Controversy FAQ Interview Question 31

Has ACCD been responsible for church splits?

This begs another answer that depends on who you talk to and how they frame it, but here is an example: the big split that our internet detractors usually refer to is the one that ACCD founder Daniel Tocchini's personal church, Santa Rosa Christian Church, went through. It was an upset, it wasn't a split.

Dan Tocchini was accused of not being accountable by a pastor at his home church. The accuser's name was Dennis Peacock. Another person involved was Dick Williams, who had the same accusation against Dan Tocchini. Dan's pastor, JR Young, was the same pastor of Dennis Peacock and Dick Williams. When it came down to work these issues out, rather than meet per Matthew 18 with the body of elders to work it out, Dennis Peacock and Dick Williams chose to unilaterally write letters to CRI and to leave the church. After writing his letters, Dennis Peacock did agree to hold six town hall meetings with us at Santa Rosa Christian Church. At the first three, he and the twenty people he had in the church that were upset, none of whom had done the training but were upset that other people were doing the training, wanted to talk about how the training was producing rebellion. The elders all disagreed, and they said, "No, things are going great; this is a good thing." After the third meeting, after he had his say to the body, he announced that he wasn't going to stay for the three remaining meetings (when he would be able to hear from Dan Tocchini and others in the church that had experienced the training regarding the specific issues he had raised), so they could not reach any point of reconciliation. He chose to leave.

Dennis Peacock attempted to take some of the elders of Santa Rosa Christian Church with him, none of whom left. He left with about twenty people, started another church, which later failed, as did Dick Williams. These are the men that called us to the table to account, and when we were in the middle of the discussion and the issues were getting very specific and clear, and when they saw that it wasn't the way that they had accused it to be and that they were facing possible repentance for their actions, they left. The majority of the people who left with Dennis Peacock have since returned to Santa Rosa Christian Church.

That is what is referred to as the split that ACCD is responsible for. You can still talk to the ex-pastor at the time, JR Young, who is still on staff there. He's always available for discussion and is open to talk with people about what actually happened. JR's view is that it absolutely was not a split.

That's the only record of any allegation of church splits that we're aware of, so if you're going to believe the pastor of the church, then we are not responsible for church splits.

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