It is not uncommon to hear Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) Christians say, “I need a good church home. Any suggestions?” This question is typically used by people who are either disgruntled members or people who are moving to a new community and need a church to attend.
Due to their emphasis on doctrine and social practices, it is not uncommon for IFB congregants to get upset over something their pastors said or did. Church splits are common, with offended members moving on to other IFB congregations. I pastored an IFB church in southeast Ohio for eleven years. The church grew rapidly, exceeding 200 in attendance in the mid-80s. During this time, two nearby IFB churches had splits. Overnight, our attendance increased by 50 people. These folks were committed followers of Jesus. I knew a bit about the splits at their churches, but decided to accept them as members, even though I knew that this was risky for me to do. Why? People coming from church splits typically don’t stay for the long term. And sure enough, two years later, every one of our new members had returned to their previous churches. The very problems they had at their previous churches cropped up at their new church. Disagreements over my preaching and how the church operated arose, leading these people to move on. I did not attempt to keep them, knowing that their previous churches were “home.”
Often, IFB Christians move to a new community. The first thing they do is to look for a church home. It may be a community with 10 churches, but if they aren’t “like-minded” congregations, IFB Christians will not visit them. From their perspective, non-IFB churches are liberal or worldly. When no IFB church is available, it is not uncommon for people to start new churches. In their minds, every community needs a sin-hating-Bible-preaching IFB church. Of course, as sure as the sun comes up in the morning, people who start new churches can/do leave for friendlier confines.
I learned as a pastor that people come and go. I also learned that I couldn’t make everybody happy. And, finally, I learned not to burn the bridges I had built with leaving members. Over the years, numerous congregants left to find a new church home, only to return a few years later. Without exception, I welcomed them back into our church — no strings attached. Sometimes, these folks stayed, but others would, in time, become disgruntled again. Two families came and went three times in eleven years. Something in my preaching would upset them, and off they would go to “friendlier” churches.
Are you a current/former IFB church member? Did your churches have a lot of turnover? Please share your experiences 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.
We are not sure how long the new telescope has been operating. We [I, Derrick Thiessen] just found out about it last night, and unbelieving scientists are touting it as the miracle of science. [What Tee can’t be bothered to name is the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile.]
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Since the universe is not expanding, dark energy most likely does not exist, and we do not think that dark matter exists either. It is just more made-up stuff by unbelieving scientists.
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Unbelieving scientists continue to chase the wrong things using the wrong tools and going down the wrong path. Then, while dismissing this telescope is easy, Christians need to be more on guard.
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The telescope may be an amazing piece of human construction and technology, but its main goal, whether stated or unstated, is to continue to deceive Christians and unbelievers.
It cannot find evidence for things that never existed. It can only capture what God did at creation. Anything else is read into the images by unbelieving scientists. Why do we find evidence for God everywhere? It is because God knew that humans would be exploring the heavens, the earth, and the oceans.
He made sure they were without excuse at the final judgment. God has let Himself, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit be known easily.
— Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, Don’t Be Fooled
The new telescope has been advertised that it could possibly find the origins of the universe.
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However, finding the origin of the universe is impossible.
The origins are gone, and the only evidence that there was an origin is the fact that the universe and everything in it exists today. The title of that video is misleading, but it also shows how arrogant and unintelligent scientists are.
The arrogance leads them to think they can build a telescope that can see into the past (which the video states it may do). The past is gone, and God is not going to be found repeating what he already did.
This leads to the unintelligent aspect of scientists. They think they can find something that no longer exists. Also, they think they can find a natural origin that never took place and never existed. That is just dumb.
We have the origin of the universe that everyone can read [the Bible], and no one has to spend billions of dollars to find it. All one has to do is buy or borrow a bible, read the first few verses of Genesis one, and they have the origins of the universe.
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No matter what man does and marvels at, God has done it bigger, better, and more glorious. When you watch these videos, keep in mind what we wrote in the previous article on the telescope. It cannot see into the past, it cannot see creation or the origin of the universe, and it is never better than what God did.
— Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, An Impossible Task
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.
Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, recently wrote several posts about me, Do Not Let Unbelievers Define You and Why Mention Us? What follows is my response to some of the things he said.
What is missing is the author’s [Bruce Gerencser] understanding of the Christian life, which he says otherwise. He fails to take into account that Christians are at all stages of sanctification and that Christians are still human and use human responses at different times.
Supposedly, Evangelicals are filled with the Holy Ghost. God literally lives inside of every believer, teaching them everything that pertains to life and godliness. Yet, when we look at their behavior, it looks like many Christians — including Thiessen — ignore the teachings of the Bible and the instruction of the Holy Spirit.
Thiessen justifies his “sin” by saying he is just human and God is presently sanctifying him. Thiessen has been a Christian for at least sixty years, yet his behavior suggests he is a neophyte who doesn’t practice what he preaches. If Thiessen is going to judge and condemn the behavior of unbelievers, he shouldn’t be surprised when judgment and condemnation are returned in kind.
Surely, Thiessen hasn’t forgotten that I was a Christian for decades; that I was an Evangelical pastor for twenty-five years. I am quite familiar with what Thiessen calls the “Christian life.”
We wish we were perfect so that all of our responses would be viewed in a better light, but like all Christians, sometimes outside influences get the better of us all, and we say things in a way we should not.
Thiessen says he wishes he could be a better Christian, but, hey, no one is perfect, right? Fair enough, but when you repeatedly preach AT unbelievers, you shouldn’t be surprised when you reap what you sow.
Besides, doesn’t the Bible say, “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world?” Did not Paul say, “I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me?” Thiessen has everything he needs to be a humble, kind, thoughtful Christian, yet he, instead, presents himself as a weak, immature believer prone to the machinations of the flesh.
Instead of being condemnatory, unbelievers should apply a modicum of grace and understanding as Christians face a long, hard road, one that BG could not complete. He should not stand in judgment of others, but be humbled by the fact that millions of Christians are still walking the straight and narrow, a path he could not walk to the end.
I will show Thiessen as much grace and understanding as he shows towards me and the readers of this blog. Thiessen has long claimed that the Christian life is a long, hard road. He provides no evidence for this claim. Christians are human, just like the rest of us. The difference, however, is that Evangelicals think they are morally and ethically superior to the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world.
Thiessen continues to lie about why I deconverted. And he knows he is lying when he says I quit Christianity because I found it to be too hard. This is patently untrue. I deconverted because I no longer believed the central claims of Christianity.
But that is what unbelievers do. They use the scripture to condemn believers and ridicule them. Then write posts trying to humiliate them. Christians need to ignore such inflammatory words and condemnations.
I am not in the habit of condemning people. Thiessen evidently doesn’t understand the difference between critique and condemnation. Have I ever condemned Thiessen? Sure, but not often. I do my best to challenge and critique his assertions. When Thiessen starts attacking my character, I can, at times, respond in anger to him. An anger, by the way, that is often justified.
Thiessen says, “Christians need to ignore such inflammatory words and condemnations.” If Thiessen really believes this, why has he written two posts about me in recent days? I know Thiessen doesn’t like me labeling him as a “bad Christian,” but I call them like I see them. If Theissen had been a member of the churches I pastored, he would have been excommunicated for his boorish, un-Christian behavior. Much like Revival Fires, there’s nothing I can say to Thiessen that forces him to practice self-reflection.
Unbelievers do not understand what is entailed in the Christian life, nor do they allow for Christians to make mistakes. They want to see perfection from imperfect people. We do not need to make the Christian life any more difficult than it really is by letting unbelievers define our actions and words.
Does Thissen really believe that I don’t understand what God requires and demands from Christians? The issue isn’t Christians making mistakes. None of us is perfect. However, Evangelicals think they are morally superior to unbelievers. They demand non-Christians conform to and obey the teachings of the Bible — even though they don’t do so themselves.
I don’t define how Christians should live. I let the Bible do the defining. What better way to show the bankruptcy of Evangelical Christianity than pointing out that their works don’t match their words; that their behavior is contrary to the teachings of the Bible.
They do not know what God instructs Christians to say or do, and since they are not walking in the faith, they have no say about a Christian’s actions or words. Yes, some people do go too far, but rebuking them is up to their fellow Christians.
Is Thiessen kidding? Does he seriously believe that I don’t know what the Bible says about how Christians are to live their lives? The issue is that Thiessen doesn’t like it when I use the Bible to condemn Evangelical misbehavior, including his.
Only Jesus defines Christians and Christian behavior, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome those faults that plague our lives. Sanctification is not an easy road, as examples by the many pastors, missionaries, and Christians who have left the faith.
No one should expect perfection from Christians when the world is still full of evil that is very active in seeking to destroy believers. That is another reason why we do not listen to unbelievers about our conduct. Their words can lead to our destruction as they misuse the truth to change Christians and how they interact with others.
Evil is not a thing. Evil is what people do, and Christians do a lot of it. Do I think Thiessen is “evil?” I don’t know him well enough to make such a determination, but I do know enough about his past to suggest that he has, at times, been a terrible Christian.
Thiessen wrongly judges unbelievers solely based on their lack of faith. However, all that matters is truth. All that matters is whether someone is speaking the truth, regardless of their personality and demeanor. One thing I have noticed from my interactions with Thiessen is this: he rarely, if ever, responds to my critiques. Instead, he attacks my character and, without evidence, says I’m wrong. Why am I wrong? I am an unbeliever, and unbelievers are always wrong in Thiessen’s alternate reality. Thiessen is a young-earth creationist. He believes the universe is 6,000 years old. He believes Adam and Eve were the first two humans, and God destroyed the earth with a flood, saving only Noah and his family. None of these claims are scientifically true, yet Thiessen thinks most scientists are wrong about, well, almost everything. Thiessen has very little science training, yet he passes himself off as an expert, complete with a fake PhD.
They are not there seeking what is best for us. They are seeking what is best for them and what they want to see. But we serve God and strive to please him even when we fail. That is the great thing about God. He uses grace and forgiveness, along with discipline, to help us get back on and stay on the right track.
We look to God for our correction when we do wrong and not unbelievers. Jesus defines us and helps us get to the truth of how we should live.
Blah, blah, blah. This is just a repeat of what he said previously.
The words in italics [Evangelical-pastor-turned-atheist] tell us that he should know better than to write the content that he does. He is supposed to know all of this, yet excludes that knowledge when he rants against Christians. He doesn’t realize how much of a traitor he is in the eyes of many believers.
Let me stop laughing for a moment so I can respond to Thiessen.
Poor, ignorant, Bruce, right?
He should also know that what he sows, he shall reap. He can be very abusive, immoral, and other negatives in his writing about believers, so he should not expect to be treated with kid gloves by many Christians.
No, we don’t always reap what we sow. Just because the Bible says this doesn’t mean its true.
I have never expected people to treat me with “kid gloves.” However, the awful treatment I receive from people who are supposedly filled with the Holy Ghost is beyond the pale. Thiessen is trying to justify his bad behavior. In his mind, “I make him mad, so he has a right to treat me like shit.” Really, where does the Bible say this? Come on, Derrick, show me one verse that justifies your abhorrent behavior. I can quote a dozen or more verses that directly condemn your behavior. It’s not sin, Satan, or the flesh that keeps me from faith in Christ. It’s Christians like you who stand in the way of sinners coming to Jesus. Your behavior suggests that Christianity is not transformative; that there is no “new life in Christ.” If you think I am wrong, Derrick, prove it with your actions. At the end of the day, how we live is all that matters.
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.
If there’s one thing most Americans can agree on, it is this: President Donald Trump is a pathological liar. There’s not a day that goes by without Trump uttering multiple lies. MAGA supporters dismiss his lying, saying, “Oh, that’s just Trump being Trump.” Maybe, but his lies can and do cause material harm to the United States and its people. I am at a loss to understand why millions of Americans still support Pinocchio. He’s lied so many times that his nose extends into outer space. Sure, all politicians lie, but Trump is in a class all his own. On this, Donald, you are, indeed, #1.
What, exactly, has Trump done for the working class and poor people? Not much. He has, in every way, made their lives harder. Trump says gas prices are down to $1.99, yet most of us are paying at least $3 a gallon. Supposedly, groceries cost less thanks to Trump, yet most of us are paying substantially more to put food on the table. My partner and I recently ate dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Entrée prices are up $2 each. Everywhere I look, I see increasing costs. I put the blame for increased prices solely on President Trump and his enablers in Congress.
Worse, Trump is neck deep in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Trump denies ever being on Epstein’s island. Does anyone believe him? I know I don’t. Trump’s behavior suggests he has a “thing” for young, perhaps underage, women. He and Epstein were best buds at one time. Trump says that he broke with Epstein because he was poaching his employees — mainly young, attractive women. This is Trump’s red line, and not the fact that Epstein was a pedophile, a sexual predator.
Recently, MAGA politicians have suggested that Trump’s visage be carved on Mount Rushmore. He is — just ask the humble man — the best president in the history. This, of course, is another lie. Historians years from now will likely conclude that Trump was a lot more like Herbert Hoover than Abraham Lincoln or George Washington. He is one of the worst presidents to ever sit in the Oval Office. I can’t think of anything Trump has done to merit him being added to Mount Rushmore. The same goes for naming buildings, roads, waterways, and airports after Trump or giving him the Nobel Peace Prize. I thought Trump thinks the United States should be a meritocracy. If so, what has he done to merit having his face forever chiseled into stone on Mount Rushmore?
The only place I want to see Trump’s face is on urinal cakes. Take aim, men, and let’s show Trump what we really think of him.
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.
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.
Walter Masocha, the pastor of Agape for All Nations Church in Scotland, was convicted of attempted rape, indecent assault, and sexual assault and sentenced to ten years in prison.
A former Stirling University professor who founded a prominent church has been jailed for ten years for sexually abusing two female congregants.
Walter Masocha, 61, who led The Agape for All Nations Church in Scotland, was convicted of attempted rape, indecent assault, and sexual assault.
The High Court in Livingston previously heard testimony detailing Masocha’s predatory behaviour, with one married woman recounting how he groped her at his Stirling home, telling her she was a “gift to him from God”.
She testified that Masocha justified putting his hand in her trousers and touching her private parts by claiming he was “removing demons” and bestowing blessings.
Another victim, who was just 20 when the abuse began described how Masocha — seen as a father figure by many in the church — told her: “God has given you to me to nurture you, look after you and provide for you. He told me to love you in any way you want to be loved. You don’t need a boyfriend.”
She recounted incidents of him grabbing her face and putting his tongue in her mouth, slapping her bottom and placing her hand on his genitals. She also described an attempted rape in his bedroom from which she managed to escape.
Advocate depute Michael McIntosh, for the prosecution, said: “She was looking for prayer and she found herself being preyed upon. Walter Masocha wasn’t just a pastor and a preacher, he was a predator who thought that his power and position rendered him immune from suspicion.”
The conviction follows a trial last month in which Masocha, of Bridge of Allan, denied all charges, asserting that both women had fabricated their stories. However, the jury found him guilty of the charges relating to incidents between January 1, 2006, and July 31, 2012, in the Stirling area.
Judge Susan Craig condemned Masocha’s actions as “appalling”, stating there was no alternative to a lengthy custodial sentence.
Upon his eventual release, he will remain under close social work supervision for four years and will be on the sex offenders register for life. Non-harassment orders have also been imposed, barring him from contacting his victims.
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.
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.
A former teacher and pastor in Maryland was ordered to be held without bond Monday after he was accused of sexually abusing students, according to court officials.
William Auburn Jones, 58, was arrested on Friday, July 25, after police said he touched multiple students inappropriately while he was working at Elvaton Christian Academy in Anne Arundel County. Jones worked at the school between 2020 and March 2025 before he was removed from his position.
According to police, Jones also serves as the pastor of Jessup Baptist Church and is affiliated with Mission Fields International, a global missionary organization.
“To find out he’s a minister, that is shocking,” neighbor Charles Thomas said. “You hear of this happening in other places but not across the street.”
Police responded to the school on May 1 for a reported sex offense. Once they arrived, a parent told them that their child was involved.
Through an investigation, Child Protective Services identified five alleged victims who were between the ages of 10 and 15. The investigation also revealed that the alleged abuse occurred between August 2023 and May 2024, according to court documents.
The court documents detailed how a 12-year-old told police that Jones abused him during the third through sixth grades. A 10-year-old student also told police that Jones touched him inappropriately in school, according to court documents.
Three other students also reported that they were abused and inappropriately touched by Jones, court documents show.
“While we were there, we became aware of a second, similar case with similar circumstances reported to us by another parent,” said Justin Mulcahy, a spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Police.
Jones is facing several charges of sexual abuse of a minor, assault, and sex offenses.
Elvaton Christian Academy said it is cooperating with law enforcement during the investigation into Jones.
Child Protective Services began investigating the alleged abuse and conducting forensic interviews. Investigators ultimately identified five alleged victims between the ages of 10 and 15.
On May 15, a 10-year-old, identified in charging documents as Victim A, told police that Jones, known to students as “Mr. Bill,” touched him inappropriately in the computer lab when the student was in fourth grade. The alleged abuse started in Aug. 2023 and ended in May 2024.
A 12-year-old student, referred to as Victim B, told police that Jones abused him from third through sixth grade.
Three other students also reported alleged abuse to police, detailing accounts of inappropriate touching by Jones.
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.
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.
Stanley Jay, pastor of Worship Life Center Church in Mesa, Arizona, stands accused of sexually molesting a church teen.
Police are asking the public for more info after an East Valley pastor was arrested for multiple sex crimes against a teenage girl who is a member of his congregation.
Stanley Jay, 61, who is the pastor at Worship Life Center Church in Mesa, was arrested on multiple charges last week.
Jay is accused of the crimes against a 16-year-old girl. Police say the girl and her mother are active members of the church.
Among the charges Jay faces includes sexual conduct with a minor, molestation of a child, luring a minor for sexual exploitation, and sexual abuse.
Police say they discovered text messages between Jay and the victim where he asked her for sexually explicit photographs.
Jay is also accused of making inappropriate remarks to the girl, along with sexual abusing and molesting her.
He is currently being held on a $200,000 bond.
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.
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.
Jim Mustain, pastor of Preston Trail Community Church in Frisco, Texas from 2019-2023, stands accused of possessing child pornogpraphy.
A former Frisco pastor was arrested by Lewisville police on five child pornography charges, jail records show.
Jim Mustain faces four counts of possession or promotion of lewd visual material depicting a child and one count of possession of child pornography.
He served as a community pastor at Preston Trail Community Church between 2019 and 2023, according to the church’s website.
“We are deeply saddened and disturbed by these charges and unequivocally condemn any form of sexual misconduct,” the church said in a statement. “During Mustain’s time on our staff, Preston Trail had no knowledge of any behavior or activity related to these charges. Nevertheless, immediately upon learning of the allegations, we retained a third-party law firm to conduct a thorough, independent investigation.”
The church said its investigation found “no indication that any children connected to Preston Trail were involved or harmed.”
Mustain, 64, was arrested April 25 in Ashe County, North Carolina after Lewisville Police issued warrants for his arrest, the department confirmed to KERA News Thursday. He was then extradited to Texas and booked into Denton County Jail on May 14.
His bond is set for $500,000 and Lewisville Police say the investigation is ongoing.
Mustain has been involved several communities across North Texas. He is the founder of public charity group Loving Community at Denton County, served on the Board of Directors of the Lewisville Area Chamber of Commerce, volunteered at Lewisville ISD schools, and previously held Place No. 7 on the City of Lewisville’s Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee. He was also involved in other Christian-based organizations like Christian Community Action and Forge Dallas.
Additionally, Mustain’s served in pastoral positions at other churches in different states and in North Texas, including Valley Ranch Baptist Church in Coppell from 2005 to 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“Prior to the week of April 21, 2025, we had no knowledge of any behavior or activity related to these charges,” Valley Ranch said on its website. “At this time, we are not aware that any children connected to VRBC were involved or harmed.”
Lewisville ISD said in an email to KERA News they had notified parents of Mustain’s arrest and confirmed he had previously been involved with some campuses for several years, most recently at Durham Middle School and Creekside Elementary last school year.
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.
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.
Nancy Bertine, the now ex-wife of Pastor Lloyd Bertine, stands accused of stealing $182,000 over a four year period from Gulf to Lake Church in Crystal River, Florida. Gulf to Lake is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
According to Citrus County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, Nancy Ellen Mitchell Bertine, 74, of Hernando, is charged with scheme to defraud to obtain property valued more than $50,000 and grand theft of more than $100,000, according to Citrus County court records.
Deputies arrested Bertine on July 24 after a months-long investigation, the Citrus County Chronicle reported. The probe revealed hundreds of personal purchases made with the nonprofit business account of the Gulf to Lake Baptist Church in Crystal River, the newspaper reported.
According to a criminal complaint, the church’s financial department discovered that numerous fraudulent transactions had been made on their Amazon account by Bertine.
Deputies began a criminal investigation on Feb. 5 into the grand theft, in which $182,610.16 was missing, court documents state.
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The dissolution of a marriage earlier this year between Bertine and Lloyd Bertine, the head pastor who founded the church in January 1995, led to the discovery of the alleged embezzled funds.
Court documents state that the pastor had learned his wife was having an extramarital affair. She had been helping to manage the finances of the church but was fired from her position.
“Pastor Bertine and finance staff … quickly realized that on the defendants’ church office computer, there was an Amazon account opened in the defendants’ name solely,” court documents stated.
An investigation determined that Nancy Bertine was using the church’s nonprofit credit card, through Capital One, to make purchases for herself.
Some of the items included women’s clothing items, hair products and hair dye kits, cosmetics, dog food and cat food, documents stated. There were also more than $37,000 in fraudulent purchases from Amazon between 2022 and 2024.
“Yeah, I did it, I ordered those items, just like I ordered all the other items for the church that people asked me to order,” Nancy Bertine told investigators, according to the criminal complaint. “I’ve ordered a lot of stuff; I mean a lot! I didn’t even think about it at the time I was ordering those things, I just ordered them and the church would pay the bill.”
After pulling financial records, detectives learned that the defendant had made 1,433 purchases from Amazon from 2021 to 2024 that totaled $46,516.36. There were 2,098 charges made to the church’s credit card, the Chronicle reported.
She allegedly spent $196,000 but has paid back nearly $14,000 of the personal expenses.
“What happened was falsifying the records of what was being purchased and that’s why we never knew,” Lloyd Bertine told WFLA-TV.
The pastor said his ex-wife has given written notice that she will repay the funds and has money in her account to do so.
“She has the money from selling our house that she can use to repay everything,” he told the television station.
Nancy Bertine is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 8.
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 Evangelicals, the Bible is the most important book ever written. The Bible, unlike all other books ever written, is a supernatural book written by a supernatural God through human instrumentation. Every word is true, without error or contradiction. The Bible is God’s blueprint for our lives, a roadmap that leads to life eternal. You would think, then, that Evangelicals would read and study the Bible every day, increasing in knowledge and understanding.
Think about it. If there was one book out of the 150,000,000 million or so ever written that told you everything you needed to know about this life and the life to come, you would likely read and study it every day. Nothing would be more important than what God said, right? Why, then, do most Christians rarely, if ever, read the Bible? Evangelicals talk a good line about God, Jesus, and salvation, yet most of them have never read the Bible through once. Most Evangelicals rely solely on what their pastors say from the pulpit or what they read in an apologetics book to define their beliefs.
As a committed follower of Jesus, I read and studied the Bible every day. I read both the Old and New Testaments through from the table of contents to the index many times. I thought it important for a born-again Christian to read, study, and understand the Bible. Yet, most of the Christians I knew, including some pastors, weren’t diligent Bible readers. They knew they ought to, but life got in the way.
I finally concluded that most believers sincerely wanted to read and study the Bible as their pastors did, but they simply didn’t have the time and energy to do so. Long hours of work and domestic obligations severely limited the time they had to devote to the “Word.” I was paid to pray and read the Bible, so, of course, I could leisurely devote myself to reading the Bible. The people I pastored didn’t have the freedom I did. They had to make time in their limited schedules to read the Bible. Sometimes, “life” got in the way of doing so. I know that my partner, Polly, had six children to raise and educate, and a busy husband to care for. When did she have time to read and study the Bible? She tried, but failed, and felt guilty for years over his lack of Bible reading. Years ago, I apologized to her for the blame and guilt I laid at her feet. Polly loves to read, but back in the day, she didn’t have the time to do so, and, quite frankly, she didn’t find the Good Book all that interesting — as I am sure many of you can attest.
That said, we show what we value by what we do. Based on their behavior, it is clear that most Evangelicals really don’t value the teachings of the Bible. They are content to live their lives according to the beliefs and pronouncements of parents, preachers, and teachers. They have what I call “borrowed beliefs/theology.” Rare is the Christian who devotes himself to reading, studying, and understanding the sixty-six books of the Christian Bible.
Are you are former Evangelical? What were your Bible reading habits? Did you read the Bible every day? Every week? Sporadically, if ever? Did you read the Bible from cover to cover at least once? Did you feel guilty when you didn’t read the Bible? 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.
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