Calvary Chapel Cary Closes After Pastor’s Secret Sale and Feud Leads to Breakaway Church

Months after Calvary Chapel Cary discovered its lead pastor, Rodney Finch, had secretly listed the church for sale, the 9.8-acre property in Apex, North Carolina, is back on the market, and weekly services have ceased. The real estate scandal brought to a boil years of tensions and demands for greater transparency and accountability within the church.

Meanwhile, a pastor Finch ousted during the dispute has opened a new independent fellowship minutes away. The former pastor, who was removed from leadership, has established a breakaway congregation, signaling a significant shift in the local Christian community.

The real estate scandal was not Finch’s first controversy. Rather, it brought to a boil years of tensions and demands for greater transparency and accountability. As previously reported, Finch had concealed a years’ long drug addiction and pushed the board to secretly cover $50,000 of a luxury rehabilitation program with church funds, but then left the program early without informing anyone.

Between 2012 and 2017, Finch aggressively solicited restricted funds to build a new church, but the work was never started, and funds were secretly put toward other purposes. In 2019, former staff submitted 50 pages of signed statements to the Calvary Chapel Association’s (CCA) leadership council, alleging Finch hid budget information and even the church by-laws from them. Copies of those statements were provided to MinistryWatch. They claimed he made purchasing decisions without the board’s approval and had unchecked access to church credit cards.

However, after a lengthy investigation and years of complaints, the only disciplinary measure taken against Finch was his removal from the CCA’s online church locator. Last August, Finch announced an intent to resign, but then abruptly returned to the pulpit in September following a failed retirement payout negotiation with fellow pastors Ralf Stores and Scott Burrell. Finch wanted more money and no strings attached, while Stores and Burrell insisted the contract should be contingent on Finch immediately ceding power.

During that same period, Stores had assured the congregation there would be greater transparency, the by-laws would be made public, and the current leadership structure — which gave the senior pastor near total control and made the board little more than a rubber stamp — would be replaced by a “plurality of leadership.” But then, suddenly, Stores and Burrell were ousted, and Finch was again calling the shots.

Finch continued to preach at Calvary Chapel Cary until at least Nov. 17, the date of the most recent sermon posted online. Now, a popup message on the church’s website says, “Thank you for the many years of ministry & fellowship! Calvary Chapel Cary is no longer holding Sunday Morning nor Wednesday Evening services.” An estatesales.net listing indicates the church held a three-day estate sale in early December. The listing showcases a wide range of items, such as chairs, sound equipment, toys, kitchen supplies, antiques, a barber chair and a pick.

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