On January 5, 2018 Dee wrote an article titled, “I Thought He Was Taking Me for Ice Cream: One Woman’s #Me Too Story of Molestation By Her Former Youth Pastor, Andy Savage.”
This was to be the first of several articles Dee authored on the sexually abusive pastor, Andy Savage. Here is a quote from Dee’s article:
“We all conferenced together via phone, along with Darcy, a friend of Jules who is an important reason that this story is being told. Our subsequent conversations profoundly affected me over the Christmas season when I found myself waking up at all hours of the night, contemplating the pain that Jules has suffered both during the molestation and the many years following that wretched night. Meanwhile, the pastors involved in this story have gone on to success within the Christian world.
The name of the victim is Jules Woodson which is her maiden name. She wishes her name to be known. Darcy is her friend’s actual first name and we have permission to use that name as well.
This is a #metoo #churchtoo story. Many Christian women claim that they want to stand against the sexual abuse of women: #SilenceIsNotSpiritual. This is a story that should attract their support and their attention. However, will the support be offered when it involves a pastor that they like or a church that they attend?
Here is the email that Jules sent to Andy Savage, Teaching Pastor of Highpoint Memphis.
——– Original message ——–
From: Jules Woodson
Date: 12/1/17 9:21 AM (GMT-07:00)
To: andy.savage@highpointmemphis.com
Subject: Do you remember?
Do you remember that night that you were supposed to drive me home from church and instead drove me to a deserted back road and sexually assaulted me?
Do you remember how you acted like you loved me and cared about me in order for me to cooperate in such acts, only to run out of the vehicle later and fall to your knees begging for forgiveness and for me not to tell anyone what had just happened?
Well, I REMEMBER.
#metooShe received NO response.”
Dee’s question – “However, will the support be offered when it involves a pastor that they like or a church that they attend?” – received an answer soon after Dee’s article was published. Below is a quote from an article Dee wrote on March 9, 2018 titled, “Jules Woodson Responds Via The New York Times: Shame on Andy Savage, Chris Conlee and Highpoint Church.”
“That entire church service was shocking to me. Jules Woodson was abused by Andy Savage. She was then re-abused by the members and pastors of Highpoint Church. Instead of thoughtful words and a subdued service, indicating a minimum understanding of the gravity of the situation, the church leaders presented a raucous, circus-like show with an entertainer up front screaming that Andy Savage was *worthy.*
Savage received a standing ovation to his confession of a sexual incident with a 17 year old student in a youth ministry. Chris Conlee actually implied Jules Woodson should be on the same path to healing as Andy Savage! Seriously?. Do I really have to explain to pastors?
As I watched this mess, I wondered how a church could screw up this badly.
I was dumfounded by members of Highpoint who attacked Jules Woodson via Twitter, threatening her that they were going to expose her. Some daft lady say that she had the gift of *spiritual discernment* and that Savage was innocent of molestation. I saw dippy Scriptural *explanations* made by members who apparently don’t know the difference between a pastor and a king or between crime, sin, repentance and restoration.”
Andy Savage resigned from his pastor’s gig at Highpoint Church in Memphis. Chris Conlee, the Senior Pastor, soon followed suit.
But wait – like many other miscreants in the ministry these two would miss the adoration and easy money a cushy pastor’s job afforded them, so they would soon reemerge.
In another article Dee wrote on August 10, 2020 titled, “Andy Savage and Chris Conlee Prove That Any Schmuck Can Start a Non-Denominational Church.” Below is a quote from that article:
Chris Conlee and Andy Savage start their new churches in Memphis.
Today, I had a good conversation with Jules Woodson. We discussed the fact that both Conlee and Savage are starting churches in Memphis…* in your face* startups. These actions are quite painful for Jules as well as for many others who supported her during that terrible time. Why couldn’t they have started their churches in another locale? Don’t say they have friends and family there. They could have easily started a church in surrounding areas and still have seen their family. My guess is that they contacted some of their former church members who will return, checkbooks, or Venmo, at the ready. My guess is that the pastors would want Venmo since it is a quick transaction and these boys need money pronto.
Andy Savage’s new church started in October 2019, just before COVID. I’m guessing that he is cash hungry at the moment.
Chris Conlee enlisted the help of his wife, Karin to announce his return to the ministry.
“God’s writing a new story that we want to be a part of. And as we absorbed the events of 2020 from Cleveland, we longed for the Lord to let us return our little light, and our commitment to be known by love, to the people of this city. We’re so grateful He spoke! On a personal level, as we come back to the city we love, I do have a little apprehension. I think of the way Satan likes to work. Silence, half-truths and division are three of his favorite weapons. In relationships, we often fill in gaps of silence with distrust. We take conjecture and speculation and create a new narrative that divides. It’s the same familiar formula that destroys friendships, families, cities, and countries. We assume the worst about each other and then build our walls.We’re coming back to start One City Church. We can’t shake from our hearts the role that we believe the church should have in the city’s healing. There are other jobs out there to pay the bills, but our calling is to pastor. So, we start over in faith.”
First of all, what’s this “but our calling is to pastor?” It’s a good thing the Conlees dropped out of the SBC when the Andy Savage sexual abuse story came out because it sounds to me like Karin is claiming to be a pastor. They would have found themselves “not in friendly cooperation with the SBC” with words like that!
Second, how many times have we heard similar stories – “there are other jobs out there to pay the bills” – yada, yada, yada, but (my interpretation) God’s kingdom needs our vital ministry to further Christ’s kingdom. Besides, those other jobs are beneath us. Plumbers, contractors, Walmart greeters, bus drivers, church janitors -no thanks. They can’t drink their Starbucks while doing those jobs.
Meanwhile, the Savage man got back into the ministry a little sooner than pastors Chris and Karin. As you will hear in the video I made, the Savage man had to go back to work for his father’s contracting company after resigning from his pastors job. Even though I’m sure it was paying the bills… you know the rest of the narrative!
Once again we turn to an article Dee authored on October 28, 2019 titled, “Andy Savage, Who Molested Jules Woodson, Is Starting a New Church. The Church Doesn’t Need Him.”
Dee wrote in part:
“The conga line of disgraced pastors who think that God needs them to counsel the emotionally impoverished evangelical population has now grown longer. Andy Savage has joined the dances, giggling along with the likes of Tullian Tchividjian and Pete Wilson.
…As many of you know, Amy Smith, Kenny Stubblefield, Brooks Hanson and I were involved in the initial conversations with Jules. Amy Smith and I both wrote posts on her molestation by Savage which attracted international attention. Then, Savage’s former church vaulted this story further into the public eye when they gave Savage a standing ovation after he admitted that he had a sexual experience with Jules….Well, he actually called it a *mutual organic experience* but most people called it what it was: nonconsensual molestation. (The only thing organic that a youth pastor should share with a student is a salad.)
Andy Savage is disqualified from the pastorate for a number of reasons. He molested Jules Woodson, moved on, forgot about her, and then ignored her 20 years later.
Finally, the fact he is starting a new church is the sign of a self absorbed egotist. It’s all about him.he’s the man who should teach you, lead you, and watch over you. I learned something during my trip to Greece to study Paul’s journeys. When I visited the excavations at Philippi, I learned that the word *servant* is better translated as *slave.* Savage should so care for the pain that he caused Jules, as well as the entire evangelical community, that he should step aside and be a slave, not a pastor. He needs to care for those who have been abused. He should work in a rescue mission and give up the microphone. He should be a sacrificial, humble slave, not just another ho hum *teaching* pastor who believes his own press.
What does restoration mean?
Poorly educated Christians who listen to light sermons, like those I think Savage preaches, think it means someone like Andy is forgiven and can jump right back into teaching because he “knows he is a teacher.” No consequences…except, there are always consequences. There are actions that we take in life that will permanently disqualify us from our positions. Counselors:having sex with patients…Teachers: Having sex with students…EMTs: having sex with those they are called in to help.
But far too many people believe Savage should get a pass for molesting Jules. Why? It makes no sense. What does restoration really mean? It means you can now return to church and be a church member. A former pastor doesn’t get to jump from sin to the pastorate. A real pastor who gets this would not try to do so. Grace is costly, not cheap. You must lose something. God can redeem it in a new work. For example, why not become a prison chaplain?”
This has been a rather lengthy summary in order to get to what I wanted to discuss. A few days ago I was listening to some of the Savage man’s recent sermons. I compiled a few telling segments into a video.
The Savage man is an excellent story teller, but his preaching is not something I would choose to subject myself to on a weekly basis. Here is the video. The Savage man will be telling you two stories, one from his sermon on 6/11/2023 and the other from 6/18/23.
In the first section the Savage man talks of a fellow preachers nice legs, lets us know that he won’t be wearing shorts to church because he doesn’t have nice legs like his fellow pastor. He then tells us how he loves Crossfit. Great, glad to hear you work out a lot. You’re never going to draw in the shallow crowds if you have a dad belly. Yet it all seems inappropriate to me. The pastors I have respected would never prattle on like this.
Next we proceed to the section about “The Savage Way.” His dad was probably a great contractor, but it doesn’t appear to me that his son actually took his teaching to heart. He talks a good game, but in my opinion, his life doesn’t reflect his narrative.
Let me make a prediction.
There will be another standing ovation in the Savage man’s future.
I close with a video that “The Savage Way” reminded me of.
The ‘wider context’ of media, ‘entertainment’, popular culture, and political role models does give birth to the ‘normalization’ of the ‘feel-good mantra’ of them what see themselves as ‘above the law’ and ‘entitled’,
but to rob an innocent of her innocence in such a way, and then to get right back in the saddle and go for round 2 (or is it round 3, or 4?????)
?
Humility among the self-righteous seems not to be seen as anything but weakness, but it may be the only ‘remedy’ to bring the perverts before God to see their own destructiveness –
the victims?
left wondering ‘how can this be’ in the Church of Our Lord ?
Not holding the powerful to ‘the rules’ of even the most basic ethical traditions of conducting the work of the Lord seems to breed ‘anointed ones’ who are enshrined in glittering guilt . . . proudly so, in some cases, yet still adored and followed
God have mercy on the victims. When no earthly accounting appears to take form.
And the sheep go over the cliff following ‘dear leader’ . . . lost and confused and without a real shepherd
Excellent post, Todd, and timely, as you know. Thank you for writing this.
I repeat. Any ministry leader who fails morally, who betray the trust of those they pastor, who cover and protect associates who are abusers … have permanently disqualified themselves from ministry. They have forfeited the sacred call to shepherd God’s children; they can’t be trusted. There are no examples in the New Testament of pastors who have behaved this way being restored to ministry. Forgive them if they genuinely repent? Certainly. Restore them to the pulpit? Absolutely not!
There are other ways to serve in the Body of Christ. There are other jobs outside of ministry to support your family. Consequences.
1?
‘I think of the way Satan likes to work. Silence, half-truths and division are three of his favorite weapons. In relationships, we often fill in gaps of silence with distrust. …We assume the worst about each other and then build our walls.’
Red flags all over the place there, if you’re attuned to them.
Golden rule: be suspicious if someone even hints at the words ‘trust me’, ‘dont listen to the rumours’ or ‘dont make assumptions’.
Max, you are so right–Savage is utterly disqualified from church ministry. What I struggle to understand is the lack of checking/examination by those in the pews that not only support Savage, but give him a standing ovation. I just don’t get it.
The Savage Way … remember when preachers used to talk more about Jesus than themselves? … when Jesus was proclaimed as the Way?
Andy needs to take his Crossfit body back to the construction site; he’s more equipped for that trade than ministry.
I shout with Jules “When will this madness end?!!”
There is a segment of churchgoers who love pastors who walk and talk no differently than them. It makes them feel better about themselves.
Standing ovation? Church as entertainment is growing in leaps and bounds. Big screens, fog machines, skinny jeans … where preachers with a bad-boy past are adored with standing ovations. Madness!
I think I get it.
Big evangelical christianity is a lot like an exclusive membership golf club.
Savage said his dad was teaching them, “You take ownership of whatever you do, because your name is on it” …… “you take responsibility for your actions” …….”that’s what he taught me.”
Looks like dear old dad didn’t get the message across very well. Andy can repeat the instructions, but apparently he can only apply them when it is convenient.
As someone who works in the secular world (banking, not construction, but it holds), please don’t send those people to us. They’re hard to deal with and won’t fit into our culture. We have work to do.
If Grace Valley in Collierville is indeed Savage’s new church venue, it is on Collierville Road, DIRECTLY ACROSS the street from 3 other churches:
– Collierville Pentecostal Church
– East Win Christian Church
– Oak Lane Christian Church.
Just like Seattle with a Starbuck’s on every corner.
Why four churches all in a row? Is Memphis that pious?
It looks like Savage or his org acquired a ready-made church building and then his family construction company did renovations.
Savage is not on the church website. His own website is outdated; he still claims to be the teaching pastor at Highpoint. It took a search to figure out where he is, and his church website never lists his name.
Savage’s 15 minutes of national fame (NYT, WaPo, etc.) came with the reveal of his Youth Pastor crime of taking a girl down a dirt road to coerce her into giving him a blow job. His fame is nowhere in his biographies.
Odd how everything Savage puts out there comes in direct conflict with his own life:
Take responsibility. He did/does not.
Practice Christian morals, as opposed the 50 Shades of Gray. He’s more in the shady Gray camp himself.
Etc.
Yeah, you’re right. Sorry to suggest that Andy enter the real world to work; he would just slow things down. Christianity Lite is the best place to keep him; they all deserve each other.
The Inner Ring of POWER.
“There is no Right, there is no Wrong, there is only POWER. And those too Weak to have it.”
— Lord Voldemort
“IN FIRE.”
— Vorlon Ambassasor Kosh’s answer to the same question, Babylon-5
PRIVILEGE OF CLERGY RANK, remember.
“TOUCH NOT MINE ANOINTED!”
“Missionary Man, he got GAWD on his side…”
— The Eurythmics
Exactly.
The pew sitters are getting exactly what they want: no one telling them sin is still sin no matter what the culture now says. Someone as “bad” as they are. Celebrities who dance with sexy moves, and pounding music that increases their endorphins.
The sad thing is, God seems to have left the building.
As have, according to many news reports, increasing numbers of Christians.
I agree. Unfortunately, when a man graduates from an SBC seminary many believe they are entitled to the position of pastor for life.
Graduating from a seminary does not necessarily mean one is qualified for ministry. We see evidence of that over and over on TWW. There’s a vast difference in preparing for ministry and being called into that sacred duty. The truly called are indeed pastors for life; we don’t see that special breed as TWW subjects. They have more important things to do in the Kingdom of God than strutting on a stage to standing ovations.
Andy learned the construction business, and when Dad died, he ditched it to go back to the easy way of earning money-convince the pew sitters to tithe. He sounds like a grifter, even if he doesn’t mean to be one.
Andy learned the construction business, and when Dad died, he ditched it to go back to the easy way of earning money-convince the pew sitters to tithe.
dee,
That…..
And, as a general rule, people who work in construction ….even the business owners… don’t get to strut around on stage in an auditorium full of adoring fans several times a week.
Sorry, however, I don’t get the connection.
We know a lot of golfers. None have ever been accused of the act of violence of taking a child down a dark road into the woods and then emptying his member into her mouth. It’s just too gross to even imagine.
And this guy still walks around on stages broadcasting his spiel like he’s got something to teach the rest of the world. NOT. Some people, apparently, just can’t get over themselves. It’s always about them. Sad for the woman propping up the con man now. Until he fully rights the wrongs with the children he violated (there’s more than one), he is nothing but a con.
He “forgot” what he did? The children don’t forget. He glosses it over? Nothing is glossed over for a child who experiences a man’s inflated hot member shoved into their mouth and down their throat and then emptied – frightening, horrifying, and literally nauseating. It’s criminal and a major character flaw on the part of the guy who did this. The children NEVER forget.
Hope and pray to God his own sons don’t have this experience of their trusted Youth Pastor shoving his hot inflated member in and then emptying it into their behinds, giving them an experience they, too, will NEVER forget. Hope and pray to God they don’t grow up to be child predators embedded in the church leadership like their dad.
Sex is meant to be loving, quiet, intimate and personal. There is nothing intimate, loving, nor quiet about an adult sexually violating a child. This is a criminal act, and becomes a crime against humanity, against society, against civilization. The child is screaming inside, and will scream for a long, long time. A civilized society hears the child and attends to the fact that they have been violated. Would that the church be at least minimally civilized. The church that hires, covers for, and embeds predators is neither of God, nor civilized, nor loving. It is not the Body of Christ.
Many religious leaders are in it for power, which has nothing to do with God and the Body of Christ. Jesus himself was no show-master power freak lording it over others, let alone shoving his hot inflated member into an unsuspecting child. Jesus exposed the evil religious leaders of his day with their predatory practices. As followers of Jesus, we should be doing the same.
One more comment along these lines.
The way to keep one’s sex life private, is to be respectful.
As soon as a person crosses the line of disrespecting the other person, it is a public matter. There is nothing hidden or private about violating a child, including sexually. It is an act against all of humanity. It is a public atrocity.
Domestic violence is also a public act against humanity.
Predators of children are public enemies. This includes church predators of children. They should also be church enemies. Unfortunately, it seems our churches provide the hunting grounds and the safe havens for child predators. (And other types of predators, too.) These churches are definitely not the Body of Christ. Christ never hid nor covered for religious predators, religious leader predators in particular. Jesus exposed predators. If we follow Jesus, we do the same.
Ava Aaronson,
I’m sorry if you took offense at my comment Ava.
It was never meant to offend.
It was only used to convey a broad and general sense of an exclusive wealthy gentlemen’s club, which is what big evangelicalism most certainly is.
There are a lot of people who work in jobs that don’t correspond to their training/education. Teachers, police officers, nurses, doctors are among those who find that their chosen profession is not for them. You find them in every profession.
The important thing is to realise that your profession is not for you and do something about it.
CrossFit?
Remember when 9Mark Dever snatched up as an intern a fired top exec of CrossFit?
Five years ago, June 2018, CrossFit spokesmodel Russell Berger went all atwitter, posting things like “celebrating ‘pride’ is a sin”, etc., and then tried to delete it all.
Crossfit fires ‘Chief Knowledge Officer’ Russell Berger:
https://morningchalkup.com/2018/06/06/a-brief-timeline-of-the-tweet-that-got-russell-berger-fired/
The next year RusselBerger popped up at Capitol Hill Baptist Church as one of the interns under 9Mark Dever!
https://www.capitolhillbaptist.org/past-interns/
Ava Aaronson,
I think Muff was referring to what I have heard called “country club Christians”: people who go to church for their own personal/social/professional benefit……..
The people that attend church because: *** they want a good reputation **** habit- it’s what they’ve always done *** it’s what the community leaders do*** it’ how to get in with and be one of the “in” crowd*** it’s expected*** it’s a good place to socialize***…. and so on.
God’s Speshul Pet, you know.
Isn’t it the RCC that considers Ordination to be Permanent, that once you are Ordained you can never completely be “Un-Ordained”? Once Done, it cannot be completely Undone? Only “Suspended” and “Laitized”, forbidden to function as a priest?
Whatever happened to “NO POPERY!” and “WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?”?
Years ago, we were members of First Baptist Church. One of the deacons had a civil engineering business in the community. He shared with us that he had taken a class while in college about how to set up an engineering office. One of the things on the checklist was to quickly become a member of “First” church – the most prominent church in town where all the city elite hung out. He was advised those folks would be important potential clients for his business. The professor said it mattered not what sort of church it was, just to make sure it was ‘the’ church where the city who’s-who attended. So he did just that and his business prospered.
“Certain people have crept in unnoticed [just as if they were sneaking in by a side door]. They are ungodly persons whose condemnation was predicted long ago, for they distort the grace of our God into decadence and immoral freedom [viewing it as an opportunity to do whatever they want], and deny and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 4)
Muff Potter,
Hi Muff,
No offense, no apology necessary. I get it – country club Christians. Unfortunately, some in the club are downright predatory – evil.
OMGoodness, great balls of fire – how did the church go from country club chic to predators’ hunting ground haven? What a pivot, but here we are! Right before our very eyes. Truth is stranger than fiction. Indeed.
What the Youth Pastor did to that young girl was absolutely unthinkable. One cannot make this up. But that’s exactly what he did – the unimaginable. Even Steven King sagas don’t go that far. Young girls going to Youth Group have no idea what the Youth Pastor may have in store for them.
Jesus, OTOH, is 100% safe for everyone. So is the Body of Christ, the followers of Jesus.
Always appreciate your verse-quotes that target exactly what we are discussing. Thx.
What’s happening in churches is beyond the pale, totally off the rails. God is not in any of this, on the other hand. This is not the Body of Christ.
Max,
“I shout with Jules “When will this madness end?!!””
Sadly, it never ends. Remember, there was murder in the first generation of humanity. It’s been all downhill since then. Until Christ’ final return we live in brokenness.
I have carried a burden of knowing that for the last 25 years. Everywhere I look is counterfeit church. Finding the genuine is like looking for a needle in a haystack, a rare and endangered species, a treasure buried in a field. I have little to no fellowship with the average 21st century churchgoer. It’s not the form I’m having trouble adjusting to … it’s the lack of faith and righteousness in pulpit and pew. The Body of Christ has been scattered; their gifts lying dormant.
Well, he was a handsome young man. That seems to gain you entrance to Dever’s intern program. Any idea what he is doing now? I saw he returned to Huntsville but have no idea what he does there.
No offense taken. No apology necessary. Country Club Christians, yes. And behind the gentlemen façade there are thugs violating children. That’s what is offensive. Furthermore, the fact that the parishioners applauded their pastor for his non-apology, non-repentance is a bridge too far. It’s evil. How is a youth pastor violating a child normal? It’s not.
Come, Lord Jesus.
If we are Jesus’ hands and feet, maybe someone oughta take the predatory pastors to the mat. Or the woodshed. Just sayin’.
Ex-lawyer here. I’m *much happier* as a technical incident management consultant aka “cat herder.” I’m good at it. The people I work with generally like to work with me. But I’m not going to put up with nonsense because in my line of work, there’s usually Other People’s Money on the line and whatever’s broken needs fixing *now*. Ironically, it’s less stressful than lawyering.
My grandmother was a member of the Methodist church in her small town, which was also the county seat. She told me that she was a member because it was good for the title company business she owned. (My grandfather, the hobby rancher, was rather less of a church attendee.) I was in my late teens then and much more naive. I was rather horrified that being a member of a church was not about belief. Fast forward over four decades and yeah, I completely get why she said that. I’m also cynical enough to say that I don’t blame her, she had to live in that small East Texas town, where being seen in church was a sine qua non for a good business and social life.
This rather appropriately turned up in my fb newsfeed this morning from the Log College Press –
“The minister must always remember that the dignity of his office adheres not in his person but in his office itself. He is not at all important, but his office is extremely important. Therefore he should take his work most seriously without taking himself seriously. He should preach the Word in season and out of season in forgetfulness of self. He should ever have an eye single to the glory of Christ, whom he preaches, and count himself out. It should be his constant aim that Christ, whom he represents, may increase while he himself decreases. Remembering that means nothing but , he should humbly, yet passionately, serve the Lord Christ and His church. The words of the apostle Paul should be his very own: ‘Whose I am and whom I serve’ (Acts 27:23). Such a minister is sure to enhance the glory of Christ’s church.” – .. , ℎ ℎ (1966, 2006), pp. 141-142
Adulation is one h*ll of a drug.
Lowlandseer,
That is a great quote. Thanks for sharing.
That’s one of the reasons that so many churches have constructed platforms over prayer altars. Christianity Lite needs entertainment on those stages more than they need to pray (or so they think). Praise & Worship Teams beat loud drums and sway to the beat with cheering fans; fog machines and dazzling laser lights illuminate their performance. Celebrity pastors strut their stuff to the adoration of idol worshippers; if he’s bad enough, “Pastor” will even get a standing ovation! The Great God Entertainment is pleased by it all.
A rare breed in the 21st century pulpit, indeed! If you find a pastor like that, get in there and support him with your whole being. You will experience Jesus there; He hangs out in such places.
“But such is the way of the limelight, it sweetly
Takes hold of the mind of its host…”
— Ponyphonic, “Lullaby for a Princess”
With long prayers and Bible Verses for justification.
Or 1960s South Arcadia with a gas station on every corner of the intersection.
Also back then and there, we had a “church row” in the main part of Arcadia, where local zoning put four or five churches on the same block, all next door to each other.
I can hear that standing ovation now:
What’s the Christianese for “HE SCOOOOORED! HEH-HUH! HEH-HUH! HEH-HUH!”
— Beavis & Butthead
So we should all just give up and mouth Pious Platitudes while waiting for Rapture or Homegoing into Fluffy Cloud Heaven? “In the Sweet Bye-and-Bye…”
… accompanied by applause from the sycophant’s audience … #TheoBroThugs.
The Youth Pastor that goes after a teengirl to put his thing down her throat is nothing but a thug. CrossFit training baloney. How ’bout training his thing for himself and his grown-up partner, instead of emptying it into a teen? Training that means something.
How dare we speak of such things in Polite Society? How dare the Youth Pastor put his thing into the public domain with his criminal acts. If only it were not necessary to speak of such things – if the Youth Pastor were not doing the unimaginable, but yes, in the public domain, this has to be spoken of.
It has to be dealt with, for the safety of all children, especially teens. A Youth Pastor assaulting a teen is an assault against humanity, against all who live decently and respectfully. He begged her for secrecy, because he knows he committed a crime – which is the public domain.
Maybe this is what NORMALLY goes on behind the scenes of a Respectable Country Club for the Rich and Powerful?
I’d rather read a Stephen King novel than any of the stuff written by the big guys in the CIC (christian industrial complex).
The American church needs to seriously rethink its youth ministry model. It’s been my experience (in SBC ranks) that most youth “pastors” are just a bunch of flesh babies. Putting them over other flesh babies is an accident waiting to happen. You find no examples of “Youth Pastor” in the New Testament. Instead, you find instruction that senior mature saints are supposed to mentor young believers, not immature and inexperienced “pastors” fresh out of seminary. I fear that “The Savage Way” is being played out in churches across America, yet to be detected.
Why am I not surprised. We left a church when my hubby outright asked potential new pastor – who had had an affair and was forced to resign from his church – why he didn’t just work another job. Because God had placed a calling on his life! He acted like that question was ridiculous. No, he should not be going back to being a pastor after just 2 years and frankly never mentioned the affair to us. Just said he left that church. Head elder was forced to tell us why. Ugh. So over this crap.
“THE VOICE OF A GOD, NOT OF A MAN!
THE VOICE OF A GOD, NOT OF A MAN!”
— Acts 12:22
“MONEY FOR NUTHIN’
AND THE CHICKS FOR FREE!”
— Dire Straits, “Money for Nuthin'”
Headless Unicorn Guy,
And…
“Relax, don’t do it —
When you wanna go do it?
Relax, don’t do it —
When you wanna come?
When you wanna come?
When you wanna come?”
— Frankie Goes to Hollywood, “Relax”
AMEN, AMEN, AMEN
Hear, hear. Indeed.
Oh, it’s detected. Then quickly covered up. Reality church & fantasy church flash back and forth like a hologram before our eyes.
How long has TWW been sounding the alarm? A decade? And TWW is not the only voice sounding the alarm. Thank God for the internet. No gatekeepers to lie about the truth. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free, our Lord said. He didn’t cover up the predators, he exposed them.
Granted, Jesus provides the way of salvation for sinners, but full on exposure with the fruit of repentance required AND complete protection with restoration for the vulnerable is part of the package.
Note: the predator repents with full responsibility and reparation.
Whereas the vulnerable is protected and restored.
Churches have this backwards. Completely backwards. Every. single. time.
I wonder what percentage have been exposed? Within SBC, for example, how long is the abusers list really?
And, yes, Praise God for the internet and watchblogs which inform and warn.
These guys would not be able to reenter ministry if they couldn’t find people to attend their congregations. I still don’t get why people flock after these fallen ministers, but it won’t stop until the “run of the mill folk” stop receiving them back as ministers.
Exactly. Actors would have no stage without an audience willing to buy tickets to their show.
Remember, there was a talking reptile in the initial generation, and a talking donkey in the early generations…. it’s been downhill ever since. Maybe when Jesus returns, my guppies will tell me how they really feel, until then, I live in brokenness….
In my opinion….these guys are SHAMELESS! If I committed a sexual crime I would hang my head and keep my name OUT of the public eye!!!!
Ahhh, but ‘their’ public – those adoring fans in the pew – demand that they return to the scene of their crime, the church.
“It is like their conscience has been destroyed with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2)
Ava Aaronson,
How about a Dean Koontz novel?
That’s still gotta’ be better than Piper piffle, any day of the week and six-ways-to-sunday.
Does anybody realize that the Rabbi from Tarsus was describing PSYCHOPATHS/SOCIOPATHS?
And from my experience, such Psychopaths & Sociopaths appear as Angels of Light to all but their victims.
(Problem is, because something’s “In the Bible”, people give it some Special Deep Spiritual Meanings, missing what was really being said.)
Gus,
BTDT. Ironically, that’s how I ended up in the ministry…running a non-profit ministering to the needs of the homeless. After my failed teaching career, I’m not sure I’d make that good of a pastor given today’s apparent lack of standards.
Some “pastors” compromise the holy standard to make that work. I know of several church leaders at various ministries in my area who live no differently from wayward folks in the pew. Indeed, that’s why a lot of church members go to such churches … it makes them feel better about their rotten selves.