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Black Collar Crime: Former Catholic Youth Worker Brian Werth Sentenced to 37 Years in Prison for Child Pornography Crimes

Bruce Gerencser 0 Comments
brian werth

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, Brian Werth, a youth worker at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Rockville, Maryland, was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for the sexual abuse of a church teenager.

The Bethesda Magazine reported:

A former youth minister at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Rockville was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for the sexual abuse of a teen parishioner, according to Montgomery County prosecutors.

Brian Patrick Werth, 34, had been arrested in 2016 in connection with the abuse of a then-16-year-old girl, to whom he had sent explicit text messages for two years and had sexual contact with her earlier that year. He was charged with a fourth-degree sex offense, sexual abuse of a minor and second-degree assault.

Judge Karla Smith sentenced Werth to one year for the sex offense charge and two years for the assault charge, according to a State’s Attorney’s Office press release. The two terms will be served consecutively, followed by five years of probation with COMET, a sex offender monitoring program that will include periodic polygraph and psychosexual testing. Werth is also required to register as a sex offender for 15 years.

Smith went beyond state guidelines, which recommend zero to six months for the charges, in the sentencing. Ramón Korionoff, a spokesman for the State’s Attorney’s Office, said the sentence was appropriate.

“It is our hope that this above-the-guidelines sentence will send a strong message that people in position of authority and trust must not abuse that power over the young people they are supposed to be serving,” he said in a statement. “Hopefully, yesterday’s sentence will be the first step in healing for the victim and the church community in this matter.”

….

Werth, who lived in Montgomery Village at the time, had known the victim through the church, and learned that she “adored him,” according to prosecutors. They began texting, and police later discovered he had sent graphic and sexual texts to her since the summer of 2014.

On about May 20, 2016, Werth kissed the teen and had other inappropriate sexual contact with her during a youth event at the church, according to police.

St. Elizabeth’s had fired Werth in 2016 after the pastor received a complaint against him that summer, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Washington at the time. The pastor contacted the Archdiocese’s Child and Youth Protection Office, which then reported the case to county police.

After his release from prison, Werth was accused of one count of solicitation of a minor to engage in the production of obscene matter, three counts of possession with intent to distribute pornography, and ten counts of possession of child pornography.

In 2021, the Maryland State Police reported,

A Prince George’s County man was arrested and charged Tuesday after a Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation developed evidence supporting charges of possession of child pornography and the attempted solicitation of a minor.

The suspect is identified as Brian Werth, 37, of Beltsville, MD. Werth, a registered sex offender, is charged with solicitation of a minor to engage in the production of obscene matter, three counts of possession with intent to distribute pornography and 10 counts of possession of child pornography. He was taken to the Maryland State Police College Park Barrack for processing before being transferred to the Prince George’s County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond.

On June 24, the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received a CyberTip report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involving the distribution of child pornography online. The investigation led to the identification of the suspect and his residence in Prince George’s County.

Through the course of the investigation, troopers discovered that Werth had also been communicating with a minor in North Carolina. Troopers, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, arrested Werth Tuesday as he went to visit his probation officer in Hyattsville, Maryland. Investigators also served a search warrant at the identified suspect’s residence.

Finally, Werth had his day in court and was convicted of on two counts of production of child pornography; coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity; and committing a crime involving a minor by a registered sex offender. Werth was sentenced to 37 years in prison.

WUSA-9 reports:

A 39-year-old registered sex offender was convicted by a jury Wednesday on multiple charges related to creating pornography involving minors. 

After a three-day trial, Brian Patrick Werth, a 39-year-old from Beltsville, was found guilty by a jury on two counts of production of child pornography; coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity; and committing a crime involving a minor by a registered sex offender. 

Prosecutors said between January and June 2021, Werth pressured a 14-year-old and 15-year-old girl to create sexually explicit content and share it with Werth via apps. The teens testified that he used coercion methods such as showing them porn with other teens, flattering them and helping them buy lingerie and “school girl outfits.” 

During that same time period, prosecutors said Werth was also talking to an 11-year-old girl and asking her for nude photos. 

Werth faces a minimum of 25 years in federal prison, up to 50 years for the child pornography charges, and an additional 10-year mandatory consecutive sentence for the commission of a new offense involving a minor while being required to register as a sex offender, and between 10 years and life in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor. If and when he’s released from prison, he will be required to continue registering as a sex offender. 

….

Werth’s previous conviction stems from a 2016 case where he was accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl he allegedly spent two years grooming. 

“There was an extended period of grooming,” Assistant State’s Attorney Hannah Gleason said at the time of his arrest. “He’s a danger to this juvenile and to the community.”

Werth was a youth minister at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Rockville at the time and was accused of abusing her at a youth ministry “lock-in” overnight event.

“She felt helpless to resist or object to the defendant’s advances and solicitations based upon their historical relationship and her belief the defendant had been so helpful and kind to her in the past,” investigators wrote in court documents.

The Daily Voice adds:

Beltsville resident Brian Patrick Werth, 40, has been sentenced to 37 years in prison after being convicted by a jury at a three-day trial for producing child sexual abuse material.

Werth was convicted of coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and engaging with a minor as a registered sex offender.

According to court documents, between January 2021 and June 2021, Werth communicated with underage girls, ages 11 and 15, through Internet-based applications WhatsApp and Kik. 

During these interactions, prosecutors said that Werth persuaded, coerced, and enticed the minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct by producing sexually explicit videos of themselves. 

Additionally, Werth engaged in child sexual abuse as a member of the Maryland Sex Offender Registry for a previous sex offense conviction.

In addition to his prison term, Werth was also ordered by a judge to serve 25 years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender where he resides, is employed, and where he is a student when he is released.

Werth also is barred from having contact with children under the age of 18 without prior permission. He also will submit to computer monitoring.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

Update: Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Youth Pastor Brett Bymaster Accused of Child Sexual Abuse

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment
brett bymaster

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 April 2024, Bret Bymaster, a former youth pastor at The River Church Community in San Jose, California, was accused of six felony counts of child sexual abuse.

The San Jose Spolightlight reported:

A prominent Silicon Valley leader and former pastor has been arrested and charged with six felony counts of child sex abuse, after being under investigation this year for allegations that surfaced about his time as a youth ministry leader at a popular South Bay church.

Brett Bymaster faces time behind bars for alleged lewd acts with a child who was as young as eight during his time at The River Church, according to charges by county prosecutors. He was arrested and booked at the Elmwood Correctional Facility on Thursday. His bond was set at $400,000, but at a Friday arraignment hearing, Judge Hector Ramon revoked his eligibility for bail at least until the next scheduled hearing on April 19, according to prosecutors. San José Spotlight first reported Bymaster’s alleged abuse in January.

Ramon ordered Bymaster not to contact the victim documented in the charges. He was also ordered not to contact another unnamed individual, according to the case’s prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Christopher Paynter.

Paynter said it’s too early to tell how much jail time Bymaster faces if found guilty of all charges. The trial date is a moving target.

“It’s an ongoing investigation,” Paynter told San José Spotlight.

Bymaster’s attorneys Renee Hessling and Dana Fite did not respond to requests for comment.

The arrest comes after a second investigation by The River Church in three years regarding Bymaster’s action, when five parishioner families say a 2021 probe led by church leaders failed to uncover the extent of his abuse and excluded one of the most serious claims — sexual abuse.

At the time, Bymaster denied the allegations in a statement to San José Spotlight.

“In recent months, we have discovered that there were profound flaws in the original pastoral inquiry process and in the denominational report (which was never released publicly but only summarized by senior leaders),” church families wrote in an open letter in January. “We now believe that the inquiry process and the senior leadership withheld crucial information about the nature and scope of the abuse.”

Bymaster, a recognizable figure in advocacy and political circles, was still listed as a founder and executive director of the Healing Grove Health Center, a clinic that serves low-income families, on its website as of Friday afternoon.

….

Bymaster served as a youth pastor and director at The River, nestled on Lincoln Avenue, for five years beginning in 2014. He quit after getting a critical job review in August 2019 based on complaints about his leadership from church families.

Yet two years later, youth from the congregation raised more significant concerns about Bymaster.

The church launched an internal inquiry in 2021 led by its own leader the Rev. Theresa Marks, according to an email sent in January from three top church leaders, including lead pastor Brad Wong.

Marks found that Bymaster was a “toxic leader who was spiritually abusive,” and encouraged church leaders to summarize her findings in a letter. The probe from Marks, which included interviews with 25 individuals, also questioned the church’s management of Bymaster.

“We take full responsibility for not doing the job of keeping our youth and youth volunteers safe in our youth ministry. We did not provide adequate oversight of the youth program or our former youth pastor,” church leaders wrote in an August 2021 letter.

But parents of the alleged victims say the letter swept damning details under the rug and questioned whether some of the incidents should’ve been categorized as sexual misconduct, harassment or abuse.

In November 2024, more charges against Bymaster were filed.

The Mercury News reports:

A well-known nonprofit director was hit with more charges alleging that he sexually abused a minor when he formerly worked as a youth pastor, following a separate case alleging sexual abuse against another minor was filed in April.

Brett Bymaster, 48, the executive director of Healing Grove Health Center, was charged Nov. 19 with one felony count of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 years old and one felony count of lewd and lascivious acts on a child aged 14 or 15, according to court documents. The alleged abuse began in 2013 and continued through 2019.

He was arrested and charged in April with six counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a minor who was between the ages of 8 and 14 during the time of the alleged abuse — a similar range of years, from 2013 to 2019. Bymaster was released on $50,000 bail that same month pending trial.

He was placed on leave from Healing Grove Health Center following the first charges. Bymaster posted $100,000 bail on the new charges, according to the DA’s office. His arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 14.

Bymaster formerly worked as a youth pastor at The River Church in San Jose between 2014 and 2019. He resigned in 2019 due to his leadership style not aligning with the teachings of the church, according to court documents.

The new charges allege that Bymaster took advantage of a position of trust to commit the abuse and befriended the victim, referred to as Jane Doe in court documents, in the pursuit of committing the sexual abuse. Documents added that the victim was “particularly vulnerable.”

….

Bymaster’s attorneys, Renee Hessling and Dana Fite, said in a statement: “These are not new allegations; in fact, the District Attorney’s Office has known of this alleged victim since the beginning of their crusade against Mr. Bymaster. These new accusations were originally considered meritless, but in an attempt to bolster a weak case against Mr. Bymaster, (prosecutors) elected to file these additional charges which stem from an ever-evolving story.”

In response to the statement by Bymaster’s lawyers, Sean Webby, director of communications at the DA’s office, said: “We’ll try our case in court.”

Allegations against Bymaster arose in January when The River, the church where he formerly worked as a youth pastor, sent a letter to the church community detailing their independent investigation into his behavior when he worked there between 2014 and 2019. The church had first investigated Bymaster in 2021 due to complaints about his leadership and concerns about sexual misconduct, according to court documents.

The church’s investigation alleged that Bymaster was too graphic when teaching sex education classes to youth, that he showered naked with teen boys at a camp, that he made a comment about a minor girl’s chest and that, in one instance, he touched a female’s upper thigh inappropriately, according to court documents.

The church conducted its second investigation in 2023 after parents complained that the first investigation “downplayed some of the possible criminal elements” allegedly committed by Bymaster, according to court documents. Between 12 and 13 students made “complaints related to the sexual misconduct” to the church, according to court documents.

The San Jose Police Department began an investigation into the allegations in January.

A civil lawsuit was filed earlier this year against The River Church by a former church employee claiming that the church had been warned of Bymaster’s alleged actions and attempted to cover them up. The church disputed the allegations.

Brett Bymaster’s wife, Angela Bymaster, contacted the Bay Area News Group on Tuesday and strongly defended her spouse.

“My husband is completely innocent of all of these charges,” Angela Bymaster said. “He is guilty only of preaching the gospel of Jesus and building a successful Christian clinic which serves the poor, which has somehow made us a lot of friends and a lot of enemies.”

Angela Bymaster characterized the allegations as attempts by enemies to destroy his reputation and their clinic.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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

You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.

Black Collar Crime: Youth Leader Abraham Coronado Sentenced to Life in Prison for Sexual Abuse

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment
life in prison

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.

Abraham Jatnel Coronado, a youth leader with a La Luz Del Mundo affiliated church in Redlands, California, and oversaw an off-site church property known as Ebenezer Ranch, was found guilty of thirteen counts of sexually abusing minor church members and sentenced to life in prison. La Luz Del Mundo is a non-trinitarian, charismatic organization.

KTLA-5 reports:

A youth leader at a notorious church in Redlands has been sentenced to 175 years to life in prison for sexually abusing three young members of the congregation.

Abraham Jatnel Coronado was found guilty last Friday of 13 felony counts of sexual abuse against the young church members.

Coronado was a youth leader at a La Luz Del Mundo church in Redlands and oversaw an off-site church property known as Ebenezer Ranch.

According to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, Coronado was often left in charge of children without parental supervision and the children would often spend the night in his trailer located on the ranch.

Coronado, the DA’s Office said, was “well respected and known to have a close relationship with the Church headquarters’ main leaders.”

For several years, Coronado used his position to prey on young boys in his care, prosecutors said. The victims ranged in age from 12 to 17.

The first victim to come forward was abused by the church leader when he was a teenager. He testified during the trial that Coronado repeatedly sexually abused him, and in a recorded conversation between the two, Coronado never denied the abuse and said he “wanted this [sex] to happen.”

The first victim reported the abuse in 2021 after seeing Coronado taking another young victim under his wing, concerned that he would continue to victimize other children at the ranch.

The second victim testified that Coronado groomed him from a young age to “become his boyfriend” and would often isolate the child from other children at the ranch. The victim testified to experiencing “many acts” of sexual abuse at the hands of Coronado that began when around 2010 when he was only 13. When he turned 14, Coronado became more forceful and raped the child, he testified.

A third victim testified that Coronado would “slap his buttocks, rub his chest, and rub his pelvis against him in a sexual manner” when he was between the ages of 12 and 13. The victim said he’d never experienced an adult behaving like that toward him.

Coronado eventually admitted to the sexual abuse of the children, acknowledging he was aware of their age at the time and his position of power over them. In an apology letter written to his victims, Coronado said he was sorry that his “stupidity” caused them such “suffering and humiliation.”

La Luz Del Mundo is a controversial megachurch headquartered in Mexico that has been mired in allegations of sex abuse perpetrated by church leaders. In 2019, Naasón Joaquín García, the religious organization’s main leader and a self-proclaimed apostle of Jesus, was arrested at LAX and eventually pleaded guilty to charges of sexual abuse of a child.

He is currently serving a 17-year prison sentence for those crimes at the California Institution for Men in Chino

Last year, García was indicted for allegedly possessing child pornography on his tablet, which was found during his arrest at LAX.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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: Director of Religious Education Craig Daugherty Charged with Sexual Abuse of a Minor

Bruce Gerencser 1 Comment
arrested

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.

Craig Daugherty, educated at Dallas Theological Seminary — an Evangelical institution — and director of religious education for the U.S. Army at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska, stands accused of two counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

Alaska’s News Source reports:

State prosecutors have charged the director of religious education for the U.S. Army at Fort Wainwright with having repeated sexual contact with a minor under 13 years of age at his home.

Craig Lasley Daugherty, 58, was charged Wednesday with two counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

An affidavit signed by Investigator Al Bell says Alaska State Troopers “received a report” of the abuse on Tuesday. The same day, charging documents say the minor told a forensic interviewer that Daugherty directed them to make skin-to-skin contact with Daugherty’s genitalia during the week of Nov. 18.

The child also reportedly told interviewers the abuse had been going on since 2021, but the two counts on the indictment only list dates for 2024 incidents.

When interviewed, Daugherty recounted two instances of sexual contact and said the child had initiated it, according to the charging documents.

In the report, Daugherty told investigators the child pulled down his (Daugherty’s) shorts and “swiped and grabbed at his [genitalia],” and added he should have told the child’s father about it a while ago.

The documents say the investigation revealed Daugherty serves as a “local youth pastor,” and a resume posted on Daugherty’s LinkedIn page shows he’s been the director of religious education since Dec. 2020.

A resume shared on LinkedIn shows Daugherty also has professional experience in retail and finance. Beginning in 2014, he worked as a retail trainer at Stripes Convenience Stores in Lubbock, Texas.

Before that, Daugherty held a variety of positions in Texas and Europe — in schools and the military — with most of the jobs relating to education or youth ministry, according to the resume. His resume also states that he received his Master of Arts in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1996.

….

Daugherty’s case was assigned to Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Kirk Schwalm. He was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and remanded to Fairbanks Correctional Center.

A bail order says Daugherty is being held in custody under a $300,000 appearance bond and $250,000 performance bond.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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: Nazarene Church Member Charles Sulivant Accused of Sexual Abuse — Pastors and Superintendent Covered-Up Crimes

Bruce Gerencser 4 Comments
Charles Sulivant

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.

Charles Sulivant, a member in good standing at Shawnee First Church of the Nazarene in Shawnee, Oklahoma, stands accused of sexually abusing several church children and preying on others over the years. Worse, two pastors, Johnny Stephens, the pastor at Shawnee First, and Drew Dinnel, a pastor at a youth camp, knew of the allegations against Sulivant and initially did nothing, as did retired District Superintendent Terry Rowland. Stephens pastored Shawnee First for over twenty years. Dinnel is the pastor of Muskogee Church in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Dinnel texted me and stated he first contacted the parents, asking them to contact law enforcement, went to his superiors who pressured him not to report the alleged crime, and later reported it himself. Dinnel, however, had a legal responsibility to immediately report the crime. Kudos for reporting it, but he should have done so without delay. It was not up to the parents or Dinnel’s superiors to decide the validity of the allegation. That role belongs to law enforcement. (Dinnel told me about 24 hours elapsed from knowledge of the allegation to reporting it.) All three so-called men of God should investigated, and, if warranted, disciplined, excommunicated, or charged with a crime. The only way to give teeth to mandatory reporting laws is to hold clerics responsible when they fail to do so.

Channel 4 reports:

According to police records 91-year-old Charles Sulivant had been allegedly molesting young girls, and several pastors at the time knew, but didn’t call police.

“I talked to the parents,” said Johnny Stephens who had been the pastor at the time of the alleged abuse. He was one of the pastors at the time who didn’t call the police, News 4 confronted Stephens Thursday.

Documents showed that one victim’s mother reported the alleged abuse her daughter (who was 16 years old at the time) experienced in 2016.

However, charges weren’t officially filed and interviews weren’t conducted until this year. Five other victims were revealed after the original victim came forward.

Their interviews were conducted over the summer while the crimes were alleged to have happened before 2016.

In one of the cases, documents allege Sullivant lured a nine-year-old girl to his truck in the church parking lot, promising a gift. There he reportedly touched her inappropriately, kissed her, and tried to “get under her clothes.”

That victim, it said, went to her pastor at the time Stephens. Police were not called.

Records said that the Nazarene District Superintendent at the time Terry Rowland was told. Still, he allegedly told the girl that a family member of hers would lose their minister’s license if it were pursued further, so it seemed like it wasn’t.

Another victim told police that when she was twelve years old Sulivant allegedly molested her and tried kissing her on the mouth saying, “I could go for a girl like you.” Police weren’t called after that, reportedly.

Another victim said she was fourteen years old and said when he molested her she was able to elbow him in the groin and get away.

Pastor Stephens was told and she said he told her she was a “bad kid” and that people wouldn’t believe her. She also said he allegedly told her that a family member could lose their job at the church.

Several other victims had interviewed with police with similar stories.

Documents stated that a different pastor at the time [at a youth camp], Drew Dinnel, had heard about two victims at least and told the superintendent at the time Rowland. However, Rowland allegedly tried telling Dinnel to not report it, and to leave it up to the girls’ families to report it.

Dinnel is said to be the lead pastor at Muskogee Church of the Nazarene. He didn’t call News 4 back when reached out for comment.

Sulivant was brought in by Shawnee Police for an interview where he confessed to much of it and said, “You know, I had forgotten all about this.”

When told that the girls didn’t forget, he said, “Well all I can say is I’m sorry about it. We all do a lot of stupid things and this was one of them.”

Even though he seemingly confessed when brought into the department in August, he wasn’t booked into jail until November 5.

News 4 confronted former Pastor Stephens, who said he had since retired as pastor of the church. [The church’s website still lists him as employed by the church.]

People are going to say that Sulivant should have been taken out of the church completely. What do you think?

“Well, I’m not going to excommunicate somebody,” said Stephens.

Why? Even if they’re molesting little girls?

“Well, I need to find out. That’s why I wanted her mother and dad to talk to him and they did. They assured me that they talked to him and things were okay. So, you know every part of it is redemptive. I was trying to redeem Charles,” said Stephens.

But you failed, right? Four or five girls possibly getting molested by this gentleman.

“Did he? Did they?” Asked Stephens. “I tried my best to watch him.”

What would you do if you could go back in time? Actually, call the police?

“What would I do, police, yeah,” said Stephens.

And not let him back into the church?

“No, no. Let him in church,” said Stephens.

Even after he molests girls?

“I’m thinking if I had to do it all over again then yeah. I would have probably called the police. But I was trying to redeem him,” said Stephens. “I was just at the moment trying to figure it all out. So that’s what I did. Maybe it was wrong.”

Maybe?

“I don’t doubt that it was wrong,” said Stephens.

Sulivant posted bond pretty soon after he was booked in Pottawatomie County Jail. News 4 confronted him at his home in Macomb where he denied an interview.

He is charged with three counts of Lewd Acts with a child under 16 and two counts of Sexual Battery.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

Why Evangelical Church Members Have a Hard Time Believing Their Pastors Do Bad Things

Bruce Gerencser 8 Comments
timothy keller quote

Why is it that many Evangelical Christians have a hard time believing that pastors, evangelists, parachurch leaders, Christian university presidents, and other notable Christian leaders commit crimes such as sexual assault, rape, child abuse, murder, fraud, or otherwise engage in behaviors deemed by faithful Christians to be sinful?  Often, when I write a Black Collar Crime article about a pastor or some other Christian leader committing a crime or behaving in ways that make them out to be hypocrites, I end up getting comments and emails from people objecting to my publicizing the story. These objectors leave comments that suggest that they have some sort of inside knowledge about the matter, and once the “truth” comes out the accused will be vindicated. Other objectors will take the “they are innocent until proven guilty” approach, subtly suggesting that these kinds of stories should not be publicized until there has been a trial and a conviction. With righteous indignation they attack me, the messenger, for daring to publish anything about the stories, warning me that God is going to get me for causing harm to his servants and his church. And when the trials are over and convictions are handed down, do these same people return to this site with heads humbly bowed, confessing that they did not know these men and women as well as they thought they did? Of course not. If anything, they will demand forgiveness for the offender. After all, we are all sinners in need of forgiveness, right?

Years ago, I remember some people getting upset with me over my publicizing on Facebook their pastor’s criminal behavior. He didn’t do it! I KNOW this man! I’ve been friends with him for 20 years! He led me to Jesus! It’s just the word of a confused teenager against the word of an honorable, devoted man of God. It was interesting to watch all these outraged people disappear once multiple girls came forward from several churches and said that this pastor had taken sexual advantage of them. Why is it these church members had a hard time believing that their pastor committed felony sexual crimes?

When Jack Schaap was accused of carrying on a sexual affair with a teenage girl he was counseling, scores of outraged members and supporters of First Baptist Church in Hammond Indiana came to this blog and declared Schaap’s innocence. These are the same people who, to this day, believe that Schaap’s father-in-law, Jack Hyles, never carried on with his secretary, and these same people, while not condoning David Hyles’ heinous crimes, demand that he be given favorable treatment since God has forgiven him. Who are we to condemn, if God has forgiven him, they said. He that is without sin let him cast the first stone! Judge not!

Bob Gray, the one-time pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville Florida, was accused of sexually molesting young children. Countless Gray supporters said that their pastor could never do such a thing, yet we now know that it is likely he had been a sexual predator for most of the fifty years he spent in the ministry. How is it possible that a pastor who was considered by many, including myself, to be a Holy Ghost-filled man of God, could, for decades, sexually harm children, yet no one know about it (or at least was willing to report it)?

In 2017, Justin White, pastor of First Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana was arrested on felony charges of insurance fraud and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. White was later sentenced to three years in prison. Come to find out, White was a heroin addict. I found myself asking, how is it possible that a man could preach three times a week and lead a large church while on heroin? Those must have been some pretty awesome and inspiring sermons. Did church leaders know that White had a heroin problem? It seems likely that they did. In 2015, White went out of state for thirty-two days to a rehab center, returning clean to a none-the-wiser church congregation. If news reports are to be believed, White’s recovery was short-lived, resulting in him committing insurance fraud to pay an $11,000 debt he owed to a drug dealer. Despite the evidence and White’s subsequent resignation, some congregants believed their pastor was innocent of all charges. Why do these church members, and others like them, have such a hard time believing that the man who stands in the pulpit on Sunday can be someone other than who he says he is?

These same people have no problem believing that non-Christians commit all sorts of crimes. When newspapers report the crimes of unbelievers, these followers of Jesus shake their heads and say if they only put their faith and trust in Jesus all things would become new for them. In their minds, Jesus is an antidote for bad and criminal behavior. And, to be honest, he often is, or at least the idea of Jesus is an antidote for behavior deemed sinful or unlawful. Countless alcoholics and drug addicts clean up after having a Come to Jesus moment. While I could write much about why this is so, the fact remains that in some instances having some sort of conversion experience leads people to change their ways. If Jesus really is the antidote for sin and the answer for what ails us, why then do so many Christians fall (or run) into behaviors that are considered sinful or criminal? Why is there little difference behavior-wise between nonbelievers and believers?

The reason then that Evangelicals have a hard time believing their pastors could ever commit the crimes they are accused of is because they think — despite evidence to the contrary — that people are protected from moral and ethical failure by their Christian salvation and the presence of the Holy Spirit living inside them. This is why the Black Collar Crime series is so important. The series is a public reminder of the fact that religion, in and of itself, does not make anyone a better person. It can, and perhaps at times does, but countless people who are nonreligious or members of non-Evangelical churches live exemplary lives. Religion is not a prerequisite to goodness. And because Evangelicals refuse to understand this, they find it difficult to accept that the men and women they hold up as pillars of morality and virtue can really be perverts and criminals in disguise.

While we should generally trust people, we should not do so blindly, and therein lies the problem for many Evangelicals. They are taught to obey those that have authority over them. They are reminded that gossip is a sin and that church members should not believe an accusation against an elder (pastor) unless it can be firmly established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Jack Hyles was fond of saying, if you didn’t see it, it didn’t happen. Countless Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) preachers have used this very line to turn back whispers about their sexual infidelity or criminal behavior. You keep your mouth shut now. If you didn’t see it happen, you have no business talking about it. I’m sure former IFB church members can remember blistering sermons about gossip or the dangers of speaking badly about the man of God. Remember those boys who mocked the man of God in the Bible? Why, bears came out of the woods and ate them. Best keep your tongue quiet, lest God send bears to eat you. How often do Evangelicals hear sermons about not touching God’s anointed? Mind your own business, church members are told, and let God take care of the preacher. If he is sinning, God will punish him. But here is the problem with this kind of thinking: God doesn’t punish sinning preachers. They just keep on sinning and sinning and sinning. They will keep on molesting little boys and girls, raping teenagers, and sleeping with vulnerable congregants until real flesh-and-blood human beings make them stop.

Think of all the times that church leaders heard rumors or reports about clergy misconduct, yet did nothing. They were more concerned about the testimony of the church than they were about the victims. Think of all the times that church leaders heard rumors or reports about clergy misconduct, conducted their own investigations, and once finished, buried the accusations or elicited a promise from offenders that they would never, ever do again that which they were accused of. After all, since Jesus has forgiven them, shouldn’t the church? The short answer to this question is HELL NO! When clergy commit criminal acts that harm other people, they must be held accountable. This is why states have mandatory reporting laws. When church leadership hears of reports of possible criminal sexual misconduct, they are required to immediately report these actions to law enforcement. It is not their responsibility to investigate or mete out punishment. We have a legal system that’s responsible for investigating crimes and bringing offenders to justice. I wish more churches would be prosecuted for failing to report. If a handful of church deacons or elders had to spend time in jail for not reporting or for covering up crimes, perhaps this would put an end to these men and women placing their religious institutions’ reputations above the welfare of those who have been victimized.

I spent twenty-five years in church ministry. From the time I preached my first sermon at age fifteen to preaching my last at age fifty, I was a member of the preacher fraternity. I know what went on behind closed doors. I know about scandals, sexual affairs, fraud, and suspected criminal behavior. I know where the bodies are buried. I know the real story behind Pastor So-and-So’s abrupt call to a new church. I know why certain missionaries had to come home from the field, never to return. I know that preachers are not any different from the people they pastor. Yes, most pastors are good people. Yes, most pastors generally desire to help others. What is also true is that some pastors are lazy and see the ministry as a way to make a quick and easy buck. It is also true that some pastors watch pornography and have sexual affairs with people in and out of their churches. People are people, and the sooner church members understand this, the better. Stop putting pastors on pedestals. Stop thinking pastors and their families are in any way better than anyone else. They are not, and I wish that pastors would stand before their congregations on Sundays and be honest about this.

The reason they don’t, of course, is that few congregants want honesty and transparency. Instead, they want pastors who are victorious over sin. They want pastors who are above the fray. They want winners! They want men and women they can look up to as examples of moral purity and virtue. Years ago, I remember admitting in a sermon that I knew what it was to lust after a woman. My objective was to let congregants know that I was just like them, and that I was not in any way morally superior to them. After the service, a man came up to me and told me that he was upset over my confession. In no uncertain terms, he let me know that he didn’t want to hear about my sins or failures. He wanted a pastor who was a shining example of holiness and righteousness. In other words, he wanted me to be God. Needless to say, this man did not last long in our church. He quickly found out that I was, like the apostle Paul, the chiefest of sinners.

Have you ever attended a church where the pastor, deacon, Sunday school teacher, or some other revered leader in the church was accused of criminal behavior or sexual misconduct? How did the church respond to these accusations? Were some members unwilling to believe that the pastor could do the things he or she was accused of? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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 Worship Pastor Jordan Henderson Accused of Sexually Molesting School Girls

Bruce Gerencser 11 Comments
jordan henderson

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.

“While some would have you focus on alarm bells and your greatest fears about what you do not know, I want to encourage you with confidence based on what I do know. I know Jordan to be of the highest character and quality as a man. He is a great husband, a great father, a great teacher. He and his family have the full confidence and support of our church. Please join us in asking that God reveal the full and complete truth regarding these allegations.” (In other words, trust me, my son didn’t do it.)

— Chris Henderson, pastor, and Jordan’s father

Jordan Henderson, a worship pastor at Wellspring Fellowship in Lakebay, Washington, and a fifth-grade teacher at Evergreen Elementary School, stands accused of sexually molesting and groping several school girls.

Gig Harbor Now reports:

Pierce County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested an Evergreen Elementary School teacher on suspicion of first-degree child molestation on April 18, according to a statement from the Peninsula School District.

The teacher is in custody at the Pierce County Jail, the school district said. The district previously placed the teacher on administrative leave after learning about allegations of misconduct.

Attorneys representing a victim identified the teacher as Jordan Henderson. The online Pierce County jail roster lists a person by that name held on suspicion of eight counts of first-degree child molestation.

A public database of K-12 employees maintained by the state of Washington shows a Jordan Henderson employed as a teacher in Peninsula School District since at least 2018-19.

“Based on our initial investigations, we believe that Henderson likely abused many other young women over the years,” attorney Kevin Hastings said in a news release. Hastings, an attorney with Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, is representing the survivor of Henderson and her mother. “We anticipate more victims to come forward once news of Henderson’s arrest becomes widespread.”

The law firm’s statement said the victim reported being sexually abused by Henderson while she was his student during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

A statement from the sheriff’s office said it launched its investigation on Feb. 26, after an Evergreen student reported allegations of “molestation or groping” by a teacher. Detectives served a search warrant on the teacher’s Gig Harbor home and arrested him Thursday, April 18.

Fox-13 reports:

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) initiated the investigation after receiving a report from a student on Feb. 26, alleging inappropriate conduct by a teacher at the school. Acting swiftly, detectives from the sheriff’s office launched an inquiry into the matter.

During the ongoing investigation, the school district took immediate action, removing the accused teacher from his duties at Longbranch Elementary School.

On April 18, following the execution of a search warrant at Henderson’s residence in Gig Harbor, the suspect was arrested on first-degree charges and booked into Pierce County Jail.

The allegations against Henderson have sent shockwaves through the community, particularly among the families of the victims.

In a highly emotional court hearing Friday, parents shared the profound impact of the alleged assaults on their children, with one girl pleading with the judge to ensure her alleged attacker remains behind bars.

“We can’t drive past the school building without her hiding her eyes,” one parent said.

According to probable cause documents obtained by FOX 13 News, Henderson is accused of preying on fourth and fifth graders for years, using his position as an educator to gain the trust of his victims and convince them that the assaults were normal.

He’s accused of rubbing children’s backs, things, behinds and genitals. Court documents say the “brave little girls called Henderson out for the assaults.”

Henderson took advantage of his role as an educator, lying to the children and saying “touching was normal.” He also told the kids “not to tell anyone.”

The victims reported that sexual assaults would happen daily and even interfere with class. One girl stated if she spoke up, Henderson would punish her.

“I ask you, your honor, to consider her piece of mind when considering this evil, evil person,” one family member said.

The courtroom on Friday was filled with members of Wellspring Fellowship Church, where Henderson holds a leadership role alongside his father. The church released a statement expressing support for Henderson, further adding to the complexity of the case.

Despite requests from Henderson’s attorney for release without bail, Pierce County Superior Court Judge Barbara McCinvale set a $100,000 bond and imposed strict conditions, including prohibiting Henderson from being around children other than his own.

Jordan Henderson’s church bio states:

My name is Jordan Henderson and I have been the worship pastor here at Wellspring Fellowship since 2011.  I moved to the area with my parents (Chris and Susan) in 2000.  Music has always been a big part of my life.  My parents looked at playing the piano as a subject in school so when I was six I started piano lessons and continued them through college.  I also played in wind ensembles throughout my schooling (playing the baritone) and sang lead tenor in an opera at Olympic College.  I started playing piano for worship in church when I was 13.  In High school I learned the guitar and started playing for church.  When I finished high school I went to Olympic college to focus on music and elementary education.  From there I attended Northwest University earning my BA in Elementary Education.  While at Northwest I met my wife and we were married in August of 2013.  We currently live in Gig Harbor where I teach 5th grade at Evergreen Elementary.  

In June 2024, Henderson was charged with three more crimes.

KOMO reports:

A Pierce County elementary school teacher and volunteer worship pastor accused of child molestation is charged with additional counts after a new victim came forward.

Jordan Henderson, 34, who is already facing nine counts of first-degree child molestation has had three additional counts added. A new victim has come forward accusing Henderson.

The teacher was arrested in April after allegations of misconduct involving young students. Henderson was arrested by Pierce County Sheriff’s Department deputies at his home in Gig Harbor.

The allegations came after a student reported assaults to her parents in February. According to the PCSD, the allegations concerned molestation or groping of young students at school and during school hours.

Police said five Evergreen Elementary School students, all girls, came forward and told officials of the assaults that took place during school hours.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

Why Churches Can’t Be Trusted When Sexual Abuse Allegations Are Made

Bruce Gerencser 12 Comments
photo of man pointing his finger
Photo by Rodolpho Zanardo on Pexels.com

Recent allegations of sexual misconduct by notable Evangelical pastors have led to a lot of controversy and outrage among Evangelicals. Such behavior is not new, so I am wondering where the outrage was years ago when Evangelical and Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) preachers were accused of rape, sexual assault, and other heinous crimes? Better late than never, I suppose.

Robert Morris, the pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas — a megachurch with over 25,000 members — was recently accused of and admitted to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s. The abuse went on for several years. Church leaders knew about Morris’ sordid past, believing he had an inappropriate relationship with a “young woman” — as if, somehow this is better. Now that leadership knows the “truth,” they are expressing their own outrage over Morris’ crimes — and yes, his behavior was criminal, even if he cannot be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations. Give me a break. These are the same leaders that should have fired Morris on the spot, but let him resign instead. They, themselves should either immediately resign, or be booted out of office.

Central to this story is the church handling the original sexual abuse allegation in-house. Morris’ crime should have been immediately reported to law enforcement, both by the girl’s parents and the church board. That they chose to keep the abuse secret and slap Morris on the hands after he promised to never touch the cookie jar again is inexcusable.

I was part of the Evangelical church for fifty years. Twenty-five of those years were spent pastoring churches in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. I saw a lot of stuff swept under the rug, so much so that the rug is now 20 feet high. Since 2007, I have been an advocate for people who have been sexually assaulted and abused by Evangelical preachers. I have posted over 1,000 stories in the Black Collar Crime Series — a series that focuses primarily on sex crimes committed by preachers and other church leaders. These stories must get wide exposure. Why? Denominations, churches, and preachers do everything in their power to bury these stories, including not reporting sex crimes, as they are required to do by law in most states. All that matters to them is protecting the church’s name and testimony. They know that exposure leads to membership loss, which leads to income loss, which leads to loss of power. Victims/survivors don’t matter; the church does. And that’s why churches handle allegations themselves, hoping to keep offenders from being arrested or publicly outed. If allegations can’t be swept under the proverbial rug, criminal preachers are quietly encouraged to resign or retire. When a big-name preacher all of a sudden resigns, saying God is leading them somewhere else, the first question should be “Why?” None of that “God leading” nonsense. More often than not, the real reason is criminal in nature, or at the very least, conduct that should disqualify a man from the ministry.

Churches should NEVER be permitted to investigate sexual abuse claims in-house. Let me illustrate why. What follows is a quote from an Evangelical preacher about Morris’ assaulting a 12-year-old girl and how Gateway Church should have handled the woman’s allegations. In his mind, his “advice” applies to all Evangelical churches. I should note that this man is a notorious defender of men accused of sex crimes, often attacking victims in his defense of despicable, vile so-called men of God.

Here’s what he had to say in a post titled Bearing False Witness:

We [I] disagree with this move [appointing an outside firm to investigate] because the law firm is not skilled or experienced in sexual assaults or their investigations (we looked them up) and they are not believers. Will they apply the Bible correctly or merely be lazy and do what they did to Mr. [Ravi] Zacharias and create a very one-sided, biased report that avoided the truth?

Since church people are involved, then the Bible has jurisdiction and a prominent role in guiding the investigation. If it is left out we can be assured that the truth may not be heard but subjective opinion will be published.

Christians should not be afraid to practice true justice and do biblically guided investigations as the opinion of the unbeliever does not matter. What matters is that all of scripture is followed correctly and not followed to show people they are being spiritual in these matters.

Obeying God is more important than appeasing unbelievers, especially those who make false claims and bear false witness against believers. These words hold true when believers make accusations against other believers or unbelievers.

According to this man, since both the perpetrator and the victim are Christians, the church should investigate and render judgment. If law enforcement is involved, they must, according to him, follow the Bible. Fine, the Bible says adultery and fornication are capital crimes. I expect him to come out supporting the immediate stoning of Robert Morris. Of course, he thinks the victim is culpable too, so I suspect he would call for her stoning too.

Memo to this preacher: The United States is a secular nation. We are a people ruled and governed by laws. What the church says doesn’t matter. What the Bible says doesn’t matter. What does matter is the law and proper enforcement of said law. What does matter is justice. Obeying God, the church, or the Bible should play no part in our legal system. You are free to continue defending sexual predators, but this does leave me saying, The preacher doth protest too much, methinks.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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.

If God Protected Christian Children from Sexual Predators He’d Have to Protect Everyone, So He Does Nothing

Bruce Gerencser 10 Comments
see hear speak

According to Evangelicals, God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. God is the creator of all things, the ruler and king of the universe. He is the first and the last, the alpha and omega. Nothing happens that isn’t according to God’s purpose and plan.

However, when these beliefs are challenged with examples such as child sexual abuse, all of a sudden, this God is helpless, powerless, and non-existent. When clerics sexually abuse, molest, and rape children, who’s to blame? If God is as described above, then he, ultimately is to blame for crimes committed against children. He could stop preachers from sexually molesting children, yet he is indifferent to their plight.

Some Evangelical preachers will argue that child sex crimes happen because of human sinfulness. “For all have sinned,” the Bible says. What sin or sins did children commit that justifies them being sexually assaulted by so-called men of God? I can’t think of any. Preachers who sexually molest and abuse children prey on their innocence. Recently, Evangelical megachurch pastor Robert Morris was accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl; abuse that continued afterward for several years. The victim/survivor did nothing to invite such unwanted attention from Morris. Some Evangelical degenerates will suggest that she came on to Morris or seduced him. Really? I have five granddaughters who are around the victim’s age. I can’t imagine any scenario where one of them could or would come on to or seduce a grown-ass man — especially a preacher. It takes a vile, warped person even to think that a child is culpable for what a child molester, predator, or rapist does to them. You are a disgusting human being if you think otherwise. The adult in this story is ALWAYS responsible for their behavior.

Recently, Evangelical apologist Jim Denison wrote a post titled How the Gateway Church Scandal Is Leading Many to Question God’s Faithfulness. Specifically, Denison attempts and miserably fails to answer the question “Where was God when this horrific abuse was occurring?”

Denison writes:

But my point today relates not to Christians who are justifiably angry and disillusioned with other Christians. I am focusing instead on non-Christians who are asking why they should consider our faith when many of our faith leaders have acted in such horrific ways.

We claim that our God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving. If this is true, he knows what is happening when a Christian leader abuses a child. In fact, he knew this would happen long before it did. His omnipotence would seemingly enable him to act in any way he wishes. And the fact that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) would compel him to defend such innocent victims.

Why, then, doesn’t he?

Indeed. Why, then, doesn’t the Evangelical defend and protect innocent victims?

Denison says the “human free will” is the reason God stands by and does nothing when Evangelical preachers grope, penetrate, and rape children:

My immediate theological response is to point to the fact of human free will.

God created us to love him, and each other (Matthew 22:37–39), but real love must be a free choice, so God has given us the freedom we can use for good or for evil (cf. Deuteronomy 30:19–20; Joshua 24:15; Revelation 3:20). If the Lord prevented every sin, we could not be free. One could argue that if God protected the victims of clergy sexual abuse, he would have to protect the victims of every crime of any kind, rendering freedom null and void.

Set aside for a moment whether humans have free will. What act of the will on the part of victims plays any part in their abuse? If Denison wants to use free will as justification for sex crimes, who committed the crimes? Not the victim. No, the only person using their free will are offending preachers. It is disgusting to suggest otherwise.

Dension argues that if God prevents clerics from sexually molesting children, he would have to protect all victims of sex crimes; and to do so would violate human free will. So, God does nothing so all children, everywhere, have equal opportunity to be sexually assaulted. Cue, “What a Mighty God We Serve.”

Caring, compassionate people are throwing up about now. All that matters to Denison is holding true to his peculiar theology. We saw similar degenerate thinking from Dr. David Tee. I was part of the Evangelical church for fifty years. I spent twenty-five years pastoring Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB), Southern Baptist, Sovereign Grace Baptist, Christian Union, and nondenominational congregations. This sort of thinking is foreign to my experiences in Evangelicalism, both as a member and a pastor. Forget the Christian/Evangelical part of the equation. I suspect most of the non-Christians who frequent this site consider Denison’s and Tee’s justifications morally bankrupt. And surely most Christians do too.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 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 Continues to Defend Preachers Who Commit Sex Crimes

Bruce Gerencser 9 Comments
david thiessen
David Tee/Derrick Thomas Thiessen is the tall man in the back

I know some of you are tired of me mentioning Dr. David Tee (whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen) on this site. I’m sick of mentioning him too. However, I can’t and won’t ignore his defense of clerics who commit sex crimes. I’ve met thousands of Christians over the years. I’ve never known a Christian with such callous disregard for the pain, suffering, and heartache of others. Whether out of some sort of misguided understanding of justice and forgiveness or a need to cover up past misconduct in his own life, Thiessen refuses to accept how offensive (and immoral) his words really are.

What follows is an excerpt from Thiessen’s latest post, @MeChurch 3, and my response to it. Please see @Me Church 2, and @MeChurch to read Thiessen’s other defenses of Evangelical preachers who molest children. All spelling, grammar, punctuation, and irrationality in the original.

How many people have had their lives and careers, not to mention their faith, ruined because Christians and others demand their pound of flesh far above what God demands? In this specific case, we can understand these moves better if Mr. Morris had not repented and lived a life that continually practiced this sin.

Mr. Morris is Evangelical megachurch pastor Robert Morris, who recently resigned after he was exposed for sexually assaulting a twelve-year-old church girl in the 1980s. The abuse continued for several years. Morris admitted assaulting the girl, acknowledging that his church knew about his crime — and yes, he committed a crime — at the time it happened. Morris briefly stepped away from preaching, then returned to the pulpit as if nothing happened. Ain’t God good, right? (Please see What Are We to Make of an Evangelical Preacher Who Defends a Pastor Who Sexually Assaulted a Twelve-Year-Old Girl?)

Morris committed a crime — a felony sex crime. What the Bible says doesn’t matter. Thiessen thinks he has intimate knowledge of God’s thoughts, but he doesn’t. And what God “thinks” on the matter doesn’t matter either. We are a nation of laws, and those laws consider Morris’ actions a crime. The only reason he is not in jail is that he can no longer be prosecuted for what he did almost 40 years ago.

Thiessen can’t possibly know if this was a one-off or whether Morris “repented” — as if repentance wipes his slate clean. Thiessen thinks saying “my bad” to God is a get-out-of-jail-free card.

But he had dealt with it, he took his spiritual punishment and paid the price for his actions. No more should be required of him. God promises to forget our sins when we honestly repent and turn from our wicked ways. 

How does Thiessen know Morris “dealt with it” — “it” being sexually assaulting a church girl for several years? He demands evidence from me for all sorts of things, but when it comes to Morris molesting a young girl, Thiessen takes his word for it. Why is that?

Christians are not better than God and they should do the same thing when the person has truly repented. Keep in mind that we do not know the exact nature of his repentance or experience with God at that time. We are not judging that part of this story as we do not know what God did at that time.

Thiessen says he is not judging Morris, but he most certainly is. He has judged him forgiven. Based on what, exactly? That he said he repented? Child, please.

What we are discussing is the attitude of those Christians and others who think they need to do more than God to make a person pay for the sins they have committed. People outside of those involved do not have the criminal or spiritual authority to demand more than those who have jurisdiction put in place.

People often forget their place and think they can add more to punishment or make the crime more severe than it is for whatever reason they may use to justify their vigilante and kangaroo court justice.

If God has forgiven his sin with that young girl, then no one has the right to hold it over the person’s head forever. Nor do they have the right to add more punishment or destroy the man’s life.

No one is adding more punishment to Morris’ life or trying to destroy him. He did that to himself. What his victim demands is accountability. What people like me demand is that men like Morris are never allowed around children again; that he never pastors a church again. He has forfeited the right to be a pastor.

This brings us to the second possible alternative title of this piece. Is this what it all boils down to? Is a man’s or woman’s life reduced to one sin or crime that will not be forgiven or forgotten by the people?

One sin or crime? Morris committed multiple sins and crimes, and it remains to be seen if other victims come forward. Sadly, Thiessen makes no distinction between filching a grape at the grocery and sexually assaulting a young girl. Both are sins that God can and will forgive if the sinner confesses his sin and repents. Awesome, right? No matter what you do, forgiveness is but a prayer away.

If they have spent 10, 20, or 40 years of excellent service for God or humanity, is that all lost because someone does not like an ancient sin that was dealt with at the time? When did one sin or a previous sinful life overrule what took place after repentance?

Ancient sin? How ancient is Morris’ crime (not a sin or mistake, a CRIME) in the mind of his victim? Thiessen seems clueless to the fact that sexual abuse leaves lifelong scars, often requiring extensive therapy to come to terms with. Note what Thiessen says here: sex crimes committed ten years ago are ancient history. Truth be told, he likely thinks that crimes committed immediately before the act of repentance are “ancient” crimes too.

What good is Christ’s redemption if Christians and others ignore the redemption and faithful life and refuse to restore someone who committed a sin? If anyone takes the attitude ‘God forgives but I won’t’ they are committing a sin just like the person they won’t forgive.

Pay careful attention to what Thiessen is doing. He is blaming the victim. She needs to forgive Morris and move on. He demands sexual abuse victims forgive their abusers, even if they don’t want to. And if they don’t, they are every bit as much of a sinner as their abusers. In other words, in Thiessen’s mind, refusing to forgive is the same in God’s book as sexually abusing children.

OMG, how dare we trample underfoot Jesus’ blood, demanding that sexual predators be held accountable for their crimes. Give me a pair of waders. I plan to keep on stomping on Jesus’ magical blood if it means abuse victims are seen and heard, and their abusers are held accountable for their crimes.

If they want forgiveness then they need to forgive those they refuse to. The Bible says if one wants forgiveness from God they must forgive others who wronged them. We are not speaking out of personal ideology here.

The victim in question does not want forgiveness. Forgiveness is cheap, a bandaid over a gaping wound. What victims generally want is justice and accountability.

God has covered sins and forgiveness throughout the Bible. We must adhere to those words if we want to be an example to others and make an impact for Christ. Jesus said to forgive 7 x 70 and so far we have not seen 1 x 1 for people like Mr. Morris or Mr. Ravi Zacharias.

What we have seen is exacting a pound of flesh for a sin that did not affect anyone who is canceling Mr. Morris. Justice is not up to the victim to decide. God has already determined what is justice and it is best that we learn what it is and implement it properly if we want to truly restore sinning Christians to the church body.

Actually, in a secular society, it is the legal system that determines just punishment, not God, the church, or the Bible. Morris would be in jail now if it weren’t for the expiring statute of limitations.

In our view, a dealt-with sin is no match for a restored, redeemed life that obeys God’s word correctly. Despite what unbelievers want or say, the sin, once dealt with, should be forgotten. Coming back 40+ years later is not a Christian act. It is not biblical teaching and Christians must abide by God’s instructions correctly.

In other words, one aw-shit doesn’t cancel out ten atta-boys. Thiessen desperately wants to think that doing good cancels out sexual misconduct; that if a serial rapist asks Jesus to forgive him, all his victims should forgive him too.

Now I need to go take a shower.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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