A failure to report

I don't normally report on this kind of thing, but the pastor involved is a jerk. Baptist pastor Aaron Rodgerson, who is also a city councilman, was indicted on two counts, misdemeanor failing to report an abused or neglected child, and misdemeanor unauthorized practice of law. Rodgerson is pastor of the South Side Baptist Church in Kirksville MO.

“The allegations in that case are that the child at 10 months old only weighed 12 pounds, and City Councilman Rodgerson was giving some advice to these people regarding contact with the Kirksville Police Department and the family services,” Williams said.

What I find interesting is that they don’t report on why he was arrested under the failure to report charge which is a much more significant charge than the unauthorized practice of law. As a pastor, he is obligated to report child abuse, even suspected child abuse. He is charged with not reporting a suspected case of child abuse from a member of his own church and then giving legal advice that could be viewed as benefiting his own case. In this instance, advising the accused to not co-operate with authorities. The second charge seems pretty flimsy to me. That’s advice I (or any reasonable person) would give to most people dealing with a law enforcement agency.

The Mom of Many blog tells the story of baby Alethia, who is the subject of the child abuse charge mentioned above. Alethia’s father, Nathaniel Burns is the associate pastor at Rodgerson’s church. Nathaniel along with his wife Elisabeth are charged with endangering the welfare of their child. Alethia was pronounced as failing to thrive by medical professionals.  Failure to thrive is a serious medical diagnoses:

Most diagnoses of failure to thrive are made in infants and toddlers in the first few years of life — a crucial period of physical and mental development. After birth, a child's brain grows as much in the first year as it will grow during the rest of life. Poor nutrition during this period can have permanent negative effects on mental development.

Yet if you read Mom of Many, she claims a medical conspiracy is  hiding the true condition of the child. 

All the tests showed that she was a normal baby who just happened to be small. They would not accept that and so were forcibly tube feeding Alethia to make her gain weight. She actually LOST weight while in the hospital–the poor baby was only allowed to be with her parents for 1 hour a day and ONLY if a social worker was present. They were giving her so much that she stopped eating completely.

Not normal, not small, not healthily, the term is a failure to thrive and it means trouble for the poor child. This is where I disconnect and start thinking I’ve found another group of nutballs. What finally convinced me was something else I found in reading about this weird case. Pastor Rodgerson is a fundie homophobe.

In a controversial vote on Monday, Kirksville City Councilman and Pastor of Southside Baptist Church Aaron Rodgerson voted against the inclusion of sexual orientation to the Kirksville Fair Housing Policy. When questioned if he would rent to someone he knew was gay, Mr. Rodgerson simply answered, “no”.

I watched his interview with a local reporter. When finished I reminded myself that this man, and many more like him, is the reason I blog about Christian nutballs. I am more inclined to question his character and judgment now that I’ve see where he stands on social issues.

I love this line from the Mom of Many blog.

They have been persecuted a lot for their faith (threatening emails, angry letters…..) America was founded on Christian principles but we are no longer a Christian nation.

Do you want to see hate mail? I mean seriously, you live in bible fundie land. I get the stuff every week, from Christians no less. Cry me a  friggen persecuted river.

Technorati tags: Christians, Clergy Abuse, Clergy Misconduct, Gay Rights