Friday, November 06, 2009

Pastor David Heckman Jr. arrested

DavidHeckman Pastor David Heckman Jr. was arrested for embezzlement. He allegedly stole $50k from Habitat for Humanity.

State Police say David Heckman Jr. stole more than $50,000 from the Tioga County chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Some of that money came from mortgage payments paid by homeowners who live in homes built by the charity. Heckman was the charity's treasurer.

Money corrupts the weak minded. A pastor is supposed to above this type of pettiness. I wonder what motivates a man to act in direct opposition to the path he was meant to follow? I cannot imagine. The though of stealing from the needed, heck, stealing for anybody, is abhorrent to me. When I read about pastors who make the turn towards amoral behavior, I am stunned by the hypocrisy. You cannot claim the moral high ground if you are willing to steal the roof from over a needy person’s head.

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Baconsbud 96p · 818 weeks ago

I think it was probably something that he felt he was owed. I doubt anyone is meant to follow one way of life but decides for themselves. Since I don't know how long he has been in the field of lies called religion, I would say he probably first got into it because he saw it as a way to be important and just got greedy.
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rotflmao · 818 weeks ago

He was convicted of stealing a substantial amount from a previous employer. This pastoral thing has only been a short period of time, maybe five years. He always wanted to be the center of attention, telling co-workers of his antics with his boyfriend at the time.
There definitely has been alot of people running around with their eyes shut to let his scamming get to this point. This proves that a moose could get ordained.
He'll like jail...he's use to bending over.
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the old marathoner · 814 weeks ago

Normally I wouldn't comment on a blog like yours, but I knew David Heckman and certainly I can say that unlike his detractors, he wasn't perfect. Since you apparently consider yourself without sin, you may feel entitled to throw stones. (In case you don't know what I mean, in the gospel of John ch. 8, a group of community leaders who caught a woman in an adultrous act hauled her before Jesus and asked what they should do with her. The traditional punishment for adultery was death by stoning. Jesus said, "Let those who are without sin cast the first stones." The men all slunk away in shame, and Jesus sent the woman home.)

I believe that with the exceptions of sociopaths, and I don't think David is one because I know some authentic sociopaths, most people don't deliberately set out to be destructive. One careless or bad decision can lead to another and another, until we're in over our heads. I hope very much that David will be able to get out of this destructive cycle and find some of future ministry, probably after jail time, and also that he shouldn't handle any of a church's or organization's money ever again. As an ordained Presbyterian minister, I don't even touch the money in the offering plates. The only part of the church's money that I handle is my own paycheck.
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Baconsbud 96p · 814 weeks ago

I guess you don't know him as well as you should. You christians need to quit using that line about he who is without sin cast the first stone. Read or watch most news out there today and you find all these christians casting stones but none of you say that they shouldn't . I don't sin but I do make mistakes. I am glad I am without sin because I know sin is just a tool used by christians to control. You have to also understand that a pastor or other religious figure doesn't just get arrested. The cops won't move against a christian minister unless they have a pretty much air tight case before they arrest him. Before you make claims about how good he was but made mistakes check into what harm was done to others and how long he has been doing this.
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Mojoey 107p · 814 weeks ago

Thanks for posting. I know the bible and the story you reference. It is interesting to note that you have corrupted its true meaning to suite your desire that we not judge your friend for his actions. The generally accepted interpretation of this passage is that we are to be discerning, that we are to learn the difference between right and wrong. Christians tend to use it as a blank check. It was not intended for this purpose. We are supposed to say, hay... Hickman stole from the poor. Maybe we should not accept him as our teacher. BTW... that's called wisdom, or common sense. Do you have any?
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the old marathoner · 814 weeks ago

Mojoey, you asked if I have any common sense or wisdom. Obviously I don't, or I wouldn't be reading your blog. I too have a hard time resisting temptation, especially after you set it up so nicely.

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