A grieving son finds no justice on Rev. Maury Davis' path to redemption
by Brantley Hargrove
It must be hard to watch the man who murdered your mother 30 years ago sermonize about the godly life. Ron Liles watches him gesticulate and stroll across a stage, not from a pew, but on his computer screen in suburban Dallas, some 700 miles away from the church in Madison, Tenn., where the preacher tells this story of profound redemption.
It's Liles' story too, though he wishes to God it wasn't.
He wants to tell Pastor Maury Davis that he's a liar for bending the greatest truth in his life. To remind the mega-church pastor that the price of his spiritual rebirth, his professed salvation, was the blood of Liles' 54-year-old mother, Jo Ella. That every good thing Davis has in this life is borne on the back of a grieving son, in whose home her blood was spilled.
Rev. Davis must know that each time he stands at the pulpit, before his flock at Cornerstone Church, there are those who still desire a full accounting for his mortal sin. How could he not?
From the path Davis set out on so many years ago, no one could ever have guessed that he'd end up here in Middle Tennessee. First he was the son of a well-to-do family in Irving, Texas. Then a convicted murderer.
Yet today he's a high-profile pastor, known for his brash style and conservative theology, with a branded media ministry and a house worth nearly $1 million in a gated Goodlettsville neighborhood.
Contrast this life with Liles'. He was the only child of parents who struggled to stay afloat, losing his mother to a senseless murder remarkable only for its viciousness. Now he's an unassuming pharmacist working the graveyard shift at a CVS in Texas, left to wear the garments of raw anger and heartbreak, which aren't easily shed.
Pastor Davis says he's been forgiven for his sins. Washed in the blood, you might say. After all, who can argue with God?
Yet in the eyes of the few who know the whole story, Davis wears an indelible stain, however faded before the eyes of his own congregation, for the violation of the most sacred law of God and man. And in this world, not even the blood of his Savior has been able to wash it clean.
At around noon on Jan. 27, 1975, a two-tone Cadillac pulls up to a vacant house in Irving, Texas. Two young men step out. One is Ricky Payne, 20, a bearded man police describe as a hippie. The other is Maury Davis, 18, a short, slightly built and clean-cut young man with brown hair slicked back from his forehead. He wears a pair of brown cowboy boots with white stitching.
Davis is fresh out of the New Mexico Military Institute, where he graduated with honors. He's from a successful, God-fearing, churchgoing family that spends weekends together at the lake.
The sun is out. It's one of those unseasonably warm winter days found between the Blue Northers that sweep out of the Panhandle. Lining the street are single-family brick houses—modest, firmly blue collar. A mailman named Robert Clark strides down the sidewalk, dropping letters and bills into the boxes of families he knows by name.
These days, Davis won't discuss what occurred on that January noon. But investigators will later say that he tells Payne they're meeting someone at the house.
They walk up and peer through the windows into empty rooms. The home is owned by Ron Liles, a recent pharmacy school graduate who's moving to Lewisville. He is fixing the house up for sale.
Liles' mother Jo Ella lives across the street. She sees the two young men wandering around and wonders if they're the carpet people her son's been expecting. She approaches in a print dress, warmed by the noonday sun.
They exchange greetings. Davis tells her he's interested in purchasing the house. There is no reason to doubt him. Jo Ella—a recent widow, a Sunday school teacher who wears cat-eye glasses—retrieves the house key. She shows Davis and Payne in for a look around.
According to newspaper accounts, Jo Ella remarks on the paint can left behind by the painters.
Somehow, Davis spills paint on his boots. He'll later claim he "snaps," blaming it on drug abuse.
From another room, Payne hears the sound of scuffling feet from the kitchen or dining room, according to retired Capt. John Looper of the Irving Police. He comes out to see what is happening.
When Payne enters the hallway, police say, he sees Davis stabbing Jo Ella with a buck knife, cutting her throat and severing her carotid artery and windpipe. The blade penetrates so deeply that it bites into her spinal cord, nearly decapitating her. Blood sheets down her dress.
In the yard, mailman Robert Clark crosses the lawn and notices the open front door. "I sorta saw a young fella in there, and I heard another say, 'Close the door, close the door,' " Clark tells the Scene.
The mailman sees Payne shut the door and hears a gurgling noise from somewhere inside. Clark continues on next door. He sees Payne and Davis hurry across the lawn, talking quickly, but he can't make out what they're saying.
The men slide into the Cadillac. Clark, who knows this neighborhood as well as anyone, is troubled, but he can't put his finger on a reason. He scribbles the license plate number on the lined skin of his palm.
After Davis and Payne drive off, Clark approaches the house and opens the door. "Hello," he calls. Silence.
As Clark continues on his route, his wife drives by to check on him. He tells her about the incident and suggests she contact the realty company. They might want to look in on the place.
Capt. John Looper hears an excited patrolman call for the medical examiner and investigators over the shortwave. When Looper arrives at the little brick house on Meadowbreak Lane, the veteran detective, who has seen his share of bloodied scenes, is startled by what he finds.
He sees a 54-year-old woman with a gaping neck. A massive pool of white paint has spilled beneath her, mixed with dark, congealing blood. Her face is smeared in a grim, white mask. The distinct prints of cowboy boots stitch a path across the kitchen, around the body and out the door.
As the investigation begins, it won't be the blood, the paint, or the pose of the body that gives Capt. Looper pause in a way no other case ever will. It will be the reason for the savage murder of Jo Ella Liles. Or more accurately, the absolute lack of one.
Ron Liles is working at Carson's Pharmacy in Lewisville. His aunt calls. She says something has happened to Jo Ella. Liles needs to get home quickly. She will say no more.
Liles picks his wife up and speeds to Irving. When he arrives, he sees squad cars lining Meadowbrook Lane. The police won't let him inside.
Investigators bring mailman Clark back to the home. He gives police the license plate number on his hand, as well as a description of the car and the two men he saw. They run the number, but it comes back to a Ford that doesn't match his description.
It turns out Clark transposed the numbers when he wrote them on his palm. After a few variations, detectives find a Cadillac that fits the bill. By 9 p.m., they trace it back to the owner of the Exxon station where Davis works. The man says he sold the Cadillac to his employee. He gives them a line on Davis' apartment, just across the road.
Looper is starting to panic. A gauze of clouds has darkened the sky, and a light rain begins to fall like the Devil's baptismal, slowly but surely washing away the blood he knows must have dried on the handle of the Cadillac door. In an unmarked squad car, Looper rolls through the parking lot of Davis' complex, scanning the cars. He spots the Cadillac.
Looper spies paint and blood on the driver's-side door handle. He peers inside. On the Cadillac's otherwise flawless, white upholstered seats, he sees smears of blood. Looper locks down the location and sits tight. Before long, Davis emerges from his apartment with his girlfriend. He strolls right by the detective.
"I could have stuck my hand out and knocked him down," Looper says.
Davis gets into a '58 Ford and leaves. The police let him go. It's time to get a search warrant.
At 4 a.m. Looper knocks on Davis' door. Roommate David Gay answers.
"This kid comes to the door. He was a typical early '70s hippie type: Effin' pigs this and effin' pigs that," Looper says. "Really bein' a cute-ass."
As detectives move through the apartment, they find a small amount of marijuana in a brown paper sack. What they don't find are the hard drugs that point to a transformative addiction, which Davis will later claim prompted the murder.
In Davis' room they find the boots. They've been wiped clean, but a small amount of paint and blood still smears the heel.
"When they came out with those boots I said [to Davis' roommate], 'OK, jerk, we're not talking about a chickenshit marijuana charge. We're talking about murder,' " Looper says. "He turned pale as a ghost and started singing his little song."
The roommate gives detectives Davis' girlfriend's address and the whereabouts of Payne. Davis told him to clean the buck knife, he says, which he then gave to Davis' girlfriend. By 5:15 a.m. Looper has a signed arrest warrant.
As Looper drives toward the girlfriend's place, he sees Davis heading in the opposite direction. An officer hangs his badge out of the window and orders him to stop. Davis doesn't appear to be a strung-out dope fiend. The young man, Looper says, goes "as peaceful as a little lamb."
On the way back to the station, Looper asks, "Man, I don't need to talk to you about what you did. I just want to know why.
"He says, 'I don't know, man. I just went fuckin' crazy.' "
To hear Davis and his attorney, Dennis Brewer, tell it, God's hand shaped the outcome of the State of Texas v. Donald Maurice Davis. After all, the series of blessings laid at Davis' feet in Dallas County Court might convince the most resolute atheist.
Brewer, a parishioner of the same church as Davis' parents—and one of the most influential defense attorneys in Dallas—arrives at the Irving Police station 24 hours after Jo Ella Liles is murdered.
"It's only been 24 hours since you killed this woman," Brewer says to his cold-eyed client. "You don't seem too upset about it."
"I didn't even know that old lady," Davis replies.
To Brewer, he looks more like an unrepentant drunk driver than a man facing a murder charge. He chides Davis for his calm. "It's kinda like you run over a cat or a dog," the lawyer says.
"Naw, man," Davis replies. "I like cats and dogs."
In the four months between murder and trial, Davis finds Jailhouse Jesus. To Brewer, the young man's cool demeanor following the murder, and his subsequent lunge toward God, has an insanity defense written all over it. But it won't be the kind most lawyers launch. For Brewer isn't just any lawyer.
He too has recently become born-again. Not long before, while jogging in his Dallas neighborhood, Brewer "was filled with the Holy Spirit" and began speaking in tongues in the middle of an intersection. It was a spiritual epiphany that caused him to forsake heavy drinking and drugs for Christ.
In Davis, he sees not an insane man who nearly beheaded a middle-aged woman. He sees a son of Jesus possessed by the devil.
Still, there isn't much hope. Payne has rolled and will serve as the state's chief witness. Brewer tells Davis he'll ask for a 50-year plea bargain, but the DA is dead-set on sending him to the chair.
Yet jury selection, at least in the lawyer's eyes, will bear the influence of a divine hand. Don McDaniel, a retired California cop, is called to jury duty. The district attorney doesn't eliminate McDaniel because lawmen are notoriously sympathetic to the prosecution. What prosecutors apparently don't know is that McDaniel also attends church with Brewer and Davis' family. The attorney will later admit that McDaniel approaches him, saying that as a born-again Christian, he'll help however he can.
McDaniel too understands the ways of the demon. He's wrestled with his own. As a marine in Korea, he was hit with mortar shrapnel and nearly killed. When he returned to civilian life, he was irrevocably changed.
"Killing was nothing," McDaniel tells the Scene. "You look upon people as insects and you smash them."
As a state trooper he had one of the highest felony arrest records in California. But he'd also been investigated by the FBI and nearly indicted for abusing those he busted. He felt the urge to use his gun. The demon of murder, he says, possessed him.
So he moved with his wife to Texas, joined his mother-in-law's church in Irving and became a devout Christian. Though his newfound spirituality rid him of murderous impulses, it also opened him to demonic attack, he says. So terrified was McDaniel of what the devil might make him do that, for a time, he refused to sleep in the same room with his wife.
One night, while lying in bed with her, he says a blinding light shone through the window, paralyzing him. McDaniel managed to nudge his wife with his toe and could only hoarsely whisper to her, "Pray."
The defense had found its perfect juror.
As the trial progresses, it becomes clear to McDaniel that the rest of the jury want to execute Davis, or at least put him away for life. Brewer, meanwhile, mounts an insanity-by-way-of-possession defense. It's been but a few years since the The Exorcist lodged itself in the nation's consciousness. In court, Davis claims a voice told him to murder Jo Ella.
It helps that McDaniel is in the jury room, there to explain demonic possession, drawing on his gravitas as a cop. This crime is simply too senseless, he tells them. The devil is the only explanation.
Davis is feeling the spirit as well, only now it's the hand of God. One day he comes to Brewer triumphant and cocksure, telling him he'll get just 20 years. God told him so. The lawyer thinks his client is running a fever. He'll be fortunate to breathe another day outside a Texas prison.
"One day his dad came into the office and said, 'He's telling everybody he's gonna get 20 years,' " Brewer recalls. "I went to the jail and he just laughed at me. I said, 'Maury, you're going to disappoint your mother and make me look bad.' "
After all, Davis' guilt is not in doubt. So Brewer presses hard on his insanity defense, dragging before the jury every teacher who might recall Davis as a well-behaved young man. The crime's very senselessness turns to his advantage.
Prosecutors are unable to prove that Davis intended to rob, rape or commit another felony that day—aside from murder. Without another aggravating charge, life in prison is looking more likely than the electric chair.
With McDaniel's guidance and considerable influence, jurors settle on manslaughter. Maximum time: 20 years.
Davis makes the best of prison. In sermons, he recalls rattling a cup across the bars of his cell, calling his fellow prisoners to Sunday worship. He won't begin until every inmate on the block is in attendance. When he comes upon a straggler, Davis claims that between the words "shut" and "up," he hits the man in the mouth with a toilet brush, breaking his front teeth.
From these humble beginnings he continues to minister to the prison population, building a loyal (if captive) congregation.
Back in those days, Capt. Looper says, the chapel was where inmates sought refuge—not from the Devil, but from the brutal Texas heat. The chapel was the only place with air conditioning.
Then, eight-and-a-half years after he was imprisoned, another miracle seems to land at his feet. Overcrowding forces Texas to shed a portion of its inmate population. By now Davis is viewed as a model prisoner, making him a prime candidate for release.
It is 1983 and Davis is back on the streets, without parole or a single restriction on his movements.
He becomes a church janitor in Irving, before a promotion to youth pastor. He marries the church piano player and appears on television and radio with Brewer, sharing his story of redemption. In 1988, he leaves to become an evangelist, traveling the country to offer his testimony in schools.
Three years later he will arrive at the floundering Cornerstone Church, an Assemblies of God congregation in Madison, Tenn. He makes no secret of his ex-con past, though he tends to go light on the viciousness of the details. His prison-to-preacher sermon draws believers and catapults him to regional fame.
That sermon, however, offers no mention of Jo Ella Liles. Davis doesn't tell his audience that he slit a 54-year-old Sunday school teacher's throat, nearly slicing off her head. What he shares with his congregation is this: He is guilty of murder. And where his message is vague in some places, he's embellished it in others, says Capt. Looper.
Davis claims that before his arrest, he led police on a desperate high-speed chase that ended with a crash. It never happened, says Looper. Davis went quietly.
The preacher also attributes the murder to losing himself to the drug-frenzied '70s. The culprits were LSD, speed, you name it. Yet Looper finds this dubious as well. When detectives tossed Davis' apartment, they would have found the hallmarks of a junkie, not a piddling sack of weed. Nor did Davis' appearance suggest a man lost to dope: He was a "nice-looking" kid, says Looper.
But whatever the story he tells now—he declined interview requests from the Scene—it's certainly captivated Middle Tennessee's evangelicals. Under Davis' stewardship, tiny Cornerstone goes from struggling congregation to a 3,200-seat mega-church. Inside its massive lobby are a Starbucks-style coffee shop and a Maury Davis Ministries merch stand selling CDs and DVDs of his sermons. On his website, the faithful can purchase a year's subscription for $299.
Today, more than 100,000 people watch his InFocus show, which appears on CBS and Fox in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. He's been a guest chaplain in the U.S. House of Representatives. And he's become a conservative lightning rod, dealing judgment on gays and railing against the evils of Islam—a four-part sermon broadcast on the Inspiration Network, a cable channel that claims some 15 million viewers. Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee spoke at Cornerstone on Memorial Day weekend. Soldiers rappelled from the ceiling during the service.
To Ron Liles, it all sounds more like entrepreneurship than redemption.
"Had he gone to a small town and a small farming community, and opened up a church and ministered to people in the backwoods, I might could buy that," Liles tells the Scene. "But I don't know very many ministers who live in million-dollar homes in gated communities."
On a recent Sunday morning inside the cavernous chapel, the stadium-style seating is filled with parishioners amid drifts of perfume. Ushers squeeze stragglers into the few remaining chairs.
Behind the stage is a stone-tile edifice bathed by lights in Day-Glo hues of orange, blue and green. Beneath two 15-foot projection screens are banks of staggered choir seating. In between them is a rock band blaring from overhead speakers. The drummer's sticks flick inside a quadratic cage; the guitarist sways. Down front, teenagers and tweens bob their heads, some with arms outstretched, singing along to Christian hits.
After a short set, Davis mounts the stage in a smart black suit, a wedge of handkerchief protruding sharply from his breast pocket. The studio-quality cameras positioned throughout the crowd are trained on him.
"When I look at his eyes and I look at his face, I can see that rage that's still in him," Liles says. "One of these days it's going to come out again. Somebody's gonna spill paint on his cowboy boots and it's going to come out again."
The lesson today is on guilt and obligation. Davis arrives bearing props, a menagerie of rolling suitcases.
"I have a bag I don't know that the world will ever let me get away from," he tells the crowd.
"But people, they want to make sure you have that red, scarlet letter.
"You know I have a lot of sin. I have a lot of shame. I'm 53 years old."
He heaves the suitcases onto a rolling cart—symbolizing the baggage he must carry.
Davis looks out over his flock. They know his testimony by heart. In fact, the "Prison to Priesthood" CD is standard issue to all new members. But its message is redemption, not accountability.
John Looper wants to believe in redemption too. The lawman wants to believe a man can cross the line of ultimate sin—and come back from it. But what he saw in January 1975 remains too vivid, too raw.
"I gotta tell you, I don't know whether he's converted or not," Looper says. "Whether God reached down and took him by the hand...I'd like to think he did. But any way you add it up, it was one of the most brutal things I ever saw."
Today, Davis addresses the crowd in characteristic rapid-fire, tinged by Texas twang.
"Forgiveness is not forgiveness until you allow it to be personal," he says, his voice resounding through the hall. "If God has forgiven you, you need to agree with God."
It's a sentiment of forgiveness so simple as to become immutable truth to his flock. But it's there that an irreconcilable crossroads emerges: Where the Christian tenet of redemption meets society's need for real justice. And so, week after week, Pastor Maury Davis, all but forgiven here in Tennessee, delivers his message.
But in Texas, there are those who would remind him that though God may remove all sin, the world of men is far less forgiving.
Email bhargrove@nashvillescene.com, or call 615-844-9403.
Comments (162)
Showing 1-25 of 162
A compelling, well written story. Too bad the victim's family can't sue the b*ast*rd into poverty. Sociopathic behavior can take many forms. Too bad there are so many gullible people in our state that attend a church led by a stone cold killer.
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Redemption is something Christian believers affirm. Regarding Nashville Scene anti-redemption piece about Rev. Davis, it's par for the course for the Scene's campaign against traditional religion. Davis was a bad teenager on hard drugs when he murdered in Texas. Now he is good. He has redeemed himself in the biblical sense and in the secular sense. In the almost 35 years since his offense, he has been born again. He has turned his drug-crazed youth years around and helped others do the same. Many of the folks attending his church are ex-cons and ex-prostitutes and have been helped by Rev. Davis. He and his members erect buildings in Kenya and do building maintenance for local public school. The Nashville Scene's hate campaign in the Pith column and in articles is consistent in its distain for born again believers. That is politically correct. If the Scene's hate was directed toward p.c. issues, there would be a media backlash. It's considered okay to bash conservative Christians. It's great that the Scene has promoted forgiveness and reconciliation with death row felons.It's hypocritical that your left-wing liberal politics inspire you to a double standard on this particular conservative felon, whose politics you don't agree. Rev. Maury Davis is today "known for his brash style ad conservative theology" you say in the article. At least you give a clue in mentioning that, of your agenda against traditional Christianity. Bless you.
Although seemingly one sided, this was a well written and informative story. I was horrified at to learn the events of the murder. While I was a little concerned that the story seemed to be aimed against Mr. Davis from the beginning, I also had to wonder why he was unwilling to speak with the reporter. As a conservative Christian I believe true redemption/forgiveness comes with open honesty. Open honesty comes with versions from all sides not just one (as in Mr. Davis' CDs). I'm sure he does much good in his current ministries and has changed many lives. But, wouldn't it be great if he would offer up an honest apology or an honest explanation to the family whose lives he really changed forever?
This report seems a bit one sided against Maury. Nothing is posted about the good that he does. I would expect that an editor would repuire the reporter to research the topic prior to providing a one sided story. Research does not mean a megar attempt to interview the person that is on the media chopping block. I guess there is nothing to report on more important than a crime that was commited 35 years ago. This man served his time. What gives you the right to judge. How about one on how our President is doing with his empty promises. Im with Maury, I would not talk to any reporter on a case that is 35 years old for some good old media slamming. The editor has received my letter as well. Is there nothing this paper can do but look back 35 years to slam someone who has done only good for the last years. I am on the other side of the story and know for a fact he saved my brothers life. This is just one example of the good works this man is responsible for. We all may be his flock but none are simply sheep that follow blindly. I am pretty new to the area, but not new to Maury Davis. I wonder how those in your paper would fair under the microscope you put this man under. I can understand why I have not seen this paper anywhere. Good luck on future stories. I can see you will need it with the reporters that are on staff.
I am a Christian and I do believe that if you sin and you ask God for forgiveness, whole heartedly, that God will forgive you. I do NOT believe, that this makes you an example to follow. In no way should Rev. Davis be in a position to influence so many souls. God is not suppose to be "big business". There is no reason that he should be living in a million dollar home. Obviously, someone has been holding out during the offerings. With the way that his story turned out and his luck, I wouldn't doubt if he sold his soul to the devil. He is, after all, a murderer.
my family went to this church for a while when i was a teenager, and though they consider themselves very conservative christians, they are not hateful people and had no interest in raising children in a hateful church. maury's venom proved too much and they sought congregation elsewhere. good for them. maury has done quite well for himself building a church almost solely on his redemption story and a virulent steam of invective, especially against homosexuals. his cleanliness in the eyes of the lord aside, i'm glad the real-world consequences of his actions are finally being laid out for all to see. good work, brantley.
Brandi, you are speaking out of ignorance here. Pastor Davis' brother is a homebuilder and built his home for the cost of materials. I believe the article even states his home is worth around $1 million--he didn't pay that. Should he live in a mobile home? He is the pastor of a large church, after all. He gets no money from either the offering or the CD, DVD, or subscription service to access sermons through Maury Davis Ministries. It funds ministry with 100% of it's profits. His income is from a set salary and isnt based on what the church collects. What a sad, sad piece of trash the Nashville Scene is to try to discredit someone who has done so much good after such a horrible past. What good has the Scene ever done? Any community service or just publishing ads for "adult services" and the like. I hope people can see through the slanted tone of the article and realize that the true focus should be on what has happened in Maury Davis' life since he was 18 and not just the sensational facts of the crime committed. That's why he never elaborated on it--he knew people would focus on the crime and not the miracle of grace, forgiveness and restoration that occurred after it. I hope I'm not ever summarily judged on my actions as an 18-year-old--would you want to be?
Havethefacts, I don't believe it is Brandi speaking out of ignorance but you! No matter who built the home, it still cost a lot of money. Just think of the upkeep of such a house. I am so thankful to the Scene for finally telling the rest of the story. I have heard Maury's testimony and boy does he paint a different picture. I always wondered about the person (and who would have ever known it was a 54 yr old Sunday School teacher!) and how their poor family felt knowing the killer was leading 3000 people in Nashville. Maury never elaborated on it because he didn't want people to know he was such a cold blooded killer. You reference the miracle of grace. I don't consider having an insider on the jury a miracle of grace. Too bad the attorney from his church didn't get to go to jail with Maury. I wonder if McDaniel got any money from the Davis family? I believe pastors should be held to a higher standard and he certainly doesn't meet it. It is awesome that he has asked for forgiveness and received it because we have a loving GOD. But in NO way, should he ever prosper from the crime he has committed and that is exactly what he is doing. I feel sorry for all those people who listen to him each week and pray at some point, they will see the light.
My family began attending Cornerstone when I was only in 6th grade. Our first service was one in which the attendance jumped from 400 to 800, or so I heard. That's when services were held in what is now the youth room, or it was the last time I was there anyway. Apparently at the time though, in 1996, the church was in revival, and we as a family were drawn in. We had not attended church of any kind since I had been a very small child. And since then, our family had undergone several various traumatic experiences. Cornerstone Church offered a place for God to heal and prosper our broken family. My parents joined the choir and my brother and I were active in the youth group. And somehow, if only for a short time, our family was far less disfunctional. I have no doubt in my mind that at that time, the presence of Cornerstone Church and the ministries therein provided much stability and hope for mine and my family's life. We as a family attended church there, and were very active, until my parent's divorce my senior year. However, even when my family began slowing in attendance, I stayed very involved. After high school, I moved away and ended up going to an intense Christian discipleship program called Master's Commission, without which, I wouldn't be who and where I am today. All of this would've never been possible without the influence of Cornerstone and the generosity the leadership provided to me. Going there as a teenager really did change the course of my life. And for that I will always be grateful. Since I've grown up, I no longer attend Cornerstone, nor do any of my family members. While I agree with some of his messages, Pastor Davis is more conservative and brash than I can really stand to listen to for any length of time. Not that God doesn't continue to work through him, it's just not the place for me anymore. I do believe that Pastor Davis is a very influential figure in the Nashville area. And I believe that because of his faithfulness to the furthering of God's kingdom, that many souls, thousands I'm sure, have come to know the Lord as their personal Savior. But saying that because of the murder he committed at 18, he shouldn't be in a position of such influence at 53, well I'd rather leave that judgement to God. And while as an adult now I may find myself disagreeing with many of the internal activities of Cornerstone, involving money especially, I would in no way would downplay the difference God has made through Cornerstone and Pastor Davis in so many people's lives throughout the world, including my own. I can sympathize with the still grieving Liles family. I can't imagine the pain of such a horrific tragedy. It is definitely not one of those things you can ever really get over. And the unfortunate death was in no way an exchange for the salvation of Pastor Davis. However, I can't deny that God has made what was meant for evil and turned it for good. I sit here today, knowing full and well that I probably would not be alive right now had it not been for this church's ministry to me personally. And I know I'm far from the extreme of broken lives that have walked in those doors, only to come out a new person. While living in Texas and only hearing about lives being changed in Tennessee doesn't necessarily make up for the loss the Liles family endured, I hope it can at least bring some sort of peace from God, in spite of the pain, and I pray that it does.
My family began attending Cornerstone when I was only in 6th grade. Our first service was one in which the attendance jumped from 400 to 800, or so I heard. That's when services were held in what is now the youth room, or it was the last time I was there anyway. Apparently at the time though, in 1996, the church was in revival, and we as a family were drawn in. We had not attended church of any kind since I had been a very small child. And since then, our family had undergone several various traumatic experiences. Cornerstone Church offered a place for God to heal and prosper our broken family. My parents joined the choir and my brother and I were active in the youth group. And somehow, if only for a short time, our family was far less disfunctional. I have no doubt in my mind that at that time, the presence of Cornerstone Church and the ministries therein provided much stability and hope for mine and my family's life. We as a family attended church there, and were very active, until my parent's divorce my senior year. However, even when my family began slowing in attendance, I stayed very involved. After high school, I moved away and ended up going to an intense Christian discipleship program called Master's Commission, without which, I wouldn't be who and where I am today. All of this would've never been possible without the influence of Cornerstone and the generosity the leadership provided to me. Going there as a teenager really did change the course of my life. And for that I will always be grateful. Since I've grown up, I no longer attend Cornerstone, nor do any of my family members. While I agree with some of his messages, Pastor Davis is more conservative and brash than I can really stand to listen to for any length of time. Not that God doesn't continue to work through him, it's just not the place for me anymore. I do believe that Pastor Davis is a very influential figure in the Nashville area. And I believe that because of his faithfulness to the furthering of God's kingdom, that many souls, thousands I'm sure, have come to know the Lord as their personal Savior. But saying that because of the murder he committed at 18, he shouldn't be in a position of such influence at 53, well I'd rather leave that judgement to God. And while as an adult now I may find myself disagreeing with many of the internal activities of Cornerstone, involving money especially, I would in no way would downplay the difference God has made through Cornerstone and Pastor Davis in so many people's lives throughout the world, including my own. I can sympathize with the still grieving Liles family. I can't imagine the pain of such a horrific tragedy. It is definitely not one of those things you can ever really get over. And the unfortunate death was in no way an exchange for the salvation of Pastor Davis. However, I can't deny that God has made what was meant for evil and turned it for good. I sit here today, knowing full and well that I probably would not be alive right now had it not been for this church's ministry to me personally. And I know I'm far from the extreme of broken lives that have walked in those doors, only to come out a new person. While living in Texas and only hearing about lives being changed in Tennessee doesn't necessarily make up for the loss the Liles family endured, I hope it can at least bring some sort of peace from God, in spite of the pain, and I pray that it does.
Pastor Davis committed a horrible crime. This he has never denied. He has asked for forgiveness and done the time required by the State of Texas. The "Scene" has given not evidence that he has committed any crimes or acts since his release that would indicate that Pastor Davis is not in-fact a model citizen. Additionally, The "Scene" has chosen to omit from their story any mention of the many good works he is responsible for through his ministry. A responsible reporter would have covered both have of the story. It appears the "Scene" is looking to bash someone that doesn't agree with their views.
Hello Mr. Hargrove….. Let me say, at the outset that I am not a member of Cornerstone Church; have never attended there; don’t know Pastor Davis personally although I have seen him preach and heard his testimony and most important of all, I am a Disciple of Christ or what some may refer to as….. a Christian. I read your article with great interest, concern and curiosity and write in response to those points. While it is my understanding that the Nashville Scene is considered by many to be a liberal media news source, I pick it up when the opportunity presents itself although I am not a liberal nor am I a republican or Democrat. I read your paper because it adds a unique flavor to life in Nashville; I read your paper even though I disagree with much of what is published and I read your paper because I gain a better understanding of some of what I see in the world. The flavor of this article however is mysterious and bitter, very bitter and it is for this reason that I write as I’d like to know why. The 1st point that I would like to address comes from my concern for you based on the written word of God found in Psalms 105:15 & 1 Chronicles 16:22 where both statements admonish the reader not to touch God’s anointed. I challenge you to consider that warning & not ignore it. There are several statements in your article that clearly show that you have an issue with Pastor Davis; have challenges with God’s forgiveness of him and likely have issues with the place that he is now in. This perspective is expressed in your comment that begins with “Yet in the eyes of the few who know the whole story…”. While it may be an aspect of the human condition to doubt, question and even envy others it is a dangerous line to cross and remain when it comes to those that God has selected. It is dangerous because the defamation of those that God justifies says God did something wrong and that leads down a path that no human needs to travel. The 2nd point I’d like to address is actually a question… What More Do You Want? The man did his time, for his crime but it does not appear that you are satisfied with the outcome. Should the rest of his life be relegated to a state of destitution, poverty and continual recollection of the crime he committed? Should he not be able to advance beyond the status in life that Mr. Liles or you agree to? I refer you to Mr. Liles statement that begins with “Had he gone to a small town and a small farming community,” where he makes his envy clear however the statement is very inaccurate. If I understand Mr. Liles position, he’s OK with Pastor Davis serving as a minister, but not with wealth. Being one that does not believe in coincidences I recommend that you consider the circumstances that lead to Maury Davis being released and when you do you will quickly see that it was God who set him free, even after man locked him up. Pastor Davis is not the 1st person from Nashville that has been locked up for murder then set free and written about in a national publication. That being the case, what irks you so in this instance? The 3rd and last point that I would like to share with you is WHY? What prompted you to pen this article and what pushed the leadership of your paper to publish it because this is clearly a concerted effort to go after this man? Yes he killed a person and for that society punished him and released him however God has used him to reduce the number of people to follow the path he took; aid those who have suffered the loss of murder and death and far much more. While we cannot justify the taking of one human life by the number of others that continuation, God can and you referred to this at the beginning of your article where you state, and I quote “Pastor Davis says he's been forgiven for his sins. Washed in the blood, you might say. After all, who can argue with God?”. After reading the rest of the article I have to wonder if you penned those words out of Sincerity and Truth or Sarcasms and Sinicism. Having acknowledged the sovereignty of God I am left with the question of WHY you continued with the article in the fashion and direction you took. Did Pastor Davis say something you did not like, take a position against something you believe in or do something so unfair to you that you found the need to swing at him in this fashion? One of the things I understood to be an aspect of liberalism is the acceptance of all, i.e. live and let live however this article seems to seek a jail cell for someone who overcome the cell he was in, at the hands of God. That being the case, which it is, I quote you, who can argue God? As I read your article I guess you can and that my friend is not a wise move.
Hello Mr. Hargrove….. Let me say, at the outset that I am not a member of Cornerstone Church; have never attended there; don’t know Pastor Davis personally although I have seen him preach and heard his testimony and most important of all, I am a Disciple of Christ or what some may refer to as….. a Christian. I read your article with great interest, concern and curiosity and write in response to those points. While it is my understanding that the Nashville Scene is considered by many to be a liberal media news source, I pick it up when the opportunity presents itself although I am not a liberal nor am I a republican or Democrat. I read your paper because it adds a unique flavor to life in Nashville; I read your paper even though I disagree with much of what is published and I read your paper because I gain a better understanding of some of what I see in the world. The flavor of this article however is mysterious and bitter, very bitter and it is for this reason that I write as I’d like to know why. The 1st point that I would like to address comes from my concern for you based on the written word of God found in Psalms 105:15 & 1 Chronicles 16:22 where both statements admonish the reader not to touch God’s anointed. I challenge you to consider that warning & not ignore it. There are several statements in your article that clearly show that you have an issue with Pastor Davis; have challenges with God’s forgiveness of him and likely have issues with the place that he is now in. This perspective is expressed in your comment that begins with “Yet in the eyes of the few who know the whole story…”. While it may be an aspect of the human condition to doubt, question and even envy others it is a dangerous line to cross and remain when it comes to those that God has selected. It is dangerous because the defamation of those that God justifies says God did something wrong and that leads down a path that no human needs to travel. The 2nd point I’d like to address is actually a question… What More Do You Want? The man did his time, for his crime but it does not appear that you are satisfied with the outcome. Should the rest of his life be relegated to a state of destitution, poverty and continual recollection of the crime he committed? Should he not be able to advance beyond the status in life that Mr. Liles or you agree to? I refer you to Mr. Liles statement that begins with “Had he gone to a small town and a small farming community,” where he makes his envy clear however the statement is very inaccurate. If I understand Mr. Liles position, he’s OK with Pastor Davis serving as a minister, but not with wealth. Being one that does not believe in coincidences I recommend that you consider the circumstances that lead to Maury Davis being released and when you do you will quickly see that it was God who set him free, even after man locked him up. Pastor Davis is not the 1st person from Nashville that has been locked up for murder then set free and written about in a national publication. That being the case, what irks you so in this instance? The 3rd and last point that I would like to share with you is WHY? What prompted you to pen this article and what pushed the leadership of your paper to publish it because this is clearly a concerted effort to go after this man? Yes he killed a person and for that society punished him and released him however God has used him to reduce the number of people to follow the path he took; aid those who have suffered the loss of murder and death and far much more. While we cannot justify the taking of one human life by the number of others that continuation, God can and you referred to this at the beginning of your article where you state, and I quote “Pastor Davis says he's been forgiven for his sins. Washed in the blood, you might say. After all, who can argue with God?”. After reading the rest of the article I have to wonder if you penned those words out of Sincerity and Truth or Sarcasms and Sinicism. Having acknowledged the sovereignty of God I am left with the question of WHY you continued with the article in the fashion and direction you took. Did Pastor Davis say something you did not like, take a position against something you believe in or do something so unfair to you that you found the need to swing at him in this fashion? One of the things I understood to be an aspect of liberalism is the acceptance of all, i.e. live and let live however this article seems to seek a jail cell for someone who overcome the cell he was in, at the hands of God. That being the case, which it is, I quote you, who can argue God? As I read your article I guess you can and that my friend is not a wise move.
People who reject Christ can't understand the forgiveness that would set a killer free from what he's done. In truth, we're all guilty in Sin and enemies of a Holy God until we repent and believe. If you think you're better in God's eyes than a killer on death row then you're basing that judgement more on a contrived human scale than the way God really looks at man. It's very humbling when you understand His Law and your own condition. I wish you had explained what attempts Maury Davis has made to reconcile with the victim's son. That would paint a more accurate view of where his heart really is. The article is definitely agenda driven and one sided. I've read more nuanced features in your pages.
Why does the Nashville Scene and this reporter choose to drag up an incident that occurred 35 years ago? What do you have against Pastor Davis? Is it because he and Cornerstone Church actually stand up for what the Bible says and dare to oppose the ideals and positions of today's sick and twisted society? I'm sure that everyone has done things that they are not proud of in their lifetime and that we all prefer not to have the details spread across the media. Pastor Davis has not tried to hide his past. He remains truly repentant and realizes that in spite of his actions, God still loves him and has given him full forgiveness. Apparently, Mr. Liles has chosen not to forgive, which, should he decide to never waiver from that choice, will prevent him from being forgiven by God for his own sins. If you don't believe that people, try reading your Bible--it's in there! By the way, Mr. Hargrove, God knows your heart and what your motives are in writing this article. It doesn't matter if you ever reveal that to anyone else--you will have to answer to Him for that on Judgement Day. But just my opinion, I would suggest that you seek forgiveness, too. Because the way I interpret your article, you are guilty of judging someone yourself.
One word: disgusting. If this story is correct, it appears that Murray Davis, has and continues to, exploit the gruesome murder he committed. He understands that the road to success is paved by religion. He's profited hugely from that murder. And he claims God has forgiven him? Who is he to make such a claim? And how does God's forgiveness justify his message of hate and intolerance? Who is he to cast such stones? Seriously people this is insane. If someone chopped off your mother's head,then claimed to have received God's forgiveness and made millions by exploiting it, would you give him your devotion and your money?
wow, what is the point of all of this? I don't understand how some people can admittedly state that they are Christians in their comments and lash out at this man. Do you not read your Bible at all? Because if you did then you would realize that Paul, the writer of 13 epistles in the New Testament and possibly even Hebrews (from which I'm sure almost everyone has heard a sermon from), was a terrible persecutor of early followers of Jesus. Paul was once called Saul of Tarsus, a man that killed Christians on a daily basis and was converted and redeemed on the road to Damascus where he was on his way to kill more Christians. Don't believe me, open your Bible! Acts 9... Tell me why this man Davis can't take his testament and minister to others. If he was a false minister and teaching the children of God wrongly then persecute him, but not because he is a redeemed murderer. Paul was a redeemed murderer as well but somehow since he's in the Bible we somehow look past those details. This article and these comments are not the point! Get real, the time it took to write the article and the many comments, including mine, could have been better spent furthering the kingdom of heaven in better ways other than discussing this man.
When I saw the knife in the Bible cover of the Scene today my first thought was 'why on earth would any business want to advertise in this hate filled paper'. Read the story and did about 50 seconds o google to discover the reason the writer of this story, Brantley Hargrove, didn't have any direct quotes from Rev. Davis. He DID NOT do his own research. Why Not? Because he STOLE this story from the Dallas Morning News written April 22, 2009 by Diane Jennings. djennings@dallasnews.com. Now he didn't steal the whole story because it wouldn't have met with his hateful Christian bashing agenda. (There's a lot of joy in hate). Diane Jennings story doesn't paint the best picture of Davis either but it isn't sensational and does allow some perspective... AND actually has direct quotes from Davis' audio testimony that can found on his website; "I did something heinous, not just awful," says Davis, who slit the throat of 54-year-old Jo Ella Liles in broad daylight in a peaceful middle-class Irving neighborhood in 1975. "Unless you go to a Charles Manson level, it's out there." Link: Maury Davis Ministries. There is also a little insight on how Davis did reach out to the Lileses in Diane Jenning's ORIGINAL story; http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/religion/stories/047909dnmetkillerpastor.3d02476.html I have no desire to go to this church, never met this Pastor but I've known for years that he is an ex-con who murdered via some transformed souls (needing a lot of grace) who do attend Cornerstone and love the man. This kind of one sided writing is so common and one sided (typical of the Scene). It is obviously lacking the whole truth but it tells an ugly delicious story about a conservative, ex-con that grew a mega church and lives in an expensive house. After reading this crap of a story I looked at the Scene's cover and it reminds me of what my liberal friends love to say about conservatives - 'Brantley Hargrove and the Scene have no soul.'
I went to Cornerstone. I went for several years and I believe that it acts like a cult. Case in point...There was a guy that went there that had brain cancer. He was terminal and was given a few months to live. His doctor knew that in his day, we smoked pot, and told him that if he wanted to smoke pot to help with the headaches, that he didn't see a problem with that. So the man with cancer went home and smoked pot. One day, while doing so, a woman from the church came over and saw him. She told people at the church what she saw him doing. THEY KICKED THIS MAN OUT OF CHURCH. They told a dying man not to come back. I know this to be fact. My question is this - why was it not ok for this man to continue going to church because he smoked pot but it is ok for a self professed killer to lead these people in worship? I also know from experience that they have asked older people in the church with little to no family to leave their homes to the church in their wills and I know of one lady that did so. I dare anyone to tell me that these things didn't happen. I know that they did. I WAS THERE!
Havethefacts... I do not believe I am the ignorant one. I went to Cornerstone for a long time and I have heard Rev. Davis story (over and over because it is the only one he has). I speak from first hand experience. When I was in high school, I went to a private Christian school and we went to Cornerstone on Wednesday nights for service. Once church members found out where my little group was from, we started being treated differently. They tried show us the oohs and aahs that are Cornerstone. THEY ARE ABOUT MONEY. Everyone wants to slam the writer and the Nashville Scene for the story. If you don't like it, don't read it. At least they filled people in on what Rev. Davis left out. In case you missed it HE LIED!!! There were no drugs found. Where were all these hard drugs? Someone on drugs doesn't try to cover their tracks as well. I have done my research on this case (that means used references other than the Scene)Oh, and havethefacts, I would have made up a fact name too. I wouldn't want people knowing that I go there.
WOW!!!! NOW I KNOW WHY YOU HAVE TO GIVE YOUR PAPER AWAY, BECAUSE I DON"T THINK YOU WOULD SELL VERY MANY, MAYBE YOUR ADVERTISERS SHOULD TAKE A CLOSER LOOK WHERE THEY SPEND THERE MONEY.
How can anyone be ok with this man? Just because he has done good now doesn't mean his past should be erased! He slit the woman's throat! And, unless they are lying, the son says he never even apologized to him..even AFTER he supposedly found God. And he has at least 2 homes, one here and one on the beach somewhere...and those 3000 people from his church are paying for them! I wonder if the statutes has ran out for the family to sue him in a civil suit! Disgusting.
In response to Appalled: Mr. Liles did lie! Pastor Davis has made numerous attempts to apologize and has the physical proof to back this up. He has copies of emails and letters he has sent, asking to meet with the Liles family so that he can apologize to them personally, and this can be documented if anyone chooses to truly do their homework. And if you check the original police report, you can find proof of what was actually found in the investigation. Don't rely on the memory of some police officer who is now in his 70's. Can any of you remember every detail correctly of something that happened 35 years ago? I'll bet you can't! I, for one, am a very proud member of Cornerstone and have been for the last 18 years. Please don't call me misguided or say you feel sorry for me. Just remember that Jesus himself said, "Judge not, lest you be judged." As a Christian, I will pray for those of you who choose to criticize and make comments based out of ignorance, especially you, Mr. Hargrove. There are several incorrect facts in your article-my advice is next time, really do your homework and write your own material. Copying someone else's work is like cheating in school!
The question of forgiveness and God's grace is a separate question from leadership in the Church. If Mr. Davis was truly repentant, then I've no doubt that God would grant forgiveness for his crime. At the same time, I have to wonder at the state of someone's soul who would pursue a very public ministry, founded upon a redemption story that pours acid in the wounds of the very people he claims he's tried to apologize to. The best apology would be to remove oneself from such public ministry. Prison ministry might be appropriate.
As a Christian first and also a retired police officer who served 30 years on the Metro Nashville Police Department, I want everyone to know that I have been a member of Cornerstone Church for 15 years. I am blessed to be able to call Pastor Davis my pastor and spiritual leader. I knew his entire story before ever stepping through the doors of the church, but that did not cause me to question his salvation or God's forgiveness for what he did. And I can personally testify how his ministry truly changes lives, because it changed mine. In my years on the police force, I saw the results of many brutal crimes, some of which were far too graphic to detail here, which is the approach Mr. Hargrove should have taken. What good has it done anyone today to relive this horrible crime? But then, Satan, who the Bible calls "the accuser of the brethren" never passes up an opportunity to strike a blow against God's kingdom and His children. And this paper is obviously one of Satan's tools, because of all the ungodly lifestyles and political agendas that it supports. The details of the police investigation indicate that this was not a pre-meditated crime. If this is true, then how is it any more heinous than a woman who make a pre-meditated decision to abort a baby? If left to grow to full term and complete the birth process, that baby becomes a human life and a child of God. If aborted, that God-given life has no opportunity to become the person that God intended it to be. And just so you know, God also extends forgiveness for that sin, as well--you just have to ask Him. I am really not concerned with those who decided Cornerstone is not the place for them; everyone should go where the Holy Spirit calls them, but you don't need to harbor bitterness or pass judgment on others. I know in my heart that God called me and my wife to Cornerstone, and again, I say that I am proud to have Pastor Maury Davis as my pastor.
