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Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Student Ministry Leader Vernon Willis Accused of Inappropriately Touching Church Girls

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vernon willis

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.

Verrnon Willis, a student ministry leader at the Seacoast Church Dream Center in North Charleston, South Carolina, stands accused of inappropriately touching ten church girls aged twelve to sixteen.

WNDU reports:

Authorities in South Carolina say a former student ministry leader is facing more than a dozen assault charges for inappropriately touching young girls.

According to North Charleston authorities, Vernon Tyrell Willis, 26, has been arrested and charged with 13 counts of second-degree assault and battery.

Willis is accused of touching underage girls without their consent while he was a student ministry leader for the Seacoast Church Dream Center.

Police say detectives were able to identify 10 victims ranging in age from 13 to 16 years old.

Lowcountry attorney Mark Peper, who represents some of the victims, said Seacoast Church placed Willis on administrative leave and subsequently terminated him in December 2022 after multiple minors reported being touched inappropriately while attending a youth group.

However, the law firm initiated an investigation that revealed the church allowed Willis access to one-on-one contact with multiple female minors without any supervision, according to Peper.

The attorney stated that Seacoast had knowledge of Willis’ proclivity to use his role to unlawfully touch and seclude minor females on the church campus as far back as 2020.

Seacoast Church Executive Director Margaret Little said the team is heartbroken, calling Willis’ actions inexcusable and indefensible. She said the church is grateful for the young women who shared their stories, which allowed them to put an end to such behavior.

According to Little, Willis was immediately placed on leave and barred from campus once an initial report came in, with him being terminated in less than 48 hours after they found he clearly violated the church’s code of conduct.

The church said it notified all parents of students regarding the situation and offered resources along with working with law enforcement.

Seacoast Church Executive Director Margaret Little released a statement on behalf of the church:

As a place of worship and a home to so many families in the community, Seacoast Church is heartbroken by a former employee’s inexcusable and indefensible actions. We are grateful for the young women who shared their story, which allowed us to put an end to this behavior and want to thank these students and their families for being brave and coming forward.

On December 5, 2022, an initial report was made to Seacoast of inappropriate interactions with a minor by a member of staff at the North Charleston campus.

We immediately placed that employee on leave and barred the employee from campus while we investigated the report. We concluded that the employee had clearly violated our code of conduct. The employee was terminated in less than 48 hours. We reported the incident and information we had gathered to law enforcement.

Within the week, Seacoast leaders informed North Charleston campus students that the employee had been terminated for violating our code of conduct. Three days later, all parents of students at the campus were informed of the termination, offered resources, and the opportunity to meet with leadership. Within the same week, we connected all families of victims with counseling resources and the case number of the active investigation and contact information for North Charleston law enforcement. Since then, Seacoast leadership has hosted a Parent Night to discuss the matter openly with campus parents and concerned church members. Additionally, we have engaged an attorney to conduct an independent internal investigation of the matter.

Throughout this time, North Charleston law enforcement has been conducting an investigation. We have unreservedly supported law enforcement in their efforts, and part of this support has meant that we limited our communication while the investigation is active.

We will continue ongoing work to ensure all students can worship freely in safe and protected spaces. As leaders, we are grieved over the actions of a former staff member. Our commitment to the church and community is to continue to operate in transparency and support the victims and their families of this situation in their healing process.

Note that the church investigated the claims before they called law enforcement. The church needs to be reminded that they are legally obligated to call law enforcement IMMEDIATELY when there are allegations of sexual misconduct. Not wait until you have your ducks in order, IMMEDIATELY.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Evangelicals are an Existential Threat to the United States

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evangelical support for donald trump

Note: For Evangelicals who will be butthurt by this article, I am not talking about all Evangelicals. If this post doesn’t apply to you, put some Vaseline on your chapped ass and move on. You know Evangelicalism is in crisis mode. Maybe the greater question is this: why are you still an Evangelical? Do you really think you can “save” Evangelicalism?

I have long believed that Evangelical Christians are an existential threat to the United States. Forty or so years ago, Jerry Falwell and Paul Wyrich birthed the Moral Majority. Falwell traveled the country holding “I Love America rallies, imploring Evangelicals to take back America for God. Today, Falwell’s and Wyrich’s baby is now fully grown. Drunk with political power, thanks to selling their souls to Donald Trump and the Republican Party, Evangelicals are waging “holy” war against liberal democracy and social progress. The goal is to return the United States to the 1950s, a time when abortion and birth control were illegal, LGBTQ people were hiding in the dark depths of closets, Blacks knew their place, the Bible was read and prayers were prayed by teachers in public schools, creationism was taught as science, and women were keepers of the home.

Evangelicalism’s inherent Fundamentalist and theocratic tendencies are on full display now. Successful in getting abortion banned, Evangelicals have turned their sights on banning same-sex marriage, some forms of birth control, books they disagree with, Black history, evolution being taught in science classes, and anything else that offends their religious sensibilities. They have reserved their greatest outrage for transgender people, going after minors and teenagers, using the force of law to get between transgender students and their doctors. They will not rest until the Bible is codified unto law and King Jesus sits on the iron throne in Washington D.C.

One need only look at what is going on in Florida to see what happens when Evangelicals gain the power of the state. My God, just today Governor Ron Desantis talked about making a law that would require bloggers who write about him to register with the state, under penalty of a fine if they don’t. For context, Vladamir Putin enacted a similar law in Russia last year. They are also trying to pass a law that will ban the Democratic Party! The fascism that was lurking in the shadows of Evangelicalism for decades is now on full display. We now have notable Evangelicals speaking approvingly of Christian Nationalism. Some of them are proud to admit they are white nationalists. Others say the separation of church and state is a myth. The inmates are now running the asylum.

And here’s the thing, Evangelicals own guns — lots of them. They have no intentions of giving up political and social power, even if it means sparking a civil war. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a Grade A moron and idiot. She recently talked about dividing the United States into red and blue states. Silly, right? One hundred sixty years ago, nineteenth-century red and blue states fought a bloody civil war over Southern states wanting to secede from the Union. Today, those sentiments are front and center again. Greene is hardly a lone wolf. We err if we ignore the voices of extremists. They can and will destroy our Republic if left unchecked.

Evangelicals recently took over a county government in Michigan. What the fuck were voters thinking? Evangelicals can’t win at the ballot box IF people show up to vote. If voters don’t smother the life out of this multi-headed monster, we are going to wake up one morning and realize that our democracy is gone. It’s really that simple. (And to Democratic Party I say, get your head out of your collective asses. Can you not see what is right in front of your face? Yet you fiddle while Rome burns.)

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Some Atheists Think I was Stupid for not Deconverting Sooner

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stupid-idiots

Several days ago, an atheist told me I must have been pretty “stupid” if it took me fifty years to realize that Christianity was false. He proudly told me that he figured out as a child that God was a myth, and from that point forward he was an atheist. He added that “God” was no different from Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. In other words, he was saying that I must have been pretty dull if it took me five decades of my life to figure out what he figured out as a mere child.

Most atheists who take this approach with me grew up in nominal Christian homes Typically, they have little to no understanding of Evangelical theology and practice. Lacking knowledge and understanding of that which they criticize, these atheists set themselves up as the standard for deconversion. In their minds, anyone with any sense at all should be able to figure out there’s no God by the time he reaches sixth grade.

These hyperbolic atheists seem to not understand how Fundamentalist religious indoctrination and conditioning make it impossible for people to “see” the truth about God, Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity. I grew up in a dysfunctional Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) home. God, church, and the Bible permeated every aspect of my life. One-hundred-eighty times or more a year, I attended services and events that reinforced IFB theological and social beliefs and practices. That’s one service every other day. And then there were private acts of personal piety: daily prayer and Bible reading.

At the age of five, I told my mom that God wanted me to be a preacher when I grew up. Ten years later, I got saved and baptized, and two weeks later I stood before the church and told them God was calling me to preach. Several weeks after that, I preached my first sermon. At the age of nineteen, I enrolled at Midwestern Baptist College to study for the ministry. I married a preacher’s daughter. Together, we spent twenty-five years in the ministry. My life was all about the Evangelical God.

I spent almost fifty years in the Evangelical bubble. In the bubble, everything made sense; everything was internally consistent. Imagine a world where everyone has similar beliefs and moral values. Imagine where everything modeled to you as a child by adults and people in positions of authority reinforces IFB beliefs and practices. Imagine being part of a sect that separated itself from the “world”; from everything contrary to their version of “truth.” Imagine long lists of rules and regulations (church standards) that governed virtually every aspect of your life, from the length of your hair to the clothing you wear. Imagine being taught that God is all-knowing and all-seeing, and he will punish any deviations from church standards. All of these things taken together make one thing very clear: I couldn’t have been anything other than what I was.

My path in life was predetermined by my upbringing and intense religious conditioning and indoctrination. By the time I was old enough to understand life, it was already too late. Both counselors I have had over the years have told me that it is remarkable that I escaped the Evangelical bubble — especially as a preacher. By the time people reach the age of fifty, they rarely are willing to abandon beliefs they have held their entire lives. For me personally, I had invested my entire life in servitude to God and the church. I had sacrificed my financial and physical well-being seeking spiritual fulfillment and eternal life. The sunk costs were so great that it was almost impossible for me to walk away (and for Polly to walk away with me). Yet, I did. Why? Because I valued intellectual honesty. So stupid I was not. When my beliefs were challenged by evidence I couldn’t overcome, I changed my beliefs. And that’s why I am an atheist today.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Most nominal religious homes.

Black Collar Crime: Catholic School Teacher Verity Beck Accused of Murdering Her Parents

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verity beck

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.

Verity Beck, a school teacher at Saint Katherine School of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania stands accused of murdering her parents by shooting them in the head and dismembering their bodies with a chainsaw.

The Reporter reports:

An Abington Township woman fatally shot her elderly parents and then used a chainsaw to dismember them, an alleged crime that authorities described as “a horrible, tragic situation.”

The discovery of the victims’ bodies and the arrest of Verity A. Beck on homicide charges were announced at a Wednesday evening news conference by Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy.

Beck, 43, who lived with her parents in the 1100 block of Beverly Road in the Jenkintown section of the township, was charged with first- and third-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the deaths of 73-year-old Reid Beck and his 72-year-old wife, Miriam.

“There were signs of extreme trauma and a chainsaw was found and both Reid and Miriam were found in different stages of dismemberment,” said Steele, describing the incident as “a horrible, tragic situation. These were not easy autopsies to conduct based upon the fact Verity used this chainsaw and then put parts of her parents into trash bags and had covered them up. They were actually in two different trash cans.”

The autopsies revealed that both victims suffered single gunshot wounds to the head.

“We believe that happened first,” Steele alleged.

Steele said the investigation is continuing.

“We are looking for what motive could have been behind this. We can’t share one with you at this time. I don’t know what was going on between these folks. That’s all under investigation and that’s going to be continuing and maybe we’ll have more on that later,” Steele told reporters during a news conference at the county detective bureau in Norristown. “We also believe that this happened over a period of some time.”

Steele explained the victims’ voices were last heard by another family member on Jan. 7.

Authorities revealed that a check of police logs showed there were no previous police contacts made at the home.

Steele said “it has not been an easy day” for the victims’ family or for the detectives who investigated the case.

“It’s been a difficult day for everybody working on this,” said Steele, referring to the disturbing nature of the alleged crime.

Beck, who was a teacher at the Saint Katherine School of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Wynnewood, Lower Merion, was remanded to the county jail without bail to await a Feb. 1 preliminary hearing on the homicide charges before District Court Judge Juanita A. Price.

….

Prior to beginning her service at Saint Katherine’s last January, Beck produced criminal background checks and child abuse clearances, neither of which showed any prior misconduct, Heeney wrote. Additionally, no complaints “of any kind” were lodged against Beck during her brief time with the school community, officials said.

“All of us are shocked by these developments. Please know that the safety and protection of your children are always our primary concerns,” Heeney wrote. “Understanding the traumatic nature of this news, we will have counseling personnel available to anyone who may need those services. We are also exploring additional modes of support that may be needed.”

The investigation began on Tuesday, Jan. 17 after the victims’ son notified Abington police that he had gone to his parents’ home to check on them, because he hadn’t spoken to them by phone since Jan. 7, which was unusual, and he observed a deceased person lying on a floor, covered with a bloody sheet and a chainsaw near the body, according to a criminal complaint.

The son told police he spoke to his sister and when he asked if something bad had happened to their parents she responded, “Yes.” Beck allegedly told her brother that things at the home had “been bad.”

Abington police arrived at the home around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 and attempted to make contact with Verity Beck but received no answer. Officers deployed a remote-controlled robot into the first floor of the home in an effort to locate Beck and deployed a drone to peer through the windows to determine her location but both attempts failed to locate Beck, court papers indicate.

At 12:10 a.m. on Jan. 18 police entered the residence through a side door.

“Officers immediately noticed a strong odor of decomposition in the residence,” county Detective Anthony Caso and Abington Detective Robert Hill Jr. wrote in the arrest affidavit.

When police announced themselves and asked Beck to make her whereabouts known she followed commands and entered the kitchen. When police asked Beck about her parents she allegedly replied, “They are dead.”

Detectives found a deceased male wrapped in a cloth sheet and determined he was decapitated, according to the criminal complaint.

“In close proximity to the male’s body detectives located a 55-gallon trash receptacle. This receptacle was filled with white trash bags and these trash bags were filled with assorted severed body parts,” Caso and Hill alleged.

“An electric-powered chainsaw with biological material in the chain portion indicated this chainsaw had been used to sever, at least some, of the body parts,” detectives added.

Detectives found additional severed body parts in a trash can in an attached garage, court documents indicate.

“This is somebody that is dismembering her mother and father and putting body parts in trash cans so clearly she’s trying to get rid of the evidence of her crime,” Steele alleged.

….

In the second-floor master bedroom detectives found a safe mounted into the wall and tools nearby and drill marks on the safe indicating someone, without a key or combination, had been trying to access the safe.

Detectives found a pillow that contained powder burns and a hole, consistent with a firearm projectile having been fired through the pillow, according to court documents.

In Beck’s bedroom detectives found two .38-caliber handguns, one containing one spent round and four live rounds and the other containing two spent rounds and three live rounds, according to the arrest affidavit. Both firearms were registered to Beck, detectives said.

Additionally, detectives recovered a third .38-caliber handgun containing two spent rounds and three live rounds but a check for ownership returned a result of “no record found,” court documents indicate.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

The Bankruptcy of Ray Comfort’s Gospel

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dwayne johnson
Ray Comfort Says Dwayne Johnson is Headed for Hell for Believing the Gospel of Restitution

Ray Comfort is an Evangelical evangelist known for his slick (and shallow) evangelism methods. In the late 1990s, I used Comfort’s training materials to train the church I was pastoring at the time to evangelize unbelievers. Comfort is also known for street preaching and publishing books attacking atheism. His claims have been thoroughly refuted by defenders of secularism and atheism.

Video Link

Yesterday, Comfort wrote an article for The Christian Post criticizing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for making restitution for crimes he committed as a teenager:

After being riddled with guilt for years over his sins as a teenager, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (arguably Hollywood’s highest-paid actor) made amends. We are told that he was able to redeem himself. A video posted online shows him returning to the scene of the crime and buying up hundreds of Snickers bars, giving them to the store, and telling them to give them away to anyone who was tempted to steal.

Before making amends, he said three times in one interview that he wanted to “redeem” himself for his theft. The media loved it, saying that he was indeed “making things right.”

Is that true? Can we balance the scales of justice by doing good works? Millions would say a big “amen,” that it’s certainly the right thing to do.

Of course, Comfort rejects that notion of making restitution for past wrongs. He’s an Evangelical, after all. He preaches a gospel devoid of making things right. If God has forgiven you, that’s all that is needed. Say the right prayer, believe the right things, and you will be gloriously saved. While good works after salvation are a good idea or even expected, they play no part in your salvation.

Comfort makes this clear when he writes:

It was evident that Dwayne Johnson wasn’t trusting in the Savior. Instead, he was trusting in his own attempt to redeem himself, something the Bible says cannot be done.

If Dwayne Johnson bought the entire store and gifted it to the owner, it wouldn’t make things right. Paying off the victim from whom we’ve stolen doesn’t work in criminal court, and it certainly won’t work on Judgment Day. If a one-time monetary payment for theft was able to satisfy God, how would we redeem ourselves for adultery, for fornication, for blasphemy, or for lying? How would we make things right for the sin of lust — which Jesus said is adultery of the heart (Matthew 5:27-28)? 

Good works don’t cover our sins in the slightest. A multimillionaire giving $500 to a store may impress the media, but it doesn’t impress God. Any payment we try to make for sin is an abomination to Him (Proverbs 21:27). Yet millions deceive themselves by pacifying their guilty conscience with what the Bible calls “dead works” (Hebrews 6:1).

Comfort’s post makes all sorts of theological arguments for his “gospel.” Give it a read if you want to read a lot of Bible verses and be reminded that the Protestant Christian Bible can be used to prove and justify almost anything. I want to focus on Comfort’s rejection of good works and restitution. I am sure he thinks these things are a good idea, but in order to maintain his soteriological beliefs, he must reject making restitution part of human salvation.

In the comment section of the post titled Dr. David Tee Thinks Everyone Who is Not a Christian is an Atheist, ObstacleChick wrote:

Mr T really is off base if he thinks everyone who isn’t a Christian is an atheist. Tell that to my Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Jainist friends – they are not atheists. They believe in deities and other supernatural things.

Someone who commits a wrong against another person does not deserve forgiveness from the person(s) harmed just by asking. I like the Jewish model which requires that the one who offended needs to express apology and ask the victim what the VICTIM wants them to do. Then the offender must take genuine steps to atone, as per what the victim stated. The victim is under no obligation to forgive even if the offender fulfills what the victim requested.

Bingo. Jews generally believe in making restitution when wrongs are done; in making things right. Comfort divorces restitution from the Christian gospel. Believe this and thou shalt be saved! The reason for this, of course, is that Evangelicals have a dualistic worldview — the separation of body and spirit (and or soul), of physical and spiritual. Many Jews rightly believe that you cannot separate the physical from the spiritual.

I preach the gospel of restitution. I preached it when I was a Christian pastor and I continue to herald it today. Instead of mass incarceration, we need to adopt a system that promotes restitution for those who commit non-violent crimes. Instead of locking up a man who committed theft and destroying his life, allow him to keep working and pay restitution. Our legal system is focused on punishment instead of rehabilitation and restitution. We can thank Christianity, and Calvinism, in particular, for our current justice system.

Duane Johnson did a good thing. He righted a previous wrong. Instead of complimenting him for doing so, Comfort condemned him and said Johnson was headed for Hell. What are ya gonna do? Evangelicals are gonna Evangelical. Their theology keeps them from seeing that restitution is a good thing for society; far better than mouthing a prayer to the Ceiling God and going on your merry way, secure in the belief that you are saved and headed for God’s Trump Hotel in the sky.

One day, Ray Comfort and his many converts will die and stand before the throne of God. On that day, they will hear the Judge of the universe say:

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

….

 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

To Ray Comfort, I say this: repent and make restitution. It’s the only way you will gain entrance into God’s eternal kingdom.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Evangelist Chris Brooks Accused of Assaulting His Wife

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evangelist chris brooks

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.

Chris Brooks, formerly a youth pastor at Abba’s House in Hixon, Tennessee, and an Evangelical evangelist, stands accused of physically assaulting his wife.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports:

A Chattanooga-area evangelist was arrested last week after being accused of grabbing his wife by the neck and choking her during a fight.

Chris Brooks, 47, who served as a youth pastor at the Hixson church Abba’s House before turning to independent evangelism, faces a domestic assault charge stemming from the alleged January fight with his wife, Davi Brooks, 50, who was a partner in an evangelism ministry.

Through their Ooltewah-based Chris Brooks Ministries, Chris and Davi Brooks have traveled around the nation speaking at churches and have amassed about 18,000 Facebook followers.

The alleged Jan. 16 assault was not reported to law enforcement for about a month, according to court records.

During the in-between period, the couple appeared together on Facebook Live to announce a worn-out Chris Brooks would take a 30-day sabbatical and that Davi Brooks would continue the ministry during that period.

Chris Brooks left their residence following the assault, but his wife remained afraid of him, according to a sworn affidavit from law enforcement in support of his arrest.

In late February, she and their daughter, a witness to the fight, reported it to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, whose deputies arrested Chris Brooks on Feb. 21 on a charge of domestic assault. A Hamilton County court clerk said by phone Wednesday he was released on $1,500 bond, and records show he is scheduled to appear in court April 13.

….

Chris Brooks has ties to Dustin Spillers, [please see Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Youth Pastor Dustin Spillers Accused of Child Molestation] a former Abba’s House volunteer and PTA president who was arrested in January after being accused of child molestation in Georgia. Spillers’ attorney filed a motion for a bond Jan. 18, but jail records show Spillers remains in the Troup County Detention Center, and a Troup County court clerk said by phone Wednesday that Spillers has still not been formally charged.

Spillers has attended multiple other churches in recent years, most recently City Church Chattanooga, where, according to the pastor there, he played keys in the band.

Before that, however, Spillers volunteered at Abba’s House over about seven years, where he assisted Chris Brooks, then he was a youth pastor there, with worship and religious matters, Abba’s House Director of Communications Julie Harding told the Chattanooga Times Free Press following Spillers’ arrest.

She said Spillers left Abba’s House in 2015.

Chris Brooks resigned from the church the next year, said Abba’s House Executive Pastor Ken Hartley in an email statement Wednesday.

“Abba’s House does not have any contact or association with Mr. Christopher Brooks,” he said.

Hartley did not answer several questions directed to Abba’s House, such as whether Brooks went through a background check prior to his employment as a youth pastor at the church. If such a check was completed, it might have turned up a troubled past.

….

On Jan. 16, Chris and Davi Brooks got in a fight about his phone and its contents, the court affidavit said. During the argument, he grabbed her by her neck, choking her and lifting her off the ground, the affidavit said.

Their daughter heard the argument and ran into the room to find her father releasing her mother, who fell to the floor, the affidavit said.

Chris Brooks ran from the house into the crawlspace, where he remained for a while, the affidavit said, before emerging and promising things would get better.

In the subsequent days, Chris and Davi Brooks together continued to post daily devotion videos on Facebook, greeting viewers from around the country, inviting them to share it with others and discussing various religious themes.

So began the video Feb. 7, before Chris Brooks ceded the floor to his wife, who pulled up some notes and consulted scriptural passages about the idea of rest.

“My husband needs some real rest,” she said. “He’s been going nonstop for years. Guys, he really needs a break.”

She discussed the rigors of the evangelistic life, the constant traveling, the loneliness.

Her husband elaborated, noting that he was not trying to complain but simply state the facts. Whereas some pastors get pastor appreciation month, the evangelist gets little encouragement, he said.

“The evangelist has to encourage himself,” he said.

His wife laughed and said it was very true.

“There is a situation taking place right now where I feel like I need to step back,” Chris Brooks said.

He pledged to reevaluate the ministry and its direction, and in the meantime, they were canceling scheduled engagements. His wife rubbed his back, and he told the audience he was hurting spiritually and mentally.

“It’s hard guys,” he said, getting emotional, and thanked the viewers. He asked them to pray for them and continue to watch Davi’s videos.

“She’s got some amazing words,” he said. “She’s got some great insight.”

….

In the coming days, Davi Brooks hosted her own videos, about true happiness, about the role of God in turning one’s life around.

On Feb. 17, she and her daughter went to the Hamilton County East annex and told law enforcement her husband had assaulted her, court records said.

A letter on the Chris Brooks Ministries website says:

n January 2023, Chris Brooks announced a brief sabbatical from ministry. After much prayer and Godly counsel, the Chris Brooks Ministries, Inc Board of Directors has resolved to cease all CBM ministry operations to allow Chris to enter into a time of healing and restoration.

We understand this news will come as a shock to our supporters and friends, as Chris has been an influential voice to many of you over the years. But let us also remember, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” 1 John 1:8-9. We ask that your prayers and love for Chris do not cease, but rather increase in the days ahead, that he would find healing and redemption in Christ Jesus. And we ask for your continued prayers and community support of Davi and Faith as they navigate their own journeys of healing.

For questions pertaining to any outstanding appointments or recurring giving, please reach out to the CBM Team at xxxxxxxx.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,

Chris Brooks Ministries Board of Directors

Ah yes, 1 John 1:9. The gift that keeps on giving. Brooks’ website has been scrubbed of everything except this letter.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Dr. David Tee Thinks Everyone Who is Not a Christian is an Atheist

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david thiessen
David Thiessen is the small tall man in the back

I haven’t mentioned Dr. David Tee (whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen) lately. He continues to write about me and steal my content, but I have chosen to ignore him. Thiessen is a defender of Christian rapists, child molesters, and clergy who misuse and abuse their positions of authority and power. I have yet to see him write a post like the ones I write for the Black Collar Crime Series. Instead, he has publicly attacked my work to publicize clergy sexual misconduct. He continues to defend men such as Bill Gothard, Ravi Zacharias, and Bill Cosby. According to Thiessen, all of these men are falsely accused; innocent of the accusations leveled against them. Thiessen, a Fundamentalist Christian, believes that any crime, no matter how vile, will be forgiven by God if the offender shoots up a 1 John 1:9 prayer to Heaven. And if God has forgiven them — how could Thiessen possibly know that he has done so? — so should everyone else.

Yesterday, Thiessen sent me a link to a news story about an elderly Florida man named Paul Zittel who had over 220,000 child porn images stored in his home. You can read the story here. Without providing any evidence for his claim, Thiessen said that Zittel’s crimes are an example of “atheist black collar crime.” There’s no mention in the news story that Zittel is an atheist. In fact, based on where Zittel lives and his age, it is actually more likely that he is a Christian. Of course, if I was covering this story, I would never say Zittel is an atheist or a Christian. I report facts, not opinions.

Thiessen’s email suggests that he thinks that anyone who is not a Christian is an atheist. This, of course, is absurd. Most people have some sort of religious belief. Atheists are a distinct minority in the world. Surely, Thiessen knows this, right?

Suppose Zittel really is an atheist, and while incarcerated he gets saved. According to Thiessen’s bankrupt theology, God has forgiven Zittel and so should everyone else, including his victims. Thiessen would expect and demand that the public and his victims move on. How dare they speak negatively about this new child of the living God. He’s a new creature in Christ, right?

Thiessen hates the Black Collar Crime Series. He has repeatedly impugned my motives for writing the series. He thinks that I shouldn’t write ANY of the Black Collar Crime posts. He prefers that the evil actions of preachers fade into the background noise of life. Nothing to see here, Thiessen says. Ain’t Hay-Zeus wonderful!

I have no intention of stopping my writing about clergy sexual misconduct. Evangelicalism is rife with scandal, every bit as bad, if not worse, than the sexual scandals that continue to plague the Roman Catholic Church. People deserve to know about these crimes and the great lengths churches go to cover them up.

I do appreciate Thiessen emailing me. He exposed his IP address when he did, and I blocked it. He will find new ways to read and steal my writing, but I don’t want to make it easy for 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.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor William “Tim” Smith, Jr. Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Attempted Child Rape

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pastor william tim smith jr

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 2018, William “Tim” Smith, Jr, pastor of Palmer Church of God in Palmer, Tennessee, was arrested after he was found parked in a remote area engaging in sexual activity with a twelve-year-old girl. Smith was also found in possession of Schedule II prescription drugs.

The Herald-Chronicle reported at the time:

The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office has arrested William E. “Tim” Smith, Jr., 48,  for rape of a child, possession of legend drugs, and possession of Schedule II drugs.

Sheriff Clint Shrum explained that Smith, Jr. was taken into custody after Sheriff’s investigators found him and a 12-year old female in a remote wooded area engaged in sexual conduct in Smith’s truck.  He was also found in possession of Legend and Schedule II prescription drugs.

According to the report, Smith, Jr. identified himself as the pastor of a church in Palmer, the Palmer Church of God.

“This is very disturbing and heartbreaking,” stated Sheriff Shrum. Bond has not been set. Smith, Jr. has an initial court date of July 12th.

Incident Report

The incident report states that the incident occurred in Gruetli-Laager, near Ross Creek Road. The arresting officers were on Ross Creek Road looking for a stolen four wheeler when they decided to check an area that had issues with drug use and selling. When pulling up to the area, they saw a maroon Chevrolet pickup truck. It appeared no one was in the vehicle, but deputies noticed the vehicle was running. They saw an arm raise up and confirmed someone was in the vehicle.

When deputies approached the vehicle, they saw a male and female lying down in the seat. When deputies knocked on the window, the male, who was laying on top of the female, jumped up and tried to pull up his pants. The female tried to pull her skirt down. The deputies noticed the female appeared young and asked her age. The male answered that she was 18. The male then tried to persuade the female to tell the deputies she was 18. The female then stated she was 13.

Deputies found several different pills in a pill bottle in the male’s pants. The male was identified as William Smith and said he was the pastor of the Church of God in Palmer.

“Mr. Smith was placed under arrest and read his Miranda warnings at that time. Mr. Smith only stated that he had done nothing wrong and showed no remorse about the situation.”

With further questioning, the female stated she was 12.

When interviewed by deputies at the Sheriff’s Office (with the permission of her grandparents) the female stated that she and a cousin went riding with Smith to Ramsey’s Lake for several hours. They took her cousin home and went to Smith’s house to pick up another truck so that he “could go to Winchester and get brake pads for his vehicle.” The female stated Smith was supposed to drop her off at home.

The female further stated “Smith stated he had to use the restroom and drove down Ross Creek Road” where they were later located by the Sheriff’s Deputies.

The incident report goes into more detail of the female’s report of what happened, but the Herald has decided to not publish that information at this time.

In 2019, Smith pleaded guilty to attempting to rape a child. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.

WKRN reported:

A Grundy County pastor pleaded guilty on Friday to attempted child rape in a case involving a 12-year-old girl.

Authorities arrested William E. “Tim” Smith, Jr. of the Palmer Church of God in June of last year. 

Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum says Smith, Jr. was taken into custody after investigators found him with a 12-year old female in a remote wooded area engaged in sexual conduct in Smith, Jr.’s truck. 

The deputies were looking for a stolen 4-wheeler on Ross Creek Road near Gruetli-Laager when they discovered the truck with Smith, Jr. and the girl inside. Sheriff Shrum says he was also found in possession of legend and Schedule II prescription drugs. 

At the time of the arrest, Tennessee Church of God officials announced he would be placed on administrative leave.

In court on Friday, Judge Justin Angel sentenced Smith, Jr. to 9 years and 6 months in prison. Smith, Jr. also must not make any contact with the victim.

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Missionary Baptist Pastor James Smith II, Accused of Defrauding Church to Support His Drug Habit

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pastor james smith II

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 Smith II, pastor of New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Pompano Beach, Florida, stands accused of defrauding his church to support his drug habit.

Channel 6 reports:

A Pompano Beach pastor was arrested on multiple charges after authorities said he defrauded his church to support his drug habit.

James Edward Smith II, the pastor of New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Pompano Beach, is facing multiple fraud and theft charges, Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials said Wednesday.

The investigation into Smith began last April after authorities received complaints from parishioners and church founders that Smith had fraudulently gained control over the church and church funds, officials said.

Authorities found the 49-year-old Smith filed a forged quit claim deed allowing him to assume complete control of the church property and then sold it for $600,000, using the money to support a drug habit.

Smith is also being charged by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for larceny and fraud associated with worthless checks totaling more than $1,600 that were written on the church’s bank account, officials said.

….

When authorities searched Smith’s home, they found heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and a stolen firearm, officials said.

Smith was charged with organized scheme to defraud, fraud, grand theft, criminal use of personal identification information, unlawful filing of false document records against real or personal property, grand theft of a firearm, possession of a firearm by convicted felon and violation of probation.

More charges are pending.

Smith’s church bio page says:

For Reverend James Edward Smith II, Pastor of New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church of Pompano Beach, Florida praise and worship is more than a style it’s a way of life.  It is what he does in response to God’s presence in his life.  His desire is to preach and teach the gospel so others may recognize the awesome power of God and praise him for his mighty acts.

He hails from the south Florida, a third generation preacher, married to Mrs. Dionne E. Smith, and together they have four children; xxxx, xxxx, xxxx, and xxxx.  Reverend Smith is a proud 1992 graduate of Boyd Anderson High  School, and a 1996 graduated of Edward WatersCollege in Jacksonville Floridawhere he acquired a degree in Business Administration.   Since his call to the ministry, he has taken several biblical training courses and workshops, and presently matriculating in the Masters of Divinity at Ames Theological Seminary. 

His passion for the ministry has led him and kept him in many trying times.  Along with a powerful gift in ministry comes anointed vocal and song writing ability that is proven by one of his original songs “I’m no longer the same”.  His traditional flavor layered with a contemporary draw has made it easy for the old to connect and the young to relate.

One of his favorite quotes is; “What would I know about being restored if I’d never lost my place? What would I know about God’s mercy if I’d never fallen from grace?”  Reverend Smith extracts from experiences that God has brought him through to be a testimony to the young and a reminder to the old that God can do anything but fail! When ministering, his dynamic energy and conviction invites you into a place of worship and praise. 

Reverend Smith is active in several levels of ministry conducting various kinds of worship services, revivals, retreats, conferences, weddings and concerts. God has recently called Reverend Smith to expand his ministry to include mentoring young men without active fathers in the home.  When asked who he would like to reach while ministering he said, “Those who know and don’t know they need Jesus!” He laughs“So this covers everybody.  I want people to know that the forces of Satan are real but so are the forces of God.  People must understand there is another good time that Satan doesn’t want them to know about and it is in
Jesus.  

Reverend Smith is a former associate minister at New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church located in Fort Lauderdale Floridawhere his father, Bishop David C Poole,  is Pastor.  He served in the leadership capacity as the minister of music, bible study instructor, and trustee board member.  Reverend Smith’s servant hood to God extends the walls of the church to those in the surrounding community: he is a board member of Elijah’s House for Ex-offenders, Member of the Broward County Coalition for ex-offenders, member of the South Florida Renowned singing ensemble In-Unity, and a life time member of Gamma Beta  Chi fraternity.  

When asked Reverend Smith says that he considers himself a living testimony of what God can do for those who love and trust him with their whole heart. Because of His abundant grace and unconditional love, it is his mission to share the goodness of God with everyone he places in his path.  When asked what his message is, Reverend Smith says, “You will not experience a genuine sense of spiritual fulfillment until you realize and live within God’s will for your life.” 

Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.