
Photo by energepic.com: at pexels.com
“There is always the rest of the story, right? Even if you don’t know right now what it is.” ― The Rest of the Story
I am hoping that some things will be revealed soon. I promise that TWW will be the first to know. It has been an interesting and stretching 4 months. I have learned so much that I could write for days. One of my pastors, during this time, did a sermon in which he talked about growing older but realizing that God had given him more time. He talked about using it wisely. It helped me to remember that God hasn’t told me what the rest of the story will look like. That has given me the impetus to continue to work hard at the job that He’s given me to do since I know there is a “rest of the story.” Stay tuned.
Recently, I wrote a post complimenting the Vineyard for what appeared to be a decent effort: Duluth Vineyard: Jackson Gatlin is In Prison and Lots of Lawsuits Are in Process. Nepotism in the Church Is a Problem. During 2023, I wrote several posts about the developing story of ignored abuse within Duluth Vineyard. With Jackson in jail for a long time and his parents no longer serving as pastors, I concluded the following.
What I learned from this.There is a reason nepotism is a negative word. Parents who are the heads of churches should not hire family members.
Vineyard Central needs to prohibit nepotism. Will they? Do they have too much of it already?
Even though the church leadership eventually responded well, their response did not protect them from lawsuits. I believe a time is coming in which companies that insure churches will not cover churches for sexual abuse lawsuits. Unfortunately, there are too many, and I predict many more will come. I believe that churches have only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to sexual abuse.
Of course, those who want to hide things will not be willing to talk with GRACE. They seek the truth and will ask hard questions. Those are the hard questions that many in the church are reluctant to answer.I wish the leaders of Duluth Vineyard Godspeed as they seek to transform their culture in light of this tragedy. I commend their honesty and transparency as they move forward.
I received an email from Ryan Bauers that challenged me to consider another perspective. Bauers is a former Vineyard pastor who has also been frustrated at the Vineyard mothership’s lack of action regarding abuse. He has proof, which is found in the following appeal to those in charge of the Vineyard. As I read the following, I became concerned that I did not discuss the problems that still exist in the Vineyard leadership.
Bauers presents the goods. As you read his post, take a moment to click on the links. I highly recommend this article written by a victim. Silenced: My Story of Sexual Assault in a Vineyard Church
The hidden reality of coming forward in the Vineyard movement written by Noa Elmberi.
So here is some of the “rest of the story” to give the readers a bigger picture of the lingering issues in the Vineyard. I received permission to post this from Ryan Bauers. I have made no changes to the account.
An Appeal To Vineyard Pastors
A Call for Accountability and Justice in Vineyard USA
Dear Pastor,
I am reaching out to you with deep concern about the way Vineyard USA (VUSA) leadership has handled reports of abuse within Vineyard churches. As a former Vineyard pastor, I believed strongly in the movement’s commitment to integrity, justice, and care for the vulnerable. However, accounts from victims expose a troubling pattern of dismissal, intimidation, and evasion of accountability by the national office under the leadership of the Executive Team, whose efforts have been led by Robb Morgan and Jay Pathak (and, previously, Phil Strout). This harms victims, local churches, and their witness for Christ.
This is not the first time these issues have been raised. In 2014, I submitted a formal complaint to the VUSA board detailing serious concerns about the abusive leadership patterns of Michael and Brenda Gatlin. My complaint was not only based on my own experiences but also on those of about a dozen others who had reported similar mistreatment. Despite clear warning signs, VUSA’s leadership ignored the complaints, failed to investigate, and instead, protected those in power. The result was another decade of unchecked abuse, culminating in the devastating harm documented in the 2023 GRACE and 2024 Guidepost reports. The patterns I warned about in 2014—bullying, intimidation, blacklisting, and manipulation—are the same patterns survivors are experiencing now and are courageously speaking out against. You can read more about the complaint I submitted and the subsequent interaction with VUSA leadership by clicking HERE. The same patterns of negligence and protection of abusive leadership persist today among the Vineyard USA leadership team.
However, much more important than my own experience is how the victims and their parents have experienced working with VUSA leadership (and it isn’t good). I am including a few important documents so you can hear directly from these victims. I urge you to read them carefully. You can read one victim’s impact statement by clicking HERE and a detailed outline from the victim and her parents on specific interactions with VUSA staff and misleading updates to the VUSA timeline HERE. Another victim bravely shared her experience in two different articles that you can access by clicking HERE and HERE. As you read these accounts, ask yourself:
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If you or one of your family members was treated this way after being victimized, how would you feel? Would you feel their needs and feelings have been prioritized throughout?
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Are you comfortable with how these victims and their families express how they have been treated by VUSA leadership? Because, not only do these leaders represent VUSA, but they also represent you, your church, the movement and, ultimately, are supposed to represent the character of Jesus.
These survivors and their families have bravely spoken out, despite VUSA’s attempts to silence their voices and twist their narratives. Their testimonies reveal not only the original trauma they endured, but also the profound harm caused by VUSA’s response (or lack thereof):
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Silencing and intimidation tactics: Victims were explicitly advised to stop speaking publicly about their experiences, reinforcing a culture of secrecy and suppression.
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Prioritizing the needs of abusers over those of the victims: There are patterns in the communication and actions of VUSA leaders that demonstrate the inappropriate prioritization of the needs of abusers (Vineyard leaders) over the victims.
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Institutional betrayal: Victims and their families faced evasive, vague responses that failed to acknowledge the severity of the abuse or provide meaningful support.
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Minimization of abuse: VUSA omitted critical details, refused to name the offenses for what they were, and failed to hold those in power accountable.
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Promotion of Vineyard leaders who have been credibly accused of abuse: Not only have abusers been allowed to remain in leadership, but they have even been promoted.
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Failure to implement recommendations: The GRACE report provided clear steps for VUSA to address systemic failures, yet many recommendations remain unfulfilled. Vineyard pastors and boards are also calling for systemic change that VUSA has been ignoring.
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A lack of transparency: Key findings from independent investigations were concealed from pastors and congregants, making true accountability nearly impossible.
These are not isolated incidents but a systemic issue that must be confronted! VUSA’s public messaging claims they are learning, listening, and making changes—yet their actions behind closed doors tell a different story. Survivors deserve better. The Church must do better. But Vineyard USA leadership continues to double down, protect their own, and blackball anyone who speaks up (notice THIS communication).
As a leader within Vineyard, you have the influence to demand truth, transparency, and real change.
I urge you to:
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Read these statements in their entirety. Hear directly from the victims rather than relying solely on the national office’s narrative.
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Ask hard questions of VUSA leadership. Push for clarity on how they are handling these cases (including the detailed communication) and why survivors have been silenced, dismissed, or treated poorly.
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Advocate for independent accountability measures. Without external oversight, VUSA will continue to operate in secrecy and self-protection.
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Support survivors. Call for full support for their healing and ensure that their voices are centered in any future discussions on reform. Create a national reporting system through VUSA that involves an outside entity (not VUSA staff).
Other Vineyard pastors have already called for greater accountability and systemic change in the Vineyard. Pastor Donnell Wyche from Ann Arbor Vineyard wrote a letter on behalf of their church board and membership expressing their serious concerns about how these matters have been handled (his first letter is HERE and an updated version is HERE), have voted to withhold their 3%, and are calling for the resignation of Vineyard USA board members. Brian Metzger, Senior Pastor of Raleigh Vineyard, has compassionately expressed his concerns in several articles which you can find HERE. John Kliewer, along with the Duluth Vineyard board, has sent a letter pleading with VUSA leadership for change HERE, outlined specific requests HERE, and have expressed other concerns HERE. There are other Vineyard pastors having conversations about what their response will be as they are finding out the shocking details of what has transpired.
I no longer have a stake in the Vineyard movement, as I have not been a Vineyard pastor since 2013. However, as a breathing human being alive in this moment, I feel moved and sickened by the accounts of these victims and I feel compelled to appeal to you as leaders to become fully aware of what is happening in your movement, to hold Robb and Jay accountable for the way their leadership has further harmed these victims, and to call for systemic change in the Vineyard movement. My hope is that you will link arms with those already speaking out and demand significant, immediate change. This is not just about past failures—it is about ensuring that the Vineyard movement embodies the justice and love of Jesus moving forward.
With deep concern,
Ryan Bauers
“a sermon in which he talked about growing older but realizing that God had given him more time … given me the impetus to continue to work hard at the job that He’s given me to do since I know there is a “rest of the story.””
From the words of an old hymn:
Work, for the night is coming,
Work through the morning hours;
Work while the dew is sparkling,
Work ’mid springing flow’rs.
Work when the day grows brighter,
Work in the glowing sun;
Work, for the night is coming,
When man’s work is done.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
“Promotion of Vineyard leaders who have been credibly accused of abuse: Not only have abusers been allowed to remain in leadership, but they have even been promoted.”
When you are in the Inner Ring, the ring leaders protect you. They will cover and promote you … it’s only when a potato becomes too hot to handle, that they drop you … then the Ring professes they never knew about your bad behavior in order to protect their own skin. I dare say it occurs in every religious circle where men are on the throne, rather than God.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
I say skip church and go to the county fair, or a local concert, or a chain restaurant…… At least law enforcement will be on patrol.
Nancy2(aka Kevlar)(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
I have heard enough about Vineyard over the years (they remind me allot of Calvary Chapel, and theyhave a similar/related origin) that this does not suprise me at all.. sigh, sigh, sigh…
Jeffrey J Chalmers(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
“I am hoping that some things will be revealed soon. I promise that TWW will be the first to know. It has been an interesting and stretching 4 months. I have learned so much that I could write for days.”
++++++++++++++
I admire you, Dee, for all you’ve been doing. I look forward to hearing more.
elastigirl(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Can anyone here discern evidence in this case of any interventions of the Trinity? Or any evidence that prayer, revelation, or The Body of Christ made any difference? I cannot. The victim seems not to have been comforted by the Comforter, although I might have missed that part.
Instead, the positive interventions I see here are the result of investigative bodies based on rational, judicial principles.
I do see the positive hand of God in the story as reported by TWW. But this is not — at all — how we have been taught about how God moves. I think we need a Great Awakening which integrates spiritual knowledge with skeptical, secular, compassionate humanism.
Sandy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
“The Rest of the Story …”
… is that the Kingdom of God on earth in the here and now moves forward unaffected by the shenanigans at Vineyard, SBC, or any other religious organization. It cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, or delayed. Genuine believers are engaged in the Great Commission, while the counterfeit focuses on their puny little mission to do whatever in Jesus’ name without Jesus being anywhere near it.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
I’ve read many of the documentation links. As confusing as the experience and process was for these people on the receiving end of abuse.
Am I missing something if I say bypass the church institution and immediately go to police?
Would that have made things more efficient and less convoluted?
Seems to me a church institution’s true mission is self-preservation, thus of necessity its processes are rife with conflict of interest.
Elastigirl(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Sandy,
I can’t think of a messier situation.
A crime committed; an institution that will protect itself but which has everyone believing its message of dying to self,…. (Which parishioners are trained to do, but which the institution will never do)
Everyone is trained to be afraid of “the world” and to trust the church. Everyone is trained to only do things the gospel or Christ/centered way.
The Matthew 18 way.
The no-gossip way (where you can’t talk about anything to anyone)
The “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” way (where you have to essentially give up your personal agency and be passive compliant,
like a leaf on a stream yielding to wherever it goes and whatever happens)
…and accountability is the expectation?!
It’s an impossible tangle of bureaucracy, conflict of interest, hypocrisy, keeping up appearances,…
I don’t think God is in the business of parting a Red Sea of personal irresponsibility and corruption.
(…not a complete thesis here…)
Elastigirl(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
As I’ve advised before: “Don’t call pastor, call 911!”
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
No, you are not missing a thing.
If your child is abused sexually, GO TO THE COPS immediately.
Not the Pastor, not the Elders, not Desmond and Molly Jones.
The Cops is your first stop.
Muff Potter(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
If your child was abused sexually at school, you wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) go to the Principal or the Superintendent. Your first stop should always be local law enforcement … this is a crime, not simply a sin or violation of policy.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Sandy, I see God’s hand in revealing the abuse to the wider church and to the world. God has a habit of using the world to discipline his children when they disobey. The prayers for a godly church that genuinely cares for those who make up the body of Christ can be answered by both “supernatural” or ordinary means.
Neil Cameron(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Oh really?
No, his “children” get caught doing stuff usually forgetting that the “children” grow up and are finally able to articulate the wrong that was perpetrated.
There are three entities in the room where the abuse takes place, the abuser, the abused and god (and maybe the Barry Gibb lookalike Jesus and Caspar the holy ghost).
So two very human entities and one (or three) omniscient masters of the universe, creator of all things who can cater the wobbly pops at a wedding but seems completely of even causing explosive diarrhea to stop abuse.
Praise be.
Jack(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
I’m sorry, I made the assumption that this was a blog site that Christians can go to. If that is not the case, and criticism of Theism is allowed here, and atheists are allowed to come here and criticise Theism, then I’ll refrain from contributing.
Neil Cameron(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Neil Cameron,
Taking your response at face value while also mentioning that I’m no theological or philosophical brains trust. It is my understanding that valid theological input and insight from any person or sourse is welcomed. Blessings & cheers.
Ian Docker(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Neil Cameron,
all are welcome to share their thoughts. i think you can take it.
challenge and be challenged. none of us has it all figured out.
elastigirl(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Jack,
as i see it, karma is God-set up, just like the laws of physics. karma is deeply consoling to me.
i’d say a kenny loggins look-alike.
and yes, the problem of evil is unbearably infuriating (understatement).
elastigirl(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Neil Cameron,
Please don’t be put off Neil. I’ve just started reading “Gospel Worship” by Archibald Hall, an 18th century Scottish minister. In the opening chapter he writes –
“When men have been left to bare reason, without supernatural aids, they have had very obscure notions of the one supreme God, and have run into things really inconsistent with the belief of the one Supreme, though at the same time they have been forced to own there is such a one….. it blessed be God, that has made light to arise upon us in the writings of inspiration. Here we have an infallibly sure and a marvellously clear word of prophecy, unto which we do well to take heed as unto a light that hath shined in a dark place. This is the testimony bound up and the law sealed among Christ’s disciples. It is equally a part of our liberty wherewithal Christ has made us free, to be delivered from the vanity of our blinded minds and from the imposed dictates of fellow-mortals, about the object and rule of divine adoration; and to be brought under an indispensable obligation to honour the word of God, making it the only rule and the highest reason of every piece of religious worship…..Prepossessions are of infinite hurt and danger.. and they infallibly seduce men from the good old way of scriptural simplicity….When we indulge an unruly fancy in thinking on divine things – or effect to speak of the things of God, not in the words which the Holy Ghost teachers, but in the words man’s wisdom teachers – we are sure to be misled in our own apprehensions and to mislead others, as far as they pay any regard to our judgment.” (p41-43).
Don’t be put off by the “unruly fancy in thinking on divine things” – there’s a lot of it about – or by the childish sarcasm of the disaffected.
I appreciate your contributions.
Lowlandseer(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
As I have repeated, I am well aware of “the world” as one of God’s many means of action. The world is indeed God’s wonder and I love him for it. I am indeed a theist in that regard. (The “atheist” insult gets a bit old.)
But what of the children Neil? I don’t get that part. At all. (Do you?) How long must they wait for rescue and comfort? Until the statute of limitations is miraculously extended? Until an atheist calls the cops? If one is a traditional theist, then one imagines many of the innocents in hell before the comforter finally arrives. When all it would have taken is a stern or loving whisper.
Sandy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Sandy comments like Neil’s sound so trite and unfeeling to me.
Mot(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
A thought that bubbles up whenever contemplating stories like those in this post is that “people who treat other people like this have, whatever their confessed theology, no actual fear of God”.
“Does YHWH not see?” is a cry of sufferers that is echoed in various places in Scripture.
“YHWH does not see” is the lived theology of people who mistreat other people.
I think it would be wise to flee from congregations that are led by this kind of person.
Samuel Conner(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Don’t worry, Neil. There’s room for everyone. And as I said before. My comments can be removed with no hard feelings if they cross boundaries.
Jack(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Jack,
And if you’ll notice, my comments are more sparse these days. I have no dog in this fight. My reprogramming is an ongoing project.
Jack(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
On local Christianese AM radio in the Seventies, one of the regular shows used that hymn as their opening music. After 50 years I don’t remember which one.
Occasionally my church uses “How Firm a Foundation” (which I keep remembering as “A Fertile Foundation” as a hymn. To this day I keep expecting J Vernon Magee’s voice to come in halfway through.
Headless Unicorn Guy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Which means you can provide an outsiders point of view.
A lot of churches get on this blog because they have turned themselves into an echo chamber, and an outside POV can provide a reality check.
The Christianese Bubble is itself one overarching echo chamber, a weird parody of reality overflowing with weird Christian Counterfeits of everything on the Outside.
Headless Unicorn Guy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Jack:
Please do not quit commenting. I enjoy your comments. I’m sure by some standards I am a heretic. But I believe I am entitled to my view and so are you.
mot(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Magee was the real deal, not counterfeit.
Back when integrity and honesty meant something.
Muff Potter(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Jack,
Barry Gibb lookalike Jesus……
Barry Gibb, hmmmm.
The physical appearance is spot-on, but I don’t think certain religious organizations would ever tolerate a “Jesus” who sings falsetto.
A not comparable, clean shaven, sweetie-pie faced tenor in an all-male quartet is as far as they will go.
Nancy2(aka Kevlar)(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Neil Cameron,
Neil, stick around and contribute. On TWW we have misunderstandings, we disagree, etc.
Reading and trying to understand someone else’s opinion can often be a good thing.
I think I get what you’re saying….. yes, sometimes God intervenes and /or exposes…… but I think His people have the responsibilities to act to protect victims and potential victims through the “ordinary means”
Nancy2(aka Kevlar)(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Thanks. I won’t quit commenting but will chime in if I have something to say.
Jack(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Agreed. As mentioned, if I cross a line then I can walk it back.
Jack(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Nancy2(aka Kevlar),
We make a Jesus in our own image if not in our own vocal range.
Jack(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
And I can do it constructively, not antagonistically
Jack(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
The childish sarcasm crack I can concede (guilty as charged), but being as Christianity is not monolithic then you can still be Christian and disagree with Neil and yourself for that matter. I won’t apologize for point of my remark only for the delivery.
Jack(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Oh, won’t you stay
Just a little bit longer
Please, please, please, say you will
Say you will
Oh, won’t you stay
Just a little bit longer
Oh, please, please, please stay
Just a little bit more
I bet promoters don’t mind
And the roadies don’t mind
If we take a little time
And we leave this all behind
Singing one more song
Sandy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Minor bit of history. The two giants in the Vineyard Movement were none other than John Wimber and Lonnie Frisbee, and Vineyard itself was a spin-off of Calvary Chapel. Food for thought. Need we say more?
Ras al Ghul(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
mot,
“I’m sure by some standards I am a heretic. But I believe I am entitled to my view and so are you.”
+++++++++++++++
who cares what people think.
i mean, ultimately we stand before God, not people so silly as to play Heretic Police.
elastigirl(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
I certainly don’t. Beliefs are cheap, deeds are what really matters.
Muff Potter(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
As forum members debate, I think it might be of value to consider that 40% of young women ages 18-29 do not consider themselves part of a religious tradition. That is up from 30% ten years ago.
Only 45% consider religion to be an important part of their life. That is down from 65% ten years ago.
https://www.prri.org/spotlight/gen-z-gender-and-religion/
My working hypothesis is that young men might accept abuse in church (and the accompanying coverups) as a normal part of a more masculine church. While a pretty significant number of young women are just leaving.
It will be interesting to see if the historical trend of young people returning to church as they marry and raise a family holds… or if a significant number of these women raise their families outside of the church.
davewis(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Neil Cameron,
Neil, I am an atheist. my comments and questions have always been accepted and treated with respect here. That is why I read and post at TWW.
nmgirl(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
While we are waiting for God to nuke these rascals, TWW and other watchblogs step in to help Him out a bit.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Jack,
Maybe you should say that to Neil who is a relative newcomer to TWW and not used to such rough and tumble.
Lowlandseer(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
It was an open apology to the entire TWW community, not just to Neil.
As stated, I have no god in this fight.
Jack(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Neil Cameron,
Hi Neil
When I started this blog, I did not allow all sorts of negative comments. I spent much of my time trying to judge tone, etc. A number of Christians wrote to me and encouraged me to have an open comment policy. They hoped this could be a place of debate. One thought stuck with me: Shouldn’t Christians be able to deal with comments from atheists, other faiths, etc.?
In a way, I was acting more like a nanny, protecting those with hurt feelings when an atheist would present a differing point of view.
I am a Christian. Some would characterize me as a conservative Christian, and I won’t debate that. Shortly, readers will see that I brought my faith and my concern about abuse into an arena in which many would say is viewed, rightly or wrongly, as antiChristian. I believe that I upheld my faith along with my commitment to fight abuse in the church.
Many people here are Christians, and some are not. But it impresses me that those who are not come to and often stick with my writing. I hope to present my faith to all who come.
Think of it this way. Some people travel all around the world to be missionaries. I find it reasonable that some who do not believe come to this blog to dialog. Yes, it does get rough at times. I have kicked a few people off the blog and even allowed a couple to return.
Please feel free to contact me if you have concerns in this area. Because of what has been happening behind the scenes, I have found keeping up with every comment challenging.
Also, I am concerned about the attention that TWW might receive—not for its content but for Todd and me to be able to keep up. For now, I leave that in God’s Hands.
dee(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
nmgirl,
I am sl gald to hear that. BTW, I love NM. I spent two years living in Gallup and working for the Navajo Tribe.
dee(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
mot,
Some think I’m a heretic for focusing on abuse since God “forgives all.”
dee(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Jack,
I often debate my delivery, not only here but in my daily life. I have always been very introspective, regularly slapping myself upside the head. Being willing to apologize is an honorable trait many do not practice. Thank you for this comment.
dee(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
My working hypothesis is that young men might accept abuse in church (and the accompanying coverups) as a normal part of a more masculine church. While a pretty significant number of young women are just leaving.
davewis,
You’re key words here are “a more masculine church”.
I think it’s much more than accepting abuse. It’s stripping women of our power and humanity and making men our lords and masters. The powerlessness makes abuse easier to get away with.
As a former SBCer, I have watched and experienced the change over the years. Women’s voices have been gagged, and our actual participation in church has become more and more limited… to almost non-existent.. Women have been sidelined and are no longer allowed to truly serve God. We must serve and obey the men.
The underlying current….. God doesn’t want anything to do with women; men are all that matter to Him.
I left church in 2016. The last 3 sermons I heard were about using our gifts and talents. I paid close attention. Not a single word in any of those 3 sermons applied to women. We’re not allowed to use any of the gifts/talents that were talked about…….. 3 hours of preaching over a 3 week period, and not a single word that applied to women.
I’m not young anymore. I lived through all of the changes in the SBC.
Nancy2(aka Kevlar)(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
dee,
You’ll find that Neil has his own blog, One Salient Oversight, which is worth reading and offers an insight into where he’s coming from.
Lowlandseer(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
No place for wimmen in the Church of Holy Testosterone.
Headless Unicorn Guy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
No.
Calvary Chapel – nothing more need be said.
When I was listening to Christianese AM radio in the Eighties (primarily for Rich Buhler’s high-quality afternoon talk show), Vineyard was right up there with Calvary Chapel in airwave domination.
The only apparent difference was Vineyard didn’t acknowledge PastorChuckSmithCalvaryChapelCostaMesa as Supreme Pontiff and Vicar of Christ. Surprised there wasn’t a pint-size Great Schism of 1000 between the two with excommunications and anathemas flying. Those who cannot remember church history are doomed to repeat it.
Headless Unicorn Guy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
I agree. I strongly encouraged my three daughters to attend confirmation classes at the Lutheran church I attend (but am not a member). However, I neither encouraged nor discouraged them to become confirmed.
I wanted them to have enough of an understanding of our family church and Christianity in general to make an informed decision about how religion fits into their lives.
What really gets under my skin is the often pervasive idea that a ‘bad Christian’ is somehow better than a ‘good non-Christian.’ I can’t, in good consciousness, belong to a group that says, “We can’t be held accountable for our actions because God forgives us, while you, on the other hand, are going to receive eternal damnation.”
DaveWis(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Lowlandseer,
Thank you for letting me know.
dee(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
That certainly meshes with my close up observation of “civics” lessons, the ex-Christian Union supervisor, the “witnessing” craze and intrusive questioning by its bosses.
“Make a man of you” – the ethos of a school Charles Spencer went to and all the ones Richard Dawkins went to (the latter were officially christian schools).
The “unsavoury underbelly” (Song Of Solomon – Not) sacralised to greater or lesser extent by fashionable “evangelicalism hoops”. Having got at the boys we were their proxies against the girls, hence today’s universal loneliness and fear. This is why the war against boys is the same war as the war against women.
A head of state of a city state enclave, JP II and his sidekick Falwell Senior who brought up Falwell Junior so well, helped shut up heavens like brass, by promulgating their materialist corporal obsessions on the pretext that moralising was good economics, cynically advertising it as good relationships and good Scripture.
I remember the time before wedge driving on spurious spiritual grounds (but an evil was unequal pay). Who now listens to an old man who saw something once? Who would listen to children who see things?
Michael in UK(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
ref comment at 9.38 a.m
Michael in UK(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Neil Cameron,
I say that the habit of God is that He lets the world suffer the leaders the christians deserve, once the latter invested in (and didn’t see through) the dominionist model they were taught.
“Causing little ones to sin” means the lack of Holy Spirit fruits the children were deprived of the opportunity to share in the church; unwillful omission (whatsoever is not of faith) has a different Greek word from commission.
But God will impute the reward to them anyway and deduct it from the record of their oppressors who had so blasphemed Holy Spirit. The internal compass of the young and powerless keeps the light shining somehow.
Michael in UK(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
The Comforter is not a spittle-ridden, once-fluffy dinosaur!
Ah but do “your kind” of theists have the Comforter?
Michael in UK(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
You’re a smart and savvy woman dee, and I’m certain you know which ‘sins’ they’re talking about. Often times though, it can vary from sect to sect.
Muff Potter(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
“Masculine” as defined by Doug Wilson and/or Andrew Tate?
Headless Unicorn Guy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
We’ve reached the point in mega-mania where the reputation of the institution – protecting the ministry at all costs – is more important than the reputation of Jesus.
Max(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Max,
“It’s Time for MEGA-MANIACS1
Say “A-men” while Pastor yaks…”
Headless Unicorn Guy(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)
Thank you for reporting All abuse.
Julie Roys does not fully cover Vineyard related abuse news. She is protecting them.
She is bias. Because she was once a vineyard worship leader. She was also a predator when she was a youth leader grooming a young girl.
Vineyard usa has so much abuse and corruption. If the national leaders are abusing people, how many more pastors under them are doing the same.
It’s no wonder so many vineyard churches are leaving their abuse movement.
We ask the media to report unbiased news. Julie has not reported the updated news of Duluth vineyard abuse.
Or vineyard usa coverup…
Why should victims come forward if the media won’t report it.
Dr. M(Reply & quote selected text) (Reply to this comment)