Former NFL player builds $54 million church, on former Naval Training Center land

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Story at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20070818-9999-lz1c18rock.html

[RL3AO]

1. Thats a big church.

[mzteris]

2. what a wonderful stage/auditorium

for all that acting.

[Ishoutandscream2]

3. Well, it's beautiful

Do you think I can get my money changed there?:evilgrin:

[Benhurst]

21. I'd bet the farm on it.

:rofl:

[Initech]

4. Wow, that is insane.

Looks like the megachurch that Rick Warren has in Orange County.

I found this part of the article interesting:

“We're now going to use it to train man for spiritual wars.”

Translation:

"Praise the lord and pass the ammo!"

[MadMaddie]

5. $54 million dollars for a building...not helping

the needy, what about the folks in the Gulf Coast...

And these Mega churches are selfish to the residents where they decide to build...

Anyone think it's time to start taxing the Churches? Annual operating budget of $13 million?

They use our local resources and don't pay into the tax base.

I don't like big crowds like this because they are suceptible to group think....I also have a problem with letting people define what something means to me....so many people are willing to relinquish their free will to other humans....

[Robson]

12. It's BS

Good point. They build these architectural monuments to advance an ideological agenda, then pay nothing in taxes to the community.

[youngdem]

6. What a pathetic waste of resources. Think how much good $54M could do, instead of teaching hate

Organized religion in wealthy nations is SUCH a WASTE of money.

[Teaser]

9. Do we know this Church teaches hate?

I know little about it.

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10. Here's their web site...

"The mission of the Rock Church is to save, equip, and send out soul-winners for Jesus Christ."
"We believe that repentance from sin and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the only way to be saved from eternal judgment for our sin."

http://www.therocksandiego.org/

[youngdem]

13. This dude is a psychopath. Check out their website.

Basically army of god bullshit.

disgusting. and so very 'christian'

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. If it's the same Rock Church as we have here where I live,

they are insane fundie rapture waiting Israel loving fools.

[zehnkatzen]

14. One More Megachurch somewhere in the 'burbs. Thank God™...

...I was worrying there for a while.

Count on him to start preaching about how 1)American needs revival and 2)American Xtians are oppressed any ol' day now.

Xtians: Esteemable by the each, horrid en masse.

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17. Although this one's not in the 'burbs' at all,

it's right smack in a prime location near San Diego Bay, on the site of the former Naval Training Center, directly across the water from downtown San Diego. If this was out in say, El Cajon, Santee or Poway, it probably wouldn't even be newsworthy. I predict the traffic is going to be an absolute nightmare in the neighborhood on Sundays.

[zehnkatzen]

19. Ah. I stand corrected.

I should know better...I had 2 brothers who when to recruit training at that one.

A megachurch for a RTC doesn't really seem like an even trade, do it?

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25. I think they should have made the whole thing into public parkland,

which is in short supply in San Diego. But most of it is a residential development now.

[and-justice-for-all]

7. What a waste of money and resources...

54million could have made a difference in a states education system.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

8. Good For Him! It Looks Beautiful.

Wait... Was I supposed to be outraged for some reason?

Oops. My bad.

[shance]

11. What's wrong with this picture?

Who actually paid for this church to be built?

Orange county tax payers?

[zehnkatzen]

15. Most likely, credulous congregants....

...now, the ongoing tax break this thing gets, that's coming out of everyone's pockets...whether we like it or not.

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16. It's in San Diego, and I would bet that they got the prime land for almost nothing.

The former Naval Traning Center was closed during a round of BRACC base closures, and the land has been divided up for many uses, with what I believe to be far too little of it dedicated as public parkland. Most of it is now "Liberty Station," a huge residential development. There was some controversy a few years back over the developer of the residential development (McMillan) and how they obtained the land; some people were claming that a "sweetheart deal" happened and McMillan got the land for only a tiny fraction of its actual market value. Something similar to this might have happened with this church, but I don't know the details. I hope someone around here does some investigative journalism. The San Diego Union-Tribune won't touch it, of course, they are extremely Republican and pro-business, but a smaller paper like the Reader or CityBeat might assign someone to research it. San Diego city and county government is almost hopelessly corrupt and heavily biased in favor of corporations at the expense of the public interest.

[haele]

18. The church might be nice, but it's in a horrible area for that size congregation.

Very limited access - only two major streets in and out of the former Navy Training Compound, with lots of small, long established resident al side streets. When the Navy was there, most of the traffic was very limited in nature; most of the sailors lived there or in the housing across the street at a more traffic friendly side of the base.

Parking is also at a premium in that area.

And I hope the building is seriously soundproofed; it's almost right under the departure path of Lindberg Field/San Diego International Airport.

And only $54 mill to build? That's peanuts for something that size (I've seen it driving past and thought it's almost a monstrosity - I thought they were building a small college, a mall, or multi-purpose community center at first),
Betcha Corky McMillan donated the land to the church as a tax break for all that land he snookered from the city for pennies on the dollar when the Navy had to give up their lease.

That's prime land(even if it was originally fill) it's sitting on, on the Point Loma peninsula, near downtown, the bay, beautiful view, close to the airport and beaches...

(BTW, just what San Diego needs - yet another celebrity driven Mega Church community and ministry...sigh...aren't the 7 mega-churches with thousands of regular parishioners each and 30+ different "christian flavored" ministries within a 20 mile radius enough?)

Haele

[WTF cubed]

20. Religion is the opiate of the masses...

Now where did I hear that?

no comment.

[Captain Hilts]

22. Is that why there are little Pentagons in the ceiling? nt

[LeftyMom]

24. The early church met in homes. $54 mil would build a lot of homes.

And they'd get used all seven days a week.