Supernova N132D-NASA
“I believe in Christianity, and my impression is that a system must be divine which has survived such insane mismanagement.” GK Chesterton tweet
I find it quite interesting how bloggers and journalists work together. Here is an interesting tweet from Barry Bowen of the Trinity Foundation.
Barry works at the venerable Trinity Foundation and is the man behind @pastorplanes. He is an all-around nice guy. His point is well taken and relates to this next story that involves me and my former church, Providence Baptist Church.
David Chatham, then
In 2009, I wrote a story in which one of the pastors at my church went to court to ask the judge for leniency in the sentencing of David Chatham. Chatham, a PR executive, was a rabid follower of child pornography. He finally got caught by the feds. I wrote HOW TO CURE A CHILD MOLESTER — BIBLE STUDY!
My illustrious former “Pastor of Counseling” said that Chatham was a great guy because he was now doing Bible study, which I assume my super duper former church thought was a great idea. The judge sent him to prison to do his Bible study.
I will quote from the article, but for my detractors who assume I lie about everything, here is the newspaper (We still had them back then) that I was quoting in my post.
From my post, there is a reason for all of this:
Imagine… A little girl, let’s call her Sarah, is held down by a man and forcibly raped. The horrendous scene is recorded on camera. You can hear her little voice sobbing and calling out for her mommy. Yet, there is no mommy, and this heinous act is completed. The repulsive video is available on the Internet. A man in Raleigh, North Carolina gets his kicks out of watching child pornography like that which has just been described. In fact, he has been getting sexually aroused this way just about every night for TWELVE years. He is finally brought to justice and will soon be sentenced for this felony. This crime carries a minimum of FIVE years in federal prison.
This criminal is upset and does not want to go to jail while he awaits his sentencing because he has important things to do. What is the response of one Southern Baptist pastor? The pastor takes the stand in order to ask a judge to give him extra time to be on the streets reportedly because this man has become a Christian. Huh?
He knew he’d be caught and practiced what he would say.
History – David Chatham, a 43-year-old public relations executive, began viewing adult pornography at the age of 9 when he found his dad’s Penthouse magazine, tucked away in a briefcase in a closet. Approximately 12 years ago Chatham began viewing child pornography. He is married and has no children. In December 2008 he was arrested and was found to have over 3,400 images of naked, molested boys and girls, toddlers and teens on his computer. Chatham was tried in federal court, pled guilty, and will soon be sentenced to serve a prison term of at least five years.
Knowledge of Wrongdoing – There will be no insanity plea here. Prior to his arrest, Chatham claimed that he knew he would eventually be apprehended. There are investigators who spend their working hours on the web tracking down these perverts. Incredibly, Chatham admitted to the newspaper reporter that he rehearsed what he would say and do when the inevitable arrest occurred.
And he kept up the deal, becoming a good Christian after he was caught!
Other Post Arrest Activities – Chatham began attending sex addicts meetings, received intensive psychological intervention, and worked with authorities to give lectures to men who share his pornography addiction. By all accounts, he became a model, contrite individual who was trying to turn his life around.
This man viewed porno involving TODDLERS!
There is no question that David Chatham knew his activities were illegal and immoral. What is troublesome is that his “new life” didn’t begin until after his arrest. He claims he rehearsed what he would say when he was arrested. Why did he wait until his arrest? Child molesters are highly manipulative individuals. “Wait”, you might say, “He was not a molester”. We contend that he contributed time, and most likely money, to this illegal business. In effect, his financial support contributed to this heinous industry. By his actions, he was condoning and implicitly agreeing to the rape of toddlers – that’s right – toddlers!!!!
This man was a public relations expert who rubbed elbows with the rich and powerful. He obviously thought out how he would tip the scales in his favor when arrested.
His porn acquisitions went on for 12 years! Such a habitual activity is not cured overnight. We are sure that there are Christians out there who probably claim that a miracle occurred. To that we say, “Can you prove it?” Is it worth the risk to our children? Don’t committed Christians also commit heinous acts?
Dedication to Christ “cures” sexual deviance?
Dr. Jon made an interesting point. If all it takes is dedication to Jesus to “cure” deviance, why not have the courts turn over all of the prisoners who are Christian converts to churches and save the government a whole lot of money by closing a bunch of jails? Even Pastor Mills would admit that Christianity does not have a 100% cure rate in this area. Heck, they can’t even reduce the 50% divorce rate within the Southern Baptist faith!
85% of imprisoned child porno offenders have also been found to have committed sexual abuse with children when arrested.
Chatham has spent 12 years viewing hard-core child pornography. Anyone who would view something so awful day in and day out for 12 years (sometimes for 14 hours a day!) has a darkness in his soul that is not easy to penetrate. In fact, a side bar article entitled “Internet enables a dark crime” by Mandy Locke, reviews a study done at a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina. That study found that roughly 85% of men imprisoned for receiving or distributing child pornography and did not have a known history of committing sexual abuse when arrested, actually had committed a hands on offense. Note: the figure is 85%!
…Chatham himself stated: “Though he never had a desire to touch a child sexually, he worried that, over time, that inhibition would slip, too.” This man may be crying out for help. He claims he never had this desire, but his assertion is a bit suspect given the nature of his perversion. Although he passed a lie detector test, these tests can be inaccurate.
He’s “sick” and is really a good man…right?
Chatham’s wife was quoted as saying: “I see now that he’s sick. It’s like him having cancer. I couldn’t leave him in that state, and I can’t leave him like this.“ I am the mother of a child who suffered with a malignant brain tumor. I’ll bet I speak for many others out there. I wish that simply turning off the computer could have cured my child’s tumor. Gee, flick a switch and the cancer goes away. No, ma’am, this is not like cancer. Yes, it is a compulsion, but do not put it in the same category as cancer! That’s terribly unfair to those afflicted with this dreadful disease.
“She holds him tight and tells him that he is a good person, worthy of her love.” No, he is not a good person. He watched images night in and out, of toddlers, children and teens being tortured (yes, rape is a form of torture). This went on for 12 years!!!! He was not helpless. He admitted that he knew what he was doing was wrong. He could have sought help but chose to wait until he was arrested.
The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. However, some sins have a greater effect on society than others. Children’s lives have been destroyed due to the activities of this man and others like him. Some of those children will go on to be the next generation of offenders (see our series on pedophilia). Good is not a word that should be used in this situation. Do you think the raped children would call Chatham, “a good man?”
US Attorney Exum shows he knows the deal with these cases.
Attorney Exum sad that all of the above testimony “wasn’t enough to make him different from the droves of men he sends to prison each year for defiling children by watching them be abused.” APPLAUSE!!!!!!!!!!!
These legal professionals seem to understand the effects and consequences of sexual sin that hurts children so much better than do many pastors and churches. They have seen it all, including false conversions, irreparably harmed children, and men who cannot overcome their sin.
OK-so, he’s off to prison. Case closed. Well, not exactly…You see, when the SBC is involved, it gets messed up.
Julie Roys contacted me and asked if I knew anything more about David Chatham. She was talking about “my” David Chatham from 2009. Here is his North Carolina Sex Offender registry.
David Chatham
David Chatham
Julie Roys discovered that this man had attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where Danny Akin presides. My former pastors have close ties to SEBTS since it is located about 10 miles from SEBTS. Kim Roberts, writing for The Roys Report, posted Convicted Sex Offender Pursuing Ministry Training at Southern Baptist Schools.
Was he planning to become a pastor to senior people in assisted living facilities like my mom? Oh no. he had some big plans.
Now Chatham is pursuing ministry training at Southern Baptist schools. He was a student for several years at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in a ministry leadership program. Chatham currently says he’s been admitted as a ministry student at Liberty University, a school with informal ties to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
Chatham claimed on his LinkedIn profile earlier this summer, which we’ve archived, that he was enrolled at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, in an online Master’s in Applied Ministry program.
After The Roys Report (TRR) asked Chatham about his enrollment, the reference to Liberty disappeared from his LinkedIn profile. Chatham told TRR that he had been accepted to Liberty but was not enrolled.
…Before applying to Liberty, Chatham was enrolled for several years at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) in Wake Forest, North Carolina, in its online Master’s in Ministry Leadership program. SEBTS claims its program will help students “develop strategies to maximize leadership impact.”
However, a source contacted SEBTS in April of this year, asking how a convicted sex offender was allowed into its master’s program. TRR has obtained correspondence showing that Chatham ceased to be a student at SEBTS as of July 6.
TRR reached out to SEBTS for comment about Chatham’s prior enrollment, but the school did not respond.
Maybe the good old boy network is still alive in the SBC. But it’s a little awkward, given the DOJ stuff and all\
Funny how Chatham was out from the SEBTS when this anonymous individual pursued the truth. If they read this, you have my profound respect.
This all started when someone at SEBTS raised questions about Chatham being allowed to enroll. This individual pursued answers from the seminary, which appears to have resulted in Chatham no longer being enrolled. SEBTS appears to have a policy about criminal background checks, but the results of such a background check don’t matter, especially when friends vouch for criminals.
The SEBTS website admissions page states, “Each applicant must authorize Southeastern to obtain a background check in order to satisfy the admission requirement. The only exclusion to the background check are special exemptions made for distance learning students who are admitted through a short application for one course off-campus.”
It continues, “If the background check indicates criminal behavior the applicant may not be awarded admission. Students may appeal the decision, and will have the opportunity to present information disputing the background check.”
Diane Langburg had something to say about this, as did I.
Chatham’s interest in a ministry degree raises questions about whether child sex offenders should ever be allowed in ministry positions. In a podcast with TRR in 2020, world-renowned trauma expert, Dr. Diane Langberg, argued that they should not be allowed in church settings, nor should they want to.
“(W)hen somebody really begins to understand who they have been, how they have deceived themselves and others, and the impact that they have had on vulnerable human beings, the person most afraid of them being around (a vulnerable) population is them,” Langberg said.
Dee Parsons, a victim advocate who runs The Wartburg Watch, wrote a post about Chatham in 2009. She told TRR, “If Chatham is truly a man of God, he would not want to put himself in a situation where he could be in touch with kids.”
I am furious about all of this.
- Chatham has found another way to be around kids in the SBC.
- SEBTS and Liberty are assisting him in his goal and being dangerously clueless.
- I would not be surprised if my former church and former pastors were involved, so I am asking around and will get to the bottom of this.
- SBC is a dangerous place for kids. I would have thought Danny Akin and the others would have learned their lesson given the Guidepost investigation.
My questions for Danny Akin and Liberty:
- Do you think a guy who watched toddlers being raped and violated for over 12 years should become a ministry leader?
- Do you think this guy is “cured?”
- Why?
- Has it ever crossed your mind to consider that this man could have a new and trusting “hunting ground?”
- Why hasn’t this man vowed never to be around children again, or if he has, why haven’t you mentioned it?
One thing of which I am confident, God placed me into a church that would teach me all sorts of things about sex abuse, domestic violence, child pornography, and spiritual abuse. It was hard, but, by God, I learned.
I am grateful to Julie Roys for pursuing this. Barry was right. There is an online cooperation between truthseekers.
Question, should a pedophile every he allowed in a church with children?
Let me go through some thoughts.
First, local churches should get together and find a way to put on special services for pedophiles and other dangerous people. (But being baptist is more likely to save than a service at the PCA, right?)
Some churches should consider having an adults-only service.
Of course, this means extra work for the pastors but if they care about this problem, I would assume they would be happy to participate.
Churches should post the pictures of pedophiles in their church (who should be attending an adults-only service. Wade Burleson did this in his church.
If they object, this means they really don’t want people to know they are pedophiles and are not interested in admitting to their problems.
As you may know, stats are rather grim for “pedophilia cure.” Pedophiles may never be able to overcome their inclinations. (See NIH.) So does the church care more for the safety of their children or their wish to prove that “Jesus will heal the pedophilia just like he always heals cancer? If they wish that, then they are stupid and should not be pastors.
Let me end there and see if you have further questions.
Pedophiles must never, ever be allowed and should never, ever want to be in a building with children.
The degree to which “preacher boys” want to parade around converts that have very bad backgrounds has always disturbed me…
But, have to admit “The Cross and the Switchblade”, was a great story, and they sure got allot of millage out of it over 50-60 years ago.. maybe that is why we continue to see these “cured” stories??
It made me cry when I was 18.
dee,
…….. and this goes way beyond being “allowed in a church with children”. Chatham obviously want some sort of leadership position in ministry, when he wouldn’t even be considered for a job as a part-time grounds-keeper or janitor in a public school.
Schools do background checks on all potential employees. Churches should, too – even volunteers.
Chuckp,
Motte and bailey, bro.
Oh, good grief. Drug addiction vs pedophilia? Really?
Is there a 12-Steps for pedophilia? With a track record of success?
Moreover, ask the survivors of pedophilia assault vs survivors of being around an addict if there’s a difference.
How about the experiences of children of adult addicts vs the experiences of children of pedophiles?
True, addicts can be capable of lots of vice while under the influence. But substance abuse is not inherently the violation of a child.
Pedophilia is always only exclusively and in every case, the violation of children. 100%. No exceptions.
What stops this from happening? No access. 100% of the time, no access.
Those sound like excellent ideas.
I used to think that perps should be forced to retire to monasteries — a solution that would obviously only work for Catholics, Orthodox, and a few High Church Anglicans.
But then I realized: “Why do that to the poor monasteries?” They aren’t set up to deal with sex offenders. They aren’t run by criminologists or psychologists. And they have young novices who would be vulnerable in such a situation. Why put those poor kids in danger?
So, where else should the offenders go, after they’ve served their time? Nobody is beyond redemption, and Jesus died for sex offenders, too. But where can they go? Obviously they *can’t* be allowed anywhere near children.
Maybe halfway houses of some sort? With highly trained staff and in-house church services?
I don’t know. But I like your suggestions.
Every church organization that protects and covers up child abuse needs to be torn down.
Nancy2(aka Kevlar),
Your comment illustrates the vast gulf between ostrich-head-in-the-sand churches and what the real world does to ensure that Chester the molester never gains access to kids and teens.
He’s securing his hunting ground. Church.
So, church people are rubes? They protect predator pedophiles but not children? Can’t do both. Choices are mades. Not mistakes, though. The providing of a hunting ground for a predator pedophile by his good ole boys is no mistake. It’s intentional.
Defund pedophiles and their hunting grounds.
This sentence is confusing.
Well said.
At my current church and those where my family members are pastors, known pedophiles are allowed to attend services–as long as they sit next to their spouse, elder, or similar individual. They are not allowed to serve in ministry of any kind. Our security people are given pictures of these individuals. With one or two exceptions, they leave after a month or so. Furthermore, there are additional safeguards in place to protect children and the people who work with them as well.They are sincerely trying, yet freely admit there are no guarantees.
Cynthia W.,
The point I was attempting to make is this. If a group of pastors could get together and put on services for pedophiles, they would need to agree on how to do a service. And I can’t see Baptists giving up any ground to the PCA, which baptizes infants. It was a jab at their inability to promote unity. Sorry if it was confusing.
Old Timer,
Some thoughts.
Can they sit near children in the service? Why not give the photos to all members of the church since parents can keep an eye on these folks?
Also, family members of pedophiles do not guarantee the safety of children. Think Duggars
Paul D.,
Sadly, people keep giving them money.
dee,
Okay, thanks. It makes sense now that you explained it!
“One thing of which I am confident, God placed me into a church that would teach me all sorts of things about sex abuse, domestic violence, child pornography, and spiritual abuse. It was hard, but, by God, I learned.” (Dee)
I’m convinced that, in our Christian experience, we walk through valleys for a season for a reason. During those times, for those with a discerning spirit, what you see, you can’t un-see … what you learn, you know and can’t un-know … it’s deposited deep in your knower. While it’s hell in the hallway, there is light at the end of the tunnel for those who walk through those valleys to eventually help others out.
Thank you, Dee, for applying what you learned in the valley to inform and warn others.
Church leaders are trusted. Pedophiles use trust to their advantage.
Pedophiles move under darkness of stealth and deception. There’s plenty of room in most churches for them to employ their wicked skills. All they have to do is gain their trust.
A lot of smaller churches would never bother doing a background check on a potential pastor. So any sort of ministry education would probably gain them an easy in to a small church seeking a pastor. I never had a background check at LU or SEBTS, but I did at UGA and for my online post-grad degree at WGU, both state-funded universities.
Akin might be a little more cautious now that so many people are watching him. But I’m pretty sure LU will still take anyone into their online program (if you can pay). Despite all their scandals, they seem to just keep making the same mistakes. My guess is that Chatham had more trouble with the money than his background at LU.
Most prisoners “get Jesus” in jail. They use their newfound faith as a leverage for early release, while prisons tout them as rehabilitation success stories. Churches are no different. Sure, there is the genuine mixed with the counterfeit, but unless you have your spiritual head screwed on straight, the counterfeit can slip by you unaware.
Hi Dee,
I agree with your questions. At my church, children are allowed to attend services with the adults, and it’s the parents’ responsibility to keep the kids at their side and not let them wander away. Some parents resent that.
The people who are sitting with the pedophiles do attempt to keep them away from the kids, by insisting they must sit in the last pew at the back of the sanctuary. This also allows them to leave quickly and not return unescorted.
Folks are not allowed in the sections of the church (nursery, children’s ministry, etc.) where children gather. We have adults guarding the entrances to those areas. Unless they are a named parent or guardian of one of the kids, no one is allowed in. If children need to go to the bathroom, two adults have to be present. We’ve cut back on services for children if there are not enough volunteers in the interest of their safety, much to the dismay of our staff and parents.
Funny thing, the parents (ahem) “somehow” find out about pedophiles who are attending. If there is a court record, then that information can be published. We got sued by a well-to-do pedophile whose name was released to the congregation at the request of a family member. Now we’ve learned to be sneaky about how “information” is released.
As for family members and pedophiles, yes, they can hide their family member’s proclivities at home, but we’re talking about keeping kids safe at church, which is our responsibility.
It’s much easier to keep an eye on things in smaller congregations, where people know each other and new visitors stick out…harder in churches when services have several hundred attendees.
Due to church shootings, the one I attend has an armed police officer at every service. Obviously we pay a hefty fee for his services. He’s constantly scanning the people who come in, wanders around, and is incredibly watchful.
We used to feed the homeless on Sunday mornings, that stopped some years ago pre-covid. We may resume in the fall with a free lunch on a weekday, if there’s enough volunteers.
Dee, we are trying desperately to keep an eye on children and adults, and it’s a never-ending challenge. We had a retired FBI agent (since passed away) who regularly advised us in matters of security. It’s such a tough issue, especially for smaller churches with minimal staff and/or volunteers.
There is good reason why your church has decided to “police” its children’s ministry. SBC alone has given us hundreds of reasons!
Why do sex offenders need to attend church? Salvation is not dependent upon church attendance. Those that have a calling to minister to them can do so one on one in a safe neutral location.
We have to get over the idea church dispenses God, who cannot be accessed unless we go into that brick and mortar temple.
The perp, like all of us, can access the only priest he needs, our High Priest Jesus 24/7 from anywhere. As for fellowship and support, which they will need if they are serious about fighting their issues, again, they need Christian friends not a shaman.
Old Timer,
Your church is heads above the average SBC church!!
linda,
Within liturgical churches, the pastor/priest is essential to the distribution of the sacraments.
I wonder if the Sunday service is too central for many churches to consider drastic changes in how they minister to some people (e.g. pedophiles). In evangelical circles, I’ve heard a number of ideas along the lines of “If you aren’t part of a church community, you won’t make it as a Christian.”
When one only has a one-size-fits-all strategy for sanctification — one that heavily focuses on services — any idea or ethic that suggests some group of people should not be part of that approach becomes unthinkable. After all, if some people do not need to be part of the ministry strategy to walk with Christ, other attendees do not need to either. This line of thinking likely upsets the status quo for current leaders, which is probably not palatable (especially if their jobs are on the line).
I have this theory that church leaders who protect and cover sex abusers have themselves some sort of undetected perversion.
(I prophesy that an elite SBC leader will someday be exposed as a sex offender)
Within the Body of Christ, “priesthood of the believer” asserts that all humans have access to God through Christ, the true high priest, and thus do not need a priestly mediator. The New Calvinists who took over SBC (under Al Mohler’s command) were quick to strip that long-standing doctrine from SBC life when they revised the Baptist Faith and Message in 2000 (Mohler was on the BFM2000 revision committee).
Over the centuries, the New Testament church (the real one) generated lots of great stories (real ones). IMO, David Wilkerson’s ministry was one of those.
“You (believer) do not need anyone to teach you. For his Holy Spirit teaches you about everything, and what He teaches is true, not false” (1 John 2:27)
Here’s a glimpse of David Wilkerson’s heart:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMG_PVaJoI&t=85s
I don’t think they need to, either. But a lot of Christians have this idea that if someone says they will do/not do something or that they’ve had a change of heart, they will believe them and that’s all the accountability someone needs. But we know this doesn’t work.
People lie. Abusers will say anything to be given free rein to abuse.
The thought occurs to wonder if the background checks are actually being performed.
—
Topic adjacent (moderator: please delete this post if you think it’s insufficiently appropriate the current issue).
For more than a decade, since the troubles of the 2008 and following period, I’ve had a sense of pervasive system failures (at the time, I framed this as ‘leadership failures’, which I think was a valid framing, but also somewhat superficial) in US. This included the churches.
Here’s an essay from a writer in UK that elaborates on this theme of ‘system failure’:
https://aurelien2022.substack.com/p/when-sorrows-come
If this is right (I think it is), I think we can expect that the churches will not be able to repair their problems any more than other institutions are able. Perhaps we have lost the capacity to be different from what we have become.
The children of the Father of Lies go to church, too. They are in both pulpit and pew. Believer beware.
They have made an oath to the Father of Lies to tell the lie, the whole lie, and nothing but the lie. They live and breathe deception.
It was The Cross & the Switchblade” that brought me to believe in Jesus Christ. A neighbor put it in my mailbox and after searching for 2 yrs. to find out the “reality” of a God, I read the book and said the prayer at the end. The change was nearly immediate! My husband noticed the change in me the following a.m. and asked me, “what in the world is going on with you?”
I became a born-again, spirit-filled believer as a result of Wilkerson’s book!
Praise the Lord….”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
it seems to me that there is something even MORE evil in a predator knowingly and willingly seeking to come back into an environment which is ‘target rich’ such as a school or a Church . . .
it would be a ‘sin’ to still attempt to place oneself into temptation willingly . . . . like responding with contempt to God while saying ‘deliver us from evil’
I can see Liberty University as cooperative with this mess ever since seeing its founder ‘use’ the faith to garner political influence and to see its founder’s son go so far wrong in his personal life with his wife and her predation on young men who attended the school and/or cared for her pool. . . .
Having ‘survived’ all that scandal, Liberty now likely feels a sense of ‘teflon’ protection from rejection especially by neo-Cals and by the new politically-empowered representatives of Christian Dominionism (here I am thinking of the state of Florida with its new targeting of schools and education to ‘promote’ fundamentalist Christianity.
The teachers in Florida are speaking out and blowing the whistle.
Thank God for those who see this mess happening and report it for what it is: pure evil aimed against the helpless by a ‘good ‘ole boyz’ network of so-called ‘christians’.
Good job, Dee. Give ’em h3ll.
Victorious,
You are victorious, indeed!
Unfortunately, pedophiles are married with their own children, giving them a mask and their own inhouse victims (incest, if they are their own biological children. Stepparents, foster parents can be predators, too).
Pedophiles will use their own children for access to more victims. Their own children are bait as they go after their children’s friends and acquaintances.
Never underestimate the savvy of predators and the complete stupidity and hubris (or complicity) of churches and church leaders.
There was DOJ case of a married man with his own son who LE arrested for going after boys. It was on the nightly local news that this man had been arrested and was in the workhouse for his crimes, awaiting trial. This man was an elder in our church. On Sunday morning, released to attend church, we witnessed this man in the church lobby recruiting boys to mow his lawn.
Seeing this man standing there surrounded by young boys (his preferred target), we turned right around and left that church, with our children, and never returned.
Married with children means everything to a pedophile. Mask. Access.
Leaving one’s own children under the supervision of any adult is a liability. Up until high school, we attended every team practice, music lesson, etc. Coaches and lesson teachers knew we were right there watching.
However, with the Olympic gymnasts, it was not enough even to be in the same room with the doctor and the athlete. Parents were in the same room all along.
Churches, leaders, and parents need to reevaluate children’s and youth programs.
Ava Aaronson,
My previous comment, above, is exactly why I wrote “Legal Grounds” (it’s on Amazon). I don’t do conferences, public speaking, or make noise. However, from what I’ve seen, churches need to up their awareness about what is lurking and happening in their social settings, and in the homes of their church people – including leaders.
In my opinion, “Legal Grounds” is not an easy read (and certainly was not easy to write). But these situations happen; they are real and damaging beyond imagination. Churches should be getting ahead of this, but churches seem to be way behind on assessing the reality, if even in the game at all.
Many churches seem to be a hunting ground instead of a protected safe place. It’s heartbreaking.
These topics and real life situations here at TWW are NEVER easy, for anyone with a heart and a conscience.
Cheap grace? Cheap church? The Big Tent Mega with the pea-brain, mini-heart and mini-conscience? Need not show up to the table. N/A.
Catholic Gate-Crasher,
There is a retirement home for Catholic priests in my area. A few years ago, they found that a priest had sexually violated a high school volunteer who had a borderline IQ and little knowledge of sexual “activity.” Child pedophiles are hard to contain.
That’s why Christians are such Easy Marks.
On his older blog (and in his book Butterflies in the Belfry, Serpents in the Cellar), Christian Monist wrote extensively how the total separation between the Spiritual (GOOD!) and Physical Reality (BAAAAAAAAAAD!) has caused a LOT of damage throughout Christian history.
One of the manifestations of this is Instant Total Sanctification when you get saved (even if its by walking the aisle and saying the magic words). Instantly you are a New Creature, Spiritual, with NO Baggage from your Fleshly past.
And thinking, planning, being human? That’s Of The Flesh(TM), and as a New SPIRITUAL Creature in Christ you have to REJECT all that as Sin. This leads to Holy Nincompoop Syndrome, where the more stupid and ignorant you are, the more Spiritual and Godly you must be. Christian Monist’s favorite example of this were churches who would deliberately put the LEAST skilled, LEAST competent individuals in positions of great responsibility and power “SO They Could Witness How They Were Doing This in The Spirit Instead of The Flesh”. This never ended well.
Headless Unicorn Guy,
I have seen “Holly Nincompoop Syndrome” many times….sigh
Said priest will be disappointed when he finds out that his eternal retirement home is not what he expected.
Pedophiles can come at a separate time to receive their sacraments if they so desire.
At my old church, I volunteered to work in the nursery. I filled out the form and emailed it back to the director w/o my social security # and a note saying that I would give that to her over the phone or in person, but I would not put it in my email.
I never got a call for that social. That was my first clue that something was wrong. My second clue was when I was paired with an elderly lady who paid no attention to the kids and proceeded to get mad at me if I paid attention to them and rather than giving her my undivided attention. She also once rounded up the preschoolers and marched them off to a different classroom, on a different floor, that was unoccupied until Sunday School Hour for their Sunday School class 10 minutes early. She then left 5-6 preschoolers in that room without a teacher or even an adult on the same floor. I was chronically battling her neglect and the church wouldn’t tell her she had to find a different place to volunteer. We were on a monthly rotation and she very willingly signed up to serve twice a month in the nursery.
My third clue was when my husband joined me in the nursery to make sure that there was a legitimate second adult in the classroom and he was never asked for any background check. Meanwhile, once he started serving, they moved the Elderly lady to a different partner because we obviously didn’t need her help anymore. We had come to the conclusion that once we had kids, we were probably looking for a new church because we did not trust this one to have responsible adults in the room.
About a year into both of us serving in the nursery (July of 2015), the Children’s Ministries Director came in and collected information to do a background check and actually got our SS#s. The nursery coordinator resigns because her family responsibilities had grown and she could no longer serve in this volunteer position, her husband also apparently quietly stepped down from the deaconate for “personal reasons” with no announcement to the congregation. In May of 2016, it hits the local news that said Nursery Coordinator’s husband had been raided by the Feds in early July 2015 and then arrested in Jan/Feb 2016 for Production of Child Pornography. He pled and is now serving his time. The church came out with a good old CYA letter that claimed that he had never led any of the children’s ministries. It was absolutely true that he had never been the formal leader of any children’s ministry, but everyone who served in the nursery knew that whenever his wife was missing a volunteer, he subbed and was therefor regularly working in the nursery, with the likes of the lady who wanted to ignore the kids. When we confronted leadership, we discovered that they would not have told us if it hadn’t hit the local news. They were mad at us for looking up the FBI description of the case. They told us it was his private sin. And they told us that we shouldn’t be worried about children in the church because the victim wasn’t associated with the church. Meanwhile they begged the judge for leniency and treated the congregation to a series of sermons on the sins of homosexuality (known victim was female) and extra-married sex. Then moved on to a series on the evils of pornography.
While there are multiple morals to this story, most of them are pretty par for the course in terms of churches completely mis-handling these situations. But in light of this article it is worthwhile to point out that just because an entity (church or otherwise) goes through the motions of “doing a background check” doesn’t mean they do anything. Not that a background check would have caught this particular guy.
For the record, I don’t think his wife knew anything until the raid. But his wife was also the one who told me that I needed to be gracious towards the elderly lady because she meant well. I tend to think her husband picked her because she was gullible and naïve enough to not suspect anything.
You’ve got a story, I’ve got a story, all God’s chillun’ got a story to tell…
With church NDAs, gossip warnings, Polite Society hush hush protocols, Touch not my appointed annointed theology teaching, and the sit-listen-donate-say-nothing church model … until TWW… we haven’t been able to share our stories to see what actually happens in churches.
We are NOT alone with isolated experiences. There are patterns with whole evil systems in place among seemingly really swell nice people.
Thanks for sharing.
In a study called, “The Survivor: Anatomy of Life in the Death Camps”, Terrence Des Pres, U of Michigan, looked at 4000+ eyewitness accounts documenting the Holocaust. He said it took many voices to see the whole picture, the whole truth.
Many voices saying the same thing is evidence is truth is a complete picture of many puzzle pieces.
Headless Unicorn Guy,
I think that there must be something deeply flawed in (what I will call for lack of a more precise term) “mainstream Evangelical” thinking about “how to make good decisions.” The Old Testament exalts wisdom — if you can only get one thing, get understanding — and says that it is wisdom that will save you from (untimely) death and that will bring prosperity. A lot of thinking that I have encountered in a wide range of Evangelical settings has exalted “faith” above wisdom, with “faith” meaning, more or less, “my confidence that God will do what I am confident that He will do.” People are encouraged to “dream big for God” and are assured that God is pleased with this kind of “faith” and will do what the person wants as an expression of His approval (Eph 4:15 — without faith it is impossible to please God — may be cited as a justification for this, though I think this citation for this purpose amounts to a confusion between “necessary” and “sufficient” conditions) .
The elevation of “faith” above “wisdom” seems to me to set the Scriptures at odds with themselves (pitting the NT against the OT); of course, people find texts to support their views, for example Eph 4:15.
I think that this is a form of ‘magical thinking’ and that it would be better to allow the OT to interpret the NT on this matter — one commits to God the work of one’s hands, but it is the work of one’s hands that actually leads to results (the book of Nehemiah is an OT book-length illustration of this “pray, then work” principle).
that should be Hebrews 11:6 ; not sure how my search for the phrase led me to the wrong text.
Sexual perversion of a church nursery coordinator is a public sin!
“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.” (Luke 8:17)
Hi Samuel, I couldn’t agree with you more about getting wisdom and understanding. The faith vs. wisdom “dichotomy” reminds me of the faith vs. works discussion that has gone on for centuries. If believers had more wisdom, would they be less gullible and we would avoid at least some of the horrible messes we’re in today? BWY, I love it that wisdom in the original is “Sophia,” a rare feminine aspect in Scripture that focuses so on the masculine. Don’t get me started on that particular topic….
Magical thinking or stupid thinking or just not thinking at all, as if there is something wrong or evil about critical thinking. For oneself. Agency. Like being a Christian is forsaking agency and just going all in for some pastor leader as a part of his cult … as if this is Christian and following Jesus. Not.
Which then results in this utter idiocy and actual crime going on in the “church”:
“Personal Reasons(TM)”
When I read that, my first Christianese-to-English thought was “Live Boy or Dead Woman”?
Second thought was “Oh. ANOTHER Church Pedo.”
Headless Unicorn Guy,
We did not even realized he had been removed from the deaconate until we heard he was in jail. And the only reason I know that it was for undisclosed “personal reasons” is that about a year later I ran into another church member who had been on the deaconate who had quietly disappeared around the same time he went to jail. She told me that when she was a Deacon, they were not told, and the only reason she knew anything about the situation before the rest of the church is because his kids were taken by Social Services at the time of the arrest and she ended up personally involved in that mess. She had left way earlier than we did because she found out way earlier than we did. That was also when I discovered that she had started out her original career in CPS. She was beside herself at how the church had handled the situation. She had grown up in the church, and they all knew that she was a former CPS agent who had dealt with child sex abuse and they didn’t use that resource and botched it.
There was a 6 month period of time between the raid and the arrest, in which he knew, and the church knew, that arrest was imminent. He was raided for possession, and admitted to the church the possession part. He did not admit to the production part until the Feds found that, and then he wanted a plea deal. What I have never understood is why the church didn’t help that family out financially so he could live separate from his wife and kids. If the church had done that, the kids never would have been removed from their mother by Social Services. But instead, the church focused on keeping the family together before daddy went to jail. I’m pretty sure that the wife got intense pressure to stay with him because he was “repentant.”
*Nursery Coordinator’s husband. Church Deacon. It is still public sin.
I don’t like to lump her in his basket. Some wives are complicit. In this case, I really believe that her failure was in being naïve and so strongly entrenched in conservative teachings about submitting to your husband that she had never developed the capacity to do otherwise. I think he chose her because he knew she wouldn’t have the knowledge to spot the problem and also wouldn’t have the ability to stand up to him at all. She was his perfect foil, and the church kept her that way because of complementarianism and other teachings about women being meek and mild and obedient. I had known that about her long before I learned about her husband. I’ve lost track of her, but I hope that she has been able to grow away from that.
For what it’s worth, her kids should both be adults before their dad finishes his sentence. The judge wasn’t all that lenient. He got smack dab in the middle of the required sentencing range, which doesn’t seem all that lenient for a plea deal. And even with his time off for good behavior, its still tracking with the kids being adults.
The idea of posting their pictures might make some pedophiles feel like there’s a special outreach program just for them. Or they might think they can easily outwit the safety measures.
Also, there are other risky people besides pedophiles. Maybe pictures of extortionists, assailants, gangsters, cheating partners, car thieves, et al., should be up on the wall too.
I’m not being sarcastic here. I feel like organizations attract what they pay the most attention to, and not always with constructive results.
linda,
He is our great High Priest and we have a mediator through Whom we may approach the throne of grace with confidence. These paedophiles do not need to come to an actual assembly of believers but can celebrate the Lord’s Supper themselves in the presence of Jesus the great high priest who has gone through the heavens. If liturgical churches require a human priest then that priest should go to the paedophile to administer the bread and wine, rather than have the paedophile attend where many people including children would be present.
Friend,
The other piece to your observation is that just because you tell parents to avoid “That Guy” doesn’t mean that they will take the risk seriously. One of Christianity’s deepest pride issues is that we are all a little prone to thinking that we cannot fall into that trap because God. It happens at a church level, and it happens at an individual level.
Old Timer,
“The faith vs. wisdom “dichotomy” reminds me of the faith vs. works discussion that has gone on for centuries. If believers had more wisdom, would they be less gullible and we would avoid at least some of the horrible messes we’re in today?”
+++++++++++++++
well, as i see it, wisdom, really, is informed intuition.
christian culture is scared-afraid of intuition.
there’s a point still in the shallow end of christian church culture where (many) believers stop tuning in to the wisdom sense, not even trying the dial, in favor of a scripture verse answer instead.
ES,
“I really believe that her failure was in being naïve and so strongly entrenched in conservative teachings about submitting to your husband that she had never developed the capacity to do otherwise.”
+++++++++++++++++
i think girls should be taught to assert “no”, “no, i don’t think so”, “i disagree”, “that’s not true”, “you are wrong” when that is their conviction, especially to boys/men.
especially christian girls.
elastigirl,
A hearty AMEN here elastigirl, a hearty amen.
Because her knowledge was Of The Flesh and they had to show everyone they were acting In The Spirit.
Christian Monist’s old blog and book speaks extensively of that phenomenon. Of picking the LEAST qualified, ZERO experience person for a vital job because Then “He’ll HAVE to Rely on The LOOOORD”. Another form of Over-Spiritualization that Never Ends Well.
And the fact this former CPS was just a woman might also have something to do with it.
And there are some who’ll do it out in the open just for the additional thrill of risking getting caught.