Tag Archives: Touch Not God’s Anointed perversion

Sick Puppy: Jack Schaap

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jack schaap

The Chicago Post Tribune reports.

Preacher: Sex with 17-year-old was Lord’s work

BY Teresa Auch Schultz tauch@post-trib.com

Former First Baptist Church of Hammond pastor Jack Schaap’s affair with a 17-year-old girl last summer not only wasn’t wrong but was desired by Jesus Christ.

That’s what he claimed in one of several letters he wrote to the victim during his crime, couching the sexual relationship as part of her personal salvation and something Jesus Christ wanted.

“In our ‘fantasy talk,’ you have affectionately spoken of being ‘my wife,’ ” Schaap wrote in one letter. “That is exactly what Christ desires for us. He wants to marry us + become eternal lovers!”

Federal prosecutors included the letters in the government’s sentencing memorandum for Schaap, which was filed Wednesday evening in U.S. District Court in Hammond.

Schaap has pleaded guilty to causing the girl to be transported to Illinois and Michigan last year for a sexual relationship. Schaap resigned from the megachurch, one of the largest in the country, last summer after church members discovered his relationship with the girl and reported it to local law enforcement.

In his letters to the girl, Schaap often discusses how he helped save her from self-destruction, helping to put her on a “better path of living — that’s what we call Righteousness.”

In another letter, he talks about how he wanted their time together for three days — which appears to reference their time in Michigan — to show her how much she matters to Jesus Christ.

The girl and her family are still dealing with the ramifications of the relationship, according to letters they wrote to the court.

The girl wrote about how she spent her entire life in the church, listening to Schaap preach three times a week and being taught that he was a messenger of God.

“He told me to confide in him, to trust him, and he made me feel safe and comfortable around him as a man of God,” she wrote. “(Schaap) preyed on that trust and my vulnerability.”

In another letter written to Schaap, she says she was shocked when he first kissed her. When she asked if it was wrong, Schaap told her it was OK.

“You told me that I was sent to you from God, I was his gift to you,” the letter says.

She admits that by the time they were discovered, she thought she was in love with him and at first didn’t admit he had victimized her.

Now she’s had to transfer schools, and her family was told it wasn’t safe for them to return to the church, according to letters from her parents. The girl writes that although she still struggles every day, she is determined to “get through this and grow from it.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster says in the sentencing memorandum that Schaap started grooming the victim in April 2012, after an administrator at the girl’s high school, run by the church, emailed Schaap about how she was “frightened, confused and emotionally traumatized” and in need of guidance.

The administrator wrote that he told the girl to let other people guide her life for now and to trust her leaders.

Schaap encouraged her to talk to him about a past romantic relationships and to view him as a friend. The two called and texted each other frequently, including 662 times in the month, before he was discovered. Phone records show he instigated contact in all but five of those days.

The government’s filing says he duped church employees into helping transport the girl across state lines, telling them the girl was “in an extremely vulnerable state” and that he needed prolonged alone time with her to help her.

However, he really took her to his personal property in Crete, Ill., and to his cabin in Cadillac, Mich., once spending 36 hours alone with her. When the employee grew concerned about the girl’s continued absence and texted Schaap, he claimed the girl had fallen asleep on his couch.

He also engaged in sexual behavior with her in his office at the church during a youth conference, according to the government’s filing.

Schaap later lied to his staff when they grew concerned about the amount of time he spent with the girl by claiming the girl was on her period and was just resting on his couch. A staff member found photos of the two a few days later, which led to the federal investigation.

Koster disputes claims in Schaap’s own sentencing memorandum that he was stressed from the church’s decreasing finances and having to work 100 hours a week to make up for fewer staff members.

“The only way (Schaap) could have been working 100-hour weeks during the time period investigated by the government is if he’s counting the many hours he dedicated to grooming and sexually abusing the victim,” Koster says in the filing.

She defends the government’s agreement to recommend a 10-year sentence for Schaap, noting he agreed to plead guilty even before he was charged.

The victim dropped her request for restitution as her doctors still cannot estimate how much help she will need to recover from the crime. Defendants convicted in such crimes are legally required to pay their victims’ medical fees through restitution.

Schapp is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday morning.

Facepalm

Fairhaven Protested

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Church scandal: Parents to blame, I say

JERRY DAVICH jdavich@post-trib.com October 9, 2011 11:00PM

The deafening church bells rang loudly for more than 30 minutes straight as protesters across the street yelled in defiance.

“Shame on you!” screamed Kim York, who attended Fairhaven Baptist Church in Chesterton from 1974 to 1982. “What you’re doing is wrong! Stop preaching lies!”

Even 30 years later, York is still seething about her childhood years spent at the church, which just celebrated its 41st year in operation.

On Sunday, Oct. 2, the 46-year-old Bass Lake believer joined dozens of other protesters to demonstrate against the long controversial but “old-fashioned Bible-believing church,” as it literature states.

“By reading and understanding the Bible, we can know how to get to heaven and how to live a successful life until we arrive,” the church’s website states. “It has instructions on how to have a wonderful husband-wife relationship, how to successfully rear children, and how to cope with the stress of these times.”

The Bible must be coming in handy these days as the church comes under fire from dozens of former members and students claiming allegations of abuse, physical attacks, and over-the-top corporal punishment in the name of God.

Passing motorists honked in support. Protesters screamed to raise awareness. Fairhaven buses filled with kids from outside of town streamed from the entranceway. Church security guards patrolled the street. And a Fairhaven helicopter circled overhead.

Yes, it was quite a scene. (For a short video of the Oct. 2 protest, amid the ringing church bells, visit my Facebook page.)

“They’re turning the church bells on to silence us, but it won’t work,” screamed David Gonzales, 22, of Portage, a former student of the church. “We’re not here to close down the church. We’re here to raise awareness to what is taking place inside the church.”

Gonzales, whose family still attends Fairhaven, is one of several former students who appeared in a Sept. 22 CNN investigative report titled “Ungodly Discipline,” exploring allegations of systemic abuse, physical assaults, and out-of-control punishment.

“If our protests stop just one child from being abused or harmed then what we are doing is all worth it,” said Alison Lavery of Hobart, who attended the church from age 4 to 19, when she was allegedly kicked out for secretly dating another church member.

“We lived in fear on a daily basis, and the swats we received left bruises,” she added.

The church’s senior pastor and founder, the Rev. Roger Voegtlin, has been a longtime advocate for using tough-love biblical scriptures and principals for child rearing. In 1974, he was jailed for such practices, but he reportedly won against all charges.

“Spanking is not abuse. Not spanking is abuse. And then you’re going to spank them – five, six, seven, eight good ones. You make them burn,” Voegtlin preached on Nov. 22, 1998, in a 7,562-word sermon titled, “How to Raise Godly Children.”

“I’m not saying this, God is saying it. I’m just illustrating it. I’m just saying exactly what the Bible says. I couldn’t make it any stronger,” he told church members. “When the Bible talks about raising children, it talks about discipline. We are a soft generation, and we’re raising a softer generation.”

In contrast, the protester’s online petition counters by stating, “The Holy Bible does not teach anyone to physically or emotionally abuse children. The Holy Bible does not teach public humiliation. The Holy Bible does not teach us to lie about and cover up our transgressions.”

Voegtlin and other Fairhaven officials did not respond to several pointed questions for this column. But I did hear from three different attorneys who felt compelled to vouch for the church’s “fine upstanding leadership and congregation.” I thought that was very interesting.

According to the Porter County Sheriff’s Police, there have been 207 incident reports at the church dating back to 2003. Most of those are 911 hang-up calls, typical of such public locations as a school involving vandalism, an arson, and other minor incidents.

Only one report, in 2006, involved a student being “accosted” for not being allowed to use the bathroom.

“When she got up from class to go anyway, (Fairhaven) staff surrounded her and pulled her into another room,” Porter County Sheriff David Lain said. “Officers arrived and took statements, looked at any physical evidence, and determined that the student was being disruptive and there was no sign of physical harm.”

But I’m convinced that physical harm has taken place at the church. I’ve heard rumors, whispers, and allegations of such things for decades.

Only now has a relatively small group of former students come forward to voice their feelings. And, still, they have fears of retribution.

“I am not standing against God or the Bible or even Fairhaven as a church,” said Samuel Bain, who spent 25 years at Fairhaven. “(Church officials) have been given every chance to deal with the legal and moral laws they have broken with total disregard for the civil law and human rights for 41-plus years. Wrong is wrong.”

“Here’s to hoping the church wakes up and realizes that their own children they are sending to hell are just as precious in the eyes of God as the hundreds they bus in every Sunday,” said Bain, who is now 30 and lives in Naperville. Ill.

Bain said his sister is a teacher at the church’s academy, and his father is still on the church’s deacon board. Still, he created an invitation-only Facebook page called Facehaven for former church members to vent their fears, feelings, and frustrations.

“I am not scared any longer. The abuse must end,” said 40-year-old Catherine Selter, who was adopted as a young girl by Voegtlin but who left the church at age 19.

Selter, who lives in the Louisville, Ky., area, has one goal these days: “For Voegtlin, and his son, Jeff Voegtlin, to be held accountable for their abusive actions.”

“Roger Voegtlin promotes child abuse. Jeff Voegtlin not only promotes physical abuse and dishes out physical abuse, but I know for a fact he also dished out some sexual abuse. It has taken me almost 25 years to be in the right frame of mind to stand up against it.”

The church averages 2,000 members for its Sunday school, according to its literature. I don’t doubt this. For decades, Fairhaven buses traveling on region roadways have been as common as crosses inside a church. The same goes for the ubiquitous sales of candy bars by Fairhaven youth, allegedly to support their programs.

Protesters claim the candy sales are for less wholesome endeavors, though they haven’t yet substantiated their allegations. Nor have they proved every claim of abuse, physical attack, or other devious acts.

But even to a long-time casual observer such as myself, the swirling smoke of allegations must have a spark of truth behind it. The recent protests simply ignited this powder-keg issue.

In Roger Voegtlin’s Nov. 22, 1998, sermon, he asked church members, “Can you imagine the welfare department sitting in the back of this auditorium listening to me preach? Can you imagine the Gary Post-Tribune sitting in here? Can you imagine what they would write?”

Yes, I can. Personally, I blame the parents of these former students, and the parents of any children who still attend Fairhaven and who may be subjected to such treatment – in the name of God.

Many of these parents sadly obey church doctrine over their own instincts and common sense. And I’m told they (wrongly) believe if they question the church, then they in turn question God.

What a shame.

What a joke. What a lame excuse for any parent.

What would Jesus do? How about what will these parents do now that protesters have courageously alerted them to this issue, which may lead to a possible lawsuit and state-regulated oversight?

“The Bible is simple,” Voegtlin told his believers. “You can’t understand the King James Bible? Then I feel sorry for you.”

I may not understand the Bible as well as him and others, but amid the deafening church bells, the angry protests, and the claims of abuse in the name of God, I’m reminded of a poignant yet powerful biblical verse: “Jesus wept.”

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/davich/8038008-452/church-scandal-parents-to-blame-i-say.html

Pastor Roger Voegtlin's idea of making friends and influencing them for the Lord.

Pastor Fuller Naive, or Complicit?

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Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches Pastors are experts in controlling their members.  They convince members to not speak of crimes involving their clergy and  members by convincing them that by remaining silent they are obeying “God’s word.” To talk about such matters is “slander” and “gossip” their leaders tell them.

An example of this, is what happened with Tina Anderson Trinity Baptist Church in Concord, New Hampshire - an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist church.

If you watched 20/20′s April 8, 2011 Shattered Faith. You saw an interview with Brian Fuller. Other than claiming that their was a “junk drawer” of fundamental churches, and that “good” fundamentalists are not a part of anything like what happens at First Baptist Church, Hammond IN.  Yet, FBFI President/CEO, John Vaughn  preached along side of Jack Schaap, Pastor First Baptist Church Hammond, Indiana at the 2010 Independent Baptist Friends International Annual Meeting.

Other than Pastor Fuller’s comment stating there is no network of IFB churches.

One may have walked away from that and thought he was just a naive young pastor.

One thing, Fuller has not answered is that he was the youth pastor under Phelps when Tina returned from her exile in Colorado in 1999.  Another thing,  Fuller claims he doesn’t know why Tina’s rapist was allowed to stay a member of Trinity until 2004.  Fuller also states he doesn’t know why Willis was disciplined out of the church in 2004.  It has already been established that IFB churches do their “church discipline” in a very public way.  Also,  I know that IFB pastoral staff members (assistant pastors, youth pastors, etc) have meetings to discuss those the church is going “church discipline.”  There are pastoral staff discussions before, during and after the fact.  Something about Fuller claiming to be unaware of why Willis was “church disciplined,” just smells rotten.

There’s another reason why Fuller is unbelievable. Trinity Baptist Church’s pastor, Brian Fuller sent an email to members in his congregation telling them not to speak to anyone but “our Lord”.

Members of The Associated Press was got a copy of Pastor Fullers email.  Fuller’s email said:

“Instead of engaging in talk about this incident, I beg you to pray for all those impacted by this crime,” Fuller wrote. “I love you tenderly and am confident you will only talk of these matters to our Lord in prayer.”

Those who are unfamiliar with fundamentalist “code” may not recognize at first how what Pastor Fuller wrote will silence most IFB church members from speaking out.  What Fuller wrote is code for, “don’t talk to anybody about this.” “That will only embarrass our church. “Jesus will be happy if you just stay quiet.” “God is the one who will take care of this.” “If you talk, you’ll be hurting Jesus and His gospel.”  Members are told:

“TOUCH NOT GOD’S ANOINTED!”

Doing so, they’re told is equivalent to speaking against God Himself.

This verse was never used about a prophet, priest, disciples, apostle, or even Jesus in the Bible.   It was referring to Kings and leaders of Israel.  David when he was being pursued by Saul, was able to sneak into Saul’s camp, get close enough to Saul as he slept to cut a piece off of Saul’s robe.  It would have just been as easy for David to plunge his sword in Saul’s chest.  Saul was the anointed King of Israel.  This verse is concerned with not assassinating of the King of Israel.  It is absurd that this verse is used to silence people about those who have committed, or covered up a crime.

It is pretty clear, if you read the story of David’s life this verse does not mean to never speak of wrongdoing, cover up and crime.  The prophet Nathan, confronted David and said,

“You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.’ “

God is never in favor of hiding sin–ever. God doesn’t have the slightest problem “tearing good men of God down” when the violate His Word.  God even uses people who speak out about wrong doing, crimes, and covering crimes by leaders.  God does not need to preserve the reputation of men in order to preserve His reputation. He even isn’t opposed to making a pubic record of it. Solomon, Adam and Eve, Lot, Noah, Samson, Jonah, Judas and the list could go on and on. All of those people had committed grave sins, some sexual as well as a variety of other sins. God has made a way to deliver people from their sin rather than a way for sin to be swept under the rug to keep things looking good.

For the life of me, I cannot fathom why people will quickly separate from other believers over the matter of music, dress, or other menial things, but those same people will not separate with others when charges of physical and sexual abuse, or in Phelps case, just take his word that he did everything above-board in reporting, and did not make it hard for the Concord Police Department to investigate Tina’s case.  That is obstruction of justice. If Chuck Phelps knew where she was, he apparently never told the sex crimes detectives. Yet many fundamentalist pastors rush to his defense, and never once ask themselves, “Why would the Concord Police be acting on her cold case so quickly if there was no merit to it?” 

Tina is very believable. Her story has remained unchanged. Phelps story has changed. Another thing, Tina says she was never once told by a leader in fundamentalist circles that she did nothing wrong when she was raped.  

How many fundamentalist pastors have reached out to Tina?  None!  

How many have called her everything from a “Lolita” who seduced this man who threw down and raped her in her own home, to a bitter liar and everything in between?  Many!

I completely do not get the mindset that does that. It is absolutely wrong.  Fact is Tina is one of the sweetest, most gracious people.  Wouldn’t know that from how she is libeled against her in some churches and online. On fundamentalist web forums such Sharper Iron, Fighting Fundamental Forum and many other places claiming that it was consensual sex. Consensual? 15-year-old and a 38-year-old man? Sicko’s are the ones who publicly say or write such things. 

If what Tina says is true–and I have no reason to doubt her and believe it to be true. Others that went to Trinity Baptist at the time remember being present and witnessed when Tina and Ernie Willis were both brought before the church that October 1997 night– the perp was allowed to confess before the church that he was unfaithful in his marriage–rather than the actual crime of raping a child which is deplorable. Those two things are very different and he should not have been able to cast his sin in a more favorable light. There is a big difference from martial unfaithfulness between two consenting adult as opposed to rape. Then to make Tina go before the church for additional humiliation is just unspeakable and there is no biblical defense to do that to a victim–None.  Just when Tina thought it couldn’t get worse for her. To add further insult to her injury, Tina was ordered by her “spiritual leaders” and made to get a AIDS test, so the results could be sent to Ernie Willis wife.  Ernie was never required to do the same, and give the results to Tina.