News
CCP Dictator Daniel Andrews is playing the China virus for all he can. Now, ‘Pre-covid, a State of Emergency could only be declared for a maximum of six months. This extension will bring the total to one year and nine months.
Daniel Andrews won the vote after reaching backroom deals with Greens leader Samantha Ratnam, Reason Party MP Fiona Patten and Andy Meddick from the Animal Justice Party.
About 100 protesters gathered outside to voice their opposition to extending the declared State of Emergency.
The State of Emergency gives the government and police unprecedented powers to lock down the city, enter homes, detain citizens, enforce masks and much more.
During the rally outside parliament, police threatened to arrest protesters when the group reached more than 100.
Monica Smit from Reignite Democracy said she wasn’t afraid anymore and that no matter what, the group were not leaving.
Another organiser, Morgan C Jonas told Tom Elliot that the State of Emergency is “an extraordinary consolidation of power by the Victorian government”.
Member of Parliament, Dr Catherine Cumming joined the crowd outside, telling them that she voted against the extension.’https://www.rebelnews.com/this_is_what_happened_at_the_state_of_emergency_protest_in_melbourne?utm_campaign=ay_emergency_3_3_21&utm_medium=email&utm_source=therebel
‘Are you sick of the woke, luvvie-infested, ‘progressive’ [sic] Australian media? Well then get ready for a bold, exciting new era in conservative opinion content! On this show we’ll tell it like it is, say no to political correctness, and serve up the antidote to wokeness, cancel culture, climate hysteria and left wing censorship. // ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW 📺 3:00 Dr David Adler on the Australian coronavirus vaccine rollout, and why COVID-19 misinformation from our own medical bureaucracy will make it harder 11:00 Editor-in-Chief Rowan Dean on the long history of the Spectator magazine, and the shocking performance of Liberal Party leader Zak Kirkup in the WA election 19:00 Tony Abbott’s views on the 2020 US election aftermath, the Trump legacy, and what Scott Morrison should do about the Chinese threat to Australia 21:55 IPA Director of Research Daniel Wild on how to defeat big tech censorship and Silicon Valley power, and why net zero would be a mistake for Australia in light of Chinese emissions 32:30 And Covers Editor Sarah Dudley on religious persecution in China under Xi Xinping and the Chinese Communist Party 37:55 Rebecca Weisser on the Brittany Higgins scandal and the response of Scott Morrison.’
‘I have a question. When did politicians and federal employees start calling themselves “public servants”? Even more importantly, why are we letting them? It’s almost as if they’re trying to claim the mantle of nobility for making a sacrifice in the public interest. But I don’t understand what that sacrifice is. They’re paid better and have better benefits than most private-sector employees. They’re rarely held accountable for their performance. Why do we treat them as if they’re serving a higher calling than any other profession in the country?
Take Joe Biden, for example. He claims to have been in public service for over 50 years. But what has he done in that time? He was the first senator to initiate a personal attack on a Supreme Court nominee. His attack on Robert Bork was shameful, and helped create the current environment of Supreme Court politicization. He also used the power of his office to enrich his family members. Exactly how did lunch-bucket Joe become a multimillionaire on the salary of a politician? I fail to see how that has been a service to the country.
Joe certainly isn’t alone. Was Nancy Pelosi serving the public interests when she withheld COVID-19 relief for months — just to deny President Trump a win? Was she also serving her constituents when she bought stock in Tesla just days before President Asterisk signed an order directing all agencies to switch to electric cars? There’s a term for that — “insider trading.” Being the civic-minded public servant she is, I’m sure she’ll be sharing her windfall with her constituents.
It’s not all about money. Some politicians have a completely different idea of providing service. Eric Swalwell placed himself in servitude to a Chinese spy. Exactly what “service” did Eric provide? Was it anything that would allow him to claim nobility? I mean in the U.S. — not in China.
Let’s not forget the bureaucrats that “serve” our nation. Look at the EPA. They’re good at two things — choking the life out of commerce, and polluting rivers.
In the name of serving the public interest, the IRS targeted the Tea Party, thus silencing their voice in the midst of a presidential campaign. They also leaked confidential tax records to the press, and provided tax records to the FBI without a warrant. Isn’t it noble of them to poke us in the eye while taking our money? Perhaps the next time you’re at the grocery store checkout, the clerk should send your shopping list to child protective services rather than thank you. It would be the “public servant” thing to do.
Don’t forget the FBI. It’s in a class all by itself. Our sworn law enforcement agents initiated a coup attempt against a duly elected president. They set a perjury trap for his national security advisor. They even falsified evidence to a FISA court.
I’ve heard the arguments that the FBI rank and file are honest and professional. We shouldn’t blame the whole FBI for a “few bad apples.” What complete balderdash! If most of them were honest, where were the whistleblowers during the investigation of President Trump? As far as being professional, how did they fail to prevent the Boston Marathon bombing — even after they’d received a tip that the Tsarnaevs were up to something? I have the same question about the Pulse Nightclub massacre. Was it also just a “few bad apples” that tried to frame Richard Jewell for the Atlanta Olympics bombing? The FBI even had warnings about the 9/11 attack, yet failed to act.
Of course, our highly professional FBI agents were able to determine that a noose was really a garage-door pull. It only required 15 agents and five days to make that determination. That is some cunning police work! It appears that the FBI is either using their badges to target political enemies, or they’re just a modern-day version of the Keystone Cops in tailored suits. But sacrificing for the public interest — I’m not seeing it.
These are just a few examples. The other alphabet soup agencies aren’t any better. Employees across all federal agencies formed the “resistance” to fight all things Trump. They gave us four years of leaks and unconfirmed anonymous sources undermining anything Donald Trump tried to accomplish. They did it all because they decided we needed something other than what we voted for. How would you rate a waiter that brings you want they want to serve you, not what you ordered?
Spare me the claims of nobility. Who’s really laboring to benefit the country? Is it politicians and bureaucrats whose only focus seems to be amassing power and choking commerce? Or is it the nameless workers who get up at dawn every day to keep this country running. The real nobility belongs to the farmers who put meals on our tables, the truckers who ensure supplies arrive on time, and the linemen that keep the lights on. As for our self-proclaimed federal “public servants,” — they’re overpaid employees with lifetime job security, at best. At worst, they’re parasites on society with aspirations to become our rulers.
The next time a politician or bureaucrat says they’re “serving” me — I have one thing to say: I want my tip back.’https://genzconservative.com/public-servants-or-parasites/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=gen-z-conservative-daily-newsletter_1
The Court of Appeal has today ruled that it was lawful for a Christian non-executive NHS director and magistrate to be sacked for expressing in the media that children do best when raised by a mother and a father.
Mr Richard Page, 74, from Kent, was suspended from the magistracy and forced out of a role at an NHS Trust, after explaining on television that he had been discriminated against for his Christian beliefs on parenting while presiding over an adoption case.
After a six-year legal battle seeking justice against the decisions to remove him, today’s judgment has instead taken a significant step in developing further limitations on freedom of speech for Christians in the workplace.
Mr Page now intends to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
‘Views might cause offence’
In his judgment on Mr Page’s claim against NHS Improvement, Lord Justice Underhill stated that:
“The extent to which it is legitimate to expect a person holding a senior role in a public body to refrain from expressing views which may upset a section of the public is a delicate question.”
He recognised that Mr Page “had a particular interest in expressing publicly his views about same-sex adoption in the context of his removal as a magistrate, which was a legitimate matter of public debate” and that he expressed his views ‘temperately’ in the media.
However, he judged that Mr Page’s views on same sex-marriage and ‘homosexual activity’, might cause ‘offence’.
The ruling suggested, for example, that Mr Page should have “declined to answer” Piers Morgan’s questions on his beliefs during an interview on Good Morning Britain in 2016.
Mr Morgan’s treatment of Mr Page during the interview led to 70 complaints to Ofcom.
However, it was ruled that Mr Page’s responses to Piers Morgan’s questions justified his removal from his financial role in the NHS, as they might inadvertently “deter mentally ill gay people in the Trust’s catchment area from engaging with its services.”
Lawyers representing Mr Page had argued at the hearing in November 2020 that upholding his removal on these grounds would force Christians holding traditional views about sexual morality into silence, making it almost impossible for them to hold any kind of public office.
Concluding his judgment however, Lord Justice Underhill stated that, “the issue raised by this case is not about what beliefs such a person holds but about the limits on their public expression.”
He added that:
“the freedom to express religious or any other beliefs cannot be unlimited. In particular, so far as the present case is concerned, there are circumstances in which it is right to expect Christians (and others) who work for an institution, especially if they hold a high-profile position, to accept some limitations on how they express in public their beliefs on matters of particular sensitivity.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “This is the first time the Court of Appeal has endorsed the perverse distinction between unlawful discrimination for Christian beliefs and lawfully dismissing someone for offending an LGBT audience by expressing those beliefs.
“This is simply an artificial way to exclude Christian beliefs from the protection of the law. Nobody would get away with applying a similar distinction to any other protected characteristic. You would not get away with dismissing a homosexual for coming out as a homosexual, and then saying: “we duly respect your sexual orientation as long as you keep it to yourself”. This is an unfair and chilling decision, and the Supreme Court should put it right.
“The judgment sends a direct message to Christian public servants that if they allow their beliefs to influence their decision-making while in public office, they must self-censor and be silent, and are ultimately unfit for that office. If they express their beliefs in private to colleagues, they will be reprimanded, and if they then state those beliefs to the media, they will be sacked and will have their lives torn apart.
“The idea that you can remove a director from the NHS based on a perception that members of the LGBT community may be offended by something he said in the media, is extraordinary and should concern us all.
“This ruling provides a green light for employers to punish Christian employees who do not fall in line with and unquestionably support LGBT ideology. We will continue to stand with Richard Page as he seeks justice. We will not stop until this wrong is put right.”
Responding to the outcome, Mr Page said: “This is another deeply concerning ruling from the courts against Christian freedoms, and I intend to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.”‘https://christianconcern.com/news/court-upholds-richard-pages-sacking-for-sharing-christian-views-on-family/
The following links will take you to a couple of videos worth a watch by a conservative. The Left is out to destroy life as we once knew it. This means a change for both those conservatives who identify as born again Christians and those conservatives who do not.
https://www.brighteon.com/266a6519-3a13-490c-8211-d0481b5669e0
‘They don’t want you to think critically, they don’t want you to read and now they are removing books they deem “hate speech”. How long until the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are ruled hate speech or terrorist manifestos?’
https://www.brighteon.com/6c5eafb2-4559-4906-b8cc-9d1ca0609fdd
‘After some noise was made on social media about possible techniques deployed by the Coca-Cola company in regards to their sensitivity training for employees, Jessie Jane Duff, Paris Dennard and Newsmax TV’s John Bachman discuss. – via John Bachman Now, weekdays at 12PM ET on Newsmax TV’
Kent Brandenburg says he ‘…was talking to a man this week who said he wanted to be in a church that gave feet to the love of Jesus, something like that. His example was that this church, which he joined, even though he didn’t like its doctrine, helped the homeless. The homeless is a relatively new term in the history of our country. Why are there so many who are homeless? Who are the homeless? What should churches do? What responsibility should they take?
We live in a day when it is important to understand what is “good” and what is really a “help.” Just because a man might say it’s good does not mean that it is, and just because he says it is a help does not mean that it is a help. The key is that we must be discerning. We must determine our answer to this question by means of the Word of God, and not by a societal norm.
Man is by nature deceived. At least forty times in the Bible we are warned about being deceived. Eve was deceived by Satan, and Satan is the great deceiver. The ways of man are the ways of death, and God tells us not to lean on our own understanding.
Help is alright. Scripture calls God a Helper (Hebrews 13:6). Eve was a help to Adam (Genesis 2:18). One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that edify the church is “helps” (1 Corinthians 12:28). Also, God wants us to do good. The terminology, “do good,” is found 26 times in the Bible. However, in Isaiah 5:20, people will call evil good, and good evil. Someone can be deceived about what good is. In Romans 7:21, Paul says, “when I would do good, evil is present with me.” Just because someone says something is a help and it is good doesn’t meant that it is.
Proverbs 3:27 says, “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.” At the same time, 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 say, “21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.” Things must be proven as to whether they are good and not evil.
God is the definition of good. Seven times scripture says, “the Lord is good.” Psalm 52:1 says, “the goodness of God endureth continually.” Whatever God’s Word says about anything is good: any person or any situation.
For instance, one might think it is always good to pray for someone. 1 John 5:16 says, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” God doesn’t want everyone prayed for. It’s not always good. It doesn’t always help.
Is benevolence always good? 1 Corinthians 13:3 shows that not if done for selfish reasons. Proverbs 11:4 shows that benevolence is not good if intended to make one righteous, because riches do not profit in the day of wrath. Is suffering itself bad? Genesis 50:20 says that with Joseph, God meant it to me for good. Is sickness bad? John 11:4 says that this sickness is to the glory of God. We can’t assume that all suffering and all sickness is bad. God uses sickness and suffering. It’s not always right to alleviate either.
When it comes to helping people, it’s not always good or always a help to give someone something. The lazy should not be given anything. Laziness is self-imposed bondage (Proverbs 12:24). Giving the lazy person something is to reward laziness, so that you get more laziness. The lazy are neglectful (Ecclesiastes 10:18) and unproductive (Matthew 25:26-30). God won’t give to the lazy and we should follow God.
Scripture shows that God brings famine on the wicked (Deuteronomy 28:15, 33, 38, 42, 51; Ezekiel 5:17, 30:12; Jeremiah 8:13). God doesn’t keep giving good crops to a nation that is wicked. The wicked people don’t learn not to be wicked by being wicked without repentance. God gets the attention through the famine, through the hunger. Feeding takes away the motive to turn to God. This principle can and should be applied to the individual as well. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” You can tell whether someone is lazy or if he won’t work if he’s in the church. In the church, this is a matter of church discipline. Outside the church, you don’t know.
Hunger is a motivation to turn to God. David wrote in Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” The alternative is also true. The unrighteous are forsaken and begging for bread. Should they be given bread without being righteous?
The welfare system of Israel in the Old Testament didn’t just give to people. When you read Ruth, you can see that Boaz left the corners of the field for this widow to reap. Even the two widows, Naomi and Ruth. This fits Leviticus 23:22, “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.” Just giving food for no work is not only not taught in the Bible, but taught against. How about this? “I’ll give you a job.” But it’s not just that. If this person is not a good worker, should he or she stay employed, and should we reward him for not providing righteous labor? This would be rewarding wickedness.
All of the reasons that I’ve given above about giving food or money to the homeless relates to the priorities seen in scripture. 1 John 3:17 says, “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” This is seeing a “brother” in need. This isn’t seeing just anyone in need. Within the church, where the brothers are, there is accountability to why there is this need. Someone can ask, is it the direct result of sin? Are we rewarding the sin? Is it because of laziness? We can know that through the accountability of a church.
Even in the church, not everyone is taken care of. Not every widow would be taken care of by a church. Read 1 Timothy 5. The priority is that a family takes care of their own family members. When we give money to someone, when the family should be doing that, then the family is shirking that responsibility. 1 Timothy 5:8, “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
The problems in a society continue because people do not obey God in what He says about these things. Matthew 4:4 gives a clue. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” The opposite is the expectation to live, to survive without the Word of God.
Say this to a homeless person: “Come to our church, show that you love the Word of God, that you want God, that you want the grace of God, and the church will see that desire and will help you. God will help you.” See what the reaction is. James 4:6 says, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” The humble get God’s grace. God resists the proud. God will send those who resist His grace to Hell. Will we make these homeless more comfortable in their pride? Is this is what God does?
The foolish have wasted opportunities (Proverbs 6:9,10) and brought poverty on themselves (Proverbs 10:4). This is the drug addict or the boozer. We first help them get saved. Jesus provided one meal in John 6, a very sensible, humble meal. Then He offered His audience the bread of life. They rejected. He didn’t keep feeding them. Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Teach all nations.” Make disciples. In the realm of help, making disciples is teaching someone to fish, so to speak, rather than just giving them fish. God wants followers. He wants people living for His kingdom. You don’t get to that goal by feeding them. You’ve got to expect them to follow first or you are not really helping them.
For the most part, this issue is living like God is right, trusting Him, believing what He says. It’s like when Saul offered the sacrifice and kept Agag and the animals alive in 1 Samuel 13. He had a better idea than God. There is a way that seems right to man (Proverbs 14:12). Someone may ask, “Don’t you want to feed the hungry?” The hungry will be fed forever in the kingdom and eternal state, and eternal satisfaction of hunger is more important than the temporal. Even on this earth, the real problem isn’t solved by giving food. It might not seem like it, but that is the easy way and the wrong way for reasons described already in this essay.
Most organizations that are about “feeding the hungry,” “giving to the poor,” and “housing the homeless” do not have scriptural quality control. They don’t care about the biblical principles. In most ways, they are proud that they are not scriptural or godly. They are not taking into consideration laziness, wickedness, what’s going on with the family, among other areas addressed above. They very often cannot because they are tied into a government that requires acceptance or toleration of the sin. Acceptance, association, and affiliation give accommodation. Sin is to be reproved and the institutions would not allow sin to be reproved (Ephesians 5:11). One of the ways they get more funds is through disobedience to what God said. The best someone can do for a society is do all he can do in a church without association with these organizations. Why do they not like the church? Why do they not like righteousness?
It’s good to become individually involved in the lives of other people in a biblical way, one-on-one. Do what Jesus did. Do what the apostles did. Help those people to help people in the same way, so that multiplication occurs.
Especially millennials want to be seen as “helping” the poor. They often promote themselves before others for doing so. I’m sure some, albeit few, are well-intentioned. It brings glory in this culture to be seen to care by giving money for temporal things. They know you won’t get credit for obeying God. That’s living by faith. They are walking by sight, not by faith. Many of them aren’t true believers themselves.
Everything I’m writing here is true. Someone isn’t doing good or helping by denying the truth. It’s also vanity. It’s a waste of time and energy and resources. God wants us to be good stewards, faithful and wise stewards (Luke 12:42).’https://kentbrandenburg.com/2021/02/17/giving-food-and-money-to-the-homeless/
‘Street trees reduce depression, according to Science Alert 30 January 2021 and Scientific Reports 31 December 2020 doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79924-5.
A group of researchers in Germany “analysed the association of street tree density and species richness with antidepressant prescribing for 9751 inhabitants of Leipzig, Germany. They found “for individuals with low socio-economic status, high density of street trees at 100m around the home significantly reduced the probability of being prescribed antidepressants.”
They went on to conclude: “The study suggests that unintentional daily contact to nature through street trees close to the home may reduce the risk of depression, especially for individuals in deprived groups.”
Diana Bowler, a population ecologist from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research and one of the researcher team, also commented: “Our study shows that everyday nature close to home – the biodiversity you see out of the window or when walking or driving to work, school, or shopping – is important for mental health. This finding is especially relevant now in times of the COVID-19 lockdowns.”
Links: Science Alert, Scientific Reports
Editorial Comment: This fits with much other research into the importance of green spaces with trees in supporting good health, which is no surprise to us since Genesis tells us mankind’s original “very good” home was a beautiful fruitful garden filled with trees.
Access to green spaces and trees has become a real issue in these days of lockdowns with its associated stress and depression, especially in dense urban communities. We agree that providing trees will help people in lockdown and other restrictions, but to really protect people from stress, depression and despair they need the hope which can only come from good news of a salvation in Christ. We encourage churches and individual Christians to find creative ways of sharing good things from God’s good creation along with God’s Good News with those in quarantine, lockdown or affected by changes brought about by restrictions in their local areas.’https://creationfactfile.com/6164/street-trees-reduce-depression/
Facebook has taken a back seat for me as far as social media is concerned. However, I do go to a few other’s Facebook pages just to see what they are saying. This morning I was going to Australian politician Craig Kelly’s Facebook when the image below appeared not allowing me to view his page. I don’t even remember posting this but was amused that Facebook has ‘Community Standards’ on the China virus and what I had put on in September last year was ‘misinformation’. So, Facebook know true INFORMATION and MISINFORMATION when it comes to the China virus!!! Well, thank you Facebook for letting me know as hopefully this information will be now published via this blog. PLEASSE SAHRE!
Facebook is a Leftist Marxist information stifling social media organization! As a conservative I am using Facebook and YouTube less and less due to their Marxist leanings! However, what is really scary is what will the next ten years bring? After a fraudulent 2020 election and the world seemingly asleep at the wheel what else can we expect? As Allum Bohari said in his November speech to Hillsdale College ‘…Big Tech doesn’t just mean control over online information. It means control over news. It means control over commerce. It means control over politics. And how are the corporate tech giants using their control? Judging by the three biggest moves they have made since I wrote my book—the censoring of the New York Post in October when it published its blockbuster stories on Biden family corruption, the censorship and eventual banning from the Web of President Trump, and the coordinated takedown of the upstart social media site Parler—it is obvious that Big Tech’s priority today is to support the political Left and the Washington establishment.’ He continued to say that ‘We know, for example, that Google reduced the visibility of Breitbart News links in search results by 99 percent in 2020 compared to the same period in 2016. We know that after Google introduced an update last summer, clicks on Breitbart News stories from Google searches for “Joe Biden” went to zero and stayed at zero through the election. This didn’t happen gradually, but in one fell swoop—as if Google flipped a switch. And this was discoverable through the use of Google’s own traffic analysis tools, so it isn’t as if Google cared that we knew about it.’
My blog is a SMALL cog in the scheme of things but I wonder how long my blog will be allowed any visitors AT ALL!
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
1Timothy 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
‘When clergy sex crimes come to light, the scars extend far beyond the individuals who are sexually exploited. Church members experience shock and grief, and congregations can be permanently weakened or destroyed. Anguished wives and children are thrust into the spotlight. Communities experience broken trust. Parents strategize ways to discuss horrific topics with their children. Everyone who knows—or thought they knew—the perpetrator asks, Did I miss the signs? Is there something I could’ve done to prevent all of this?
The most recent cases follow a familiar pattern. Pastors and other Christian workers get hooked on child porn they access through the dark web and apps, sometimes staging and filming sex acts themselves, but often keeping these activities completely walled off from their churches and public identities.
In many cases, churches didn’t have or failed to follow protocols for detecting inappropriate computer usage. Churches were caught completely off guard, sometimes along with other local institutions. The abuse might likely be continuing even now if it hadn’t been for outside organizations that detected the illicit activity and reached out to local and/or federal law enforcement.
The latest cases feature pastors from the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination, which has recently faced a number of cases of sexual misconduct and crimes. The Houston Chronicle’s database records the gruesome toll: more than 700 victims, nearly 400 SBC leaders and volunteers facing allegations, with more than 250 charged with sex crimes. As we reported in November, an additional database, Baptist Accountability, features more than 500 people representing “Baptists of all flavors,” not just SBC.
But the alleged perpetrators also include Methodist pastors, a Nazarene pastor who filmed and uploaded child porn, and leaders from independent congregations.
William Milam, 62, pastor of Olivet Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist Convention congregation in Milton, Florida, was well known for preaching against the evils of alcohol. He preached his sermon at the church as usual on Sunday, Dec. 13.
The next day, it became clear Milam was hiding a darker side when he was arrested and charged with two counts of promoting sexual performance of a child and 25 counts of possession of child pornography. Employing the user name “willjones6969,” Milam had obtained images of children as young as three engaging in sexual acts that were stored on various devices in his home. He is being held in jail on a $2.7 million bond.
Church members were dumbfounded, according to a statement: “The church was shocked to hear about the arrest of its former pastor. We are in fervent prayer for all involved; including law enforcement as they seek to uncover the truth in this situation.”
Shawn Fitzgerald, 46, fooled not only the people at First Methodist Church of Bartow, Florida, where he served as director of youth services—he was also a Lakeland High School teacher who coached soccer and tennis.
He was arrested Nov. 20 and initially charged with 408 counts of child pornography and jailed on a $2 million bond after law enforcement used technology to crack open a hidden vault of horrific images featuring children as young as ten months old on his cell phone. More charges may be forthcoming as they comb through the computer images, and investigators are trying to determine if the children featured in the images are local.
“His entire life and church life was interacting with children and young adults,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. Judd’s office began their investigation after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted them that Fitzgerald has used the KIK Messenger app to upload a 20-second video of a young female performing oral sex on an adult male.
David Pettigrew, 48, pastor of Dennison Church of the Nazarene in Denison, Texas since 2006, was even more audacious.
Starting in 2016, Pettigrew and a local chiropractor worked together to persuade minors into performing sexual acts that they could film and share with others. He was arrested last year by Department of Homeland Security agents and indicted in federal court for conspiring to sexually exploit children, also known as producing child pornography.
Pettigrew, a father of three, worked as a substitute teacher in the Sherman Independent School District, where his wife has worked as a first grade teacher. He was also a board member of a foster parent association. If convicted, he could serve 15-30 years.
As in other cases, it was a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that launched an investigation, which is ongoing. “The investigation has revealed that a number of children were surreptitiously photographed in private locations or outside of the presence of their parents,” said a federal official.
We wish these three cases were the only ones on the pastors-and-porn police blotter, but there’s more.
John Robert Griffin, 73, an associate professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL, was also an elder who ministered to senior adults at Riverbend Community Church, a Southern Baptist Convention congregation in nearby Ormond Beach. He was arrested in January after police found more than 200 sexually explicit photos in his home and charged him with 30 felony counts of possessing child pornography. Further charges are possible. An Embry-Riddle spokesperson said, “We are very dismayed to learn about these charges and allegations.” Initially, the church declined to comment to the media.
John Hackmann Jr., 45, pastor of Marion First United Methodist Church in Marion, Illinois, was arrested in November and faces felony charges for child pornography and intimidation.
But the strangest case may be north of the border with Canada. In Chilliwack, east of Vancouver, John (Johannes) Vermeer, the former executive pastor of the Main Street Church, is accused of accessing and possessing child porn on the church’s computer in 2010 and 2015. His defense attorney has helped draw out the trial for years over technical questions and claims of “reasonable doubt,” but a final evidentiary hearing was held last week.’https://ministrywatch.com/pastors-charged-with-child-sex-crimes-scar-victims-shock-congregations/
whatyareckon 