Youth pastor William Schneider arrested for child porn

Former youth pastor William Schneider was arrested when police found pornographic images and videos of children on his computer. It is unclear what church or sect Schneider is linked to, but I’m going with Baptist. 

The files were discovered through an investigation by the St. Charles County Cyber Crimes Unit. A search warrant was executed at Schneider's home on Thursday, court documents say. Schneider admitted downloading the files, which were shared with an unknown amount of other people, police said.

Source: Former youth minister in St. Charles County charged with possessing child porn by Susan Weich

This bit of information is odd... Schneider was using girls underwear for sexual gratification. Yuck.

There is creepy and then there is creepy

Pastor Ioad Pop stands accused of sexually assaulting women inside a funeral home.

A Toronto reverend is accused of sexually assaulting women inside a funeral home and police believe there may be more victims.

After a Tuesday court appearance, Ioan Pop, 54, is now facing 13 sex assault charges and one charge of forcible confinement.

Police allege he also sexually assaulted women inside All Saints, a Romanian Orthodox Church, in the Birchmount Road and Danforth Avenue area, as well as in homes in Durham region and Toronto.

Source: Toronto reverend accused of funeral home sex assaults by Ioan Pop 

Creepy, right?

Pop faces seven counts of sex assault and one count of forcible confinement. 

Pastor Bill Vandergraph found not fit for trial

Pastor Bill Vandergraph, who stands accused of molesting a child, was found not mentally fit to stand trial.

In a recent bench trial, or discharge hearing, the judge decided there was enough evidence to convict if Vandergraph had been fit to stand trial. As of now, he is not guilty.

At a status hearing on Tuesday, October 15, the court ruled that Vandergraph is required to register as a sex offender even though he wasn't convicted. He will have to submit a DNA sample.

Source: Pastor accused of sexual abuse found not mentally fit to stand trail by Amber Ruch

Let's hope he's committed at his next trial date in December.

Helping the poor or helping ourselves?

From time-to-time I work with a Christian group from a church in Long Beach whose mission is to feed the poor. They do so with no agenda. They simply feed the poor. They do it in another church's multi-purpose room, but that church sits in the heart of darkness and despair and is dedicated to helping the poor too. Neither party has an agenda. They are called to serve and for decades they have put together good meals and care packages, all without a single religious handout or prayer session.

I stood in a circle with these people while they prayed before letting people in the door to eat. Two other atheists stood with me. The Christians simply asked that the people they were about to serve be shown that somebody cared about them. They assumed that showing people that they are loved through their actions is the heart of Christianity. I love these Christians. I'll do anything for them.

It's easy for atheists to think of Christians as the enemy. They are not. I judged them by their actions. Some Christians are simply good people who try to help. Some Christians have an agenda that gets in the way of helping. I don't think of them as bad, but the word misguided comes to mind.

I was prompted to write this morning by a post I read on Patheos: Kansas City Atheist Coalition Turned away from feeding the poor. Atheist volunteers were turned away after years of volunteer work because the Christians running the mission have an agenda that is at odds with feeding the poor. They want to proselytize along with feeding the poor, therefor atheists cannot help. In my book they are misguided. They are adopting an agenda that can result in a less effective event. They do this to win souls, of course this assumes that the people they are feeding are not already Christians, which I think is the height of arrogance.

On my last visit to Long Beach to feed the homeless, I stood near the door talking to a small group of men who had just enjoyed a meal. One of them said to me, "I prayed for help last night. I prayed for somebody to listen to me. I prayed for somebody to see me. Thanks man." He gave me a hug before walking back out on to the streets. We are all capable of showing other people love without an agenda.

Preying from the pulpit

Preying From The Pulpit from IFB X-Files on Vimeo.

Hat tip: Jeri Massi

Review: A Church Falsely Accused

I posted on Pastor Bill Wininger, who stands accused of molesting a child or perhaps several children, back in the 90s. He wrote a book back in 1995 called, A Church Falsely Accused, It is a first person account of how the author and his church survived allegations of child sexual abuse that took place in 1992. The allegations arose from the bus ministry, where a bus driver was alleged to have given a child a special hug. I read the book yesterday in an about an hour.

A Church Falsely Accused by Pastor Bill Wininger
Copyright 1995, Revival Fires Publishers
Hardback, 166pp. $11.99

The book is an easy read. I think in part because it is a full-sized hardback with reduced-sized pages. Instead of a standard margin, each page has doublewide margins. It could have been written in 80 pages. There are 14 chapters, each of which is similar to the other, except for the chapter titled, May I offers Some Suggestions, which goes into specific recommendations to help other churches protect against allegations of abuse.

The author describes, in very general terms, an allegation of abuse lodged against a bus driver and a deacon. There is very little information on the actual accusations besides trivializing the accusations as coming from a child who had been hugged by the bus driver and pointing out that the child lived in a trailer park and was young. Instead, the author goes into what it is like to lead a church when the press is reporting on the alleged crimes and the community hates you. I read the book as a list of grievances, punctuated with bible verses and short sermons. Pastor Wininger stood by the accused and believed their stories without reservation. There was no mention of the alleged victims.

This was a story of outsiders (kids in the bus ministry) versus an established church which circled its wagons to survived and support the accused. Those accused were eventually found not guilty or had the charges dropped, so all of the support the church offered reads as the correct and godly thing to do. Plus, Wininger makes the story personal and talks about what it is like to be a leader besieged by outsiders and how he cared for the accused. I would subtitle the book, a whiners tale.

The chapter that makes recommendations was interesting in that I disagreed with each recommendation.

Recommendations:

1. Maintain a good records system: Since the church is focused on its bus ministry, it keeps detailed records for each child it picks up. The used a form in triplicate that captures data to show how many children are saved for Jesus. They used the data to disprove accusations by showing which dates children rode the bus and who was the bus driver. I understand why they do this. It a numbers game. They judge their success by the number of children that hear the word of god or are saved. Unfortunately, this protects the church from accusations, while it does nothing for the kids. The recommendation is worthless. If you must prey on poor children to boost your church numbers, then at least have a driver and a second adult. Use the two adult rule. No child should ever be left alone with an adult while at church or in route.

2. Educate your workers: The thinking here was that an overactive or disruptive child was the root of the problem. At least in this recommendation that actually state a worker should never be alone with a child, but as we know now, preventing child abuse actually relays upon supervision of adults and not unruly children.

3. Know What's Going On: This church actually has roaming bands of adults who make sure kids are in Sunday School classes and not paying in the yard. The message here is direct. Children need to learn about Christ. Instead of sweeping the grounds, these adults should be doing random audits of adults in the bible classes. The abuse happens when an adult is allowed to be alone with a child. Safeguards should be focused in this area and not in making sure kids are placed in risky classrooms.

4. Get Good Legal Counsel: Seriously? This protects kids how?

5. Deal Wisely with Authorities: The backstory here is the church feels it was abused by the police even though they did police appreciation events. Dealing wisely with authorities is an area I care about because it is the one that is abused the most. Christians use police inquiries to justify the "Christian under attack by Satan" justification for protecting accused pastors. I see it in store after story. Christians should cooperate fully with investigations into allegations of child abuse. There is no other story.

6. Have good insurance coverage: Really? This protects kids how?

The reader will notice that the church does not actually do anything to protect children from adults. Instead, the book is about protecting the church from accusations, which is wrongheaded. The book is also about a church and a pastor being victimized by accusations of abuse, and frankly, it is self-serving and used to justify a ministry process that preys on underprivileged children. I find the concept reprehensible and the book foolish.

When the frustration sets in

I spoke to a man four different times over the three days. The first time he commented on the evils of the flu shot. He was encouraging others to rely on faith to carry them the flu season. His reasoning was sound, at least it was to him. If you lived right, prayed and rejected pseudo-science, one would not get the flu. After all, he had not had the flu for years. While the room rolled it's collective eyes, I countered his assertion with the safety of the herd argument, socialized immunization and what happens when immunization is interrupted, and lastly, reasons why at-risk individuals should ignore his advice. I finished with my story. After a particularly nasty round of the flu in 2001, one where I was out for 14 days, I started getting a regular yearly flu shot. I used to get the flu every year, sometimes several times, and now I never get it, nor does my family. He laughed at my comments and said something about the flu shot and eugenics.

The next day he offered that there was more historical evidence for Jesus than there was for Julius Caesar. I countered with Caesar's life and accomplishments being documented in historical documents, accounts, and the writing of secular histories of his time. I added that there was no such evidence for Jesus and that he is not mentioned in any historical documents or accounts of that time period. The bible aside, Jesus does not exist in history. I went on to talk about this argument being something that Christian apologists put forth as to uneducated Christians in an effort to give them intelligent sounding talking points. He countered with, "Your facts are incorrect. I know what I know."

The third day he talked about how the Theory of Evolution does not address how the universe was created, therefor he did not believe it. I said that is like saying that the Theory of Gravity does not explain how bread is made. I pointed out that Evolution is about Natural Selection and not cosmology. He countered with my lack of faith blinding me to the truth.

I grew frustrated... I took a deep breadth and let it go. The problem i,s that when this man speaks about anything, I get stuck on the idiocy he spews related to his faith or beliefs. If he can't see truth in facts, how am I supposed to listen to him on other subjects? For me, it is best to just walk away.

Youth pastor Bobby Price arrested

Youth pastor Robert "Bobby" Price was arrested and charged with five counts of indecent liberties with a child.

The charges date back to Price’s work as a youth minister at his father’s church, King’s Way Baptist, in Concord.

Price’s brother, Rusty, is now the lead pastor at the church...

..It is not clear if the charges against Price are connected to a suit filed in 2011. In that suit, a man who was then 23 years old told Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police that Price molested him as a 12-year-old.

Source: Former youth pastor charged with child sex assault

Another Baptist youth pastor in another child sex abuse scandal. It’s hard to keep track of these guys. 

Allegation of abuse against Rev. Mack Ford

You may not know Rev. Mack Ford yet, but you will. He ran the New Bethany Home for Girls and Boys in Arcadia. And as my readers know, mix a christian pastor together with a bunch of children and add questionable oversight and what do you get? Well... It starts with allegations of abuse. It ends with a long prison sentence.

As more and more revelations come to light about the treatment of residents of the New Bethany Home for Girls and Boys in Arcadia and similar homes run by Rev. Mack Ford and wife Thelma in other localities, many serious questions remain unanswered.

Why, for example, have the Fords and employees of the home never been charged with felony child abuse? How can a man (and dozens more like him scattered across the U.S.) mete out such barbaric treatment of children in the name of a Savior who’s every utterance of love, peace and forgiveness is in direct contradiction to the policies of these institutions?

Source:Questions abound as more horror stories emerge from New Bethany Home for Girls and Boys in Arcadia and Longstreet by Tom Aswell

I’ve been contacted about this case a few times but could not publish without a source. I don’t do investigative reporting. I wish I could do more, but my lack of training would get me in trouble. Instead, I try to help my point out resources and publishing stories here when they make it to the press. 

There are more than a dozen affidavits from alleged victims. 

LouisianaVoice has obtained more than a dozen affidavits from women who lived at New Bethany as teenagers and each one accuses Ford of sexual abuse, including rape and in at least one case, of having forced a 17-year-old girl at the school to perform oral sex on him.

Source:Neil Riser campaign worker linked to defunct church girls’ home, accusations of sexual abuse by father-in-law minister

Nobody believed these girls. It was thought so improbable that a pillar of the community could molest children that the victims had a difficult time bringing this story to the public. Nobody wanted to help them. At least one woman killed herself.

Another girl who claimed to have been subjected to sexual abuse at the hands of Ford, attempted to have Ford prosecuted after she left the home, married and had children of her own but law enforcement officials and the district attorney’s office in Bienville Parish ignored her claims until, despondent over her failed efforts, she committed suicide. Before she killed herself, however, she fired off a scathing letter to Ford.

In her letter, she reminded Ford that she was recruited for a singing quartet which would visit area churches to give testimony in order to attract monetary donations to the home and he would then later force her to have sex with him.

I want to see this story get as much attention as possible. Please read the articles and then spread the word. I’d also recommend that you read the comment thread in each article as they are full of additional information. If you write a post yourself, send me a note so I can point my readers to it. 

 

Quiverfail - Doug Phillips resigns

Doug Phillips of Vision Forum and Vision Forum Ministries resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair. Phillips is was a major player in the anti-birth control Quiverfull movement and a nutball proponent of Christian Reconstructionism. To put it simply, if I had an enemies of free thought list, Doug Phillips would be on it. 

There are no words to describe the magnitude of shame I feel, or grief from the injury I caused my beloved bride and children, both of whom have responded to my repentance with what seems a supernatural love and forgiveness. I thought too highly of myself and behaved without proper accountability. I have acted grievously before the Lord, in a destructive manner hypocritical of life messages I hold dear, inappropriate for a leader, abusive of the trust that I was given, and hurtful to family and friends. My church leadership came alongside me with love and admonition, providing counsel, strong direction and accountability.

Source:President of Vision Forum Ministries Resign; Cites Inappropriate Relationships

Satan the Destroyer! blah, blah, blah… Another leading Christian falls. It is a sad story of hypocrisy, but one that is repeated so often that I actually get tired of writing about it. The only surprise here is that it was not a gay affair. 

I got this story wrong

I skip reading stories that pop up in my Facebook feed because of my biases. When I read this headline, Jesus costume gets Highland Park senior thrown out of school, I thought was about the costume being sacrilegious, so I did not read it. I'm sick of reading about Christian privilege. It permeates the news, my Facebook feed, and even my email. I was wrong. The story was about something else. The administration thought the costume would offend.

Shortly before school let out for the day, the high school released a statement, stating that: "We initially were concerned that the costume could be offensive to religious sensibilities. Upon further review, we realized the student did not intend to be offensive."

The kid wanted to celebrate converting to Christianity, so the school thought his intent was ok. I don't understand this. What does his intent have to do with how others will view his costume?

The kid goes on to make it a racial issue, which I also think is a wrongheaded too. The schools administration was simply doing what do-gooders do; screw things up by trying to control things they can’t control. Let the kid be Jesus. Some people will be offended, others will slap him on the back, as long as my kid can be Zeus, it's all good.

Your pastor is locked up because he screwed up

There is no conspiracy here. Youth evangelist Matt Pitt is sitting in jail on charges that he impersonated a peace officer. It's not his first time either. He’s done it before, plus he’s been acting a little off. Facts aside, his supporters want him out of jail. I’m all for keeping him in until his trail, and then through his sentence.

Pitt is accused of impersonating a peace officer in Jefferson County back in June, a charge that he previously faced in 2012 in Shelby County. 

But those close to him say his jail cell isn't stopping him from spreading God's message. Some of the guys who have visited Pitt in jail say he's having Bible studies and ministering to inmates while he's locked up. 

While Pitt is ministering inside the jail, his supporters continue to spread his message outside the jail. They've started a movement called "Free Pitt."
Source:’#freePItt’ movement spreads support for jailed youth pastor by Clare Huddleston

The tag is getting some traction, but it’s only a few posts per day. I can do better myself with my own tag #ScrewMattPitt. Matt Pitt is not going anywhere. He needs to face a judge and do his time.

I don't believe in sin

I don't believe in sin. The concept drives good people nuts and ties people in knots over the dumbest things. I recently counseled a young man over his battle with lust. My approach was simple - lust all you want, who does it really hurt? He’s married with a new baby. If he’s a good man, he will stand by his family. If not, he will deal with the consequences of hurting others. My moral code is simple, which is why it is easy to implement. I know if I’m doing something that will hurt people, so I am able to stop myself, or better yet, I’m able to anticipate the negative outcome and never act in the first place. What goes on in my mind is my own business and hurts no one. What I do is actually what matters. Judge me by what I do. 

I was reading a Christian's blog recently when I came across this paragraph.

Mug shots of people who do what we do should serve as a sobering reminder. While we may self-righteously look down on those who find themselves on the wrong side of the jailhouse lens (usually because of some impropriety or sexual indiscretion), we would be wise to turn our backs on such foolishness and instead pause to take a look at the face in the mirror. There's not one of us who is immune to traveling down that same path. In fact, taking that route is our default setting as people who battle the soul-eating "bacteria" known as "sin." Grappling with that fact is both humbling and wise.

Walt Mueller uses all the right Christian language in a way that I’ve come to expect from a certain type of believer. Let’s call it true believer newspeak, but that is not the problem. I’ve learned to decode it. The real problem is sin. He's talking about clergy sexual abuse and the ease of falling into sin. It is all bullshit. It’s not our default behavior to sexually abuse children. It's predatory behavior and atypical in the general population. These are the real question. Why do so many youth pastors abuse children? What is it about the profession that attracts monsters? Why do you minister to children with young men in the first place (The typical abuse is in his 20s. The typical victim is a girl 13 to 15). Is there a link between believe, youth pastors and sexual depravity? Has anyone looked?

Demand a background check

I do not understand the appeal of small churches, but I guess lots of people like them. Small churches should not escape controls though, otherwise sex offenders can sneak through, like in this case.

Steven Lennard Johnson was volunteering as a youth minister at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church when authorities found out he was a sex offender and arrested him. He was the dating the pastor's daughter, so no background check was done. He's on his way to back to prison now.

A registered sex offender has been convicted in Winston-Salem of working as a youth minister at a church.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported that 53-year-old Steven Lennard Johnson of Winston-Salem pleaded guilty Monday to working with children and being in a place where children were present.

Prosecutors said Johnson is married to the daughter of the church's pastor, but the pastor said neither he nor his daughter knew about Johnson's criminal background.

Source: Youth Minister Revealed To Be Sex Offender

Church folk… by now you all should know not to trust anyone with your children. Always demand a current background check. If the church refuses, move on down the road to the 2nd Baptist church of your little burg.  I should not tease about the baptist church thing as there are seven within three miles of my house. 

He came for young souls

When youth pastor Danny Smith volunteered at Brainbridge Island’s Woodward Middle school during lunch hours, few people thought he would try recruiting children, but that is what he did, and how people are upset.

"I come here because I know that it's important for every student to know that they each have value and a purpose," he said.

Smith is one of three youth pastors who have volunteered at Bainbridge Island's Woodward Middle School during lunch hours. Thursday night families packed the school district's auxiliary room and more than 20 people spoke about the religious controversy.

"As a parent, I do want to know who my child has contact with throughout his day," said Dawn Jano.

Some parents heard allegations from students that the pastors spoke about church and Christianity during lunch periods.

Source: Youth pastor volunteers cause school controversy by Jonathan Humbert

I can see it now. Local church leader meet around a table and discuss ways to win souls for Christ. We can hide our intentions and volunteer at local schools, and they we can slip in our message. It’s a tad unethical though, don’t you think?