The Behavior of Tom Randall: Two Victims and One Observer Come Forward and Raise Red Flags #metoo #churchtoo

 


Red flag waving

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”  – C. S. Lewis

___________

It’s time for the church and Christian community to realize that sexual abuse is a real problem even within our own congregations and friends. I still remember a former church which blew off the behavior of a volunteer as *locker room humor.* Not only were they wrong, but that pedophile is now in prison for molesting a group of young teen boys in that church. It wasn’t “locker room behavior.”

The same thing happened with those who observed the behavior of Jerry Sandusky, the famous Penn State assistant coach. How could a famous coach who started a charity for underprivileged kids ever do such a thing? He served kids. He couldn’t have molested them, could he? There are still people today who refuse to believe that he was a pedophile.

Many people do not understand (or do not want to understand) the red flags surrounding the behavior of people they love and respect. This is due to cognitive dissonance of which we have all been guilty at one time or another. We all like to see ourselves as smarter than the average bear. We believe that we can smell a rat or that we are excellent judges of character. So, when someone we care about is accused of bad behavior, we have a knee jerk reaction. “He couldn’t have done that. I would have known.” Deep down inside it’s hard for each of us to admit that we *fell for it.* It’s easier to deny it.

All of us have seen the arrest of serial killers on TV. The reporter asks the neighbors about their now infamous neighbor. I know you’ve seen their reactions of utter disbelief.

  • “I can’t believe it. He always shoveled my walkway during storms.”
  • “He held the neighborhood pot lucks.”
  • “We watched the Super Bowl together.”
  • “I knew him,. There must be a mistake.”

Yet, those of us who have read the Scriptures and understand the Gospel should not be startled when we find out that there is darkness in all of our souls. In my church, we remember our sinful nature and our need for repentance during this season of Lent. So why are we surprised by sin?

Things you should know about those who abuse children.

  • The reason they succeed is they are charismatic and clever. Everyone wants to be their friend.
  • Background checks are insufficient because they only expose those who have been convicted. Most pedophile/molesters, etc. are never convicted.
  • It is not the fault of any organization which deals with children when a molester shows up.Where there are kids, there will be molesters. It is only the fault of churches and para church organizations when they do not carefully report their suspicions to law enforcement and refuse to allow for a  third party, independent investigation.
  • Everyone who is reading this most likely has a pedophile in their midst. We just don’t know it. I include myself in this statement. This is important to understand. I have been doing this for 10 years and I can still be fooled. The only difference is I know that I can be fooled so I am more likely to quickly suspend my disbelief when something happens.

What is grooming?

Grooming is how a potential abuser discovers who would be a perfect victim. This means a victim who will keep secrets. Abusers have tactics to con a victim into keeping their secrets. Sadly, the priest abusers in the Catholic Church would use their role as *God’s representative* to convince kids that what they were doing was something God wanted them to do.

I have been recommending the recently released two part documentary, Leaving Neverland, which deals with Michael Jackson and the accusations of child sex abuse. Warning: the descriptions are quite graphic. However, it clearly describes Jackson’s grooming behavior. He would pick out children as young as 5 and befriend them and their families, showering them with houses, trips, appearances on stage with him, etc. The actual molestation did not begin until the children reached the age of around 8. Jackson groomed these kids and their families for 3 years before he did anything. After three years of incredible adventures, the abuse would commence. It would last for a few years until the child aged out and that child would be abruptly dropped. Jackson would go onto the next victim who was in his assembly line of groomed victims.

What do I mean by red flags?

A red flag does not necessarily mean that the person who is being discussed is an abuser or a molester. It means that their behavior is worrisome. A red flag is a warning of potential danger.

Who is Tom Randall?

Tom Randall was a basketball player. He didn’t make it in the professional leagues in the United States but was able to play pro ball in the Philippines. He eventually started Sankey Samaritan Children’s Home. He returned to the States, leaving Sankey in the hands of Toto and would visit off and on. He eventually became the Chaplain for the PGA. In 2013, as concerns regarding Sankey became heated, he left that position and became a pastor at CCC. He appears to be highly revered and well connected in many Christian circles.

1. The red flags surrounding the behavior of Tom Randall towards Priscilla (Mauk) Leighton.

I spoke with Priscilla for 1 1/2 hours. She is now married and living the Phillipines with her husband and children. Priscilla is the daughter of Joe Mauk. Priscilla helped me to understand the missionary culture. For example, most missionaries did not participate in cock fights or the gambling that surrounded these bloody fights but Tom did. She explained that Tom created his own culture and people would often say “That’s just Tom.”

Please focus on the following as you read Priscilla’s statement.

  • Tom insisted on giving everyone massages and claimed to be able to do *medical* massages. Priscilla’s massages involved the rubbing her breasts. She told me that he insisted that she take off her bra when he massaged her after an accident and that she endured several of these massages.
  • He once pulled open her shirt to see what kind of bra she was wearing.
  • He told Priscilla that he only carried her picture in his wallet until he *had to put one in of his wife, Karen.*
  • He rented a hotel room for Priscilla and friend for prom night and spent the night with them in the hotel room without his wife.
  • Tom frequently bought gifts and gave money to Priscilla and others. When she was in the 4th grade, Tom bought her a horse. Priscilla mentioned that missionaries have extremely low incomes and the parents couldn’t afford to buy them some of these extravagant gifts so these were special.

A few things Priscilla mentioned to me when we spoke.

He would take her shopping for clothes (without his wife) and insisted that she try them on for him.

  1. His name for a number of girls- Princess- and Priscilla was his “Favorite Princess.”
  2. Karen, Tom’s wife would count to three out loud if Tom was looking at a woman. When she hit 3, he had to stop. She would do this loudly in front of other people. Tom said the first look was appreciating God’s creation while the second look was lust. She would cut out the pictures of the women in swimsuits in his Sports Illustrated and this was talked about in front of others.
  3. Communication and money dropped off when she went to college.
  4. Tom was much less interested in her and her four sisters once they were in college.(I guess they aged out.)

I first remember Tom Randall from when I was about 10 years old (1991). He was a missionary who became a close friend of my father, Joe Mauk. As my parents’ close friend, Tom and Karen showed great interest in me and my sisters. But not all of us and not consistently. He showed us the greatest interest when we were teenagers. So, over all, we are talking about 20+ years of friendship between the Mauks and Randalls.

Being overseas missionaries in the Philippines, we did not have relatives nearby. However, unlike other many other missionary families, we never called people “Aunt” and “Uncle” who were not a sibling of my parents. I clearly remember the day that my parents met with us and we unanimously decided to call Mr and Mrs Randall, Uncle Tom and Aunt Karen. My family has no one else that close who bears that honour. Though everyone calls Uncle Tom, “Uncle Tom”, for our family, it was an honour only given to him.

My family’s ministries was two hours away from the missionary school that my sisters and I attended. It was a long ride over mountain roads. To help with the commute, we spent every Tuesday night with Uncle Tom and Aunt Karen. Aunt Karen was loving and practical, and so much like my mom. She was my mom’s best friend.

Tom and Karen were ministries partners with my Dad. They donated money to finish building “The Villa” as Caliriya. Half of the top floor was my families house, and the other half was Tom and Karen’s. The plan was that they would eventually spend more and more time out there. Uncle Tom wasn’t doing well with pollution and needed clean air.

Around this time, Uncle Tom started Sankey Samaritan Children’s Home. I remember by name and face the first kids to join. My mom and I would make regular trips to the home.. And Uncle Tom was always having groups of westerners over to help with the orphanage. Interestingly, I clearly recall that Tom’s reason for starting the orphanage was so that he would have a place to bring short term missionaries. Tom always did short term projects and there was some concern about him diving in to something long term. I also remember how odd it was when we were no longer welcomed at the orphanage and eventually, stopped going entirely. But this isn’t about the orphanage. It’s about Tom and me.

We spent Christmases together and Uncle Tom was always good for an adventure and great story. My parents had even told us that if they were do die, we would go to Tom and Karen. They were our Guardians. He would joke about my older sister, who’s a nurse, taking care of him in retirement. He just loved to buy me things. I think it’s safe to say he bought me whatever I wanted. When I was 12 and still getting to know him, he bought me a horse. I still remember the day that Dutches came to me in the back of a truck. But, Tom most especially loved to take me shopping. In 7th grade, the sister closest to me left the Philippines for college. Tom would make a fuss about her being beautiful and loved to buy her clothes too. As I grew older, his attention towards me intensified. He had a picture of me that he carried around in his wallet. I remember thinking that was kind of odd. Then he added a picture of Aunt Karen to the other side of his wallet. Friends from school would tell me they met uncle Tom and he showed them my picture in his wallet and really liked me. He called me “his princess” and was always complimenting my appearance. Since Uncle Tom didn’t have kids of his own, it seemed wonderful that he would treat me like a “daughter”. Though really, our relationship was not father-daughter at all.

In high school Uncle Tom and Aunt Karen moved back to America, but still frequently visited the Philippines. He took me shopping for school clothes and I always had to try on the clothes for him to see.

When they were still living in the Philippines, I remember a girl my age (teenager) came to stay with him and Karen. She was from Australia and had a beautiful singing voice. She was also his princess and she and I hit it off.I think I felt connected to her because he called her “Princess,” too.

Once Christmas, my sister gave me a push-up bra. Tom thought that was interesting and made a few jokes about it. Later that week we were walking along and he pulled open my shirt and looked down. I pulled away and said “Hey…. what are you doing?” He said that he was just checking what kind of bra I was wearing. I thought that was weird, but since he was such an amazing man, I thought it was okay.

My parents were very strict with me and boys. I was never aloud to be alone with a boy and boys were never allowed in my room.

When I was a freshman in High School, just my little sister and I were making the two hour commute to school with our driver. One morning, our driver tried passing on a hairpin turn and hit a jeepney full on. My knee crashed into my sternum and I felt like I was going to die. Our driver flagged down a jeepney and laid me on the floor. He took us to a “hospital” and called my parents. Uncle Tom happened to be visiting and immediately came to the rescue. Because we were Americans, some of the hospital people tried to keep us in and started claiming additional charges. Uncle Tom paid everyone off and got us out fast.

He was so worried about us. I was in alot of pain from the crash. My sternum hurt. Uncle Tom was very into massages. Because he was sporty, it seemed logical they he knew about injuries and massages. He insisted on giving a series “medical massages,” as he called them. I did not like this idea at all. It made me very uncomfortable, but, it seemed like what was necessary for healing. He was allowed in my room and would close the door all but an inch. My bed was behind the door. Before coming in he would tell me to take off my bra and prepare myself. I laid face-up while he massaged my stomach and chest under my t-shirt. I felt terribly uncomfortable but thought it was normal. I had never had a massage before so this must be what they are like, and people just love massages. He massaged around and around my breasts, touching everything but my nipple- therefore I thought nothing was wrong.

I never really thought about that again until 5 years ago when things came out about the orphanage. I was talking with my sisters wondering how Uncle Tom could allow something like that to happen. Then I reflected that as in adult now 32 years old, I have had dozens of massages, and not once did a massage person touch me like Tom did. So, I told my sisters for the first time. Then I told my Dad. He later told me that what made it even worse was Tom had asked his permission to give me a ‘medical massage’ and he had said yes. He had no idea that Tom told me to take off my bra etc etc.

Anyway, Uncle Tom continued to be a very special person. He gave me money for my prom dress and jewelry. Another time my best friend and I were going to a school party and getting all dressed up. He rented a hotel room for us to spend the night in with him after the party. And we did. My friend and I drank way too much iced tea at the party. We were up giggling in bed and needing to pee a million times. We wondered if he was awake in bed too and were very aware of his presence. It was uncomfortable but we got to stay in a really nice hotel room and only got to do that because of him.

I soon went off to college. That’s when our relationship ended. After all the attention, affirmation, and money, Uncle Tom was not interested in me anymore. I just didn’t understand it. I clearly remember my 3rd year of college. He was playing golf in Ventura. My boyfriend at the time, went to watch him play golf. We actually got engaged the following weekend. I was so excited to see Tom and could wait for him to hang out with my boyfriend and thought he would be so happy for us. However, he didn’t seem that happy to see us. In fact, it oddly felt like a break up. He told me that he had lots of princesses. Being the chaplain, he was giving a talk that night on the validity of scripture. He said he would introduce me to the group and I needed to introduce myself as Uncle Tom’s favorite princess. He said everyone would think that was funny because he had so many. I felt sick and couldn’t explain why.

After getting engaged, our parents and us agreed to have Uncle Tom officiate our wedding. He was our closest family friend. Then I never really saw him again. My husband and I bought a house in Chino California and soon had two kids. Tom was often preaching at a church 20 minutes from my house. I couldn’t fathom why he wouldn’t tell me he was there and never wanted to see me or my kids. Certainly a close family friend, my Dad’s best friend, would let me know when he was 20 minutes away. One time my Dad told me what services he was speaking at and said I could try to catch him. I didn’t want to. He had clearly cut me off. I decided that he was my Dad’s best friend and under no obligation to be nice to me.

In June of 2013, my little sister got married. Of course, Uncle Tom was asked to officiate her wedding. It was just months later that the whole thing with Sankey broke out. Understanding how close he was to our family should paint a picture of how serious it was.

What I know now is that that was not okay. I also know that research shows that men who blur lines and take certain liberties with underage girls generally repeat the behavior. There is rarely just one girl. And, Tom made it very clear to me that I was not his only princess. For this reason, and this reason only, I share my story. I hope that if there is anyone else out there with a similar experience, we can share our stories together and know that we are not alone in the confusion and hurt. I hesitate to share my story because Tom is “such a great guy” and no one would ever believe me. But, maybe one of us just has to go first. And maybe I’m that one of us.


2. Miriam (Mauk) Bongolan’s Story

Miriam’s story is not as explicit as Priscilla’s story. I believe that this is due to the fact that Miriam describes herself as not being too touchy feely. She had been like that since she was a child. Remember what I said about grooming behavior earlier in this post. The grooming process is used by molesters to scope out who would be a good victim. What is a good victim? One who is willing to keep secrets and who hasn’t developed sufficient boundaries. Once again, most children do not have a well developed sense of boundaries nor fully understand what constitutes abnormal behavior, particularly on the part of those who they trust.

Miriam and I spoke at length. She is the sister of Priscilla and the daughter of Joe Mauk.


Miriam said that Priscilla was always the particular favorite of Tom Randall. However, Tom also gave her money to go shopping. One day, he took her shopping when she was in 4th or 5th grade. He told her to buy something special. Miriam picked out a $100 Barbie horse. This was an enormous amount of money in her mind. Tom said he would get it for her but she would have to give him lots of hugs and kisses. She thought he was joking but he wasn’t. During that day, he would demand another hug or kiss at random. Miriam was quite uncomfortable with these requests and would try to pull back from the hug or give a quick peck on the cheek,

She was in the same accident as her sister and her leg was injured. Tom sat with her on the couch and started massaging her leg, all the way up to her thigh, claiming it was a *medical* massage. She was quite uncomfortable and felt awkward until he stopped. One other time she was sitting on the floor and he moved up behind her and bent over to massage her head. Again she was uncomfortable. Apparently his wife Karen would also massage her neck which also made her feel uncomfortable.

Over time, the massages ceased. However, Miriam said that Tom was constantly giving massages to other people as well as handing out money. She said that she thought Tom also brought people to massage parlors which was a common thing in the area.

One thing that she didn’t understand was that, when Karen and Tom returned to the States, they brought a young woman back with them who became Tom’s personal assistant. She believes that this was Toto’s daughter. Apparently, Karen Randall did not like to travel with her husband because she would be alone at hotels. So, this young woman would travel with him instead. (The Randalls did not have any children.)


3. Pete from Lucena comments on Tom Randall’s alleged inappropriate behavior.

I believe that our readers will find this section rather interesting. In January 2014, a blog called Deep Thoughts posted a story about the arrest of Tom Randall. However, it was the comment section that is important. They were able to track down Pete and ask him to clarify his comments. Pete, who served in the US Navy, is currently in touch with folks who are concerned about this situation.

Understand that Pete’s comment was precipitated by a blog post dealing with Tom Randall’s arrest. Pete allegedly noticed what he deemed to be Tom’s inappropriate behavior with some girls from the home when they were in a resort pool. Carefully note the time stamp on Pete’s comments. They were written @ 4 1/2 years ago.

Then, a commenter named Megan, responded to Pete’s comments a few weeks later, complaining about Randall’s inappropriate behavior. Approximately 2 years later, a commenter by the name of Dan, added a comment about Tom Randall’s *laughable* behavior on the PGA Tour. We have been unable to contact either of these individuals to clarify their comments.

Pete was contacted by a person who has been concerned with the Sankey/Randall situation. The following is his email to her dated 3/25/2019.

To clarify, I met Tom Randall at a resort (Kamayan Sa Palaisdaan Hotel) in Quezon province about five years ago. The meeting stuck with me because I had heard about his sexual abuse case from a friend. Apparently Tom had come back to the Philippines and I happened to meet him that day at the resort.

I saw him and he stood out because he was a foreigner like me so I approached him and introduced myself. He introduced himself as Pastor Tom Randall of Sankey Orphanage and I immediately knew who he was. He also made a point of telling me about his basketball background and said he had played professional ball in the Philippines. He was quite gregarious in the introduction.

Later I saw him in the swimming pool with the young girls, maybe around 15 to 18 years old. He was embracing one of them, she was straddling him in an extremely provocative position and I immediately felt uncomfortable. It’s not normal for a mature man to embrace and hold a young girl in such a manner, it looked and felt bad and as a Pastor he should have had the sense that what he was doing was inappropriate.

It was too close, to intimate and definitely inappropriate by any standard.
It’s been five years or so now, but I still remember that incident.
Let me know if you need anything else okay?
Pete

Closing thoughts

I’ve been writing this blog for 10 years and have had many opportunities to interview victims of sexual abuse or molestation. I totally believe the testimonies of Priscilla and Miriam and commend their bravery in coming forward. I am honored that they would be willing to share these difficult stories with me as well as with the readers of TWW.

There are many red flags when it comes to the alleged behavior of Tom Randall and these should be carefully weighed by the members and leaders in his church.

  • Massaging the breasts of a teen girl after telling her to take off her bra
  • Claiming that such massages are *medical massages.* (Why does this remind me of the Larry Nasser story?)
  • Frequent gifts of money
  • Taking girls shopping and asking them to try on their clothes for him (without his wife being present)
  • Insisting that a girl give him hugs and kisses after he purchased an expensive gift for her.
  • Sharing a nice hotel room with two teen girls without his wife being present.
  • Having pet names for the girls
  • Concerning behavior with girls in a resort swimming pool which caught the eye of an outside observer

At this point, I believe that there must be an independent, third party, investigation. I am also planning on submitting this post to Suzanne Lewis-Johnson and will request a statement from Tom Randall which will be posted if a response is received.

I also want to commend the team of people who have doggedly pursued the truth in this matter for years. The FBI couldn’t have a more savvy group of investigators. (Finding Pete was impressive.)

Also, TWW has a Prime Directive. I will not allow, in the moment section, any insults or disparagement of the victims in this post. All such comments will not be approved or, if they slip by, they will be deleted and the commenter chastised. It’s time for the church to learn how to support and care for victims who courageously come forward to tell their stories.

Thank you Priscilla and Miriam. Special thanks to Pete for communicating his concerns so effectively.

#metoo #churchtoo #ibelievethesankeyvictims

 

Comments

The Behavior of Tom Randall: Two Victims and One Observer Come Forward and Raise Red Flags #metoo #churchtoo — 140 Comments

  1. “Things you should know about those who abuse children.”

    I’d only have added to that section:
    “A lot of them are married men.”

    (There’s this stubborn myth that all to most child molesters are single guys or celibates.)

    Another thing I wanted to mention, since the OP mentioned the recent documentary about Michael Jackson:
    The the more extreme portions of Michael Jackson’s fandom are in extreme, extreme denial over the accusations against him,
    and they have no idea, nor do they care to learn, how the grooming process of children by predators works or what it looks like.

  2. Maybe the fact that the Mauk ladies came forward with their stories will give others the courage to speak out.

  3. Thank you for your courage in writing this, and to all involved in trying to find out the truth. I am praying for the women who had the courage to tell their stories here. Thank you to “Pete” for coming forward and sharing his observations as well. #metoo #churchtoo

  4. Daisy,

    YES. Why do these “stubborn myths” persist? And tragically, we see it over and over with famous/beloved figures–the “extreme denial” you mentioned at play. But that doesn’t even begin to get into the many layered, darker reasons besides misplaced adoration and hero worship. Many perpetrators are considered “too big to fail” so to speak. Too many people would lose too much face, there is too much money to be made, power and prestige to be lost…etc. etc. etc.

  5. Everyone who is reading this most likely has a pedophile in their midst. We just don’t know it. I include myself in this statement. This is important to understand. I have been doing this for 10 years and I can still be fooled. The only difference is I know that I can be fooled so I am more likely to quickly suspend my disbelief when something happens.

    Dee, I believe you put your finger on the crux of the problem right here. Many people are unable to suspend disbelief. Many people lack perception as to what indicates a problem and many lack confidence in their own perceptions even if they do see these things. Many, if not most, people, when something feels ‘off’ to them, will look at the others around them to see if they are uncomfortable. They look for some kind of validation from others before they take their own perceptions seriously. If everyone else says, “he’s a great guy!” they will tell themselves they must be imagining things and put it out of their mind.

    Predators are the ultimate realists about human nature and they take advantage of these things. They like to surround themselves with people who lack confidence and perceptiveness. They become adept at manipulating people from life-long practice. They know how to quiet peoples’ fears and how to buy people off. They know when to hide what they’re up to and when it’s safe to let down their guard. They know how to flatter and how to imply what they want you to believe about them.

    Ultimately, they may spend more time grooming their supporters than their victims. Their victims come and go but their supporters remain around.

    It’s pretty obvious from these recollections that something is highly suspect about Tom Randall. Human nature will want to minimize it, to find rationalizations, to explain it away. But the fact remains, he was doing things no adult should ever be doing with a child. And these sisters were from a close family and had loving, supportive parents. What about children who were hungry for love, who had no example of what is normal behavior, who had no one to turn to, no one looking out for them, no one who would believe them? What was his behavior like with those children?

    The question is, do Karen and Coffey share in Tom’s perversions? Or is it time for them to face the discomfort of realizing he is not the man they have been committed to believing he is, to let all the pieces start falling into place and making sense? It could be painful but there is really no other choice. Many others have traveled this road before them and there is support out there. An honest life is a good life.

  6. I wish to thank Priscilla and Miriam for their candor and honesty. This was not an easy thing to do. They are being vulnerable when sharing such stories. I wish them well. Thank you to those who are persistent and doing quality investigative work.

  7. SiteSeer: Ultimately, they may spend more time grooming their supporters than their victims. Their victims come and go but their supporters remain around

    Saw this happening over and over again but couldn’t see it.

  8. He was exerting implied authority when he introduced himself as “Pastor” Tom Randall, instead of just Tom Randall. More input later.

  9. Tom Randall has been a regular guest speaker at the church I attend. I will say he is entertaining – good stories and sense of humor, comes across well, always a popular guest. Never very deep though. Also self-aggrandizing, made it sound like he was just about the most liked person in all of the Philippines. The church even sent people on missions with him.

    I remember when this came up, church offered prayer. Then on his next visit he told his side of the story. Of course it was all wrong, but God’s plan – witnessing to the jailers….I remember thinking even though it was his side of the story, it sounded too far-fetched like his other stories.

    Just my impression, but now reading this, yes I can see it – he is somewhat of a smooth talker but with a down home aw shucks type, but like I said, I didn’t ever see much depth, but entertaining

  10. In my organization overseas every member is trained to spot and report immediately child grooming and predatory behavior. This man Toms alleged actions are 100% consistent with all the signs. For that reason I believe Priscilla and Miriams report.

  11. Titus 1:15-16 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

  12. To No Evangeiical. How about Toto Jake Tom and the rest of the wolves who prey on innocent teenagers. Don’t listen to what they say. Just watch what they do

  13. Hi Dee, I love your work. It’s nice to you bringing this to light. It’s also worth mentioning that he was a chaplain at CVCA (Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) while I was a student. I’m not sure if he abused anyone there, but it is worth mentioning so that victims could come forward. (Not that the school would actually welcome this)

  14. It always seems a bit off when ‘celebrity’ and missions collide. It should also give pause when grown men interact or visit foreign orphanages, or travel to resorts and hotels with children or women who are not their wives. It appears that many of the children in foreign orphanages are not orphans, but were offered ‘schooling’ and a chance for a future; money was given to their poor families. That is pretty much the standard story line for children who are trafficked.

    Where are the official records of Randall’s now apparently defunct ministry, World Harvest Ministries? (I hate to say the name itself is a red flag.) How much money was raised, and how was it used? Who arranged and went on short term missions trips, and what did they involve? Legitimate missions meet legitimate needs – they provide wells, build schools, etc. It would certainly be interesting to see the records detailing the flow of people, projects and money from Randall’s organization.

    It is not without reason that these ‘orphanages’ and ‘missions’ are viewed with suspicion by local authorities. While it is difficult to grasp, and very tragic, the poverty and lack of opportunity in these countries appear to drive many children and girls into the arms of sex traffickers in exchange for food, shelter, gifts and the promise of a better life. Randall’s Sankey Samaritan Mission was shut down by the local government, being judged not a legitimate school but a front for sex trafficking. I read Randall had four ‘missions’ in the Philippines – are the others still in existence, and has anyone looked into their legitimacy?

    We who are far from such things need to be more aware of what is actually happening in these settings. Our own government acknowledges human trafficking as a global problem. No one can just set up shop and sell children – it nearly always hides under cover of seemingly legitimate missions or foreign aid. The sad fact is that there are legitimate missions, and there are false front missions; we need to be very careful who we support and who we trust.

    Official reports state that many, if not all, of the children and young adults (some were over 18) from Randall’s Sankey Samaritan Mission alleged that they had been repeatedly sexually abused. Unlike the story told by Randall and Coffey, this was not simply a couple of girls saying they were kissed; boys and girls alleged they were sexually molested and were in fear of harm to themselves or their family for speaking up.

    This is information gleaned from newspaper reports and official depositions. Imagine what a full scale investigation might reveal.

  15. SiteSeer: Ultimately, they may spend more time grooming their supporters than their victims. Their victims come and go but their supporters remain around.

    You entire comment ins excellent, including this portion.

  16. JMauk: Saw this happening over and over again but couldn’t see it.

    I believe the Me Too movement has been so helpful to all of us. My mother is 90 years old. She had hard time understanding why I wanted to write about abuse. She said “Back in my day, we didn’t talk about it.” I told her that it was that attitude that permeated our culture, making victims feel that they were the ones who were dirty or to blame.

    I’m sorry for what happened to your daughters. They are both strong and articulate women. I know you are proud of them (and all of your kids.)

  17. I am grieved to say I identify and belong to the Northeast Ohio Christian community. My heart’s cry and prayer is those with positions of influence would willfully yield the fleetings of this Earth to stand up for what is just, right and holy before God. I, personally, for the past almost five years have pleaded for intervention by local pastor’s, ministries that receive funding from CCC, mental health professionals, a pastoral consortium group, basically anyone associated with or had past involvement with CCC/Tom Randall/Joe Coffey. I’ve also contacted local Christian radio, ministries who’ve had events at CCC, local Christian schools and their alumni who have deep involvement with CCC, ad nauseum… The responsive mantra has been autonomy of leadership, conflicts of interest, Joe Coffey is a megachurch leader and Tom is former PGA chaplain – no way they’d cover this up, my personal trauma shouting, nothing they can do, God will have to intervene- not my place, etc.,etc. I have been overwhelmed with the consistent lack of seeming care in this community for the obvious need for a third-party investigation. May those who call themselves Christ followers in Hudson, Ohio, arise in a mature, healthy manner allowing a voice to those who cry out. So so SORRY to those whose lives have been shipwrecked by the lack of procedure, policy, unity of care, simple insensitivity or naivety by the Northeast Ohio Christian community.
    Let’s allow ourselves to represent Christ well through repentance from our lack of care and concern for the abuses stemming from Sankey Children’s home.

  18. BRAVE: Don’t listen to what they say. Just watch what they do

    Amen.
    I’m a resident heretic here at TWW who believes in “Works-Based-Righteousness”.

  19. dee,

    “I believe the Me Too movement has been so helpful to all of us.”

    I agree! And your work as part of the #churchtoo movement is very helpful.

    There’s many in my past/current church associations that do not welcome the me too movement and associated perspectives.

    I love the mother daughter scene in the recent movie about Ruth Bader Ginsberg, where they are walking and receiving cat calls from near by male workers and Ruth’s daughter yells out angrily, “Hey, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” And young Ruth realizes the culture is changing whether people like it or not.

    And thank you, Priscilla and Miriam, for your courage and sharing your stories in trying to help others who may be suffering in silence, especially in light of the perpetrators still being in positions of influence with access to children.

  20. Dee, you said “It is only the fault of churches and para church organizations when they do not carefully report their suspicions to law enforcement and refuse to allow for a third party, independent investigation.”

    In fact, a church or para church organization should have in place a lot of preventative measures. More than one person in any place where the children are. Glass everywhere possible so people can see what is going on. Training of staff and volunteers to recognize grooming behavior. Etc., Etc.

  21. SiteSeer,

    “Ultimately, they may spend more time grooming their supporters than their victims. Their victims come and go but their supporters remain around.”

    I agree with Dee in noting this specifically. It’s hard to make sense of, but the perpetrators are that skilled and clever at what they do. Thankfully the game, and their support, is not sustainable forever, especially when courageous truth tellers are near by.

  22. Can anyone point me to some resources about unpacking the grooming process… including the typical strategies used by potential abusers, etc.? I’ve started a new counseling practice and think this info might be helpful to share with clients who have or may have sexual abuse in their backgrounds. It would also help me be better equipped when talking with church leaders about this threat. Thanks!

  23. A Texas Attorney: In fact, a church or para church organization should have in place a lot of preventative measures. More than one person in any place where the children are. Glass everywhere possible so people can see what is going on. Training of staff and volunteers to recognize grooming behavior. Etc., Etc.

    Yeah, but will they take the ball and run with it?
    Or will they still make excuses for their fumbles behind a scrimmage line of ixtian doctrines and their traditions of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’?

    If they don’t, and refuse to see that the times they are a-changin’, truly, a hard rain’s gonna’ fall (with apologies to Dylan).

  24. Ella,

    My situation wasn’texactly the same as this situation here, my stepfather being very violent besides being a pedophile, he was able to manipulate my Mom’s own family. It wasn’t till my Mom left him did more of the truth come out. They didn’t realize how bad at was. He went through court appointed alcohol rehab three times, to hit the bottle right after he came out. Besides fear, he told my Mom he was molested as a child, getting her sympathy. My Aunt worked at the same place where my stepfather worked, before he married my Mom. My Aunt saw nothing wrong in him. After my Mom left him, he found another family to terrorize, and possibly molested the 16 year old daughter. Warning to the congregations, when they have claimed to repent, don’t take it at face value.

  25. Lizz,

    I had forgot about that – I remember people I knew posted things on Facebook like

    “Tom Randall, is currently being held in a cell by the NBI in Bulacan Province on false charges.”

    ” a very good friend named Tom Randall was falsely accused and jailed in the Philippines and the story is getting crazier by the day.”

    “He is being held in prison in the Philippines on false accusations. I would trust this man with my own children”

    Not going to pretend I know the truth, but what struck me was people were coming to his defense and had no way to know if allegations were true or not. Maybe one of those quotes was from someone who actually knew Tom, but again he would be a guest speaker once, maybe twice a year, so how much they really knew him.

    Clearly the benefit of the doubt was given, which I thought at the time that type of blind support was a big mistake – when the only “proof” that charges were untrue was his word – through his pastor.

  26. Ella: SiteSeer,
    “Ultimately, they may spend more time grooming their supporters than their victims. Their victims come and go but their supporters remain around.”

    I agree with Dee in noting this specifically. It’s hard to make sense of, but the perpetrators are that skilled and clever at what they do.

    Because grooming and manipulating is where the perps Live and Move and Have Their Being 24/7/365 while the rest of us have jobs and lives.

    Like any Obsessive or Fanatic or True Believer, they can spend 24/7/365 in constant unsmiling all-out pursuit of their Cause and prey; we can’t hope to match such single-minded dedication.

  27. Does a man doing a *medical* massage involving the breast of a teen girl sound innocent to you?

    To me, sounds like a cover to cop a feel.

    From Victorian doctors to old Doc Nassar.

    P.S. Anyone remember the term “massage parlor”?

  28. Muff Potter: Yeah, but will they take the ball and run with it?

    Or will they still make excuses for their fumbles behind a scrimmage line of ixtian doctrines and their traditions of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’?

    Don’t forget the walls of SCRIPTURE(TM) proof texts.
    “TOUCH NOT MINE ANOINTED!”

  29. The one thing that startled me about this case is that it’s been going on for *five* years now. I did some research and learned that the first news stories about Tom Randall date from early 2014. Wow, just wow.

  30. Muslin, fka Dee Holmes:
    The one thing that startled me about this case is that it’s been going on for *five* years now. I did some research and learned that the first news stories about Tom Randall date from early 2014. Wow, just wow.

    Yes and people have tried so hard to get it resolved all this time. Lots and lots of people have stayed silent…

  31. HereIStand: Can anyone point me to some resources about unpacking the grooming process… including the typical strategies used by potential abusers, etc.?

    If you go to Google and paste in this phrase:
    Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis
    -You’ll get a lot of pertinent results.

    (Also maybe do a search for the phrase “‘Serial acquaintance molester’“)

    Here’s just one example of one of the pages that turned up:

    Experts: Pedophilia cases follow predictable patterns
    https://www.post-gazette.com/home/2011/12/11/Experts-Pedophilia-cases-follow-predictable-patterns/stories/201112110258

    At the other end of the spectrum is the much more common offender:

    The serial acquaintance molester, skilled at communication and manipulation, who seduces children over decades.

    He’s the true pedophile who is sexually drawn to children, typically boys approaching adolescence, with dozens if not hundreds of victims and a stash of child pornography or erotica to fuel a rich fantasy life.

    He’s the nice soccer coach who takes the team to the out-of-state tournament, the friendly teacher who invites the kids to his house after school, the kindly uncle who puts on the magic shows.

    Over and over, according to Mr. Lanning’s analysis, “pedophiles are not recognized, investigated, charged, convicted or sent to prison simply because they are ‘nice guys.’ “

  32. HereIStand: Can anyone point me to some resources about unpacking the grooming process… including the typical strategies used by potential abusers, etc.?

    Also, someone at another site once recommended this page,
    (which I only skimmed months ago, I did not read it that closely, so I cannot personally vouch for the content):

    Why I talk about abusers “testing” instead of grooming
    https://jimmyhinton.org/why-i-talk-about-abusers-testing-instead-of-grooming/?fbclid=IwAR1Cjkn-dKu6At-Oxwv-jUChYJX7KCaAKwPQ3UDJNUwZ2fx49eSTdU6EQNE

  33. FYI Tom himself has said he was at a swimming pool a couple months after being released.

    “And you know what? We got to be with our kids for two weeks. Two of the sweetest weeks you can ever imagine. All thirty-one of our kids. We went to a resort. All we did was, big old swimming pool. We’d have meals, and then we’d have Bible studies. Then we’d talk about their school. What’s going on? Everybody together. Two weeks of it. I’ll never forget how rich it was.”

    More context: https://link.medium.com/TbYw6G3qrV

  34. I shared this on another post here, but Randall gave my two toddlers money one day at CCC when he stopped us randomly in the hallway to talk to them, though he’d never met us before.

    I feel sickened, after reading all this.

  35. Lizz,

    CVCA has CCC members, deacons, and former pastors on staff and in the administration.

    Please, Dee, dig here as well.

  36. HereIStand: Can anyone point me to some resources about unpacking the grooming process… including the typical strategies used by potential abusers, etc.? I’ve started a new counseling practice and think this info might be helpful to share with clients who have or may have sexual abuse in their backgrounds. It would also help me be better equipped when talking with church leaders about this threat. Thanks!

    Are you a counselor and your training didn’t cover this? It seems like such an important subject to counseling.

  37. Clevin:
    SiteSeer,

    Coffey HAS TO know. There’s no way he could be friends for so long and not have observed the signs.

    Granting for the sake of argument the supposition (writing lawyerly here for self-protection) that TR exhibits signs that he may be a serial predator, it raises disturbing thoughts as to possible motives for the founding of the orphanage.

    Granting for the sake of argument the supposition that JC knows more than he is saying, one wonders “why protect TR”?

  38. Headless Unicorn Guy,
    “P.S. Anyone remember the term “massage parlor”?”

    I do. I remember when I was a kid there was a rash of police raids in the big city targeting massage parlors. My parents warned me about them, along with pointing out the “hot sheet joints” where rooms were rented by the hour.

    Needless to say I was a bit surprised to learn of the recent events in Florida since I hadn’t paid any attention to that world for decades, but not surprised it is still going on.

    So when a pastor does something that would fit in with one of those establishments, then yeah… If it walks like a duck, etc.

    As an aside, I believe that the rebranding of New Tribes Mission to Ethnos360 had something to do with a scandal involving missionary school(s) and similar acts. But I may be wrong about that.

    And I have always wondered about groups of men taking multiple short term missions trips. Some I have known seem to take too many. My reservations are partly due to stories I read here and partly due to the fact that these men are held up as “super-disciples” because they “sacrifice their valuable time” to serve in a far away tropical place. From what I have seen on their reports most seem like a vacation to me.

  39. Clevin: I shared this on another post here, but Randall gave my two toddlers money one day at CCC when he stopped us randomly in the hallway to talk to them, though he’d never met us before.

    I have decided to do some *reporting* to officials. Apparently, he just gave another teen girl some money at a soccer game recently.

  40. Headless Unicorn Guy: (Because the Philippines have been Romish since First Contact in the 16th Century.)

    Actually 2nd contact, muslim traders brought Islam to the Philippines in the 13th century, or 3rd contact if you count the Malaysian settlers who preceded them. The Chinese are somewhere in there too. There’s been a few contacts.

  41. ““He couldn’t have done that. I would have known.” Deep down inside it’s hard for each of us to admit that we *fell for it.* It’s easier to deny it.” (Dee)

    That’s the psychology at play as thousands continued to hang out at Mars Hill until the bitter end, and continue to get up each Sunday and put on their best tight pants to go to Willow Creek and Harvest Bible Chapel.

  42. Max,
    “… best tight pants to go to Willow Creek and Harvest Bible Chapel.”
    Lol. I’m surprised given the evangelical penchant for potluck dinners that these guys don’t end up in the ER with TPS. (Tight Pants Syndrome) Of course, that’s why the Comfort Click belt was invented…

  43. Noevangelical: I’m surprised given the evangelical penchant for potluck dinners that these guys don’t end up in the ER with TPS. (Tight Pants Syndrome)

    There are two groups who wear tight pants to church … the older crowd who ‘have’ to wear them … and the younger crowd who ‘want’ to wear them.

  44. I had a relative who was put in foster care in the 90s. The Foster family was considered “picture perfect” by the social workers- a youth pastor and his wife. This relative was a young boy, and the Foster family had other young boys in their care. The boy’s mother, my cousin, tried to see her son several times, but was blocked by said youth pastor and wife. When she did get to see him, the youth pastor hung around in ways that seemed strange to my cousin. My cousin had issues, but she got her daughter’s back successfully. Unfortunately, the state decided the Foster family could adopt her son. A few years later, the youth pastor was arrested for molesting the Foster and adopted boys in his care. He got 12 years in prison, and this guy was from a more Calvinists type church. His wife was not charged as she did not know about it supposedly. My mother met this guy a few times when my cousin had supervised visitation. My mother is good at reading people, and she thought the youth pastor was too overly possessive of my cousin’s son so she expressed some concerns that were brushed aside. Her instincts were right on target about Mr. Holier than Thou as she called him. It was a sad situation.

  45. ““He couldn’t have done that. I would have known.” Deep down inside it’s hard for each of us to admit that we *fell for it.* It’s easier to deny it.” (Dee)

    Sunk Cost Fallacy, the con man’s greatest friend.

    Get the marks so emotionally invested in the scam to the point they CAN’T back out, even when they KNOW they’re being taken to the cleaners. Because that would mean having to admit to themselves that they got conned. So not only will they stay in to The End, they will become fanatical defenders of the con and con man.

  46. dee,

    Clevin: I shared this on another post here, but Randall gave my two toddlers money one day at CCC when he stopped us randomly in the hallway to talk to them, though he’d never met us before.

    dee: I have decided to do some *reporting* to officials. Apparently, he just gave another teen girl some money at a soccer game recently.
    +++++++++++++++++++++

    ok, this is weird. This ‘men giving money to kids/girls’ thing…. this can’t be normal or common.

  47. Daisy: The serial acquaintance molester, skilled at communication and manipulation, who seduces children over decades.

    Grooming over Decades.
    I have observed that in a different context — NOT a pedophile, but a revenge manipulation. Guy took TEN YEARS grooming third parties and setting up everything — an innocent word here, a story there, grooming and gaslighting from under an Angel of Light mask. TEN F’ING YEARS. Then when all his pieces were in position and the target had nowhere to turn, he made his move. Not to physically injure, but to publicly discredit his target, ruin their reputation.

    TEN F’ING YEARS SETTING UPFOR THE “KILL”. Again, how can we who have jobs & lives counter those who Live and Move and Have Their Being in THAT?

  48. Lily Rose: The Foster family was considered “picture perfect” by the social workers- a youth pastor and his wife.

    This must be more common than we would like to think. I personally know foster parents in the “ministry” who have been abusive and I know several other folks who have also known “pastors” who served as foster parents who abused children under their care. Church is an easy place for pedophiles to hide; being a minister looks good on the foster care application. A hot place in hell …

  49. Headless Unicorn Guy:
    ““He couldn’t have done that. I would have known.” Deep down inside it’s hard for each of us to admit that we *fell for it.* It’s easier to deny it.” (Dee)

    Sunk Cost Fallacy, the con man’s greatest friend.

    Get the marks so emotionally invested in the scam to the point they CAN’T back out, even when they KNOW they’re being taken to the cleaners. Because that would mean having to admit to themselves that they got conned. So not only will they stay in to The End, they will become fanatical defenders of the con and con man.

    That’s exactly what goes on. The last church we attended, with Pastor Ed, NPD (imo), was a relatively small church. We’d previously spoken with Pastor Ed, NPD about how we were into the Messianic movement. He told us he was into it also, it was a big thing for him. So we started attending, and it was true! He made frequent references to the Jewishness of Jesus in sermons, things seemed great. We’d found a church home, started making friends, became substantial donors. Our huge family swelled the ranks of the Sunday School.

    It was only later that we realized we’d been had. The Messianic sermons became less and less until all references went away. Then all we were left with whatever was important to Ed, which was primarily himself, talk of how he was living the victorious life—and we in the pews were not. Talk of how he was achieving holiness—and we were not. Talk of his theory that Jesus was “tall and majestic-looking” when He was on earth, like him, Pastor Ed, NPD. Talk of whatever bizarre conspiracy theories Pastor Ed, NPD, was into, such as the Illuminati.

    So Pastor Ed, NPD, was a chameleon, he’d be whatever you wanted him to be so long as it could draw you in and he could get your money and your attention. But once you got locked in and pot committed, then he’d be what he really was. It was a bait-and-switch. It was very painful to leave, and to know that among our friends, Pastor Ed, NPD, was now likely defaming us.

  50. Noevangelical,

    “And I have always wondered about groups of men taking multiple short term missions trips. Some I have known seem to take too many. My reservations are partly due to stories I read here and partly due to the fact that these men are held up as “super-disciples” because they “sacrifice their valuable time” to serve in a far away tropical place. From what I have seen on their reports most seem like a vacation to me.”
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    ah, short-term missions.

    it’s not about the ‘poor lost souls’ on the ‘mission field’. the point is the self-enrichment and team-buiding for the short-term missionaries. plus the perceived God points.

    and the stops in fun places & luxury spots tacked on before/after/or both directions.

    usually paid for with other people’s money.

    short-terms missions are a financial and tactical burden for the host community. they are not good uses of resources (including time) — jet lag, all sorts of adjustments (those without much travel experience are especially high maintenance)…. how much productive time towards the host community can there really be?

  51. Noevangelical: And I have always wondered about groups of men taking multiple short term missions trips. Some I have known seem to take too many. My reservations are partly due to stories I read here and partly due to the fact that these men are held up as “super-disciples” because they “sacrifice their valuable time” to serve in a far away tropical place. From what I have seen on their reports most seem like a vacation to me.

    Missions can be a big time con. My wife told me stories of “missionaries” that visited her church when she was small.
    Most were nice enough but none knew the language or really did anything to help. One family would take pictures of the church services (which were well attended) and send them to their home churches to show what great works they were doing. The church was well attended because of the locals not the “missionaries”.

    And then there was the YWAM kid from the states who wanted to ride on the hood of local jeepney in her bikini. Her hosts advised her that fell under the category of “bad idea”. This is in the southern Philippines, which tends to be a bit more conservative than most places.

    From what I’ve heard the missionaries were playing to an already Christian crowd, they didn’t know the local language or customs. They didn’t do much outside of the local church (ie outreach to the wider community).

    As HUG said, the majority of the Philippines is Christian – just not protestant christian, or the right kind of protestant christian or whatever.

    Now the separation of church and state in the Philippines is an entirely different conversation, and the attendant abuses of the dominant church, but for the most part I’m not really sure what the purpose of missions there are from a conversion point of view or how effective it really is.

    No doubt there’s poverty there but I’d be more inclined to give to a known NGO than an evangelical church.

    For the most part my charity giving is local – and yes even to local church groups where the focus is helping to do the right thing not helping with the expectation of conversion to their specific belief.

  52. Jack,

    “For the most part my charity giving is local – and yes even to local church groups where the focus is helping to do the right thing not helping with the expectation of conversion to their specific belief.”

    Reminds me of the dudes that broke off from the last little bible church I attended who protested the local food pantry run by an Episcopal church. These guys would go and harass people coming for food. They were all worked up because the food pantry didn’t give out the “gospel” with the food.

    Of course these guys fancied themselves as street preacher types (think Ray Comfort / Paul Washer) who didn’t really like anyone’s version of the “gospel” other than their own. It got so bad that the church had to call the police on them, which only encouraged them to believe they were being persecuted for their faith. I told them that they should show the world how wonderful they were and go start their own church and their own food pantry. They did, and the last I heard it fizzled and one of their number was running around apologizing in an AA sort of way. Sad.

  53. elastigirl,

    The only value I every saw from short term trips was the one in a million changed heart that resulted from it. That is, a “goer” who realized their life needed to change. Aside from that, yes, I never saw them as helpful to the host people. I really loved seeing young engineers, doctors, lawyers, and scientists – budding young minds with SO MUCH to offer a hurting world – at Begg’s church spend four days of a seven day trip picking up sticks at a school or orphanage or whatever. The cost for each person to go was in the thousands and mostly paid through “support”. $10-$20k to get a few days of yard work done. The India “mission trip” was populated by people who had personally told me they had no interest in missions but really liked going to India.

  54. elastigirl: they are not good uses of resources (including time) — jet lag, all sorts of adjustments (those without much travel experience are especially high maintenance)…. how much productive time towards the host community can there really be?

    That reminds me of a lady from our church who went along on a missions trip to a partner agency, got all the way to El Salvador w/o having her passport along! This was in spite of multiple warnings starting months ahead of time about passports. (WHO from U.S. airline let her through?!) Of course they wouldn’t let her into the country, so she had to buy another ticket and come right back to U.S.!

    Not that there can’t be benefits from short-term mission trips, but agree that many of the benefits are for opening the eyes of sheltered Americans than actual physical benefit to the host countries and people.

  55. I’m posting this link here–not because it has anything specifically to do with Tom Randall necessarily, but I CLEARLY remember this teacher, David P. Myers from when I was a student at CVCA. I was not even a LITTLE bit surprised he was arrested for soliciting a minor. I remember hearing about him having boys over to his house from the school, and I went there once with one of my older brothers. I felt very uncomfortable with him, and I think he knew it. He taught my economics class. He was at CVCA from 1995-2012, left, then came back in 2014. It wasn’t until his arrest in late July 2018 that he was completely removed from his positions in the drama department and soccer coaching. He wasn’t the first to leave CVCA under a cloud. There was also a Mr. Devers (may be spelling that wrong) back when my brothers and I were at CVCA. He was a Spanish teacher, and I remember him being quite close to several boys at school. They called him “Señor Dever.” He was fired after it was discovered that he was gay, but I have always wondered if there was more to it than that–especially with he odd fan boys club. Needless to say, CVCA AND CCC have had some issues over the years, and I suspect they go deeper than ever was publicly revealed.
    https://www.record-courier.com/news/20180802/police-former-cvca-teacher-sought-sex-with-boy

  56. Clevin,

    ” I really loved seeing young engineers, doctors, lawyers, and scientists – budding young minds with SO MUCH to offer a hurting world – at Begg’s church spend four days of a seven day trip picking up sticks at a school or orphanage or whatever.”
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++

    appreciate the sarcasm. i’m not being sarcastic, there.

    i appreciate it because it drives home the point of one of my biggest philosophical problems with christian church culture:

    church culture is so hungry, so needy, so self-important it demands all the resources for itself. (ha, sounds just like a bratty, over-indulged child)

    engineers, doctors, lawyers, and scientists have been trained with the expertise to solve a whole host of world problems of human suffering.

    church demands all their faith, money, time and energy for itself. to build itself up.

    (really, if you boil it down and look at the brass tacks in the bottom of the pot, this is for the sake the pastors’ careers, personal significance, enjoyment and ease on the job, salaries, and personal legacy.)

    i can’t help but believe that if engineers, doctors, lawyers, and scientists took the faith energy (& other resources) they direct at church and directed them at their professional expertise instead in the context of solving problems of human suffering, the array of problems which plague the citizens of the earth would shrink.

    “God…who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us…”

    what a statement. imagine that. the creator of the universe, who brought order out of chaos, who shares explosive power with human beings “when the holy spirit comes upon” us. combined with high levels of expertise, knowledge, and skill.

    my observation is that church culture casts a spell on people to assume that church and ‘ministry’ are exclusive domain for the application of this truth.

    these resources (spiritual and otherwise) belong outside of the church. do they not?

  57. elastigirl,

    Well said.
    I am one of those scientist/engineers, and I still remeber campus ministry groups saying I should “go on staff with them, siince winning souls is the only that matters in the kingdom”…. but yet, that same campus minstry, 35 years later, is hitting me up for money…
    Or, I know of a number of “christian schools” that specifcally honor alumi that are in “full time christain service” as opposed to us “carnal christains” that just out making money in the secular/pagan world…

    The real irony is that as TWW is unfortunately exposing, many of these “full time christain servents” are more depraved than my colleauges at major, secular humanist/pagan instiutions!!
    PS.. if i peed in a cup during a meeting, there would be hell to pay!!

  58. Clevin: The India “mission trip” was populated by people who had personally told me they had no interest in missions but really liked going to India.

    This is commonly called a “Junket”, i.e. a paid vacation on the company’s dime.

    And given the subject of this thread, I’m sure there have been “short term mission trips” which were used to write off Sex Tourism Junkets. Given the number of pervs surfacing among crooked pastors/elders, it’s too obvious a scam.

  59. Law Prof,
    The “Messianic Movement” would have been a warning flag for me.

    All too often, “Messianic” goes sour and turns into Calvary Chapel with Kashrut/Shabbas observances and a LOT of Hebrew buzzwords, losing all Jewishness in the process. Until all that’s left is “HAVE YOU ACCEPTED YESHUA HA-MOSHIYAH AS YOUR PERSONAL ADONAI AND SAVIOR?????”

  60. Clevin:
    Jeffrey Chalmers,
    Or heaven forbid you be guilty of “moral impurity”!

    Greedy? Fine. Arrogant? Fine. Abuse of power? Fine.

    “Moral Impurity” defined as SEXUAL Morality only.
    Pelvic Issues OCD strikes again, with overtones of Screwtape Semantics.

  61. Jeffrey Chalmers: I am one of those scientist/engineers, and I still remeber campus ministry groups saying I should “go on staff with them, siince winning souls is the only that matters in the kingdom”…. but yet, that same campus minstry, 35 years later, is hitting me up for money…

    Let me guess…
    Navigators?
    Maranatha Ministries?
    They’re the most X-Treme of “campus ministries” now that Acquire the Fire tanked.

    Or, I know of a number of “christian schools” that specifcally honor alumi that are in “full time christain service” as opposed to us “carnal christains” that just out making money in the secular/pagan world…

    Clericalism: the HERESY that only Clergy matter to God and the rest of us Laity can all go to Hell (but keep Tithing those Indulgences). At its first peak before the Reformation Wars, it was only Priests, Monks, and Nuns who were the REAL Christians; now it’s mega-pastors, Worship(TM) rock stars, and “full time Christian service(TM)”.

  62. Max: Lily Rose: The Foster family was considered “picture perfect” by the social workers- a youth pastor and his wife.
    This must be more common than we would like to think.

    Remember that Rabbi from Tarsus talking about “appear as an Angel of Light”.

    SUCCESSFUL abusers (like successful serial killers and serial rapists) have to be Masters of Camouflage and Misdirection. Experts at hiding what they really are. Otherwise they’d slip up and get caught.

    Think about it: We only hear about the ones who were DUMB enough to get caught.

  63. “One thing that she didn’t understand was that, when Karen and Tom returned to the States, they brought a young woman back with them who became Tom’s personal assistant. She believes that this was Toto’s daughter. Apparently, Karen Randall did not like to travel with her husband because she would be alone at hotels. So, this young woman would travel with him instead.”

    This is another thing that is highly inappropriate imo. I honestly cannot believe his wife let him get away with this. 5 bucks says the young woman was not alone much…

  64. Not sure why some are trying to steer the thread toward CVCA (which I had to look up). Yes, every organization has had issues. Since CVCA is a Christian school, I am sure every student there has been taught about the fall in a Bible class.

    I’m sure the school has had students who use and deal drugs, just like almost every school does. I would be hesitant to say the school is controlled and operated by a drug cartel.

    Churches and Christian organizations are filled with imperfect people. You can want and strive for perfection, but if you’re expecting it, you are in for a rude awakening in life.

    Besides, it’s your alma mater and you had contact and witnessed the behavior. Did you report it? Your not at any fault, but you are part of the story.

    For those bashing on short term missions. I guess we should forego the Great Commission and the example given to us by Paul, Timothy, and many of the apostles. Again, the focus is on outliers, which will always be a problem.

    Thanks for painting with broad strokes like the rest of society. You know, the one where all Christians are hate-filled, bigoted, homophobic, etc.

  65. From the main article up-top:
    ======================================================================================
    “For example, most missionaries did not participate in cock fights or the gambling that surrounded these bloody fights but Tom did. She explained that Tom created his own culture and people would often say “That’s just Tom.”
    ======================================================================================

    Rooster fights huh?
    That should red-flag anybody straight up front that the guy (Randall) has no moral compass.

  66. Headless Unicorn Guy: “Moral Impurity” defined as SEXUAL Morality only.

    This is theeee one thing fundagelicals are fixated on.

    You (generic you) can run a Ponzi scheme, be a slum lord, screw over investors, you name it (claim it too I’m told), and that’s all water over the dam, and ‘covered by the blood’.

    Just get caught doing the hanky-panky with another consenting adult outside of sanctioned marriage and see what happens to ya’. (your goose is cooked and your hash is settled)

  67. PJ: Thanks for painting with broad strokes like the rest of society. You know, the one where all Christians are hate-filled, bigoted, homophobic, etc.

    I can only go by my own experience. I wouldn’t say my evangelical experience has been marred by people who are hate filled but certainly the other two descriptors fit the bill.

    As for the short term missions?

    I can only go by the anecdotal stories of my wife and the suspect mission trips of the church that I sometimes still have to attend.

    Missions to heathen Jamaica…in February…hmmmm.

    People asking questions is a good thing. Know what you’re supporting.

  68. Muff Potter: Headless Unicorn Guy: “Moral Impurity” defined as SEXUAL Morality only.
    This is theeee one thing fundagelicals are fixated on.

    As fixated as a total Nymphomanic.

    “SEX! UND SEX! UND SEX! UND SEX! UND SEX! UND SEX! UND SEX! UND SEX!…”
    — parody of Celebrity sexologist Dr Ruth Westheimer from Frank Miller’s the Dark Knight
    (Just before she’s spectacularly killed by The Joker on a live TV talk show)

  69. Noevangelical: My reservations are partly due to stories I read here and partly due to the fact that these men are held up as “super-disciples” because they “sacrifice their valuable time” to serve in a far away tropical place.

    Didn’t some Rabbi from Tarsus have something to say about “Super-Apostles”?
    None of it good?

    And come to think of it, didn’t the Pigs of Animal Farm also have to “sacrifice their valuable time” all the time?

  70. Truth,

    Yes. Pastor Joe was originally the chaplain there. He taught my older sister’s Bible class, and he led missions trips down to the Dominican Republic for years (the junior class would go). I remember him from that time. When he left to become a pastor at what was then Hudson Community Chapel, but now CCC, Rick Thomspon became the next CVCA chaplain. Tom Randall came to speak at the school I believe twice while I was there as a student.

  71. I believe we have gotten off topic here – Is Tom Randall creepy? Yes he certainly seems to be. Is Joe Coffey one of his groomed supporters? I would have to say yes again. Should they both be removed? Yes, once again. Did they both know about the abuse 5 years ago? I would have to think Tom did and Coffey may have or learned of it since and continued to keep it quiet and hope this would go away. Does CCC have problem – undoubtedly, and probably more than can or should be listed here.
    This should be about children being abused 5 years ago at Sankey Samaritan which Tom was certainly touted as being responsible for. They were abused by Toto and Jake, Toto was Toms good friend and Jake was Toms godson. These men still need to be held responsible. Are they just hanging out in the Philippines laughing at how far off track this has gone? Tom, Joe along with the Elders and other leadership at CCC absolutely need to be held accountable and probably removed – and without any big pay off as is the usual way these things are dealt with, BUT Toto and Jake still need to be held accountable for what they did to these kids, now adults. We cant change what has happened but we can still ask for truth and justice.
    As with all large churches, they are large for a reason – usually because of a Pastors personality, at least the one that most people see from the pulpit on Sunday. CCC is no exception and while I believe it needs a good “house cleaning” that probably won’t happen because people that are comfortable there and “like” their Pastor aren’t going to demand it.
    Please don’t get side tracked with Tom Randalls creepiness or lies, with Joe Coffey’s deceit to his congregation.
    REMEMBER the abused children at Sankey. They still deserve the truth and justice. Toto and Jake need to be held responsible and can sit in jail forever as far as I am concerned. If Tom Randall and CCC want to defend these deviants ask yourself why but that is still secondary to the original complaint. Prove the charges and help the kids.

  72. PJ,

    The only reason I mentioned CVCA and some of the issues there, is because of how closely linked CVCA and CCC are. There are many connections with former staff, students, and personnel. Pastor Joe used to be the chaplain at CVCA, and Tom Randall used to be a guest speaker at CVCA. Former students of CVCA are now pastors at CCC. Deacons/elders are connected as well. Pastor College sent his kids to CVCA, Pastor Joe sent his kids there as well. If you have lived in the area or gone to that school or church–you would understand why it is so closely connected. It’s not a distraction, it’s part of the webs and tendrils of the whole story. And I am NOT in ANY way implying or assuming or indicating that any of these people are complicit or even know/knew what the heck was going on with Tom Randall or part of covering it up–but the reality is, you are dealing with a VERY tight knit community. It’s easy to understand–when you know the culture there–how/why everyone would believe whatever Pastor Joe or Tom Randall said.

  73. Hi everyone
    5 months ago I found out some information through listening to a simple podcast. I didn’t ask for it. I believed a story line like many. But something happened that day and I tried to warn. I was told many things by leaders but nothing lined up. Then I joined those who had attempted to warn over and over again as the evidence was overwhelming – personally I ask elders- what is your role. Are elders to be just the ‘pastors boys’. People came to you directly and you did nothing. All anyone asked for was independent for five LONG years – me just 5 months. – now I have been coined as being on a crusade. I am fine with that. Truth costs on every level. I ask where is accountability. 7 years ago I sat in my backyard and wondered if the walls of Hudson Ohio could talk – what would they say?- Unfortunately I knew the root story – yes Sankey kids were abused- but why – what is the root? A charismatic man who charmed many! How many people covered for others and let reputation be their guide instead of the Word of Truth. I’ve been listening to sermons by Alistair Begg on 1 Samuel. Even ELie had a choice what to do with his sons but unfortunately he too was consuming the fat. This day I wonder many things but what I do know is God will have no other god before him. I hope as everyone sees this article and reads with an open heart – we will all ask- what is truly church?- what is truly leadership? What does it mean to surround a pastor with strong accountability? What does it mean to hold righteousness in the balance with grace? Why do churches have full financial disclosure to members? What is our responsibility as members? And does a church covenant in relationship to leaders mean we blindly follow? Maybe we stop spreading wide and go deep. There is a decision to be made and I hope there will be right choosing.
    . In the meantime criminals in the Philippines run free and continue to scare and we paid their bail and their defense fees. Not sure how the Lord will solve that but I know He will.

    Unfortunately this article will be the wake up call- but I ask why were the cries of young children and teens in a far away land not enough for everyone to ‘get involved’- maybe their sounds were deafened by loud worship in the USA.

  74. Cari,

    I know that I no longer have trust in any person or institution simply because they call themselves ‘Christian’. How many of these glamour boy celebrity pastors do you have to listen to before you wonder if they aren’t all Elmer Gantry’s? How many overseas orphanages and missions are fronts for trafficking and abuse? All it takes is a slick talker, and we all toss in our coins.

    Should we not be demanding that all missions organizations be completely open about all staff, spending, goals, accomplishments, etc.? I don’t mean just tell us how many kids you have helped; let’s see the books. Money raised, how much was given by whom, exactly how it was spent, how much for materials, labor, travel expenses, etc. No organization can exist without detailed accounting – let’s see it all made available before you expect us to contribute. And that’s just for starters.

  75. Back in the 80’s I made friends with a neighbor from the Philippines. As soon as she was a teen, she had been left at a house of ill repute by her parents. They felt they had too many mouths to feed and she needed to ‘earn her own way.’ I’m not sure how she finally got out of there, if she got past the desirable age, or what, but she eventually married a serviceman and moved to the U.S. with him when he was discharged, which is how she came to be in my neighborhood. From the way she told it, it was not an uncommon thing there. She was a devout Christian when I knew her. There was no way of ignoring the deep scars it left on her being.

  76. PJ: Churches and Christian organizations are filled with imperfect people. You can want and strive for perfection, but if you’re expecting it, you are in for a rude awakening in life.

    Actually, I think there’s a big difference between imperfect and evil, don’t you? Sadly, the Christian church, aside being made up wholly of those who are imperfect, is also home to many evil people. In fact, they seem to be the ones driven to be in charge, the ones who strive for the leadership positions where they can enjoy the perks. We have made it this way by putting leaders on a pedestal. There were many warnings given throughout the new testament of false prophets and imposters. Strangely enough, I rarely heard those passages expounded on in church…

    For those bashing on short term missions. I guess we should forego the Great Commission and the example given to us by Paul, Timothy, and many of the apostles. Again, the focus is on outliers, which will always be a problem.

    I’m sure most of the kids who go have good intentions, and they learn a lot, but, if you look into it, you’ll find there have been serious problems with the model for a long time. I personally have felt it’s a huge waste of resources that could be better used to send real missionaries, but that’s just me. I did find it amusing when my previous church’s youth pastor found it so important to take the kids on a short term mission to the Olympic games…

    Thanks for painting with broad strokes like the rest of society. You know, the one where all Christians are hate-filled, bigoted, homophobic, etc.

    My own opinions are informed by 40 years or so of painful personal experience in church. YMMV.

  77. Emily: I’m posting this link here–not because it has anything specifically to do with Tom Randall necessarily, but I CLEARLY remember this teacher, David P. Myers from when I was a student at CVCA. I was not even a LITTLE bit surprised he was arrested for soliciting a minor. I remember hearing about him having boys over to his house from the school, and I went there once with one of my older brothers. I felt very uncomfortable with him, and I think he knew it. He taught my economics class. He was at CVCA from 1995-2012, left, then came back in 2014. It wasn’t until his arrest in late July 2018 that he was completely removed from his positions in the drama department and soccer coaching. He wasn’t the first to leave CVCA under a cloud. There was also a Mr. Devers (may be spelling that wrong) back when my brothers and I were at CVCA. He was a Spanish teacher, and I remember him being quite close to several boys at school. They called him “Señor Dever.” He was fired after it was discovered that he was gay, but I have always wondered if there was more to it than that–especially with he odd fan boys club. Needless to say, CVCA AND CCC have had some issues over the years, and I suspect they go deeper than ever was publicly revealed.
    https://www.record-courier.com/news/20180802/police-former-cvca-teacher-sought-sex-with-boy

    These kinds of things happen a lot and we are living in a time when it is refusing to stay hidden as much as it used to. I, for one, am glad. Clear this stuff out!

    There is a page on reddit which tracks news stories of pastors charged with crimes. It’s not exhaustive, redditors just post them to the page when they see them, but it’s eye opening. https://www.reddit.com/r/PastorArrested/

  78. Interested bystander,

    This all sounds nice, but who here can do anything about it. I’ve asked this probably half a dozen times, so I’ll ask it a bit more bluntly:

    IS BLOG ACTUALLY GOING TO **DO** ANYTHING ABOUT THESE INJUSTICES OR IS IT JUST AN ECHO CHAMBER FOR A DOZEN FOR PEOPLE FED UP WITH CHURCHES?

  79. It may also be with noting that CCC is very closely partnered with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, which saw its own scandal with Ravi’s extramarital emotional affair and suicide threats in 2017. RZIM’s Sanj Kalra, VP of Strategic Partnerships and then local Hudson millionaire playboy, came to faith in 2010 in the office of one of the CCC pastors, so the story goes. CCC has frequent partnering events with RZIM and borrows speakers from them for Sunday sermons periodically.

    But perhaps it’s nothing more than interesting.

  80. Cari,

    Funny you should mention Begg. He may have some useful words in his sermons, but his leadership structure and mantra “you should run a church like a business” is as bad if not worse than that at CCC. There’s a reason people in the area are referred to as “Parkside refugees”, and the staff and volunteers at Paradise make it no secret that while there are elders, it is without question “Alistair’s church”.

    I could speak at length about the bullying of staff and the congregation that begins with Alistair and trickles down through the elders and pastors (he bullies them, they bully the people below them, etc)… The staff are quite frank about it over dinner and a drink in the safety of their own homes and with their wives’ eager prompting… but that’s too big a tangent for this discussion.

    Sufficeth to say the man on the radio is not the man in the congregation… Although… A careful listen *will* reveal the character qualities that make bully leadership possible.

    I can’t help myself, I have to also mention that according to pastors at Parkside, the elders at Parkside (through Alistair’s edict) strategically took seats on the board of a local Christian school, Heritage Academy, in order to gain the majority of seats at then move one of the school’s campuses into the Parkside Church building. Incidentally, many of the children of deacons and pastors at CCC go to Heritage.

  81. Clevin,

    Hi
    You can pray as next steps are progressed. This step has gotten the word out – but you are correct – it is going to take more. – the ‘more is coming’ . I appreciate your comments but don’t want to get distracted by pulling other churches in to the discussion. What I do know for certain is there is a ground swell related to CCC among the little people. God will win this battle Clevin.

  82. Most aren’t ready to go there, but I have huge misgivings about any ministry with well known, highly paid ministers, radio ministries and national/international connections. Perhaps someday, as more and more of this garbage trickles out, people will realize that the institutional church was long ago hijacked by charlatans, and that they are often interconnected and cover for one another. If you have been drawn into a ‘big’ church with rock star pastors and ministries, I would be doing a huge reality check to see if it functions as a genuine part of the body of Christ. But then, if your definition of body of Christ is what these guys have been feeding you all these years, you may not have much ability to detect the real thing from the fraud.

  83. Emily,

    I am sorry, but I still have yet to see the connection you are trying to make and as Interested Bystander and Cari have mentioned, it taking the issue off track.

    You’re suggesting that an issue brought to light in the Philippines five years ago at an orphanage that was founded a 1998 is a result of the following:

    1. Joe Coffey was the chaplain (not principal or administrator) at CVCA from 1986-1993 (according to the link provided by Truth).

    2. Joe Coffey sent his kids to CVCA.

    3. The founding pastor of the church sent his kids to CVCA.

    4. CCC members who have connections (likely because their kids would go to a local Christian school) but are not administrators.

    5. Former students of CVCA are now on staff at CCC.

    And because there is a former CVCA member has been charged in 2018, but began working there in 1995, after Joe Coffey had left and was not presumably involved in his hiring, that this is all part of a cover up?

    That is one fiery forward thinking conspiracy to have this planned out by individuals who didn’t know each other, were in no way to hire those (whom they didn’t know), to create an orphanage in another country, for others to hire people who have been charged with abusing children.

    Your logic, I am sorry to say, is flawed and muddies the situation at hand. There appears to be no link between abuse perpetrated on children in the Philippines and whatever issue you have with your alma mater.

    What part has CVCA played in anything related to the Philippines situation?

  84. PJ,

    Since you think there is no connection, could you please elaborate on your knowledge a bit? Do you attend CCC? Do you have ties to CVCA? Also, are you saying that J0e Coffey has no ties to this situation? If so, how do you know? I know you live in Ohio.Are you a member of the church?

  85. Clevin: Funny you should mention Begg. He may have some useful words in his sermons, but his leadership structure and mantra “you should run a church like a business” is as bad if not worse than that at CCC. There’s a reason people in the area are referred to as “Parkside refugees”, and the staff and volunteers at Paradise make it no secret that while there are elders, it is without question “Alistair’s church”.

    I have heard this as well. Begg is a true blue Neo-calvinist and is there fore into hyperauthoritarianism even if he claims otherwise.

    Begg runs in a different crowd than Coffey. He’s part of the Neo Calvinist elite and as such has ties to The Gospel Coalition, etc.

  86. Clevin,

    All of what you say is par for the course for the crowd he runs in. If anyone who attended there ever wishes to tell their story, send them my way.

  87. Clevin: IS BLOG ACTUALLY GOING TO **DO** ANYTHING ABOUT THESE INJUSTICES OR IS IT JUST AN ECHO CHAMBER FOR A DOZEN FOR PEOPLE FED UP WITH CHURCHES?

    Seriously? Do you know me and what I do outside of the blog. I love my church. So cut the nonsense and get down to business. You sound unhinged when you make such comments. Have you even read this blog beyond you own pet peeve?

    People are doing whatever they can to bring issues to light as opposed to someone who is fussing in a blog comment section. They’ve been doing this for years. I’ve got news for you. None of these folks wished for this. However, being committed Christians, they were compelled to bring the truth to light, even though it has been difficult for them.They are modern day prophets, speaking truth to power.

  88. PJ: For those bashing on short term missions. I guess we should forego the Great Commission and the example given to us by Paul, Timothy, and many of the apostles

    Ummmmm, the Great Commission talks about going into all the earth. Then in Acts1:8 Jesus elaborates on this prior to His ascension.

    “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

    We are to witness locally, nationally and internationally. How does one witness locally? In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus gives us the answer.

    “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

    How does one preach the Gospel in an effective manner locally. Well, the Gospel tells the world we are sinners and need forgiveness. So, instead of hiding our dirty laundry, we are to air it. Let the world see how we deal with sin.

    In fact, your comment about the church being filled with imperfect people is correct. However, it doesn’t stop there. It is how we deal with imperfect people who create pain and suffering for others. We don’t give them a pass-especially pastors who are called to a higher standard. You can read about it in Timothy.

    These folks have seen something that is deeply disturbing. At first I wasn’t sure how bad this situation was so I started reading and reading etc. I’m sure a man like you has done the same, right? Now, I know exactly what bothers them. CCC has a problem and it’s time to pull on your big boy panties and deal with it and stop with the nonsense about people who dislike the church. Jesus also said not to spread falsehoods. You don’t know that these folks dislike church. I have heard it was just the opposite. They love the church and are doing what everyone should be doing-pursuing the truth.

    So PJ, get moving.

  89. PJ: Thanks for painting with broad strokes like the rest of society. You know, the one where all Christians are hate-filled, bigoted, homophobic, etc.

    You know, PJ, you sound a bit unhinged. At the minimum it is obvious that you have not read this blog or you would not have made this comment. because of this off the rails, ridiculous, and uneducated lie. you are being put into permanent moderation

    unless….

    You can come up with proof to show were I’ve in anyway painted Christians as bigoted, hate filled, homophobes. That is what I do on this blog. I link to sources to show why I believe what I believe. As a Christian, just like you PJ (you are one, right?) I am not hate filled, bigoted or a homophobe.

    So, I’m waiting…

  90. PJ: That is one fiery forward thinking conspiracy to have this planned out by individuals who didn’t know each other, were in no way to hire those (whom they didn’t know), to create an orphanage in another country, for others to hire people who have been charged with abusing children.

    I just love it when people throw out the ‘Conspiracy’ epithet, which is supposed to put an end to the subject.

    To whatever degree abusers conspire and work together, you can bet your life they cover their tracks. But when you see abuse charges arising from the same circles again and again, you might just be wise to wonder if their is some common root.

    I frequently wonder about how deep and connected this abuse goes. Mayb there are a vast number of random abusive persons who somehow just happen to wind up pals and co-workers in ministries and organizations. Maybe it is all sheer coincidence when people abuse appears to arise again and again from the same corners of the christian world. Or just maybe a guy like MacDonald not only is an abusive manipulator, but also deliberately seeks to teach his tactics to others.

    Just so ya know, a person can suspect some degree of coordinated effort exists somewhere behind the scenes without believing that every element and person involved is in on some massive, all-inclusive conspiracy. It is time we got past the false dichotomy of everything is utterly random or a global conspiracy. Most of the time, it is probably somewhere in between.

    But I do believe that there is a ‘conspiracy’ of the powers of darkness to deceive and manipulate any and everyone to serve them, wittingly or unwittingly, by seduction, threats or any other inducement available. This is a global, lasting conspiracy that started in the Garden and will only end when God declares the gig is up. No doubt it oftentimes involves collusion.

  91. PJ:For those bashing on short term missions. I guess we should forego the Great Commission and the example given to us by Paul, Timothy, and many of the apostles. Again, the focus is on outliers, which will always be a problem.

    I don’t think anyone is saying all short-term missions are corrupt, just that a lot of them are not all that beneficial and involve a tremendous amount of expense and are sometimes just excuses to see exotic locations. I understand there might be a time where it’s beneficial to get someone in a place where they’re not comfortable, to show them a different part of the world—though in almost every case, that same effect can be had by going to the inner city, or the small town, or the countryside, someplace that’s different and unfamiliar and is just a short long van ride from the church. People are quite right to question the value of these missions, especially in countries where the Bible has already been taught.

    The Great Commission, of course, explicitly includes reaching your immediate family and those in your town. The initial Great Commission involved Paul and Timothy and such going out to places that had never heard one word about Jesus. Of course they had to head out to those places! Somewhat different today, at least for many of these short-term missions, which are often to heavily-evangelized places and places that could be sending missions to the United States, such as Ethiopia, which heard Christianity long before those in Northern Europe.

    Also realize that short-term missions do not appear to have been the big thing back then, either. People spent extended periods of time in one place, probably months or years, teaching people about Jesus, helping them locals to set up communities/churches, helping them get established, then moving on and leaving them alone—unless, as in the church at Corinth, things got out of hand, then Paul advised them, implored them to set it straight.

    No one here is rejecting the Great Commission, just rightly asking whether or not it’s served by many of these short-term missions. So for someone who shouts at others about painting with a broad brush, you sure do seem to be using one yourself! But of course, that’s so typical.

  92. PJ,

    You have a long way to go before you will be allowed to comment. You are calling people who post here *unhinged” proving that you don’t know how too do what I have asked you to do.

    I knew you were a newbie by your comments. If you have read this blog for any length of time, you will find that I NEVER question anyone’s faith or salvation. As TWW readers know, I leave that up to the One with the higher pay grade.

    It is not an attack to say you are from Ohio. It is merely a statement of fact. It helps me to understand why you seem out of step.

    BTW I quoted you precisely on the bigot, homophobe thing. It’s called *quote* in WordPress terms.

    Finally, I have written on the problems with short term missions. In fact, I would suggest you Google it. There is the famous church in Central America which was painted three times in one year t accommodate those who are on short term missions. Yvonne Trimble in Haiti discussed how cruise ships, filled to the brim with “short term missionaries* show up, come to a rally and then head back to belly up at the midnight buffet.

    Also, I support long term missionaries. I find it a bit lame to have well to do high school kids raise money for their 2 weeks in Costa Rica. I had one kid write me three times, asking why I didn’t contribute to his summer junket. I would rather spend my money on those who are there for years.

    So don’t come on here making all sorts of claims until you do your research, like I have to do. Now, Im heading off to church, you know, the church which we ALL at this blog are supposed to hate.

    Try harder. For now, your comments are not approved.

  93. PJ,

    You know, I almost allowed one of your comments that is until you started going off on a tangent of sin leveling and calling people names. You should read the book The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse. You might learn something.

    As for having no reason to doubt law enforcement in the Philippines, think again. For example, here in the US we have found OJ Simpson and Casey Anthony *not guilty” but maybe you are a strong supporter of those two characters. If you are, then I will cut you a pass on your having notreason to doubt Philippine last enforcement.

  94. dee,

    PJ- my husband has spent a number of weeks in Guatamala providing medical care and both of us spent two years providing medical care on the Navajo Indian Reservation so don’t pull a “You don’t care about the Great Commission” crap on me.

  95. PJ
    You are banned. And it happened really quickly. I think I’ve banned about 15 people in 10 years. It may even be less.

    The moment you said this following is what did you in. Your posts and comments are lacking integrity. I will not sacrifice mine to do what you tell me to. Let’s see your character by how you react to this comment and if you approve it.”

    You have integrity. I don’t. It is useless.

    I have a Prime Directive. People who play games are assessed to see whether they actually have some compassion for those in each of posts who have been hurt by the church or parachurch. They must express concern for anyone who may have been molested, assaulted, trafficked, etc. We are talking about kids here, PJ.

    I’ve been doing this blog for 10 years. I have allowed people to call me names (daughter of Stan -sic- is a particular favorite.) I know when someone is playing games and when someone is actually being serious.

    So, toodle off and let the powers that be know that you failed in your mission. They will give you a pat on your head for trying.

    And now, dedicated today to the memory of PJ, Time to Sat Goodbye.

    https://youtu.be/4L_yCwFD6Jo

  96. Hmm, I wonder if “PJ” might be “Pastor Joe (Coffey)”?
    In any case it sounds like him. Minimizing the actual abuse that happened (repeatedly), absolving Tom, himself and CCC leaders of any responsibility or accountability, refusing to acknowledge the crying need for an independent investigation and blaming the reporters for being “unhinged”.

  97. JMauk,

    PJ accomplished what few have done before him. I threw him off within about 24 hours. If he is JC or another BFF, then the church has a real problem. This man twists words and even denies saying things that are written in his comment and which I copied and pasted. he used a troll’s approach. Denied what he said, deflected away from the victims, and insulted people. Good night! What a guy!

    Again, I’m so sorry for what happened in your family. Thank you for being courageous and speaking out in this comment thread.

  98. Dee, some of the things PJ has said plus what’s happening here is getting me very worried. I am wondering how ‘far off’ the church in our area is. The thing that worries me the most is the kinds of games possibly being played and that seem to have been played. It feels, very wrong…I’m praying

  99. TS00:
    It always seems a bit off when ‘celebrity’ and missions collide. It should also give pause when grown men interact or visit foreign orphanages, or travel to resorts and hotels with children or women who are not their wives. It appears that many of the children in foreign orphanages are not orphans, but were offered ‘schooling’ and a chance for a future; money was given to their poor families. That is pretty much the standard story line for children who are trafficked.

    Where are the official records of Randall’s now apparently defunct ministry, World Harvest Ministries? (I hate to say the name itself is a red flag.) How much money was raised, and how was it used? Who arranged and went on short term missions trips, and what did they involve? Legitimate missions meet legitimate needs – they provide wells, build schools, etc. It would certainly be interesting to see the records detailing the flow of people, projects and money from Randall’s organization.

    It is not without reason that these ‘orphanages’ and ‘missions’ are viewed with suspicion by local authorities. While it is difficult to grasp, and very tragic, the poverty and lack of opportunity in these countries appear to drive many children and girls into the arms of sex traffickers in exchange for food, shelter, gifts and the promise of a better life. Randall’s Sankey Samaritan Mission was shut down by the local government, being judged not a legitimate school but a front for sex trafficking. I read Randall had four ‘missions’ in the Philippines – are the others still in existence, and has anyone looked into their legitimacy?

    We who are far from such things need to be more aware of what is actually happening in these settings. Our own government acknowledges human trafficking as a global problem. No one can just set up shop and sell children – it nearly always hides under cover of seemingly legitimate missions or foreign aid. The sad fact is that there are legitimate missions, and there are false front missions; we need to be very careful who we support and who we trust.

    Official reports state that many, if not all, of the children and young adults (some were over 18) from Randall’s Sankey Samaritan Mission alleged that they had been repeatedly sexually abused. Unlike the story told by Randall and Coffey, this was not simply a couple of girls saying they were kissed; boys and girls alleged they were sexually molested and were in fear of harm to themselves or their family for speaking up.

    This is information gleaned from newspaper reports and official depositions. Imagine what a full scale investigation might reveal.

    Actually, it was ruled that it was a true orphanage, not a front for sex trafficking in government documents. That being said, there were high level political players involved in calling on Tom’s behalf. It will be hard for us to know what was truly happening at Sankey. So far it seems evidence shows ‘just’ abuse by staff. But there are some other things I’m uneasy about and I would like to see resolved.

  100. Maybe “PJ” is Tom Randall himself. The self-contradicting and self-defeating arguments we have seen before. I understand some of the Ohio advocates met with Tom and were treated to a lot of this.
    Tom is also suspected of ghost writing at least three FB conversations (comments and replies to posts) using names of others. One of which was proven to be ghost written.

  101. PJ: What part has CVCA played in anything related to the Philippines situation?

    I’m guessing something, because it sure touched a nerve! Hmm.

  102. One obvious line of pursuit is to determine who were the wealthy and influential donors of Randall’s World Harvest Ministries. Who is/was Sankey, who supposedly provided much of the dollars toward establishing the Sankey Samaritan Mission? And again, what sort of missions work did wealthy men or sports celebrities take part in? Did they paint the same buildings 3 times a year, then hit a resort, as has been alleged elsewhere? If these groups use code words, the words ‘Harvest’ and ‘Samaritan’ would be two I suggest one keep an eye on.

  103. TS00: If you have been drawn into a ‘big’ church with rock star pastors and ministries, I would be doing a huge reality check to see if it functions as a genuine part of the body of Christ.

    A long time I ago, I learned the hard way (as most of us do) to look for red flags when visiting a new church or supporting a new ministry. Don’t wait for the flags, look for them! Don’t reach into your pocketbooks until you “know” them. Don’t jump on the bandwagon, don’t sway with the beat, don’t follow a man into the great unknown, don’t go and do as you’re told … until you test the spirits about you. The genuine has been mingled with the counterfeit so much that it must be carefully examined … mis-truth and half-truth ain’t Truth! So be careful what you hear little ears.

  104. https://web.archive.org/web/20190319215023/https://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=77186071b7604684b0a777175&id=8d754f0ff3&e=4906605ada

    http://www.bigdatabase.com/Big-DB/USFoundation-profiles/SANKEY%20FAMILY%20FOUNDATION-341909797.HTML

    Tom Randall’s wife, Karen, wrote of Tom’s relationship with Joe Coffey, Jim Sankey and CVCA in the link above. (Also posted in another comment by Truth). I’ve added a link to Sankey Family Foundation’s years of giving to CCC and WHM. God bless this generous man.

    My involvement as an Ohio advocate who’s consistently asked for a third party investigation birthed when Tom Randall was final Chapel speaker to the CVCA graduating class of 2014 in which my son attended. This occurred in May of 2014 while the alleged abuses at Sankey Children’s home were ongoing in the Philippines courts. I was shocked CVCA allowed Tom to speak. In contacting the school about speaker arrangements, I was directed to and sat with Matt Koons, now Headmaster of CVCA (who,in 2014, served on staff at CCC, and son in law of founding pastor Jim Colledge of CCC). Mr. Koons assured me CVCA was confident Tom Randall was a good choice in representing CVCA in giving the final Chapel to the 2014 graduates. Mr. Koons stated to me Pastor Joe Coffey affirmed this to him. The response from those in leadership since 2014 appears to have disallowed the voices of any inquiring or having a different view from Joe Coffey or Tom Randall.

    Am I saying this pronounces cover up by any of the above parties? No. But because of the direct ties and vast amount of unanswered questions – wisdom, transparency, and reputation of the school would require a third-party investigation.

    My experience with my son at CVCA was a godsend to us at a very trying time in our lives. I’m eternally grateful and pray the school and community connected will voice the need to clear all associated with this apparent scandal.

  105. Laura. Thankyou for this financial information. What a shame. This is really all about the money. Something the average churchgoers with minimal incomes can not even begin to comprehend. God will not be robbed or mocked

  106. Laura. Thankyou for this financial information. What a shame. This is really all about the money. Something the average churchgoers with minimal incomes can not even begin to comprehend.

  107. TS00: I just love it when people throw out the ‘Conspiracy’ epithet, which is supposed to put an end to the subject.

    All too often, those who “throw out the ‘Conspiracy’ epithet” are themselves Conspiracy Crackheads about The REAL Conspiracy.

  108. BRAVE:
    Laura.Thankyou for this financial information. What a shame. This is really all about the money.Something the average churchgoers with minimal incomes can not even begin to comprehend.

    i.e. ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS, BABY!

  109. dee: PJ
    You are banned. And it happened really quickly. I think I’ve banned about 15 people in 10 years. It may even be less.

    Does he set the record for shortest time between first comment and getting banned?

    And with the cancellation of The PJ Show, we return to Wartburg Watch in its regularly-scheduled time slot.

  110. JMauk: Hmm, I wonder if “PJ” might be “Pastor Joe (Coffey)”?

    Wouldn’t be the first Sock Puppet that came out of the woodwork to suddenly Defend the Faith (and PASTOR).

    I see this on so many Spiritual Abuse and Whistleblower blogs. The thread suddenly out of nowhere gets mobbed by “Concerned Christians(TM)” with unknown handles who never appeared on the blog before, all going Fangs Out defending the ordained crook who just got exposed.

    Stimulus/Response like Pavlov ringing a bell.

  111. Headless Unicorn Guy: Wouldn’t be the first Sock Puppet that came out of the woodwork to suddenly Defend the Faith (and PASTOR).

    I see this on so many Spiritual Abuse and Whistleblower blogs. The thread suddenly out of nowhere gets mobbed by “Concerned Christians(TM)” with unknown handles who never appeared on the blog before, all going Fangs Out defending the ordained crook who just got exposed.

    Stimulus/Response like Pavlov ringing a bell.

    And…I wrote him on the last blog with my email to contact me for more information, since he seemed to think we were withholding. Haven’t heard back…

  112. Amanda: And…I wrote him on the last blog with my email to contact me for more information, since he seemed to think we were withholding. Haven’t heard back…

    Beware of malware emails.

  113. Pingback: Linkathon! - Phoenix Preacher

  114. Daisy: (There’s this stubborn myth that all to most child molesters are single guys or celibates.)

    FEATURE, NOT BUG.
    The word is “Misdirection”, My Dear Wormwood.