Roe Messner

Ronald Roe Messner (born circa 1935 [Based on his state of age of being 72 during the August 7, 2007 interview with Larry King] ) is an American building contractor who has built more than 1,700 churches including several megachurches.

Having divorced his first wife, he married televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in 1993, after her divorce from husband and PTL Club founder Jim Bakker.

Early life

Messner grew up in Waldron, Kansas on the Kansas-Oklahoma border.

He founded Messner Construction in the Wichita, Kansas suburb of Andover, Kansas and began building churches.

Heritage USA

Messner rocketed to fame with the construction of Heritage USA in 1978 at the behest of Jim Bakker.

In 1987, he and his first wife, Ruth Ann, wrote "Building For The Master: By Design" (ISBN 0-940609-00-2).

Messner was to contribute to the downfall of the Bakker empire. He was the one who produced the money for the $265,000 payment to Jessica Hahn to cover up a brief sexual affair. Messner later billed PTL for work never completed on the Jerusalem Amphitheater at Heritage USA. [Testimony: Baker knew about Hahn being paid off - Associated Press article via Pacific Stars and Stripes - September 16, 1987 (available on newspaperarchive.com)]

Revelations of the payoff invited scrutiny of Bakker's finances prompting him to be charged with fraud. In the Bakkers' fraud trial, Messner testified for Bakker's defense saying that Jerry Falwell had attempted to take over PTL and its associated cable television network by dispatching Messner to the Bakker home in Palm Springs, California to make offer to "keep quiet".

According to Messner's testimony Tammy wrote the offer on her stationery which listed $300,000 a-year lifetime salary for Jim, $100,000 a year for Tammy, a house and a year's worth of free phone calls and health insurance. However Messner said Bakker wrote on it "I'm not making any demands on PTL I'm not asking for anything." [PTL link puts church builder Roe Messner in public eye - Kansas City Star via The News-Post Leader - Frederick, Maryland - June 17, 1987 (available of newspaperarchive.com)] [Bakker witness says Falwell offered hush money - Associated Press article via The Capital - September 26, 1989 (available on newspaperarchive.com] . Falwell has denied making any offer.

In the messy bankruptcy of PTL, Messner was listed as the single biggest creditor of PTL with an outstanding claim of $14 million. In court papers the new operators accused Messner of $5.3 million in inflated or phony billings to PTL. [PTL accuses builder of theft conspiracy - Associated Press article via DAILY INIEILIGENCER/MONTGOMERY COUNTY RECORD - September 10, 1987 (available on newspaperarchive.com)]

Messner himself filed for personal and corporate bankruptcy in 1990, saying he owed nearly $30 million to more than 300 creditors. He was to wind up being convicted of bankruptcy fraud. As he faced sentencing in 1996 he said could not afford to treat his prostate cancer because he lacked health insurance. [Tammy Faye has surgery for colon cancer - Pacific Stars and Stripes - March 22, 1996 (available on newspaperarchive.com)]

Marriage to Tammy Faye

Messner divorced his first wife in 1993. At about the same time Tammy Faye divorced Bakker. Messner and Tammy Faye married in the Palm Springs, California suburb of Rancho Mirage, California.

In 1996, Roe Messner was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for bankruptcy fraud charges and served his time from 1996 to 1999.

In 2003 he published another book on church building entitled "Church Growth by Design: A Complete Guide for Planning and Building Churches to God's Glory" ISBN 0974501506.

He calls himself a "Master Builder" on his website (see below) and has gone back to building churches in his current church design and construction business, CBA Design/Build, Inc. (with main offices in Wichita, Kansas and a branch office in Charlotte, North Carolina).

Tammy Faye Messner's death

In 2007 Messner and Tammy Faye moved to the Kansas City, Missouri gated community suburb of Loch Lloyd, Missouri. Tammy Faye's last public appearance was a taped interview on CNN from the home two days before she died.

Tammy Faye died from cancer on July 20 2007. Roe Messner himself was diagnosed with prostate cancer years ago.

Tammy Faye's ashes are interred in the Messner family plot in Waldron immediately next to Messner's mother. [ [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0708/07/lkl.01.html Larry King Interview - CNN - August 7, 2007] ]

Remarriage

Less than five months after wife Tammy Faye's death, a number of media outlets reported that Ronald Roe Messner remarried for the third time on December 7, 2007 at 9 PM to Melanie Diane Hart in a $59 private ceremony at "A Special Memory Wedding Chapel" in Las Vegas, Nevada. [ [http://www.theinsideronline.com/news/2007/12/14847/index.html The Insider Online - December 20, 2007] ] Clark County, Nevada marriage records confirm this information. [ [http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/recorder/Marriage/Search_aspx.html Clark County, Nevada Marriage License Records - December 7, 2007] ] It has been reported that Melanie Hart is a family friend and former assistant to Tammy Faye Messner and she is pictured with Tammy Faye and Roe on [http://www.tammyfaye.com/tfpix.htm Tammy Faye's website.]

Notable churches

Messner is reported to have be the biggest church builder in the United States. On August 7, 2007 he told Larry King that he had built 1,738 churches in 47 states. [ [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0708/07/lkl.01.html Larry King Interview - CNN - August 7, 2007] ] Messner constructed the churches but was not the architect.

* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/calvarytemple.denver.co/ Calvary Temple] (1958) - Denver, Colorado
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/pleasantvalleymethodist.wichita.ks/ Pleasant Valley Methodist] (1960) - Wichita, Kansas
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/oakcliffassemblyofgod.dallas.tx/ Oak Cliff Assembly of God] (1963) - Dallas, Texas
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/evangelicalunitedbrethren.marion.ks/ Evangelical United Brethern] (1967) - Marion, Kansas
*World Harvest Church (1983) - Columbus, Ohio
*Phoenix First Assembly of God (1984) - Phoenix, Arizona
* [http://www.rfa.cc Rockford First Assembly of God] (1984) - Rockford, Illinois
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/hillsidechristiancenter.napa.ca/ Capitol Christian Center] (1984) - Sacramento, California
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/hillsidechristiancenter.napa.ca/ Hillside Christian Center] (1986) - Napa, California
*Carpenter's Home Church (1986) - Lakeland, Florida
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/churchontherock.rockwall.tx/ Church of the Rock] (1986) - Rockwall, Texas
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/bethelchurch.losangeles.la/ Bethel Church] - Los Angeles, California
*Calvary Church (Charlotte) (1988) - Charlotte, North Carolina
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/cathedraloftheholyspirit.decatur.ga/ Cathedral of the Holy Spirit] (1989) - Decatur, Georgia
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/cathedralofpraise.oklahomacity.ok/ Cathedral of Praise] (1990) - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/deliverancechurch.philadelphia.pa/ Deliverance Church] (1990) - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/centralcommunitychurch.wichita.ks/ Central Community Church] (1990) - Wichita, Kansas
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/pointharbor.cheasapeake.va/ Point Harbor Community Church] (2003) - Chesapeake, Virginia
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/redemptionworldoutreachcenter.greenville.sc/ Redemption World Outreach Center] (2003) - Greenville, South Carolina
* [http://www.cba-rm.com/portfolio/bellvuebaptist.memphis.tn/ Bellevue Baptist Church] - Memphis, Tennessee

References

External links

* [http://www.cba-rm.com/ Roe Messner's CBA Design/Build, Inc. website]