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Originally Posted by Moe
from what I have heard (from sources who actually went to church there) Bro Free was actually forced to retire. He had brought in Richard Heard (he was originally out of Free's church in Sulphur LA) to help him co-pastor and after a few years he did a corporate take over....or so I heard. I know for a fact though that Bro. Free was despondant for many years and was very bitter over leaving.
Oh and by the way for a bit of history....grandma Bean started the church (which started in Greens Bayou) and then Verbal Bean took over in the 1970's and upon his death Bro. Free was voted in. He built the new sanctuary on the property that Bro. Bean purchased.
I still have friends that go there.
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You're source had it right. I visited CT often when I was a kid, because I was close to the Barlow family that attended there since the Bean years. In fact, I got baptized (1st time) when I was 15 while Heard was preaching a revival for Free.
What happened after RH came on board caused many to lose their way with the Lord. Brother Free was an ultra-con and preached standards hard until RH came to CT. Then one week, Brother Free got in the pulpit and reversed his stance on standards and the congregation was shocked. During that week was when RH made his move and by the next Sunday, he and Brother Free literally stood on the platform and fought over who would lead the church.
RH won the battle and Brother Free left truly a defeated man. He ended up buying a building off of 225 and tried to start a new work, which failed. After the take over, CT's membership went from a couple of thousand to around 80.
The irony of it all was that RH ended up doing exactly what Brother Free was trying to do that Sunday, which was to drop standards.
CT now has over 4000 members and the last time I visited there was probably a couple of years ago now. It has changed in many ways.