An Email from a Convicted Predator: Pastor John Longaker and a Challenge for TWW Readers

“There is a much greater skepticism toward the memories of those who claim abuse than toward the memories of those who deny it.” ― Sue Campbell, Relational Remembering: Rethinking the Memory Wars

I’m currently traveling with my husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains enjoying the fall foliage. After all the rain in the last month, it’s wonderful to enjoy beautiful weather with the sky a Tarheel blue.

When I posted John Longaker, a Convicted Predator, Is Now a Pastor and His Brave Victim, Kelly Haines, Wants to Know Why, I asked Pastor Longaker if he would share the statement he was going to make to his congregation.

Before you begin reading his statement to me, here is an article to help you understand why Longacre went to prison. Ex-teacher Charged In Sex Case * Officials Say The Former Sellersville Schoolteacher Had An Affair With Girl, 14. The title made me cringe because an adult cannot have an affair with an underage student since the student cannot give consent. But this was in 1997 and we have advanced in our understanding-at least some of us have….So read the article while holding your breath.

The following is the email he sent me after agreeing to send me the statement he made before the church. This is not that statement but it will suffice.

My charge to TWW readers: Critique his email to me and critique the above newspaper article. This is a unique opportunity since we have Pastor Lonacre’s thoughts.

I will add my thoughts on the matter in the comment section like all of you will.


Hi Dee,

I have been doing a lot of thinking and praying about our conversation yesterday. I don’t know your blog at all so I am having a hard time understanding the purpose of your article on me. If you are writing it because you feel that you need to warn people about me then I guess you need to know this: I am pastor of an autonomous non-denominational church of between 80 and 90 attendees.

Since this is not the first time that Kelly has tried to destroy me by contacting different people in my church, there are many people who are aware of my past and have accepted me. They are aware of the charges and they are aware that I pled guilty. I have offered to resign on three separate occasions and my offer was rejected. So, if you want to expose me then after Sunday they all will know in my church anyway.

One of the members who knows was a woman who was sexually abused as a child. Another who knows was raped twice as a young woman. They both love me and trust me. I believe that I have helped both of them very much.  One I was able to aid in counselling her out of her bulimia and suicide attempts.  She continues to make significant progress.

I understand and respect your view on whether I should be a pastor or not. I talked to my wife about our conversation (incidentally we have been married for 31 years.) She knew Kelly very well.And has stood by me through all of this because she believes that her accusations weren’t true either. She wanted me to tell you again that Kelly was troubled before I ever began counseling her. (Maybe troubled by other sexual encounters?)  She said that it’s ultimately up to the church to decide whether I should be their pastor or not and just because you don’t agree with that, does it give you the license to mention me by name?  Needless, to say she was very upset that we have to continually live through this nightmare.

One final thought, if after Sunday the church wants to keep me, don’t you think the fact that my name will be on the internet again will damage the church going forward? If they choose not to keep me then your objective will have been met without writing the article. Our church is a loving, growing compassionate church. This blog can only hurt, not help.  If your motive is to help, this is not the way to do it.

Even if I did the horrible things that Kelly said I did, I have been forgiven. I served a sentence that was outside the sentencing guidelines. It is not like this has been hidden. I served a public sentence, paid the price, and tried to put the past behind me. I believe that this has made me a better pastor. I have spent 20 years rebuilding my life and my reputation.

I truly appreciate you reaching out to me. Forgive me for using you as a sounding board but I have 20 years of humiliation and frustration pent up. For my own emotional health, I finally had to say something to someone outside of the church. My fear is that my denial of the accusations is just going to stir up the #metoo people all the more. I am already getting emails and phone calls from strangers.

Incidentally, I feel that her tweet was very unfair in addition to being untrue.


Editor inset: I believe this is the tweet to which he is referring.


End of editorial inset and back to the email


I pray for Kelly often.  All I can do is trust God to continue to bring me through some more of this.  I daily rest in His mercy and grace.

Thanks for listening.
John

John Longaker
Pastor

Comments

An Email from a Convicted Predator: Pastor John Longaker and a Challenge for TWW Readers — 136 Comments

  1. This email comes across to me as relatively passive and non-accusatory.

    I think the question for TWW is: Are there ANY imaginable circumstances under which a pastor who has been convicted of statutory rape can EVER again have ANY leadership role in a church?

    If your answer is “No,” then naturally you will be comfortable with “always believing the victim” and making sure future congregations are aware of the convicted pastor’s past, regardless of what that pastor says or does.

    If your answer is “Yes,” then it behooves you to be circumspect in how and when you use the power of your blog platform to “out” pastors who have convictions of this sort. Erring on the side of keeping quiet would be no vice.

    I think good men and good women can disagree on the answer to that question.

  2. It concerns me greatly that John still denies the truth of what he did to Kelly. If he did not sexually groom and abuse a teen girl, he would not have gone to jail. For John and Ruth to still say that Kelly falsely accused him is a moot point. District Attornies don’t take on cases without evidence, and a judge saw through John’s argument of it being false accusations and sentenced him to jail.

    ALSO Kelly is not the only girl with whom John had inappropriate sexual relations!!! Granted, Kelly is the only one with court documents to prove her case. However, there are numerous other women who state that he was inappropriate or immoral with them when they were teens or young women…some while he was their Christian school teacher, some while he was their young singles’ leader at church, and some while he was an employee with them at a bookstore. That shows a PATTERN of predatory behavior. That does NOT show a pattern of marital faithfulness that happens to be interrupted by a troubled girl making false accusations.

    I see John’s manipulation in the email. Once again, he’s attempting to steer the focus and blame off himself and onto the victim. That’s what predators do.

  3. “Even if I did the horrible things that Kelly said I did, I have been forgiven.”

    Upon reading that quote, the first thing I thought of was OJ writing that book about how he would have killed his wife, were he guilty. Yikes!

    A convicted sexual predator should not be counseling sex abuse victims. Why would he think that was appropriate? According to the victim, his sexual advances were accompanied by his counseling sessions, correct? Thus, this guy should not be counseling women or girls privately.

    The fact of the matter is that he was convicted. He served time for this crime. Thus, I am inclined to believe that he is in fact guilty.

    That he has been forgiven for, as he said, “the horrible things that Kelly said,” is between him and God. Forgiveness is not to be seen as a directive for others to blindfold themselves to his sexual abuse of a minor. It’s not a means for avoiding real world consequences either.

    I have a question: If your church was looking to employ a new minister, would you knowingly choose a man who served time for abusing an underage girl?

    He claims that the church was okay with this. I seriously doubt that claim. My vestry would not hire a sexual predator.

    Honestly, his letter just sounds self-pitying.

  4. Additionally, it bothers me that he characterizes the occassions of the victim contacting his church as an attempt to destroy his life. If anything, I would expect the victim of his crimes- the crimes went sent him to jail- would be rightfully acting out of concern for the people at the church

  5. Well, this email is all about Mr. Longaker, isn’t it. Not one word of sympathy or empathy for Kelly. In fact, Longaker goes on to try to paint Kelly as the perpatrator and himself as her victim. Like here,

    “Since this is not the first time that Kelly has tried to destroy me by contacting different people in my church, . .”

    Longaker seems to know Kelly’s motive. He can’t see that she could have a different motive, one of protecting people from a man who abused her from a position of power as a teacher? Longaker not being able to see this is a big, big problem.

    Kelly seems like she has a problem with Longaker being a pastor, which I do as well. Why does Longaker interpret this as “destroying him.” He needs to get a different job away from vulnerable people. That will not destroy him!

    Why do people think it is okay for Longaker to be a pastor when he can do something else? This is the real question to me.

  6. Bridget: Well, this email is all about Mr. Longaker, isn’t it. Not one word of sympathy or empathy for Kelly. In fact, Longaker goes on to try to paint Kelly as the perpatrator and himself as her victim.

    “I’ve talked about myself long enough. Now it’s your turn to talk about Me.”
    — long-ago magazine cartoon of a couple on a date

    Kelly seems like she has a problem with Longaker being a pastor, which I do as well. Why does Longaker interpret this as “destroying him.”

    “Touch Not Mine Anointed”?
    Benefit of Clergy?

  7. Well, he hits all the tropes, doesn’t he?

    “The person I destroyed is trying to destroy me – poor little old me.” Ploy to gain sympathy and enlist the onlookers against the victim of a predatory teacher. And, sorry, even in 1997 the secular media knew this was wrong, wrong, wrong. First focus: what it did to ME (not the target, his victim).

    “The people around me . .”, it’s all their fault because they believe me in my deflections and attacks on my victim. Yep, sure, we know that most church folk have no idea of power-abuse dynamics, deflection and enlistment of Flying Monkeys. They readily accept facile speakers who say the “right” words, who may even, themselves, believe they mean those words. Most church folk are “wise as stupid gentle birds” not “wise as snakes”.

    “Look at all the wounded gentle birds I’m working with now that I haven’t attacked.” Ah, yike? And so? No predator of humans lasts long if they attack ALL available prey. Targets are chosen carefully, to minimize risk of detection. JL would have been fine if K’s roommate hadn’t seen through the lies she’d been fed.

    “My poor wife” – that one is pretty predictable. And not really much help to his case – how many of us know stories of the women blindsided by their husband’s hidden life? So she believes his “poor little old (predatory teacher)” story and is therefore so, so distressed about a victim’s desire to protect other potential targets.

    Oh, then the whine about “keep it hidden in darkness for the sake of the church”. Yeah, there’s a bunch of stuff about hidden things and rooftops in the Book.

    “If I did it . . “ So much for open honesty, repentance, seeking justice for his victim and making reparations TO HIS VICTIM. “I served my time, quit bringing it up, I don’t deserve the life sentence I gave her, GOD forgave me so you have to pretend it never happened and treat me like it never happened.” I’m sure David would have really appreciated God “treating him like it never happened”, instead of, oh you know, maybe “the sword will never depart from your house”?

    “I’m praying for K”. When he’s so determined to “be a pastor” that he is blind to the reproach brought on a church who thinks so little of its little ones in age and damage as to accept a predator whose first inkling on approach is “if I did”, “it’s hurting ME”, “I don’t deserve the life sentence I gave my victim”, etc . . yeah, not sure those prayers are much help.

    That’s harsh, but so is a teacher preying on a student and showing pretty obvious lack of knowledge of just how badly he shredded the soul of at least this ONE known victim, and what God requires (repentance is more than pretty words, yes, there can be lifelong consequences to our chosen actions).

  8. Longaker tries to pin the blame on Kelly, then says, “Even if I did the horrible things that Kelly said I did, I have been forgiven. I served a sentence that was outside the sentencing guidelines. It is not like this has been hidden. I served a public sentence, paid the price, and tried to put the past behind me. I believe that this has made me a better pastor. I have spent 20 years rebuilding my life and my reputation.” Why is that disclaimer necessary if he is not guilty?

  9. John is a caring loved pastor. His congregation has accepted Him and continues to accept him. We love and respect him, you’re damaging what God is doing in this church! He is doing great things! But my God is SO MUCH BIGGER than this. He will continue to do Big things!! His grace covers it all. God has this church in the palm of His hand that’s the safest place It can be!

  10. “My fear is that my denial of the accusations is just going to stir up the #metoo people all the more”

    What does this mean, Mr. Longaker?” You sound like you disdain people who say they have been abused!

    If Longaker denies the accusations, then why plead guilty? Enough happened that there were serious charges filed that his own lawyer didnt think he would be found innocent of the case went to trial.

  11. In answer to the comment above on whether those who commit sexual or other abuse of students, parishioners, elderly or any other vulnerable group should be again given access to those groups – yeah, I’d have to go with “we don’t allow it in the secular world, for the protection of the vulnerable. Why would the Christian church be so much less caring of its own vulnerable, the “little ones”, as to prioritize the predator over the vulnerable?”

  12. GreekEpigraph:
    Well, he hits all the tropes, doesn’t he?

    “The person I destroyed is trying to destroy me – poor little old me.”Ploy to gain sympathy and enlist the onlookers against the victim of a predatory teacher.And, sorry, even in 1997 the secular media knew this was wrong, wrong, wrong.First focus: what it did to ME (not the target, his victim).

    “The people around me . .”, it’s all their fault because they believe me in my deflections and attacks on my victim.Yep, sure, we know that most church folk have no idea of power-abuse dynamics, deflection and enlistment of Flying Monkeys.They readily accept facile speakers who say the “right” words, who may even, themselves, believe they mean those words.Most church folk are “wise as stupid gentle birds” not “wise as snakes”.

    “Look at all the wounded gentle birds I’m working with now that I haven’t attacked.”Ah, yike?And so?No predator of humans lasts long if they attack ALL available prey.Targets are chosen carefully, to minimize risk of detection.JL would have been fine if K’s roommate hadn’t seen through the lies she’d been fed.

    “My poor wife” – that one is pretty predictable.And not really much help to his case – how many of us know stories of the women blindsided by their husband’s hidden life?So she believes his “poor little old (predatory teacher)” story and is therefore so, so distressed about a victim’s desire to protect other potential targets.

    Oh, then the whine about “keep it hidden in darkness for the sake of the church”.Yeah, there’s a bunch of stuff about hidden things and rooftops in the Book.

    “If I did it . . “ So much for open honesty, repentance, seeking justice for his victim and making reparations TO HIS VICTIM.“I served my time, quit bringing it up, I don’t deserve the life sentence I gave her, GOD forgave me so you have to pretend it never happened and treat me like it never happened.”I’m sure David would have really appreciated God “treating him like it never happened”, instead of, oh you know, maybe “the sword will never depart from your house”?

    “I’m praying for K”.When he’s so determined to “be a pastor” that he is blind to the reproach brought on a church who thinks so little of its little ones in age and damage as to accept a predator whose first inkling on approach is “if I did”, “it’s hurting ME”, “I don’t deserve the life sentence I gave my victim”, etc . . yeah, not sure those prayers are much help.

    That’s harsh, but so is a teacher preying on a student and showing pretty obvious lack of knowledge of just how badly he shredded the soul of at least this ONE known victim, and what God requires (repentance is more than pretty words, yes, there can be lifelong consequences to our chosen actions).

    COULDN’T HAVE SAID IT BETTER!

  13. GreekEpigraph: Why would the Christian church be so much less caring of its own vulnerable, the “little ones”, as to prioritize the predator over the vulnerable?”

    This is the question I can never get past when it comes to the Church universal.

  14. John Longaker,
    How dare you, how dare you make this about you! And it can only hurt??? Hurt who? You? As a relative of Kelly’s, I know what you did! You are a disgusting piece of human garbage. I know the feelings that were felt between you two, I know the suffering she has gone through, none of which “your hurt” could EVER compare to! Whether Kelly had issues before this happened, is irrelevant. You took her low self esteem and used it to your advantage. Good for you that you could just move on and forget about it, but no more, she suffered tremendously and will NEVER get back the innocence of what you took. She has fought a damn hard fight. And the fight will continue until the day she dies. This will never be erased, EVER! You make me sick, to think that you are worried about your hurt. You’ve got nothing on Kelly’s pain and suffering, but I’ll be damn sure you NEVER forget it. Shame on you.

  15. >One of the members who knows was a woman who was sexually abused as a child. Another who knows was raped twice as a young woman. They both love me and trust me.

    From the letter – one of the things I have been noticing of late is how many men accused (in this case convicted!!!) of predatory behavior use women who are young or who have been harmed themselves as a kind of shield. It is gross to me.

  16. Brent Thompson: I think the question for TWW is: Are there ANY imaginable circumstances under which a pastor who has been convicted of statutory rape can EVER again have ANY leadership role in a church?

    Do you???

    But then again, this isn’t ‘any’ case. This isn’t a couple of high school students who fell outside of limits is it? I don’t know if there is some theoretical case but we don’t have to play with theoretical cases.

    This is man who still refuses to take responsibility for his actions and accuses her of lying. After pleading guilty. This is a specific case. This is a man who was MARRIED and took advantage of a teenager while he was in a position of authority.

    No. There is no way that man should be teaching an ethics class at community college, let alone leading a church.

  17. GreekEpigraph: “If I did it . . “

    Reminds me of ‘A Narcissist’s Prayer’

    That didn’t happen.
    and if it did, it wasn’t that bad.
    And if it was, that’s not a big deal.
    And if it is, that’s not my fault.
    and if it was, I didn’t mean it.
    and if I did
    you deserved it.

  18. “I believe that this has made me a better pastor. I have spent 20 years rebuilding my life and my reputation.”

    -John Longaker

    Really? REALLY?!? I can’t even begin to fathom the sick, twisted logic loaded into that statement. Perhaps, then, Mr. Longaker you could teach a class at some seminary on how to train pastors to be “better pastors” by sexually abusing young ladies, pleading guilty to it and going to prison for it and still making yourself out to be a victim? I can’t even begin to get my brain around the arrogance, selfishness and total lack of remorse you have in such a statement. That proves to me right there that you have absolutely no conscience whatsoever.

    When you were convicted of a crime against a person of that magnitude, I firmly believe you are totally disqualified to be a pastor in the future, regardless of how much you feel you have been ‘forgiven’. Actions have consequences. Perhaps you should have been more concerned about the reputation of Christ and His church over the past 20 years rather than your own!

    Dear God, please protect us from wicked men like these! Amen.

  19. Lea: From the letter – one of the things I have been noticing of late is how many men accused (in this case convicted!!!) of predatory behavior use women who are young or who have been harmed themselves as a kind of shield. It is gross to me.

    Young = little life experience, more easily manipulated.
    Have Harmed Themselves = should they squeal, credibility already damaged by being “crazy”.
    (Didn’t Got Hard tend to go farther if the target had this in her past?)

  20. GreekEpigraph: They readily accept facile speakers who say the “right” words, who may even, themselves, believe they mean those words. Most church folk are “wise as stupid gentle birds” not “wise as snakes”.

    “You be the Mugu,
    I be the Masta!”
    — Nigerian pop song about a con man; “Mugu” = “Fool” in the sense of an Easy Mark

  21. I fail to see any reasonable explanation that would excuse a married, thirty-seven-year-old teacher engaging in an emotionally and physically amorous relationship with a student less than half his age. None. This is not a one time incident which the accused could perhaps allege was misrepresented, or a breach of judgment made in the heat of the moment. This was a four year long relationship which the article asserts was, at least in part, acknowledged to have taken place by the accused. Either his personal confession or other credible evidence led to his plea bargain, usually perceived as an attempt to escape more serious penalties in a court of law.

    The question is not whether or not Longaker can ever be forgiven by God, his victim(s), his wife and/or a church congregation; of course he can. The issue is whether he has publicly confessed the extent of his wrongdoing, asked forgiveness of all victims and accepted the hard truth that such crimes – regretted or not – make him unsuitable, ever again, to be an authority over children or any body of believers.

    Personally, even if he were my own brother, I would never allow him to be alone with a child of mine, however sincere his regrets and true his repentance. I would encourage any other family or church with which Longaker is involved be aware of the statistics that suggest the sort of abusive behavior he exhibited is very often repeated, and preventive measures always warranted.

    Such suggestions do not derive from hate, vindictiveness or a lack of forgiveness on my part. I do not believe that any sinner must be permanently rejected and ostracized by his community; but those who have exhibited abuse of authority and patterns of deception to hide such abuse must never be ‘trusted’ without well-meaning protections being in place. Such a person is forevermore unsuitable to be in a position of leadership or even given the opportunity to be alone with a child in a body of believers, a school, camp, workplace or any other arena in which such trust might be abused.

    Yes, this is a severe and painful penalty. The truly honest, humble and repentant abuser would accept it as his due, and would take pains to never put anyone in a position that would make them uncomfortable or at risk.

  22. There is not one shred of Biblical evidence given to back up his assertion that he is qualified to be a pastor, or that the church should just decided if they want him as a pastor and that doing so is perfectly ok. That alone disqualifies him and his church.

    A five minute check of relevant passages should easily render an answer of “No” to his question.

  23. Brent Thompson,

    The question is whether or not HE should have a role as PASTOR, not just any leadership role.

    The answer is: of course not. Read your Bible.

  24. Jax,
    Fascinating…I’m deeply concerned about the level of your understanding of Scripture. You do know the difference between something that is merely a sin and something that could be a profound psychiatric disorder, don’t you? One can be forgiven but the other needs serious psychiatric counseling in order to control urges with little hope of full control.

    What I would like to hear rom your is careful Biblical exposition as opposed to silly memes seen on posters in Christian bookstores. (God has the church in his hands and that’s the safest place to be.) Good night!

  25. John Longaker, you are not the victim here. You are the predator.

    Your continued patterns of lying and manipulation, paired with the other stories of women corroborating Kelly’s claims with their own stories (women who are strangers to Kelly – with stories from after you were released from prison) should make your compassionate church band together to protect the innocent among them by firing you immediately.

    We believe you, Kelly and the MANY other women who have come forward.

  26. Brent Thompson: If your answer is “No,” then naturally you will be comfortable with “always believing the victim” and making sure future congregations are aware of the convicted pastor’s past, regardless of what that pastor says or does.

    This man was convicted and spent time in prison. It appears that a trial; by a jury of his peers is not enough for you.

    A man who engages in statutory rape is a man with profound psychiatric problems. This is a paraphilia and you should do some reading about such problems. There is little hope for a cure-only control of ones impulses.

    Once a person has violated his clergy role he has forfeited the right to be a pastor. He may repent and be restored to the congregation. However, even then, he needs to be supervised for the rest of his life if underage students and children are present.

    Any pastor who has raped an underage kid or raped an adult has committed a crime and has serious psychiatric issues. This is not *just a sin.* It is far more.

    The fact that yo duo not seem to understand this concept makes me wonder if you or someone close to you has been credibly accused of statutory rape. Please do some reading and get help for anyone who has done these things.

  27. Jax,

    Wow. You drank the Kool-aid provided by John, didn’t you??

    Do you not care that John has demonstrated a PATTERN of predatory sexual behavior towards teen girls and young women??

    Do you not care that he acted sexually inappropriately with numerous women other than Ruth??

    Do you believe that God is actually pleased with your church’s decision to let this wolf-in-shepherd’s-clothing be your pastor??

    PLEASE be careful and aware. PLEASE protect the flock of your church. PLEASE do not be deceived by sleight-of-game diversion tactics. PLEASE be wise as serpents.

  28. “I have spent 20 years rebuilding my life and my reputation.”

    And therein lies the problem… he is forgetting that actions have consequences. You reap what you sow. If you murder someone, you may repent and be forgiven by God, but you still serve a life sentence. If you sexually abuse young girls there are life long consequences… both for the abused girls and for the abuser. One of the consequences in this case is that he does not qualify for ministry… he is not “above reproach”. In other words, his “reputation” has been destroyed… not by Kelly or by bloggers… but by his own choices. He needs to accept responsibility for his wife’s pain… which was not caused by outside forces but by his own actions. And any trouble this brings to his church is also not caused by “emails from strangers” but rather by his choice to become a pastor… knowing full well that he didn’t have a good reputation.

  29. RG,

    Jax,

    John may “appear” to be a caring loving pastor, but that is exactly how sociopaths work!
    I’m amongst those who first hand witnessed and experienced his innaprpriateness as an employee at the christian bookstore. In Numbers it tells us “be sure your sins will find you out”. We will not remain silent any longer, we will not tolerate being called liars any longer. One accusation may be easy to sweep under the rug but we are picking that rug up and revealing the truth! You don’t ask for and recieve forgiveness if you are innocent. Wake up sheeple!

  30. Jax,

    With all due respect, your pastor continues to deny his sexual encounters with multiple young women…WHILE HE WAS MARRIED. At the least, this disqualifies him from pastoral roles. You are actively choosing to ignore truth. While it may hurt and surprise you that your “pastor” has been accused of such egregious actions, it does not change the facts. The intent of this information is not to damage your church, but to protect it. He has not been honest with your congregation. You are defending a man whose lies you believe and in so doing, are damaging your church. God is doing big things…you are absolutely correct. And I pray one of those big things is protecting the young women who attend your church.

  31. “I have spent 20 years rebuilding my life and my reputation.”

    And therein lies the problem… he is forgetting that actions have consequences. You reap what you sow. If you murder someone, you may repent and be forgiven by God, but you still have to serve a life sentence. If you sexually abuse young girls… there will be life long consequences for that as well… both for the abused girls and for the abuser. In this case one of the consequences to his actions is that he isn’t “above reproach” and therefore doesn’t qualify to be a pastor. The pain experienced by his wife is not caused by Kelly or by bloggers, but is a consequence of his own choices. If his church suffers it is not the result of “emails from strangers” but is a result of his past actions. He chose to become a pastor knowing full well that he had damaged his own “reputation”. It’s time to take responsibility for the pain of those around him… without blaming others or rewriting history.

  32. A pastor guilty of rape, statutory or otherwise, should not merely be barred from the pulpit for life. He should enter eternity with a rope around his neck. Then he can attempt, with no success whatsoever, to con God into letting him into heaven on the basis of religious affectations that had no grounding in character.

  33. You say above, if you did the horrible things Kelly said you did, you have been forgiven. Well, if you did it, and you truly felt sorry, your wife would believe you did it because you would have confessed it to her. You would publicly and privately do whatever was necessary to make things right with her and Kelly. So, since your wife believes you didn’t do it, if you did do it you haven’t confessed to her. And confession is required for repentance. And repentance is required for forgiveness. So if you didn’t confess then how can you be forgiven?

  34. My opinion: The email is a passive-aggressive, manipulative bunch of “Jesus-babble,” which is the phrase I use when clergy trot out all the right words, but there is no meaning or belief behind the words. “Tongues of angels….”

  35. Jax: God has this church in the palm of His hand that’s the safest place It can be!

    You might be safe. You’re probably not an underage girl.

  36. Jax:
    John is a caring loved pastor. His congregation has accepted Him and continues to accept him. We love and respect him, you’re damaging what God is doing in this church! He is doing great things! But my God is SO MUCH BIGGER than this. He will continue to do Big things!! His grace covers it all. God has this church in the palm of His hand that’s the safest place It can be!

    How many monsters lurk around with with signs boasting of their wickedness?

    Predators are liars and deceivers. They gain others’ trust and admiration. Your *opinions* are of know consequence to the fact that your minister is a sly wolf, cloaked in wool.

    God has given us clear directives to protect the flock by ensuring that only the best lead out churches. This man is guilty of sexually abusing a minor. Yet, your response is to defend him. How negligent must you be to risk the salvation of the souls of your young congregants by exposing them to the possibility of dastardly abuse and for another’s perversions?
    How many souls have turned their backs on God, because of abuse at the hands of a trusted “anointed”?

    Have you know sense of responsibility to God Himself to protect your fellow worshippers?

    You are told to be “wise as serpents.” You are not told to be a good-intentioned, gullible fool whose willful ignorance allows for the perpetuation of evil.

    Do you job as God Almighty has commanded. You will have to answer for this as you stand in front of him to receive your judgment.

    God isn’t keen on excuses.

  37. Jax:
    John is a caring loved pastor. His congregation has accepted Him and continues to accept him. We love and respect him, you’re damaging what God is doing in this church! He is doing great things! But my God is SO MUCH BIGGER than this. He will continue to do Big things!! His grace covers it all. God has this church in the palm of His hand that’s the safest place It can be!

    WRONG. The only person who has damaged anything is the predator you defend.

    DARKNESS HATES LIGHT.

    Do you love the darkness?

  38. ‘She wanted me to tell you again that Kelly was troubled before I ever began counseling her. (Maybe troubled by other sexual encounters?)’

    Just this one comment about what his wife says about the victim says it all, particularly the final parentheses, which are actually not an afterthought at all. Translation: ‘She was a slutty unstable girl due to other sexual encounters (slut slut slut) so she can’t be trusted & my wife says so so that’s me off the hook, & if I did have sex with this girl she was damaged goods so it was her fault not mine’. Typical abuser’s blameshifting.

  39. Jax,

    Jax/Mike Adams/John Longaker

    Your head is in the sand, just like the school administrations and the bookstore owner’s was. The man is lying as more and more woman come forward. A 38 year old “man” abuses a vulnerable 14 year old girl for FOUR YEARS…FOUR YEEEEAAAARS….under the nose of his administration and inside the same house his wife lives in. FOUR YEARS this goes on…FOUR YEARS!….then your sick “pastor” finally gets caught, pleas out (charges were WORSE than what he gets nailed with!) so he doesn’t get official sex offender status (broken legal system!)….then the guy goes to JAIL for a year because he was FOUND GUILTY. He gets out and CONTINUES his same sick manipulative SEXUALIZED adulterous behavior with more underage girls while he cheats on his “beloved wife”.

    Mike Adam/Jax/Longaker and his enabling wife deserve every bit of attention they get through this. And quite frankly, so do the Elders of the church. This is beyond irresponsible all around.

  40. dee: Once a person has violated his clergy role he has forfeited the right to be a pastor. He may repent and be restored to the congregation.

    Yes, if genuinely repentant, he can be restored to fellowship but not to leadership. There are no examples in the New Testament of a Christian leader who failed morally being restored to leadership. (and don’t drag David into this – he was in the military not the ministry)

  41. Jax: His grace covers it all.

    Don’t confuse grace and mercy. Grace does not cover your sin … it empowers you so you won’t sin. If and when we sin, His mercy is extended to us instead of executing wrath upon us. Grace does not cover it all – the things we do wrong, but gives us the ability and power to do what is right.

  42. It’s not just a sin. It’s a crime. He is permanently disqualified from public ministry. Go work a Walmart. Get your forgiven butt away from a podium on Sunday morning

  43. Brent Thompson,

    Isn’t this what the Catholic Church has said for decades? “Let’s err in the side of discretion…etc”

    If this pastor is truly repentant, which from what I read of his email he is NOT, he shouldn’t mind the light of God’s truth in every aspect of his past.

  44. @ John Longaker

    “Needless, to say she was very upset that we have to continually live through this nightmare.”

    Maybe your wife should not choose to be married to a selfish pervert. She is not a very good or decent person to think of her nightmare over an underage girl’s nightmare having to deal with an old perv.

    “will damage the church going forward?”

    If you were not so self-centered it might occur to you that people who hate sexual abuse of underage girls are trying to keep you from damaging them. The church is choosing to be involved with a pervert. They can find a church who is not run by a man who bothers with underage girls.

    As someone who was sexually abused as a child, I strongly believe the people that take their kids around you should lose custody of their kids. They are picking a pervert over their kid’s safety. No good loving parent would roll that dice. But, I know some parents simply do not hate the sexual abuse of their own children. These parents do not deserve to have kids.

    “Our church is a loving, growing compassionate church.”

    No! You have shown no love or compassion for the underage girl you sexually exploited. Loving compassionate people do not hook their wagons to sexual abusers, perverts do.

    “This blog can only hurt, not help.”

    This blog HELPS many victims of sexual abuse. This blog hurts people who sexually abuse and coddle people who have sexually abused children. So, your assertion is nothing but the assertion of a convicted pervert. Who consistently proves he does not believe grown men perving on underage girls is a big deal.

    “If your motive is to help, this is not the way to do it.”

    Says the pervert who does not want to have to go get a real job away from children.

    “I have been forgiven.”

    Wow, Christianity sure does work well in the favor of sexual abusers. What rapist wouldn’t want to join Christianity? Getting away with perv behavior is much easier for Christians. You can just do whatever you want on Monday and be forgiven on Tuesday. I wonder if a sexual abuser created these rules?

    “tried to put the past behind me.”

    Of course, you have. You are not the victim. When a person under the age of eighteen is used and exploited sexually the pain and grossness of it haunts him or her for the rest of their life. And, only a selfish uninformed pervert would say otherwise.

    “I have 20 years of humiliation”

    You should be humiliated, you poor victim of your self. Not screwing with kids is the easiest thing I do. It is so easy to only have adult relationships with gasp, adults.

    The more you talk the more you prove you have no business telling people what is right and what is wrong.

  45. Okay, if he is consistent with his forgiveness and let live theory, then I would expect him to not want a warning from anyone harmed by a convicted embezzler who he might hire to take care of his church’s finances. That is how much trust he is demanding from people.

  46. I was a member at this church when Kelly first contacted leaders to inform them of the danger lurking in their leadership. I received counsel from John for childhood sexual abuse. I was never told anything about his history as a perpetrator. Had I known I would have never received counseling from him and my family would not have attended there. Perhaps he successfully groomed a couple women with difficult pasts to vouche for him but I do not. The counsel I received was poor to say the least and if anything it was more silencing. I am appalled that I wasn’t given the choice to place myself under someone of this nature. The silence of the pastor and elders prevented me from having control over that.

    To JAX, you could be a number of people in that congregation. It is time FBC stops ruling with emotion and turns to God for what is right. Scripture clearly outlines the appropriate actions to be taken. If you choose to ignore that for the sake of a friend then your church follows a man not Christ. Perhaps he’s not holding you in his hand but rather placing his hand over you in correction to bring the leadership and church back under his authority.

  47. I still find it amazing that failed pastors continue to have the need to remain in a leadership role. First, you FAILED in your leadership role. Forgiven?(If repented) Yes! Qualified to lead? NO!
    Serve the church with gladness amongst the others in a non leadership role. Get a job outside of paid ministry.
    Remember, it was YOUR failure that disqualified you. No one else’s!

  48. A lot of marginalizing and minimizing very serious sin here. Don’t just offer to resign. Resign. Scripture is very clear about the role of a leader in a church. One cannot claim he has been called by God to leadership outside of what that says. Go find another profession that doesn’t involve leading women or teens or children and share the gospel there if that’s such a huge passion for you. And while you’re at it, stay in counseling and a solid, biblical men’s recovery group. That’s how you “rebuild your reputation” God’s way.

  49. Somewhereintime: I still find it amazing that failed pastors continue to have the need to remain in a leadership role.

    “Narcissistic personality disorder: a distorted self-image … Emotions can be unstable and intense, and there is excessive concern with vanity, prestige, power, and personal adequacy. There also tends to be a lack of empathy and an exaggerated sense of superiority.”

    https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/9741.php

  50. Jax: But my God is SO MUCH BIGGER than this. He will continue to do Big things!!

    If you know God is ‘so much bigger’ than why do you think this one man is necessary for doing his work?

    That’s hubris.

  51. Jack: You might be safe. You’re probably not an underage girl.

    +1

    What are the odds this church is one of those ‘men are the only ones that matter’ types?

  52. I agree that he has hit the cliches in his email. Poor me. My poor wife. God is doing great things and you are interfering (boy, have I heard that one before). He smears the victim and directs us to look to his supporters to determine who he is, but he sidesteps any real authentic communication about the subject or about himself of his own. I see an attitude of “I served my time” but that is not the same as repentance. He uses statements and tactics that deceptive people often do. He wants us to form our opinion of his guilt based upon the opinion certain others have of him, he appropriatess their legitimacy as his own, but he does not give us anything of himself to go on. The problem with this approach is that every abuser grooms his supporters as well as his victims. Of course, there are people who have never seen that side of him, who have only seen a side of him that has been supportive or friendly or helpful. Every abuser has 2 faces, so personal references are not that helpful in a case of sexual predation.

    I am afraid that we Christians do tend to be gullible and naive about people. We want to see and believe the best about them. We want to extend them the courtesy of assuming they are just like us, they feel just as we do. We can find ourselves reading our own goodwill into the motives of others,of crediting things to them they have not specifically demonstrated. We want to believe in people, we want to lift them up as we’ve been lifted up! But at times we fail to use discernment, we fail to do due diligence, we fail to look on a deeper level, to ask hard questions, and, as a result, we fail victims and we fail the vulnerable.

    These are all hard won understandings, in my case, things that once you’ve seen, you cannot unsee. Ask yourselves, is it unreasonable that this man should be content to be a member of the church rather than the leader? Is it evidence of a humble and contrite heart to refuse to accept this earned limitation? Is it fair to expect his good friends to deny the scripture in order to support him? Does he place his friends in the position of having to dehumanize a victim in order to support him?

  53. Lea: God is ‘so much bigger’

    We had a young New Calvinist pastor open a church plant in our community with a tagline “Making God BIG!” Last time I looked, God was still a big guy and doesn’t need our help keeping Him that way.

  54. Jax,

    Hmm… I realise you’re anxious to contribute, Mr Longaker, but it’s really not the case that Wartburgers are all out to destroy you.

  55. Nick Bulbeck is a wonderful human being who has never, ever done anything bad. But even if he ate a baby, I would totally believe in him and be 100% behind him anyway, because he’s so totes amazing. And besides, God’s so good he can even use baby-eaters.

  56. Nick Bulbeck,

    So, my latest alter-ego has a comment in customs, as you’d expect for a first comment (throughout the blogsphere, not just here at Wartburg). But I think I’ve got it about right.

  57. Patti,

    I have wondered for years why Christians get mad enough if someone steals their lawnmower to call the police but don’t give a tiny d*mn if someone sexually abuses their child.

  58. That email alone proves he is not fit to be a pastor. And if his church really does know the entire story (which I have my doubts about) and still wants him for a pastor, they are not fit to be a church representing Christ to the world, and should be avoided.

  59. Hi Dee, my wife and I practically live in the Blue Ridge Mountains north of Asheville. We’d love to meet you somewhere for even just a few minutes. We don’t have a drastic story to tell as many people here seem to have but we’ve experienced spiritual abuse just the same. If that would be a possibility please shoot a quick email. We live close to the Craggy Gardens.

    Hope you have a great trip. Unfortunately the leaves are not very vibrant this year.

  60. Guest:
    Patti,

    I have wondered for years why Christians get mad enough if someone steals their lawnmower to call the police but don’t give a tiny d*mn if someone sexually abuses their child.

    Secular vs SPIRITUAL —
    Instead of offering their child through the fire to Baal, they offer his/her genitalia to Pastor.

  61. SiteSeer,
    Christians are Easy Marks to anyone who can mouth the Tribal Recognition Markers.

    “You be the Mugu,
    I BE THE MASTA!”

  62. Hi Dee, my wife and I practically live in the Blue Ridge Mountains north of Asheville. We’d love to meet you somewhere for even just a few minutes. We don’t have a drastic story to tell as many people here seem to have but we’ve experienced spiritual abuse just the same. If a quick chat would be a possibility please shoot a quick email. We live close to the Craggy Gardens.

    Hope you have a great trip. Unfortunately the leaves are not very vibrant this year.

  63. Max: We had a young New Calvinist pastor open a church plant in our community with a tagline “Making God BIG!” Last time I looked, God was still a big guy and doesn’t need our help keeping Him that way.

    Where’s yer’ faith?
    If America can be made great again, Gawd sure as hell can be made great again!
    I’m seein’ a whole new movement…
    I’m seein’ ball caps and tee-shirts…

  64. NJ: And if his church really does know the entire story (which I have my doubts about)

    My guess is that the church does know “his” entire story. I doubt anyone from his church has engaged the victim(s?).

  65. It appears that consequences for John Longaker are in process e.g. jail, mass exposure of his crime, nearly a unanimous consent that he is disqualified from the pastor-teaching roles, and a last-gasp effort from congregants attempting to vindicate him. We can only speculate how his sins are affecting his marriage, his role as a father, and his own inner anguish. Perhaps the turmoils he is experiencing are similar to those of pre-repentant David in Psalm 32. (I am referring to David the sinner and am not making reference to his kingly role). God is very thorough and effective in discipline. What appears to be missing is the accomplished purpose of discipline: the peaceable fruit of righteousness. To John Longaker I say: please allow these turmoils to result in said fruit. From personal experience I know that it is hard for “leaders” to admit sin. Hubris is a brutal master. Going forward, a life of humble repentance will mean the forfeiture of many things and the possibility of never regaining trust and respect from those whom you have hurtfully violated – and maybe even more severe, ongoing consequences – but it is the right thing for you to do now.

  66. Jax:
    John is a caring loved pastor. His congregation has accepted Him and continues to accept him. We love and respect him, you’re damaging what God is doing in this church! He is doing great things! But my God is SO MUCH BIGGER than this. He will continue to do Big things!! His grace covers it all. God has this church in the palm of His hand that’s the safest place It can be!

    “Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.
    As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.
    Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.”
    -Proverbs 26:10-12 (NIV)

  67. LeRoy: effort from congregants attempting to vindicate him

    How many times have we seen this?! Savage, Hybels, etc. What is wrong with people?!! Who are they worshiping?!

  68. Muff Potter: Where’s yer’ faith?
    If America can be made great again, Gawd sure as hell can be made great again!
    I’m seein’ a whole new movement…
    I’m seein’ ball caps and tee-shirts…

    The sad truth is, that is exactly what New Calvinism did. Makin’ Merica great again is simply an echo of the Calvinist Resurgence.

    Max: It would be great just to see Him attending church again!

    Are you kidding? God wouldn’t be caught dead in the typical Institutional Church . . . He chooses to dwell where people are gathered in his name.

  69. TS00: Max: It would be great just to see Him attending church again!

    Are you kidding? God wouldn’t be caught dead in the typical Institutional Church . . . He chooses to dwell where people are gathered in his name.

    That’s why it would be great to see Him attending church again! That would mean His people would be gathered in His name once again, not ‘our’ name.

  70. Max,

    We’ve seen it often. Sin has consequences and Hybels and Savage are obviously not immune. I would humbly offer them the same counsel that has been given Longaker. Re: what’s wrong with people? Self awareness is difficult skill to master for all of us – much more difficult for those with a Narcisstic Personality Disorder. NPD has been discussed extensively in connection with Hybels. If NPD is a correct diagnosis, then the answer to your second question is that they are worshipping themselves.

  71. Mary27: “I have spent 20 years rebuilding my life and my reputation.”

    And therein lies the problem… he is forgetting that actions have consequences. You reap what you sow. If you murder someone, you may repent and be forgiven by God, but you still have to serve a life sentence. If you sexually abuse young girls… there will be life long consequences for that as well… both for the abused girls and for the abuser. In this case one of the consequences to his actions is that he isn’t “above reproach” and therefore doesn’t qualify to be a pastor. The pain experienced by his wife is not caused by Kelly or by bloggers, but is a consequence of his own choices. If his church suffers it is not the result of “emails from strangers” but is a result of his past actions. He chose to become a pastor knowing full well that he had damaged his own “reputation”. It’s time to take responsibility for the pain of those around him… without blaming others or rewriting history.

    You nailed it, Mary27.

    The pain, humiliation and suffering of Longaker were caused by . . . Longaker. The pain, humiliation and suffering of Longaker’s wife and victims were caused by . . . Longaker. Any damage to the church he is illegitimately ‘leading’ will have been caused by . . . Longaker.

    I will even grant that, in this day and age, a person could be convincingly set up for almost anything. Digital data can be faked, witnesses can be paid off, and evidence can be conveniently fabricated. If Longaker is truly claiming that he was ‘set up’ and that he is innocent of all crimes, he needs to come out and publicly say so. He probably should not have copped a plea bargain if he expected to convince people that he committed no crime. And he probably ought not to have perved and hit on other young girls after he served his time.

  72. Max,

    Sorry Max. I addressed what I think is wrong with Hybels et al rather than those who attempt to vindicate them. Many apologies for my Inattention to your post. I am as baffled as you are to people’s adoration of the likes of Hybels, Savage, Longaker, etc.

  73. Max: It would be great just to see Him attending church again!

    I’m in agreement Max, and so was the Prophet Isaiah:

    “Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting…”

  74. Brent Thompson,

    It isn’t the issue of “always believing the victim” (although I personally believe that is very important). It is about:

    The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer[a] must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,[b] sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. i Timothy 3:1-7

    If an “overseer” is not above reproach, and is not thought of well by outsiders (I believe those who are outside the church), then he should not be a pastor, elder or deacon. It doesn’t mean that there might not be another place for him in the church, but God holds those who lead to a higher standard. John lost the opportunity to be a pastor when he violated God’s standard for leadership.

    I teach. Certain sins/crimes could cause me to lose my right to teach forever. I have a relative who is a lawyer. Certain actions could cause him to lose the right to practice the law. The same is true for police officers, doctors, and other professions where people are entrusted to others. There is a higher societal standard for certain professions, and God has set the bar even higher. He will forgive all, but the consequences can last a lifetime.

  75. Somewhereintime: I still find it amazing that failed pastors continue to have the need to remain in a leadership role.

    As twisted as it is I can actually understand their need. The part I can’t fathom is the need by others to put them back into a position of power and adulation.

  76. Linn: If an “overseer” is not above reproach, and is not thought of well by outsiders (I believe those who are outside the church), then he should not be a pastor, elder or deacon. It doesn’t mean that there might not be another place for him in the church, but God holds those who lead to a higher standard. John lost the opportunity to be a pastor when he violated God’s standard for leadership.

    For the life of me, I don’t understand why some church folks don’t get this! I realize it is getting tougher to find business and political leaders who don’t have some sort of shame in their background, but for God’s sake we must strive to keep the church as pure as possible.

  77. Muff Potter: I’m in agreement Max, and so was the Prophet Isaiah …

    We’ve got enough preachers and teachers in the American church … we need some prophets pointing fingers and cleaning house.

  78. Dee, I read your article just today. I purposely haven’t read anyone’s comments so that my opinion of the email Pastor *L* sent you won’t be influenced
    Since I am on my phone I will post in chunks because it is easier that way.

    Right off the bat and his first paragraph, the pastor is letting you know you don’t really need to bother with him because his church is “autonomous”. I suppose being autonomous means he can do whatever he pleases? Basically he wants you to keep your hands off of his nice little niche that he has going for him. and since it’s just a small church of 80 or 90 people, it isn’t really worth your while to bother.

  79. Second paragraph:

    I think Pastor longaker’s words actually betray the sentiment he is trying to get across to you. He is acting like your blog article doesn’t really matter because he’s been through this kind of harassment before. He mentions that everyone in his congregation already knows about his past so you aren’t going to change anything by writing your article. I think he’s bluffing and being dishonest. Honestly I think he is shaking in his boots and insecure. A man with his past, who refuses to admit what the courts have prosecuted against him, reveals that he is a liar.

  80. Darlene: the pastor is letting you know you don’t really need to bother with him because his church is “autonomous”

    Ahhh, but there is only one Body of Christ. All God’s children should be concerned about what goes on in the various corners of Christendom and bother the heck out of folks who walk contrary to the expectations placed on us all. If you are called by the name of Christ, you can’t really act independently to cross moral boundaries or have the freedom to do church as you please.

  81. Third paragraph:

    Pastor Longaker is trying to convince you that he’s a good guy because he has been forthcoming about his past to two women that he has been counseling. In addition, he is attempting to convince you that is counseling abilities are successful because he has “helped” these women. So you see, Dee, your blog article isn’t going to have 1 hoot of a difference – because Pastor L will continue right on doing what he’s been doing all along, i.e. – counseling women who have histories of sexual abuse and eating disorders. He’s trying to assure you that if these women feel comfortable enough to confide in him after knowing his past, then nothing you say will affect his life as a pastor. Everything will continue on as it has for the last 20 years so you can move right along now.

  82. ___

    Cheap Trick: “Present Day 501c3 Pulpit Pounding Presents Unique Participatory Challenges, Perhaps?”

    hmmm…

    Longaker apparently is a deceivingly fine example of a sense of eroded 501c3 pulpit morality where scripture qualifications for elders simply no longer apply.

    huh?

    An environmental situation where competence, due diligence, integrity, accountability, availability, and scholastic fortitude, apparently are all eroding geometrically in today’s 501c3 Christian religious institutions…

    What?

    Proverbial dashing of little women against the 501c3 pulpit is now apparently acceptable behavior.

    SKREEEEEEEEEETCH!

    “We want to believe in people, we want to lift them up as we’ve been lifted up! But at times we fail to use discernment, we fail to do due diligence, we fail to look on a deeper level, to ask hard questions, and, as a result, we fail victims and we desperately fail the vulnerable.” -SiteSeer

    Ain’t that a shame?

    Better believe it!

    (sadface)

    Christianity’s CORE VALUES shouldn’t change, No?

    Sòpy

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_7eRo-kFQz8

    ;~)

    – –

  83. Fourth paragraph:

    Pastor Longaker is discrediting and humiliating the victim (Kelly) and vicariously doing it through his wife. What kind of a counselor would discredit someone coming to them as *troubled* – especially a young teenage girl? Has he no compassion? The reason people seek counseling is because they have troubles and need help…duh. That denigrating phrase in quotations (“Maybe troubled by other sexual encounters?) is a low blow and points to the vindictive character of this pastor. Why even insinuate such a thing against a young girl? I would suggest it’s because he wants to smear her reputation and paint her as someone who is disturbed not to be believed.

  84. Fifth paragraph:

    If the church is adversely affected it’s your fault, Dee. Poor Pastor Longaker was put in a position to have to come clean to his congregation about his past because of you. Wait a minute… didn’t they already know about his past and accept him anyway? Conflicting stories there.

  85. Darlene: Wait a minute… didn’t they already know about his past and accept him anyway? Conflicting stories there.

    doublethink, comrades, doublethink.

    “To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself—that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word—doublethink—involved the use of doublethink.”
    — G Orwell

  86. Sixth paragraph:

    Even if I did the horrible things that Kelly said I did…

    Nope, that is not the way an innocent person speaks. An innocent person who has been charged wrongly with a crime they didn’t commit, will emphatically declare their innocence. They will not entertain notions of possibly being guilty of the crime. What he’s really intimating here is that he is guilty of that crime, but he’s been forgiven so lay off and stop harassing him.

  87. Seventh paragraph:

    …I have 20 years of humiliation and frustration pent up

    Pastor Longaker, you are not the victim here. Imagine how your victims, whom you perpetrated your sexual acts upon, feel. They are the real victims here, not you. As long as you keep denying what you have done, you will continue to suffer. It is only by being honest and coming to the light and repenting that you will have true freedom. Pride is an ugly noose around the neck.

  88. Darlene: If the church is adversely affected it’s your fault, Dee.

    The church should be adversely affected. They have terrible judgment if they hired this man, knowing this, and if afterwards they keep him (assuming they didn’t know).

  89. Bridget: My guess is that the church does know “his” entire story. I doubt anyone from his church has engaged the victim(s?).

    That’s what I’m talking about. I suspect they’ve gotten only one side of the story–his. And by this point many of them are emotionally invested in keeping him as their pastor. Especially those who would never have to worry about becoming new targets.

  90. Darlene:
    Sixth paragraph:

    Even if I did the horrible things that Kelly said I did…

    Nope, that is not the way an innocent person speaks. An innocent person who has been charged wrongly with a crime they didn’t commit, will emphatically declare their innocence.They will not entertain notions of possibly being guilty of the crime.What he’s really intimating here is that he is guilty of that crime, but he’s been forgiven so lay off and stop harassing him.

    This is what I thought as well. If I were wrongly charged of something this heinous, of which I was not guilty, I would INSIST on my day in Court to prove my innocence. I would not cop out on a plea deal like he did!

  91. Max: We’ve got enough preachers and teachers in the American church …

    Don’t forget the Head Superapostles.

  92. TS00: The sad truth is, that is exactly what New Calvinism did. Makin’ Merica great again is simply an echo of the Calvinist Resurgence.

    More like two parallel manifestations with similar motivation.

  93. Darlene: Right off the bat and his first paragraph, the pastor is letting you know you don’t really need to bother with him because his church is “autonomous”.

    “Autonomous” when convenient, like Calvary Chapels?
    Disperse to Defend, Concentrate to Attack.

  94. Lea: The church should be adversely affected. They have terrible judgment if they hired this man, knowing this, and if afterwards they keep him (assuming they didn’t know).

    I hope you know I was being sarcastic. 🙂

  95. ___

    Blind Guardian: “Beware Internet Overtures, Perhaps?”

    hmmm…

    Hea Bro,

    Your shenanigans have invariably made 90 kind ‘autonomous’ church folk look ri-dic-u-les.

    Thought you’de take a chance, huh?

    Imagine dat?

    Fat chance, dude.

    These days…Everybody’s surf’in…

    hahahahahaha


    Exit music:
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=67BIf9Gsl5w

    ;~)

    – –

  96. Rob Persons,

    We flew through there and landed in Lake Lure for a couple of days and came home. I’m so sorry I missed you. However, we will be up there again in the near future and preplan with you a visit.

  97. Linn: I teach. Certain sins/crimes could cause me to lose my right to teach forever. I have a relative who is a lawyer. Certain actions could cause him to lose the right to practice the law. The same is true for police officers, doctors, and other professions where people are entrusted to others. There is a higher societal standard for certain professions, and God has set the bar even higher. He will forgive all, but the consequences can last a lifetime.

    It’s utterly mind beggaring how they (generic fundagelicals) still don’t get this, isn’t it?
    How they think they still can make it all go away with ixtianese-bubble-talk.

  98. From the OP:

    My charge to TWW readers: Critique his email to me and critique the above newspaper article. This is a unique opportunity since we have Pastor Lonacre’s thoughts.

    There’s a ton of stuff that might be discussed on the question of who can, and cannot, in principle be a paid clergyman. Or, indeed, who can be welcomed into a church in any given kind of unpaid capacity.

    Point 1 of 2: people with a past

    There seems to be a broadly accepted idea within religion that someone living a destructive lifestyle can find god, be transformed radically by the experience, and then serve god in some conspicuous capacity thereafter. (There are secular equivalents too.) Is there a list of “destructive lifestyles” that fit the bill? I don’t know, but that may be the wrong question. Maybe instead of considering what a person was transformed from, we should ask what (if anything) they have been transformed into. Has their behaviour changed beyond the fact that they now give lectures promoting christian ideologies and traditions?

    Which brings us onto:

    Point 2 of 2: “the Apostle Paul had a past”

    It’s often argued that Saul persecuted the church but was still made a very prominent ruler therein. It’s also often pointed out that he persecuted the church before, not after, his conversion. But either way, this raises legitimate questions. How did the men and women Saul had dragged off and thrown into prison feel about his elevation to the pulpit? And will somebody, please, think about the children?!?!?!? Were any of them left to fend for themselves after Saul had arrested their parents? How did they feel about it?

    I don’t have definitive answers to those questions. That said, I can’t help but notice something about Saul’s conversion experience, as described in the book of Acts. In that story, Jesus talks about showing Saul how much he must suffer as a result of his new-found faith. Was this a direct consequence of Saul’s past? Part of the same process he went through? Just coincidence? Paul’s writings contain hints that it may be somewhere in the middle, but I don’t know for certain.

    Point 3 of 2: what a useless answer

    So, I don’t have any answers at all. But I do think I have some honest questions.

  99. Jax:
    But my God is SO MUCH BIGGER than this.

    What do you mean “my God” Um… Isn’t he everyone else’s God too?

  100. Fisher,

    This does raise a number of questions, doesn’t it?

    Maybe god has a very short attention-span, which is euphemistically described as his “being bigger”. Or maybe he just can’t be arsed with anyone’s problems.

  101. __

    Lackluster: “501c3 Abrogation Of The Christian Pauline Rules Of Pastoral Engagement, Perhaps?”

    hmmm…

    Failing pastoral pretense?

    To repudiate morality while laying claim to it is becoming a dangerously serious self-styled 501c3 pattern of abusive pastoral practice.

    huh?

    Attempting to expand religious 501c3 horizons while at the same time that pastoral actions are invariably inverting, i.e. that are potentially shrinking (scripturally eroding) the plausible credibility of many would-be 501c3 Christian religious institutions.

    What?

    How long are these proverbial 501c3 pernicious ‘pastoral conjurations’ ™ going to last?

    SKREEEEEEEEEETCH!

    What are these self-exempted faux 501c3 pulpit pounders smoking?

    (sadface)

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rmzDww6glq8

    Christian women and children deserve better, ya think?

    ATB

    Sòpy

    Exit music:
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TnwqUEelQjE

    ;~)

    – –

  102. My main critique? He is not “above reproach,” as required in one of the epistles for a pastor. Praise the Lord for forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean the right to lead officially in the church.
    There are other ways he can follow God and love his neighbor.

  103. Nick Bulbeck,

    Nick, you raise good questions. I will not pretend to be the one with ‘THE’ answers.

    I simply wish to add to you thoughtful response the fact that Paul and the other apostles faced a uniquely difficult task: crossing over from the people of The Law into the people of faith. This meant grappling with difficult questions, such as, what to do about the requirements of The Law. Will the incoming Gentiles be required to be circumcised, follow food laws, etc., or have such things truly outlived their usefulness?

    Peter and others stumbled upon such questions, but humbly and honestly admitted it and adjusted their behavior. What we do not see in scripture is a case of a Spirit-led leader abusing a trusting person in their care for personal pleasure or gain. One would find it difficult to make a case that such behavior, even if repented of, would be considered ‘above reproach’.

    Few sincere followers of God would insist that ‘leaders’ be ‘perfect’ and without fault of any sort. And yet, their love and care for others, particularly the young and the weak must be unfailingly selfless and sacrificial. They are called to reflect the love and Spirit of Jesus, who willingly gave his all for those he loved. As has been noted, Paul’s ‘abuse’ of ‘the church’ was prior to, not following his conversion, and was never a pursuit of fleshly desires. Deliberate, self-serving misuse and abuse of the sheep by a trusted leader must always disqualify one as a shepherd, however immature his theology.

  104. Angela,

    I’m so sorry you received unwise counselor from a convicted sex offender. I pray God steered you to safer people from whom to receive wise, godly, healing counsel.

    At least SOME in the church were informed years ago. Whether or not they told the congregation at large…?

    I pray you have made great strides in your healing journey and have found a safe church home elsewhere.

  105. This is exactly why victims don’t come forward. I’ve been shamed for not coming forward: “oh, but what about all the other victims?” Yeah, that you won’t protect anyway.

  106. Nick Bulbeck: Was this a direct consequence of Saul’s past?

    My mentor taught me that Paul’s books were included to show his journey out of being a Pharisee, not as canon, because all of his churches that he established failed.

  107. Beakerj: Typical abuser’s blameshifting.

    Abusers intentionally target those who already victims of other abusers, as they are already broken in and groomed.

  108. RG,

    It is my understanding that the elders knew and a handful of other respected men in the church. They were contacted by email at the time. Nothing was mentioned to the congregation. It is possible that a select few were privy but it was definitely not shared openly. I did receive other counsel through CCEF New England and that was wonderful. Thank you!

  109. hoodaticus,

    I’m so sorry no one stood up for you. Unfortunately, we survivors are often scared to speak out after seeing other victims shamed and not-believed. I’m thankful Kelly is getting so much support from the online world!!! I hope God has brought safe people into your life to help you on your healing journey.

    I also agree with your statement about abusers targeting those previously groomed/abused. A survivor makes for easier prey. (SO sad, but true.) I see that in my own life.

  110. I did not allow one comment. SMH-there are evil people in this world and they think they are being christian.

  111. Given that Steven, one of the victims of Paul, was involved in caring for the widows and orphans, it is highly likely that a new person was appointed to care for the Christians/families being persecuted. Paul was not readily accepted by the Christians. In fact, he went into retreat with mentors for two years before he came into the ministry.

    I can’t say for sure what the Scripture doesn’t say but I bet Paul and his mentors were forced to deal with those who were harmed by Paul. I doubt he would have assumed such prominence in the church unless such issues were confronted.

  112. One person continues to write a despicable comment that will not be approved. Think of it this way-whatever I bind here on TWW, will be bound in perpetuity.

  113. J.:
    Is Longacre still at the Church?Wasn’t there a vote on Sunday?

    I have yet to get info on that but with the level of comments I’m receiving here on TWW from alleged members, my guess nothing much will happen.

  114. dee,

    Dee,
    Regarding everyone should have known… Absolutely! It should have been made public before he was ever in a teaching position much less a pastoral position!

  115. Pingback: Convicted sexual predator pastor at Fellowship Bible Church: I’ve been forgiven – JimmyHinton.org

  116. LGT
    Your comments have not been approved due to a violation of several rules of this blog. You are not allowed to discuss our commenting policy. You are one of the few people in the history of this blog who has not has a comment allowed. You also attacked Kelly. Our Prime Directive does not allow you to attack a victim .

    Then you attempt to discredit Kelly by discussing a close family member of her biological family who committed a crime. The crime that we are talking about here is Longaker’s crime. I deal with church/parachurch crimes.

    You also attempted to downplay Longaker’s crimes by claiming his sentencing was unfair.

    You attempt to hurt Kelly for her willingness to come forward regarding her DID. Do you have any idea what a difficult diagnosis that is? Of course not. You don’t give a flip.

    I gave Longaker the chance to respond in writing. He did(or you did.) You might even be Longaker, who knows?
    Whoever you are, you come across as a predator.

    If you don’t like the commenting policies, go get yourself your own blog and do whatever it is you are trying to do.

    Good night! You need help.

  117. Jax,

    And what if it were your child that he did this to? What if it were one of your nieces or nephews, would you still defend his “good” name? Though I believe in redemption and forgiveness AND God’s moving hand, I do NOT believe in trying to pretend that what was done was RIGHT and OK in God’s eyes – forgiveness does not EXCUSE the offense … EVER. God can still move with Mr. Longaker OFF of the pulpit! So, YES, MY GOD is BIGGER than even HIM! And maybe this is what God sees fit to happen – making people AWARE that there is someone out there that can hurt CHILDREN! Regardless of Kelly’s “past” she did not ASK to be abused – she was brainwashed into believing that SHE WAS LOVED and SAFE and SECURE – JUST LIKE YOU. Those in high positions are judged harshly … and we all know what the bible says about hurting children. I hope and pray the congregation is safe and if Kelly saved ONE MORE child from being hurt from all of this – I COMMEND her!!!