Forrest Valkai is a frequent guest on shows produced by The Line and the Atheist Community of Austin. Valkai is a biologist, and when it comes to explaining complex science to mere mortals, he does an outstanding job. However, when it comes to Christianity, Valkai often makes claims he can’t support, such as claiming that preachers are in the ministry for the money. I have yet to see a fellow host correct Valkai’s false assertion, so I assume they have similar sentiments.
Are preachers really in the ministry for the money? I am sure some are, but most preachers believe God has called them to preach, and while they certainly need money to provide for their needs, making money is not their first priority. Remove megachurch pastors from the mix, and most preachers pastor congregations of 60-90 people and are bi-vocational. Preachers work outside of the churches they pastor because the congregations don’t pay them enough for them to make ends meet.
Most of the preachers I knew either struggled to make ends meet, worked part-time outside of the church, or were on social security or government assistance. I was in the ministry for twenty-five years, pastoring rural/small town churches that ranged in attendance from 50 to over 200. I was a full-time pastor for every church I pastored, but not one of them paid me a living wage, with benefits. This forced me to work outside of the church. Later in my ministerial career, Polly went back to work, easing the financial pressures we had been under for years.
Did I know any money-grubbing preachers? Of course, I did. I knew a few lazy-ass preachers who were in the ministry for the money. When looking for a new church to pastor, how much the congregation paid was their first priority. Money never mattered to me. I preached and ministered to people whether they paid me or not, and that included preaching revival meetings that cost me more in expenses than the church paid me. I never complained, though, to be honest, there were times I should have been clearer with congregations regarding my financial needs. I quickly learned that if I didn’t say anything, no raises would be forthcoming. In retrospect, I should have appointed a group of members who were responsible for setting my salary and benefits. Sadly, I was always hesitant to talk about money, and because I never mentioned it, church members thought everything was fine.
Granted, some of the churches I pastored couldn’t pay me a decent salary, with benefits. That never stopped me from being their pastor, but there were times when I thought congregations were taking advantage of me. I remember one church in West Virginia that wanted me to be their pastor. They were sitting on thousands of dollars, yet when I asked them to pay my moving expenses, the church board said they could only pay half. I told them that the church would have to pay all of my moving expenses. They eventually agreed, but demanded that I only preach from the King James Bible. A King James-only family was outraged by my preaching from the English Standard Version (ESV). I declined, knowing that this KJV-only family would be trouble for me, and since the board wouldn’t stand up to them, I declined to be their pastor. They hired a retired pastor, instead; a man who wouldn’t rock the boat and would be happy with the meager salary the church paid.
Megachurch pastors and TV preachers deserve every bit of the criticism they receive. They have turned Christianity into a circus, a clown show. Some preachers makes millions of dollars from not only preaching, but from book and media sales. They also rake in loads of money holding conferences and revival meetings. But, these men and women do not represent most preachers, and atheists such as Forrest Valkai would do well to remember this. (And I know how much Valkai hates being painted with a broad brush.) By all means condemn and criticize their doctrine, but unless there’s evidence to the contrary, we should assume that most pastors are decent, hardworking clerics. I know I was, as were many of my colleagues in the ministry. I was dead wrong about what I believed and preached, but my motivations were pure. I sincerely wanted to help other people, and that desire remains to this day.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Over the years, I have received many emails and social media messages from Evangelical preachers, evangelists, missionaries, college professors, youth pastors, worship leaders, and everyday church members, thanking me for something I wrote that they found helpful. This is especially true for people affiliated with the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement.
I find it gratifying when someone tells me that my writing helped them. Often, something I wrote helps them to see the light or the errors of Fundamentalist Christianity. Typically, such people hang on to the Christian moniker, choosing, in their minds, not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. And this is the point where their praise of my writing turns into Fundamentalist judgmentalism they can’t seem to shake. You see, I may have helped them, but I am still headed for Hell because I am an atheist. Until they abandon the doctrine of eternal punishment, I will remain, in their eyes, a good man who is going to split Hell wide open after I die. Not because of how I lived my life, but for one reason alone: I have the wrong beliefs.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Was Jesus a man? Think about this for a moment. Jesus was allegedly conceived after the Holy Ghost impregnated a teen girl named Mary. It’s hard not to conclude that the Holy Ghost raped Mary, impregnating her without consent. Even if you disagree with this line of thinking, one thing is clear: Jesus didn’t have male DNA. One could argue that the Holy Ghost supernaturally fertilized Mary’s egg with male DNA, but many theologians claim that sin is passed on through the male seed, and Jesus was without sin, so no male DNA. This means, of course, that Jesus was not a man.
One could bizarrely argue that the Holy Ghost is male and he had sex with Mary, impregnating her. However, this means the Holy Ghost had sex with Jesus’ mother. Yuck. The third part of the Trinity had sex with the mother of the second part of the Trinity, and the first part of the Trinity, the Father approved. Talk about a sordid story.
The true story is much simpler. Joseph had sex with Mary before marriage. Nine months later, Jesus was born with the DNA of both his father and mother. First and second-century Christians would later debate the parental lineage of Jesus, eventually cooking up the Trinity and virgin birth. Not all Christians agreed, but they were labeled Gnostics or heretics — enemies of “True Christianity.”
Was Jesus a man? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Donald Trump claims to be a Christian, but his immoral, violent, misogynistic, racist, anti-Biblical behavior suggests otherwise. Anyone who says Trump is a Christian has no idea of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It sickens me to watch Evangelical preachers fawn over Trump, ignoring his behavior, choosing, instead, to trade piety and morality for raw political power. No matter how badly Trump behaves, no matter how many lies he tells, many Evangelicals believe Trump has been chosen by God for such a time as ours.
Today, Trump stated in his press conference, God, I just want to say we love you, God. Gag me with a spoon. Trump doesn’t love God. His God-talk is all about pretense and manipulation. Evangelicals are so stupid that they cannot see that Trump is using them to advance his wicked agenda. Oh, he threw Evangelicals an abortion bone and let them play with toys at the White House, but the moment they are no longer of use, Trump will dump them like they are one of his wives.
I heard that Trump received a private message from a world leader after his press conference. It said:
Donald, if you love me, keep my commandments.
Jesus
Trump allegedly said to Pete Hegseth, “Who does this motherfucker think he is? I am President Donald Bigley Trump, the leader of the free world. I do what I want, when I want, how I want, and no one, not even this Jesus guy can stop me.”
Jesus replied with a one-sentence message, “Pride goeth before a fall, Donald.”
The fall of House Trump will one day come about. It remains to be seen what carnage and bloodshed will follow.
Indeed, we live in perilous times.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
It shouldn’t surprise us that President Donald Trump lied to the American people when he said “no new wars.” Trump is a pathological liar who cannot tell the truth. He lies numerous times a day on social media, press announcements, speeches, and interviews. According to the Bible, Trump’s perpetual lying will land him in Hell someday; not that I care. I am far more concerned about the HELL Trump is causing in this life.
Yesterday, Trump ordered the U.S. military to bomb Iran, this after Israel’s repeated bombings. Iran has weakly responded, causing little to no harm to Israel or the United States. Today, Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and the United States/Israel. Peacock-proud as a big-dicked man at a nudist colony, Trump suggested in a social media post that “regime change” might be on the menu.
Here’s what David Packman had to say about Trump’s declaration of war:
Make no mistake about it, Trump and his administration have imperial ambitions, and that includes regime change for any country that dares to cross Trump’s rabid pursuit of raw power and wealth. You gotta know you are on the wrong side of history when former national security advisor John Bolton agrees with your course of action. Bolton has called for regime change in Iran for years.
Trump’s latest immoral, illegal bombing of Iran is a reminder that the “endless war” continues, with no end in sight. As long as the U.S. mainland remains untouched by the ravages of war, Americans will continue to approve of the “fighting them over there, so we don’t have to fight them here” endless war. Some day, though, our peace and tranquility will threatened by terrorist attacks. We can’t keep bullying people we disagree with without some sort of retaliation. As a young boy, I tried to catch a mouse that was in our garage. I chased him all over the garage until I finally cornered him. As I reached down to pick up the mouse, he bit me. There’s coming a day when the United States will corner an inferior enemy and, with no place to turn, our enemy will “bite” us.
Trump wrongly believes that violence against a nation deemed our enemy will bring peace. It won’t. Violence never brings peace. It brings a cessation of hostilities until the next war breaks out. Only peace begets peace. If the United States is truly interested in peace, nuclear disarmament is the first step in the process. It’s hypocritical for the United States to demand disarmament while refusing to do so themselves. It’s hypocritical to decry the possibility of Iran building and using a nuclear weapon when the United States is the only nation to ever use an atomic bomb on civilian population centers. Instead of demanding that the world do what the U.S. says and not what it does, perhaps peace would be better served if the United States led by example.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
According to many members of Congress — both Republicans and Democrats — and every president in my lifetime, the United States is NOT at war. In their minds, what common folks call “war” is something else: police action, hostilities, skirmish, collateral damage, surge, overseas contingency operations, shock and awe, pacification, nation-building, authorization for the use of force — anything but what it is, WAR.
Politicians and military leaders use euphemisms to hide from the American people that we are at war. War is what, exactly? Google AI defines war as “a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state.” I suspect most of us would agree with this definition. I define war as sustained conflict between nations, states, tribal groups, ethnic groups, or organized militias. War is violent, bloody conflict that leads to destruction and death, but in this modern age, it is more than that. Cyberwarfare comes to mind, a tool the United States is currently using to wage war against an array of enemies. Are military actions that disrupt instead of outright killing people war? I would say, yes.
And then we have federal agencies such as the NSA and the CIA, who are committing acts of war against nations that oppose the United States, going so far as to assassinate heads of state and military leaders. These acts are war too, even if they are never reported in the New York Times.
Many Americans tell themselves that we are not at war unless Congress officially declares war. That means the United States has not fought a war since World War II. Never mind the carnage of the Korean War and the Vietnam War that led to millions of deaths. Korea and Vietnam weren’t wars because Congress didn’t say they were. I suspect the millions of people wounded and killed in these not-wars might disagree.
I am sixty-eight years old. There’s never been a day in my life that the United States has not been at war, either covertly or openly. We are currently at war with Russia, Iran, Yemen, and Palestine. Fighting proxy wars does not absolve the United States of culpability. Our money, our weapons, our support, our war. Just because there aren’t American boots on the ground doesn’t mean we are not at war with a nation. We have no troops on the ground in China, yet does anyone seriously question whether we are at war with them? I know, I don’t.
The United States is a bloody people; a nation willing to use violence to advance its agenda and “protect the American people” or any of the other cliches we use to deflect from the fact that we are the bully who uses its behemoth size to get whatever he wants. Individually this might not be true of us, but as a nation, we have made it clear we will, if necessary, use violence to advance the mythical American Dream, city on a hill, defenders of freedom, or other bullshit we tell ourselves to justify murderous violence and destruction done in the name of WE THE PEOPLE. We have never been a people of peace, and 400 million guns suggest that more than a few Americans are willing to use violence against their fellow citizens to ‘protect the American way of life.”
No, we are a violent people, and if you have evidence to the contrary, please provide it in the comment section.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
For those of us raised in the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement or other Fundamentalist sects, we are acutely aware of the subject of modesty. While IFB preachers will tell you that modesty applies to both men and women and boys and girls, most preaching on the subject applies to females, and not men. As a son of the IFB church movement, I heard numerous sermons on modesty, and once I became a pastor, I added my voice to the cacophony of holier-than-thou, sanctimonious preachers who felt duty-bound to regulate and control how female congregants dressed and looked
Sexually aware young women are told that they are gatekeepers in charge of protecting the virginity of hapless, weak, pathetic IFB boys and men. Unable to control their wants and desires, these horn dogs will run headlong into lust and fornication if young church women don’t cover themselves up and wear pastor-defined modest clothing. Young women are viewed as Jezebels or the harlot in Proverbs 7:
For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
The woman in Proverbs 7 wore the attire (clothing) of a harlot. What, exactly, is the “attire of a harlot?” Just ask any IFB preacher and he will tell you in explicit detail what clothing is that of a whore. Note that this young man was allegedly forced by this woman to have sex with her. I seriously doubt that it took much “force” on the harlot’s part to get the young man to climb into her bed perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
When IFB preachers preach on this text, it is the harlot who always gets the blame for taking advantage of the young man. Never mind that he was a stupid boy who was out and about at the wrong time and place. One could argue that he was looking to score. Regardless, the whore is to blame because of how she dressed and behaved. Had she covered her body from her neck to the bottom of her knees and worn clothing that muted or obliterated her physical form, the young man likely would have kept on walking, IFB preachers say. Sure, preacher, sure. You evidently never heard the lesson that teaches, “A stiff prick has no conscience.” I seriously doubt that this IFB teen has much of a conscience, as he went after the woman as “an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks.”
ACE Modesty Cartoon
Nancy Campbell, a well-known Fundamentalist clothing monitor, recently published a post by a single 23-year-old woman named Hannah Hauenschild. Titled Modesty, Hauenschild wrote:
Do you want to dress attractively but struggle with immodesty? The honest answer (if you are a woman like I am) is yes. Meaning aesthetically pleasing, attractive is how we want to appear. Though this is not wrong, the reason for it often is a desire to be noticed. Dressing to attract attention is immodest. So how can you dress modestly and why is it important?
Modesty is viewing yourself properly and, as a result, behaving decorously. A virtue of the heart, modesty recognizes, “I am not the most important person in the world,” and determines “My attitude, actions, and appearance will befit who I truly am.”
Who are you? You are a woman fearfully and wonderfully made and loved by God, which gives you worth and purpose. You do not need the attention, acceptance, or approval of anyone but God. Yet you, like all humans, are sinful. Your natural tendencies lead you astray from God’s plan for your life, which includes being modest.
Akin to humility and purity, modesty is a character quality that can be demonstrated by how you dress. It means denying your sinful nature that pridefully declares, “I can wear whatever I want,” and embracing clothing appropriate for your God-given femininity.
Traditionally, dresses and skirts beautifully distinguish women. In this age when gender confusion is lauded, I believe ladies should wear clothing that leaves no doubts about their feminineness.
….
1. Modest clothing does not reveal, emphasize, or draw attention to a woman’s private parts. Necklines then are neither deep nor wide, and they do not gap.
2. Modest clothing does not fit tightly, outlining a woman’s body.
3. Modest clothing completely covers the shoulders, knees, and everything in between – front, back, and sides.
If you are still unsure about an outfit being modest, ask yourself, “Does it draw attention away from my face?” A maxim of my mother’s is that nothing (clothing, make-up, etc.) should distract from the countenance.
Having learned what modesty and modest dressing is, we also need to know the reasons why dressing modestly is important.
….
Modest clothing honors God:
When Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God’s command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they discovered they were naked and covered their most private parts (Genesis 3:7). They were not, however, clothed until God made them garments that hung from the shoulder (Genesis 3:21). Since the Fall God has communicated our nakedness should not be exposed (Exodus 20:26; Exodus 28; and Leviticus 18).
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, God specifically states: “I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly . . . as is proper for women making a claim to godliness” (I Timothy 2:9-10).
Modest clothing helps men to not sin:
Men are more sensitive to visual stimulation than women. When a man sees a woman dressed immodestly, his thoughts head in the wrong direction. Knowing this, we need to clothe ourselves carefully so that we are not stumbling blocks to men.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus describes the seriousness of provoking others to sin: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes” (Matthew 18:6-7, NASB).
Modest clothing hallows women:
Though only God can make people holy from the inside out, modest clothing does have a consecrative effect. It commands respect because it does not invite inappropriate attention. It sets women apart as worthy of honor rather than dishonor.
“Like a ring of gold in a swine’s snout is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion” (Proverbs 11:22, NASB).
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable, and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2 NASB).
Outwardly expressed by dress and other behavior (like sitting with your knees together), modesty is a decision of the heart. Thus, it is possible to wear modest clothing, following all the principles listed above, and still be immodest. You must first clothe your heart with modesty as the Apostle Peter wrote in one of his letters:
“Your adornment must not be merely external – braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves . . .” (I Peter 3:3-5, NASB).
According to Hauenschild, girls, teens, and women should “completely cover their shoulders, knees, and everything in between – front, back, and sides.” Clothing should not be tight-fitting, nor should it emphasize their physical form. Why? So they don’t visually stimulate men and cause them to stumble. Toddlers first learning to walk stumble (and fall) quite a bit. Over time, they learn to walk without stumbling. Evidently, IFB teen boys and men are still toddlers, unable to keep from committing sexual sins once tempted by “inappropriately” dressed teen girls and women. Any exposed thighs or breasts (even cleavage) is sure to cause stirring in the loins of these “helpless boys and men. Why, if Sister Jan doesn’t cover herself up from head to toe, she will be leading boys and men to sin in thoughts and deeds.
While IFB preachers half-heartedly call on teen boys and men to be in control of their sexuality, the bulk of their preaching on modesty and premarital sex is addressed to the fairer sex. If teen girls and women keep their legs together and dress modestly, weak boys and men will be kept from masturbation, fornication, and adultery.
I am often asked if I have ever lusted after a woman, both as a single and married man. Of course I have. Lust (sexual desire) is a normal part of our existence — both men and women. We are sexual beings who desire not only to procreate but also to fulfill our desires. And as most of us know, sexual desire is a powerful force, one that can, and does, result in bad behavior if not checked and controlled. As a man, I am, without exception, responsible for my sexuality.
Have I ever felt desire for someone other than my partner? Yes, and so has Polly. You see, women are sexual beings too; beings tired of the lie that only men are visually driven. All of us are responsible for our sexuality. Polly and I have a “look but don’t touch” policy. We are deeply in love and committed to each other. That said, we know and understand each other’s nature. I recently told my sixteen-year-old grandson about why Muhammad Ali carried a matchstick with him. Ali’s wife told him it was okay to look as long as he didn’t touch. The matchstick was a reminder that he would burn in Hell if he touched another woman.
Sexual want, need, and desire are very much a part of the human experience. How we behave is on us, and not someone deemed dressed inappropriately by an IFB preacher. And that’s not to say that women (and men) don’t dress in ways that are sexually suggestive. They do, but it’s up to us to control how we respond in such circumstances. You can enjoy the view and move on, or, if tempted, avert your eyes and walk away. Or maybe you are looking for someone to date or marry. What first attracts you to someone? Their looks. I learned over time that Polly had a lot of traits that I found appealing, but it was her shapely, comely body, dark hair, and beauty that attracted me to her. While looks are never enough to build a lasting relationship, most relationships start with mutual physical (and sexual) attraction.
Did you grow up in an IFB church? Did your pastor preach on modesty? Did he single out teen girls and women? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
Donald Trump removes all his clothing in the gym locker room and takes a shower before swimming. Also showering with Trump are six men of various shapes, sizes, and colors.
Trump surveys the other men as he showers, thinking to himself, “my dick is bigger than theirs. In fact, my dick is bigger than every man in the world.”
This is how the greatest president, businessman, and deal maker who has ever lived views everything.
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.
Joshua Dice, a teacher at Calvary Christian Academy in Middleburg, Florida, stands accused of soliciting and traveling to meet a minor for sex. Calvary Christian is a ministry of Calvary Baptist Church, pastored by Ken Pledger. Pledger is a graduate of Midwestern Baptist College. He attended Midwestern with my partner’s father. (This is the same school Polly and I attended.) Calvary Baptist is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) congregation. This is the second teacher at Calvary Christian to be arrested for sex crimes. In 2022, Caitlin Rose Crum was arrested on charges of producing child porn and sexual assault.
An Orange Park man was arrested on Wednesday after being accused of soliciting and traveling to meet a minor for sex, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
Joshua Dice, 34, a now-former teacher at Calvary Christian Academy in Middleburg, was arrested around 12:40 p.m. after deputies found his car parked near a gym on Blanding Boulevard, according to his arrest report.
The arrest report states detectives asked Dice what had happened, but his response was redacted from the report.
News4JAX reached out to Calvary Christian Academy, and Pastor Ken Pledger responded with a statement saying in part that Dice was fired immediately after his arrest.
“We were informed that Mr. Josh Dice was arrested on June 11, 2025, on serious charges. These charges are unrelated to the activities of Calvary Baptist Church or Calvary Christian Academy. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement regarding this matter. Mr. Josh Dice’s role at Calvary Baptist Church and his position at Calvary Christian Academy were terminated immediately following his arrest. He no longer has any affiliation with these ministries. Our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our members and students. Calvary Baptist Church and Calvary Christian Academy maintain a strict policy of zero tolerance for abuse.”
Pastor Ken Pledger
Dice is facing three charges, including traveling to meet a minor, using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, and soliciting a child for unlawful sexual conduct using computer services or devices.
Caitlin Rose Crum was accused of having a sexual relationship with a child, who was one of her students.
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
“What does the Bible say?” is a common refrain from Evangelicals when called on to defend their beliefs, social pronouncements, or other claims they make, purportedly in the name of God and according to what this deity said within the pages of the Protestant Christian Bible. However, the Bible by itself says nothing, and I mean nothing. The Bible is no different from any other book. Of course, Evangelicals think the Bible is different from all the books that have ever been written. Evangelicals claim the Bible is a supernatural book, written by a supernatural God, and endowed with supernatural powers. When asked for evidence for their claims, Evangelicals reply, “The Bible says.”
But what, actually, does the Bible say? Nothing. The Bible doesn’t say anything until we interpret it through the grid of our personal experiences and beliefs. That’s why no two Christians believe the same things. So, when an Evangelical declares “The Bible says,” what he really means is this is what I say, what my denomination says, what my church says, and what my pastor says.
Dr. Dan McClellan does a good job explaining this in the video below:
Remember this the next time a confident, arrogant Evangelical says, “The Bible says.”
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
