WASHINGTON, DC — Tuesday Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. and senior women’s leader Mother Willie Mae Rivers of the Church of God in Christ accepted the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) 2010 Marriage Protector Award.

Bishop Blake is the worldwide leader of the Church Of God In Christ (COGIC), and Mother Rivers is the senior women’s leader. COGIC is one of the largest African-American denominations in the United States, and has a worldwide membership of 5 million people in 60 countries.

The award was given to acknowledge “the steadfast witness of the Church of God in Christ in defending marriage as the union of husband and wife.”

NOM Chairman Maggie Gallagher presented the award at the 60th Annual Womens International Convention/Crusade of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) at the Los Angeles Convention Center. “We are blessed by your courage, your clarity, and your conviction,” Gallagher conveyed to COGIC.

“I am here to present an award, but the honor is really ours–to acknowledge with gratitude the contributions of COGIC in standing for the truth that to make a marriage you need a husband and wife. At a time when so many powerful voices argue that this idea is rooted only in hatred and bigotry, we are blessed by your witness to the truth, which is really God’s truth, about marriage,” Maggie Gallagher told the assembled 20,000 African-American women and COGIC bishops, and other church leaders.

Although the term “gay marriage” was not mentioned in the presentation, its clear that Gallagher was referring to in her remarks. Under the late GE Patterson the church issued a strongly worded  official proclamation upholding male-female marriage and calling same sex unions a “violation of religious and social norms and are aberrant and deviant behavior.” [These] “unions are sinful and in direct violation of the law of God in that they are a deviation from the natural use and purpose of the body.”

With news of the Catholic church’s incredible dereliction of duty in the public eye almost daily, one wonders if the nation’s largest black pentecostal denomination is getting the message.

Frank Douglas, Jr. bishop of the Church of God in Christ’s Western Missouri jurisdiction has appointed and installed a registered sex offender as president of AIM (Auxillaries in Ministry) which, among other things,  has oversight of youth and children.

According to a leading Kansas City newspaper, In 2001, Leland Ted Jones former deputy at Wyandotte County (KS) jail was sentenced to 41 months in prison plus three years’ probation after pleading no contest to two-year-old charges of attempted aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated sexual battery. His original charges were rape and aggravated criminal sodomy of a female prisoner [source].

The appointment came almost immediately after Jones’ roughly seven year prison and probation period finished.

Jones was installed as pastor this March by Douglas, who himself was just installed as bishop by Charles Blake in 2008.

Some members of the organization are livid about it. An unnamed source contacted  GCM Watch and said there is trouble brewing over the decision. The source said a number of churches are planning to leave the already small jurisdiction.

“Our AIM president is a registered sex offender and our bishop, Frank Douglas Jr., was aware of it and wanted to give Eld Ted Leland Jones a second chance. Needless to say, the support for Bishop Douglas’ leadership is fastly eroding. We have at least 7 identified churches that are planning on leaving the jurisdiction.”

If churches are ready to disfellowship over this, it appears to be a serious matter. The source stated that Jones’ status was made public after “some of the saints pulled him up on family watchdog”.

As of posting time, Bishop Douglas did not respond to requests to comment on the situation. COGIC’s operating manual (commonly called the Black Book) doesn’t appear to offer any guidance on this situation, so perhaps its clergy are left to make decisions on their own. Is this the type of “second chance”, Rev. Jones needs?

Back when we launched ReportCOGICAbuse.com, a question came up dealing with the application of Galatians 6 which addressed restoring a brother who has been “overtaken in a fault”. Here’s our response which may well apply in this situation;

Galatians 6 which states that spiritual members of the Body are to restore a brother who is overtaken in a fault is certainly to be considered in these cases. And no one is beyond forgiveness and restoration. We do need to understand the connotation of “overtaken” as opposed to pursuit and maintenance of a sinful lifestyle. However, sexual crimes pose a legitimate caveat for Gal 6. To wit, a sexual crime and a sexual sin ( or fault) are not automatically interchangeable, thus consequences come to bear. If a brother committed a sexual sin, forgiving and restoring him or her would be the sole jurisdiction of the church or at least those who are spiritual. Galatians 6 is applicable. If a brother committed a sexual crime which is also sin, the church does not hold sole jurisdiction and Galatians 6 is only applicable in part. While such a one can be forgiven, restoration (and restitution) is in the hands of the state. When we unjustly use scripture to protect individuals from facing the consequences of their crime, we become partakers of their sin and instead of facilitating the intent of Gal 6, we thwart it.

What do you think?  Should a person who is currently on a registered sex offender list,  be restricted from holding certain types of church positions?

UPDATE 05.06.10 1343

This has taken another strange turn. Sources in Kansas City informed GCM Watch that Ted Jones has been replaced as AIM Chairman by Supt. Jackie Cortez Vaughn [video], another recent appointment by Bishop Frank Douglas.  While Vaughn is not a sexual offender, the source provided public information showing that Vaughn was incarcerated as recently as March.  The video was posted March 27, 2010 while documents show Vaughn being released from a Wyandotte County detention facility March 18th. The saga continues…

Writer’s note: The previous attribution of Wyandotte County to “MO” was a simple parenthetical error which has been corrected. It has zero bearing on the facts of the case at hand.

One of the guests was Dr. Eugene Rivers,  who self identified as Bishop Blake’s Chief Policy Advisor. We’re not sure what policy he is advising the bishop on, but nevertheless that’s his title. Dr. Rivers was discussing a rather interesting  Huffington Post article by Eddie Claude Jr, declaring the black church was “dead”.

Then, this statement towards the end of the article:

But where are the press conferences and impassioned efforts around black children living in poverty, and commercials and organizing around jobs and healthcare reform? Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr., the presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ, appears to be a lonely voice in the wilderness when he announced COGIC’s support of healthcare reform with the public option.

Speaking of reform

Supt Harvey Burnett of Peoria, IL, who wrote a comprehensive victims advocacy plan for COGIC questioned why no one was asking Bishop Blake about his reluctance to enact a victims advocacy program for the denomination.

As Bishop Blake is hailed for his humanitarian service, we must also ask why has there been no action within the Church Of God In Christ to institute any resemblence of a victims advocacy program to help the church minister to its own hurting victims of clregy sexual abuse and misconduct? Dr. Rivers claims this area is a “legally complicated issue” and offers his own version of why the church is doing what it is doing and approaching the subject as it has been.

Rivers says that Pastor Burnett has made an “excellent point”. But then he calls the issue of victim’s advocacy “legally complicated.”  Listen to the conversation here. It begins about the 13:44 mark.   Dr. Rivers says that he is “privy to a lot of the discussions”  in regard to sexual abuse issues in COGIC.  Speaking to Pastor Burnett, he says, “I would love to reach out to you…” before Sharpton tells his assistant to get the information.   Its strange that although Burnett was clear that his perspective was about victim’s advocacy, Rivers didnt even utter the word “victim”. Intentional?

Incidentally, Al Sharpton himself was drawn into COGIC’s Sherman Allen sexual abuse case when lawyers for the plaintiffs filed a motion to have him testify as an expert witness on clergy matters. The defense fought against it, fearing Sharpton’s presence at the trial would draw unwanted media attention. The case was dismissed in February.

Read Pastor Burnett’s blogpost challenging Al Sharpton is raise the issue with Bishop Blake.

On February 2, the 236th District Court judge dismissed the case against the church in the Sherman Allen trial. In a rather stunning (and brief) ruling Judge Lowe granted the church’s motion for “evidentiary summary judgement and motion for no-evidence summary judgment”. Click graphic for larger version of the judgment.

The ruling left open the option to appeal. Attorneys for the plaintiff will appeal the case. The case had experienced multiple delays as motions were filed back and forth and ruled on. Darian Kelley, husband of the plaintiff said that he was “shocked” at the ruling. We hope to have a fuller interview with Mr. Kelley in the near future.

In the second trial overseen by Washington State’s King County Superior Court,  four women had sued COGIC, Inc. for 10 million dollars. The church settled the case out of court for an estimated 1.6 million dollars.  GCM Watch was told the case was settled literally right before it was about to go to trial. The money had to be paid within 60 days of the ruling.

Sources close to the case from Washington told us that the national church footed the bill for the entire judgment but “loaned” part to the jurisdiction headed by Bishop TL Westbrook.  Washington State churches (about 25-30 in number) would be responsible for repaying some $650,000. But the “assessment” has caused some controversy among local pastors. According to our source,  “Bishop Westbrook believes COGIC should pay the debt not the WA Jurisdiction.  Most of the churches in WA are incorporated.  Although he disagrees he still assessed the credential holders in his jurisdiction.  People are very angry and some refuse to pay.”

The man at the center of the case Pastor Charles Smith is now deceased, but here he is in 2007 denying everything to a news reporter.

Related stories:
Sherman Allen abuse trial date looms

Enoch Perry III is a man on a mission. A dubious one no doubt, but a mission nonetheless. He’s lethal against people who accuse COGIC leaders of sexual abuse because he used to be a judge so he is keen to how the “system” works. Currently, the seemingly unbridled sycophant is pulling the Church of God in Christ into legal, moral and ethical quicksand. But the top brass in COGIC apparently like him and his advice. So our job is to document the proceedings as a witness to such reckless folly.

Perry has been COGIC’s chief behind-the-scenes architect of sexual abuse “policy” in the last few years. He’s navigated church leadership though numerous legal waters with ubiquitous ease, donning different faces depending on which court room he happened to find himself in. In November 2009,  when Bishop Charles Blake dropped a bombshell announcement that his denomination spent on a yearly average $800,000 to settle sexual abuse claims against the church,  he actually thanked Perry for his cacophony of supporting distortions.

But Perry does have one major fear. He fears the media connecting the dots to the sordid events perpetrated by sexual predators in COGIC (44 and counting) and like the current Catholic church debacle,  putting all the dirty business on NBC nightly news, FOX, ABC and other outlets. To that end, he tells COGIC pastors to keep attention away from sexual abuse cases.

“Media coverage of any sexual oriented event and the church will have a negative slant. The pessimistic coverage will have a direct impact on the overall public perception of the church involved, its corporate body and its membership. Additionally, this negativity will directly affect new membership and outside donations.”

Perry is still miffed at the excellent reporting the Dallas Observer did on Sherman Allen which led to a reopening of the case and a potential PR nightmare for COGIC.  In his deposition, he called blogs who reported the story “gossip rags”.  The problem was the reporting on real facts threatened the flow of donor money the church was getting from corporations. And who cares about victims when money is at stake?

If anyone ever doubted that COGIC leadership has an intentional strategy of  diversion on clergy sexual abuse cases, perhaps this is the smoking gun.  And all of it can be attributed to the devious counsel of Enoch Perry. His heartless crusade to paint victims of clergy abuse out of the picture or as “problems” for the church is evident in this presentation given to the church’s “General Assembly” last November. You can read or download the 16 page presentation here.

The above statement is so dizzying that we have to break it down so that you see its elements. Notice that Perry pitches media coverage, not the crimes committed by clergy, as the church’s “vulnerability”.

Perry: “Media coverage of any sexual oriented event will have a negative slant.”

The negativity doesn’t come because the media invents it, it comes because a grown man sexually violated a young woman or a young man. Perry’s perspective helps the criminals look like victims of media bias rather than the lowlife criminals they really are.

Perry: “The pessimistic coverage will have direct impact on public perception…”

Why label coverage as “pessimistic” (meaning  seeing the worst in a situation) when it is the actions of sexually deviant leaders who are causing the “pessimism”?  And just what does Perry expect the secular media to say or think about a church who claims to be the “greatest church in the world” with preachers raping boys and girls? Is there something positive in this we are missing? This is just another way of saying that COGIC’s “name, image and assets” must be protected at all cost, including at the expense of victims.

Perry: “This negativity will directly affect new membership and outside donations.”

There’s the money quote. The BIG reason why COGIC must keep clergy sex abuse cases quiet. Translation: Keep up the lies and charade in order to fool people into thinking that all is well. If we let the media find out we have sexual predators in positions of authority people wont join and money wont come into the church’s bank account. After all what’s more important than keeping the money flowing and deceiving people on the outside of the church? Perry should be arrested for encouraging such blatant deception when people’s lives are in the balance.

The numbers game

Pastor Harvey Burnett took a look at the numbers and came to some conclusions that are almost unbelievable. Stay with me on this.

“He (Judge Enoch Perry) reported that in over 100 years, there have been 20-25 processed cases of sexual misconduct. He stated statistically the numbers are significantly small; however, there should not be one case among us. Judge perry reported there has not been one successful lawsuit against the church; cases have either been settled or dismissed. He further stated that Bishop Blake supports the church’s zero tolerance policy against sexual misconduct.” ~ [2009 COGIC General Assembly Minutes Pg. 2 Para. 2 parenthesis added]

Later, Presiding Bishop Charles Blake remarks included the following:

“Presiding Bishop Blake thanked Judge Perry for his remarks regarding the church’s policy in relationship to sexual misconduct. he pointed out that, on average, the church spends about $800,000 to settle legal matters many of which have to do with accusations of sexual misconduct. (Who made the comment? and that one singe lawsuit has the potential to bankrupt the church.)” ~ [2009 COGIC General Assembly Minutes Pg. 3 Para. 2 as it is in the minutes]

Now it seems to be somewhat of a disconnect. How can a settled lawsuit be unsuccessful when $800,000 on average is paid toward the settlement and legal matters regarding it? According to Perry’s numbers,  this would mean that about $16,000,000 to $20,000,000 dollars (almost $200,000 per year over 100 years) have been paid out to adjudicate matters of this kind and this is only from the national church perspective. I believe these numbers don’t even begin to tell the real story however, because the fact is that it has been documented that over the last 20 years there have been over 35 visible cases of clergy sexual misconduct and abuse among COGIC clergy. Some of these cases were highly publicized and ended in incarceration.

If we condense even Perry’s numbers (which are more than likely understated) into the 20 to 25 year period of time in which we can document publicized cases of abuse and misconduct, that would mean that the church has paid an average of approximately $1,000,000 per year toward the adjudication of sexual misconduct cases. Remember this is $1,000,000 per year of national report and auxillary fund dollars collected and paid to defend and or settle sexual abuse, misuse, harassment, and other sexual misconduct cases.

If you find this at all disturbing, its because it really is. The “presentation” given by Perry to the denominational leaders encouraged duplicity, equivocation, and unethical if not downright illegal activity among so called holiness leaders. Maybe they are already used to operating this way, that’s why no one has called for his resignation. Per the presentation, victims of clergy sexual abuse can expect to receive no mercy, no compassion and no help from Church of God in Christ leaders which is just another reason why they really should drop the “God in Christ” from their name. Perhaps a more suitable name  would be Church of Name, Image and Assets (CONIA).

Other stories on Enoch Perry:
Under oath, COGIC legal counsel Enoch Perry makes stunning admissions
Surveying COGIC’s “justice system”

Case in point,  on March 9th, The Commercial Appeal reported that  Dickerson LS Wells, a Memphis based pastor and “senior executive administrator” to Presiding Bishop Blake had “resigned” but COGIC officials refused to say why he left.

But Thaddeus Matthews, a Memphis based radio talk show host reported on his blog that Wells had stolen $20,000 of COGIC’s money. That prompted an immediate visit from Blake who flew in to personally ensure Wells was no longer in position.

“Sources within COGIC state that Dickerson L.S. Wells pastor of Bethel COGIC here in Memphis who also serves as a trustee of the national organization was asked to resign his position of superintendent By Presiding Bishop Charles Blake after it was found that Wells had diverted church funds for his personal use.

As Superintendent here in Memphis Wells was the highest ranking official of the national church having control of church funds and properties. Its said that Wells diverted a $20,000 check belonging to COGIC for his own personal use.

Sources state that Bishop Blake flew into Memphis several weeks ago and ask the stealing preacher to step down.”

So why hasn’t Bishop Blake flown into Birmingham, AL and told Bishop Peter Wren, Sr. to resign? That’s very easy to answer. If an official in COGIC steals money, they’re worse than an infidel but if they are a sexual predator its not a big deal. Well, it is on paper but who cares what a “zero tolerance” policy says?  After all, its just a diversion tactic to stop people from asking questions and demanding truthful answers.

Business as usual?

So is this about protecting the “name, image and assets” of the organization while ignoring the hurt, pain and devaluation of the people of the organization?

In November 2009, COGIC officials stumbled and fumbled over whether to remove a local church minister who was arrested for rape of a 16 year old girl. The church’s pastor refused to remove the man claiming he could only required “pray and forgive”. After considerable outcry from outside organizations, church officials finally settled on an unusual resolution. They brought in the jurisdictional bishop to be the church’s CEO. Later, the minister was removed.  We daresay had the minister stolen money, the removal would have been swift.

If you think that’s stretching the truth, look no further than the case of  COGIC’s highest ranking homosexual sex predator, the late General Board Member John Husband.

According to reports by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Husbands stole $500,000 dollars of church money. But before any of that came to light, it was an open secret known by both peers and subordinates that the bishop was engaged in numerous homosexual sins. Yet, nothing was done. But when Husbands stole the money (reportedly to pay for medical bills) COGIC quickly moved in the discipline him. In fact, the discipline was the severest on record. Husbands was defrocked and [sort of] excommunicated from COGIC.

As COGIC Bishop Neaul Haynes of Dallas reportedly said in reference to sex weirdo Sherman Allen, “old habits die hard.”

Dear Bishop Blake:  please go back and listen closely to the November 2008 message of the man you fired for stealing money. You might just learn something about yourself and your leadership.

We are barely two months into the year 2010, and already four clergy sexual abuse/misconduct cases involving Church of God in Christ (COGIC) clergy have come to light. But as before, we find that Bishop Charles Blake and his so-named team of professionals are unresponsive and missing in action.  And the alleged “zero tolerance” policy that has become the COGIC’s closet secret is once again proven to be little more than a deflective media sound bite.

Just last week  Pastor Edwin House and his wife Louvenia were arrested by police in Crescent, Oklahoma  and charged with five counts of lewd molestation allegedly perpetrated on two underage foster girls under their care. House is pastor of the Lighthouse COGIC north of Oklahoma City. The Oklahoman reported that the two were released on bail the following day. But the allegations are troubling.

Edwin House is accused of sexually abusing two 14-year-old girls in his home. Lovenia House is accused of not doing enough to protect the children.

One of the girls attempted suicide in July by overdosing on pills, court affidavits state. She told counselors she was molested by Edwin House and was depressed. She said the abuse started when she was 7, with the latest incident occurring when she was 9.

She told investigators Edwin House laid on top of her while she was sleeping and put his hand down her shirt. He also put his hands on her chest while she was in his car, she reported.

The girl was removed from the home and taken into protective custody, court records show.

Lovenia House told investigators her husband touched the girl’s chest to teach her how boys might act if she continued to dress provocatively.

A female foster child who lived with the couple from November 2003 to December 2004 told investigators Edwin House would lay on top of her after he tucked her into bed at night.

House is a member of the Oklahoma NW jurisdiction with Bishop Lee Vicker Broom.  But upon his release, House made an unusually defiant statement to the media. Was it to the media or to his denominational leaders?

Edwin House said Wednesday that his church is aware of the allegations against him and his wife. He is pastor of the Light House Church of God in Christ in Crescent.

According to the church’s Web site, Edwin House started the church in 1984. He also ran a Christian school for three years for children in grades 1-8. House closed the school in 2007.

“Nothing is going to change at the church,” Edwin House said. He said congregation members and friends have rallied to support him.

We sincerely hope that all of the allegations against the Houses are false, but that has to be determined in a court of law.  Its is strange per his wife that she would condone her husband’s touching the young girls to “teach them a lesson”. Why couldnt she simply do what the Bible tells older women to do with younger women in Titus 2:4? Surely, there were better ways to teach young girls not to dress provocatively than to simulate “what boys might do to them”.

However, unless something has been lost in the interpretation of the word “zero” as in “zero tolerance”, House should have been removed from pastoring until he and his wife are cleared of wrongdoing. But can that happen when House literally declared he wont be stepping down? Secondly, are COGIC leaders in his jurisdiction going to enact the “zero tolerance” policy? The most serious issue with Bishop Blake’s zero tolerance policy is that it has never been used publicly. But the Bishop stated again in the denomination’s 2009 meeting that he “supported” the policy.

COGIC’s self preservation attitude continues to create more victims

With all of the layers of proposed and actual departments COGIC leadership claims is in place to deal with clergy sexual abuse, its still unclear how people like Prince Woolfolk of Kentucky could continue pastoring two churches for an entire year after he was cited in a juvenile rape case. Woolfolk was convicted January 30th and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Again, no zero tolerance policy was enacted. Woolfork wasn’t removed from office, he resigned at will with no known punitive action from COGIC.

In Shreveport, Louisiana, Rev. Bruce Goss, pastor of the New Birth Temple COGIC was arrested after police discovered him in a car partially unclothed with a 13 year old girl. The Shreveport Times reported on the story.

A Shreveport man who claimed to be a pastor today was convicted of molestation of a juvenile. A Caddo District Court jury deliberated for roughly a half hour then returned the guilty verdict against Bruce Lee Goss, 52, according to the district attorney’s office. Judge Leon Emanuel set a hearing Nov. 23 for further proceedings. Goss could be sentenced sometime in December, a news release states.
Goss was arrested in December 2007 when Shreveport police responded to a report of a vehicle backed into the driveway of a vacant dwelling in the 2600 block of Waggoner Avenue. Officers said they found Goss in the back seat with a partially clothed 13-year-old girl. “We’re pleased to see another predator off our streets,” Caddo District Attorney Charles Rex Scott says in the release. “I am very proud of our prosecution team and of the Shreveport police officers who pursued this case.”

As we reported earlier, Presiding Bishop Blake said COGIC spends on average $800,000 to defend or settle clergy sexual abuse claims while chief lawyer Enoch Perry claimed that in the last 100 years, COGIC had only had “20-25″ processed cases of clergy sexual abuse. He did not define what constitutes a “processed case”. [source: 2009 COGIC General Assembly Minutes]

A grand jury has indicted a former western Kentucky preacher on charges that he raped a teenager nearly 25 years ago.

Owensboro police Sgt. Randy Boling the family of the alleged victim filed a complaint against 75-year-old Prince Wilbert Woolfolk in July. No criminal charges were filed at the time, but the case was presented to the grand jury on this week.

Woolfolk gave an interview to the Messenger-Inquirer in which he denies a rape occurred. But he acknowledges having some sexual contact with the then 17-year-old girl.

Woolfolk resigned in June as pastor the Seventh Street Church of God in Christ in Owensboro and the Branch Street Church of God in Christ in Madisonville.

The Owensboro Message-Inquirer also reported that the victim’s mother told the court Woolfork used scriptures to discourage her from notifying the police about the rape. Very typical of these wolves to cloak themselves in scripture to hide their crimes.

Its not clear why COGIC leadership didn’t enact its so-called zero tolerance policy and remove the rapist from the two churches he pastored. But then again, we all know zero tolerance is just a window dressing rule COGIC leadership conveniently refers to when questioned about the frequency of clergy sexual abuse in the denomination.

Only 20-25 cases of sexual abuse in COGIC?

In November 2009, Presiding Bishop Charles Blake told 1, 592 delegates to the 6.5 million member church’s General Assembly that COGIC spent on average $800, 000 on clergy sexual abuse cases.

According to official minutes of the meeting, both Blake and Enoch Perry, the denomination’s lawyer-in-chief addressed what they called “significantly small” number of sexual ” misconduct” cases.

Judge Enoch Perry, Chief Counsel, gave a brief status report on the topic of sexual misconduct and legal matters of the church. He reported that in over 100 years, there have been 20-25 processed cases of sexual misconduct. He stated statistically the numbers are significantly small; however there should not be one case among us. Judge Perry reported there has not been one successful lawsuit against the church; cases either have been settled or dismissed. He further stated that Bishop Blake supports the church’s zero tolerance policy against sexual misconduct. The delegates were encouraged to purchase the book entitled, “The Church of God in Christ’s Continued Stand Against Sexual Misconduct”. He reminded delegates that there was no statue of limitations for sexual misconduct.

Bishop Blake thanked Judge Perry for his remarks regarding the church’s policy in relationship to sexual misconduct. He pointed out that, on average, the church spends about $800,000 to settle legal matters many of which have to do with accusations of sexual misconduct. (Who made this comment? And that one single lawsuit has the potential to bankrupt the church.) Our bold.

If we’re seeing this correctly, Bishop Blake is saying that the nearly 1 million dollars per year is spent on sexual abuse cases, yet Enoch Perry, using a 100 year time construct,  is saying that its a significantly small number?   The report showed COGIC’s 2008-2009 budget  just over 10 million dollars in expenditures. Report COGIC Abuse has tracked over 30 cases in just the last 30 years. Most of the cases are not small errors in judgment, but heinous crimes rivaling those of serial rapists. Something just doesn’t add up.

There’s much to be said about these comments (and we will fully review them later) but here are some unavoidable questions delegates should demand specific answers to in the upcoming April Call Meeting.

1. What’s the definition of a “processed case”? Is COGIC leadership using the most restrictive definition possible in order to make cases against the church appear “significantly small”?

2. If the church has settled sexual abuse lawsuits, just how many have been settled in comparison to those won in a court of law? What what the settlement amount and who authorized it?

3.  How does the church effectively conduct and ratify such serious matters when a whopping two thirds of the delegates are missing from the meeting?

4. From what departmental budget is the 800k deducted from?

5. Why does COGIC continue to present budgets with no actuals at the time new information is introduced?  At best this is unprofessional perhaps even unethical.

6. If the zero tolerance policy is supported by the Presiding Bishop, why was Prince Woolfolk, Larry Weems and others allowed to remain in office?

7. Why should delegates have to purchase to so-called sexual abuse book? Purchasing certainly minimizes the possibility of the book being widely disseminated, unless of course the leadership really doesn’t care about the book being widely seen and read.

In our opinion, this administration is either corrupt to the core with no regard for truthfulness or God is asleep on the throne.

A new Christian film star on the horizon? You may want to take a closer look first.

Its truly a tragic thing when we have to alert people in the church about other “church-types” who are working against God’s will to infect the church with their insanity. Enter Matt Crouch, stage left.

The Preacher’s Kid, is the latest religious movie backed by Matt Crouch and his Gener8Xion Entertainment company.

The star of Crouch’s new movie is Letoya Luckett and she’s about to seduce your pastor using a very familiar biblical story. But the story within the story is an old one: satan is cunning and many in the contemporary church are ripe for his deception.

I watched the TBN talkup show where DC area pimpster Micheal Freeman and his wife Dee Dee gushed and told pastors to get their daughters and rush out to see the movie. On a contradictory note, Freeman said the movie wasn’t for the church, but his wife turned right around and said the church should support it by packing out theaters. So which lie is it?

Luckett (the former Destinys Child dropout), told the homosexual magazine The Advocate she’s fascinated with homosexual culture. [source] NSFYS

“Absolutely. Ab-so-lutely. It’s one of those things that’s like, you know what, you’ve got to let people be who they are. Whether you agree with a lifestyle or not, you have to let that person be who they are. You have to love them for who they are.

I just went to the Latex Ball [gcmw: a bizarre black gay subculture like Alice in Wonderland meets Marilyn Manson]  in New York. Oh, my God! I have never seen so much creativity in one room. So much freedom. That’s what I appreciate about the gay community. You know: Do you and don’t worry about other people and their opinions. It’s so colorful and lively, and everybody’s not sitting around and — you know when you go to a club and everybody’s sitting around and standing along the walls and people watch? It’s not about that. Everybody [at gay clubs] is ready to let their hair down and have fun and get into it, and that’s about love.

I hadn’t had that much fun in a long time. A lo-o-ong time. I mean, they were givin’ it, Honey! Giving. And I love that. I love it. I can’t stand hateful people. I can’t stand hardhearted people, and unfortunately there’s a lot of people like that in this world, and it’s got to die. Let it die, let it die, let it die. Let love live.”

Add to that Luckett’s last CD with F minus songs like “She aint got s*** on me”.

So this is living your best life now? Luckett, per an interview using her religious mask,  is a member of  Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church (see comment section) and faithfully listens to Joel Osteen on her ipod or itunes, whichever is handy.

The choice of actors in this movie, crafted to appeal to African Americans pastors and churchgoers, incorporates the very worst religious ideology and typology possible. From the lukewarm preacher to the silly, one dimensional churchgoers, everything screams “shallow”. The sad thing is that it is an all too true reflection of the contemporary black church. Its producer who said on TBN that Crouch allowed him complete control.  Actors for movies are never chosen randomly and without consideration of who they are and what type of person they appeal to based on their lifestyle. Clearly, Luckett’s  mixture of homosexuality, race, church and music made her a prime candidate.

In the Advocate, Luckett says that she believes same-sex marriage will “eventually happen” in her native Texas. “Or people are going to move and go to places where it’s accepted. I don’t know if it’ll happen tomorrow, but whatever is in God’s will, it will be. Hey, everybody deserves love. Everybody deserves commitment. And why shouldn’t the gay community have that?”

What a convoluted definition of love.

In my opinion, the problem with the movie that its a reinvented story of horizontal redemption. Not one where the person comes back, repents to Christ and finds new life in him, but one where the person comes home and everybody lives happily ever after. Let’s be honest, what parent wouldnt want their messed up kid to come home, but coming home isn’t salvation. And the message parable about the lost son wasn’t just coming home to an earthly father, but home to God.

Unfortunately, we are seeing some of the same church leaders with questionable views on homosexuality associated with these “feel good” stories.

Producer Stan Foster is a member of West Angeles COGIC.
Foster also produced TD Jakes’ Woman thou are loosed movie which was filmed at West Angeles.

Kierra Sheard was thrown in the mix to get the COGIC crowd attention.

R&B sex freak Trey Songz was also given a spot in the film.

Should you go to see it? That’s up to you, but just know that Letoya Luckett will use the fame and money she gets from movies like this push for abominations like homosexual marriage. I’d advise what the Bible says in 1 Tim 5:22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.

h/t Ex-Times

UPDATE 01.19.10: Letoya Luckett’s fan site is going ballistic because GCM Watch told the ugly truth about their goddess du jour.

UPDATE #2 01.19.10: You can watch the Letoya Luckett TBN interview here. Click on the Jan 18 episode on the right. Its about the midway point.

Supt. Harvey Burnett reviewed the proposed changes calling it “good and bad news”.

In our opinion, here are the major flaws of the proposal:

1. There is still no identification of the alleged “professionals” working on the changes. Who are they and what are their credentials? Are they hand-picked yes men/women whose goal is to do the Presiding Bishop’s bidding or are they objective individuals who sincerely want to craft a comprehensive, workable sexual abuse policy? Does the proposal team include any victims or family members of victims who are able to give critical input?

2. Neither the policy or new proposals include elements of outreach, care, or restoration of victims of clergy sexual abuse.

3. The proposals contains no enforcement mechanism.

4. The proposals contain no timelines for completion or implementation. Without this critical component, there’s nothing to hold the church accountable for.

5. Instead of a forward thinking perspective, the handout is apologetic in nature, seeming to defend the church’s past conduct and rarely known or understood policies which have been largely ineffective.

6. Although the handout cites  general sexual abuse statistics, it steers clear of any statistics on COGIC. Such information would help to ascertain the depth of the problem in the church, thus better application of the solution. But the question is, does the COGIC even keep records on file of sexual abuse allegations reported to its national offices?  If they do not, doesn’t this violate the law and its mandatory reporting system? If they do, who is allowed to access this information?

7. The policy does not address “consensual” sexual activity among leadership. Whether consensual or nonconsensual, illict sexual activity has the same devastating effects on the health and spiritual welfare of the church.

8. The proposals are only suggested adherence for subsidiary elements of the church such as jurisdictions. These elements form the bulk of the church’s membership. In short, it is the same as before.

9. The proposals are only mandatory for a tiny group of individuals in COGIC, namely an alleged 75 odd employees of the national church. That’s 75 out of 6.5 million.

10. An information desemination plan isn’t fully expressed nor does it have a mechanism to gauge effectiveness.  For instance, most church members depend on (and actually only trust) the information passed down to them by their pastor. What if a pastor decides this isn’t important enough to share with his congregation?

Major commendations of the proposal:

1. It is a public acknowledgement that clergy sexual abuse is fundamentally out of control in the denomination.

2. It appears to expand some aspects of screening to all national office/credential holders.

3. The biblical language is strong.

4. There’s an undated promise to post the sexual abuse policy of the church’s website for all to see

Overall, the proposal leaves very little to applaud. Its language vacillates back and forth in a fairly tortured manner which leaves the reader wondering if the stated commitment is serious or if it is just an attempt to say “the right words” to quiet growing objections. Citing biblical language does reinforce that clergy sexual abuse is not purely a matter of legal or social importance, but such language aside if an organization cannot adhere to corresponding biblical admonitions regarding honesty, integrity and reasonable care for the least among them, its questionable whether its policies will effect change.

Bishop Blake called on seemingly every quarter of church leadership to respond to the call, but how will he know if they will or won’t? The recent alleged rape arrest of Dwayne Wilson was a proving ground which produced more confusion than resolution. Read the latest development in the case where the church’s jurisdictional bishop was allegedly voted by membership to be the church’s CEO.

Have an opinion on COGIC’s proposed clergy sexual abuse policy changes? Leave a comment here or go to reportcogicabuse.com and participate in our poll.