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.
Verrnon Willis, a student ministry leader at the Seacoast Church Dream Center in North Charleston, South Carolina, stands accused of inappropriately touching ten church girls aged twelve to sixteen.
Authorities in South Carolina say a former student ministry leader is facing more than a dozen assault charges for inappropriately touching young girls.
According to North Charleston authorities, Vernon Tyrell Willis, 26, has been arrested and charged with 13 counts of second-degree assault and battery.
Willis is accused of touching underage girls without their consent while he was a student ministry leader for the Seacoast Church Dream Center.
Police say detectives were able to identify 10 victims ranging in age from 13 to 16 years old.
Lowcountry attorney Mark Peper, who represents some of the victims, said Seacoast Church placed Willis on administrative leave and subsequently terminated him in December 2022 after multiple minors reported being touched inappropriately while attending a youth group.
However, the law firm initiated an investigation that revealed the church allowed Willis access to one-on-one contact with multiple female minors without any supervision, according to Peper.
The attorney stated that Seacoast had knowledge of Willis’ proclivity to use his role to unlawfully touch and seclude minor females on the church campus as far back as 2020.
Seacoast Church Executive Director Margaret Little said the team is heartbroken, calling Willis’ actions inexcusable and indefensible. She said the church is grateful for the young women who shared their stories, which allowed them to put an end to such behavior.
According to Little, Willis was immediately placed on leave and barred from campus once an initial report came in, with him being terminated in less than 48 hours after they found he clearly violated the church’s code of conduct.
The church said it notified all parents of students regarding the situation and offered resources along with working with law enforcement.
Seacoast Church Executive Director Margaret Little released a statement on behalf of the church:
As a place of worship and a home to so many families in the community, Seacoast Church is heartbroken by a former employee’s inexcusable and indefensible actions. We are grateful for the young women who shared their story, which allowed us to put an end to this behavior and want to thank these students and their families for being brave and coming forward.
On December 5, 2022, an initial report was made to Seacoast of inappropriate interactions with a minor by a member of staff at the North Charleston campus.
We immediately placed that employee on leave and barred the employee from campus while we investigated the report. We concluded that the employee had clearly violated our code of conduct. The employee was terminated in less than 48 hours. We reported the incident and information we had gathered to law enforcement.
Within the week, Seacoast leaders informed North Charleston campus students that the employee had been terminated for violating our code of conduct. Three days later, all parents of students at the campus were informed of the termination, offered resources, and the opportunity to meet with leadership. Within the same week, we connected all families of victims with counseling resources and the case number of the active investigation and contact information for North Charleston law enforcement. Since then, Seacoast leadership has hosted a Parent Night to discuss the matter openly with campus parents and concerned church members. Additionally, we have engaged an attorney to conduct an independent internal investigation of the matter.
Throughout this time, North Charleston law enforcement has been conducting an investigation. We have unreservedly supported law enforcement in their efforts, and part of this support has meant that we limited our communication while the investigation is active.
We will continue ongoing work to ensure all students can worship freely in safe and protected spaces. As leaders, we are grieved over the actions of a former staff member. Our commitment to the church and community is to continue to operate in transparency and support the victims and their families of this situation in their healing process.
Note that the church investigated the claims before they called law enforcement. The church needs to be reminded that they are legally obligated to call law enforcement IMMEDIATELY when there are allegations of sexual misconduct. Not wait until you have your ducks in order, IMMEDIATELY.
Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 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.
Note: For Evangelicals who will be butthurt by this article, I am not talking about all Evangelicals. If this post doesn’t apply to you, put some Vaseline on your chapped ass and move on. You know Evangelicalism is in crisis mode. Maybe the greater question is this: why are you still an Evangelical? Do you really think you can “save” Evangelicalism?
I have long believed that Evangelical Christians are an existential threat to the United States. Forty or so years ago, Jerry Falwell and Paul Wyrich birthed the Moral Majority. Falwell traveled the country holding “I Love America rallies, imploring Evangelicals to take back America for God. Today, Falwell’s and Wyrich’s baby is now fully grown. Drunk with political power, thanks to selling their souls to Donald Trump and the Republican Party, Evangelicals are waging “holy” war against liberal democracy and social progress. The goal is to return the United States to the 1950s, a time when abortion and birth control were illegal, LGBTQ people were hiding in the dark depths of closets, Blacks knew their place, the Bible was read and prayers were prayed by teachers in public schools, creationism was taught as science, and women were keepers of the home.
Evangelicalism’s inherent Fundamentalist and theocratic tendencies are on full display now. Successful in getting abortion banned, Evangelicals have turned their sights on banning same-sex marriage, some forms of birth control, books they disagree with, Black history, evolution being taught in science classes, and anything else that offends their religious sensibilities. They have reserved their greatest outrage for transgender people, going after minors and teenagers, using the force of law to get between transgender students and their doctors. They will not rest until the Bible is codified unto law and King Jesus sits on the iron throne in Washington D.C.
One need only look at what is going on in Florida to see what happens when Evangelicals gain the power of the state. My God, just today Governor Ron Desantis talked about making a law that would require bloggers who write about him to register with the state, under penalty of a fine if they don’t. For context, Vladamir Putin enacted a similar law in Russia last year. They are also trying to pass a law that will ban the Democratic Party! The fascism that was lurking in the shadows of Evangelicalism for decades is now on full display. We now have notable Evangelicals speaking approvingly of Christian Nationalism. Some of them are proud to admit they are white nationalists. Others say the separation of church and state is a myth. The inmates are now running the asylum.
And here’s the thing, Evangelicals own guns — lots of them. They have no intentions of giving up political and social power, even if it means sparking a civil war. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a Grade A moron and idiot. She recently talked about dividing the United States into red and blue states. Silly, right? One hundred sixty years ago, nineteenth-century red and blue states fought a bloody civil war over Southern states wanting to secede from the Union. Today, those sentiments are front and center again. Greene is hardly a lone wolf. We err if we ignore the voices of extremists. They can and will destroy our Republic if left unchecked.
Evangelicals recently took over a county government in Michigan. What the fuck were voters thinking? Evangelicals can’t win at the ballot box IF people show up to vote. If voters don’t smother the life out of this multi-headed monster, we are going to wake up one morning and realize that our democracy is gone. It’s really that simple. (And to Democratic Party I say, get your head out of your collective asses. Can you not see what is right in front of your face? Yet you fiddle while Rome burns.)
Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 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.
Several days ago, an atheist told me I must have been pretty “stupid” if it took me fifty years to realize that Christianity was false. He proudly told me that he figured out as a child that God was a myth, and from that point forward he was an atheist. He added that “God” was no different from Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. In other words, he was saying that I must have been pretty dull if it took me five decades of my life to figure out what he figured out as a mere child.
Most atheists who take this approach with me grew up in nominal Christian homes Typically, they have little to no understanding of Evangelical theology and practice. Lacking knowledge and understanding of that which they criticize, these atheists set themselves up as the standard for deconversion. In their minds, anyone with any sense at all should be able to figure out there’s no God by the time he reaches sixth grade.
These hyperbolic atheists seem to not understand how Fundamentalist religious indoctrination and conditioning make it impossible for people to “see” the truth about God, Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity. I grew up in a dysfunctional Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) home. God, church, and the Bible permeated every aspect of my life. One-hundred-eighty times or more a year, I attended services and events that reinforced IFB theological and social beliefs and practices. That’s one service every other day. And then there were private acts of personal piety: daily prayer and Bible reading.
At the age of five, I told my mom that God wanted me to be a preacher when I grew up. Ten years later, I got saved and baptized, and two weeks later I stood before the church and told them God was calling me to preach. Several weeks after that, I preached my first sermon. At the age of nineteen, I enrolled at Midwestern Baptist College to study for the ministry. I married a preacher’s daughter. Together, we spent twenty-five years in the ministry. My life was all about the Evangelical God.
I spent almost fifty years in the Evangelical bubble. In the bubble, everything made sense; everything was internally consistent. Imagine a world where everyone has similar beliefs and moral values. Imagine where everything modeled to you as a child by adults and people in positions of authority reinforces IFB beliefs and practices. Imagine being part of a sect that separated itself from the “world”; from everything contrary to their version of “truth.” Imagine long lists of rules and regulations (church standards) that governed virtually every aspect of your life, from the length of your hair to the clothing you wear. Imagine being taught that God is all-knowing and all-seeing, and he will punish any deviations from church standards. All of these things taken together make one thing very clear: I couldn’t have been anything other than what I was.
My path in life was predetermined by my upbringing and intense religious conditioning and indoctrination. By the time I was old enough to understand life, it was already too late. Both counselors I have had over the years have told me that it is remarkable that I escaped the Evangelical bubble — especially as a preacher. By the time people reach the age of fifty, they rarely are willing to abandon beliefs they have held their entire lives. For me personally, I had invested my entire life in servitude to God and the church. I had sacrificed my financial and physical well-being seeking spiritual fulfillment and eternal life. The sunk costs were so great that it was almost impossible for me to walk away (and for Polly to walk away with me). Yet, I did. Why? Because I valued intellectual honesty. So stupid I was not. When my beliefs were challenged by evidence I couldn’t overcome, I changed my beliefs. And that’s why I am an atheist today.
Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 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.
Ray Comfort Says Dwayne Johnson is Headed for Hell for Believing the Gospel of Restitution
Ray Comfort is an Evangelical evangelist known for his slick (and shallow) evangelism methods. In the late 1990s, I used Comfort’s training materials to train the church I was pastoring at the time to evangelize unbelievers. Comfort is also known for street preaching and publishing books attacking atheism. His claims have been thoroughly refuted by defenders of secularism and atheism.
After being riddled with guilt for years over his sins as a teenager, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (arguably Hollywood’s highest-paid actor) made amends. We are told that he was able to redeem himself. A video posted online shows him returning to the scene of the crime and buying up hundreds of Snickers bars, giving them to the store, and telling them to give them away to anyone who was tempted to steal.
Before making amends, he said three times in one interview that he wanted to “redeem” himself for his theft. The media loved it, saying that he was indeed “making things right.”
Is that true? Can we balance the scales of justice by doing good works? Millions would say a big “amen,” that it’s certainly the right thing to do.
Of course, Comfort rejects that notion of making restitution for past wrongs. He’s an Evangelical, after all. He preaches a gospel devoid of making things right. If God has forgiven you, that’s all that is needed. Say the right prayer, believe the right things, and you will be gloriously saved. While good works after salvation are a good idea or even expected, they play no part in your salvation.
It was evident that Dwayne Johnson wasn’t trusting in the Savior. Instead, he was trusting in his own attempt to redeem himself, something the Bible says cannot be done.
If Dwayne Johnson bought the entire store and gifted it to the owner, it wouldn’t make things right. Paying off the victim from whom we’ve stolen doesn’t work in criminal court, and it certainly won’t work on Judgment Day. If a one-time monetary payment for theft was able to satisfy God, how would we redeem ourselves for adultery, for fornication, for blasphemy, or for lying? How would we make things right for the sin of lust — which Jesus said is adultery of the heart (Matthew 5:27-28)?
Good works don’t cover our sins in the slightest. A multimillionaire giving $500 to a store may impress the media, but it doesn’t impress God. Any payment we try to make for sin is an abomination to Him (Proverbs 21:27). Yet millions deceive themselves by pacifying their guilty conscience with what the Bible calls “dead works” (Hebrews 6:1).
Comfort’s post makes all sorts of theological arguments for his “gospel.” Give it a read if you want to read a lot of Bible verses and be reminded that the Protestant Christian Bible can be used to prove and justify almost anything. I want to focus on Comfort’s rejection of good works and restitution. I am sure he thinks these things are a good idea, but in order to maintain his soteriological beliefs, he must reject making restitution part of human salvation.
Mr T really is off base if he thinks everyone who isn’t a Christian is an atheist. Tell that to my Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Jainist friends – they are not atheists. They believe in deities and other supernatural things.
Someone who commits a wrong against another person does not deserve forgiveness from the person(s) harmed just by asking. I like the Jewish model which requires that the one who offended needs to express apology and ask the victim what the VICTIM wants them to do. Then the offender must take genuine steps to atone, as per what the victim stated. The victim is under no obligation to forgive even if the offender fulfills what the victim requested.
Bingo. Jews generally believe in making restitution when wrongs are done; in making things right. Comfort divorces restitution from the Christian gospel. Believe this and thou shalt be saved! The reason for this, of course, is that Evangelicals have a dualistic worldview — the separation of body and spirit (and or soul), of physical and spiritual. Many Jews rightly believe that you cannot separate the physical from the spiritual.
I preach the gospel of restitution. I preached it when I was a Christian pastor and I continue to herald it today. Instead of mass incarceration, we need to adopt a system that promotes restitution for those who commit non-violent crimes. Instead of locking up a man who committed theft and destroying his life, allow him to keep working and pay restitution. Our legal system is focused on punishment instead of rehabilitation and restitution. We can thank Christianity, and Calvinism, in particular, for our current justice system.
Duane Johnson did a good thing. He righted a previous wrong. Instead of complimenting him for doing so, Comfort condemned him and said Johnson was headed for Hell. What are ya gonna do? Evangelicals are gonna Evangelical. Their theology keeps them from seeing that restitution is a good thing for society; far better than mouthing a prayer to the Ceiling God and going on your merry way, secure in the belief that you are saved and headed for God’s Trump Hotel in the sky.
One day, Ray Comfort and his many converts will die and stand before the throne of God. On that day, they will hear the Judge of the universe say:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
….
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
To Ray Comfort, I say this: repent and make restitution. It’s the only way you will gain entrance into God’s eternal kingdom.
Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 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.
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.
Chris Brooks, formerly a youth pastor at Abba’s House in Hixon, Tennessee, and an Evangelical evangelist, stands accused of physically assaulting his wife.
A Chattanooga-area evangelist was arrested last week after being accused of grabbing his wife by the neck and choking her during a fight.
Chris Brooks, 47, who served as a youth pastor at the Hixson church Abba’s House before turning to independent evangelism, faces a domestic assault charge stemming from the alleged January fight with his wife, Davi Brooks, 50, who was a partner in an evangelism ministry.
Through their Ooltewah-based Chris Brooks Ministries, Chris and Davi Brooks have traveled around the nation speaking at churches and have amassed about 18,000 Facebook followers.
The alleged Jan. 16 assault was not reported to law enforcement for about a month, according to court records.
During the in-between period, the couple appeared together on Facebook Live to announce a worn-out Chris Brooks would take a 30-day sabbatical and that Davi Brooks would continue the ministry during that period.
Chris Brooks left their residence following the assault, but his wife remained afraid of him, according to a sworn affidavit from law enforcement in support of his arrest.
In late February, she and their daughter, a witness to the fight, reported it to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, whose deputies arrested Chris Brooks on Feb. 21 on a charge of domestic assault. A Hamilton County court clerk said by phone Wednesday he was released on $1,500 bond, and records show he is scheduled to appear in court April 13.
….
Chris Brooks has ties to Dustin Spillers, [please see Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Youth Pastor Dustin Spillers Accused of Child Molestation] a former Abba’s House volunteer and PTA president who was arrested in January after being accused of child molestation in Georgia. Spillers’ attorney filed a motion for a bond Jan. 18, but jail records show Spillers remains in the Troup County Detention Center, and a Troup County court clerk said by phone Wednesday that Spillers has still not been formally charged.
Spillers has attended multiple other churches in recent years, most recently City Church Chattanooga, where, according to the pastor there, he played keys in the band.
Before that, however, Spillers volunteered at Abba’s House over about seven years, where he assisted Chris Brooks, then he was a youth pastor there, with worship and religious matters, Abba’s House Director of Communications Julie Harding told the Chattanooga Times Free Press following Spillers’ arrest.
She said Spillers left Abba’s House in 2015.
Chris Brooks resigned from the church the next year, said Abba’s House Executive Pastor Ken Hartley in an email statement Wednesday.
“Abba’s House does not have any contact or association with Mr. Christopher Brooks,” he said.
Hartley did not answer several questions directed to Abba’s House, such as whether Brooks went through a background check prior to his employment as a youth pastor at the church. If such a check was completed, it might have turned up a troubled past.
….
On Jan. 16, Chris and Davi Brooks got in a fight about his phone and its contents, the court affidavit said. During the argument, he grabbed her by her neck, choking her and lifting her off the ground, the affidavit said.
Their daughter heard the argument and ran into the room to find her father releasing her mother, who fell to the floor, the affidavit said.
Chris Brooks ran from the house into the crawlspace, where he remained for a while, the affidavit said, before emerging and promising things would get better.
In the subsequent days, Chris and Davi Brooks together continued to post daily devotion videos on Facebook, greeting viewers from around the country, inviting them to share it with others and discussing various religious themes.
So began the video Feb. 7, before Chris Brooks ceded the floor to his wife, who pulled up some notes and consulted scriptural passages about the idea of rest.
“My husband needs some real rest,” she said. “He’s been going nonstop for years. Guys, he really needs a break.”
She discussed the rigors of the evangelistic life, the constant traveling, the loneliness.
Her husband elaborated, noting that he was not trying to complain but simply state the facts. Whereas some pastors get pastor appreciation month, the evangelist gets little encouragement, he said.
“The evangelist has to encourage himself,” he said.
His wife laughed and said it was very true.
“There is a situation taking place right now where I feel like I need to step back,” Chris Brooks said.
He pledged to reevaluate the ministry and its direction, and in the meantime, they were canceling scheduled engagements. His wife rubbed his back, and he told the audience he was hurting spiritually and mentally.
“It’s hard guys,” he said, getting emotional, and thanked the viewers. He asked them to pray for them and continue to watch Davi’s videos.
“She’s got some amazing words,” he said. “She’s got some great insight.”
….
In the coming days, Davi Brooks hosted her own videos, about true happiness, about the role of God in turning one’s life around.
On Feb. 17, she and her daughter went to the Hamilton County East annex and told law enforcement her husband had assaulted her, court records said.
n January 2023, Chris Brooks announced a brief sabbatical from ministry. After much prayer and Godly counsel, the Chris Brooks Ministries, Inc Board of Directors has resolved to cease all CBM ministry operations to allow Chris to enter into a time of healing and restoration.
We understand this news will come as a shock to our supporters and friends, as Chris has been an influential voice to many of you over the years. But let us also remember, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” 1 John 1:8-9. We ask that your prayers and love for Chris do not cease, but rather increase in the days ahead, that he would find healing and redemption in Christ Jesus. And we ask for your continued prayers and community support of Davi and Faith as they navigate their own journeys of healing.
For questions pertaining to any outstanding appointments or recurring giving, please reach out to the CBM Team at xxxxxxxx.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,
Chris Brooks Ministries Board of Directors
Ah yes, 1 John 1:9. The gift that keeps on giving. Brooks’ website has been scrubbed of everything except this letter.
Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 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.
The Black Collar Crime series is in its seventh year, having published over one thousand reports of clergy and church leader criminal misconduct. Most of the reports are about Evangelical pastors, evangelists, youth directors, and other church leaders who committed sex crimes. Using Google Alerts, I receive an immediate notice any time a news story about clerical malfeasance is posted on the Internet. It is important that these stories receive wide circulation. Victims need to know that there are people standing with them as they bring to light what God’s servants have done in secret.
I realize that these reports are often dark and depressing, but the only way to dispel darkness is to turn on the lights. Clergy who prey on congregants — especially children — must be exposed, prosecuted, convicted, and sent to prison. By leveraging this blog’s readership numbers and publishing these reports, I am serving notice to law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges: we are paying attention, and if you fail to provide justice for victims, we will hold you accountable.
Sometimes, these seemingly untouchable predators are brought to justice, but not before the public puts pressure on law enforcement and prosecutors, forcing them to act. The sordid story of abuse at Restoration Youth Academy is case in point. Decades of abuse reports were filed with local law enforcement, yet nothing was done. Yes, they finally acted and the perpetrators are now in prison, but what do we say to the hundreds of children and teenagers who were ritually abused before prosecutors got around to doing their job?
I am sure that this series will bring criticism from Evangelical zealots, reminding me that accused/charged clerics are innocent until proven guilty. While they are correct, all I am doing is sharing that which is widely reported in the news. In the sixteen years I’ve been writing about clergy misconduct, I can count on one hand the number of pastors/priests/religious leaders who were falsely accused — less than five, out of hundreds and hundreds of cases. The reason for so few false accusations is that no person in his or her right mind would mendaciously accuse a pastor of sexual misconduct. The social and personal cost is simply too high for someone to falsely accuse a religious leader of criminal conduct.
Secondary reasons for this series have to do with exposing the lie that Evangelicalism is immune to scandal and criminal behavior. I remember when the Catholic sex scandal came to light. With great glee and satisfaction, Evangelical preachers railed against predator priests and the Catholic Church who covered up their crimes. Now, of course, we know — with the recent Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) and Southern Baptist sex scandals — that Evangelicalism is just as rotten, having its own problems with sexual abuse and subsequent cover-ups. Evangelicals love to take the high moral ground, giving the perception that their shit doesn’t stink. Well, now we know better. Not only does Evangelicalism have a sexual abuse problem, it also has a big problem with pastors who can’t keep their pants zipped up. (Please see Is Clergy Sexual Infidelity Rare?)
I receive threats from people defending their religious heroes. Threats of legal action are common, even though all I am doing is republishing stories publicly reported by news agencies. A pastor featured in one of my reports contacted me and said that reporters had it all wrong. As I do with everyone who asserts they are being falsely accused, I told this preacher that he could give his version of the facts, sign his name to it, and I would gladly add it to the post. Usually, this puts an end to any further protestations. Most often, the accused want to bully me into taking down my post. In this preacher’s case, he provided me his version of events and I gladly added it to my post. After adding the information, I decided to investigate this pastor further. I found more information about his past indiscretions and crimes. I dutifully added them to the post. I have not heard anything further from the good pastor.
I am not immune from making mistakes, so if you spot a factual error in one of the stories, please let me know and I will gladly correct it. If you come across a story that you would like me to add to this series, please use the contact form to email me. Please keep in mind that I need links to actual news reports in order to add them to this series.
I primarily use Google Alerts for Black Collar Crime reports. I also rely on readers to alert me to new stories or updates of previous reports. I am one man with a limited amount of time each day to slog through the brackish Evangelical swamp, so I don’t see every report or know the outcome of every case I’ve featured in the Black Collar Crime Series. Keep in mind that I require EVIDENCE for me to update a story. Not gossip or personal opinion. Actual evidence such as reputable news stories (with links). Just because a reader or drive-by commenter says something doesn’t make it so. I appreciate your understanding.
I realize that nothing I say in this post will change the minds of preachers such as Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen. Thiessen has a sketchy background. He has been accused of abandoning his family, including an infant child, failing to pay child support, and fleeing to South Korea/Philippines to avoid being held accountable for his behavior.
Thiessen has been a vocal critic of me personally and of the Black Collar Crimes Series. Thiessen is known for defending clerics who commit sex crimes. Just this week he wrote two more posts defending Ravi Zacharias. He has also defended men such as Bill Cosby and Bill Gothard. Thiessen goes to great lengths to defend his support of offending preachers, but I find his defenses lacking in every way. Thiessen repeatedly rejects the substantial work done by law enforcement in investigating, prosecuting, and convicting pastors who commit sex crimes. Why? This is the judgment of the “world,” not God. Of course, God is unavailable for comment. All we have are our legal processes, albeit imperfect, they are the best we have to hold clergy and churches accountable.
Thiessen frequently blames victims for what happened to them. Thiessen is not alone in this approach to women (sometimes men) and children who have been sexually violated and taken advantage of by so-called men of God. Again, Thiessen claims that victims are following the ways of the “world” instead of God. Of course, God’s ways in Thiessen’s mind are his peculiar interpretation of the Protestant Christian Bible.
He [Bruce Gerencser] is right in one thing, we do not like his black collar series but not for the reasons he thinks. We [Derrick Thiessen] do not like it for many reasons and two of them are, it is not being fair or just. That owner [Bruce Gerencser] ignores all the unbelievers and atheists who are caught, tried, and convicted for the same crimes.
….
[Speaking of being fair and just] Christians have to do both to be able to make an impact for Christ. But this is not the end of the hypocrisy and injustice carried out by the owners of the BG [The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser] and MM [Meerkat Musings] websites, as well as other unbelieving websites.
There have been other similar stories about drag shows in schools, and so on. Yet not one peep from either owner about how bad, immoral, or wrong these actions are. Instead, they would rather target Christians as that is the group of people, as well as Christ, that they hate.
This is another reason God told us to never follow in the counsel of the ungodly. They do not have fairness or just behavior in their thinking. Look at all the CRT, equity, BLM re-education going on today. None of those and anything similar is of God nor are they just and fair.
….
Another reason we do not like the black collar series over at that website [The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser] is that it is unneeded. It does nothing constructive for society nor does it help redeem those men who failed in their Christian lives, if they were Christians at all.
All it does, as we said earlier, is influence others to hate Christ, pastors, and the church, and turning people to hate is wrong. It is not fair to those men highlighted and the series does not have people being just or fair towards them. In fact, it helps stoke the misguided guilty-until-proven-innocent mentality that many unbelievers endorse.
It is also redundant as the local papers will carry the same stories and his series is just wasting everyone’s time. When the Christian sees those stories they need to ask God how to reach those men so that Christ can redeem them.
….
{we would link to the article we talked about but it is so filled with lies and eisegetical comments that it is nothing but trash [which I can’t rebut] }
I have explained my motivations for writing the Black Collar Crime Series several times. He knows exactly why I do what I do, so I can only conclude that Thiessen is a liar and his goal is to impugn my character and impair my coverage of clergy sex crimes.
Let’s suppose I operated a site whose mission was to cover the Cincinnati Reds. Every day I published news stories about the Reds and individual players on the team. One day, a man named Deirere TeeDee sent me an email, complaining about me not writing any posts about the NHL, particularly me not covering the Detroit Red Wings. Duh, I replied, I write about the Reds, and Major League Baseball, not the National Hockey League and the Detroit Red Wings. Your complaint has no merit.
Yet, this is exactly what Thiessen has done with his complaint about me not covering atheists and other unbelievers who commit sex crimes. He knows that this site focuses on four things:
Helping people who have questions and doubts about Christianity
Helping people who have left Christianity
Telling the story about my journey from Evangelical Christian to atheist
Critiquing Evangelical Christianity
I have been blogging since 2007 — sixteen years. I have stayed true to these four focus points, rarely veering off the path to talk about politics, sports, food, and travel. Why Thiessen cannot understand why I write the Black Collar Crime Series is beyond me. I know that all sorts of people commit sex crimes, but my focus is on Evangelical preachers who commit such crimes. This is NOT a sex crime blog. If it was, I would cover unbelievers and believers alike. And even if I did, it would still be true that the vast majority of people who commit sex crimes are Christian or religious. Why? Because most Americans are Christians.
I have repeatedly explained to Thiessen why the Black Collar Crime Series is needed. I assume, at this point, he is being obtuse. Most of the stories I write require numerous news stories to tell the complete story. They also require research on my part to find out what sect the offender was a part of and their background and beliefs. Sometimes, these reports take a lot of time to put together. Other times, a Google search quickly gives me everything I need to write the story.
These reports are based on news reports, court records, social media, and other verifiable sources. I rarely interject my personal opinion. My goal is to provide a one-stop website for people looking for information about a particular preacher/church and their crimes. Blog traffic numbers suggest that this is exactly what is happening.
It is not uncommon for news sites to either delete stories about clergy sex crimes or put them behind paywalls. That’s why it is important for me to make these stories available to the public free of charge. The public has a right to know what is going on in Evangelical churches. Surely it is important to cover criminal behavior by clerics. Surely it is important to say to victims that I hear you and I will make your story known far and wide. The bigger question, then, is this: why do Derrick Thiessen and other Christians of his ilk want to muzzle me and keep these stories from being known?
One answer to the questions above is that the Thiessens of the world don’t care about the victims of clergy sex crimes. I suspect many of them believe that the victimized women (and men) and children and not victims at all. Thus, they view sexual predators as the real victims; that the “world” is out to get them. Thiessen admits as much when he says “When the Christian sees those stories [about rape, sexual assault, child molestation, along with theft, fraud, and murder] they need to ask God how to reach those men so that Christ can redeem them.” Remember, Thiessen has called sex crimes “mistakes.” He has yet to write one positive post about the victims of clergy sexual misconduct. All that Thiessen cares about are the poor preachers who rape, assault, misuse, and abuse vulnerable people. In his mind, these preachers just made “mistakes.” If they will just shoot a 1 John 1:9 (If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness) to Heaven, Jesus will forgive them and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. With that, the offending preachers are forgiven and should get right back on the ministry horse. Thiessen seems oblivious to the fact that most pedophiles are incurable; that Jesus himself can’t fix them. He seems to be oblivious to the fact that preachers caught committing sex crimes, particularly child pornography, have likely been doing so for years. When a 60-something-year-old preacher is arrested for sexually assaulting a child, it is likely that he has committed this crime before. Most clergy sex crimes go unreported/unprosecuted (as is the case in the general population). What I cover with the Black Collar Crime Series is but a fraction of the crimes committed by Christian clergy. I read sites such as Ministry Watch, The Roys Report, Bishop Accountability, Baptist Accountability, and the Black Collar Crime listings published monthly for members by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. I am astounded by how many stories about clergy sex crimes I actually miss.
It’s clear to all who are willing to see that Evangelicalism has a clergy sex crime problem of epic proportions. These reports are not a few bad apples. The sex scandal roiling through the Southern Baptist Convention certainly proves that the proverbial barrel is littered with rotten, stinking apples.
Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 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.
I haven’t mentioned Dr. David Tee (whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen) lately. He continues to write about me and steal my content, but I have chosen to ignore him. Thiessen is a defender of Christian rapists, child molesters, and clergy who misuse and abuse their positions of authority and power. I have yet to see him write a post like the ones I write for the Black Collar Crime Series. Instead, he has publicly attacked my work to publicize clergy sexual misconduct. He continues to defend men such as Bill Gothard, Ravi Zacharias, and Bill Cosby. According to Thiessen, all of these men are falsely accused; innocent of the accusations leveled against them. Thiessen, a Fundamentalist Christian, believes that any crime, no matter how vile, will be forgiven by God if the offender shoots up a 1 John 1:9 prayer to Heaven. And if God has forgiven them — how could Thiessen possibly know that he has done so? — so should everyone else.
Yesterday, Thiessen sent me a link to a news story about an elderly Florida man named Paul Zittel who had over 220,000 child porn images stored in his home. You can read the story here. Without providing any evidence for his claim, Thiessen said that Zittel’s crimes are an example of “atheist black collar crime.” There’s no mention in the news story that Zittel is an atheist. In fact, based on where Zittel lives and his age, it is actually more likely that he is a Christian. Of course, if I was covering this story, I would never say Zittel is an atheist or a Christian. I report facts, not opinions.
Thiessen’s email suggests that he thinks that anyone who is not a Christian is an atheist. This, of course, is absurd. Most people have some sort of religious belief. Atheists are a distinct minority in the world. Surely, Thiessen knows this, right?
Suppose Zittel really is an atheist, and while incarcerated he gets saved. According to Thiessen’s bankrupt theology, God has forgiven Zittel and so should everyone else, including his victims. Thiessen would expect and demand that the public and his victims move on. How dare they speak negatively about this new child of the living God. He’s a new creature in Christ, right?
Thiessen hates the Black Collar Crime Series. He has repeatedly impugned my motives for writing the series. He thinks that I shouldn’t write ANY of the Black Collar Crime posts. He prefers that the evil actions of preachers fade into the background noise of life. Nothing to see here, Thiessen says. Ain’t Hay-Zeus wonderful!
I have no intention of stopping my writing about clergy sexual misconduct. Evangelicalism is rife with scandal, every bit as bad, if not worse, than the sexual scandals that continue to plague the Roman Catholic Church. People deserve to know about these crimes and the great lengths churches go to cover them up.
I do appreciate Thiessen emailing me. He exposed his IP address when he did, and I blocked it. He will find new ways to read and steal my writing, but I don’t want to make it easy for him.
Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 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.
A few days ago, I received an email from an eighty-one-year-old woman named Wanda Sims. Sims read all of two posts before sending me a message that God allegedly laid upon their heart. My brief response follows. All spelling and grammar in the original.
There is one Go ,in 3 persons Father, Son Holy Spirit.
Sims provides no evidence for her claim there is one God, uh I mean three Gods, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As most Christians do when they come to this site to deliver to me a message from their peculiar version of God, Sims makes all sorts of claims without providing any evidence for them. She presupposes that her God is the one true GO, and all others deities are false. Thus Sims is an atheist too.
God is love!!
I see no evidence in our world that this claim is true. In fact, what I do see is that God is anything but love. Look at all violence, pain, suffering, and death in the world. Where is God? Even in the Bible we see a God, as Richard Dawkins suggests:
“is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”
I would love Sims to take the events of Genesis 6-9 (Noah’s Flood) and justify her claim that God is love. Her God drowned millions of people, including children, infants, and fetuses. What an awesome God!
I pray you will have your eyes opened ,and the truth will guide you to see truth.
My eyes today are more open than they ever have been. If Sims wants me to see and know “truth,” I suggest that she share it with me. Let’s talk about “truth, Wanda. I’m game, are you?
You gave up on God, he still loves you. If you repent he is faithfull and just to forgive you.
I didn’t give up on God. I weighed the central claims of Christianity in the balance and found them wanting. Surely Sims would want me to follow the evidence and believe as many true things as possible.
How does Sims know God still loves me? According to countless Evangelical zealots, I am an apostate; a reprobate; a tool of Satan; an enemy of God. Based on the teachings of the Bible, God doesn’t love me. I have crossed a line of no return. I have been repeatedly told that I am a modern-day Judas, a son of perdition. Did Jesus savingly love Judas? Of course not.
I put Sims’ claims to the test. I just repented of all my sins, even the “secret” ones, and asked Jesus to save me from my sins. Did God forgive me? Is it really that easy? Nothing more is required of me but to repent and believe? Good to know. I am now s-a-v-e-d! 🙂 Yes, Wanda, this is me mocking you and your silly, bankrupt gospel.
I don’t want to be your BFF, but my heart hearts for you and those you have lead astray.
That’s good, because why would I want to be friends with someone who doesn’t respect me? Sims chose to deliberately ignore my requests on the Contact page. She sent me a preachy email, hoping that I would see the “light.” She paid no attention to my background, thinking that her rambling email would do anything to return me to the faith.
I’m not a Crack pot
I don’t know about that. What should I make of someone who seeks out strangers on the Internet and emails them? What should I make of someone who shows no regard for me; whose only goal is to put in a good word for Jesus? Jesus Fucking Christ, I am a fellow human being. How about treating me like one?
I spent fifty years in Evangelical Christianity. I pastored churches in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan for twenty-five years. I preached over 4,000 sermons, and spent 20,000 hours reading and studying the Bible. I am confident I know more about the Bible and Christianity than Sims goes. What possibly could she say to me that I don’t already know?
Of course, Sims read none of my autobiographical writing, so maybe she doesn’t know these things. If so, I would like to share with her what God says in Proverbs 18:13: Answering before listening is both stupid and rude.
just a 81 yr old woman that loves the Lord and have seen his love,beauty,miraculous works and mercy and love.
And I am just a sixty-five-year-old man who loves his wife of forty-five years, six grown adult children, thirteen grandchildren, and cats named Joe Meower and Socks. I have seen their love, beauty, mercy, and works. My family is the only God I need.
I pray you find your way back to this one true and loving God.
Well, as I mentioned above, I repented, so I am good to go. All praise be to Loki, the one true God of rural northwest Ohio.
Saved by Reason,
Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 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.
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 2018, William “Tim” Smith, Jr, pastor of Palmer Church of God in Palmer, Tennessee, was arrested after he was found parked in a remote area engaging in sexual activity with a twelve-year-old girl. Smith was also found in possession of Schedule II prescription drugs.
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office has arrested William E. “Tim” Smith, Jr., 48, for rape of a child, possession of legend drugs, and possession of Schedule II drugs.
Sheriff Clint Shrum explained that Smith, Jr. was taken into custody after Sheriff’s investigators found him and a 12-year old female in a remote wooded area engaged in sexual conduct in Smith’s truck. He was also found in possession of Legend and Schedule II prescription drugs.
According to the report, Smith, Jr. identified himself as the pastor of a church in Palmer, the Palmer Church of God.
“This is very disturbing and heartbreaking,” stated Sheriff Shrum. Bond has not been set. Smith, Jr. has an initial court date of July 12th.
Incident Report
The incident report states that the incident occurred in Gruetli-Laager, near Ross Creek Road. The arresting officers were on Ross Creek Road looking for a stolen four wheeler when they decided to check an area that had issues with drug use and selling. When pulling up to the area, they saw a maroon Chevrolet pickup truck. It appeared no one was in the vehicle, but deputies noticed the vehicle was running. They saw an arm raise up and confirmed someone was in the vehicle.
When deputies approached the vehicle, they saw a male and female lying down in the seat. When deputies knocked on the window, the male, who was laying on top of the female, jumped up and tried to pull up his pants. The female tried to pull her skirt down. The deputies noticed the female appeared young and asked her age. The male answered that she was 18. The male then tried to persuade the female to tell the deputies she was 18. The female then stated she was 13.
Deputies found several different pills in a pill bottle in the male’s pants. The male was identified as William Smith and said he was the pastor of the Church of God in Palmer.
“Mr. Smith was placed under arrest and read his Miranda warnings at that time. Mr. Smith only stated that he had done nothing wrong and showed no remorse about the situation.”
With further questioning, the female stated she was 12.
When interviewed by deputies at the Sheriff’s Office (with the permission of her grandparents) the female stated that she and a cousin went riding with Smith to Ramsey’s Lake for several hours. They took her cousin home and went to Smith’s house to pick up another truck so that he “could go to Winchester and get brake pads for his vehicle.” The female stated Smith was supposed to drop her off at home.
The female further stated “Smith stated he had to use the restroom and drove down Ross Creek Road” where they were later located by the Sheriff’s Deputies.
The incident report goes into more detail of the female’s report of what happened, but the Herald has decided to not publish that information at this time.
In 2019, Smith pleaded guilty to attempting to rape a child. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum says Smith, Jr. was taken into custody after investigators found him with a 12-year old female in a remote wooded area engaged in sexual conduct in Smith, Jr.’s truck.
The deputies were looking for a stolen 4-wheeler on Ross Creek Road near Gruetli-Laager when they discovered the truck with Smith, Jr. and the girl inside. Sheriff Shrum says he was also found in possession of legend and Schedule II prescription drugs.
At the time of the arrest, Tennessee Church of God officials announced he would be placed on administrative leave.
In court on Friday, Judge Justin Angel sentenced Smith, Jr. to 9 years and 6 months in prison. Smith, Jr. also must not make any contact with the victim.
Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 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.
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.
James Smith II, pastor of New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Pompano Beach, Florida, stands accused of defrauding his church to support his drug habit.
A Pompano Beach pastor was arrested on multiple charges after authorities said he defrauded his church to support his drug habit.
James Edward Smith II, the pastor of New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Pompano Beach, is facing multiple fraud and theft charges, Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials said Wednesday.
The investigation into Smith began last April after authorities received complaints from parishioners and church founders that Smith had fraudulently gained control over the church and church funds, officials said.
Authorities found the 49-year-old Smith filed a forged quit claim deed allowing him to assume complete control of the church property and then sold it for $600,000, using the money to support a drug habit.
Smith is also being charged by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for larceny and fraud associated with worthless checks totaling more than $1,600 that were written on the church’s bank account, officials said.
….
When authorities searched Smith’s home, they found heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and a stolen firearm, officials said.
Smith was charged with organized scheme to defraud, fraud, grand theft, criminal use of personal identification information, unlawful filing of false document records against real or personal property, grand theft of a firearm, possession of a firearm by convicted felon and violation of probation.
For Reverend James Edward Smith II, Pastor of New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church of Pompano Beach, Florida praise and worship is more than a style it’s a way of life. It is what he does in response to God’s presence in his life. His desire is to preach and teach the gospel so others may recognize the awesome power of God and praise him for his mighty acts.
He hails from the south Florida, a third generation preacher, married to Mrs. Dionne E. Smith, and together they have four children; xxxx, xxxx, xxxx, and xxxx. Reverend Smith is a proud 1992 graduate of Boyd Anderson High School, and a 1996 graduated of Edward WatersCollege in Jacksonville Floridawhere he acquired a degree in Business Administration. Since his call to the ministry, he has taken several biblical training courses and workshops, and presently matriculating in the Masters of Divinity at Ames Theological Seminary.
His passion for the ministry has led him and kept him in many trying times. Along with a powerful gift in ministry comes anointed vocal and song writing ability that is proven by one of his original songs “I’m no longer the same”. His traditional flavor layered with a contemporary draw has made it easy for the old to connect and the young to relate.
One of his favorite quotes is; “What would I know about being restored if I’d never lost my place? What would I know about God’s mercy if I’d never fallen from grace?” Reverend Smith extracts from experiences that God has brought him through to be a testimony to the young and a reminder to the old that God can do anything but fail! When ministering, his dynamic energy and conviction invites you into a place of worship and praise.
Reverend Smith is active in several levels of ministry conducting various kinds of worship services, revivals, retreats, conferences, weddings and concerts. God has recently called Reverend Smith to expand his ministry to include mentoring young men without active fathers in the home. When asked who he would like to reach while ministering he said, “Those who know and don’t know they need Jesus!” He laughs“So this covers everybody. I want people to know that the forces of Satan are real but so are the forces of God. People must understand there is another good time that Satan doesn’t want them to know about and it is in Jesus.
Reverend Smith is a former associate minister at New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church located in Fort Lauderdale Floridawhere his father, Bishop David C Poole, is Pastor. He served in the leadership capacity as the minister of music, bible study instructor, and trustee board member. Reverend Smith’s servant hood to God extends the walls of the church to those in the surrounding community: he is a board member of Elijah’s House for Ex-offenders, Member of the Broward County Coalition for ex-offenders, member of the South Florida Renowned singing ensemble In-Unity, and a life time member of Gamma Beta Chi fraternity.
When asked Reverend Smith says that he considers himself a living testimony of what God can do for those who love and trust him with their whole heart. Because of His abundant grace and unconditional love, it is his mission to share the goodness of God with everyone he places in his path. When asked what his message is, Reverend Smith says, “You will not experience a genuine sense of spiritual fulfillment until you realize and live within God’s will for your life.”
Bruce Gerencser, 65, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 44 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.
