Married Pastor Allegedly Drugged, Raped Married Parishioner (who was not his wife) He Promised ‘Spiritual Revival’

Married Pastor Allegedly Drugged, Raped Married Parishioner (who was not his wife) He Promised ‘Spiritual Revival’

Did being married make this pastor more loving, ethical, sexually pure or godly? Nope.

Did being married protect the woman in this news story, make her any safer? Nope.

We have here a married woman who was allegedly raped by a married man who works as a church preacher.

So, my fellow conservatives out there, both religious and secular, can stop trying to argue against anti-marriage rhetoric by the left by making such bogus claims (that marriage “improves” culture or makes people more responsible, mature, loving) – which they do. I was brought up in evangelical culture, in the Southern Baptist Church, and such propaganda is common, even now.

Conservatives mistakenly think that the way to “own the libs” and defeat anti-Nuclear Family, anti-natalism rhetoric from the left is to double down on marriage, parenthood, etc, and shame or fear monger any single, celibate adults into getting married, and to try to convince women that motherhood – not career or education – is in their best interest. It is a wrong and ridiculous strategy.

(Link): Kissimmee pastor accused of drugging, raping member of his church during ‘spiritual revival’: Deputies

Excerpts:

by FOX 35 News Staff
March 3, 2023

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A Kissimmee pastor was arrested after he allegedly sexually battered a member of his church twice at his home, Osceola County deputies said.

Eddy Noelsaint, 51, was arrested on two charges of sexual battery after a woman told deputies he raped her twice at his home and reportedly drugged her on one occasion in 2022.

Texas High School Teacher, Youth Pastor Among Nearly 50 Arrested in Prostitution Sting: ‘Scourge of the Earth’

Texas High School Teacher, Youth Pastor Among Nearly 50 Arrested in Prostitution Sting: ‘Scourge of the Earth’

(Link): Texas high school teacher, youth pastor among nearly 50 arrested in prostitution sting: ‘scourge of the earth’

Cecil Morrison was a high school teacher and coach and Lamarcus Strickland was a local youth pastor

January 2023

A high school teacher and football coach and a local youth pastor were among the 46 men arrested in a massive undercover prostitution sting in Texas, local and federal authorities announced.

Roughly a dozen law enforcement agencies participated in the 2-day operation on Jan. 12 and 13 at the Hilton at Southlake Town Square and the Hyatt Regency near Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, Texas.

The men allegedly arranged online to meet at the hotels where they intended to pay for sex, authorities said. In Texas, the solicitation of prostitution is considered a felony and is punishable with up two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Church Pastor, Wife Sentenced After Using Homeless for Forced Labor, Stealing Benefits – Christian Marriage Doesn’t Improve Society or Make People More Ethical

Church Pastor, Wife Sentenced After Using Homeless for Forced Labor, Stealing Benefits – Christian Marriage Doesn’t Improve Society or Make People More Ethical

It’s more and more difficult for me to want to stick with the Christian faith at all when I see so few people who claim to be Christians actually consistently live out a Christian lifestyle, or who commit such obviously anti-biblical actions.

Also let this serve as yet another example of how “hyper pro marriage, hyper pro Nuclear Family” views put out by Christians simply is not true: Christian marriage didn’t make this couple more godly, mature, loving, or ethical, nor did this marriage improve society.

Further, Gender Complementarian teaching (which includes “male headship” teaching) is clearly false, since so many self professing Christian men are unethical dirt balls.

(Link): Pastor Who Used Homeless as Forced Labor, Three Others Plead Guilty to Benefits Fraud 

(Link): California pastor gets jail time for using homeless in benefits fraud scheme: ‘Appalling abuse of power’

Victor Gonzalez and wife were part of church labor trafficking scheme, according to prosecutors

by Jon Brown

A California pastor and his wife were sentenced to prison time earlier this month after pleading guilty to a charge related to what federal prosecutors described as a church labor trafficking scheme that victimized the homeless.

Victor Gonzalez, the head pastor of California-based Imperial Valley Ministries (IVM), was sentenced to six months in prison and another six months of house confinement after pleading guilty in a San Diego federal court to conspiracy to commit benefits fraud, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

His wife, Susan Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty to the same charge, received a time-served sentence.

Pastor Appears To Berate Congregation For Not Buying Him A High-Priced Watch In Viral Clip

Pastor Appears To Berate Congregation For Not Buying Him A High-Priced Watch In Viral Clip

It didn’t become clearly apparent to me until after my mother died when I was in my late 30s just how incredibly selfish, self absorbed, and narcissistic people are, including Christ-professing Christians who may even attend church regularly.

Yes, I had brief flashes and intuitions in my youth and 20s and 30s prior to my mother dying that people could be jerks or selfish and so on, but I did not realize HOW COMMON it was among so many people, including Christians, until after my Mom died.

Until Mom died, I had assumed that most people (Christians in particular) were empathetic people I could turn to if I was ever hurting, in a bind, and in need of emotional support (and my Mom kind of led me to believe I could count on other people, especially family, for support) – boy wow was that expectation ever shattered.

The Christians I went to in my grieving process time (whether extended family of mine or people I met at churches I attended) were insensitive, callous,  unempathetic, or selfish (some acted like sparing 30 to 60 minutes of their time every several months for me to to talk to them about me missing my Mom would be a huge, huge burden to them).

I know better now. I really had my eyes opened to the fact that most people, including Christians, are selfish, unempathetic tools.

In light of all that, I can’t say as though I am shocked by the selfishness and entitled attitude of this church preacher:

(Link): ‘False prophet’ pastor berates congregation for not buying him pricey new watch 

August 17, 2022
By Natalie O’Neill

Time for a new preacher!

A Missouri pastor was caught on camera berating his “broke” congregation for failing to buy him an expensive Movado watch — sparking criticism that he wants to make a profit, not be a prophet.

Pastor Carlton Funderburke of the Church at the Well in Kansas City was giving a fiery sermon about “honoring God’s shepherds” when he scolded his followers for being too poor to give him the pricey timepiece he’d requested, according to now-viral TikTok footage.

(Link): Missouri pastor says congregation is ‘poor, broke, busted’ for not buying him a luxury Movado watch

Carlton Funderburke, the senior pastor at Church at the Well, issued an apology video Tuesday for his “inexcusable” remarks in an Aug. 7 sermon.

August 17, 2022

A Kansas City, Missouri, pastor who said his congregation was “poor, broke busted and disgusted” for not buying him the luxury watch he wanted has issued an apology after his remarks caused a stir on social media.

Carlton Funderburke, the senior pastor at Church at the Well, issued an apology video Tuesday for the “inexcusable” remarks he made in an Aug. 7 sermon.

Church Pastor Cited for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender – He’s Married, and Still Working as Pastor

Church Pastor Cited for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender – He’s Married, and Still Working as  Pastor

This pastor is married – as most are, because most churches discriminate against single adults.

Does marriage make a person more godly, ethical, responsible, mature, or loving? Nope, it sure does not!

Does marriage make society better? Nope. Does the Bible ever present marriage, parenthood, or the Nuclear Family as the solution for sin? – Nope – only saving faith in Jesus.

(Link): NH man working as pastor in Mass. charged for failing to register as sex offender

Steven Newman allegedly worked at By Faith Fellowship Church in Georgetown.

By Ross Cristantiello
July 17, 2022

A New Hampshire man who worked as a pastor in Massachusetts was arraigned last week on charges that he did not register as a sex offender in the state. Steven Newman, who is registered as a sex offender in New Hampshire, was arraigned July 13 in Haverhill District Court, The Eagle-Tribune reported.

(Link): Pastor charged with not registering as sex offender in Georgetown

(Link): Church pastor cited for failure to register as a sex offender

Excerpts:

July 17, 2022
by Mike LaBella

HAVERHILL — A New Hampshire man who police said was working as a pastor at a Georgetown church owned by his wife has been charged with failure to register as a sex offender in Massachusetts.

Steven Newman, 56, of 687 Main St., Fremont, New Hampshire, was arraigned July 13 in Haverhill District Court on the charge.

Police said Newman is registered in New Hampshire as a “Tier 3” sex offender, the highest level of sex offender listed in New Hampshire, police said, and that Newman should have registered in Massachusetts, as he was employed in this state.

Clergyman Caught In Sex Act With Vacuum Cleaner ‘Carried On After Being Seen’

Clergyman Caught In Sex Act With Vacuum Cleaner ‘Carried On After Being Seen’

(Link): Vicar caught in sex act with HENRY HOOVER ‘carried on after being seen’

July 14, 2022
by James Robinson

A ‘naughty’ church leader carried out a sex act with a Henry Hoover while wearing nothing but stockings.

John Jeffs was caught in the act in his office, while working as a pastoral manager at Christian faith-based group, Parents Talking Asperger’s.

He was spotted by a churchgoer at a Baptist centre in Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire, who saw the retired vicar standing by the hoover as it was propped up between two chairs.

The witness walked past and said they saw Jeffs almost completely naked, except for a pair of ladies stockings.

The Federalist Writers Continue to Disregard That Some of Their Readers Are Conservative, Single, and Childless – Re: “Childless Chris Evans’ Inspiring Condemnation Of Anti-LGBT Bigots: ‘Those People Die Off Like Dinosaurs’”

The Federalist Writers Continue to Disregard That Some of Their Readers Are Conservative, Single, and Childless – Re: “Childless Chris Evans’ Inspiring Condemnation Of Anti-LGBT Bigots: ‘Those People Die Off Like Dinosaurs’”

June 22, 2022

Post updated below, November 2022

I just wrote, (about two days ago!), (Link):  another rebuttal of sorts to another editorial at the Federalist that was, once again, in a round about way, shaming anyone single or childless for being single and childless.

And here we are again.

The owners of The Federalist, and their writers, really need to be aware that some of their readership consists of single, childless, conservative adults.

Not every un-married, childless adult out there hates the nuclear family, marriage, or parenthood, or is liberal or Democrat.

Some of us single and childless adults are conservatives who don’t agree with the progressive LGBT agenda.

Several days ago, when actor Chris Evans was informed that some nations were banning his new Disney / Pixar movie, Lightyear, because it contains a lesbian kissing scene, Evans made some kind of response in the media about how people who object to lesbianism or homosexuality will one day die off, and their views will go extinct, and he thinks that is a good thing.

While I myself do not support the entirety of the LGBT-agenda, in- so- far as they advocate things like wanting to force Christian bakers to bake wedding cakes for homosexual weddings, or legally (Link): permitting biological men who identify as women into women’s domestic violence shelters, bathrooms, and prisons, I also do not support any conservative retort that amounts to denigrating singleness or the state of being childless.

It is not necessary, fair, or kind, to push back against progressive LGBT propaganda, or to defend marriage and parenthood, at the expense of singleness and childlessness, but I will discuss this further below.

Here’s the latest singles-shaming, childless-shaming piece from The Federalist, only this time, it’s by another author, not the same one I was critiquing the other day over her essay (I will analyze it below the link and excerpts):

(Link): Childless Chris Evans’ Inspiring Condemnation Of Anti-LGBT Bigots: ‘Those People Die Off Like Dinosaurs’

Excerpts:

June 22, 2022
by Hans Fiene

Evans’s lack of children gives much greater weight to his insistence that all LGBTQIA2 opponents will go the way of the dodo.

… Next, when you remind them that they’re on the wrong side of history, they’ll repeat the debunked claim that history is more likely to be written by those who exist than those who don’t.

[When Evans was asked what his views were about anyone who was objecting to his new Lightyear movie due to its representation of homosexuality, Evans responded by conveying that]

 Their complaints will perish with them. Their bigotry will be swept into the dustbin of history. You simply need to wait for them to enter extinction.

To understand why his words are so comforting, it’s important to remember that Evans is an unmarried 41-year-old man with no children. Had his words been spoken by a man who sired offspring, they would be of no comfort to you.

… Evans’s lack of children, therefore, gives much greater weight to his insistence that all LGBTQIA2 opponents will go the way of the dodo. How can you not be comforted by the glorious confidence of this man who has reached middle age and yet has zero children to enroll in Miss Naughty’s Preschool for Drag Princesses? If kidless Captain America is certain that transgender eight-year-olds will still be a thing when the children of anti-LGBTQIA2+ Christians, Mormons, and Muslims inherit the earth, why should we fear?

Indeed they are! And you should be so confident of their idiocy that you do not fear forgoing procreation and leaving the children of your ideological enemies to continue your march towards queer justice. They’ll gladly oblige!

“Every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good,” the film star added.

Absolutely! The human story is one long march towards libertine justice! Societies only grow stronger the more they encourage sterility and physically destructive sexual behaviors. That never brings about cultural collapse. So don’t feel an ounce of dread when you look at those Christian parents filling their 12-passenger van with their Christian children.
— end excerpts —

According to the end credits under that essay on The Federalist the author is…

Hans Fiene is a contributor to The Federalist. He is a Lutheran pastor in Missouri and the creator of Lutheran Satire, a series of comical videos intended to teach the Lutheran faith. Follow him on Twitter, @HansFiene
— end —

The Anti-Singles, Anti-Childless Pastor

Yikes. No. No, no, no, no.

To the Lutheran pastor who wrote this piece:
Your own Lord and Savior (Link): never married or had children, and yet His teachings and deeds were not forgotten.

Jesus of Nazareth’s world views were passed down by his spiritual children, initially by word of mouth, and then, in writing.

Pastor Who Resigned Over Adultery Accused of Taking Virginity of Purity Ring Wearing Teen Girl on His Office Floor

Pastor Who Resigned Over Adultery Accused of Taking Virginity of Purity Ring Wearing Teen Girl on His Office Floor

This news story is 50 levels of gross and terrible.

If you’ve visited this blog before, you should know the drill:

Being married and/or a parent, contrary to what many churches and socially conservative think tanks teach, is NOT a guarantee of making a person loving, ethical, godly, or responsible.

(Not that marriage or parenthood are horrible or wrong, but neither life station necessarily produces upstanding, loving, ethical citizens, either.)

Self professing Christian men fail so often, and sexually exploit so often, that churches need to start re-evaluating their “male headship” and “complementarian” teachings, because obviously, men are not fit to lead, and, the “Equally Yoked” rule is a waste of time (and quite possibly a misapplication of a Bible verse).

If you’re a single Christian woman who was raised (as I was) to believe in “Equally Yoked” (Christians should only marry other Christians), and that church would be a good, safe place to meet “Mr. Right,” this goes to show that you’d be better off chucking those teachings to the curb.

The professing Christian man you meet at your corner church is not necessarily going to be any more stand-up than the non-Christian Joe Blow you meet on Tinder or Match.

This pastor, or his church, mischaracterized statutory rape as being “adultery.” Churches really need to get on the ball about this – stop depicting statutory rape as being “adultery.” This was not a case of “adultery.” (Edit: The articles say that the woman’s age at the time – 16 – is legal. But the nature of it, the age gap – it looks like he exploited her.)

I think the pastor in this story was or has been married for years – this goes to show that the standard Christian advice to singles I used to see all the time that says you, the single, have to obtain some level of perfection or spirituality before God will permit you to have a spouse is false.

If God allows deviants like this pastor to get married, rest assured, He is probably not with-holding one from you because you don’t read the Bible often enough, or whatever.

(Link):  ‘I was just 16 when you took my virginity on your office floor!’ Astonishing moment Indiana woman, 43, stands up in church to accuse married pastor of grooming her as a teen – forcing him to ADMIT IT in front of stunned congregation

May 24, 2022
by Jennifer Smith

A 65-year-old Indiana pastor has stepped down from his role in the church after admitting he had an affair with a 16-year-old girl in front of his entire congregation. 

Pastor John Lowe II stepped down from the New Life Christian Church after being confronted on stage by Bobi Gephart, a 43-year-old woman who came forward with a microphone to tell their church in Warsaw, Indiana, how he’d groomed her as a teen, starting when she was 16 – the legal age of consent in the state.

…He begged for the church’s forgiveness, then received a standing ovation. 

Bobi then stormed towards the stage with her husband, Nate, to say it ‘was not just adultery’ because she was so young at the time. 

(Link): Pastor Who Resigned Over Adultery Accused of Taking Virginity of Purity Ring Wearing Teen Girl on His Office Floor.

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Features Reporter

May 23, 2022

A Warsaw, Indiana, pastor who drew a standing ovation from his congregation after telling them he was stepping down because he committed adultery with one person at least two decades ago drew their wrath minutes later after a woman tearfully alleged she was only 16 when the pastor took her virginity on his office floor while she sported a purity ring.

Pastor John Lowe II told his congregation at New Life Christian Church and World Outreach on Sunday that he needed to make the confession because it was the “biblical” thing to do, according to a (Link): Facebook Live broadcast shared by Maisey Cook.

[The pastor – Lowe – stood before his church during a service and confessed he had committed adultery years prior.]

…  He [Lowe] painted himself as a hypocrite who applied discipline to others for sexual failure while hiding his own.

He asked the church for their forgiveness and announced that he would step aside and face discipline from the church.

…Soon after he stepped down from the pulpit, a woman and her husband went to the pulpit to address the congregation. The woman said that what Lowe did was not just adultery but a crime because she was only 16 when he took her virginity in his office 27 years ago.

While the age of consent in Indiana is 16, a person who is at least the age of 18 in a position of supervision or trust that engages in any sexual activity with a child over the age of 16 but under the age of 18 commits child seduction, according to state law. …

Black Clergy Call on Corporations to Distance Themselves From Black Lives Matter

Black Clergy Call on Corporations to Distance Themselves From Black Lives Matter

(Link): Black leaders call on woke companies to support police, not BLM: ‘They should know better’

Pastor Marc Little calls for companies to support police as crime soars

April 22, 2022
By Joshua Q. Nelson | Fox News

Pastor Marc Little on Friday blasted woke corporations for supporting Black Lives Matter and showed support for cops.

“Before they wrote the checks, we saw Black Lives Matter leadership cross that bridge and say pigs in a blanket fry them like bacon. They had a website up that made it very clear what their intentions were, to destroy the nuclear family,” Little told “Fox & Friends.”

Little called Black Lives Matter a “communist” organization and claimed corporate titans who show support for the group made their livings off of American capitalism.

Thousands Question 63-Year-Old Pentecostal Bishop’s Marriage to Teen in His Church (There is a 43 Year Age Gap)

Thousands Question 63-Year-Old Pentecostal Bishop’s Marriage to Teen in His Church

 April 20, 2022

I actually meant to blog about this earlier. I saw a few people mention this on Twitter about two or three (or more??) weeks (or months?) ago, I guess it was.

This is gross. I have never, ever agreed with “may-december relationships,” where someone is more than 5 or 6 years older than their partner. I think they’re nasty. 🤮🤢

Creepy doofus mentioned below has been divorced THREE TIMES. Three. 

Let this go to show you that Christian dating and advice books from years past (I don’t know if they still do this) that advise singles who want marriage that God won’t permit you to marry until you achieve some level of godliness, maturity, or perfection are obviously in error, since creepy perverts like this guy manage to make it to the altar THREE TIMES (or, I guess four, if this is wife four?)

(Link):  Bishop, 63, defending marriage to teen in Iowa court

Excerpts:

DES MOINES, Iowa — Bishop Demetrius Sinegal, the founder of an advocacy organization that works to expose clergy abuse, flew in from Texas and called for a full investigation into the November 15th marriage of Des Moines Bishop Dwight Reed and Jordan Reed of the Christ Apostolic Temple. Dwight is 63-years-old and Jordan is 19.

“This marriage tears at the very fiber of the social construct of the African American family. Children are taught to respect their grandparent contemporaries not to marry them,” said Sinegal.

Iowa law states the minimum age to marry without parental consent is eighteen but Bishop Sinegal claims Jordan’s paternal grandfather came on one of Sinegal’s many online platforms alleging clergy abuse. “He came on and emphatically condemned this marriage. His words and I quote were ‘Her father sold his daughter out and pimped her out for his own self-gain.’”

(Link): Thousands Question 63-Year-Old Pentecostal Bishop’s Marriage to Teen in His Church

Excerpts:

April 20, 2022
By Josh Shepherd

Thousands are calling for an investigation into a Pentecostal church bishop in Iowa who married a teen in his church.

An outside clergyman accuses the bishop of “gross abuse of power” and years-long “grooming” of an underage congregant. And some of the teen’s family members and fellow church members also say they’re concerned she is a victim of clergy abuse.

Pastor Used Scripture Trying to Coerce Congregants Into Sexual Relationships, Prosecutors Say

Pastor Used Scripture Trying to Coerce Congregants Into Sexual Relationships, Prosecutors Say

I’m not sure if this guy is married or not, as the articles don’t seem to say. If he is, you know my take: contrary to Al Mohler and other marriage idolaters, marriage doesn’t make anyone more godly, ethical or mature, as they often claim.

Also, you don’t have to achieve holiness or perfection to merit a spouse from God, as some Christian dating advice books used to say.

Lastly, “equally yoked” is a waste of your time, Christian single ladies, and, tied in with that point, contrary to what my well-meaning Christian parents taught me, church is not a good or safe place to meet single men to date or marry, since the few that attend turn out to be perverts.

(Link): Pastor Used Scripture Trying to Coerce Congregants Into Sexual Relationships, Prosecutors Say

April 1, 2022

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor

A pastor charged with inappropriately touching multiple women tried to use Scripture to coerce female churchgoers into sexual relationships, Delaware’s Department of Justice has claimed.

Bishop Major Foster, a former pastor at Philadelphia Pentecostal Holiness Church of Ellendale, faces pending charges of unlawful sexual contact. Prosecutors are asking women to contact local law enforcement if they’ve been abused by the pastor as they now have “reason to believe that additional victims may be unidentified.”

In a statement Thursday, Delaware authorities say that reports made to law enforcement allege Foster “attempted to use scripture to coerce female parishioners into sexual relationships, made inappropriate comments, and instigated prolonged hugs during which he made inappropriate sexual contact with his victims.”

Baptist Pastor Arrested for Child Porn Possession After Authorities Search Parsonage

Baptist Pastor Arrested for Child Porn Possession After Authorities Search Parsonage

I bet this pastor is married. (Probably has kids, too.) They usually are married.

Many men are not fit or moral enough to serve as pastors. Complementarians have no leg to stand on, not even with their cherry-picked, ‘I forbid a woman to teach’ verses they always like to harp on.

(Link): NH pastor charged with child pornography possession after 5-year investigation 

by A. Conklin, March 19, 2022

A New Hampshire pastor has been charged with multiple counts of possessing child pornography after a five-year investigation, according to court documents.

Nashua police arrested Stephen Bates, 46, on March 15. The Bible Baptist Church pastor is now facing five counts of possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and is being held on $3,000 cash bail.

“I think this case is particularly concerning because he is a pastor and somebody that’s involved in the community here,” Nashua Police Lt. Brian Trefry told WHDH.

The Nashua Police Department has been investigating Bates since 2016, when the department received 14 tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alleging that a user at the church had uploaded CSAM from an IP address leading back to the church.

…On March 15, police executed a search warrant and contacted Bates, who gave police two flash drives from his back pocket. The USBs showed various child sex abuse images, according to the affidavit.

(Link): Nashua, NH Pastor facing child pornography charge 

NASHUA, N.H. — A pastor in Nashua, NH has been arrested and charged in connection with an extensive child pornography investigation.

Police in Nashua Tuesday arrested 46-year-old Pastor Stephen Bates at the Bible Baptist Church.

Investigators say that church has been connected to several investigations beginning in 2016, when they were contacted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with a cybertip indicated child pornography had been accessed by an IP address at the church.

(Link): NH Pastor Faces New Charges in Investigation Dating Back Over 5 Years

A pastor at a New Hampshire church now faces five felony charges of possession of child sexual abuse images after investigators said they found five graphic videos showing child sex abuse images on a flash drive in his pocket.

Stephen Bates, 46, was arrested Tuesday morning at the Bible Baptist Church on Caldwell Road, where he lives, on a felony charge of possession of child sexual abuse images. Court documents released Thursday show he is now facing five charges of possession of child sexual abuse images, instead of just one.