A certain kind of wound can only be caused by trust being broken. The slow, quiet kind, not the sharp kind from a stranger on the street. The kind you don’t feel until your credit score drops sixty points and you see that $6,500 has been charged to a PayPal account you never opened.
There was a church member in Memphis who put his trust in Steven Flockhart, the pastor of 901 Church, which has two locations in Millington and Bartlett. Flockhart, who used to be on “American Idol” and NBC’s “The Voice,” was arrested on charges of theft of identity and theft of goods worth $2,500 to $10,000. Court records show that he asked a church member for personal information so that he could open a joint credit card for the church. However, it looks like he used that information for something else. When asked, Flockhart admitted that he had opened the account, even though the victim had never given permission for it to be done in his name. Take a moment to think about that. The argument took place. The admission time came. Still, they’re in court.
It’s hard to look away from this story because it’s not the only one going on. Fred Smith, pastor of New Life Holiness Church, and his wife Jerri are being charged across town with identity theft, forgery, and theft of property worth more than $10,000. Things are getting worse with the accusations. Smith asked an older woman in his congregation for her Social Security number, driver’s license, and a utility bill when he asked her to join a church committee. The request was normal and even flattering, the woman said. After a few months, the bills started to come in. Three charge cards. A total of $51,000 in debt. She had never touched the cards.
She talked to Smith. He promised to pay her back. He didn’t. The way trust worked was kind of like the weapon in both cases. These were not cold, impersonal con jobs. People had spent years building relationships with each other, like handshakes after Sunday service and quiet times of spiritual guidance. You can only get that kind of access by being someone’s pastor. People who were hurt weren’t careless. They were true to their word in every way.
The timing of the Smith case is what stands out. On the morning he was due in court at 9 a.m., he didn’t show. He was running a prayer service on Facebook Live by noon. It’s possible that says everything, or nothing. People can’t help but notice the difference between the man who is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from an elderly widow and the man who is still acting as the spiritual leader in real time for people who are still watching.
Smith has been in trouble with the law before for misdemeanor theft and traffic violations, according to court records. Flockhart also has a history that can be proven. He is accused of forging documents and pretending to be an account holder at another church in Georgia.
These men are not cartoons in any of these ways. It’s easy for congregations to see only what they’re supposed to see in people. However, the pattern is hard to ignore in this case. These were not isolated mistakes. If the claims are true, they were repeated choices.
Memphis takes its church life very seriously. Faith groups in this area do important work, like feeding families, helping young people, and keeping neighborhoods together. That’s exactly why cases like these hurt more than just the people involved. It’s still not clear what long-term effects this will have on the congregations that are left to deal with the fallout. But there is a sermon that needs to be preached somewhere in both of these stories. It was just never delivered by someone.
