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Jesus Vacations: Reaching Poor People of Color for Jesus

Bruce Gerencser 9 Comments
coffee with jesus mission trips
Comic by Coffee with Jesus

Several years ago, my wife received an email from a college student who worked for her one summer. This girl — an Evangelical Christian — wanted to let Polly know that she was raising $6,000 so she could go to a “secret” country and do illegal missionary work. The girl meant well, I am sure, but her email was a reminder to me of the Jesus Vacations® many Evangelicals take each summer to foreign lands to spread white American Christianity. Scores of Evangelicals take these trips each year, spending millions of dollars as Jesus tourists; convincing themselves that what meager, incidental work they do matters.

Why didn’t the girl’s church pay for her trip? If the goal is winning souls for Christ in a country that forbids such things, why not have the soulwinners or their churches pay for the trip? Instead, trip-takers turn to people they know — family, friends, casual acquaintances, workmates — to cough up the money so they can take an unnecessary Jesus Vacation® to what they believe is the foreign mission field. Polly, of course, did not respond to the email, nor did she forward it to others as the sender requested. In our Christian days, we didn’t support such wastes of energy and money, and as unbelievers, we sure as hell aren’t going to help American Evangelicals harass foreign non-Christians.

Jesus Vacations® are taken primarily by White middle-class Evangelicals. While certainly “some” good is accomplished; say, building housing, digging wells, and improving the welfare of people in poverty-stricken countries, the irony here is that many Evangelicals who minister to material needs while on their Jesus Vacations® won’t do the same in their own country. In their minds, Haitians are worthy of care, but poor Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics in impoverished areas in the deep south? Let them starve. Get a job! Mexicans on the American side of the border are criminals worthy of deportation, abusers of American goodness and largess. Mexicans south of the Rio Grande? Why, now they are a mission field; people worthy of missional attention from rich white Evangelicals.

After these Jesus-loving travelers return from their Jesus Vacations®, they will stand before their fellow congregants one Sunday and give a testimony of all the things they did for Jesus; of all the goodwill they spread to the poor; and, most of all, the number of people who prayed the sinner’s prayer and asked Jesus to save them. Charismatic vacationers will regale their churches with claims of miracles, yet will not provide evidence for their claims. Year after year, Evangelicals take Jesus Vacations®, never considering whether they are doing anything meaningful or whether the money spent for travel and other expenses could have been put to better use.

Jesus Vacations® tend to support the false notion that poor people of color in other countries need affluent white American Christians to help them and deliver them from Satan. Why not, instead, send the money to Christians who live in these countries and let them spend it helping their fellow citizens? Wouldn’t doing so be more cost-effective? Instead of fifty college students coughing up $6,000 each for a Jesus Vacation® — $300,000 — wouldn’t it be far better to send it to people who know their country and communities, and what needs people might have? Bruce, surely you know we can’t trust poor Blacks with White people’s money! They need us – “us” being affluent White Evangelicals — to manage how the monies are spent. USA! USA USA!  JESUS! JESUS! JESUS!

mission trip
Comic by Tom Tapp

Of course, sending the money to the field and forgoing Jesus Vacations® will never happen. You see Jesus Vacations® give the appearance of doing good in Jesus’ name. These trips are feel-good, Hallmark-like experiences. They allow trip-takers to oh-so-humbly brag about how Jesus used them to materially help and evangelize poor people of color. Praise be to Jesus! Look what I, uh, I mean, Jesus, did! The humble-bragging extends to pastors and older congregants too. Look at what WE did for Jesus! Look at how we helped those poor, helpless Haitians (and ignored the poor people who live next door to the church)! As with most things Evangelical churches do, no one will ever question the value of taking Jesus Vacations®. No one will ever ask, WHY do we take these trips every year? Oh no, you don’t: thou shalt not question. Summers are for vacation Bible school (VBS), youth camp, and Jesus Vacations® (and here in Ohio a day trip to either King’s Island or Cedar Point). And so it goes, year after year . . .

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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One Thing the Church Gave Me I Will Always Appreciate

Bruce Gerencser 8 Comments
singing group trinity baptist church findlay
Singing Group Trinity Baptist Church, Findlay, Ohio. Bruce Gerencser is the last person on the right.

Some readers wrongly think that my past Christian life was filled with unhappy, negative experiences. If people only read my polemical writing or my critiques of Evangelicalism, I can understand why they might think I was a disaffected follower of Jesus. However, I generally enjoyed life as a Christian. I had numerous trials and struggles, but by and large, life was good. My partner, Polly, would tell you the same thing. I have few regrets about my time in the ministry. I gladly served Jesus and did what I could to help others. My loss of faith had little to do with negative church experiences. Sure, I was hurt by people, but that was not the reason I deconverted. I divorced Jesus because I could no longer rationally sustain the central claims of Christianity. (Please see The Michael Mock Rule: It Just Doesn’t Make Sense.)

If there’s one thing the church gave me, it was a love for music. Music was central to worship, but it was much more than just the songs played and sung on Sundays. My mom played the piano, as did my sister, and I played the trumpet before I discovered basketball and dropped out of band. As a teen, I sang in a church quartet (see picture above), and as a pastor, I led the music and sang duets with Polly (she was an alto and I was a tenor). Polly played the piano and was part of a college traveling handbell group. Our children can remember countless hours spent singing hymns and gospel songs as we traveled down the road. The good old days . . .

I miss my singing days. Preaching ruined my singing voice, and I no longer have opportunities to sing like I used to. I still listen to and sing hymns and gospel songs, not that I believe their lyrics, but because doing so still stirs me emotionally. When I go places where Christian songs are being sung, I lustily add my voice to the chorus. Not that I believe in God or the central claims of Christianity — I don’t. But I find singing enjoyable, a respite from pain and adversity. I wish there were places I could go to sing without all the baggage that comes from attending church. Sometimes, I will stream Christian music from Pandora, Spotify, or YouTube Music, singing to my heart’s content. People driving by our home who know I am an atheist might find it strange to hear me belting out my favorite psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. What can I say? I am a complex, contradictory man.

As a Christian, were you musically inclined? Did you enjoy singing? Did you sing in the choir or other singing groups? Did you play an instrument in church? If so, as an atheist/agnostic, do you miss your church music days? Do you miss singing unto the Lord? Or is the music a reminder to you of that which you would rather forget? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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Would I Vote for Donald Trump if I Were Still an Evangelical Pastor?

Bruce Gerencser 6 Comments
evangelicals pray for trump

I have always been involved in American politics. I grew up in a home where my mother was a political operative, campaigning for politicians such as Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, and George Wallace (twice). Mom veered off into the land of independent candidates, working for candidates such as Wallace, Ross Perot, and John Anderson. She even had positive things to say about 1984 Vice President candidate Geraldine Ferraro.

Mom was outspoken about her political beliefs, writing numerous letters to editors of local newspapers. She was a product of her age — racist and pro-military. Mom defended Lieutenant William Calley of My Lai massacre fame and thought the Kent State students murdered by Ohio National Guard soldiers got exactly what they deserved. Mom was never afraid to speak her mind. I suspect, to a large degree, I followed in her footsteps.

That said, Mom was widely read, a news junkie who spent hours every day watching cable news programs — including C-Span. Mom killed herself in 1991 at the age of fifty-four. (Please see Barbara.) She and I had numerous discussions about politics. Her views evolved and changed, but she remained a conservative Christian until the end.

I voted in my first presidential election in 1976. I voted for Jimmy Carter. He would be the only Democrat I voted for until I left the Republican Party in 2000 and voted for Al Gore. Since then, I have voted for Democratic presidential candidates, even though I am increasingly dissatisfied and disappointed with candidates such as Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Hillary Clinton. I didn’t vote for any of these candidates in the primaries, choosing to vote for Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama instead. Whether I continue to be a card-carrying Democrat remains to be seen. I have spent the past decade voting for the lesser of two evils. I am tired of doing so, but until the two-party system is dismantled and true alternatives come to the forefront (along with ranked voting), I suspect I am consigned to lesser-of-two-evils hell.

I spent fifty years in the Evangelical church. Twenty-five of those years were spent pastoring churches in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. For many years, I was unafraid to mix religion and politics, going so far as to endorse and support political candidates from the pulpit. That said, I wasn’t a party hack. Former church members might remember my scathing 1998 sermon about Bill Clinton and his affair with Monica Lewinsky and my 1991 sermon about George H.W. Bush’s murderous war in Iraq. George Bush would get similar public castigation for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Above political affiliation, I put morals and ethics first. I was unwilling to give politicians a pass just because we were members of the same party. I have long believed that war-mongering runs deep in our politics, and the 2024 Presidential Election is no different. The unwillingness of Harris, Biden, and other Democrats to take a stand against Israel’s genocidal violence in Palestine disgusts me. If there were a viable third-party candidate who took a clear position opposing war in the Middle East, I would vote for them. Alas, I refuse to throw my vote away to maintain naive political purity.

People who know of my right-wing political beliefs as a pastor wonder if Donald Trump was a Republican presidential candidate back in the day if I would have voted for him. The answer is no. It is unlikely that I would have voted for the Democratic candidate either. I might have voted third-party or abstained from voting, but there’s no way I would have voted for Trump. Morals and ethics matter to me, and Trump is the most immoral, unethical presidential candidate in my sixty-seven years of life. He is unfit to be president, a vile man who sexually assaulted numerous women and has ripped off countless small business owners. He is unfit to be a member of the human race, let alone the leader of the United States. I have no doubt I would have preached sermons about Trump, pointing out his lies and immoral behavior.

All politicians have skeletons in their closets. All politicians lie. Trump’s lies are legion, but Harris and Waz have told a few whoppers of their own too. I don’t expect politicians to live according to my moral and ethical values, but I do expect them to be decent, thoughtful human beings. Trump is neither, and I cannot imagine a scenario where I would vote for him.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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The Made-Up Doctrine of the Preservation of Scripture

Bruce Gerencser 2 Comments
the bible rock of gibraltar

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Psalm 12:6,7

Most Evangelicals believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. Every word is true, without error or contradiction. This position cannot be rationally sustained. Educated Evangelicals know about translation errors and contradictions, yet still maintain the Bible is somehow, some way, without error. How do Evangelicals, knowing that the evidence is stacked against them, continue to say that the Bible — be it at the manuscript or translation level — is inerrant?

Evangelicals invented out of whole cloth a new doctrine to cover their asses — the preservation of Scripture. The preservation of scripture doctrine asserts that God has preserved the Bible throughout human history so that the Bibles we have today are God’s very words; God superintended this process in such a way that error did not enter the text through the translation and copying process.

I spent fifty years in Evangelical Christianity. I heard countless preachers preach-up and defend the preservation of Scripture. What these preachers said sounded right, but none provided evidence for their claim. Instead, we were told that God is perfect — how could his Word be otherwise? If this doctrine is true, then Evangelical preachers should be able to produce evidence for this untainted line of Scripture — all sixty-six books. When asked for this evidence — crickets. And yes, I am aware some proponents of King James-onlyism have detailed charts they use to prove the preservation of Scripture (and to a lesser degree the purity of the Baptist church).

Remember, the goal is to protect the Bible from critical examination. Doubt is poison to Evangelical preachers, so they go to great lengths to inoculate congregants from anything that would cause them to question the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible. One way to do that is to tell church members that God has preserved his very words, and they can trust that the Bible is authoritative, accurate, and true. Of course, any rudimentary understanding of the history of the Biblical text and the underlying Greek and Hebrew manuscripts shows that inerrancy, infallibility, and preservation cannot be rationally sustained. Inspiration is a faith claim beyond rational inquiry, but inerrancy, infallibility, and preservation can be critically examined. And when they are, the presuppositions underlying them fail.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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An Example of How Young Earth Creationism Hinders Rational, Skeptical Scientific Inquiry

Bruce Gerencser 11 Comments
dr david tee's library
Dr. David Tee’s Massive Library

Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen recently wrote several posts decrying teaching evolution — If You Don’t Teach Creation, If You Don’t Teach Creation 2, and Reading Science Books.

Thiessen is not a scientist, and, as far as I know, has no science training apart from what he was taught in Bible college. He is no more qualified to opine on evolution than I am physics. That’s not to say that Thiessen doesn’t know anything about science. He knows enough to make it seem to uneducated Evangelicals that he is some sort of authority figure. This is common in Evangelical churches where preachers are viewed as authority figures in areas in which they have no relevant expertise.

What follows are excerpts from Thiessen’s latest posts. Laugh, ridicule, or weep, but never forget that scores of people agree with Thiessen, even if they might disagree with his ham-fisted approach.

— Begin excerpts

From If You Don’t Teach Creation 2

There is only one single view that all Christians must accept and hold to. That view is the creation act revealed in Genesis 1. Every other viewpoint that alters or disagrees with this one biblical revelation is false teaching.

….

Evolutionary scientists make a lot of assumptions. The reason for this is . . . they cannot replicate claims made about ‘historical evolution’. It is an impossibility as they have no way of developing partial samples to experiment with.

This failure is another piece of evidence showing that evolution is not true. We do not have to worry about scientifically replicating any results of god’s creative act as it is done on an hourly basis every day.

….

No, other approaches do make scientific sense if science would be more open-minded about our origins. Science cannot study the one-time act nor replicate it. But it can prove that all life goes as stated in Genesis 1. That means God’s creative act makes scientific sense.

….

The truth never changes which is why Christian colleges, etc., need to stand with God and the Bible. Neither has changed over the thousands of years this world has existed. Evolution is whatever the evolutionist wants it to be no matter who it hurts.

….

There is no scientific evidence for any alternative to Genesis 1. All scientific evidence for those alternatives is manipulated to show support and read into any experiment they make. Plus, science has not discovered or tested one mechanism they say is involved in evolutionary human development.

….

To many unbelievers and unbelieving scientists, scientific media outlets and organizations evolution is dogma and settled science, not a theory. Evolution should never be taught in any school except to show why it is wrong and never existed. It is a theory that should never be considered for anything else.

….

It [the Bible] also tells us how God created. There is no room for any other theory to explain our origins. We know everything about our origins as the Bible reveals this creative act correctly. The opinion of Mr. Wright is one that is used to justify denying what God wrote about himself and says that God is incapable of writing about himself and his actions.

….

Any form of evolution is not true, it is not honorable, especially towards God, and it is not right or pure. Plus, evolution is not lovely or commendable as it caused great harm to millions throughout history and today, and it is not in any way shape, or form excellent or worthy of praise.

Evolution is nothing but a deceptive lie that has no place in any part of Christianity or its academic institutions. One cannot take science over God as the former is not the ultimate authority over anything.

Science, like many tools, is used to destroy people and Christians need to be aware of it before jumping on board scientific research. Christians can not teach other Christians to accept science over God’s word. If they do, they are leading those students to sin against God. That is very wrong.

From If You Don’t Teach Creation

If you don’t teach creation [ism] as true, then why teach the Bible at all? Or another good question why claim you are a Christian if you think the Bible is in error?

….

Good exegesis does require that everyone accept God’s word and does not hint at him being a liar. There is no evidence in scripture or nature that a process was involved in the origin of everything.

….

The very first biblical verse [Genesis 1:1] does not imply a process. Neither do the words ‘Let there be’ Every step of the creative act supports a supernatural creative act leaving no room for processes.

….

First, there is no evidence supporting evolution. To get evidence, scientists would have to produce the original conditions and let life take its course. With no intelligent being involved in the origination or development of life, scientists cannot be a part of any evolutionary experiment.

Then their ‘experimental’ set-up would have to produce the same results as scientists claim took place in their version of human history. If millions of years are needed for this production of verifiable evidence, then evolution is not true. One does not have evidence to support their extraordinary claims.

….

While the information about the fossilization of life forms is true, evolutionists will ignore this fact and claim the fossil record supports evolution. Unfortunately, for the evolutionist, everything about evolution is read into fossils not taken out of it.

Fossils do not support an evolutionary process. They are pawns in a high-stakes game that evil uses to deceive people.

….

If Christian colleges are not pursuing truth but academic freedom, then the truth is lost and Christians are not getting the right spiritual food to grow strong and maintain their faith. You get what we have today, false teachers teaching false doctrine to vulnerable people. That is not a recipe for success.

From Reading Science Books

After browsing the science books placed on the tables [at a book fair], we came to the conclusion that we do not need to read unbelieving science books anymore.

There are good reasons for following that realization. First, all the authors are telling the same story. They all do not depart from the main evolutionary claims or themes. Thus, they are boring to read. We figure they are writing these works to avoid the perish part of the academic publish-or-perish mentality.

Second, they offer no new evidence especially any that would be considered groundbreaking or history-changing. No new ‘physical evidence’ has been discovered or reported from the evolutionary side of the creation debate.

Anything they would present would be preceded or followed by the words ‘We Think’, ‘We Believe’. ‘it is possible’, ‘we do not know’, and similar phrases all evolutionary scientists cover their theories with. The last one is the most telling as it openly tells everyone they cannot find an alternative to God’s creative act.

Their evolutionary theories, etc., are merely wishful thinking and a waste of everyone’s time. Third, those first two points add up to the fact that it would be a giant waste of time reading those books. 

They are nothing but false teaching and no Christian should be reading them unless they are looking for data and points to refute as well as show students why evolution and the Big Bang are wrong. These books provide no other type of valuable information.

Save your money or use it to buy solid, good Christian books written by true Christian scientists who believe in a 6 24-hour day creation. Remember, unbelievers do not have the truth and that includes all research fields under the science umbrella.

Every alternative to God’s creative act found in the Bible is false and untrue. Find Christian works that support Genesis 1 and 2 and learn the truth about our origins. Learn to strengthen your faith, not undermine it by accepting and adopting false information written by deceived people who are far from the truth.

Only God was there when creation took place and scientists cannot see back in time. It is laughable to think that evidence would survive billions and millions of years untouched by anything else.

— End excerpts

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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Update: Black Collar Crime: Episcopal Preschool Teacher Mark Eichorn Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment
mark eichorn

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Mark Eichorn, a preschool teacher at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene, Texas, was accused of possessing child pornography.

Big Country News reported:

An Abilene preschool employee has been accused of possessing child pornography.

Mark Penfield Eichorn was booked into the Taylor County Jail Thursday on charges of Possession of Child Pornography Under 10YO and Possession of Child Pornography with Intent to Promote.

A press release from the Abilene Police Department states investigators found lewd images of children on Eichorn’s cell phone, as well as other electronic evidence.

Eichorn’s LinkedIn and Facebook pages list him as an employee of St. John’s Episcopal School. LinkedIn states he is a substitute teacher, and Facebook claims he is a Preschool Teacher Assistant.

St. John’s sent a letter to parents after his arrest, which states “this afternoon, Thursday, May 9, the leadership of St. John’s Episcopal School was made aware of an investigation of a staff member by the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Abilene Police Department when a search warrant was served upon the staff member. The school is working in concert with the Police Department.” 

The school also told KTAB and KRBC investigators do not believe any child at St. John’s Episcopal was affected by Eichorn’s alleged crimes, which were cyber in nature.

Big Country News added:

More information has been released on an Abilene preschool employee who was arrested and charged with possession of illicit media depicting children. According to court documents, he looked at himself as a “sugar daddy” to his victims.

More information has been released on an Abilene preschool employee who was arrested and charged with possession of illicit media depicting children. According to court documents, he looked at himself as a “sugar daddy” to his victims.

In an interview with Eichorn, he confessed to obtaining and paying for child pornography from the 13 and 12-year-olds for his sexual gratification. He also admitted to other acts, such as inappropriately touching a child and trading child pornography on social media.

Looking for an opportunity to serve as a mentor to children and their families so they can come to know Christ. Show all people that through Christ nothing is impossible.

Mark Eichorn

In Jun 2024, the Abilene Reporter News reported:

U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Parker ruled Thursday in Abilene’s federal court that Mark Penfield Eichorn would be subject to detention in a federal facility prior to his trial in connection with a charge of production of child pornography.

Eichorn stands accused of one count of production of child pornography.

According to allegations in the federal indictment filed June 5, Eichorn enticed and coerced two juveniles under 18 to produce child pornography.

The charges stem from an incident on Oct. 22, 2023, in which Eichorn allegedly paid and directed two boys, 12 and 13, to produce a sexually explicit video, according to court proceedings.

If convicted, Eichorn faces 15-30 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, along with possible restitution to victims or the community. He also faces a possibility of supervised release of five years to life.

One of his defense attorneys, Christopher Solis, entered Eichorn’s plea of not guilty Thursday in federal court.

….

The lengthy set of hearings on Thursday took over four hours to complete. Federal prosecutor Whitney Ohlhausen represented the interests of the United States versus Eichorn.

Before the detention hearing could begin, however, Solis filed a motion to seal the courtroom.

“I suspect you want to have the hearing in a closed set?” Parker asked Solis, who then began to explain his position.

Solis noted that he was afraid an open courtroom could “influence the public consciousness before he even goes to trial.”

Parker, however, was having none of it.

“Why should I sanitize what the public knows?” the judge said.

Parker went on to say that he was aware that it could be uncomfortable or embarrassing.

“That’s not a reason to close the courtroom,” he said.

Ohlhausen expanded on the point.

“Potential victims have a right to be present,” she said. “The public has a right to know what’s going on in their community.”

Federal homeland security investigator Michael Baker took the stand Thursday to detail the charge and the interview that Eichorn had with the Abilene Police Department.

Baker testified that Eichorn confessed to the charge in the interview and admitted to having two boys in Georgia make a sexually explicit video after he paid them $200 dollars via an online payment app.

Eichorn went so far as to admit that he knew they were minors, Baker testified.

Baker also testified that in 2019, there was an incident with Abilene Christian University police in which Eichorn admitted to them that he was “sexually attracted to children.”

In the interview with APD, Eichorn also admitted to inappropriately touching a child at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene while he was employed as a preschool teacher there, Baker testified.

While there had apparently not been an outcry of abuse at the school, Ohlhausen pointed out that some of the victims in the allegations “were as young as 4 years old when interviewed.”

Baker then stressed the importance of one of Eichorn’s responses to APD detectives.

The detectives asked him about the two juvenile boys in Georgia, Baker testified, and Eichorn responded with, “Just those two?”

….

When it was defense attorney Russel Lorfing’s turn to present his case to the court, he called an expert witness, Dr. Scott Nelson, who had apparently treated Eichorn as his psychologist for over three years.

Nelson testified that Eichorn “has been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.”

Nelson testified that he was “worried about his physical and emotional safety” if Eichorn were to be incarcerated.

When Ohlhausen asked Nelson about Eichorn’s sexual desire for children, however, Nelson said “that has never come up” in his treatment of Eichorn.

Parker’s commanding presence in the courtroom was felt when he brought up serious questions for Nelson and pointed out his lack of knowledge about the charges or accusations of child pornography.

In an exchange that lasted several minutes, the judge scolded Nelson for his unawareness.

“You formed your opinions without knowing what he is accused of doing?” Parker asked Nelson.

When it was federal prosecutor Ohlhausen’s turn for closing arguments, she told the judge that Eichorn allegedly was “coercing other children across state lines to produce child pornography.”

“This was deliberate,” she said. “No conditions of release could guarantee the safety of children across the United States.”

Ohlhausen added, “The weight of the evidence against him is insurmountable,” and “this definitely is a hands-on predator.”

Defense attorney Lorfing then noted that while Eichorn should be held accountable, he has no criminal history other than a dismissed parking ticket.

Lorfing said that the defense was “open to anything” but prison. They would accept GPS monitoring, house arrest or an in-treatment facility instead of detention.

The judge, however, had strong words.

Parker said Eichorn “appears to be high functioning” and educated, given his master’s degree. Parker noted he did not find Nelson credible as a witness.

“The facts of this case are very disturbing,” the judge said.

Parker ruled that Eichorn would be incarcerated until the trial begins.

A woman in the audience said, “Yes, thank you, Jesus,” as a U.S. marshal placed Eichorn in handcuffs.

Big Country News reported that Eichorn is expected to plead guilty.

The Abilene Reporter News added:

Mark Penfield Eichorn, a former preschool teacher’s assistant at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene, is facing a federal charge of production of child pornography.

….

Taylor County court records indicate, however, that Eichorn is facing additional charges at the state level of possession with intent to promote child pornography and indecency with a child.

Eichorn has yet to be indicted on these two new charges.

He was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service after his federal detention hearing June 13.

….

Eichorn, 27, was initially contacted by the Cyber Crimes Division of the Abilene Police Department in April, according to court documents. APD had received information that he was allegedly “paying children to provide him with naked pictures and videos of themselves.”

During the interview, he allegedly admitted to officers that he had viewed pornography of children as young as infants. He also gave officers permission to look through his cell phone.

Officers found multiple lewd images on his cell phone and later on his iPad after they had obtained a search warrant, according to allegations. Eichorn further admitted to “trading images of child pornography” via an online application.

As of June 18, he faces a second-degree felony charge of possession with intent to promote child pornography in connection with the admission in the interview.

In that same interview with APD officers, Eichorn also allegedly admitted to “having encounters with children in the past,” according to court documents.

He specifically mentioned an incident with an ex-girlfriend’s son who was 10 years old at the time.

While the unnamed child did not have an outcry of abuse, he became “very emotional during the interview and stated that he didn’t want Eichorn to get in trouble.”

Eichorn faces a second-degree felony charge of indecency with a child as a result of the alleged incident. The state charges are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Tuesday Eichhorn pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges.

The Northern District of Texas reports:

A 27-year-old man who paid two young boys $200 to produce a sexually explicit video pleaded guilty today to federal child pornography charges, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. 

Mark Penfield Eichorn, a former preschool teacher’s assistant, was indicted in June. He pleaded guilty Tuesday to production of child pornography before U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Parker. 

According to plea papers, Mr. Eichorn admitted that he contacted two young boys, ages 12 and 13, via Snapchat and asked them to produce a sexually explicit video of themselves. 

The children, who lived in Georgia, later confided to law enforcement that they produced a 90-second video as instructed and sent it to Mr. Eichorn, who paid them $200 via Venmo. Financial and phone records corroborated their accounts.

In an interview with law enforcement, Mr. Eichorn admitted that he knew the children were roughly 13 years old when he asked them to produce the video, and that he paid them $200 for it. 

At a detention hearing shortly after he was indicted, federal law enforcement testified that when asked about the children in Georgia, Mr. Eichorn responded, “just those two?”

Mr. Eichorn now faces 30 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. 

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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Update: Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Roy Shoop Found Guilty of Rape

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment
pastor roy shoop

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

In 2020, Roy Shoop, pastor of Cowboy Gatherin’ Church in Inola, Oklahoma, was accused of sexually molesting three girls under the age of sixteen who were either working on his farm or taking horse riding lessons from him.

Channel 6 reported:

Rogers County deputies arrested an Inola pastor after he was accused of molesting three girls under the age of 16.

“It should be sickening to hear this from anyone who would commit those acts on children. They were placed in a position where they should have been able to trust a man. It takes it to another level to see this from a man who stands on a pulpit and leads a church,” Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton said.

Deputies said they arrested Roy Shoop on May 20 at his house after they said he molested three girls that were either working on his farm or taking horse riding lessons from him.

Documents said a 12-year-old girl came forward in January to say Shoop sexually assaulted her. Deputies said that girl was receiving horse riding lessons from Shoop.

Documents also showed two other girls, ages 13 and 15, came forward with sexual assault accusations. The documents said the 15-year-old was sexually assaulted four times.

Shoop denied the charges leveled against him.

Channel 8 reported:

In his own words Roy Shoop is an innocent man.

“I can assure you I have done nothing inappropriate with these young ladies or in any manner,” said Pastor Roy Shoop.

The Inola pastor and well known figure in the community is facing sexual assault accusations involving three girls; accusations he says are false.

“All I can do is just continue to pray and to seek the Lord and follow him in this manner and that means praying for the young ladies as well,” said Shoop.

….

“I am heartbroken that these accusations could be made against him. My Dad is a man of God; my mentor,” said Daughter Shanelle Gray.

Through this week’s arrest Shoop has had his family behind him, especially his daughter Shanell Gray.

“He has raised up a church that serves the Lord fearlessly and we just pray that these accusations get stopped,” said Gray.

….

In the meantime Shoop’s family is staying by his side.

“He’s my daddy there’s no greater character of a man who would lay down his life for his friends and his family,” said Gray.

Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton says it’s possible more allegations could surface.

The Tulsa World reported:

One victim told authorities that Shoop would inappropriately touch her while he was instructing her on horse riding and while she was at his Inola, Oklahoma, residence, according to the affidavit.

“These events took place while (the victim) was staying at the Shoop’s residence where she was being instructed on barrel racing with her new horse her father had purchased from Roy and Diana Shoop,” investigators state in the affidavit.

The other two victims reported similar accounts. Each reported going to Shoop’s residence for horse riding or rodeo-related lessons when the alleged abuse occurred.

One victim reported the abuse occurred in October 2018. Another victim reported the abuse occurred between April 2018 and April 2019, and the third victim reported abuse occurring in January.

Investigators state in the affidavit that the victims were not related to one another.

Deputies arrested Shoop on Wednesday. He was booked into Rogers County jail on the charges and subsequently posted a $300,000 bond.

Four years later, Shoop is now facing his accusers in court.

News-6 reports:

The trial is underway for an Inola pastor who was charged more than four years ago with eight counts of lewd or indecent acts involving five girls.

Rogers County deputies arrested Roy Shoop at his home in 2020 after they say he molested girls who were either working on his farm or taking horse riding lessons from him.

The girls who were mentioned Wednesday were as young as 12 when they said Shoop assaulted them. 

Deputies said they interviewed Shoop at the beginning of the investigation, and he denied the allegations and he’s pleaded not guilty to the charges.

News On 6 was at the jury trial Wednesday, and a forensic interviewer, one of the girls, that girl’s sister and her mother testified.

There was a large group of Roy Shoop’s friends at court, supporting him and praying with him. 

The forensic interviewer showed three interviews from 2020, where three young girls testified Roy Shoop sexually assaulted them while at his home and horse ranch. 

In the first video, a girl said Shoop put his hand under her shirt and touched her leg while she was riding horses when she was 10 or 11.

Another one told the interviewer Shoop had touched her inappropriately while on a horse when she was 12. 

The third interview was with a girl who was 12 the time.

She’s now 17 and testified Shoop sexually assaulted her while at his home back in January 2020. 

She said her family was very close to the Shoop family and since it happened, she’s not been the same and it took her love of riding horses away from her. 

That girl’s older sister who is also one of her legal guardians testified about how the girl was upset and didn’t talk much after it happened.

Shoop’s attorney questioned why the sister didn’t take the girl to a hospital for a sexual assault exam.

The sister said the girl wasn’t ready to talk to authorities and it would have traumatized her.

That victim’s mother also took the stand today and said she confronted Shoop and his wife the day after the girl said she was assaulted, and he offered to have coffee and talk about it. 

After that, the family cut ties with the Shoops. 

Other girls are expected to testify about their allegations along with family members and a counselor this week. 

Roy Shoop and his wife Diana are also expected to take the stand.

Shoop finally had his day in court and was convicted of rape and two counts of lewd or indecent acts involving young girls. The jury recommended Shoop serve a thirty-five-year prison sentence.

Fox 23 reports:

A jury found an Inola pastor guilty of rape and two counts of lewd or indecent acts involving young girls Thursday morning.

FOX23 told you 4 years ago about Inola pastor Roy Shoop when he was arrested.

“I felt I was looking the devil right in the eye,” said Sheriff Scott Walton from the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office as he explained the moment he handcuffed Roy Shoop, “and I believe he was, and we put him right where he needs to be.”

Shoop was the pastor of the Cowboy Gatherin’ Church in Inola. The DA’s office said he and his wife have trained children to compete in rodeo events such as barrel racing and roping.

Walton said, “A situation came to an end last night that was four years in the making…and here’s my opinion, he was successful at playing courthouse lawyer games and buying himself 4 years of freedom, and last night it came to an end. We handcuffed him, walked him across and stuffed him in the jail where he belongs.”

The Rogers County District Attorney’s Office said during the trial multiple victims testified about suffering abuse from Roy Shoop.

His victims were as young as 5 years old. 

Shoop’s trial started on October 1st and he chose to take the stand in his own defense.

“He took the stand himself and did a decent job lying, but not enough to convince 12 jurors that he’s not guilty,” said Walton.

Shoop was found guilty of rape by instrumentation and two counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 14.

Walton explained, “There were 8 counts there, but three major counts—the three he was convicted on—should put a predator in a cage that will die in the penitentiary…You see lives wrecked, but the good feeling is that where he’s at, he will not victimize any more young girls.”

The jury recommended a 35-year prison sentence and $30,000 in fines. Under Oklahoma law, Shoop must serve at least 85% of his sentence. This means that if the sentencing sticks, Shoop would not be eligible for release until he’s 88 years old, but Walton wants him locked up for good.

“You can rip them out and prosecute them again once they’re in the DOC and you know, you look at his actions and his decisions. They ruined a lot of people’s lives…Hopefully, all we can offer these girls that had their lives change is the closure that we put the animal in jail that harmed them.”

Walton believes there are more victims of Roy Shoop who have yet to come forward.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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Bruce, You Are a Crypto-Christian, Posing as an Atheist

Bruce Gerencser 9 Comments
atheist section in heaven
Cartoon by Mike Lynch

Earlier, I posted an article about the fact that many Evangelicals contend I never was a True Christian®; that I never met the REAL JESUS. Unsurprisingly, I often get similar treatment from hardcore — dare I say, Fundamentalist — atheists. According to these atheists, I am crypto-Christian, posing as an atheist; that deep down I am still a follower of Jesus — or at the very least want to be. In their minds, all religion is bad, and the Abrahamic religions are the worst of the bunch. That I am an accommodationist and believe Jesus was a real, flesh-and-blood historical figure says to them that I haven’t left Christianity behind. That I have good things to say about my Christian past, and I am willing to commend Christians when they do good in Jesus’s name, is more proof to them that under my atheist veneer beats the heart of a man who is having a secret affair with Christianity.

Years ago, I attended an atheist meeting in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that featured theologian and atheist Robert M. Price. I thoroughly enjoyed Price’s lecture. During the Question and Answer period, one man — an outspoken atheist — challenged Price’s respect for certain aspects of Christianity. The man said, Tell me one good thing Christians have done in twenty centuries that couldn’t have been done without religion. This led to a brief back and forth between Price and his accuser. Sadly, nothing Price said made any difference to this man. He was a Fundamentalist, and one of his cardinal doctrines was that all religion was bad. He was settled in his beliefs about Christianity. He and I later got into an email skirmish about the matter. I concluded, then, that I was an atheist, but I wasn’t one of THOSE atheists. I hold to this sentiment today.

Tim O’Neill, an acquaintance of mine, is also often accused of being a crypto-Christian. Tim blogs at the History for Atheists website. If you are not a reader of Tim’s writing, I encourage you to check out his site. Good stuff. Mythicist Richard Carrier says this about fellow atheist O’Neill:

Tim O’Neill is a known liar …. an asscrank …. a hack …. a tinfoil hatter …. stupid …. a crypto-Christian, posing as an atheist …. a pseudo-atheist shill for Christian triumphalism [and] delusionally insane.

Ouch, right?

I have received numerous emails over the years from atheists angered over my friendliness towards Christianity (or my liberal political beliefs). Funny, isn’t it? Evangelicals think I am hostile towards Christianity, and some atheists believe Jesus is my secret fuck buddy. Can’t win, so I don’t try. Both sides use the No True Scotsman argument to suggest that I never was or I am not part of their club. Fortunately, my mother and my Evangelical training taught me to stand on my own two feet and not be a company man. I am more than willing to listen to honest, thoughtful critiques of my beliefs, but demand that I believe this or that or risk losing my Atheist Card, and you will learn how recalcitrant I can be. Evangelicals can at least threaten me with their mythical Hell. What are atheists going to threaten me with? Loss of their support? Loss of their comments?  Please. I am almost sixty-eight years old. I am a confirmed curmudgeon. Want to be friends with me? Fine, but you take me as I am. If not, that’s okay. I have more than enough atheist, agnostic, humanist, and pagan friends to carry me safely to my grave. I am too old to worry about making new atheist BFF’s.

I will continue to write about the excesses and dangers I see in American Evangelicalism. I will continue to point out hypocritical clerics in the Black Collar Crime series. I will continue to push back against the unholy alliance between church and state. And yes, most of all, I will continue to tell my story. What I won’t do, however, is hate people just because they are religious, even if they are Evangelicals. I live in an area where seven out of ten people are registered Republicans and virtually everyone believes in Jesus. If I want to happily and quietly live in rural northwest Ohio, then I must be willing to get along with people of faith. I choose to love my neighbor as myself. I choose to have a good testimony before my Christian neighbors. I want my way of life, my words, and my friendliness towards them to be confusing. I want my life to be in direct conflict with what their pastors say atheists believe and how they live. Does anyone seriously think that I would make any difference in my community if I loudly, publicly, and angrily preached from the housetops, Jesus Never Existed! Why, they would think I was a loon.

The other day, a local Democratic party worker, who is a devoted Catholic and a friend, stopped by my home while she was out canvassing. She told me as she leaving, Bruce, you may be an atheist, but you have gospel values. I smiled as she said this to me, thanking her for the kind words. Should I have given her a lesson on where atheists derive their morals and values? Of course not. What she was telling me is that she appreciated my pro-human progressive values. I am sure my atheism doesn’t compute for her, but the manner in which I live my life and the way I am willing to speak out when it matters tells her what kind of man I am. That Fundamentalists — Christian or atheist — can’t or refuse to see and accept me as I am is their problem, not mine.

On occasion, I am asked why I seem to live on the fringe of the atheist movement. Perhaps, this post best explains why I do. I have decided to be my own man, tell my story the best I know how, and leave the results up to God, uh, I mean . . .

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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“Bruce, Have Fun in Hell” Says an Evangelical Man

Bruce Gerencser 4 Comments

the missing link

Several years ago, an Evangelical man by the name of Steve left the following comment on the post titled, An Atheist Thanksgiving:

You went from being unsaved to a flat out reprobate buddy. You rejected the God of the Bible to believe you evolved from a rock which came from and explosion 13.8586.678 billion years ago. I agree that these old IFB pastors you pick on all the time have no spine and are just in it for the money but to believe you came from a monkey which nobody has ever seen a monkey turn into a human! Never! You just traded one religion for another. You traded Paul the apostle for that Pedo Richard Dawkins! Have fun in hell buddy

I will leave it to Brian — a former Independent Fundamentalist Baptist preacher’s son — to answer Steve’s comment:

I read Steve P’s post sentence by sentence and tried to find even one sentence that approaches an accurate statement. I was unable to see even one in the lot. Accuracy/truth seems very unimportant to Steve P. Is this true belief in God, this parrot-dull squawking? (with apologies to parrots, who at least make their dull repetitions entertaining!)

Some day, perhaps, Evangelicals will realize that threatening me with their God’s judgment and Hell has no effect on me. The only God I fear is Polly and the only Hell I know is Trump’s America.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.