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.
Cody Robinson, a camp youth director at Pine Lake Bible Camp in Caldwell Ohio, stands accused of numerous crimes related to the possession of child pornography.
A youth director at Pine Lake Bible Camp has been arrested following an investigation into child sexual abuse material by the Noble County Sheriff’s Office as part of the Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force.
According to Your Radio Place, Cody S. Robinson, 29, was taken into custody on May 17, 2025, just outside of Caldwell.
Authorities say the arrest followed a cyber tip received by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which reported video files of child pornography linked to Robinson.
A search warrant was executed at Robinson’s residence, leading to his arrest. He is facing a range of charges, including:
One count of first-degree misdemeanor Falsification
One count of second-degree felony Pandering Obscenity Involving a Minor
Two counts of third-degree felony Attempt to Commit an Offense
Two counts of fourth-degree felony Pandering Obscenity Involving a Minor
Two counts of fourth-degree felony Pandering Sexually Oriented Matter Involving a Juvenile
Two counts of fifth-degree felony Illegal Use of Minor in Nudity
….
The investigation remains ongoing. Authorities urge anyone with relevant information to contact the Sheriff’s Office directly.
The Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force is part of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, which coordinates multi-agency responses to combat human trafficking and related crimes.
In the wake of the arrest, Pine Lake Bible Camp announced on social media that all camps scheduled for June 2025 have been canceled.
The announcement cited “unforeseen circumstances” and offered an apology to affected families for the short notice.
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.
James Murphey, a youth pastor of Oak View Baptist Church in High Point, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three teen boys he once worked with at Oak View Baptist Church.
A former youth pastor in High Point is now a convicted sex offender.
On Thursday, James Robert Murphey pleaded guilty to abusing three teen boys he once worked with at Oak View Baptist Church.
He made the admission in front of a judge, his father, and a courtroom filled with people seeking accountability and healing, including a former coworker.
“The registry on the sex offenders list, that’s going to impact his life quite a bit. It is going to keep him away from being able to be around children and in churches like he’s used to being for many years,“ OVBC Safety Director Chris Martin said.
With attorney Don Vaughan representing him, Murphey pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual battery, which was down from the 30 counts he initially faced.
Prosecutors said Murphey abused three teenage boys while serving as youth director at OVBC.
The incidents happened between late 2023 and early 2024.
Assistant District Attorney Sarah Harvey said Murphey gave the teens prolonged wedgies, offered them money, and pressured them to comply by threatening to withhold prayer. In one reported incident, Murphey placed his foot on a teen’s private area.
Twelve people were in court who personally knew Murphey. Ten of them came to support the victims.
Two of the victims were in court. The third was not there, but a statement from his father was read aloud by Martin.
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.
Daniel Lamppin, a volunteer youth pastor at Connection Church in Kissimmee, Florida, stands accused of sexually abusing two minor girls under his care.
A foster parent in St. Cloud is being accused of sexually abusing two girls who had been in his care.
On Wednesday, 40-year-old Daniel Lamppin made his first court appearance where a judge gave him no bond and ordered he not discuss the case with his wife or children who are “potential witnesses.”
Lamppin is facing 24 counts of sexual battery by a custodian, according to the Osceola County sheriff.
The sheriff said Lamppin worked as a manager at Chick-fil-A on South Orange Blossom Trail and as a volunteer youth pastor at Connection Church on Generation Point in Kissimmee.
A pastor with the church says Lamppin was a member, but did not serve as a volunteer youth pastor.
“It’s sad and it’s sickening,” Osceola County Sheriff Marco Lopez said, describing what Lamppin is accused of.
Lopez said they started investigating Lamppin in November 2024.
“The victim now is a 15-year-old who disclosed being sexually battered from age 6 to 8 years old by her foster parent, Daniel Lamppin,” Lopez said.
The sheriff said the victim accused Lamppin of sexually abusing her on three separate times and physically abusing her once.
While investigating this case, the sheriff said another alleged victim was found. A woman who is now an adult, but was a foster child under Lamppin’s care.
“The family disclosed he began abusing her within days of moving into the home. The sexual abuse started at the age of 16 and continued for years,” Lopez said.
The sheriff said Lamppin is facing two dozen counts of sexual battery by a custodian. He was walked out of the sheriff’s office in handcuffs Tuesday to be taken to jail.
When asked if he had done what he’s accused of, all Lamppin said was, “No.”
Despite his claim of innocence, the sheriff said that because of his foster parenting and his work, they’re concerned there could be more victims out there.
“Based on his contact with these children at the time and through his work, foster care, and as a youth pastor, there’s a concern that there could be additional victims. There is an open investigation, and we definitely want other people to come forward,” Lopez said.
The church relased the following statement:
The Connection Church acknowledges that an investigation involving allegations related to Daniel Lamppin is currently underway. We want to assure our congregation and the broader community that The Connection Church is fully cooperating with all authorities involved in this process and have already spoken to the lead investigator on this case. For clarity, Daniel Lamppin is not a volunteer youth pastor at the Connection Church.
Our priority remains the well-being of everyone connected to our church community. We are committed to fostering a safe, accountable, and Christ-honoring environment for worship, service, and fellowship.
We ask for your prayers during this time—for those directly impacted, for our church leadership, and for the truth to prevail.
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.
Scott Haught, a former assistant pastor at Midland Baptist Church in Midland, Michigan, and a deacon at Coleman’s Grace Baptist Church in Coleman, Michigan, was recently convicted of ne count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct relationship; four counts of second-degree CSC with a person under 13; and four counts of second-degree CSC relationship. His victims were his daughters.
A former leader at Midland Baptist Church and Coleman’s Grace Baptist Church, Scott Haught, 54, was sentenced to serve up to 25 years in prison for sexually abusing two of his daughters.
A jury found Haught, 54, of Saginaw, guilty of nine felony criminal sexual conduct charges after a two-and-a-half-day trial in March. He was sentenced Thursday, June 5 in Midland County’s 42nd Circuit Court.
Haught was convicted of one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct relationship; four counts of second-degree CSC with a person under 13; and four counts of second-degree CSC relationship. He will serve 11 years to 25 years in prison for the first-degree charge and was sentenced to 4-15 years in prison for the additional charges. He will serve both sentences concurrently.
Under state law, Circuit Court Judge Stephen Carras could have sentenced Haught to life in prison for the first-degree CSC charge.
Midland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Atea Duso, who tried the case, said Haught had the opportunity to plead guilty to two second-degree CSC charges and serve four years in prison, with the remaining charges dismissed.
Haught opted to go to trial and rejected the plea offer on Feb. 27.
Haught has been in the Midland County Jail since his July 16, 2024 arrest by Michigan State Police. Why he appeared in a wheelchair for trial and sentencing was not addressed by the court. He will get credit for 324 days served on his sentence, will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release and will spend the rest of his life on electronic monitoring.
According to a 2006 Daily News story, Haught served as deacon of Coleman’s Grace Baptist Church, where he directed its summer Bible school. According to trial testimony, he also served as associate pastor at Midland Baptist Church until 2021.
Scott Haught led two lives: A public one as a leader in his church and a private one in which he used religion to control and abuse the women in his home.
Fifteen friends, family and even some of his fellow Midland County Jail inmates wrote letters of support and praise for Haught that were shared with Midland County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Carras before sentencing.
“They see you as a man of God who would never do the things that you have been convicted of doing. They cannot reconcile (your crimes) with what they know of you,” Carras said to Haught as he appeared before him in a wheelchair Thursday, June 5 during sentencing. “The reason why is because they weren’t here and didn’t see and hear the evidence that was presented to the court.”
A jury found Haught, 54, of Saginaw, guilty of nine felony criminal sexual conduct charges after a two-and-a-half-day trial in March. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 11 to 25 years in prison.
During the trial, jurors heard testimony from family members recounting how Haught, a former associate pastor at Midland Baptist Church and deacon at Coleman’s Grace Baptist Church, used his “religious authority” to gain control over his ex-wife and daughters.
Two victims testified that Haught ordered them to nap with him in his bed, which created the opportunity for him to sexually abuse them.
“The evidence showed us that in the home, you eroded your wife’s moral authority with your daughters to destroy her self confidence so that she would not stand up (against you),” Carras said. “All with the purpose of separating them from their mother – so that they would not look to her as a person for guidance and a person of authority.
….
Members of Midland Baptist Church, including Pastor Jim Payne, listened as Midland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Atea Duso described how Haught used his background in theology to assert his dominance over the family.
“He controlled and manipulated his family and used his religion to justify that – ‘This is my house and these are my rules and this (sexual abuse) is what you should expect,'” Duso told the court. “He took advantage of these girls and robbed them of the innocence and freedom that they should have had as children.”
….
“You molested your daughters. The evidence shows that you treated those girls like possessions,” Carras said. “By all accounts, it looks like you had a strong moral compass. [huh?] You did a lot of good things for other people. But somewhere along the line, you forgot to police yourself. Your compass strayed and allowed you to do the things you did to your daughters over all those (10) years.”
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 Bible records two accounts of what is called the Apostle Paul’s Damascas Road experience.
Acts 9:1-8 says:
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
In Acts 22:1-9, the Bible tells the same story — almost:
Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
While the stories are similar, they are not identical. In Acts 9:1-8. the men travelling with Paul heard a voice, but didn’t see the speaker (Jesus), but in Acts 22:1-9, these men saw the “light,” but didn’t hear the voice Jesus.
Which is it? For Evangelicals who believe the Bible, in its entirety, is inerrant and infallilble, these two verses bring these claims falling to the ground,
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.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (I John 2:15)
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)
The Bible is clear: Christians are not to love the world (as a philosophical system), nor are they to love the things of the world. Christians are duty-bound to oppose the philosophies of the world (how the world thinks and reasons). Take the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement. The IFB church movement came into existence during the battle against modernism (liberalism) in the twentieth century. I came of age during the heyday of the IFB church movement. Many of the largest churches in the United States were IFB congregations. The 1960s-1980s brought explosive attendance growth. Today, the IFB church movement is a shell of what it once was. That said, there are still thousands of IFB churches in the United States, numbering in the millions attendance-wise. Bus ministries used to bring primarily children to church were once popular, but not so today. What remains the same is the IFB’s opposition to the “world.”
While it can be argued that Jesus (and later Paul) called on his followers to be counter-cultural, IFB churches tend to be anti-culture. Instead of learning to be sojourners in a strange land, IFB pastors teach church members to withdraw from the culture. I taught and believed for many years that Christians should avoid interaction with the world. Outside of buying necessities such as groceries and gas from “worldly” businesses, I believed Christians should seek out businesses that support or are friendly to their beliefs and practices. I eventually learned that this was impossible to do. As an Evangelical pastor (I left the IFB church movement in the 80s), I took a different approach. Instead of being anti-culture, I believed Christians should engage and influence our culture. This meant getting “worldly” for Jesus. Or as the one preacher who raced dirt track cars on Sunday evenings in the summer said, “Christians need to get dirty for Jesus.” (Both positions, by the way, are supported by Scripture.)
Most IFB churches and pastors are anti-culture. Instead of engaging culture, they withdrew, building a separate world for church members. That’s why the IFB church movement pushes private Christian education and homeschooling. Children are sheltered from the world. After graduation, many IFB children attend IFB (or other Fundamentalist) colleges. This means that many IFB children are in their 20s before they enter the “world” and have to fend for themselves. Many young IFB women graduate from high school, but don’t go on to attend college. They have been told their entire lives that God wants them to marry (preferably a preacher, missionary, or youth pastor), bear (lots of) children, keep the home by doing all the domestic work, and meet the every want/need of their husband — especially sexually. But, Bruce, didn’t your wife go to college? She did, but her reason for going to college was oh-so typical IFB: she went to Midwestern Baptist College to find and marry a preacher boy. Why? Because Polly believed God had called her to be a preacher’s wife. This is not surprising since she repeatedly heard growing up that “There’s no greater calling in life than to be a preacher’s wife.” (Boys heard similar claims. “There’s no greater calling, boys, than to be a preacher. You could become president, but that would be a step down from being a God-called preacher.”)
IFB Pastor Bob Gray preaching against Elvis, 1956. Gray would later be accused of sexual misconduct. Gray allegedly was a serial child molester for 50 years.
Many cradle IFB church members make it to the grave 60, 70, or 80 years later without being soiled from contact with the “world.” While people are free to live their lives as they wish, for many IFB congregants, they don’t know any other world but the IFB one.
For those of us raised in IFB churches, we heard countless sermons on the evils of the “world.” In particular, our pastors railed against rock music, calling it evil, immoral, and Satanic. What did teens and young adults do in such settings? Some of them, such as the Pollys and Bruces of the world, toed the line. Others tried to play by the rules, but failed. (And let me be clear, Polly and I were not pure as driven snow. We broke numerous dating rules in college that forbade any physical contact with the opposite sex.) And then, some youthful members ignored the preaching against the “world” and engaged in all the same behaviors as their counterparts in the “world.” What this led to, of course, was a lot of fear, guilt, and sneaking around.
IFB preachers know that that many church teens and young adults are NOT practicing what they preach from the pulpit. Pastors know that if they go to the church parking lot and turn on the radio in every car, that many of them would be tuned to “worldly” stations. So, IFB preachers turn to other approaches to the rock menance.
Some IFB preachers bring in alleged experts on the evils of rock music to teach churches about why it is a sin to listen to rock. The first such expert I heard was Bob Larson in 1971. Yes, THAT Bob Larson. Later, I heard David Benoit. Both men allegedly exposed the Satanic evil that was behind the music. Attendees were introduced to issues such as backmasking and syncopated beat. Congregants were called on to get rid of their rock records, either by putting them on the church altar or casting them in a fire.
Other IFB preachers encourage church parents to remove the radios from the cars of their children so they can’t listen to “worldly” music. One pastor I knew replaced the radios with cassette players. His children only listened to music he gave them. This, of course, did not keep his children from listening to the AC/DC or Beatles cassette tapes hidden underneath their seats. Teens gonna do, what teens gonna do, right?
Towards the end of my minsterial career, there was a shift in some IFB churches over rock music. Realizing their sermons were not having the desired effect and prohibition was a failure, some pastors and churches decided that what church youth needed was ALTERNATIVES to the world’s music. Young people were introduced to CCM (contemporary Christian music) music. Before long, many IFB churches were using drums and guitars in worship. (Many IFB churches objected to the CCM infiltration. Their services today are not much different from what they were sixty years ago.) What IFB preachers failed to see is that, YES, church youth would happily start listening to CCM, but they wouldn’t stop listening to the world’s music. All they did was add the CCM to their listening queue. (I managed a Christian bookstore in the late 80s. The store had a comparison chart on the wall that compared CCM bands to “worldly” bands. Like Simon and Garfunkel? You will like the Christian band, Small Town Poets.)
One unresolved issue for IFB preachers is that there is no singular definition for the word “world.” Go to an IFB preacher’s meeting and you will hear discussions about whether this or that is worldly. No two preachers or churches had the same list of worldly behaviors. While all IFB churches opposed rock music, others allow pop and country music. This debate over music reveals that churches are hopelessly divided over music. This suggests that rules/laws/standards about music are of human origin, governed by the theological interpretations and feelings of the men behind pulpits.
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.
Faith Baptist Church, Primros Georgia, members street preaching, calling on sodomites to repent
I listen to several atheist call-in shows that try to get Christians to call in and defend the existence of God. How can anyone prove God’s existence? Some Christians will appeal to the Bible as justification for their God belief. However, the Bible is a book of claims, and not evidence for the existence of the Christian deity. When attempts to appeal to the Bible fail — as they almost always do — Christians will often appeal to personal testimonies as evidence for God’s existence. However, much like the Bible, personal testimonies provide no evidence for the existence of God. Personal testimonies are subjective, providing no empirical evidence for God’s existence. It’s fine for an individual believer to appeal to the Bible or personal testimony. However, Bible verses and testimonies provide no evidence to anyone other than the individual Christian.
How can anyone possibly know the Christian God is real based on Bible verses or personal experiences? They can’t. The individual believer may find their interpretations of the Bible and personal experiences sufficient to justify their belief in God, but these “proofs” for the believer fall flat to non-Christians.
If you want to win atheists to Christ, it will take more than prooftexts and personal testimonies. These claims rarely, if ever, convince atheists of the existence of God or any of the other supernatural claims Evangelicals are fond of making.
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.
Really? Christian fundamentalism stopped them from listening to sinful rock and roll? Granted, the attitude when rock first came out was very rigid against that type of music, and in some cases, it was very warranted because the music was not the best.
But was it Christian fundamentalism that robbed anyone of listening to the music? It was played everywhere, so just about every child and teenager at the time could hear it whenever they wanted.
So it is highly doubtful that Christian fundamentalism was the reason. It may have been the personal beliefs of the people at the time that stopped them from playing this music. It could be that those beliefs were a bit misguided, not that classic rock was great music and people were missing out, but that they did not have a solid foundation in the truth to truly evaluate the music.
In other words, I am a liar — a false allegation this disgraced preacher has hurled my way many times. This preacher wrongly thinks that there is a difference between “Christian Fundamentalism” and the “personal beliefs” of the people at the time that stopped them from playing this music.” It is theological and social beliefs that drive Christian Fundamentalism. Objection to secular music was common, and rock music in particular was the subject of frequent criticism and attack from the pulpit.
While I listened to secular music on the AM radio in my car, and heard it when attending junior high dances, outside of that, my life was inundated with Christian music, at church and home. I only owned a handful of records, but all of them were Christian. Why would I not have obeyed what my pastors were teaching? The same goes for my partner, Polly. Both of us primarily listened to Southern gospel music and mixed-group Christian music. Sure, we knew the lyrics of a few secular songs, but our minds’ catalog of music was overwhelmingly Christian. We were, in every way, true blue, Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) Christians. Maybe the preacher quoted above wasn’t a committed follower of Jesus as a Christian. If so, that’s his problem, not mine.
You see, I actually believed and trusted my pastors. I never doubted that they were telling me the truth. So, if they said rock music was evil and listening to it was sinful, I believed them. When evangelists such as Bob Larson and David Benoit decried the evils of rock and roll, I believed them. When youth camp speakers brought the wrath of God down on rock music, I believed them. Dare I not trust and obey — for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus — these men of God? Over the years, I heard scores of sermons condemning “worldly” music, and I believed every word. This approach bled into other areas of our lives. Polly and I were virgins on our wedding day. Why? We heard numerous sermons about the evil of premarital sex. Rarely did a week go by without a teacher or a pastor mentioning the importance of chastity. Many of our churchmates listened to secular music and gave in to their sexual desires. Was rock music to blame? Our pastors said it was; that rock music stirred the passions, leading to fornication.
For good or ill, Polly and I believed and practiced what we heard from the pulpit. How could it have been otherwise? Were you a devoted Christian as a teen and young adult? Did you practice what your pastors preached? 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.
My partner and I were teenagers in the 1970s — the heyday of the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church movement. Many of the largest churches in the United States were IFB congregations and numerical church growth across the movement was normal and expected. Exciting times, to say the least. People looking for certainty were drawn to IFB churches and their rules. Having been born into and schooled in the IFB church movement, Polly and I were obedient church members. Our morals, ethics, and worldview were shaped by what we heard from our pastors and Sunday school teachers, and later, at Midwestern Baptist College, our professors. While we, at times, chaffed against the rules, conditioning and indoctrination taught us that obedience to the rules was expected by God, and disobedience brought chastisement, punishment, and, at times, death. As a result, we didn’t experience many of the things — good and bad — that “normal” teens did in the 70s.
Take music. We were taught that “worldly” music was sinful; that listening to it would corrupt our minds and lead us to commit all sorts of sinful behaviors — mostly sexual, in nature. Rock music, in particular, was demonized. IFB churches would have preachers such as Bob Larson and David Benoit hold revival services focused on rock music and its influence on teens. These services were used to scare the hell out of teenagers, warning them that listening to rock music would corrupt them and lead to hellfire and brimstone. As a result, we rarely listened to rock music. Oh, we had AM radios in our cars, but the records (and later cassette tapes, 8-track tapes, and CDs) we owned were, without exception, southern gospel or choral music.
After marriage and having children, our approach to music “liberalized.” We added contemporary Christian music and Christian rock to the mix, but still no secular music. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that we started listening to “safe” secular music. Over time, our tastes and desires changed, but it was not until we deconverted in 2008 that we stopped regularly listening to Christian music. I will still occasionally listen to Christian music, but Polly has no interest in revisiting our music pasts.
Think of all the awesome music we missed out on from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. The good news is that post-Jesus we are free to listen to all sorts of secular music. I tell people that, in many ways, Polly and I are living our youthful years for the first time. Free from the IFB church’s oppressive rules, we are free to indulge in the Devil’s music — without guilt or fear.
In recent years, we have started attending secular concerts. Lots of fun, for the both of us. That said, we tend to be the oldest, or some of the oldest, people in attendance. Last Friday, we attended a concert in Fort Wayne by The Fray. We had an awesome time. Packed house, numbering 2,100 in attendance. We were surrounded by people ages 20-40. One thought I had during the concert was that the concert was a lot like a church or revival service. The excitement and raw emotions were palatable, and song after song spoke to our “hearts.” The difference, of course, was that there were no threats of judgment of Hell, no offering plates, no altar calls — just fellowship with people from diverse backgrounds and beliefs.
The opening act was a new band called Verygently. We laughed through their song, Jesus Girl, as only former IFB church members could do.
[Verse 1] Got the preacher up front and I’m chilling in back And I’m bored as hell In a collared shirt that I got from the Gap With the shoes as well It’s been a few years and I feel real weird here Free sip of wine ’cause they don’t sell beer here Talking in tongues, I was just about to run Then well, well, well
[Chorus] I saw Jesus girl A tall glass of holy water Swear she had a halo on her Jesus girl With her cross necklace and braids Holy shit, I think I’m saved I still don’t believe in God But I’ll give everything I’ve got To Jesus girl
[Verse 2] Now I’m back every Sunday thinking ’bout one day Asking her out Still chilling in the back, but I’m learning how to act Like I’m into it now I might get baptized just so she’ll see me Bible verse tat, John 3:16 me Sending up a prayer if you’re really up there I’d love to get down
Chorus] With Jesus girl A tall glass of holy water Swear she had a halo on her Jesus girl With her cross necklace and braids Holy shit, I think I’m saved I still don’t believe in God But I’ll give everything I’ve got To Jesus girl
[Outro] Yeah, my whole life turned around I was lost until I found Jesus girl
Compare this song to a Christian song also titled Jesus Girl.
She’s just fifteen, but she acts older, much older, And she won’t listen to what all the kids told her, when they told her, She knows what they want, but she knows what she needs, and it’s not the same, She won’t give in, you see.
She’s a Jesus girl, oh yeah, (oh yeah, oh yeah) Well, she’s a J-J-Jesus girl, (oh yeah, oh yeah) And she’s a Jesus girl.
She knows what’s right and what’s wrong, she knows what’s wrong, She reads her Bible and she’s strong, she’s so strong, She’s telling all her friends that there’s a better way, No more broken hearts, no lonely nights or days.
And she’s a Jesus girl, yeah, yeah, (oh yeah, oh yeah) Well, she’s a J-J-J-Jesus girl, (oh yeah, oh yeah) Well, she’s a Jesus girl.
She jumps and shouts for Jesus, she loves Jesus, She keeps her eyes on Jesus, on her Jesus, And when she jumps and shouts, her eyes are on the Lord, Well, she’s a Christian, yeah, but she’s never bored.
And she’s a Jesus girl, oh yeah, (oh yeah, oh yeah) Well, she’s a J-J-Jesus girl, (oh yeah, oh yeah) She’s a Jesus girl.
Polly and I plan to continue listening to the Devil’s music. How about you? Did your music tastes and experiences change post-Jesus (or post-Evangelical if you are still a believer)? 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.
Our delusional orange king thinks he can build a coast-to-coast golden dome missile attack prevention system. I’m confident that this will never happen, and if built, will never do what Trump thinks it will. And what about Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico? No protection for them?
I see that Trump continues to pardon people who don’t deserve it. It looks like fraudsters Todd and Julie Chrisley — who are currently in prison for fraud and tax evasion — are Trump’s latest pardons. These pardons reflect Trump’s indifference towards white-collar crime. Trump previously pardoned Paul Walczak, a nursing home executive who took $10 million meant for employee taxes and used it to fund a luxury lifestyle, including buying a $2 million yacht.
Environmental laws are meant to protect us from harm. Trump is rolling back these laws as fast as he can. Conclusion? Trump doesn’t care one bit about the health, safety, and welfare of the American people.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson says Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill will not lead to increased spending. Johnson claims he is an Evangelical Christian. Maybe, but he seems not to have read what the Bible says about lying. Trump’s bill will raise the federal deficit by trillions of dollars.
While I am not inclined to cheer when people die, the death of Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty means we will no longer have to listen to his homophobic rants and moralizing screeds. On that point, good riddance.
House Speaker Mike Johnson says draconian cuts to Medicaid will only affect those who are abusing the system. Another lie told by this fine, outstanding Christian man.
Senator John Fetterman needs to resign and take care of his shaky mental health. He is not fit to do the job.
Another aged Democrat, John Rangel, has died. This is one way to cull Congress of congresspeople who have lost all touch with the American people. The Democrats have an age problem. Sadly, we have to wait until the Grim Reaper helps us make way for new, younger leaders.
What’s with the damn political ads on TV? It’s almost two years until the next election. Here’s how I respond to these ads: mute and fast forward.
If the Trump administration successfully does away with habeas corpus, the collapse of our republic is not far behind. Will the Supreme Court turn back Trump’s vicious assault on the Constitution? We shall see.
Bonus: I have an in-person interview with a Washington Times journalist tomorrow. More details later.
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.
