There was never a time to join a denomination but if your church is in the SBC it is certainly time NOW to get out!
Baptists
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There seems to be a considerable amount of people who have come forward publicly saying they have been abused by someone in a local independent Baptist church. This should never be the experience of someone attending a church that claims to be “the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” The following is a review of a book written by one who suffered such abuse!
‘Sheltered but Not Protected is the story of a young man that was raised in an independent Baptist church (probably listed in our database) and who did all the right things just like the preacher said, but nevertheless was the victim of a female predator in his church. The church culture around him not only permitted but protected this sort of behavior, and instead of reporting the abuser as a child molester, the pastor forced the victim to repent in front of the church. Sound familiar? As the author says, not every church is this way, but there are enough of them out there that it deserves serious attention.
Justin Woodbury is the author of the book Sheltered but not Protected (affiliate link throughout), his story of abuse in an independent Baptist church, both sexual abuse from a trusted adult, as well as the emotional and spiritual abuse that was standard behavior from the leadership. The book begins with a foreword from Justin’s wife Emily, describing the pain and struggles that she experienced as a new wife dealing with the emotional trauma that her husband had suffered. While there’s a “happy ending” of sorts to the book, the scars–spiritual, emotional, and even physical–created thanks to a system of abuse that came from or was at least enabled by good intentions nevertheless will remain with Justin and Emily, and innumerable other victims, for the rest of their lives.
The Best of Intentions
Justin’s childhood is described as wonderful, with loving parents and a great sister. Even his church was a place full of (initially) love, people seeking to serve the LORD from a pure heart. Unfortunately, the way in which they went about trying to serve God became more about control and rigid compliance with rules than seeking God’s will. The writer of this review grew up in a church that shared some similarities with the church described in Sheltered, though I can’t remember things being quite so over-the-top with regards to pastoral control.
However, the whole idea of the pastor being “the Man of God” and that his opinions were actually the leading of the Holy Spirit (Justin’s job at the church was threatened continually if he disagreed with or disobeyed the pastor) is very familiar, and is unfortunately a very common aspect in many independent Baptist churches. I personally recall a significant emphasis on “she-bears” and calling down fire from heaven on disrespectful people being part of the birthright of the pastor. While my pastor didn’t go so far as telling people which color of car they should buy, he certainly interfered in family matters and felt that he had some sort of special line to God and knew better than everyone else how they should live.
What also resonated with me was the repeated detail that the pastor didn’t believe that there was ever a good reason to leave the church. I remember hearing that there were only two good reasons for leaving church: getting called out (to a ministry somewhere), or dragged out (a la Ananias and Saphira). This now seems like a parallel universe compared to my current pastor’s opinion on the matter: if you can’t serve God here, then please find a church where you can serve God; we’d hate to be the reason you can’t be faithful. Perhaps nine times out of ten, the reason they can’t serve God here (wherever that may be) is because they don’t really want to serve God anywhere, but there’s always the possibility that someone just isn’t a good fit and the LORD wants to use them somewhere else. That apparently wasn’t acceptable in the church where Justin grew up.
Ultimately, out of a desire to prevent the young people from experiencing the same disappointments and sins that the church’s founders had been through, they put in place draconian rules all with the intention of preventing impurity. As the rules evolved, becoming ever more restrictive, extreme, and ridiculous, most of the church members just followed along, since after all, “the Man of God” apparently knew something that they didn’t.
OK, Groomer
In his teen years, Justin’s mom became close friends with a woman in church, who was a predator and groomed him for about two years. I’ll let you read the details in his book (again, buy a copy and read it), but the abuse scarred him for life. Of course he felt pressured to keep it secret, since all of those people who had to “confess” in front of the church (whether perpetrator or victim) were publicly shamed and humiliated, and then once he finally opened up to the pastor, he was made to feel as if he were the responsible party. Moreover, the pastor, who is by law required to report sexual abuse, especially involving a minor, did not report, but instead forced Justin to apologize to his abuser’s husband.
So, not only was child sex abuse covered up, but the victim was shamed into admitting fault that was not his. Of course Justin was not the only minor affected by sexual abuse in that church; you’ll read about many other situations of leadership overlooking, dismissing, or mishandling situations to such a degree that it almost seems a caricature of reality. After several years of working in the same church, he faced another public humiliation for a private (and rather chaste) relationship with a girl in the church, and finally left to start a new life elsewhere.
Unfortunately, escaping the place doesn’t change the past, and Justin’s long road toward healing was hindered by the fact that “counseling” in his mind was a series of meetings with the pastor to make sure you were sorry and humiliated enough to be “restored.” He was never encouraged to seek professional assistance for his abuse, partly because the church had no real concept of what damage the abuse inflicted, but mostly because they didn’t see it as abuse, just some sort of adulterous affair–even though the aggressor was an adult woman close to twice the age of the minor that she molested.
God’s Grace is Always More than Sufficient
In the last chapters of Sheltered but not Protected, Justin describes his journey from bitterness to forgiveness, along with the various ways that God stripped away the judgmental, spiteful tendencies that had been inculcated in him throughout his upbringing in a cultish Baptist church. Of course I personally wouldn’t move away from the King James Bible as Justin has, nor would I probably feel comfortable in the church where he believes the LORD brought them, but those are irrelevant points. He overcame the sexual abuse from a child predator, the emotional abuse from a system that was designed to create perfect clones, and spiritual abuse from the men that he should have been able to trust, and has come to a place where he can forgive even the unrepentant abuser in his past.
This brings me to the real point that King James Bible-believing, independent Baptists have to face: why is it that we can have the right Bible (and we do), and the right doctrine (at least for the most part), and yet the fruit of so many ministries is complete destruction of families and individuals that should have been helped? How is it that we, like the Pharisees of old, can have all the right forms and technicalities (even if I disagree with many of the traditions purported to be “Old Time Religion”) yet the end result is one train wreck after another? Where in the Bible does it indicate that every believer should look like, talk like, act like, and sound like “the pastor” or else they should be shunned and ostracized by the church? Where exactly does the Bible say that the “proper” male haircut is a crop-top or a high-and-tight comb-over? Or are we allowing the culture around us to dictate what we do and how we do it, even if it is simply to be opposite of said culture?
Sheltered but not Protected is a gut-wrenching story of abuse, while at the same time a gleam of hope in a world with a church that is “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17) and where churches actively protect child abusers and rapists. There IS something that we can do, and maybe it starts with reading and understanding the truths that Justin Woodbury shares in this book.
Sheltered but not Protected: Learning to Love, Forgive, and Heal After Emotional and Sexual Abuse can be purchased on Amazon, and Justin Woodbury can be contacted through his website or his Facebook Page.’https://www.kjvchurches.com/review-sheltered-but-not-protected-learning-to-love-forgive-and-heal-after-emotional-and-sexual-abuse-by-justin-woodbury/
‘In the past, The Alpha Conference has been hosted by two ecumenical organizations — Major Change, a charismatic Evangelical organization, and Stone to Flesh, a charismatic Roman Catholic ecumenical organization. The two organizations have practically merged into one big ecumenical mess. And in the past, we’ve lambasted Hillsong Church for hosting the conference on their facilities.
But now that Hillsong Church is practically dead from its endless sex scandals among its leadership, Alpha seems to have found a new home—in the Southern Baptist Convention.
First Baptist Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a Southern Baptist congregation according to both the Southern Baptist Convention’s church search engine as well as the church’s website, will be hosting the ecumenical conference this January 2023.’https://disntr.com/2023/01/02/major-southern-baptist-church-to-hold-ecumenical-conference-with-roman-catholic-speakers/
Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders
‘Investigators say an affair led to the shooting of a man on the square in Ozark on Saturday.
Joe Newburn, 57, of Ozark, died in the shooting. Matthew Dedmon, 47, of Ozark, faces a first-degree murder charge in the case. A Christian County judge has yet to set a bond for Dedmon.
The shooting happened Saturday near the historic courthouse in the 100 block of West Church Street around 1 p.m. Investigators say Dedmon drove his truck to the square to contact his wife. Once he arrived, they say Dedmon observed his wife with Newburn in a restaurant. Investigators say Dedmon confronted Newburn, knowing he and his wife were having an affair. Investigators say that is when Dedmon shot Newburn three times.
Newburn died at a Springfield hospital from gunshot wounds.
Investigators uncovered the gun used in Dedmon’s truck. Police arrested Dedmon shortly after the shooting.
Investigators say Dedmon told them he was a pastor at Heritage Baptist Church in Rogersville.’https://www.ky3.com/2022/05/31/investigators-release-motive-deadly-shooting-ozark-mo-square/
If you have read the “About” me for this blog you know I am an independent Baptist. I was saved (accepted the Lord Jesus Christ) when I was a very young lad through the ministry of an independent Baptist Church where I also followed the Lord in baptism and heard some good preaching from His Word. However, having now walked with the Lord these many, many years I have seen a lot of “things” within “Christianity” that did and do bother me. Today, I came across the following and thought I would share it with you. This is only the first Part so i will share the others later.
‘Over the last few years there has been a significant movement to rethink “fundamentalism,” a term often applied to churches that would qualify to be listed in our database here at KJV Churches. Largely driven by younger believers, mostly Millennials, this movement has questioned many of the positions and attitudes held by a number of prominent figures who purport to hold to “Old Time Religion” or the “Old Paths,” and without a doubt there are many valid questions and rebukes necessary in many sectors of “fundamental” Christianity.
In this series, we intend to deal with a number of the real issues that should be addressed with regard to the supposed “Old Time Religion” and “fundamentalism,” but at the same time it is our desire to inspect the attitudes displayed by the “Recovering Fundamentalist” movement. As with most things, there are ditches on both sides of the road, and while a strong argument can be made against the traditional model that frequently covers up sin, overlooks abuse, and welcomes “fallen” men while ignoring and blaming the victims, we must be careful not to allow a knee-jerk reaction that will result in the same rotten attitudes, ungodly spirit, and combative approach that is many times the fruit of the “fundamentalists.”
Meddling Millennials
The generational divide between the majority of the church leadership, made up of Generation X and Baby Boomers (of disrespectful “OK, Boomer” fame), and the up-and-coming Millennials, the generation to which this author belongs, has been the cause for a lot of conflict. We Millennials have a very different approach to certain things which makes us appear to be a threat to many people, especially those who appreciate their authoritative positions and perceive any question as a threat or assume that any disagreement is an attack. The older generations must understand that a person presenting a question is not necessarily seeking to supplant whoever is in authority. Often it is done in a spirit of reconciliation, hoping to correct a wrong, perceived or real, and to restore respect for whoever was in error. Simply put, most Millennials aren’t interested in sweeping things under the rug, regardless of the consequences.
My generation experienced the Internet as young people, so we remember the days before instant, worldwide communication was possible even though many of us met our spouses and best friends online. We’re the pre-Internet generation that has in a very real sense shaped the Internet as it exists today. Our unique experiences have created a group of people, from 25-40 years old, that believe that respect is earned and can be lost, authority does not automatically deserve respect, and that age does not automatically mean wisdom (Job 32:9) when it departs from the word of God. As a result, our generational perspective does not automatically follow that of our predecessors. We are more likely to investigate a man’s character and testimony, and not just assume that he was a great man because he was a “great soul winner”. We’ve seen too many “great men” go to prison to assume that large numbers of “conversions” or a big Bible College are the marks of spirituality.
Personally, I’ve long since stopped identifying with men or movements, since many that I respected as a child turned out to be problematic, to say the least, once I reached adulthood. It’s true that there are Biblical commands to respect those that have positions of authority, but all too often the warnings and responsibilities of those tasked with those positions have been ignored, while the man in question hides behind a “man of God” moniker and rejects all criticism as an attack on “the ministry.” I don’t even know how many times as a child that I heard my pastor preach grave warnings about speaking out against the pastor (him, of course), talking about she-bears, lightning strikes, and leprosy attacks, as if he himself were Elisha, Elijah, or Moses. Another shocking recollection is of the pastor (same man) claiming that the church funds were low because he had chosen not to receive his salary, and that God wasn’t blessing the church as a result.
It is the unfortunate reality of modern “Christianity” (“Churchianity” is much more accurate, since it’s more about the “church” than it is about Christ) that those in places of authority heartily accept the “benefits” that come with being the CEO of a government-recognized 501(c)(3) charity, yet ignore the stern warnings in the Scriptures about how to deal with God’s flock (Acts 20:28-29; 1 Peter 5:2-3; 2 Peter 2:3; Hebrews 13:7, 17, etc.). Too many pastors have assumed the right to skin God’s sheep at will, abusing Christ’s flock and manipulating the LORD’s heritage for their own benefit, be it physical (just look at the average BMI of Baptist pastors), monetary, or spiritual, seeking the preeminence that belongs exclusively to the LORD. Now, lest the reader assume that fingers are being pointed at Generation X or the “Boomers,” allow me to clarify: this danger exists in any generation, for any pastor, who ignores the scriptures and seeks his own benefit instead of that of the body of Christ.
Assuming anyone is still reading at this point, there may be some anger in that so far nothing has been said against those meddlesome “Recovering Fundamentalists.” Don’t worry, we’ll get there. But since the “Recovery” movement is a response to the real problems in so-called “Fundamentalism,” those issues should be addressed first, which will allow us to see how this new movement started and why, and we’ll be better prepared to address the issues that they themselves face and the problems they are causing for themselves and for the body of Christ. Don’t worry: there are plenty of problems to go around, and there is plenty of blame to be shared.
What’s the Big Deal?
Over the last few decades the focus of self-professed fundamentalist churches has shifted from the glory of God, edification of the body, and the evangelization of the lost to a pragmatic approach to maintaining the status quo of church attendance, bus ridership, and financial giving. Paris Reidhead’s warning against pragmatism in his famous sermon Ten Shekels and a Shirt (listen to it if you haven’t already) has been completely ignored by the body of Christ. While it may be easy for “conservative” churches (traditional music, KJV only, etc.) to point fingers at “megachurches” with their sports complexes, coffee shops, and polo-shirt-wearing “campus pastors,” we must take stock of our own attitudes and recognize that our own religious system focuses on itself and its own self-propagation more than the glory of God and the spiritual edification of the body.
The results of this sad state of “Christianity” is that young people have started to look behind the curtain and realize that the “Holy Spirit” that is talked about so frequently is really just emotionalism dressed up as spirituality in order to sell a religious program. Thus, it’s no wonder that the sales tactics of a sleazy used car salesman are employed to fill the pews, and that the same approach to maintaining the membership is used, despite the differing content. Don’t believe me? Consider this question:
“What if we take away the cool music and the cushioned chairs? What if the screens are gone and the stage is no longer decorated? What if the air conditioning is off and the comforts are removed? Would his Word still be enough for his people to come together?” – David Platt
The question is valid regardless of who said it; many “fundamentalists” revere serial adulterers and child molesters, so I don’t care what you think about Platt, nor does it matter what I think about him. Consider about the question and imagine how many of the “members” of your church would still faithfully attend if there were no comfortable seats, if there were no heating or air conditioning. How many of the young people would come if it wasn’t for the goodies or fun activities? If all your church did were to assemble, stand together for two or three hours, sing a few hymns a cappella, and listen to the word preached and Christ glorified for two hours, how many would be left at the end of a year? What would the tithing records look like? How many missionaries would you be able to support? How would you pay the mortgage?
You see, we Millennials were sold a bill of goods. We were told that Christ was all that mattered, but we saw that the reality was very different. Just so that we’re clear, that’s called hypocrisy and it’s one of the things that irritates the LORD the most. And, it’s not very appreciated by young people that believed you when we were young and then saw the results of your hypocrisy. So, it’s understandable when young people who would have served God wholeheartedly if they had an example to follow, instead leave church, develop a resentful attitude, or look for a place where they can truly serve God without the humanistic impediments that are so rampant in many “fundamental” churches.
Conclusion (don’t worry, there’s more to come)
So, we haven’t gotten around to bashing those pesky “Recovering Fundamentalists” yet. That’s ok, there’s plenty of blame and rebuke to go around. In a future post we will start to unpack the response, good and bad, of the Millennial generation to the problems we addressed in this post. Just keep in mind that the most important problem to deal with is OUR problem, just like Christ said:
Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye. (Luke 6:42)
Do you want to “see clearly” to deal with the issues that someone else has? Great! Start with yourself, just like I must start with myself. When you recognize and deal with the problems at home, you’ll both be more objective and more merciful with the errors of others (Galatians 5:1). But if you start in the flesh and only look at the mistakes of others, you’ll just create more strife, division, and contention (Proverbs 13:10).’https://www.kjvchurches.com/recovering-part-1-meet-the-millennials/
‘Jesse James was a member of a Baptist Church, but he was never a Christian, nor was he a gun-slinging Robin Hood who robbed rich northern banks and trains giving the money to poor southerners living along the Kansas-Missouri border. He and his elder brother Frank were low-down thieves and killers of numerous men.
While Jesse was a member of a Baptist Church, he never experienced the New Birth, and he has been followed by other Baptists up to our day who were deceitful, devious, and despicable people. Modern Baptists were often wicked and bigger thieves than Jesse, but they are still famous heroes of industry, education, public service, and the ministry.
But they never wore masks and carried handguns. I can think of a few rather quickly:
Some Baptists that swiftly come to mind are oil tycoon J. D. Rockefeller, Modernist preacher Harry Emerson Fosdick, President Harry Truman (Democrat who was as clean as a hound’s tooth), and President Warren G. Harding (Republican who lived like a hound dog). Harding had a 15-year sordid affair and paid hush money to his mistress following his election to the presidency.
Other Baptists were Harry Longabaugh (the Sundance Kid), an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch; corrupt Democrat Congressman Adam Clayton Powell (and pastor of a large Baptist Church in Harlem); adulterer and shake-down artist Jesse Jackson; Al Gore; Bill Clinton; Jimmy Carter; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Ralph Abernathy; and others. No need to comment on the last five named.
Even if Jesse had been a “Robin Hood,” it would not be commendable or mitigate his guilt. The mythical Robin was still a thief, and it is never right to do wrong to do right, and principled poor people would never accept stolen money.
In 1866, at 19, Jesse joined Mount Olive Baptist Church in Centerville, Missouri, with both names changed to First Baptist Church of Kearney, Missouri in 1872. As it appears in the church minutes of November 1867, his name was spelled Jessie. After his last name, the word excluded was added two years later, apparently at his request.
The evidence indicates Jesse was a church member in good standing when he led his James-Younger Gang to rob the Clay County Saving Association Bank in Liberty, a town about ten miles away, on February 13, 1866. Ten miles seems awfully close to home to rob a bank, but thieves don’t qualify for membership in Mensa (I.Q. requirement of 132). The gang made off with more than $60,000 in cash and bonds, more than a million dollars in today’s dollars. Tragically, an innocent boy was killed during their escape.
When the church members heard the next day that one of their members was moonlighting as a bank robber, they knew the Bible and church charter required Jesse to be confronted, followed by his remorse, repentance, and restitution. If he refused, he would have to be removed. The church minutes indicated they were fearful Jesse would burn down the church. The two appointed men never found time to visit Jesse with a Matthew 18 confrontation. However, they were armed with a Bible passage, and Jesse was armed with two Smith & Wesson .45 revolvers.
At the next business meeting, it was revealed that Jesse had not been confronted, and he showed up late for that meeting. He did not want to cause any embarrassment to the church and requested his name be removed from the roll, and the church obliged.
I assume he did not tithe on the loot.
In a church business meeting in 1869, the minutes reveal that the church sent two men to “visit Bro. Jessy [sic] James and ascertain his reasons for wishing his name withdrawn from our church book.” The men were instructed to report the results at the following business meeting, at which Jesse was removed as a church member. The motion was passed with no knowledge of any vote count or discussion.
The church was right and resolute, if not rash, in removing Jesse from the church membership; however, it was an explosive matter, so most people would advise them not to hurry.
Jesse James’ church cannot be faulted for its dealings with him. They did not defend him, nor did they consider him a hero or Robin Hood. Their present pastor takes the same position today.
First Baptist Church had done the honorable and scriptural thing and removed a member who did not live up to his profession. The church action was not one of anger, vindictiveness, or self-righteousness but an act of love. Had Jesse confessed his sins and faced justice, he would have been forgiven and continued in the church fellowship.
And died peacefully in bed rather than being shot in the head.
This is one of the major failures of most churches today: the refusal to deal with hypocrites who refuse to live as they agreed to live when joining the church. Many Roman Catholic Democrats are another excellent example of people who profess one thing and live another. Every politician in Washington should be removed from church membership if they refuse to follow the teaching they agreed to follow when joining their church.
Think, abortion.
And homosexuality.
And transgenderism.
It is outrageous to think Jesse and Frank could attend church on Sunday and rob the Liberty bank on Monday without spiritual repercussions. First Baptist of Kearney is to be commended for its willingness to do the right thing.
Pastor Harris of First Baptist in St. Joseph, where Jesse was killed, refused to host his funeral. Even so, Rev. J. M. P. Martin, pastor of First Baptist in Kearney (that had expelled Jesse), agreed to do so at the request of Jesse’s mother, a former member and Sunday School teacher.
As reported in the June 11, 1882, edition of the New Orleans Daily Picayune, Pastor Harris said, “Jesse James was not a member of any Baptist church [at the time], Baptists did not weep at his funeral, and a Baptist minister did not eulogize him.” Pastor Harris of First Baptist, St. Joseph, was taking the heat from unfair, uninformed, and untruthful Baptist critics. Jesse was buried in the church cemetery after his original burial on his family farm, where his mother gave guided tours to paying customers.
My research indicates that Frank and Jesse, along with the Younger Brothers and other members, were doubtlessly killers and thieves. That is also true of Quantrill’s Raiders and “Bloody” Bill Anderson. However, some declare they were patriots who refused to recognize Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, choosing to carry on a guerrilla war against the Union. Their robberies were to finance an uprising of the Confederacy. That theory is as outrageous as the Robin Hood myth.
Cole Younger admitted in his autobiography that his brothers, Jim and Bob, sang in a church choir in 1870 and 1871. After 25 years in prison for a Minnesota bank robbery, Cole was paroled in 1901. During a hot August night at an evangelistic meeting, Cole kissed his niece on the cheek, raised himself from his chair, and walked down the church aisle while the choir sang the famous hymn Just as I Am, Without One Plea But that Thy Blood Was Shed for Me.
Cole Younger hit the sawdust trail on the 50th anniversary of Quantrill’s raid in Lawrence, Kansas, and spent the next 13 years telling people about Christ’s saving and forgiving power.
The ridiculous theory of the gangsters being patriots instead of thieves was woven out of whole cloth. But it gets even weirder as Jesse and Frank are said to have been dedicated church members, with Frank teaching a Sunday School class and Jesse even serving as pastor under an assumed name! With everyone in the county knowing who he was.
A highly qualified author and acquaintance of mine Dr. Edward DeVries took the above view in the January/February 2020 Barnes Review article. He even declares that Quantrill and “Bloody” Bill Anderson were “born again Christians.” Of course, all Christians are born again.
DeVries declares, “At different times, Jesse would pastor the New Hope Baptist, Providence Baptist and Pisgah Baptist churches that had been pastored by his father before him. He would also pastor the Samuel’s Depot Baptist Church in Kentucky and, for a time, even fill the pulpit for a Methodist church.”
Extraordinary charges require extensive evidence that the author does not give; however, it must be understood that Dr. DeVries had preached and spoken in the three Missouri churches. Moreover, his honesty and ability are without question, in my opinion.
Like many modern Baptists, Frank and Jesse were not held down long enough at their baptism, as I humorously say. The issue is not baptism but belief in a resurrected Christ.
Frank, Jesse, and their family discovered too late that it is better to have never been born than not to have been born again.’https://donboys.cstnews.com/did-jesse-james-pastor-a-baptist-church-while-robbing-the-rich-and-giving-to-the-poor
Remember this man!
If you are a born again Bible believing Christian the following will make you mad and sick.
‘A New Hampshire pastor was charged Tuesday morning on a child pornography charge, police announced after the arrest.
Stephen Bates, 46, stands accused of one count of possession of child sexual abuse images, according to court records obtained by Law&Crime. Law enforcement say additional charges are likely.
“I think this case is particularly concerning because he is a pastor and somebody that’s involved in the community here,” Nashua Police Department Lieutenant Brian Trefry said in comments reported by Boston-based independent television station WHDH.
“During a search of his person, he had some thumb drives or flash drives on him, which we were able to analyze on scene and they contained child pornography,” Trefry told Boston ABC affiliate WCVB.
According to a press release, the investigation into the defendant began over five years ago in August 2016 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent the NPD a tip that child pornography had been accessed by an electronic device using an IP address associated with the Bible Baptist Church in Nashua, NH.–the same place where Bates worked and tended to his flock.
Additional NCMEC tips were received again in 2017. Police say they investigated each one of those tips but were unable to gather enough evidence to support criminal charges–at least for awhile.
Another year passed with little progress made. Then law enforcement’s luck changed–albeit quite slowly.
In 2019, Homeland Security Investigations in Denver, Co. targeted a producer and distributor of child pornography. The suspect at the center of that investigation had shared child pornography via social media with an unidentified person whose IP address was, yet again, associated with the Bible Baptist Church in Nashua.
In 2020, The Tallahassee Police Department in Florida launched their own investigation of internet-based child pornography publishers. During their investigation, they found a publisher of child pornography images using an IP address associated with Bates’ church.
In 2021, Blaine, Wash.-based HSI agents were investigating the sexual exploitation of a child. The suspect in that case had communicated with someone on social media about their shared interest in having sex with children. Once again, that unknown individual’s IP address was associated with the church where Bates preached.
The Bible Baptist Church’s website is currently partially offline; the main page reads “unavailable.” According to WCVB, the website identified the beginning of Bates’ ministry there as Aug. 7, 2005.
The NPD, in their press release, insist the defendant was always a “person of interest” in each of their prior investigations but say there just “wasn’t sufficient evidence to charge him with any crimes.”
That calculus changed substantially, police said, after the execution of search warrant at around 9:45 a.m. Tuesday.
“During a search of his person two flash drives were located,” the NPD’s press release alleges. “During a review of the content on the drives numerous images of child pornography were located. As a result of him possessing child pornography Pastor Bates was arrested. Pastor Bates has been initially charged with Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Images but more charges are expected as the investigation continues and more digital evidence is analyzed.”
Bates was detained but made cash bail set at $3,000 before he could be arraigned, aa court official told Law&Crime.
As part of his release, the defendant waived any extradition proceedings and agreed to certain conditions of release.
“Def[endant] shall not use any computer,” the bail order reads. “[Bates] shall not access the internet for any reason. [Bates] shall not have any unsupervised contact with any juvenile under 18.”
Bates’ next court appearance has not been set and is currently to be determined, those court documents note.
Under Granite State law, the defendant faces a maximum 15 years in state prison on the child sexual abuse images charge.’https://lawandcrime.com/crime/baptist-pastor-arrested-after-search-warrant-alleges-he-possessed-numerous-images-of-child-pornography-following-nearly-six-year-investigation/
This is the Christian testimony of Christopher Replogle, a Marine veteran of the Iraqi war. Christopher’s testimony is of one who not only fought in a war of bullets but a spiritual warfare for his soul. In the end Christopher came to know true freedom found only in the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour.
What is it we do not understand? 1Timothy 5:19-22 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. 20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. 21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. 22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.
‘Michigan Prison (DOC) Arrest Records for Inmate CHRISTOPHER SCOTT SETTLEMOIR’https://www.publicpolicerecord.com/michigan/doc-prisoner/SETTLEMOIR_CHRISTOPHER/803032
This former Baptist pastor is now out of prison and is a registered sex offender. ‘Christopher Scott Settlemoir Registration Details Last Known Address: 14117 LAKESIDE, BLVD, MI 48315’https://www.homefacts.com/offender-detail/MI2043958/Christopher-Scott-Settlemoir.html
Here the details of this sordid story. ‘After a pastor at Antioch Baptist Academy repeatedly raped a student, the church called the boy a liar and the “instigator of his own rape,” the boy claims in court.
John Doe claims he was younger than 14 when he was repeatedly raped and sodomized in 2009-10 by defendant Christopher Settlemoir, a “29-year-old serial pedophile who was posing as a man of God, a church pastor and a parochial school principal of the defendant Antioch Baptist Church dba Antioch Baptist Academy.”
Doe also sued Settlemoir’s wife, who is or was a teacher at the academy, other employees and the 10 members of the church’s board of directors, who allegedly knew about Settlemoir’s molestations but failed to stop them.
According to the complaint in Macomb County Court: “Defendant Antioch hired the pedophile Christopher Settlemoir as a teacher, pastor and principal even though defendant Settlemoir, while still in college, began showing signs of sexual perversion by racking up $100 in gay porn charges on the cable at the apartment where he was staying as part of the pastor internship program.
“Defendant Settlemoir was eventually kicked out of the internship program for not adhering to the rules, which included bringing teen-age boys to his apartment and being along with the boys for ‘Movie Night.’”
In his own case, Doe says: “For a period of 14 months, the pedophile Christopher Settlemoir openly and freely vetted, targeted and then sexually abused, exploited and raped John Doe in his office during school hours as well as in defendant Christopher Settlemoir’s house and/or within the domains of other property under the control of defendant Antioch Baptist Church and/or its agents.
“John Doe was a boy, a student and a parishioner of the defendant Antioch when he was routinely and inappropriately abducted from classrooms during class time by the pedophile Settlemoir, or by other staff members of the defendant Antioch who delivered the boy to the pedophile Settlemoir, who thereafter would rape the boy.”
Doe claims Antioch knew or should have known of Settlemoir’s “overt sexual aggression” and “sexual misconduct” with male students. He claims Settlemoir raped him “dozens of times” while the staff turned a blind eye to the crimes.
By February 2009 or earlier, Settlemoir “initiated contact with John Doe and other male students requesting that these children forward pictures of their erect penises to defendant Christopher Settlemoir via cell phone images, pretending that this conduct was just a ‘game,’” the complaint states.
“Defendant Christopher Settlemoir also sent, via text, pictures of his own erect penis to minor children, including plaintiff John Doe.”
After singling him out, Doe says, “Settlemoir would routinely take John Doe to his office, a room with only one door.
“Defendant Christopher Settlemoir would have to pass other teachers as well as his secretary, Ms. Boggs, when bringing John Doe, or other minor male children, to his office where he would lock himself and the child alone in the officer for long periods of time. …
“Defendant Christopher Settlemoir’s conduct became so flagrant that another minor child was solicited by the defendant Christopher Settlemoir for pornographic images in exchange of [sic] ‘monster drinks’ aka energy drinks, another ‘grooming’ technique commonly known to be used by pedophiles. …
“Although members of the staff at the defendant Antioch were aware that defendant Christopher Settlemoir was engaged in overt sexual misconduct and/or witnessed this pedophile systematically engaged in ‘grooming’ specific students as targets, the defendant Antioch’s staff never reported the conduct to legal authorities.”
When he finally did report the rapes, Doe says, the church “lashed out” at him: “After John Doe and his mother came forward and reported to police that Christopher Settlemoir was molesting and raping him, defendants, through their employees and agents, lashed out at John Doe, disparaging him, his mother and his father, through accusations against John Doe. After being raped by Christopher Settlemoir, John Doe was publicly accused by the defendants’ staff of being a liar and the instigator of his own rape, by the very people who failed to protect him from the pedophile defendant Christopher Settlemoir,” the complaint states.
Doe claims that Eunice Settlemoir, the pastor’s wife, “attempted to conceal and later recruited other members of the defendant Antioch to destroy a laptop belonging to her husband to prevent police from obtaining evidence of the molestation and rape of John Doe.”
Settlemoir is serving a prison sentence of 7 to 15 years for the rape John Doe, according to the complaint.
He seeks punitive damages of $10 million for assault and battery and negligence.
He is represented by James Simasko, of Simasko, Simasko and Simasko, and John Perrin.’https://www.courthousenews.com/church-blamed-the-pastors-victim-boy-says/
The following is from an Australian 60 Minutes programme 23 July, 2017.
‘The wife of a radical Australian preacher has broken her silence for the first time on the
horrific abuse she suffered for years at the hands of her cruel husband.
horrific abuse she suffered for years at the hands of her cruel husband.But Joy Harris, 63, revealed the most devastating aspect of her ordeal was being shunned by her own son – an Independent Baptist pastor like his Dad – because he blamed her for his father’s evil actions.
“I’m totally heartbroken. He hasn’t even let me see his children, because I have to repent first.”
Speaking in a 60 Minutes exclusive, the Cairns grandmother said she had been raped up
to seven time a day by her husband, Pastor Larry Harris.
“He thought the more times a day he could have it, the more of a man he was. He would get up to 6, 7 times a day and he didn’t care if it caused me pain,” she told reporter Liam Bartlett.
Pastor Harris pleaded guilty to two counts of rape in Queensland in January, however Joy will seek to have him charged in New South Wales, where the majority of abuse allegedly occurred, when he is released.
Joy told Bartlett any sense of justice will be forever overshadowed because her son Kevin, who leads the Illawarra Community Baptist Church in Dapto, has turned his back on her for speaking out against the church.
“[Kevin thinks] I’m just as guilty as a rapist, my rapist. I’m wrong; I’m displeasing God.”
In an explosive interview with 60 Minutes, which saw Kevin Harris storm out, he admitted he believed there was, “disobedience to the Lord on both parts.”
“I believe my father is guilty, but he has expressed his remorse and his repentance,” Kevin Harris said, whose breakaway church has no connection to the mainstream Australian Baptist Ministries.
It’s a stance that put Kevin Harris at odds with not only his mother, but also his own brother Jason, who quit the church in 2006 due to their fanatical beliefs.
“We didn’t realise it at the time completely, but she was a sex slave,” he told Bartlett.
Detective Sergeant Brendan Young led the investigation into Pastor Larry Harris and tells Bartlett he was appalled by what he uncovered.
“It was sexual assault, it was rapes, it was deprivation of liberty, look it was disgusting to be honest,” Det. Sgt Young said.
Joy told Bartlett Kevin’s views are widespread throughout the Independent Baptist movement and she’s determined to lend her voice to those unable to speak out against them, and expose the sinister doctrine being openly preached in small suburban churches scattered around Australia.’ http://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/07/23/21/17/wife-of-preacher-reveals-horrific-torture-at-hands-of-her-husband
This is not a defense of Larry Harris or any man (saved or unsaved) that commits violence against a woman. However, this 60 Minutes story left a LOT of unanswered questions. For instance, when will Sixty Minutes to do a story on Islam and their treatment of women? Another is, did any of the seven children in the Harris home know these rapes were occurring while they were growing up? Also, why did Joy not call the police while she and Larry were in the states for those six years of counseling? Why did she not make the counselor aware of the fact that Larry had not changed but was continuing to rape her? Why, did she wait until they were back in Australia to call the police? This is not blaming the ‘victim’ but just asking some questions that need to be answered!
It seems like Sixty Minutes in this story is painting all independent Baptists as ‘radical’, ‘fanatical’, and preaching ‘sinister doctrine’. One wonders if the producers of 60 Minutes did ANY research into church history and especially the independent Baptist movement?
If they had they would have found that the English pastor, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, also known as the Prince of Preachers, pulled his church out of the Baptist Union (a mainline denomination) and became independent due to the Union’s theological liberalism. Only another theological liberal or an unsaved person would have said Spurgeon was a radical, fanatical or preached sinister doctrine!
I do not know what went on in the home of Larry and Joy Harris but Sixty Minutes owes independent Baptists around the world an apology for painting all of them with the same brush!
whatyareckon 