I was listening to some songs from the late 1980s today. One song led to another, and I started looking at top 10 playlists from ‘88 and ‘89. As I was reminiscing about the songs, I got to thinking about how I used to have to sneak around to listen to these songs.
I loved secular pop music and would tape record hours of music at night, using my boom box, so I could listen in private over the next few days. I would also watch MTV when I babysat, or any other chance I got. During the 80s, there was a heavy emphasis on movie music, so movies and music became tied together in my mind. I missed out watching those movies, and didn’t have constant access to the music I liked, so I was always frustrated because I couldn’t get any fulfillment.
I realized, today, that what makes me melancholy about some music videos and movies is there are huge gaps in my experience with “the world.” There were things I loved or wanted to experience so badly, but they were just out of reach; almost like a mirage in the desert. I liked the styles of clothing people wore. They seemed happy, the boy always had a girl, things just seemed right. Even then, I knew that it was just a video, but I always wanted to have these experiences for myself. An example of this is one of my favorite songs, “How Can I Fall?” by Breathe. It features a very stylized game of stickball on the streets of New York, along with two beautiful girls. I first saw that video and thought it would be so cool to experience something like that, knowing that I would never be allowed to hang out on a street corner and would be in trouble if I was caught with a girl. Neither of those things stopped me from wanting the experience, though.
I feel cheated because I was not allowed to have the experiences most other teens had. Even the kids in the churches I attended were given way more freedom than I had. They watched movies (on a VCR, because that was so much different from going to the movies), hung out at the mall, wore stylish clothes, and had friends of the opposite sex. Even those church teens had a more normal life than I did. That was what I wanted, too.
I was told that missing out on those things kept me from trouble. Probably so, but that doesn’t make it any easier to accept. All of the adults, my parents included, lived through the 50s and 60s and enjoyed the normal freedoms children were allowed to have. The restrictions that were placed on me, and all of the Evangelical/IFB teens, from the 70s until now, are rules created by old white men who were pushing back against what they perceived was wrong with society. The rules were set up and enforced so they could keep their power. Those men are no different from the Pharisees that Jesus condemned in the Bible. Outwardly, they seemed holy; inwardly they hated minorities, were whoremongers, adulterers, pedophiles, drunks, and everything else they preached against.
So, now when I listen to the songs from the 80s and early 90s, it is always with a bit of sadness, realizing they represent a time in life when I missed out on many of the things “worldly” youths experienced. And I understand, now, that I missed out because of fearful men who hated anything new.
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.
Glen Strickler, owner and operator of Pastoral Services, was arrested earlier this week after he was caught on video masturbating while passing a bus of high school girls on their way to a sporting event. Strickler has a previous conviction for indecent exposure.
On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office were investigating a report of indecent exposure involving a white male driving a black Honda Civic.
The twelve victims, ages 15 to 17 were students of St. Charles High School and were on a school bus traveling in St. Mary’s County for a sports team event. One adult victim was also listed in court documents.
The girls said the white male, later identified as Glen Travis Strickler, 42, of Charlotte Hall, was driving alongside the bus with his penis in his hand, smiling and looking at the girls while masturbating.
A video recording was taken by one of the students with her cellphone, showed Strickler while he was masturbating.
Police say the video showed Strickler’s face and penis and showed the license plate of the Honda registered to him.
The police investigation revealed Strickler has several previous convictions of indecent exposure and is on supervised probation with Charles County for an indecent exposure conviction.
Police responded the residence of Strickler and asked him about the offense, Strickler initially he advised he didn’t have any remembrance of it. Police asked Strickler if he wanted to watch a video they had of him, he agreed and while watching the video said, “well yeah that’s me”. Strickler told police he remembered wearing the outfit in the video because he wore it while conducting a funeral that day. When asked why he was beside the bus in an area past the turn off to his house, Strickler told police he did not remember.
Strickler told police he knew he hadn’t “finished” (masturbating) because he didn’t have to clean up.
Bruce Gerencser, 1991, Somerset Baptist Academy. Surely everyone can see from this picture that I was a real Christian.
Telling my story often leads people to surmise that they only way someone could believe and behave as I did was to be mentally ill; that nobody in his right mind would live as I did; that only a crazy person would stand on a street corner and preach at passersby; that only a lunatic would sacrifice his life and that of his family to a non-existent God. Dismissing these things with the wave of a Freudian hand is far too easy, and it allows non-Christians to avoid thinking about how their own behavior might be deemed mental illness by those who do not have their beliefs. For example, countless people believe that essential oils can cure all sorts of diseases, as can chiropractic care. Evangelists from the First Church of Essential Oils and First Subluxation Church of the Spine use blogs, social media, newspapers, and face-to-face encounters to preach their gospel, hoping to convert people to their respective religions. The same could be said about homeopathy, iridology, acupuncture, and herbal cancer cures. Consider also that many political systems of thought, much like Christian Fundamentalists, demand fidelity, purity, and obedience. And we must not forget the God-above-all-Gods, American sports — particularly football and basketball. Spend some time around people whose lives revolve around this or that sports team, and it’s hard not to conclude that these people are delusional members of a cult. Yet, all of these beliefs and behaviors EXCEPT Christian Fundamentalism are considered “normal.” Why is that?
It is not helpful to lazily attach the “mentally ill” label to all Christian Fundamentalists. Now, that’s not to say that some Christian Fundamentalists aren’t mentally ill — they are. What troubles me is when non-Fundamentalists look at Evangelical beliefs and practices and conclude that only insane people would believe and live that way. This is a patently false conclusion. We must either conclude that all humans — yes you — have, to some degree or the other, a mental imbalance, or there are other explanations for why all of us believe and practice the things we do. I would posit that we humans are complex creatures, and our ways of life are shaped, molded, and controlled by our genetics, parents, childhood, environment, economic status, physical health, social strata, and a host of other exposures and variations. Thus, when someone reads one or more of my blog posts — say, posts such as My Life as a Street Preacher, I Did It For You Jesus: Crank Windows and Vinyl Floor Mats, and How the IFB Church Turned My Wife Into a Martyr — without thoughtfully and humbly considering the variables mentioned above, they will not come to a reasoned conclusion.
Part of the problem is that each of us has our own definition of “normal,” and we use that definition as the standard by which we judge the beliefs and practices of others. We rarely ask who it was (God?) that made us the “normal” police or why our standard of normality should be the inerrant, infallible rule (get my point now?) by which we determine whether someone is mentally ill or has a “screw loose.” Atheists love to say “each to his own,” except for religion, of course. Fundamentalists, in particular, have heaped upon their heads by atheists judgment and derision, without atheists making any attempt to understand. No need, many atheists say. Fundamentalists are delusional nut jobs — end of story.
Much of my writing focuses on my past life as a Fundamentalist Christian, especially the twenty-five years I spent pastoring Evangelical churches. I have willingly and openly chosen to be honest about my past, including my beliefs and behaviors. In doing so, I hope my story brings encouragement and understanding, and that doubting Christians or ex-Evangelicals might see that there is life after Jesus. What I don’t want my writing to be is exercises for non-Christians, ex-Christians, liberal Christians, or atheists to practice armchair psychology. Psychoanalyzing me — past and present — is best left to my counselor. Whether I was, in the past, mentally ill is impossible to know. I’m more inclined to think that my past is a reflection of someone who sincerely and resolutely believed certain things, little different from the countless other beliefs embraced by humans.
I have suffered with depression most of my adult life. The reasons for my struggle are many. Certainly, religion plays a part, but I would never say that the blame for my depression rests with Christianity alone. Again, I am a complex being, and the “whys” of my life are many. I left Christianity ten years ago. I pastored my last church fifteen years ago. Yet, here I am long removed from God, Jesus, the church, and all of trappings of Christianity and I still battle depression. Why is that? If Christianity is the root of psychological difficulties, one would think that I would have regained mental health once I was freed from my marriage to Jesus. However, that hasn’t proved to be the case. I have learned that depression can affect believer and unbeliever alike.
I hope readers will see my writing as an opportunity to understand, and not judge. When the day comes that I feel that that is no longer the case, I will have written my last blog post.
About Bruce Gerencser
Bruce Gerencser, 60, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 39 years. He and his wife have six grown children and eleven 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. For more information about Bruce, please read the About page.
Bruce is a local photography business owner, operating Defiance County Photo out of his home. If you live in Northwest Ohio and would like to hire Bruce, please email him.
Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section. If you are a first-time commenter, please read the commenting policy before wowing readers with your words. All first-time comments are moderated. If you would like to contact Bruce directly, please use the contact form to do so.
Donations are always appreciated. Donations on a monthly basis can be made through Patreon. One-time donations can be made through PayPal.
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.
Acton Bowen, a noted Evangelical evangelist, conference speaker, and friend of Donald Trump, was arrested Tuesday on child sexual abuse charges.
A well-known Alabama evangelist, public speaker and author was arrested in Hoover Tuesday on child sex charges.
Paul Edward Acton Bowen, a 37-year-old Gadsden native who now lives in Etowah County’s Southside community, was taken into custody by Hoover police about 12:35 p.m. The founder of Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries is charged with second-degree sodomy, enticing a child to enter a vehicle or house for immoral purposes, and second-degree sex abuse. The victim was a young male, but police did not release his age except to say he is over 12 and under 16.
Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector said the department’s Special Victim’s Unit first launched an investigation three weeks ago. The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office issued the warrants on Monday.
“This is certainly one of the more disturbing cases that we’ve investigated in quite some time,” Rector said. “Mr. Bowen is in a highly-respected position of influence and he is trusted by many. We believe he betrayed that trust in the worst kind of way.”
Bowen was taken into custody in Pelham and transported to the Hoover City Jail. He was moved to the Jefferson County Jail where he was released early Wednesday on $90,300 bond.
Rector said the victim in this case is an underage family acquaintance, “He is currently doing well and has been in a safe environment since police were first notified,” Rector said.
….
Bowen is president and founder of Acton Bowen Outreach. His bio says he served for 12 years in a local church, led a citywide student Bible study in Gadsden and was also the host of xlroads TV, a worldwide broadcast viewed weekly by millions of teens and adults in every city in America and over 170 countries around the world.
The website says Bowen is a cohost of Top3 on the JuceTV Network in New York City.
“Everyone associated with JuceTV was shocked and disheartened to hear of the egregious allegations made against Acton Brown this week. Our prayers go out to those who may have been hurt and victimized,” a JuceTV spokesperson said in a statement to AL.com. “Mr. Brown made four appearances on JuceTV, an affiliate of TBN, the most recent last summer, but there are no on-going ties.”
The outreach website described Bowen as a regular contributor on Fox News as a correspondent on faith and religion. However, network officials say Bowen has never been employed or paid by Fox News.
It goes on to say he speaks up to 20 times a month at churches, disciple-now weekends, citywide crusades, camps, conferences, school assemblies and leadership seminars – giving him a live platform in front of more than 350,000 people.
Today, Bowen responded to his arrest, saying that he is completely innocent of all charges:
I have not done what I am accused of and have not acted inappropriately in any way. My family and I trust the legal system and the people who are entrusted with the duty of protection each of our rights. I believe the truth will stand and I will be vindicated of this false accusation. We ask that each of you keep everyone involved in this process in your prayers.
In his first public statement, Bowen said he wanted to say “thank you” to the countless number of people who have prayed for his family. “My wife, Ashley, and I along with our incredible family are so grateful for your prayers,” he said.
“I’m also thankful for the countless calls of support from those who have walked a lot of life with me and know me best,” he said. “Your steadfast, unshakable support gives me strength. For almost 20 years (since I was 18) my life has been committed to serving Jesus by serving people.”
“When this accusation was made known to me I was hurt, confused, and heartbroken,” he said. “Prior to the arrest only one side of the story was heard.”
New developments have emerged in the case of a youth minister arrested in Hoover for sex crimes involving a child.
Acton Bowen’s wife, Ashley Nabors Bowen, filed for divorce and claimed that she feared for her safety from him.
An Etowah County judge Friday granted her immediate temporary exclusive possession of their home in Southside while restraining him and her from any contact or behavior intended to harass, threaten or intimidate the other.
The 29-year-old filed to end her two-year marriage just after the founder of Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries was taken into custody Wednesday by Hoover police on charges of sexual abuse, sodomy and enticing a child.
The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
In September 2016, Alvin McNeil, pastor of Open Door True Worship Apostolic Church in Mobile, Alabama was arrested and charged with rape. Fox-10 reported at the time:
A Mobile pastor is behind bars after he was indicted by a Mobile County Grand Jury.
Members of the Open Door True Worship Apostolic Church say they’re stunned after their pastor was booked into Mobile County Metro Jail for allegedly sexually abusing a child.
Alvin Norman McNeil, 54, of Prichard, was booked Wednesday night on child sexual abuse and first-degree rape and sodomy charges, according to jail records.
A mother claims McNeil raped her daughter who was 16-years-old at the time and she became pregnant. The mother also says McNeil touched her 11-year-old daughter.
….
Yesterday, McNeil was found guilty on all counts. WSFA reports:
A Mobile County jury convicted pastor on rape and sex abuse of a child charges Tuesday.
Alvin McNeil was the pastor at Open Door True Worship Church in Mobile when he was indicted in 2016. He was arrested after a mother went to police after McNeil raped her 16-year-old daughter and she became pregnant. The mother also said McNeil molested her 11-year-old daughter.
McNeil’s bond was revoked and he was booked into Mobile County Metro Jail. He will be sentenced on May 24.
….
Update
McNeil was sentenced to fifty years in prison for his crimes.
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.
Darrell Scheepers, pastor of New Life Christian Church in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, stands accused of sexual assault. According to one New Life member, Pastor Scheepers “has high standards — his morals, how you conduct yourself — were very high.” Evidently, those “high” moral standards don’t include sexual assault.
Members of a Bridgewater Pentecostal church say their parish intends to move forward while their pastor stands accused of sexual assault.
Rev. Darrell Scheepers, pastor of New Life Christian Church, appeared in Bridgewater provincial court on Monday, four days after he was charged with sexual assault and remanded into custody. Scheepers was released on bail and is scheduled to be back in court for election and plea on May 1.
“He’s our pastor and he’s a special person to us, so it’s upsetting that we’re having to deal with this,” said Gary Tupper, a member of the church’s board of directors. “But in his absence we did have a service on Sunday. It’s God’s church and we will carry on.”
Tupper would not comment on the accusations being made against his pastor. He said he’s had no contact with Scheepers since Bridgewater police arrested the pastor last week.
Bridgewater police, who would not confirm whether Scheepers is the pastor of the Pentecostal church, is remaining tight-lipped about the ongoing investigation. Acting Sgt. Matt Bennett said police acted on a complaint from an adult acquaintance of Scheepers’. Police seized multiple items from two properties including computer, electronic devices and other accessories. Bennett wouldn’t say whether any of those items were taken from New Life Christian Church.
The Chronicle Herald spoke to a congregation member on the condition of anonymity, who said Bridgewater police officers arrived at the church on Thursday while people were inside the location, including participants of a child daycare program and worship group.
The woman, a 40-year member of the church, said Scheepers is a native of South Africa and has served as church pastor for less than five years. She said he was a former military man and served with a kind of no-nonsense style. She and Tupper said they had never witnessed Scheepers behaving in an inappropriate manner.
The woman said the alleged victim was a former member of the church but she did not know her by name.
“I was shocked, totally shocked when I heard about him being charged,” said the woman. “I’m disappointed that it has come out, but if it’s true, it has to come out. It doesn’t look good on the church. Unfortunately, a lot of people are very critical and quick to jump to conclusions.
“He’s well liked. He’s very welcoming and can be very funny. He has this wonderful accent and is very enjoyable to listen to. But he preaches seriously, too. He has high standards — his morals, how you conduct yourself — were very high.”
Johannes (John) Vermeer, pastor of Main Street Church in Chilliwack, BC, faces several charges related to child pornography. As is the custom among Evangelicals, Vermeer’s web presence has been scrubbed from the church’s website.
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.
Paul Henderson, a reporter for the Langley Times, writes:
The executive pastor of Main Street Church is facing multiple child pornography charges.
Johannes (John) Vermeer was arrested a week and a half ago and had his first court appearance March 29, facing four child porn charges.
The 58-year-old faces one count each of possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography from May 1, 2010. He also faces the same charges with an offence date of March 17, 2015.
The Progress learned that senior pastor Shawn Vandop informed the congregation about the charges at both services on Sunday at the downtown Chilliwack church. Vandop confirmed that Monday, stating that members of the congregation met the news with “shock.”
“It’s not something that we want to hear or want to deal with but we live in a broken and messy world with a lot of pain,” he said, adding that right from the beginning of the investigation, church staff were co-operative.
“We actually reported this to police when we heard there was this activity on the computer system,” Vandop said.
Once they were able to, Vandop felt it best to inform everyone in the church rather than let rumours fester. He added that it was important they make it clear Vermeer is no longer an employee of the church in case there was any perception of risk to kids as they offer many programs for youth.
“No child in our care is impacted by this situation,” he said. “That’s really important.”
Vermeer was in the news in 2011 when the congregation of Promontory Community Church first purchased the Liquidation World building at Main Street and Princess Avenue in 2011. In 2013, the downtown ministry was named Main Street Church while Promontory one was renamed Hillside Community Church.
In 2014, the two churches came together under one roof at the ever-expanding location on Main Street.
Vermeer has served as executive pastor – an administrative role – for the church since 2009.
Vermeer was a member of the city’s downtown core task force and was elected to the 2011/2012 Downtown Business Improvement Association board.
Vermeer is also an executive committee member of the B.C. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (BCMB), but as of March 29, 2018, his profile photo and bio are no longer on the www.bcmb.org website.
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.
Dan Syrcle, pastor of First Salem Church in Wichita, Kansas, was arrested yesterday on “suspicion of purchasing sexual relations and official misconduct.”
The Wichita Eagle reports:
A volunteer chaplain for the Wichita Police Department and Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office was arrested during a prostitution investigation.
Daniel Lee Syrcle, 53, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of purchasing sexual relations and official misconduct, police Deputy Chief Jose Salcido and sheriff’s Col. Greg Pollock said in a prepared statement on Friday.
Syrcle has been terminated from both assignments, the statement said. He was an unpaid, volunteer chaplain.
The Wichita police VICE section was conducting a prostitution investigation when it discovered Syrcle’s involvement, the statement said.
This is the one hundred and seventy-fourth installment in The Sounds of Fundamentalism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a video clip that shows the crazy, cantankerous, or contradictory side of Evangelical Christianity, please send me an email with the name or link to the video. Please do not leave suggestions in the comment section. Let’s have some fun!
Today’s Sound of Fundamentalism is a clip from a sermon preached by Stovall Weems, pastor of Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida. In it, Weems says that he recently saw and spoke to the man, the myth, the legend Jesus Christ. I love how he tries to explain away his woo by saying, hey I have never seen Jesus before. Enjoy!
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.
George Baker, an ex-Southern Baptist pastor and seminary professor, was arrested March 23, 2018 for possession of child pornography.
The Burleson Star reports:
On the surface, George Baker appeared to have everything. A job helping others, a beautiful fiancé who he was building a life with and doing some university-level teaching. All of that came to a crashing halt on March 23 when he was arrested for possession of child pornography.
“The entire time we were going out, he never mentioned that he had a problem,” Stephanie Conroy, Baker’s now ex-fiance, told the Star. “He said he was helping people addicted to porn, not that he himself had a problem.” [a problem? Is that what possessing child pornography is now, a “problem?’]
Conroy was checking email in a bedroom of the house they shared on Alsbury Blvd., when one of her children walked in and said that there were some police who wanted to speak with her.
“At first I sort of laughed it off, I thought he was making a joke,” Conroy said. “But I followed him into the kitchen and there were two police officers in there. At first I thought my oldest son had been in an accident, but then they told me that they had been investigating George for over a year.”
According to BPD Officer Wes Routson, Baker had uploaded a pornographic image of a child from his computer.
“We’ve been looking at him for awhile,” Routson said. “But one reason it took so long is that we had to send his computer off to be looked at. When you are doing forensic investigations on computers you have to get in line at the state for someone to do it, and thats why it dragged out.”
Baker was arrested and transferred to the Johnson County jail, where he posted bond for $100,000.
Baker had most recently been working for ‘Feed the Right Wolf,’ as a life coach helping people overcome sex and porn addiction.
Craig Perry, owner of ‘Feed the Right Wolf,’ knew that Baker had a problem with teen porn and described him as a “great man who made a mistake.” [uh, teens are still minors. Again, here’s that “problem” word again.]
…
Perry said that even though he knew Baker had a record of viewing child porn, he hired him anyway.
“I was so impressed by his recovery and his skill set, I let him take my certification course where I train therapists and counselors,” he said. “It didn’t look like this was going to happen again, but when it did, we terminated him immediately.” [How did Perry KNOW it wouldn’t happen again?]
Baker had also taught at TCU’s at Brite Divinity School in 2011 as a teaching assistant while pursuing his Ph.D., in philosophy. Baker also claimed that he was the program manager of the Soul Repair Center at Brite from July 2012 to July 2015, though the Star could not confirm that. According to his LinkedIn profile, he was also the pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Stamford, Texas, from 1998-2001, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Seymour, Texas, from 2001-2003 and pastor of First Baptist church in Weinart, Texas, from 2003-2006.
“He was completely normal around me and my kids,” Conroy said.
