidation and secrecy I experienced at Vista Church,” Taylor told TRR. “The two church representatives who told us outsiders weren’t allowed in their service had never met me. I was a stranger to them, just another visitor, but they treated me like a criminal.”

Andrew Lumpe, a spokesperson for a group of former Network-affiliated staff, commented on the Vista Church incident, saying that “the secrecy and obfuscation displayed (here) is alarming and shows a lack of transparency and respect.” 

Ongoing shakeup at ‘cult-like’ church network

The closure of Vista Church comes as five other churches in as many states posted online over the past week about their disaffiliation from the Austin, Texas-based Network. 

While the Network bills itself as a “growing network of church-planting churches . . . like-minded in doctrine and style,” the group’s numbers have been shrinking.

Three weeks ago, the Network had been comprised of 26 congregations but it’s now down to 20, including the exit of Isaiah Church in Madison, Wisconsin, as previously reportado por TRR. 

Among the churches that have announced disaffiliation is Vine Church in Carbondale, Illinois, which Network founder Morgan planted in 1996 and led as pastor for a decade.

Other disaffiliating congregations include North Pines Church in Portage, Michigan; Vida Springs Church in Gainesville, Florida; and Hosea Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

TRR reached out to pastors of each of these four churches with specific questions but received no response. 

Each church that’s disaffiliated has become an “independent” church without ties to a denomination.

With similar wording, each church board states that “differing theological positions regarding leadership and local church governance” led to the disaffiliation. 

None of the church statements named Morgan, who for years failed to disclose his alleged sodomy against a minor decades ago—including to pastors in the Network, as TRR previamente reportado. 

Disgraced pastor lives on $2 million estate

Despite his past, Morgan remains leader of the Network and lives on a 20-acre ranch near Austin valued at $2.1 million dollars. The 5,229 square-foot residence on the property has a pool and tennis court, state public records.

Ben Powers, a former Network pastor who is currently on staff at a church in Scottsdale, Arizona, said the Network has never been transparent about its use of funds.

“Steve is living on this very large estate, while many pastors and church members struggle financially,” Powers told TRR. “There is no clear accountability for how the money is spent.”

Currently, real estate website Redfin reports the median price for a home in the U.S. stands at $433,229, noted Barry Bowen, a staff member at ministry watchdog group Fundación Trinidad.

“So Steve Morgan’s property is worth almost five times more than the median home for sale,” Bowen told TRR. “Does Jesus approve of this extravagance? The Bible commands us to live humble lives. Purchasing expensive real estate contradicts this biblical command.”

Powers, who formerly served as associate pastor at Vine Church, said Morgan’s theology makes him above accountability.

“The Network believes that Steve Morgan has the gift of apostleship, meaning he oversees and directs multiple churches, and has the final say in decisions affecting them . . . This is problematic because it consolidates power without accountability.” he said.

TRR has reached out repeatedly to Morgan and his church with specific questions for several years, including for this story, but never received a response.

Call for transparency, accountability

Recent church departures from the Network follow continued advocacy by a group of 19 former staff and members of Network-affiliated churches.

In 2021, they formed Leaving the Network, which seeks to document how the “no-name” network is characterized by a “cult-like” culture of spiritual abuse and secrecy, said spokesperson Andrew Lumpe.

Among those leaders is Aaron Wright, a former overseer/elder at Vine Church, who works as an attorney. He told TRR that he was initially heartened by his former church’s exit from the Network but said “further inquiry” changed his opinion. 

“There is no indication of either repentance or contrition,” said Wright. “They failed to address the issues of Steve Morgan (and) numerous allegations of cultish behavior in the Network.”

Lumpe noted Leaving the Network’s website has seen a “substantial increase in traffic” over the past month, notably a section of first-person accounts from Network churches. 

More than 690 people have joined former Network leaders in signing a petición, calling on Morgan to commission an independent, third-party group to conduct a thorough investigation. 

Former leader Wright said he found the similar statements of the exiting churches “highly suspicious” and said disaffiliated churches should be part of that external review. 

Taylor agreed, especially after his treatment by Vista staff at the church’s final service.

“They demonstrated with their actions that the Network has ramped up the secrecy, intimidation, and paranoia in recent years, instead of working to diminish it,” he said. 

Correction: The story was updated to accurately reflect that Taylor never attended Vista Church.

Periodista independiente Josh Shepherd escribe sobre fe, cultura y políticas públicas para varios medios outlets. He and his family live in central Florida.