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11 months ago
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A man given the unfriendly nickname as the 'squatter bishop' in an Arkansas Church is refusing to leave the building where he's held services for four years after the landlord doubled his rent.
Bishop Earnest Smith has been preaching in a chapel that has served the community of Crossett for over 100 years since 2019.
In that year, the leaders of what was known as Allen Temple CME were forced to close the church while they waited for a new minister.
They claim Smith - who at the time was preaching out of his home - asked the leaders if he could rent the building.
The trustees from the old congregation say Smith is refusing to give it up and has changed the locks to the church, where he has changed the name to Temple of Faith Ministries.
Bishop Earnest smith, given the unfriendly nickname as the 'squatter bishop' in an Arkansas Church is refusing to leave the building where he's held services for four years after the landlord doubled his rent
Temple member Rekandria Leach claims that Smith rented out the temple for $200 a year for the first year and then it would double to $400, but when the time came, Smith said he didn't want to sign a new lease agreement.
The bishop addressed the controversy, which has made local and national headlines, in his Sunday service, saying he's 'not scared' of his opponents and as his congregants cheered, added that he 'did nothing wrong.'
'No matter what the enemy throw at me, I'm on my way back… in life we have to understand that we are going to go through some trials and tribulations. The lord does not tell us how we're going to go through those trials and tribulations,' he said.
'We all have gone through things in life, we have been accused of some stuff… we have been accused of some things in life, the difference of yours and mine is that I was put on national television.'
Smith argues that the secretary of the church, Faye Pam, told him that he would be given the building after completing the temporary lease.
'She said, 'We are probably going to give you the building because we're not going to use the building.' She said, 'Because I know you.' I said, 'OK.' I said, 'Thank you' – really got excited,' Smith told KATV.
'We paid. We've never been squatters. We've been paying all this money to her, and we've got proof that we paid the money to her,' he added.
Smith also claims the payments he was making were not a lease but merely to help cover insurance costs.
Smith argues that he's done nothing wrong and operated by the agreement he had with the church's secretary
Bishop Earnest Smith has been preaching in a chapel that has served the community of Crossett for over 100 years since 2019. In that year, the leaders of what was known as Allen Temple CME were forced to close the church while they waited for a new minister
The trustees from the old congregation say Smith is refusing to give it up and has changed the locks to the church, where he has changed the name to Temple of Faith Ministries
A representative for his church, however, told Fox News that all of the claims about him were a lie without addressing Smith's story.
Leach, who is Pam's daughter, says that her elderly mother has been taken advantage of.
'My mother and them, they was very nice to him. They bought him robes. They bought him suits, you know, thinking they was doing the right thing. But nowadays, my opinion, pastor is into the ministry just for the money,' said Leach.
'We're not causing trouble. We just want our church back.'
Smith also argues that the church technically has no owner, which trustee Claudelle Smith - no relation - says is flatly false.
'What I hold in my hand here is the deeds. Allen Temple CME Church, that's who it belongs to,' Smith said. 'Squatters come in and take over, and they'll get something for nothing where they're not paying for it.'
Bishop Smith has spent his time running the church recruiting a new congregation, including Scott Adair, who says Smith is a decent man.
'I was introduced to the Pastor and immediately I started to feel a love. A very unique love to want to see me have a chance at life and to be engaged in the presence of the Lord,' Adair said.
The bishop addressed the controversy, which has made local and national headlines, in his Sunday service, saying he's 'not scared' of his opponents and as his congregants cheered, added that he 'did nothing wrong'
Smith argues that the secretary of the church, Faye Pam, told him that he would be given the building after completing the temporary lease
While he did not know about the dispute, it hasn't changed his opinion of Smith.
'I can honestly say this Pastor and his wife and the people of this church love us and not to be redundant but the Lord's vision for Crossett is to salt and pepper a church where white people and black people can come together and have a true love for one another and I see this happening here at this church and I'm glad to be a part of it,' he added.
Leach believes that Smith's time is up and eventually, they will be returned to their original church.
'It's been going on too long. It's time for him to go. We have had our locks changed a lot of times, and he [comes] right back in and just [takes] over. He said he will not leave. But you will go, Earnest Smith,' Leach said.
Smith, on the other hand, says he's prepared for a fight and that his lawyer tells him he's well within his rights to keep preaching.
'The attorney told me since you're there and you [are] established, you can go in there,' he said. 'Do I want to move? The flesh does because I'm tired. But the spirit [keeps] telling me to fight this out.'
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