Category Archives: Warnings!

Justice and Redemption

January 12, 2018 By in Abusive Pastor, Jail, Justice, Repentance Leave a comment

Yesterday, I stood firm for justice on behalf of victims and their families in a criminal trial against an unrepentant youth pastor who molested children.

He was convicted and hauled away in restraints.

Today, I’ll go into the local jail to stand firm for redemption by encouraging and strengthening in the Lord a group of men who are repentant and not playing games …

Like using God and “church” to shield their guilt.

They are forgiven and finding freedom.

Those who think there is a contradiction between seeking justice and ministering redemption, understand neither …

Or my passion for both.

~ Jim Wright

See Related Stories:

Jury Convicts Manassas Megachurch Youth Leader of Sex Crimes, by Hannah Dellinger, Fauquier Times

Sexual Predation and Pedophilia at The Life Church in Manassas, Virginia, by Fulcrum Minisistries, Nathan’s Voice

Why Is Bart Breen Stalking My Wife?

February 28, 2015 By in Cult, Frank Viola, Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse

I need your help to stop a stalker who has been harassing and threatening my wife.

Bart Breen - Stalker

Bart Breen – Stalker

For over a year now, an obscure blogger named Bart Breen has been acting on behalf of a cult that’s upset and trying to silence me (and others) for daring to warn folks about their history of sexual predation, abuse and cover up.

As more and more people learn the truth about that cult – centered on narcissistic “Beyond Evangelical” author Frank Viola and his mutual promotion network of self-proclaimed “apostolic workers” – they’ve become more and more shrill in a desperate attempt to hide their history of shame, failure and abuse.

As a result, Mr. Breen is now stalking my wife in a perverse bid to silence me. He’s even openly boasted about it on Facebook and in his various blogs.

Why? By harassing my wife and publicly boasting about it, Bart Breen and Frank Viola are sending their victims – and those who stand with them – the clear message that they too will be attacked if they don’t toe the line and remain silent about what has been going on within their “Beyond” Cult.

Continue reading →

Predatory Pastors: Victim Blaming

January 29, 2015 By in Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse Leave a comment

Here’s a much-needed blog from PredatoryPastors.com – a locally-based (but unaffiliated) ministry near us – about the victim blaming that often occurs when a beloved or otherwise respected church leader is outed as a sexual predator.

www.PredatoryPastors.com

I have been involved in many church abuse cases over the years, both as an attorney (now retired) and as local elder who has been asked to intervene on behalf of victims in other churches.

In my experience, victim blaming – and even outright trying to destroy the victim – always happens in cases involving an abusive but otherwise inspiring church leader.

Continue reading →

House2House: RIP

December 29, 2014 By in Abuse, Cult, Felicity Dale, House Church, Organic Church, Simple Church 1 Comment

snake-oil-salesmanIt looks like House2House Ministries and Magazine have closed shop once again.

What an unfortunate, checkered history of organic/simple church failure after failure.

How many times will it take before Felicity Dale and gang finally figure out that you can’t start and sustain healthy local churches – simple, organic or otherwise – by promoting phony self-appointed “apostles”:

– Who ain’t livin’ what their sellin’, with private lives that don’t match up with their finely-honed public persona;

– Who have no consistent history of successfully forming, maintaining or being part of sustainable local churches that look anything like what they promote in their books, blogs and conferences;

– Who deny that the Great Commission has general relevance today;

– Who proclaim that scripture is not the written word of God and that those who affirm scripture are committing “treason against Christ”;

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My Stunning Prophetic Predictions for 2015

December 10, 2014 By in Fakes, Prophetic 5 Comments

Man of GodMy stunning predictions for 2014 proved to be the ONLY 100% accurate prophecies by anyone anywhere last year.

So, not wanting to let all the prophets of fame, name and gain dominate yet another year with their headline-chasing rubbish, I’ve decided to once again put myself on the line by publishing my stunning new prophetic predictions for 2015.

This way, the world can see once more who is the true prophet among us!

So (drum roll…) here is what’s gonna happen in 2015, raw and unvarnished:
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Organic and Simple Church Snares

November 24, 2014 By in Discernment, Fakes, House Church, Institutional Church, Organic Church, Simple Church Leave a comment

More and more people are legitimately desiring to move towards organic/simple church and away from the institutional church.

A Snare for the Unwary

A Snare for the Unwary

Unfortunately, there are major snares for those on that journey. Too often, they fall prey to books and blogs on organic/simple church by those who either reject the plenary authority of scripture or outright deny that the Bible is the written word of God.

Although such authors talk a good talk, they typically have no consistent history of actually finding, creating or sustaining in their own lives the kind of local “organic” or “simple” church they are selling to others.

Increasingly, it seems that those who live it seldom sell it, while those who sell it seldom live it.

This makes it very hard to move forward, because there’s a lot of crazy being peddled to the unwary out there in organic land.

Continue reading →

House2House Ministries and “Apostolic” Networks?

October 24, 2014 By in Church Planting, Fakes, House Church, Organic Church, Simple Church Tags: 7 Comments
House2House Ministries: Because there's always room for one more book, blog or conference telling us how to, by those who don't do.

It’s time for the organic and simple church community to move beyond unbiblical mutual promotion networks by self-appointed “apostolic workers” and “church planters” who write enticing books and blogs, but generally have no consistent history of being in any functional local fellowship themselves or actually creating sustainable, healthy fellowships among others. Rather than buying into their books, blogs and conferences at House2House Ministries, maybe we need to learn some things instead from Paul’s own life and ministry: http://www.crossroadjunction.com/2012/03/17/modern-day-pauls/

Truth, Justice and Church Sex Abuse

August 15, 2014 By in Felicity Dale, Frank Viola, Judgment, Justice, Sex Abuse 3 Comments

Finally, the truth comes out and justice prevails.

Over the last several years, Marianne and I have ministered through Nathan’s Voice to five families devastated by abusive church leaders at Sovereign Grace Ministries and it’s network of churches – including Covenant Grace.

Now one of the abusers has received a 40 years sentence, after years of denial, cover up and shunning of his victims by the leadership structure at SGM. See Child Sex Abuser from Gaithersburg -area Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison.

House2House Ministries and Magazine

Lies, Cover Up and Abuse

Let this be a warning to all who respond to leadership abuse in the Body of Christ with the same kind insular mentality that “circles the wagon” through denials, cover up and attacks to preserve their own power, influence and ministries.

Just like what we saw over the years with SGM, the so-called “apostolic workers” and their “Beyond Cult” over at House2House Ministries (including Felicity Dale, Jon Zens, Milt Rodriquez and Keith Giles) have done the same thing.

Continue reading →

Felicity Dale, Hypocrisy and Power

June 18, 2014 By in Felicity Dale, Frank Viola, Organic Church, Sex Abuse, Simple Church 6 Comments

Author and “simple church” advocate Felicity Dale over at House2House Ministries is personally charming, and I generally agree with her views regarding simple church and gender equality within the Body of Christ.

But my own experience with her over the last year has been very troubling – especially when it comes to the contradiction between her public positions and private actions.

Sex abuse and cover up: C.J. Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries, Frank Viola and his band of "apostolic workers", Bill Gothard and his Institute of Basic Life Principles... When will we ever learn?

Felicity Dale: Do as I say, not as I do.

Felicity Dale is part of the self-appointed accountability team of Frank Viola, who is an author, an itinerant church leader and one of her fellow so-called “apostolic workers”. He also has a troubled history of sexual predation against young women and teenagers.

After Frank Viola rebuffed all efforts to communicate directly with him by those with detailed knowledge of the facts, some of us contacted Felicity Dale last year in an effort to resolve our growing concerns about Frank Viola’s history of abuse.

She also was given a lengthy private statement on behalf of one of Frank Viola’s multiple teenage victims, with details about how he abused that young woman and others.

That victim’s statement fully confirmed the separate warnings issued against Frank Viola by his former church. Among other things, his past church established through multiple witnesses and documents his pattern of predation and abuse – including his long-running exploitation of a teenager in that church who was half his age and a former high school student of his.

This new written statement, however, involved an additional teenage victim.

Continue reading →

Year in Review

December 12, 2013 By in Abuse, Discernment, House Church, Organic Church, Simple Church Leave a comment

Here’s a montage of my twenty most significant posts on Facebook in 2013.

When Facebook created it, it brought many smiles and a few cringes:

My 2013 Year in Review

Feel free to take a look.

As this montage shows, it has been a wonderful, yet “interesting”, year.

I think my biggest struggle was seeing the power games, leadership abuses, lies and cover ups in the organic/simple church community at the national level – which far exceed anything I’ve ever witnessed in the traditional, “institutional” church – while still holding firm, despite their hypocrisy, to some related core principles.

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No Apologies

October 29, 2013 By in Abusive Pastor, Christ Chapel, Frank Viola, Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse 4 Comments

I know I have been posting a lot lately on sex abuse by church “leaders” – like author and “apostolic worker” Frank Viola, Sovereign Grace Ministry’s head C.J. Mahaney, and the recent case we helped wrap up at Christ Chapel Assemblies of God involving allegations of abuse by several pastors.

I know I have also been posting a lot about those – like Jon Zens, Bart Breen and even otherwise respected leaders like Felicity Dale – who condone such abuse by seeking to excuse or cover it up through threats, lies, slander and intimidation.

These are not issues with which I ever wanted to become involved.

Continue reading →

Making Sexual Abuse by Church Leaders Illegal

October 21, 2013 By in Church, Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse 1 Comment

Sign A Petition to Change Virginia’s Fiduciary Code & Criminal Statutes to Include Clergy:

A ministry Marianne and I are part of, through our churches, is Nathan’s Voice. It has helped many victims of sexual abuse by church leaders, and hardly a week goes by that we are not assisting or counseling yet another survivor – both men and women.

PhoneyThis is a widespread problem, involving leaders in the church who use their position of trust to sexually prey upon men and women seeking their help.

It effects all kinds of churches, from highly structured traditional churches to loosely organized organic fellowships – and all kinds of church leaders, from local “pastors” to so-called apostolic “workers”.

Most people are surprised to learn that in the United States, this is not illegal in most jurisdictions unless it involves some other misconduct – such as a direct physical assault, a minor, or maybe employment discrimination (i.e., sexual harassment in the workplace against an employee of the church).

Continue reading →

Sex Abuse and Christian Mafias

October 9, 2013 By in Frank Viola, House Church, Organic Church, Sex Abuse, Simple Church 3 Comments

Is Janet Mefferd Being Intimidated by the “Gospel” Mafia to Shut Up About SGM? ~ The Wartburg Watch

Finally, the truth is coming out!

For several years, Marianne and I have been deeply involved behind the scenes in helping victims of the Sovereign Grace Ministries sex abuse scandal. We’ve seen its impact on close friends, while also counseling survivors and their families through Nathan’s Voice.

I also know Boz Tchividjian, who is publicly confronting SGM about its history of sexual abuse and is mentioned in this article.

Although we can’t directly talk about all the underlying facts regarding SGM due to confidentiality, we believe that this exposé by The Wartburg Watch is spot on.

What’s happening in that case is very similar to what’s also happening in the ongoing scandal involving author Frank Viola and his team of self-appointed apostolic “workers” and his additional “accountability team” of other organic church “leaders”.

Continue reading →

Organic Church Hypocrisy, Organic Church Reform

September 13, 2013 By in House Church, Organic Church, Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse 1 Comment

hypocrisy_meterFrank Viola, Milt Rodriguez, Jon Zens and Felicity Dale?

Until they stop excusing a history of sexual predation within their ranks, their blogs and books on sexual equality as self-professed leaders in the organic/simple church community ring hollow.

And until they accept local church accountability and warnings about that abuse, their blogs and books on how to be the church likewise ring hollow.

Continue reading →

Leadership Abuse

September 11, 2013 By in Abuse, Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse 3 Comments

The latest edition of HopeSpeak, a periodical by The Hope of Survivors (a international support network for victims of church sexual abuse), published an article by me on how to deal with leadership sins – including sexual abuse – in the church. It’s titled Leadership Abuses: Private and Public Sins.

Protecting the Victims

I’ve just learned that another international magazine also wants to re-publish it.

Lately, Marianne and I have become involved in more and more church abuse cases – including local private cases and also very public national scandals.

Sometimes our involvement is very confidential, while other times it involves publicly confronting the abuser and warning others under the dictates of 1 Tim. 5:19-21 where there has been no repentance.

Continue reading →

Slander or Coverup?

August 28, 2013 By in Abuse, Frank Viola, Predatory Leaders 6 Comments

When Accusations of Gossip Become Gag Orders, by Wartburg Watch

Slander is a lie and the person making the claim knows that it is a lie. Unfortunately, many use the word to mean saying anything negative about an individual – and then accuse others of slander in order to coverup or excuse abuse by church leaders.

Speaking truth and warning about leaders with a history of abusing others in the church or condoning such abuse – whether C.J. Mahaney and his fellow pastors at Sovereign Grace Ministries, Frank Viola and his fellow “workers” in the organic church movement, or whomever – is NOT slander or gossip. Rather, it brings needed light to darkness, protection to others & healing to the hurting.

In fact, where there are multiple witnesses against an abusive church leader, we are commanded to expose and issue publicly warnings in 1 Tim. 5:19-21.

Misplaced Empathy: Loving the Perps

August 18, 2013 By in Frank Viola, Organic Church, Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse Leave a comment

Finally… Someone is saying what needs to be said in the ongoing sex abuse scandals involving Frank Viola within the organic church community, C.J. Mahaney within Sovereign Grace Ministries, and others – and those who support them.

Like Marianne and me, licensed mental health counselor Carl Austin (the author of this piece) has ministered to many “perps” and seen amazing grace and redemption, but never without full and open confession and repentance. This is why we remain so resolute in opposing the proud abusers who never come clean. Unlike those who openly confess and repent, they are a blight on the church and remain a threat to others.

Diospsytrek's Blog

    Part of the Christian life is being loving and forgiving. These are qualities I pray for daily because they are so much not a natural part of me. In my effort to distill down doctrine and make sense of it for me personally I go with the statement from First John 4: “God is love.”  Likewise, I understand that if we don’t forgive others (Mt. 6:14-15) then we are not forgiven. For me, these are two basic tenets of the faith that I have to remind myself of daily. Keeping statements like this utmost in my thoughts simplifies things for me. However I wonder if one can go overboard in trying to live out certain important aspects of the gospel like love and forgiveness, and are there some situations where those qualities were not meant to be applied?

    I haven’t read the recent Rob Bell book Love Wins but I know it’s sparked a whole lot…

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A Statement and Petition Against Sexual Abuse in the Church

July 19, 2013 By in Frank Viola, Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse Leave a comment

A Public Statement Regarding Sexual Abuse in the Church

Part of the Statement – and a warning to “leaders” who continue to promote and affirm fellow “leaders” with a history of sexual exploitation just because they’re your friends and part of your mutual promotion network:

“To be told that wolves are devouring our lambs and fail to protect those lambs is to be a shepherd who sides with the wolves who hinder those same little ones from coming to Jesus. To fail to grasp the massive web of deception entangling an abuser and set him or her loose among the sheep is to be naïve about the very nature and power of sin. To be told a child is being or has been abused and to make excuses for failing to act is a diabolical misrepresentation of God. To know a woman is being raped or battered in hidden places and silence her or send her back is to align with those who live as enemies of our God. Protecting an institution or organization rather than a living, breathing lamb is to love ministry more than God and to value a human name or institution more than the peerless name of Jesus.”

Sign the Statement and Join Others in Taking a Stand

C.J. Mahaney and Sovereign Grace Ministries, Frank Viola and his fellow apostolic “workers”, Bill Gothard and ILBP, and on and on…

It’s time to take a stand.

We’ve seen the carnage – and the cover ups – up close.

We’ve had enough. We choose to speak out.

Join us in bearing witness against sexual predation and abuse by so-called leaders in the Body of Christ – and those who try to cover it up through lies, threats and intimidation.