A pastor who owes thousands of dollars in unpaid wages to former teachers at his private Christian academy also stands accused of not paying a Lutheran church that allowed him to lease classroom space until May.

Leaders of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church are trying to collect more than $34,000 from the Rev. Jeff Davis, the pastor who runs New Way Ministries in the Belmont Cragin community area. Davis already is the subject of several complaints with the Illinois Department of Labor filed by former teachers at New Way Career Preparatory School who say they were not compensated. One former teacher has filed a lawsuit.

The Rev. Stephen Knapp, interim pastor of Trinity since December 2009, said the shortfall has forced the congregation to let its facility fall into disrepair. Though church members preferred to resolve their issues outside the courtroom, taking him to court seemed to be the only way to evict him earlier this year and collect their money. But they still have not seen any money from him.

“They apparently felt they had exhausted possibilities for directly dealing with the problem,” Knapp said.

In 2001, Davis left as associate pastor at Evangel World Outreach Center, where he helped run the Chicago Christian Academy. Seeking to duplicate the success of both institutions, Davis opened New Way’s church and school to serve mostly single parents whose children struggled in math and reading.

He also self-published several books, including “The Man Who Wins,” “Po to More” and “Blingonomics,” which warns against “being preoccupied with making money in business instead of delivering a service or product that people gladly pay for.”

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Source: Chicago Tribune | Manya A. Brachear – mbrachear@tribune.com