CBC Truth Updates

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 April 23, 2025

Hello Truth Seekers -

We hope you had a wonderful Easter.  Out of respect for Holy Week we did not send out any major updates.  This one below is important.  

We have attached the Resolution of the Board titled: Resolution Regarding Lead Pastor Craig Whittaker.  It is signed by Matt Whitlock, Bruce Jordan, John Moody, Larry Leisenring, Larry Nielsen, and Hal Baerg, who all voted in favor.

The entire Board, minus Craig, voted, approved, and signed off on the following decisions summarized below:

1. Placed Craig on a two week leave of absence effective immediately
2. Gave Craig two weeks formal notice of his termination date with "his official last day of employment being January 21, 2025"
3. Removed Craig from the CBC Board of Directors 
4. Relieved Craig of all of his "official duties and responsibilities" - stating the board would ensure the transition would be communicated to the congregation and provide pastoral care and leadership
5. Paid Craig during the two week leave
6. Promoted Matt to Senior Pastor immediately and began to search for a new executive pastor.

These actions confirm what we have previously shared with you. This attached document provides written evidence that the Board removed Craig without cause from his role as Pastor of our church while simultaneously promoting Matt Whitlock to Senior Pastor.

We received the following email directly from Hal Baerg (CBC Board member).  Having read the Board Resolution, Hal's email is yet another example of the Board continuing to twist the truth to the congregation.  It says: 

"Hi (Congregant Name Omitted for Privacy),

Ty very much for your kind words.

We love Craig too.

He cleaned out his desk and left the church without anyone at the church telling him to do so.

The board simply voted for Matt to become a board member and it would appear this became a stumbling block to Craig and led to a change in his attitude which is displayed in his current actions.

God Bless You,

Hal Baerg"

Hal's email directly contradicts the Board's own written Resolution.

As you can read yourself in the attached Resolution, the board did not "simply [vote] for Matt to become a board member".  The board fired Craig as Lead Pastor, terminated his employment at CBC, removed him from the Board,  and promoted Matt to Senior Pastor.  And now, a few months later Matt has been promoted again, to Lead Pastor.  In less than 100 days Matt has gone from Teaching Pastor, to Senior Pastor, to Lead Pastor, the job he has coveted.  

While Craig did clean out his desk without being asked, it was because the CBC Board had already provided him written notice of his termination.  When you get fired, cleaning out your desk is the polite thing to do rather than making people ask you to do it.  

Hal knows he voted to terminate Craig.  His signature is on the attached document along with every other Board member's.  

This is why we need new board members, new bylaws, and public Board Resolutions.  To prevent 6 people from completely changing major components of our beloved church and then subsequently stonewalling the voices of over 400 people who speak out.  The congregation should be able to see the decisions the Board has made behind closed doors, decisions made without consulting the community who have built, prayed for, and paid for CBC.  

It has been brought to our attention that there are rumors that incorrectly claim that Craig is behind CBC Truth. To clarify: Craig is not on the Truth Seekers Team.  CBC Truth is run by concerned members of CBC. When CBC Truth Seekers ask Craig questions, he responds openly. When we ask the Board questions, we receive no response.  In the future if someone tells you Craig is behind CBC Truth, know that they are misinformed.  

- CBC Truth Seekers
www.cbctruth.org/updates 

 April 19, 2025

Happy Easter CBC Truth Seekers!

He is Risen!  

(You just replied "He is Risen Indeed" in your head didn't you? )


We all have so many joyful memories of Easters at CBC.  Everyone sharing in the joy of the empty tomb, Christ's resurrection, and the gift of eternal life.


We are delighted to share a special Easter video message from Pastor Craig. Though physically absent from our church stage, his spiritual presence and wisdom continue to be a blessing to our community. His message reminds us that resurrection isn't just a historical event but a living reality that transforms our lives.


Here is the link to the video on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzrf9KhzMvU

Here is the shareable link to the video on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/1065935947/videos/1197978651676806/

Share with your friends!


The tomb is empty!  He is Risen!


May you be blessed this Easter Sunday.  


With love,


CBC Truth Seekers

 April 13, 2025

Cherished Truth Seekers

This Palm Sunday we are reminded of the timeless scene of Jesus entering Jerusalem to the jubilant welcome of ordinary people. Crowds lined the streets waving palm fronds, their voices calling "Hosanna!" 

Many of us have fond memories waving Palm Sunday fronds as children at CBC, or experiencing that innocence and jubilation through the eyes of our children and grandchildren.  When we recall those waving palm fronds of years past, and the unbridled enthusiasm and pure faith of our youth, we remember that we are working to unite and restore our beloved church not just for ourselves but for generations to come.  

There is something profoundly moving about remembering those palm branches from past celebrations, symbols of triumph and victory. These simple fronds have long represented our collective hope and the unwavering belief that light always overcomes darkness.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, but it is also a powerful reminder that periods of difficulty and trial are temporary. Just as the darkness of Good Friday gives way to the glory of Easter morning, we pray our current church challenges will eventually resolve into renewal and restoration.  We encourage you to focus on the eternal truths that bind us together rather than the temporal difficulties that threaten to divide us. 

Let us approach this Holy Week with joyful hearts despite our circumstances. As we look around our beautiful Orange County home, may the waving palm fronds remind us why we're here – to worship together, to support one another, and to create a community of faith that honors the One who rode humbly into Jerusalem so many years ago.

In hope and solidarity,

CBC Truth Seekers 

 Hi CBC Truth Seekers -

Cynthia Vargas Sieloff received this text from Larry Leisenring (CBC Board member) after she sent him a video clip from of one of Matt's recent sermons where Matt says "so many moments of my day where I could stop and proclaim Christ and instead I would rather drop the F-bomb and freak out on somebody".

There is so much packed in Larry's single text message that we want to address it line item by line as you read it.  Larry and the Board are copied on this email.  We are sharing it because others told us they received similar comments from Board members and have asked us to clarify.  

Black - From Larry Leisenring - CBC Board Member

Bold from CBC Truth

Larry: Seriously? Matt was being honest but not in any way condoning such language.

Sadly, you guys try to manipulate anything that Matt does into being something terrible but never mention his wonderful sermons and the life that exists within CBC.

CBC Truth: We've never heard another Lead Pastor of a church mention wanting to "drop the F-bomb and freak out on somebody".   Regardless, to each their own, form your own opinions, this isn't the focus of this email.

We are not manipulating "anything that Matt does into being something terrible".  We are reporting his actions and his words, asking questions, and people are drawing their own conclusions.

We consider the people of CBC "the life that exists within CBC".  We love CBC and the community within it so much that, in an effort to restore and unify it, we set up a website, handed out flyers, and hosted a Town Hall offsite when the Board denied over 450 congregants' requests to host it at CBC.   It's a lot of work running CBC Truth but we know CBC and its people are worth the effort.  

Larry: You and your hidden cronies, never mention any of the untruths that Craig has spread or mention any of the negative and unfair things that he has done. Would you like us to point out the things that we know about him and post it on a website that intentionally exposed these things, just put him down? 

CBC Truth:  Regarding "hidden cronies" 

We have asked the Board to meet with us so we aren't exactly "hidden cronies".  

While the Board has not yet responded to the CBC Truth Seeker Motion of No Confidence in the Board, they acted quickly to have an attorney send out cease and desist letters to two CBC Truth Seekers.  These letters came from CBC's Legal Counsel, James J. McDonald, Jr. of Fisher and Phillips LLP on February 27, 2025.  

In the letters CBC's Legal Counsel refers to a flyer that was not created or posted by the CBC Truth team that advertised the Town Hall Meeting and included a copy of the CBC trademarked logo.  We have never used the CBC logo on our website or any of the flyers we handed out.  CBC's Legal Counsel made a demand and wrote that the parties "may be liable for injunctive relief and monetary damages."

It's no wonder why some team members have stayed out of the limelight.  Cynthia's husband received a threat from Matt Whitlock (in our March 29th update which can be read by clicking here) and Larry doubled down this weekend telling her they better be afraid about coming back to church.  Other members of staff have filed HR complaints against Matt Whitlock for intimidation tactics, (in our March 31 update which can be read by clicking here) and the Board has not followed up.  Where was the CBC lawyer for these events?  

Most importantly, CBC Truth isn't about the voice of one person, or even a team of people.  It's here to represent the voices of the people of CBC.  There are over 400 names listed on the Motion of No Confidence; we are here to represent them.

Regarding Statements Larry made about Craig

We are not aware of even one untruth "Craig has spread", or any of the "negative and unfair things" Larry  says he has done.  We welcome Larry to share them with us.  We Seek the Truth.  We are aware that Matt Whitlock and other Board members have implied impropriety on Craig's part.  But each of the rumors addressed were debunked at the Town Hall Meeting.  

Larry: You exposed that you and yours are actually happy when your “counting spy” comes back with news about how well you are at dividing our church, then list 390 names that include many people who do not attend CBC, are “Anonymous”, appear twice, are children, did not give permission for their name to be on it, and who are relatives of Craig and Jeanne, most of whom rarely attend CBC, including a son, his wife and kids, and also you include people who live in other states.

CBC Truth:

Regarding the Motion of No Confidence in the Board: The Motion of No Confidence now has 416 signatures.  Picking the list apart does not discount the significance of over 400 voices.

• "Many people who do not attend CBC" - We only advertised on our website, our emails, and by handing out flyers and holding signs at church.  Larry - Who are these "many people"?  
  
• "Anonymous" - The name Anonymous appears 17 times.  All but one (who put anonymous on the Jotform) has an actual name behind it who contacted us directly and asked to remain anonymous.  Many expressed fears regarding retaliation by Matt and/or Board members if their names are listed.  We will continue to respect their request.
  
• "Appear Twice": We had already removed a number of duplicates before publication Friday, but missed three duplicates which have been pointed out and removed - they were honest mistakes and we were not trying to inflate the numbers.  Twice, we accidentally had two people on the same line only counted as one, so we only over-reported by one person.  
  
• "Are children" - We did not reach out to children - however we welcome and value the opinions of children at our church especially ones who are learning about standing up for what they believe in.  
  
• "Did not give permission for their name to be on it" - Since publication one person has requested to be removed and they have been, but they signed the Motion of No Confidence at the Town Hall and not a word of the Motion's language has changed since Town Hall.  Many others have emailed us and were surprised their names were not included, so they have been added.  
  
• "Relatives of Craig and Jeanne" - We count 11 Whittakers listed.  There have been times when many of us have seen more than 11 Whittakers at CBC at once.  We are not surprised they support their family.  They know better than any of us how terribly the Board has treated Craig and Jeanne.  
  
• "You also include people who live in other states" - We only advertised at church.  We included everyone who signed the motion.  To Larry's point, some people may have moved away and signed it, we didn't ask for addresses.  CBC Truth and the Board have received emails from people who devoted decades to CBC and are outraged at the current board actions   CBC Truth doesn't pick and choose, we respond to everyone's email and feel everyone's voice counts.
  

Larry - We are talking about over 400 individual people who collectively have lost confidence in the Board of our church.  The Board should respond if only 30 people got together to collectively express their concerns.  But 400?  Larry, we need to fix this.  

Larry: CBCTruth will do anything possible to create division within our church. That’s the real “truth” but it is never admitted to. What about your invasion at our church on March 2nd? Where was the apology for what the “Truth” people did to disrupt and scare the people who were there to worship, pray, fellowship, and hear about Jesus? How about if we show that on our website and name names?

CBC Truth:  CBC Truth is praying for and calling for the unity and restoration of our beloved church.  Six board members divided our church.  We represent over 400 who simply want our church back.    

On February 2, after the sermon ended, Dan Russell told the congregation that we were having a "Family Meeting".  While Larry Leisenring read a statement to the congregation, some people felt the need to interrupt the meeting asking "Where's Craig" and "Why did you fire Craig".  The questions were not orchestrated by CBC Truth, they were organic from people at church.  Also rewatching the videos, only the "Family Meeting" part had questions that Larry calls disruptions.  Not the worship, prayers, or message.  

Larry - what "Family Meeting" doesn't let members of the family ask questions?  

When over 450 members of the family requested a Town Hall, Larry and the Board wouldn't let us hold it at church.  When we organized one and invited the Board by registered mail and email, they didn't come to answer questions from the family members.  These hundreds of people at the Town Hall weren't anonymous, they weren't out of state, they were people that we have seen at church for years.  

As far as Larry's threats to show things on the website and name names - go for it.  We already, along with 400 others, have named our own names in our Motion of No Confidence in the Board.  

Larry - Please respond to the Motion as it was thoughtfully created and signed by hundreds.  

Larry: Sadly, I don’t know how much more un-Christlike you all could be, yet you try to make a big deal by taking something Matt said out of context and brag that the church has fewer attendees.

Dear friend, wake up to the fact that you and your people are serving a cause that is the absolute opposite of how Jesus taught us to be and to act.

It is heartbreaking to see that you and the organization that you so aggressively serve, would go to the depths of negativity, judgement, one-sidedness, and deliberate disregard for those of us who make up and love the Body of Christ at CBC.

I pray that God will take away the false narrative that dwells within your hearts and minds and that 

He would open them to the amount of love and grace that He has, and continues to pour out to us through our fellowship at CBC for the past fifty years and will continue into our future.

Praise Him for all of the blessings that have been granted to us, even when we fail to show the depth of love and grace that has been given to us.

With blessings and love Larry

CBC Truth: We have not shared a single false narrative, only truth.  

Our beloved church is the people.  The people are precious to us and we love them dearly.  The people are asking the Board to please give us our church back.  

Attached is the updated Motion of No Confidence in the CBC Board of Directors.  

- CBC Truth Seekers 

If you name isn't on the Motion and you want to be added click the button below.

April 14th Update - The 390 is now 420 congregants.  

April 4, 2025

The following letter was sent to the ten members of the Board -

To the CBC Board of Directors - Matthew Whitlock; Bruce Jordan; Larry Leisenring; Larry Nielson; Hal Bareg; Theresa Clark; Chris Dyer; John Moody; Randy Noe; Stuart Spencer;

Please see the attached Motion of No Confidence in the Board signed by 390 CBC congregants. 

Each of these congregants are BCC'd on this email.  We will update them on the communications we receive from you.  These people have volunteered time and energy, supported this church financially and through prayer for decades, and are collectively saying your time in leadership ends now.

Your “at all costs” support of Matt Whitlock has proven to us that none of you are fit for the roles you hold.  You have broken our church and we no longer have confidence in your ability to lead it. 

Matt Whitlock has on many occasions referred to us as crying babies that will cry ourselves to sleep. A loving caretaker checks on a crying baby to ensure it is ok.  Matt instead has chosen to mock, ignore, and disenfranchise the very people that he was hired to lead, teach, and nurture.  Matt must be put on leave while a thorough investigation is conducted regarding his inappropriate behavior with staff and congregants. 

We, the undersigned congregants, are not going to stop crying and are committed to seeing your removal from leadership through to completion.  These signatures have been gathered in less than two weeks without stepping foot on church grounds or using any of the church email lists.  We are certain there would be far more if we were to go to CBC and share facts regarding Matt’s character and the Board’s actions with the rest of the congregation. 

The Board has failed to fulfill its responsibilities to the congregation.  We move that you relinquish your leadership positions so that CBC can be restored and stewarded by leaders who feel called to protect and care for the entire congregation and our church.

Please reply to our email with available times for a meeting next week so that we discuss next steps in the transition to restore trust and bring unity to CBC.  Following your resignations, we will hold an emergency congregational meeting at CBC where everyone is welcome.  We will gather input into new bylaws to better protect our church and nominate new leadership. 

- The undersigned congregants of Capo Beach Church

The Motion of No Confidence can be viewed if you scroll down.  It is 10 pages long due to all the names.

If you name isn't on the Motion and you want to be added click the button below.

Hello Truth Seekers

In his sermon this Sunday Matt said as humans "it's entertaining to us to watch things blow up in front of us."  Watching our church blow up has been anything but entertaining, however Matt may be speaking from experience.  

We feel Matt has gone out of his way to "watch things blow up."  He recently went as far as to forward emails sent to him from concerned congregants to those congregants' children to intentionally cause division within families.  Turning children against parents and causing grief and anguish.  

Was that entertaining for him? It's heartbreaking for us.     

On his Instagram Matt posted an email sent to him from a former congregant adding the comment "His opening line is the best" complete with a "rolling on the floor laughing face" emoji.  

Why would a pastor laugh at the voices of his congregation? And then why would he post it online ? ... Does he seek validation through social media "likes" that badly?

Matt has been sowing lies, deception, and division in one on one meetings with congregants. 

An example came up in the Town Hall Q&A.  Matt told a congregant in a one on one meeting that Craig wrote a thirty something thousand dollar check to himself, implying impropriety on Craig's part.  When Craig was asked about this check at the Town Hall, HR and the Director of Accounting explained that on the date of Craig's termination he was given a check for under thirty thousand dollars for his final pay and all of his accrued paid time off as required by and in compliance with California Employment Law.  Nothing improper about it, except Matt's manipulation of the facts. 

This past week Matt spread gossip with church staff and volunteers saying CBC Truth planned a walkout for this past Sunday.  (We did not plan a walkout - if we did it would have been advertised like the Town Hall so that all 550 of you could participate.)  But maybe Matt's walkout idea is a good idea for us to consider in the future...

We received many emails from congregants about Matt's sermon this Sunday where he spoke of outrage culture, people who scream the loudest, the fruit of the faithful and the fruit of the hateful.  Many  shared with us that they felt Matt's sermon was a thinly veiled attack against the hundreds of people who stand with CBC Truth.  

Well Matt Whitlock, we have a message for you...  we aren't screaming, we aren't hateful, we aren't misleading the congregation from the pulpit telling them "I don't have a horse in this race" when we are actually the CEO of CBC, we aren't writing text messages disparaging the older congregation, we aren't sharing emails to divide families, we aren't spreading gossip, we aren't posting personal emails from congregants on Instagram hoping for a "like",  we aren't referring to the congregation as crying babies, and we aren't intimidating staff members.  That's only you Matt.

We want to be led by someone who respects the congregation. 

We don't expect perfection.  We are all saved through God's grace.  However, this behavior is unacceptable from the Lead Pastor of our beloved church.  

We will not stand for it.  

To our knowledge the Board has done nothing regarding Matt's actions and behavior.  Let's make the Board the Temporary Board of CBC.

Sign the Motion of No Confidence in the Board. https://form.jotform.com/250837218849064
 

Email the Board your thoughts: 

bjordan@jordanarchitects.com; mattw@capochurch.com; actifist@gmail.com; jmoody@pacifichospitality.com; halbaerg@yahoo.com; larryleisenring@gmail.com; larryenielsen@yahoo.com; lucanaclark@gmail.com;  r.noe@renoedrywall.com;  Stuart_Spencer@audibel.com;  uskiwichris@gmail.com; cbctruth2025@gmail.com