toledoblade.com --

The Rev. Michael Pitts and his wife, Kathi, who celebrated their 21st anniversary earlier this month, have been power shifters since moving to Toledo from their hometown of Lima in June, 1986, to start a nondenominational, Pentecostal Christian church.

The 41-year-old pastor, wearing a beige corduroy jacket, plaid shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots, said he and his wife arrived in Toledo “with a high school education, $1,000 my parents gave me, and a Bible.”

Renting a storefront building at Central Avenue and Douglas Road, the first Sunday service for Cornerstone Church drew 35 people.

Over the next four years, the church moved twice to accommodate its rapid growth.

Cornerstone moved into its present site, a sprawling former retail plaza at Reynolds Road and Dussell Drive in South Toledo, in March, 1995.

The church, one of the largest in northwest Ohio, has 4,000 members and an average Sunday attendance of 3,000.

Cornerstone has two radio stations, WDMN-AM (1530) and WNKL-FM (96.9), the latter which carries the nationally syndicated K-LOVE network.

Mr. Pitts serves as overseer, or bishop, of the Cornerstone Network of Harvester Churches, an organization with 12 other churches across the United States and 13 in Mexico.

He said some churches in the network were started by Cornerstone’s staff, staff, while others asked to join his network.

His reasons for starting an independent church, rather than be part of a denomination, are theological and practical, Mr. Pitts said.

Denominations are run by democratic or congregational rule, he said, while the Bible preaches kingdom rule, with authority given to the leadership. “Democracy is a great social rule but not a good kingdom rule,” he said. “Churches want kingdom power but they want to function like a democracy and that just doesn’t work.”

He also said he does not think it would be fair for a minister who may have spent years building up a church to be transferred by denominational leaders or voted out by a congregation.

Being an independent church also means he and his staff can make decisions quickly without having to refer matters to a committee or board, Mr. Pitts said. Construction firms often will discount a project substantially when they know that decisions can be made on the spot, without having to wait weeks or months for approval, he said.

Mr. Pitts said throughout his ministry, he has had mentors to whom he has been accountable. His first mentor was Rev. Lester Sumrall, who died in 1996.

His next mentor was the Rev. Carlton Pearson, with whom he parted ways after Mr. Pearson began preaching a doctrine of inclusivity — that everyone goes to heaven, not just those who accept Christ as savior.

Mr. Pitts said his present mentor is Bishop T.D. Jakes, the nationally known evangelist and pastor of the 30,000-member Potter’s House Church in Dallas.

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