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Black Collar Crime: IFB Pastor Daniel Champ Accused of Stealing $135,000 From Church

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preachers and money 2

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.

Daniel Champ, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bel Air, Maryland, stands accused of stealing $135,000 from the church. First Baptist is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) congregation.

The Christian Post reports:

A Maryland pastor has been charged with stealing approximately $135,000 from his church, with him allegedly using the funds on sports betting and food deliveries.

Daniel Champ, 42, is charged with theft of over $135,000 and embezzlement from First Baptist Church of Harford County, CBS News affiliate WJZ-TV reported last week.

According to authorities, Champ is slated for a court appearance later this month and has been removed from the church’s account. He has also been ordered to leave his residence on the church’s property.

One congregant spoke to WJZ under the condition of anonymity, expressing disappointment with a reported lack of transparency on the part of church leadership.

“I was very disappointed that they didn’t come out honestly and tell us what was happening, why they weren’t forthcoming and honest,” said the church member.

“Because money goes to that church, that’s the people’s money. And why weren’t they honest? Why didn’t they just tell people? … I think they need to come clean and be honest with the people. I think the people need to know.”

Champ was charged early last month, according to court documents, with the Maryland resident posting a $15,000 unsecured personal bond on April 11.

The pastor is accused of having stolen the money from around January 2019 until last October, when church officials noticed that there were dubious bank charges and missing funds.

According to investigators, Champ used the stolen money for various personal expenses, including sports betting, food deliveries via DoorDash, and PayPal.

Based on the church’s Facebook page, the last Sunday sermon Champ gave at First Baptist was on Sept. 8, noted The Roys Report, with the church’s website presently being down.

During his message, Champ preached about 1 Thessalonians 2, which warns against preaching the Gospel with “a cloak of covetousness” or giving an exhortation that is “of deceit.”

When discussing the biblical passage last September, Champ talked about preachers who are proclaiming the Gospel “for monetary gain, for some kind of gain for ourselves.”

“They’ll come, and they’ll preach to you, and even though some of what they say is truth, they’re doing it out of the wrong heart,” he said.

“They’re not doing it sincerely because they care about your soul. They’re doing it because the more people they get on their side, the more money they make.”

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Did You Know Christians Are the Most Persecuted Religious Group in America?

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christian persecution

William Wolfe, a writer for The Christian Post, had this to say in a post titled The Federal Persecution of Christians Will Stop. Here’s Why. Wolfe stated;

Christians are, without question, the most persecuted religious group in America.

During 12 of the last 16 years under the anti-Christian Obama and Biden regimes (with a four-year reprieve during Trump’s first term), Christians were explicitly and relentlessly targeted by the life-crushing power of the government. If it wasn’t the feds, it was hostile blue states like Colorado, Virginia, New York, and others that did the devil’s dirty work. And if it wasn’t the feds or the states, it was universities, corporations, and the media.

Oh my, poor persecuted Christians. Require them to obey the law, and Evangelicals scream persecution. Evidently, they believe that the laws of the land don’t apply to them, even though the Apostle Paul stated:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. (Romans 131-2)

As a pastor, I taught church members that we were duty-bound to obey man’s law as long as it didn’t conflict with God’s law. In Acts 5, we find Peter and his fellow apostles at odds with the high priest:

Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

The High Priest demanded that Peter and the other apostles stop preaching about Jesus. The apostles replied: We ought to obey God rather than men. Sadly, many Evangelicals interpret this verse to mean that if any law, rule, or regulation conflicts with what they think God wants them to do, they should obey God, and not man. This errant thinking has led to all sorts of conflict between church and state. I gladly stand with Christians if and when the government demands they stop preaching the Bible. However, this is rarely why church and state come into conflict. No, these skirmishes come when Evangelicals think the government is getting in the way of them doing whatever they want to do. They wrongly believe that their beliefs supersede man’s law — without exception. Years ago, I was friends with a man who started a church in southeast Ohio. He dragged a modular home onto a plot of land and turned it into a church — complete with alterations. I warned him that he would run afoul of building codes, but he ignored me, saying that he was “following the will of God.” This preacher eventually learned that hearing voices in his head is no match for the law. He refused to comply, leading to the county demolishing his ramshackle church building.

In 1989, I started a non-chartered, tuition-free, private Christian school for our church’s children. As an unchartered religious school, our school, Somerset Baptist Academy, was not subject to state education laws. One day, an inspector for the Ohio EPA showed up at our school to inform me that our school fell under the regulations for public water supplies. We were required to test our water every three months for contaminants and submit the report to the state. Was the government “persecuting” us? Of course not. There was nothing in the law and its enforcement that hindered our practice of Christianity.

I was a street preacher for many years. My public ministry on street corners led to frequent conflict with law enforcement and community leaders. I was threatened with arrest more times than I can count. I always stood my ground. Why? The government was trying to stop me from exercising my faith — a clear violation of the First Amendment. I refused to bow a knee to Caesar. Had a police officer demanded I move my car because it was parked illegally, I would have complied. Why? The Bible commanded me to obey the laws of the land.

I never had a problem differentiating between God’s law and man’s law. Sadly, many Evangelicals think that they are free to disobey man’s law anytime they want. After all, it is easy to come up with a Bible verse to justify illegal behavior. This is especially true with anti-abortionists. Many communities have laws regulating pickets at abortion clinics. Anti-abortionists wrongly think that they don’t have to obey these laws, and when arrested, they scream PERSECUTION! Persecution, my ass. They are free to picket the clinics. All they have to do is stand a certain distance away from the clinics, limiting harassment of clinic users and staff.

The same applies to Evangelical pharmacists, nurses, and doctors who object to prescribing abortion drugs. They shouldn’t be forced to prescribe these drugs, but since prescribing them is a job requirement, they have a choice: prescribe or quit. It is not persecution to require them to do their job. We see similar skirmishes over issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples or baking cakes. If religious beliefs keep Evangelicals from doing their job, they need to choose another profession. It is not persecution if you lose your job for refusing to obey the law or follow your employer’s rules.

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

This is What Happens When a President Doesn’t Read

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donald trump

It is well known that President Donald Trump doesn’t read books or daily briefings. When asked to say what the Declaration of Independence meant to him, Trump replied:

Well, it means, exactly what it says. It’s a declaration, it’s a declaration of unity and love and respect, and it means a lot, and it’s something very special to our country.

Shouldn’t a president at least know the history behind the Declaration of Independence and what it means? Trump knows none of these things.

The Daily Show covered Trump’s intellectual largesse in the following video clip:

Video Link

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Christians Say the Darnedest Things: Corey Mahler Says Suicide is the Best Choice for Atheists

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corey mahler

Evangelical Lutheran Corey Mahler had this to say about atheists:

Anyone who claims to be an Atheist should immediately lose any and all credibility with rational men, for an Atheist can be at most two of the following things: alive, rational, and honest. Naturally, this means that a living Atheist must be irrational or dishonest. The logic behind these conclusions is as simple as it is compelling: If there is no soul, this life is, in the end analysis, wholly and totally devoid of meaning. In the face of a meaningless existence, the only logical action is not to act. However, avoiding personal pain and suffering is also rational, so suicide (in order to avoid the pain and suffering entailed by simply waiting to die) is the most rational choice.

….

In the end analysis, then, the only rational choice for the Atheist is suicide. He can make an irrational choice or lie to himself (and to others) about his decision (i.e., be dishonest), but the logic is inescapable. For the Atheist, the following simple proposition shakes his worldview to its core and unseats his beliefs from what he believed was a foundation:

Atheist, [(alive)⊻(died of natural causes)]→[(rational)⊼(honest)]

Given an Atheist who is alive (or who died of natural causes), he cannot be (nor can he have been) both rational and honest. The Atheist must abandon reason or lie to himself and to others. Of course, he can also ‘opt out’. The Atheist who yet draws breath betrays his irrationality or his dishonesty with each and every breath. For the rest of us, we can remain secure in our belief that an Atheist should never be taken seriously.

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor James Henry Sentenced to 110 Years in Prison for Child Porn Possession

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pastor james henry

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 Henry, pastor of Crossroads Assembly of God Church in Delight, Arkansas and a foster parent to over 70 children, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 110 years in prison.

ABC-7 reports:

An Arkansas pastor has been sentenced to 110 years in prison after he plead guilty 11 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.

The pastor, James Vincent Henry, received 10 years per count, which he will serve consecutively for a total of 110 years.

….

A warrant for Henry’s arrest was issued on October 14, 2024, after two cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were made regarding Henry’s activity on the social messaging platforms Snapchat and Kik.

Henry was subsequently arrested on October 15, 2024, by deputies with the Pike County Sheriff’s Office. 

The pastor, who worked at the Crossroads Assembly of God Church in Delight, Arkansas, originally faced 100 counts of Possession, Viewing, and Distribution of Child Pornography.

Church Leaders adds:

James Vincent Henry, pastor of Crossroads Assembly of God in Delight, Arkansas, has been charged with 100 counts of possessing, viewing, and distributing child sexual abuse material.

According to the church’s website, the 43-year-old pastor has been married to his wife Brittney for 12 years, and the couple has three children.

Henry’s wife is also listed as a pastor of Crossroads Assembly of God.

Before becoming pastor of Crossroads Assembly of God, Henry served as a youth pastor at four different churches: Lacey Assembly of God, McGehee First Assembly of God, Mountain Pine First Assembly of God, and Newsong Church in Centerton, Arkansas.

An Arkansas State Police (ASP) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigation led to the arrest yesterday (Oct. 15) of James Vincent Henry, 43, of Delight, for 100 counts of crimes related to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM),” ASP said in a statement. “Henry is the pastor of [a] church in Delight.”

ASP reported that on Wednesday, Sept. 25, “Special Agents with the ASP ICAC Task Force executed a search warrant in Delight in reference to two cyber tips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children made through the online messaging applications Snapchat and Kik.”

Agents then reviewed “digital evidence” before obtaining an arrest warrant on Monday (Oct. 14). Pike County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Henry less than 24 hours later.

Henry has been charged with “100 counts of Possession, Viewing, and Distribution of Child Pornography (CSAM).”

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Youth Pastor Benjamin Felix Guerra Accused of Child Rape

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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.

Benjamin Felix Guerra, a youth pastor at an unnamed church in Outlook, Washington, stands accused of child rape.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports:

Prosecutors charged an Outlook youth pastor with raping a teenage girl he knew.

In addition to five charges each of second-degree rape and third-degree child molestation, Benjamin Felix Guerra, 32, was also charged with three counts of third-degree child rape and a single count of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, according to a six-page charging document filed in Yakima County Superior Court Monday.

Guerra, who is out of custody after posting $10,000 bail, is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges April 24.

A woman called the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office in late March saying that Guerra had inappropriately touched her 15-year-old daughter, who was part of a youth group Guerra was leading, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by a sheriff’s detective.

The Yakima Herald-Republic typically does not identify sexual assault victims without their consent.

Sheriff’s spokesman Casey Schilperoort said the report did not identify the church where Guerra served.

In an interview at the county’s Children Advocacy Center, the girl described several incidents where Guerra raped and molested her on multiple occasions, the affidavit said. While at a fast-food restaurant with Guerra and members of the youth group, Guerra, she said, wrote a note on his cellphone asking her to prepare for sex with him and telling her to be quiet about what they were doing.

Guerra was arrested at his home in the 2800 block of Gurley Road April 9 and booked into the Yakima County jail.

While a pretrial evaluation recommended releasing Guerra on court supervision, Judge Jeffery Swan ordered Guerra held in lieu of $10,000 bail and, if he posted bail, to maintain weekly phone contact with court staff and report in person twice a week, as well as receive text messages reminding him of further court dates.

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor Gregory Jones Accused of Sex Trafficking

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pastor gregory jones

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.

Gregory Jones, pastor of Liberty Christian Fellowship in Mountain Home, Idaho, stands accused of sex trafficking.

Channel 2 reports:

New information is coming to light about a Mountain Home man who was arrested over the weekend on charges of sex trafficking. 

Gregory Jones was arrested in Mountain Home on April 25 and charged with penetration with a foreign object and sex trafficking. Tips received from community members led CBS2 to uncover that Gregory Jones is the pastor of Liberty Christian Fellowship church in Mountain Home and was the operations director at NXT Dream Center Daycare. Jones can be seen preaching as recently as April 13 via Facebook live stream. 

According to a 2013 article in the Mountain Home News, Gregory Jones, a Major in the Idaho Air National Guard at the time, was named Person of the Year during the 24th Annual Black History Banquet. 

The Elmore County Sheriff’s Office noted in a public release that the arrest of Gregory Jones was largely made possible due to brave victims and witnesses who have come forward, providing crucial evidence in the case. The Sheriff’s office is concerned that there are more victims out there. Anyone with information related to this case, or who believes they may have been a victim, is encouraged to contact the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office at (208) 587-2100.

The Root adds:

Gregory Wayne Jones was well-respected in his community of Mountain Home, Idaho. His work as a director of operations at a daycare and as a pastor made Jones a trusted civilian in the area. That is until he was arrested on heinous accusations.

The investigation into Jones began on January 31, 2025, according to a statement by the Elmore County Sheriff. It was then that multiple alleged victims came forward and provided “critical evidence” for the case against Jones. It’s unclear exactly how many victims have come forward at this point in the investigation.

The pastor was taken into custody on Friday (April 25) and charged with Sexual penetration with a foreign object and Human sex trafficking, according to reports. He is being held at the Elmore County Detention Center in Idaho. 

Jones previously worked at NXT Dream Center, which describes itself as “a non-profit 501(c)(3) Community Development Corporation (CDC)” providing community support for veterans, seniors and youth. Jones was listed as the Director of Operations for at NXT. 

After news of Jones’ arrest broke, community members came forward to express their shock. “I am disgusted. I’m angry,” Kerstyn Tracy, a parent at NXT told Idaho News 6. “And [I’m] very distrusting of not only the sheriff’s department at this point but daycare facilities in general,” she continued.

According to Tracy, NXT never informed the parents or greater NXT community of Jones’ arrest. Instead, she had to find out through her Facebook friends. “They have yet to put out a statement or address any communication, email, text, phone call, in person,” Tracy said.

She went on to say she knew Jones, and he worked closely with the kids at the daycare facility. “They [NXT] were aware that he’s being investigated for sex crimes. And I feel like that is a possibility of a danger to our children. And I am very upset about that,” she added.

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Sacrilegious Humor: Compilation of Songs From the Greatest Christian Band of Our Generation

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faith+1

This is the latest installment in the Sacrilegious Humor series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a comedy bit that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please email me the name of the bit or a link to it.

Today’s video is a compilation of song clips by Faith+1, the greatest Christian band of our generation.

Video Link

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

The Voices of Atheism: Ricky Gervais Explains Religion in Ten Minutes

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ricky gervais

This is the latest installment in The Voices of Atheism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. Know of a good video that espouses atheism/agnosticism or challenges the claims of the Abrahamic religions? Please email me the name of the video or a link to it. I believe this series will be an excellent addition to The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser.

Thank you in advance for your help.

What follows is a video clip of Ricky Gervais explaining religion in ten minutes.

Video Link

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Trump Dump: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Vows to Investigate Fictional Chemtrails

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donald trump dump truck

This series, titled Trump Dump, features outlandish, untrue quotes from Donald Trump, MAGA supporters, and Right Wing media. If you come across a quote for this series, please send it to me with a link to the news story that contains the relevant quote.

Toward the end of Dr. Phil’s town hall, an audience member said that she was most concerned about the constant “aerosol injections” of aluminum, strontium, and other purported toxins being sprayed into the skies—also known as “chemtrails.” Robert Kennedy, Jr. replied:

That is not happening in my agency. We don’t do that. It’s done, we think, by DARPA. And a lot of it now is coming out of the jet fuel—so those materials are put in jet fuel. I’m going to do everything in my power to stop it. We’re bringing on somebody who’s going to think only about that, find out who’s doing it, and holding them accountable.

As reported by Gizmodo

chemtrails

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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.