The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made. Groucho Marx link
Warning-a few explicit links containing nudity and one raunchy joke.
Over the last few months, TWW has received some emails which have asked the question, "What is going on with Maurilio Amorim?" As I looked at the subject matter contained in these emails, I decided to take investigate the subject. I came to the conclusion that this question was valid and that I would throw it out to our readership for discussion.
Pete Wilson and The A Group
Let's review the situation. Last fall we posted Pete Wilson Is So Exhausted and Burned Out That He Became the President of the A Group. You may remember him as the pastor who told people he needed to leave the ministry due to exhaustion. He failed to mention that he had accepted a job at The A Group nor did he mention he was recently separated and going through a divorce. Rumor had it that some of the church leadership thought TWW was *lying* but time proved our point. Pete and Brandi are getting a divorce. We work very hard to provide accurate information. We would never write anything that we did not believe to be true.
We have a question. Does anyone know if any former Crosspoint employees besides Pete are working at The A Group?
Maurilio Amorim and Social Media
I have spoken with a number of individuals who think Maurilio is a nice guy who is quite talented in his chosen field. He is currently going through a prolonged divorce process which has been quite ugly, according to two sources. I have received copies of the divorce papers but have decided not to post them unless it is necessary.
A few individuals expressed concern about his online presence on social media so I decided to check it out.
Facebook Indiscretions
Graphic Warning: If you are uncomfortable viewing pictures of well developed men in various stages of undress, you may not want to click on the links provided.
It is considered a social faux pas to leave up pictures and posts of a personal nature on the Internet if one is planning to go into the business world. It is quite easy to find out information about any individual who keeps her/his Facebook open to the public. When it is open to the public, it is fair game.
We were told to look at Mauriilio's Facebook page by a few folks. At first glance, it seems like it is an *Ode to Maurilio* with many pictures on Maurilio looking quite fit and dapper…a bit narcissistic appearing but not so bad, right? I was told to dig deeper.
I decided to click on the names of male friends who left encouraging comments. Well, needless to say, I was a tad surprised. In the last couple of months, those particular links have been removed. We took quite a few screen shots that would give readers a good idea of what we are saying but we have decided not to post them at this time.
Warning: Explicit photos link
However, one of Mauriilio's friends, whom Maurilio said, on Facebook, that he was mentoring, has a current Instagram page. Here is a link to Caylan Hughes. Also, here is a link to Caylan's Facebook page in which he posted this entry.
I think Mauriilio's Facebook page is a bit much. However, he is a social media expert so maybe he knows better than I.
Questionable personal endorsements
Once again, the following two public endorsements seem a bit over the top considering that Maurilio is aiming for business from the evangelical set.
Spanx for men endorsement.
In this ad, Maurilio, continuing to show his concern for his body image, likes his Spanx. This is a pretty innocuous ad.
Amorim gets a bit raunchy in an ad for NuLife Institute.
NuLife is a group that is into using hormone replacement. Here is what the company has to say.
NuLife Institute’s amazing anti-aging treatments are nothing short of life-changing …
From improved memory and clarity to higher energy levels and a heightened sex drive, our offerings—from HRT and HGH to PRP and beyond—can help you live your life to its fullest in ways you haven’t imagined.
So, Maurilio, once again, showed us his amazing physique. However, his endorsement is off color since we know he is getting a divorce. (The divorce has been in process for several years.)
Thoughts:
If Amorim is trying to reach the conservative evangelical world, it would seem that his public social media presence is a bit awkward. However, he is the social media expert. Maybe this is what churches and parachurch groups are looking for these days.
Ummmm, he’s gay?
This guy needs to come out of the closet.
@ Snickerslatte:
I was wondering if that was the implication, but it’s all in circles so I wasn’t sure.
It would probably help if I knew who he actually was, though.
I also want to say the gingers hair that first picture is pretty hilariously fab.u.lous.
@ Lea:
Do you think he is using hormones?
http://www.maurilioamorim.com
Check out his articles – “If you tweet it, they will come”??? How does this jive with NuLife ad? And his photo on A Group looks oh so 1977 John Travolta Saturday Night Fever. Midlife crisis, maybe?
Those Abs…
Those Abs…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5mtclwloEQ
dee wrote:
Are steroids hormones?
Caylan’s hair has apparently been doing some serious rapture practice.
Stereotypes being what they are, I understand the speculation, but in my experience, the only remotely reliable way to know what gender someone is interested in is to watch who their eyes are drawn to when they’re not focused on anything else (and even that isn’t infallible).
@ Lea:
Hughes entire page is pictures of himself and other guys. For a model, not a lady to be found.
@ Josh:
Yes, but with Caulan’s hair, I think all eyes in a room would be on him, regardless of gender preference.
@ Snickerslatte:
In my view, that hair style isn’t doing him any favors, but then I’ve never found the modern hipster, man bun, shaved-on-the-side, or otherwise unconventional styles to be attractive. But perhaps that’s what a guy has to look like to do well in modeling now… I wouldn’t know.
@ Headless Unicorn Guy:
Because you know I’m all about those abs, ’bout those abs…
Glad I’m an old Luddite who doesn’t do social media.
Joe wrote:
I tried the search string “TOM CRUISE SOUTH PARK” on YouTube but couldn’t get any good footage…
All I can think (and I didn’t click on any of the links because I don’t need to see it) is that a scandal will hit the media shortly.
Most narcissistic and offputting images I have seen since TT’s (who is in love with himself IMO) in about two years, not to mention unnatural. Hey, give me a man that looks like a man, acts like a man. BTW, who the heck is this? Part of the plastic “church” and its consumerist “plastic” gospel? And what’s with the sex obsession? Please, I think I’m going to be sick. I really don’t give a blank about how long and hard this person can go.
Oh man, the guys hair on the right…..then again, I’ve been bald since my junior year in college. …..could be jealousy…:)
Ok, so to satisfy my own curiosity, the A Group (which I had not looked into before, maybe because I missed the previous TWW article on Pete Wilson) has worked with a variety of Baptist churches, the Institution for Creation Research, AWANA, and a host of other churches and religious publishing enterprises – as well as a few other possibly secular groups.
I’m probably the exception to the norm here, but the shirtless photos bother me not nearly as much as the endorsements for “alternative medicine” (and I use that term in the full force of it’s freshly implied meaning from the introduction of “alternative facts”), which give me pause and lead me to question his discernment.
If these folks didn’t have a problem with Mark Driscoll, somehow I doubt they’ll have a problem with Maurillo. After all, “Conservative” seems to mean “the manosphere at prayer” now.
K.D. wrote:
I know the feeling! I’m jealous of the hair, but not the style. I prefer hair styles that appear to follow the laws of physics. 😀
Josh wrote:
I don’t actually care either way.
The hair though? I care about that.
MidwesternEasterner wrote:
PUA All The Way…
Josh wrote:
I KNOW I saw that hairstyle in a comic book somewhere!
@ Headless Unicorn Guy:
Those, too.
Pete’s hair.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPf6aQmA_5UuaGEY1a1xrg3uA0Xwja76dZ6zNY0/
I’m just going to say that I think Spanx are from Satan. Or are an ill-advised return to corsets. Either way, yikes.
(And yes, I have tried Spanx. I thought I was going to be strangled. Nope.)
I have posted a new update on the open discussion thread. Thank you all.
http://thewartburgwatch.com/open-discussion-page/comment-page-11/#comment-315903
http://www.gofundme.com/ljahelp
dee wrote:
“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
You just can’t trust church guys with spiky hairdos, gold choker chains, skinny jeans, tanned bodies, fascination in physique, with tweets like “Always good times when we are together.”
The Benedict Option is sounding better all the time! 🙂
Max wrote:
An apt description of some of the teenage boys I had in class back in the late ’90s and early 2000s! Pete’s hair …… yeah, that was all the rage for teenage and adolescent boys ……. 10 – 15 years ago. He’s not hip.
Muslin, fka Dee Holmes wrote:
Ha! I was trying to pull up that steel magnolias clip and post but couldn’t find it (where Dolly Parton says she hasn’t been out of the house without Lycra on her thighs since she was 14 and the other girl says ‘you were raised right).
Man I’m glad I don’t have to wear pantyhose to work anymore.
Lea wrote:
Sister, you deserve a standing ovation! I am with you.
Lea wrote:
That just reminded me I promised someone (boss’s boss) that I’d be in the office tomorrow. And I’d already planned on being in the office on Friday to pick up equipment from our contractor, who has been hired by another department. Early days…
Muslin, fka Dee Holmes wrote:
OMgoodness, this reminds me of an article about the character of ‘Betty Draper’ in the telly series ‘Mad Men’ …. she always appeared in her own home completely pulled together with ‘the works’, girdle, stockings, bra (of course), slip, dresses, and her hair perfectly turned out ….. maybe it was that generation? My own mother dressed to the nines everytime she went the store, and if she took us downtown, it was hat and heels on her with a suit. We all even had to wait an extra hour for her to get ready to go to the beach as a family, while Mother fixed her hair and did her nails perfectly. I’m sure it was that time, that generation.
But when I was young, I noticed my cousins in Plymouth NC …. same way: no ‘casual’, always perfectly turned out even on the hottest summer day. Very intimidating. 🙂
Josh wrote:
Hi Josh,
I am totally with you on this issue. Is NuLife distributed like HerbaLife with this MLM scam?
MidwesternEasterner wrote:
LOLSOC (That’s a “Laughing Out Loud and Spitting Out Coffee” reflection from a female senior citizen.)
Muslin, fka Dee Holmes wrote:
Spanx are like control top pantyhose; for women who are already more on the slender side. The rest of us? Oh well…
Dee, y’all have misspelled Mr. Amorim’s first name. It is actually Maurilio. (one L, and then an i)
NJ wrote:
“Spandex has an upper weight limit.”
— Rostler’s Rules of (SF convention) Masquerades
Nancy2 wrote:
Just time-stopped in perpetual adolescence.
(Like “Foreverware” in the first episode of that obscure quasi-horror TV series Eerie, Indiana.)
Muslin, fka Dee Holmes wrote:
I can’t see that hip-and-edgy spelling “Spanx” without thinking of Bratz Dolls.
(Maybe with an additional veiled hint at spanking fetish…)
WHY DO THESE GUYS KEEP HANDING US THE STRAIGHT LINES?
THIS IS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF SOUTH PARK!
@ DebWilli:
It WAS funny 🙂
Headless Unicorn Guy wrote:
Older editions of ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ perhaps? Bazooka bubblegum comics maybe?
Max wrote:
Amen, Brother!
Appears these dudes really studied PT Barnum?
I wish this shocked me, but it doesn’t. As a whole, the Christians I know are so driven by money and culture. And many of them may go to church, or claim to be Christian, but it’s clear that is the last thing they care about. I don’t care about his orientation or personal style, but the endless posts on self don’t seem much different from most of what the TCG guys post. It’s always all about them.
Thank you.
http://www.maurilioamorim.com/2014/08/becoming-a-safe-person/
I don’t even know what to say.
@ siteseer:
There is an article called ‘How men should wear a shirt’.
Apparently, it’s tres difficile!
Lea wrote:
Lol. You might be surprised…
roebuck wrote:
Hermey the elf from “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, as a redhead!
Muslin, fka Dee Holmes wrote:
Hmm, maybe “Satanic Panties” would be a good screen name…
@ siteseer:
Keep looking stuff up. I bet you will find more.
siteseer wrote:
Until then he was Perfect in Every Way?
How about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma5iilLWbUI ?
Lea wrote:
Especially when https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5mtclwloEQ …
Friend wrote:
Or a weird band name.
Right up there with “Children of the Goats”, “Steaming Piles of Fresh Produce”, “Crazy Children in the Attic”, and “Fetuses of the Damned”.
Muslin, fka Dee Holmes wrote:
They are really a dual-purpose item. You do a gym workout while putting them on and taking them off. A twofer! (That’s how I feel about the workout clothes I got–good grief, I finally wrestled them on and now I am too tired to go to the gym.)
This is a totally unrelated question, but a friend and I both tried to go to the SGMSurvivors site this week and it wasn’t there. Did it die a natural death? Was there an announcement?
@ Former CLC’er:
Does anyone know the answer to this question?
@ Really:
Kris? Guy?
Muslin, fka Dee Holmes wrote:
TMI from Rhonda Kelley, sister-in-law of Dorothy Patterson, in an article published by Baptist Press:
http://www.bpnews.net/46110/firstperson-gird-up-your–spanx
“There are specific biblical principles to guide our decisions and our lifestyles, including outward appearance and appropriate clothing.”
“I was introduced to the miracle of Spanx by a ministry wife friend….Hidden beneath my clothing, unnoticed by passersby, I can walk in confidence that any bulges have been smoothed out. I don’t exactly know where my extra fluff goes when I shimmy into my Spanx, but at least it is out of sight and out of mind for a while….I never leave home without my Spanx!”
“The Bible instructs believers to ‘gird up their loins’….The word “gird” means to encircle or bind (sounds like a girdle or Spanx to me)….Ladies, if you were willing to give Spanx a try, surely you will make a commitment to the Lord: Let Him do His work in you as you let Spanx do its work on you.”
“Rhonda Harrington Kelley is the president’s wife and adjunct professor of women’s ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She is a speaker and teacher as well as co-editor with Dorothy Patterson of “The Study Bible for Women” and “The Devotional for Women” (B&H Publishers). This article first appeared in SBC LIFE (www.sbclife.net), journal of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee.”
Here’s the report of one novelist writing a book about a man who takes steroids and – in order to understand what his character goes through – begins taking them, too:
From Mr Average … to superman
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/may/18/healthandwellbeing.features1
Quote:
Seems like telling yourself that the HRT treatment is making you feel so good entails a lot of lying to yourself. The only part of you that must be doing really well is that narcissistic part of your personality that likes to admire yourself in a mirror’s reflection.
These guys (Amorim, Tchividjian) seem to to be unable to cope with the fact that in your forties and fifties you are no longer twenty-five. Well, get over it!
Two more links:
http://taylorhooton.org/steroid-abuse/signs-of-steroids-abuse/
Seems like steroids may in some cases turn you into someone who is not very easy to live with.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/anabolic-steroid-abuse/what-effects-do-anabolic-steroids-have-behavior
So, YMMV.
Jerome wrote:
The worst quote of the year; do these ladies learn to rape scripture from their husbands or are they simply doing it all by themselves? Unbelievable, ridiculous, laughable.
I can’t stop giggling…maybe I need a spank(s).
@ Jerome:
I hope that nonsense didn’t make it into the devotional!
Jerome wrote:
This is listing towards blasphemy. It sounds like a paid testimonial. It’s as if there’s no fear of the Lord whatsoever, no reverence for God’s word, it’s all about them, whatever it takes, they’ll promote themselves or their products, the Bible’s just a tool. It’s sick.
Jerome wrote:
This has been a paid advertisement for Spanx.
“Spanx or GOD! WILL! HOLD! YOU! ACCOUNTABLE!”
Jerome wrote:
Southern Baptist women so desperately need mature women of faith to teach them. They are always served up such elementary stuff to keep them swimming in shallow water … while their men pursue the deeper things of Gawd (not). The whole SBC outfit are just not a very spiritual people these days (I speak from a 60+ year perspective as a Southern Baptist).
Former CLC’er wrote:
No, there was no announcement. I was reading the comments daily, and then the domain expired. I suppose it’s possible they might still renew it and the site would reappear. I hope they didn’t just let it die with no warning, or give the folks there a chance to decide on a new rendezvous point. Hopefully someone knows what happened and what the plan is; I’m curious too.
Jerome wrote:
Well, you wouldn’t normally hear me say this on TWW or elsewhere. TWW regulars know that I have a tremendous respect for female believers and consider women just as equal as me in the Kingdom of God on earth. I have been a vocal opponent of any effort to subordinate women in our churches by twisting Scripture. However, this is one time that I am for ‘certain’ women remaining silent in church!
Law Prof wrote:
It reads like badly written ad copy. They’re not even trying, for heaven’s sake!
TWW will be providing an SGM Survivors page in the near future if the SGM Survivors site expired. It is pretty hard to just let a site expire. You get haurnted by theplatform company you have chosen -emails, calls, etc ., over a long period of time before you lose the domain. This is a bit unusual.
Josh wrote:
It sounds like a joke, honestly, which is ok. But you can never tell what people are really think when they overspiritualize. Some are serious.
Max wrote:
I’ve had 3rd graders in VBS than could think deeper than Mrs Kelly. I vote for her remaining silent, not only in church, but EVERYWHERE!
The best place she could put spanx is over her mouth. It would serve a two-fold purpose: 1) It would prevent her from saying things that expose her ignorance. 2) It would keep ker from eating so much, so she wouldn’t need the spanx to hide “the fluff”!
Lea wrote:
Yes, an example of Christianity Lite … it’s always looking for a way to lighten things up a bit by putting a humorous slant on Scripture … entertainment is the theme of the day. You shouldn’t laugh your way through a Bible study! It would do the organized church good to go through some hard times to make it more serious in walk and talk. Pursuit of righteousness and holiness are serious things. Confronting darkness is serious business; souls are at stake.
Max wrote:
Now now, we shouldn’t go too far in the other direction. Not defending the spanx nonsense, but there is an old testament book that is almost entirely puns that don’t make sense in English. A little laughter is not a bad thing either.
Lea wrote:
Agreed! I heard a church guy say “If Jesus was walking the earth today, I believe he would be hanging out with good ole boys around a campfire, drinking beer, and telling jokes!” Personally, I have trouble catching that vision.
Yes “A merry heart does good, like medicine.” Believe it or not, you can find this old man laughing occasionally! But you will also find me weeping a lot in church these days – I have a burden for the condition of the American church.
We have set up a temporary SGM Survivors communications page. Please move all *Where is SGM Survivors* questions to that page. We will communicate, if we ever find out, what is going on there.
http://thewartburgwatch.com/2017/03/24/sgm-survivors-temporary-communications-page/
Law Prof wrote:
Welcome to the American church in far too many places.
Lea wrote:
That would be a classic example of Poe’s Law. (“Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is utterly impossible to parody a [fundamentalist] in such a way that someone won’t mistake for the genuine article.”)
Max wrote:
1) It’s a one-eighty overreaction to “The hard, grey, drab, joyless path of Salvation.”
2) “Souls” or individual people? The separation/dichotomy between the two is part of the problem.
Spanx are for Bratz dolls.
Headless Unicorn Guy wrote:
Splains why Bratz dolls’ heads are proportionately large – all dat fluff gotta go somewhere.
Not too many years ago (after the Spanx strangulation), I mentioned to my mother I was thinking about getting some shapewear. It was weird; she really cautioned me against it. But then again, she had extensive experience with shapewear. So I never did.
@ Headless Unicorn Guy:
“I KNOW I saw that hairstyle in a comic book somewhere!”
+++++++++++++++++
it’s Tintin
Muslin fka Deana Holmes wrote:
“Spanx Strangulation”?
Vanity makes you do some REALLY strange things —
lead-based makeup, corsets, cigarettes…
dee wrote:
Then there are Petes Twetes…
Some of therm are more mysterious that Pete’s hair.
To rehash for those who didn’t see it at the time— around January 9th some bloggers posted articles about Pete’s divorce filing. Pete tweted at 2 of them, asking for their email addresses. Within a few hours, both of their articles mysteriously vanished without a trace. And we thought Maurilio was the international man of mystery!
After Pete’s own announcement of the divorce, his twittering returned to business as usual.
In the OP Dee asked, “We have a question. Does anyone know if any former Crosspoint employees besides Pete are working at The A Group?” I remember some commenter last fall said some staff member resigned shortly after Pete, and even named a name (redacted before I saw it). Is that who you had in mind? I did a little goggling without any success (lacking that mystery name). But I was inspired to have even more questions.
I found a newspaper article of interest from yesterday.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2017/03/23/attendance-giving-down-cross-point-church-6-months-after-pastor-resigns/99488694/
With this paragraph:
“‘Some who’ve left have found new church homes, which Cross Point staff supports,’ Nichols said. However, they’re concerned about those who left Cross Point after Wilson did and are no longer connected to any church.”
Would this include the mystery staffer?
Come to think of it— what church is Wilson himself attending now? His twitterer feed is still very supportive of Cross Point, where he recommends sermons etc. Come to think of it— what church does his BFF Maurilio attend? My goggling has come up empty on either of them. Nones or dones, perhaps?
siteseer wrote:
Well, let’s be thankful. Some people don’t even get that far.
Dave A A wrote:
Why would a blogger care what Pete Wilson had to say? Why would they pull down an article? Perhaps threatening a lawsuit based on libel? Well truth is an absolute defense to it, if it’s been filed, there’s no court in the country that wouldn’t dismiss such a plaintiff’s suit pretrial and many judges would award attorneys’ fees and damages to the defendant based on vexatious litigation. So if that’s not it, what else? Bribery? The threat of excommunication? From what? I just don’t get it. Why would a blogger pull down a factual news story?
@ Law Prof:
The originating comment by Jerome has this quote from Rhonda Kelley –
Perhaps someone has already addressed this above, but I bristled at her referring to Spanx as a ‘miracle’. No, Spanx is an article of underclothing. What is more, it is designed to deceive…to give the false appearance of being something other than what one is, i.e., thinner. To call something a miracle which is human made and whose purpose is to trick other people is a more serious an indicator of someone’s view of God than might first appear.
If I remember correctly, Pharaoh’s chief magicians created the same kind of miracles when trying to undermine Moses.
Burwell wrote:
Didn’t mention it above, but I bristled at that a little also. Not wanting to be overly pedantic and picky about words, but this lady seems incapable of keeping to a cogent, rational Christian world view. Anyone who’s idiot alarm (i.e., “Hey idiot, what are you thinking?”) wouldn’t be going defcon four as they’re writing what is essentially an ad for a product and plucking words from the Bible to market it is not someone who is trustworthy. I’ve experienced these sorts of things before: people who hawked their MLM schemes with a biblical twist, arguing the benefits of that vulgar and selfish form of marketing from the Bible, taking advantage of gullible Christian friends and people who just hate to say “no”. It’s disgusting.
@ dee:
Thanks Dee. Hope you’re feeling well these days.
@ Law Prof:
Spanx, the Lycra essential oil.
He used to attend Crosspoint and my understanding is that in the early days he was a leader there@ Dave A A:
@ Burwell:
when I was a girl, girdles were in, before the days of panty-hose and stockings were held up by garter clips off of the girdles ….. then came to the panty hose (thank God, well, at least it was a step up from the garters) ….. then we told when I was a teen how girdles RUINED your muscles and tone and it was better to exercise than to wear those things. I paid attention.
Spanx? A miserable kind of ‘girdle’ if you ask me. I’ve tried one pair. They went right to the thrift shop. Misery! Awful! PAINFUL!
I’ll stick with the gym and the swimming/therapy pools and leave the Spanx for them what is too gentile to sweat in the gym. BTW, a nice pair of stretch jeans ‘helps’ without the pain of Spanx. But NOTHING replaces the need for exercise at all ages.
Law Prof wrote:
I vaguely remember a movie (Groove Tube? Kentucky Fried Movie? Attack of the Killer Tomatoes? — something along those lines) with an ad agency scene that ends with the ad execs screening a new commercial that starts out with a reverb voice of “Jesus Christ” pitching the client’s product.
Headless Unicorn Guy wrote:
Sounds like something Weird Al would do.
While the Spanx thread was off-topic, I suppose it does circle back to Maurilio Amorim in a weird sort of way.
Law Prof wrote:
They quoted the divorce filing, with “Wife alleges that Husband has been guilty of such inappropriate marital conduct toward her that renders cohabitation unsafe and improper.”
But so did TWW 3 weeks earlier. It’s my unprofessional understanding such language may appear in divorce documents even when there’s no real allegation of abuse– you might be able to clarify. The only new things those articles added was a statement by a CrossPoint spokesman which seemed innocuous.
Perhaps even odder, at the same time the ExPastors website caused 2 of their highly positive articles about and interviewing Wilson to vanish. I asked them why, but my comment suffered from a mysterious technical glitch causing it to remain in moderation for 10 weeks and counting.
Law Prof wrote:
I did a little checking — it IS Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! Wikipedia has this summary of the scene and it fits what I remember:
“Sacramento fell today
They’re marching into San Jose
The Tomatoes — are after You!
(and you and you and you…)”
Dave A A wrote:
How ironic that your question got caught up in such a glitch. I’m sure that the good men of Ex-Pastors want nothing more than to find your comment, release it and then provide you with the answer to your question, but they are probably as flummoxed as you are.
Interestingly, I’m nearing completion of Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency this morning and your comment could have been lifted from his book, with the notable exception that your situation is ongoing and he is not.
Dave A A wrote:
You are correct there may be no real allegation of abuse, but such language is there usually in an attempt to get the other party to settle.
Dave A A wrote:
Wish I knew, never did any family law or divorce law. Closest I ever came was as a corporate attorney when the president of the company called and said “M—, my plant manager just got arrested for nonpayment of child support, we need him on the job, what are we gonna do?” I think he thought there was some loophole. I told him “Uh, B—-, tell him to pay his child support.”
Dave A A wrote:
Here’s another thought, based on the overall question of this post – could such conduct not actually consist of abuse but rather consist of homosexual oriented behavior? That might explain the rapid and complete removal of posts, information, etc.
Law Prof wrote:
This was yet another thing that pushed me into the “done” category. There was a couple at the church I was attending who were zealously pushing an MLM vitamin scheme, they cornered me after church one Sunday and would not quit. We ended up in a big argument when I called them on inaccurate statements they were making. It was the final straw in long years of ridiculous MLM schemes I had to fend off in church, some of them laughable and others frustrating. I don’t go to church for that!
This woman’s “exercise” videos made the rounds with the church ladies before that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvy_uJxJ_-g I sat through this with a group of excited women and found myself wondering if I was the only one with common sense.
siteseer wrote:
That exercise video is unbelievable.
I’ve been assaulted by people in church who insisted that Proctor & Gamble was a front for satanists, that Barry Manilow, the milquetoast singer of the 70s and 80s, was an open devil worshipper, that so-called prophets with ridiculous hair and pinkie rings and a me-me-me attitude were actually growing peoples’ legs out.
I’ve watched a so-called leader of the church who was in my opinion a full blown NPD with paranoid delusions tell the church from the pulpit that our state was storing up guillotines to chop the heads from Christians.
I’ve been told again and again and again that next year’s The Year of the Second Coming by “prophets” who are perpetually proven wrong (and they just reboot, reset the date and nobody holds them accountable!
I’ve watched a pastor from the pulpit tell the congregation, in making his pitch for us to give sacrificially, that “Jesus spoke more about money than any other topic in His entire ministry” (totally untrue, by the way), my wife had a pastor who told the congregation “If you don’t give at least 10% to your church, you’re stealin’ from God!” (and then same pastor got caught for embezzling from the church).
I’ve seen people who I thought were good and decent lie and conspire against one another and look the other way when friends were slandered and destroyed and viciously backstab when ordered to by a self-proclaimed leader who hated them and wanted to divide them
It’s astonishing how fatuous, gullible, vulgar, greedy, self-centered and petty people who call themselves Christian can be. It’s a source of never-ending amazement.
Jesus is real and God is love. But there sure are a lot of liars and blind sheep and blind guides who come in His name.
Burwell wrote:
Well, the Buffed-up Steroid Wonder IS one of the Gay archetypes of the Perfect 10.
Even with heavy Photoshop assist…
PHOTOSHOP FAILS (MUSCLE EDITION)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuWbcX3K8ys
Dee wrote:
You’re referring to Maurilio, I assume– though the statement would be equally true of Pete — but where are they now? Nobody knows… Could be hipster leaders of leaders don’t feel the need to be parts of churches… which is OK with me, since I’m a “none” right now myself.
Ken G wrote:
For this guy, there haven’t been any allegations of any wrongdoing at all outside of TWW. Every other mega-pastor who’s quit or been fired recently has made some sort of mistakes, leading to counseling, restoration, rehab, or jail. But Wilson just failed to prioritize some things leading to burnout and miraculous healing 3 weeks later when his BFF made him part of the A team.
Burwell wrote:
That might!
Lea wrote:
Maybe they were trying to write one of those faux-mercials on “Saturday Night Live”. 😉
Law Prof wrote:
I had the misfortune of being in the room while a terrible end times movie was playing (to call it a B movie would be an insult to B movies), where a part of the plot involved guillotines to kill people who didn’t worship the antichrist. It’s just another case of “fundamentalists can’t distinguish reality from fiction,” I guess…
Josh wrote:
It gets crazy. Same guy who preached about the guillotines also told the youth group that you could put up a mic to the mouth of a volcano and hear screams of the tortured souls in hell. This fellow also made lying pretty much a hobby, when I confronted him about it, he said “M—, I never lie, I thank God I have no problem with lying.” Never went back after that gem.
Law Prof wrote:
That boggles my mind. I simply can’t even.
Boston Lady wrote:
True. TMI. Keep it in the bedroom with the partner. Looks cheap and easy like a floozy, however, there is no word for a male floozy.
@ Headless Unicorn Guy:
In the meantime, in other headlines regarding Spandex today:
“@shannonrwatts
1) A @united gate agent isn’t letting girls in leggings get on flight from Denver to Minneapolis because spandex is not allowed?”
http://huff.to/2mFp0Ri
JYJames wrote:
Manly-Man?
Biblical Manhood Man?
BIG STUD?
Josh wrote:
Thief in the Night or one of its many sequels?
(If you also remember a “Giant Rubber Scorpion Stinger Scene” in a cabin in the woods when the Revelation Checklist called for The Plague of Demon Locusts, that would be a Positive ID.)
TITN was compulsory viewing for a LOT of church youth groups when it came out in the early Seventies (“Scare ’em into the Kingdom”). As someone whose head was in bad shape at the time due to The Gospel According to Hal Lindsay, I figured out what it had to be from the movie posters and screening venues and stayed very very far away.
The guillotine fetish was because of the Kynge Jaymes translation of Revelation with “all those who were BEHEADED for their faith…”. i.e. Antichrist WILL ALWAYS Martyr the Trib Christians by Beheading, It’s Prophesied! It’s Prophesied! Also see that Jack Chick tract “The Beast”, with it’s guillotine go-karts.
And the real kicker? TITN wasn’t the worst of Christianese Apocalyptic. Far from it. According to Slacktivist, compared to Left Behind it actually had a sincerity behind it, and did a decent job on a shoestring budget. (Even if the only clips of it I’ve seen should have had Joel and the Bots at the bottom of the screen.) But the absolute worst example of Christianese Apocalyptic — the “Eye of Argon” of the genre — was Salem Kirban’s novel 666. (Now that one I have read — bootleg in a Jesus Junk store in the early Seventies. The Horror… The Horror… The Horror…) Don’t know if it ever directly spawned a movie version, but it was heavily pushed in its day and actually made into a musical “cantata”. (My writing partner sent me a PDF copy, probably in revenge for my inflicting the singing midgets of Pirkle’s “The Believer’s Heaven” on him.)
Law Prof wrote:
“IT’S PROPHESIED! IT’S PROPHESIED! SCRIPTURE! SCRIPTURE! SCRIPTURE!”
Yom Kippur War Rapture Scare, 1973. (It’s Prophesied! It’s Prophesied!)
Comet Kohoutek Rapture Scare, 1974. (It’s Prophesied! It’s Prophesied!)
Rosh Hashanah Rapture Scare, 1975. (It’s Prophesied! It’s Prophesied!)
Jupiter Effect Rapture Scare, 1981. (It’s Prophesied! It’s Prophesied!)
88 Reasons The Rapture WILL Happen in 1988! Rapture Scare, 1988; followed the next year by the sequel, 89 Reasons the Rapture WILL Happen in 1989!. (Sales of the sequel tanked for some unknown reason…)
Read Jack Chick’s “The Beast” or watched Thief in the Night too many times?
With that statement, LawProf, you have officially topped my experiences in-country.
siteseer wrote:
Not much of a stretch from Campus Crusade’s “Multiplying Ministry” with Christ as the ultimate Upline.
They were WITNESSING(!) to you for their REAL Personal LOORD and Savior.
(Did they make the cancer-cure claim for their Pyramid Vitamins?)
Law Prof wrote:
Sounds like the latest variant of “The Well to Hell” HOAX from the Eighties.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Well_to_Hell_hoax
I heard “Rumor Rich” Buhler’s trackdown of that one.
JYJames wrote:
I don’t believe a word he wrote about his “performance” because there are no testimonials from his partner(s) to support such claims.
Headless Unicorn Guy wrote:
Have you listened to Jack Van Impe and end times prophecies? Check his recent video: Dr. Van Impe is 86 and his wife is probably not far behind in age. BTW, she looks great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyIXOwPD1GI
Ken G wrote:
Wasn’t Van Impe the guy behind the “Four Blood Moons” Prophecy last year?
Headless Unicorn Guy wrote:
Insane.
I read the post and clicked the Spanx for Men link. It is time we started teaching men how to be modest. This is an embarrassment to Christianity and may further turn-off an already disgusted culture with religion. Any church which would retain this guy as an expert in social media should use the utmost discernment.
@ Headless Unicorn Guy:
That was Mark Biltz.
Proposed thesis: This Anorim guy is becoming a cartoon of himself.
Dave A A wrote:
I do have confirmation that there is a former Crosspoint employee besides Pete working at The A Group.
Anon A wrote:
I plan to post the name of that employee when I get the confirmation. Is it JW? Could you tell me how you know? Could you email me dee@thewartburgwatch.com ? Our conversation will be confidential. That information will help me tie up the loose end of the “burned out™” pastor.
Johnny Hopkins wrote:
I, too, thought this was a little odd.