Snow Moon-NASA
“A strong and capable leader can stand on their own two feet. A wimpy puppet of a leader needs to have their father, their father-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, sister, nursemaid, paid ‘yes’ people, etc. prop him up. That’s fine if he is a baby, but not fine when he is a grown man. If he is capable of leading a company without the help of nepotism, then his workers will respect him and naturally get motivated to support him as a leader.” – Strong by Kailin Gow
I have a number of interesting stories dealing with the SBC’s NAMB. However, this blog exists to tell stories of victims, and I just heard about this over the weekend. There are some brave victims in Duluth, and my prayers are with them. Their stories must be told.
Jackson Gatlin, the young adult pastor under head pastor/daddy Michael Gatlin of Vineyard Duluth, is credibly accused of “misconduct.”
I want to thank a reader who asked me to look into this situation. I found myself getting irritated by the verbiage used by the church. What in the world is misconduct? Just about anything. According to Merriam-Webster:
1
mismanagement especially of governmental or military responsibilities
2
: intentional wrongdoingspecifically : deliberate violation of a law or standard especially by a government official : MALFEASANCE
3
a: improper behavior
b: ADULTERY
4
: a penalty (as in ice hockey) for improper behavior or abusive language (as toward an official)
Given the fact that this was reported to the police, my guess is that it had something to do with sexual misconduct. The Christian Post recently wrote Vineyard Church suspends young adult pastor, son of senior pastor over allegations of misconduct.
Jackson Gatlin, the young adult and online community pastor at The Vineyard Church in Duluth, Minnesota, where his father, Michael Gatlin, serves as senior pastor, has been suspended as the church and local police conduct an investigation into allegations of misconduct “from several years ago.”
…A statement released by the multi-campus church on Sunday did not state the nature of the misconduct, but a woman who identified herself as a victim alleged on social media that she was sexually assaulted by Jackson Gatlin.
Now we are getting to the matter. This “misconduct” had to do with allegations of sexual assault. From the get-go, I suspect the church of attempting to downplay this matter, which caused me to ask, Why?”
Let’s take a look at how this developed, chronologically, because there is some genuine concern regarding the actions, or lack thereof, of the lead pastor, Michael Gatlin.
January 29, 2023: Our Response to Allegations of Misconduct.
From this point forward, pay attention to the dates. The following takes place over the course of about seven days.
The church posted the above letter on its website using the squirrely, nonspecific language of “misconduct.” At this time, Jackson Gatlinis was removed from his position.
Our community is responding to allegations of misconduct against one of our pastoral assistants, Jackson Gatlin. At present, the allegations against him involve conduct from several years ago. We have contracted with a company called Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE) to conduct an independent investigation. One of our values is transparency, yet we are not going to say anything more about the allegations at this time because we need to protect the ongoing investigation and any victims. Accountability and integrity are also key values. When the investigation is complete, we expect to have more to say and we will say it. In the meantime, let us assure you that the safety and security of our church community is critically important to us and we have policies and procedures in place to protect them. The Duluth Vineyard has suspended Jackson Gatlin during this investigation.
However, the following part of this letter is interesting and hints at the accusation to come.
Next, let us share how we are addressing the fact that Jackson Gatlin is the son of our Senior Pastor, Michael Gatlin. In keeping with our Nepotism Policy and best practices, the investigation and employment decisions related to Jackson Gatlin are overseen independently from Michael and Brenda Gatlin. Our Church Council (the legal board of directors) has created a Special Committee made up of independent members (none of them work for the Duluth Vineyard or are related to any employees).
February 3, 2023: Michael Gatlin, Jackson’s daddy, is placed on an LOA from his head pastor position link.
The week prior to 2/3/2023, victims started coming forward by name. The church leadership was now able to get the police to open a criminal investigation. Apparently, local police will not take an anonymous complaint seriously.
February 3, 2023
Hello,
We hope that you were able to read our message from January 29th concerning allegations of misconduct against one of our pastoral assistants (Jackson Gatlin) and how the resulting investigation and employment decisions related to Jackson Gatlin are being overseen by an independent Special Committee of our Church Council. Since then, we have also placed our Senior Pastor (Michael Gatlin) on a leave of absence.
This is a fast evolving situation, particularly with regard to law enforcement involvement. The first reports that the Special Committee received were anonymous and, when we took those reports to the police, we were told by the police that they could not start an investigation without victims’ names. That changed this week when victims began identifying themselves on social media. So, we reported this matter to the police again this week and there is now an ongoing criminal investigation.
We encourage all reports of criminal activities to be reported to law enforcement. Please do so by calling 911. We have also contracted with a company called Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE) to conduct an independent investigation. If you have information that may be relevant to their investigation, please contact GRACE by emailing Emily Petrie at epetrie@netgrace.org
We want to say to all survivors of abuse that we hear you and believe you. It is never your fault. And, you are not alone. We are praying for you and we call our community to a time of prayer and lament. As Jesus was always on the side of the vulnerable and the wounded, in our response to abuse the safety and care of survivors must always come first.
With the love of Christ,
The Special Committee of the Church Council (Ben Mork, Ann LaCosse, Jerry Lieffring and Gerry Nierengarten)
February 5, 2023: This video of part of the Sunday service is released.
At this point, TWW regulars are beginning to get suspicious about the goings on at the church. As you watch the video, you will hear them using the word “misconduct” to describe their concerns. It makes me think the lawyers are now involved and helping everyone to carefully word things.
The brave victims are claiming that Michael and Brenda Gatlin were told about the allegations regarding their son and blamed the victims and families.
I found the following comments on the Facebook page of Duluth Vineyard. There are more.
I need to make a statement about this.The pain and suffering my daughter has experienced in her life due to this man’s actions are inexcusable.Honestly I am exhausted and tired of hearing about his poor parents and his poor wife. I’m exhausted from people caring more about the church and not about the victims.THEY KNEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Told Brenda what he did to my daughter!!! !!!!!!!!!Another victims mother messaged me tonight. She too went to Mike and Brenda and like me they placed blame on her family also.Do you realize that we are at 9 victims now.??? My daughter is physically and emotionally exhausted.
Thank you to my amazing friends who have poured out so much love and support on my family at this time. I honestly couldn’t have made it through the last few days without you. Thank you for loving me and Rissa. We need you guys. Tanner is the voice of wisdom and strength. My goodness do I have an amazing son. He has stood fiercely by Rissas side. He is so honorable — with Myrissa Overfors and 5 others
What’s sickening about all this, is that the senior pastors were made aware multiple times of each situation, and they did nothing about it.I’m sickened at the fact I grew up with this individual at youth group, and I’m sickened that a senior pastor could know what’s going on, and ignore it. Regardless if the individual in question is the son. This should have been handled after the first incident, not after multiple victims have come forward confessing to incidents that happened several years ago.
Some thoughts for the victims.
We are so sorry for what happened to you, and we believe you. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during these difficult days as more and more information is released.
- If any victims wish to tell their stories, we will print them. This blog is here for victims in any way we can be of help—contact dee@thewartburgwatch.com.
- Make sure the church releases the entire GRACE report when it is finished. Some churches are hiding the full report from their members and will only give them “summaries.”
- GRACE is a friend to victims. So be at peace as you tell your story to them when the time comes. You will feel loved and supported.
- I do not believe pastors should hire family members to work for them. Even supervising a family member as a volunteer can lead to problems. Here is an example of how it can go wrong. John Ortberg Resigns from Menlo Church.
- Vineyard should be careful to support the victims and be careful not discuss how much support the church is giving to the alleged perp and his father.
- If Michael Gatlin was aware of any accusations which he did not report to the police, he should be fired immediately. There should be no discussion of “restoration,” which is so prevalent in these cases. He should be stripped of any credentials.
- If Brenda Gatlin was notified by victims of abuse and did not report it, then she should be disciplined by the Vineyard leaders and asked to find another church if they will take her.
- If found guilty, Jackson should not be allowed to attend Vineyard Duluth if victims are still present. He should be stripped of all pastoral credentials.
- Trauma-informed counseling should be provided at Duluth Vineyard’s expense.
1
Having been in a Vineyard in the late 80’s what the church has said sounds like what I heard back then. But this is a loose network of churches like Calvary Chapels. So anyone could choose to jump through the hoops and start a church. There is very little hierarchy and I was not aware of them giving out any official credentials. A church could lose the right to use the name and to claim membership but they have no theological schools or at least they did not back then. For instance, the Toronto Vineyard was kicked out over encouraging people to make animal sounds as part of the service ministry. FYI…
Your statement that “I do not believe pastors should hire family members to work for them,” and that Michael Gatlin should not be restored is absolutely correct. Thank goodness the police are involved. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how this will be addressed by Vineyard Duluth, or will it be swept under the rug? This reminds me of the situation at Hillsong, where Frank Houston was accused of sexual abuse, and the police charged Brian Houston (son) of failing to notify the authorities of dad’s activities, although he allegedly knew about them.
Yes and yes.
All nine of your recommendations (bullet points), Dee, IMHO, are spot on!
Ever grateful that TWW is an advocate for victims.
Frankly, I believe that TWW, GRACE, and Jeff Anderson & Associates are all pillars of change that have paved the way for churches like this Vineyard Church to take this seriously and do the right thing.
Chester the molester again?
Please note that Brenda Gatlin is not just the wife of the pastor and mother of the accused. She is on the national leadership team of Vineyard USA and serves as the Super Regional Leader for all pastors in a third of the country. She has the greater position of the two parents and she should also be put on leave until they can investigate how much she knew and when she knew it: https://vineyardusa.org/national-team/
I’m sadly disappointed in Michael and Brenda if they suppressed or ignored such serious allegations. They both know better. My heart breaks for the victims.
I saw the gradual ingratiating of the son of a pastor into leadership at a church I attended for a couple years. It was creepy. When I joined a new church and eventually got on the board I told our pastor straight up if he put any of his kids on staff I would quit and leave the church he was taken aback. But his son got a M.A. in Labor Relations from Pepperdine and now works for Disney and his daughter is a CPA at a big accounting firm in San Francisco. Turns out dad and mom raised the kids to be independent, not religious parasites.
Hophni and Phinehas
Rather than “misconduct”, church elders should paint the picture accurately for church members and the community by properly calling it “alleged sex abuse.” “The Special Committee of the Church Council” also does not speak directly to the issue at hand. Downplaying such a serious matter only digs church leaders into a deeper hole if these allegations prove to be true.
“I Told Brenda what he did to my daughter!!!”
Shouldn’t the wife of a pastor also be a mandated reporter of alleged sex abuse in a church?
“Moral” of the story: Nepotism should extend to ministry.
I remember the guys strutting around on stage, pretending they were chickens.
Well said.
You are as much one as I am. Thank you.
It worries me that the national group keeps her on during this time. She should be ashamed of herself.
Max,
Brenda is a pastor herself, just not on the church’s payroll because she recently took on a regional role with the denomination.
Good for you. We need to have people like you speaking out.
Frankly, I think everyone should be mandated to report when they see something.
Any person who balmes victims and protects their own family are not pastors. They see a cash cow in the faith.
AMEN! See something – say something! And in this case particularly, “Don’t call Pastor … call 911!”
By Minnesota law, she is a mandated reporter of alleged sex abuse.
As I said in reaction to another post: “not a church, a family business”.
Etymologically, it’s not nepotism if it doesn’t involve nephews. 😉
OTOH, historically, the term was first used when the plush jobs went to some Renaissance popes’ “nephews” (i.e., IRL, their sons from various mistresses)
IMO, the Vineyard movement has always been on the neocharismatic fringe of Christianity. There have been questionable beliefs and practices emerge over time among that group. Nepotism is nothing new in their association of churches … husband/wife co-pastors and family members on staff are quite common. It’s just a bad set-up for church elders to deal with when bad things happen.
DEE, that you wrote this IS a Christian ‘work of mercy’:
“If any victims wish to tell their stories, we will print them. This blog is here for victims in any way we can be of help—contact dee@thewartburgwatch.com.”
If victims have a place they trust to tell their stories, that may be the first step in how they begin to heal from the abuse. Yes, people here listen and pray for them.
That they can openly tell their stories also is a lesson to others about avoiding manipulation by authority figures who are abusive.
Thank you for doing this work, Dee.
Old Timer,
Both Michael and Brenda have been the senior pastors of the Duluth Vineyard since 1997. Brenda was also in charge of the counseling offered by the church.
For example:
Ashamed?
Ashamed of what?
They are like great white sharks, and that’s what they do.
When you look in their eyes, they’re deadlights (as Stephen King wrote in one of his novels).
I feel like I am in a weird time warp or something. I read and see what is going on in the church. At the same time, I learned a week or so ago from a cousin that the grandma we share that everyone said “Funny, she doesn’t look Scots Irish” had a lot of French Huguenot blood. Turns out one of our direct ancestors kept quite a journal. I am currently reading a book based on it, done autobiography style although not technically exactly one. Yes, these folks were Reformed or even Calvinists, but so very different from today’s breed of the tribe.
An ancestor who pastored two churches was offered a call to one larger, at double the pay, better living situation, etc. He turned it down because his current flocks needed him. So far, only a few pages in, many died rather than renounce their faith (my family members) and many others fled France in fear for their lives.
But so far the journals show no signs of hubris, no lording it over others, just humble service, with the wives often basically supporting the family with their labors. Women and children were killed right along side the men.
If only those who feel called to lead cared that much today.
What could be added to this to paint a more accurate picture of church as entertainment? I wouldn’t join the church, but would have liked to have seen that!
Was Rodney Howard-Browne and his “Holy Laughter” movement associated with Vineyard … or was that his own wacky thing?
I’m glad you are helping bring this to light, Dee. I agree about handing down the ministry to one’s children; most of the time it does seem to be a “cash cow” situation.
I’m disappointed that this happened in a Vineyard church. I was part of one of the original Vineyard churches in the 1980s, and our particular congregation was on top of anything that had even a whiff of irregularity. Issues came up – it wasn’t a “perfect church” – but the issues were dealt with, mostly in a healthy way, and transparently. As far as I am aware (I was the church secretary for 6 years) there was no abuse of any kind. Among all the Protestant churches of which I was part, my Vineyard was the best of all of them. Hope the national organization gets its act together better with this information coming out.
Classical Calvinists are indeed a different lot of people. As a non-Calvinist Southern Baptist for 70+ years, I knew several “Old” (classical) Calvinists. I found them to be civil in their discourse and respectful of other expressions of faith … unlike the New Calvinists who are out and about through stealth and deception to restore the one true “gospel” to the American church which the non-Calvinists lost (Calvinism = gospel to them). They are running roughshod over God’s people to accomplish their mission … there is nothing Christlike about their walk and talk. Yes, classical Calvinists are “so very different from today’s breed of the tribe” unless you run into a hyper strain which can be just as ugly as the NeoCals.
Later on I got caught between two pastors: one of a failing Vineyard church and the other an independent pastor with SBC credentials. The Vineyard guy was the one I was quoting, absolutely hated what was going on in Toronto, while the other went to some conferences and claimed to get good things out of them. Even he admitted that most of what was happening on stage was fake, which as I have said is standard in Charismatic and Pentecostal churches. Bugs me to no end all of the fake.
Ah, “Misconduct(TM)”…
Did they catch him with a live boy or a dead woman?
Don’t remember where I first heard this, but “The way to become a Celebrity Megapastor is to be born the son of a Celebrity Megapastor with a name ending in ‘Junior’.”
Just like Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, Mo David, Mary Baker Eddy, David Koresh, Sun Myung Moon…
How can you be “ashamed” when You Can Do No Wrong?
As I said, there is precedence to kick out churches. And you cannot blame that one on the Anaheim Vineyard. That was a Canadian thing.
I am not aware of any questionable beliefs with that group, but practices were certainly a problem. My number one beef with them is that they encouraged people to practice their gifts on each other without restraint of any kind. This greatly encouraged fake things and caused some spiritual abuse as you can imagine. They bent over backwards to try to make more gifts appear than God gave, probably by a factor of 10 or more.
Other groups then came along a generation later and decided that this was way too little and encouraged the fake with another 10X exaggeration. Now we have many churches where the real is almost impossible to find any more. I blame John Wimber for starting this mess. There is a balance between sharing what is real and being wise enough not to share or do that which is simply not.
The original Chicken Dance?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3z54SZsLsA
“I AM THE DEMON OF THE CHICKEN DANCE — WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME?”
— skit at an AnthroCon masquerade (costume presentation) or talent show many years ago;
after a Chicken Dance performance, someone in a really spiff demon fursuit came onstage and made that demand of the emcee
No. He is a pentecostal and was loosely associated, I believe with the AOG.
Though obviously this church didn’t do things right in the past, it appears that the group of council members (those who are not connected to any current or former employees) are doing a lot of things right. I wonder if that form of governance was in place when the sexual misconduct took place.
We don’t know when they first received the anonymous allegations, but at this point, it’s moving very quickly.
They did not attempt their own internal investigation but instead hired GRACE for an independent investigation into the allegations. When GRACE does an investigation and interviews victims of sexual or physical assault, those are reported to police and the victims get a copy of the report as per their contract.
It sounds like church leaders themselves went to the police.
The woman on the video from their council said they were committed to 1) Jesus 2) the truth and 3) putting victims first. If they hold to that, they’ll do well even if there are missteps here or there.
As on the video, they also use the term “misconduct” on their website but
1) encourage victims to report to law enforcement
2) provide links on their website to two local organizations as resources. One of those is for victims of sexual assault.(PAVSA) The other is for child abuse victims. (First Witness) So even without the FB posting, the church website itself is pointing to sexual assault and at least some minor victims.
I wonder how old he was when the offenses were committed. Was he an adult or possibly a teen? Either way, he was successfully shielded from consequences as a result of his status as pastors’ son.
The Duggar Way: protect the predator son from consequences for his evil, right up until dear precious protected predator son, exposed by LE and the DOJ, with evidence, does jailtime.
But this didn’t start with JimBob. Long ago, Scripture records Eli with sons Hophni and Phinehas, their evil ways with horrible end.
“In the biblical narrative, Hophni and Phinehas are criticised for engaging in illicit behaviour, such as appropriating the best portion of sacrifices for themselves, and having sexual relations with the sanctuary’s serving women. They are described as ‘sons of Belial’ (1 Samuel 2:12), ‘corrupt’ or ‘scoundrels’. Their misdeeds provoked the wrath of Yahweh and led to a divine curse being put on the house of Eli, and they subsequently both died on the same day, when Israel was defeated by the Philistines in battle; the news of this defeat then led to Eli’s death (1 Samuel 4:17–18). On hearing of the deaths of Eli and Phinehas, and of the capture of the ark, Phinehas’ wife gave birth to a son whom she named Ichabod (‘departed glory’) before she herself died (1 Samuel 4:19–22).” – wikipedia
The Way of Eli (ending in death, death, death, and death), JimBob, and the Gatlins.
God is not fooled by these religious patriarchs with lipservice to our God but who shelter covens of evil predators of the worst and most dangerous genre: privileged monster sons targeting vulnerable innocent children (can’t even pick on someone their own age). Evil be damned and God be praised.
We deal with examples of that daily on TWW.
Eyewitness,
This was written by one of his victims. Sounds like he was in his 20’s
1d • G
‘Ive struggled with knowing what to say, or if I should say anything at all. Ive spent days going over timelines and trying to convince myself that this didnt happen. I thought of the rumors that circulated about you even back then.
I sat and thought to myself “well I was flirty” ” never asked him to stop” “I never felt unsafe” | wanted to keep it a secret, just like you had asked me to for so long.
I now know that the reason you called me “little sis” was because of how affectionate you were with me in public. Clearly being an adult that was not okay.
You passed as a teenager in your 20s so people often overlooked you.
I sat and waited for anyone that I attended church with to speak up and no one did. Today I started getting messages from girls that I had personally brought to the Vinyard. The guilt that rushed over my body knowing I had personally invited them made me sick.
Tonight I’m calling out anyone who knows anything especially the leadership. If you were there you know, if YOU WERE THERE WE KNOW SPEAK UP FOR THE VICTIMS.“
Last evening I wanted to watch a documentary so went on youtube. My home feed had lots of pix of Jinger Vuolo pushing her book. Only I did not recognize her. I blew past them thinking they were pix of Karen Carpenter. Then it hit me: Jinger has that same look of anorexia. Skin pulled too tight over the skull. Jinger always had a square face and jaw line. Not anymore. I doubt even extensive cosmetic surgery could make that much change. And she looks dead in the eyes.
I fear the little girl who had no control over her own life is now the grown up mama with no control over her own life, and is controlling her eating as the only thing she can control.
Hope I am wrong but prayers lifted.
He (your ancestor) was a rare man indeed.
Rare back then, and even rarer today.
He passed the test! A true pastor indeed, with a shepherd’s heart … a rare & endangered species in the 21 century American church.
Just like teenage Josh Duggar groping and trying to bang his sisters.
Evan at that age, Rank Hath Its Privileges.
(And a Friend In High Places (Huckabee) didn’t hurt.
This was what hasbeen called The Toronto Blessing, right?
I didn’think he was, but Captain Cassidy, now posting at Only Sky, a year or so ago had a long series about the Toronto. church and its global influence, especially in England. She detailed how Brown was tied into the movement.
I heard Rodney Howard Brown speak a few times at chapel at a Christian college. His laughing thing was truly bizarre
He started the “laughing ministry” in 1989, and some claimed that mininstry set off the Fall of The Berlin Wall!!??
This is heartbreaking. She is not responsible for what happened to girls she innocently invited. He is. He had convinced her that she was special. Why would it enter her mind that he would do the same thing (or worse) to other girls?
But her post is also inspiring. How often have we seen that it is victims like her who display the courage to lead the way to confront the wolves in order to protect others? She is clearly a woman of integrity and courage.
I hope that the posture of the leaders and the involvement of GRACE will reduce the backlash against the victims and against those who become their allies. The best defense of unrepentant and powerful predators is to attack the accusers. And many onlookers who cannot let go of their previous perception that a spiritual leader is trustworthy will then join in the attack.
When there are multiple victims of the same predator who know each other, it at least provides a community of support for when the DARVO begins. DARVO does further harm to victims because it works to persuade others to believe the predator. Being attacked by predator and bystanders then works to silence victims and their allies (sometimes for their own mental health or the well-being of their families). It is also used to shame victims for not “forgiving” and “moving on.”
Funny that it is rare that there is pressure on the perpetrator to actually show fruits or repentance. Instead what passes for “repentance” is the same kind of image repair campaign that PR firms get big money to do for corporations and politicians. It’s especially rich when a pastor asks his congregation to forgive him for some minimized version of his sin and never repents to those he’s actually harmed.
One of his roles was “online community pastor.” That alone speaks volumes.
Is that the one where the Faithful were “channeling Hyenas”?
linda,
I hope you’re wrong about the anorexia, too, Linda.
Jinger has been through an extraordinary experience, a kind of patriarchal hell. She deserves a chance for a better life, yes.
Social Media IS the only Reality (Like and Subscribe)!
But it IS very plausible, and according to Linda she may be showing visible symptoms.
(Or could that “Karen Carpenter Look” be from a lifetime of killer stress?)
So did Frodo Baggins after he bore the Ring to Mount Doom, but some of the damage is permanent.
Interestingly, in the Denver area the first Calvary Chapel plant became later became the first Vineyard in the area. For a couple of decades it functioned as the regional head quarters for The Vineyard in Colorado and probably a broader area.
Back in the Eighties on Christianese AM radio, Calvary Chapel and Vineyard were conjoined twins on the air. PastorChuckSmithCalvaryChapelCostaMesa followed by PastorRaulReesCalvaryChapelWestCovina followed by PastorGregLaurieVineyard; I could tell no difference between them. I am sure the two are connected, maybe to the point of alternate brand names for the same conglomerate.
Vineyard Anaheim used to take up the old Federated (stereo superstore) in the tilt-up Big Box along Anaheim Blvd south of Ball (now a Mexican indoor swap meet). I used to work a couple blocks from there when Federated went under and Vineyard took over the building.
Behind the Orange Curtain, there could be no Salvation outside of Calvary Chapel. Even “nondeominational” meant “Calvary Chapel Clone” (Moses Model and all) instead of “Fundy Baptist with the labels painted over”. And Vineyard (largest of the clones, presumably a Mega) is still a major player; PastorGregLaurieVineyard still holds some kind of big CCM concert at Vineyard every year; I remember seeing the ads for it every spring at the Metrolink stations.
“All Duluth Vineyard employees have been told that they must cooperate fully with the independent investigation being conducted by a company called Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE (https://www.netgrace.org/)).
Jackson Gatlin’s employment with the Duluth Vineyard has been terminated because of his failure and refusal, as requested and directed, to meet with the GRACE investigator.”
Thank you for this informative comment. I did not know about Jackson’s termination. It seems warranted since he allegedly refused to meet with GRACE. They are a great organization and deal in the truth. It looks like Jackson wasn’t comfortable with good people who seek the truth. I highly recommend them.
I remember growing up in Morgan Park and when I was in high school a man named Dan Reeb, the Pastor at Redeemer Lutheran was sexually abusing kids we knew. Having experience working with men who were sexually abused, everybody knew what was going on. We as kids knew what was going so I would certainly hope some parents knew as well. The leaders of the church, not just the Clergy, need to be held accountable. They knew exactly what was going on. Redeemer Lutheran Church was eventually sued by one of the victims and he won the suit but the Church didn’t have the money to compensate him so they gave him the title to the Church. He sold the Church back to the parishioners and Dan Reeb is currently a free man living in Barbados, a non-extradition Country. We can only hope the Church is sued, sold and starts fresh.
Greg Laurie never was Vineyard. He was Calvary Chapel, doing his big Harvest Crusades once a year in the local stadiums, until the Calvary Chapels split into two factions. He and his congregation left to become SBC at that time. Different group, just more of the same mega-church culture.
He’s still doing them, under the cover of (Christian) Music Concerts.
When I was riding Metrolink to work, it was all over the station billboards at that time of the year.
Jackson was told by GRACE that he would have to comply to a video interview and could NOT have any legal representation at the meeting. I would NOT agree to this either. We can not dismantle our constitutional rights to be Innocents until proven guilty, NO One would agree to this kind of non representation when our lives are in question. Even the police our governing authorities can not Interview us without representation. So this is NOT an addmition of guilt, Its what everyone of us would do. anyone who thinks that it is, is simply on a witch hunt. Its very obvious that all but one of these posts are hearsay and speculation. lets get to the TRUTH! and anything posted that is not a first hand account is simply hearsay and opinion.
Paul,
Parishioners have to buy elders / pastors out!