J. S. Fugate:

Is there or was there an elected board at CP?

Who was Chuck accountable to and who is his daughter accountable to today?

There was no elected board at CP. Chuck had experience in two specific areas - the film industry, and the US Military . . . and he ran the company with these two influences, however he did not answer to anyone except our user groups.

Chuck was really just a writer that also happened to have a theatre company / ministry.

Quite frankly, a lot of time the unit leaders didn't really answer to anyone either. When I was in Ireland for 2 years I had a regional office in England as well as the world headquarters in LA . . . but communication was poor. Phone calls were a major undertaking, and letters took a long time to achieve their destination. So, I didn't feel I was answerable to anyone other than God.

This led some of the team leaders into a type of megalomania - I admit that I went through a bit of that myself. This is already a problem for directors in general - but sending actor/directors on the road without a great deal of oversight can lead to problems whatever the philosophy.

His daughter is accountable only to those that serve in the ministry today. The ministry is small now, and it appears that each individual is accountable to all the others.

J. S. Fugate:

You say there was "no elected board."

Then you refer to CP as "the company."

But before you said it was a "nonprofit tax-exempt organization."

What is it? How is it incorporated and who controls it through its bylaws?

Who was Chuck accountable to?

Why did his daughter take over? Wasn't there an election or hiring process to replace Chuck?

When you say that Chuck's daughter "is accountable only to those that serve in the ministry today."

What does that really mean in practice?

Has CP ever distributed an independently audited accounting of its budget, which discloses in detail all salaries, compensation, royalties and expenses paid out from its funds or through copyright provisions?

What you describe seems to be a ministry with no meaningful accountability through specific bylaws and a democratically elected board.

Can anyone fire Chuck's daughter or CP headquarters staff?

< You say there was "no elected board." Then you refer to CP as "the company." But before you said it was a "nonprofit tax-exempt organization." What is it? How is it incorporated and who controls it through its bylaws? >

I am not an apologist for Covenant Players - and I do not have all the answers to these questions. I honestly don't know how they are operating today since I worked with them 20 years ago. I refer to it as a company - but that's my word, having worked with and served as a director for many different theatre "companies" . . . I'm pretty sure that CP would refer to itself as a ministry rather than a company.

I know that there is tax exempt status - but I do not know how the organization is registered as such. I'm sure this information is publicly available

I think most of the theatre companies I've worked for have had a similar set up . . . and most of them did indeed have a board. If Covenant Players had a board, I was never aware of it.

< Who was Chuck accountable to? >

In truth, I don't believe that he was directly accountable to anyone. He was the founder and director.

< Why did his daughter take over? Wasn't there an election or hiring process to replace Chuck? >

I have no idea, I haven't been involved with them since 1990 and this transpired after Chuck's death a few years back.

< When you say that Chuck's daughter "is accountable only to those that serve in the ministry today." What does that really mean in practice? >

Hmm. I'm not sure I can give you a practical answer on this one either - other than the fact that it is basic Christian accountability to one another in the biblical sense. Of course, in practice, Christianity often suffers due to human sin . . . so, there's that to contend with. :-)

Accountability is important, and I've heard tell that in recent years there has been a real focus on accountability and service to each other in the ministry. You would have to talk to someone currently serving in the ministry to see how that's working.

< Has CP ever distributed an independently audited accounting of its budget, which discloses in detail all salaries, compensation, royalties and expenses paid out from its funds or through copyright provisions? >

I know that they have been audited - and those records are all publicly available. The office is in Oxnard, California. When I worked there, all the files were open for anyone that cared to peruse them. In fact, they were audited when I was there - and I think they have been audited since. If they had been doing anything illegal they would have been fined or shut down - and that didn't happen.

< What you describe seems to be a ministry with no meaningful accountability through specific bylaws and a democratically elected board.

Yeah - that is pretty much what I am describing. I never stated that they are a perfect organization or ministry, and I'm not attempting to defend such practices. I just know from my own experiences that this group has done some tremendous work all over the world - and has produced some of the finest theatre I have ever experienced. God has used this ministry mightily as well - I witnessed incredible things happen through our performances and workshops, and I can take very little credit.

I have heard murmurs over the years of people referring to this group as a "cult" - and I find that offensive. It undermines the personal growth I experienced, and all the wonderful work that the group has done, as well as the plays written by Charles M. Tanner.

Covenant Players grew out of a church drama company with a brilliant writer - and never really changed out of that paradigm . . . thus, things maybe should have changed as they grew into first a full time touring company, and later into an international drama ministry. Even at the height of the ministries scope it still operated as somewhat of a family / church group that happened to do plays all over the world.

< Can anyone fire Chuck's daughter or CP headquarters staff? >

I don't think so - as far as I know, no one has ever been "fired". Asked to leave, yes - but fired, no. People freely join and freely leave - but Chuck's daughter is the director.

If anyone is interested in getting more specific information or details, I encourage you to contact the central office / World Headquarters of Covenant Players in Oxnard, California. I am sure that anyone there would be happy to talk to you, and even walk you through all the details, history, and facts. The organization has it's faults - but they don't keep secrets, and there is no hidden agenda of any kind.

Two words - Christ and Theatre - that's pretty much the meaning, purpose and means of their existence.

Much of who I am today is the result of the things I learned while working with them - the theatre education was second to none, and the touring experience taught me every aspect of business and survival. I earned a Master's Degree in theatre after leaving the organization - but the majority of my knowledge and expertise came from the 7 years I worked with the Covenant Players. So - I owe a lot to the group, and to Charles M. Tanner . . . the best teacher, and one of the best friends, I ever had.

J. S. Fugate:

You say, "ll the files were open for anyone that cared to peruse them. In fact, they were audited when I was there."

So do you recall what salaries people were paid at the headquarters? Do you remember what amount of money Chuck pulled in annually from his royalties and contributions from various groups?

What was the gross amount of money that flowed into headquarters annually at the time of the audit?

How did Chuck live?

Did he own a home?

Where was the home and what was it like?

Did he drive a car? What was that like per your knowledge?

Did CP pay any expenses for Chuck to travel, stay in hotels, health insurance, living expenses, etc.?

Further details much be sought at the source. I don't want to give out any misinformation on numbers or uninformed opinions.

Again, one thing I can say is that Chuck received money SOLELY from royalties and the sale of his play books.

He owned a home in Agoura Hills, but he bought and paid for it when he was working as a Hollywood writer / director . . . he left that life when he started the ministry - but the house was already his. He had an open door policy to all of us in the ministry, and we were always welcome to come, eat, watch old movies, etc. It was not a lavish lifestyle. His wife and daughters still call the house their home.

Chuck used one of the company vans - we all had one. I served as his driver for a time - and then he passed the van over to me to tour in. Chuck didn't like to drive, and he used the time on LA freeways to write or rest.

I have no idea if CP paid expenses for Chuck to travel. I don't think so, but I don't know. Chuck, like all the rest of us, stayed in people's homes when he traveled. Health insurance? I have no idea.

As far as specific numbers, income, gross amounts - I really have no idea. However, I am pretty sure that this information is publicly open and available to anyone who cares to ask.

Once again, there are no secrets and no hidden details . . . it's just been 20 years since I was there, so I can't speak to specifics.

J. S. Fugate:

What comes across through your posts is that Chuck Tanner and his family historically and apparently now, have no meaningful accountability to anyone.

See [www.covenantplayers.org]

There is no disclosure information at the Web site regarding the structural accountability of the group or its finances.

See [www.covenantplayers.org]

It does say that "Covenant Players is a non-endowed, non-profit, international Christian theater ministry. It is not affiliated with any church or other organization. A large part of this ministry's financial support is derived through performing engagements. But much of the work must be financed through special donations."

CP is not a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability or listed at Ministry Watch.

See [www.ecfa.org]

Also see [www.ministrywatch.com]

According to you Chuck Tanner lived comfortably, had a driver, made money from CP through his royalties and apparently derived other support from the group. Meanwhile the workers received little and you once made $85.00 per week.

Tanner was never accountable to a board, denomination or anyone.

His daughter later took over, much like an heir to privately held company, despite its charitable status.

There is no meaningful financial transparency.

You claim that the group's finances are somehow "open" and have at least once been "audited," but there is no report either online or made available to the public anywhere that discloses detailed information regarding salaries, compensation and expenses.

The group appears to have been a personality-driven and rather totalitarian enterprise run by the Tanners without any meaningful checks and balances.

This may have led to abuses regarding authority and finances.

It's not surprising that some critics called the group "cult-like."

The information may not be on their website - but I do not believe they have anything to hide.

There is a lot of truth in your analysis - however, you're framing makes it all sound a little more sinister than it actually is.

You can directly contact the organization for further information. All I really have to share is my personal testimony - which, of course, is biased to some extent.

Thanks for the opportunity to share! I came across this site with those unanswered questions hanging out there from 2004, and just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

J. S. Fugate:

Based upon your responses CP doesn't seem like a very good organization.

Simply having faith and "believing" that an organization has nothing to "hide" isn't necessary.

Thankfully the overwhelming majority of organizations have meaningful accountability and financial transparency.

Thanks for posting and answering the questions.

Wow. I started this thread about six years ago. Shocked to see it get picked back up. Mr. Fugate, I know you've answered a lot of questions already, and I do appreciate your willingness to discuss this interesting group and the remarkable man who started it. My main question at the moment regards the late Mr. Tanner's pre-CP activities and how they may have shaped his creation and structuring of CP. My understanding is that he sometimes spoke of having worked in military intelligence before forming CP. Do you know anything about this? Specifically, what branch of the military he served with, and whether he worked in any form of Psy Ops (psychological operations).

My second question is a real long shot, pure speculation. Did Tanner ever claim to have met L. Ron Hubbard? Much of Tanner's work has a noticeable sci-fi or "Twilight Zone" type influence, and I just wondered if he and Hubbard ever crossed paths in Southern Cal when Hubbard was still primarily a pulp sci-fi author.

Also, have you stayed in touch with active CPers over the years, and when you left, were you declared "persona non grata" per Chuck's original policy in the early days?

Actually, I have more questions but I will stop there and hope that you are still following this thread.