I have been documenting clergy abuse of children cases in Christian Fundamentalism since 2001. And, obviously, the sins and crimes of First Baptist of Hammond and Hyles-Anderson graduates make up a huge percentage of that list. That list, by the way, runs down the right side of my blog front page. Just go here:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/.
I include any pastor or church officer from a Fundamentalist church. Most of these are IFB, but the list also includes the Free Presbyterian Church and some Bible churches, all of whom designate themselves as Christian Fundamentalist.
Just a year ago, I was harassed and vilified in public for continuing to document and post accounts of Hyles-Anderson graduates who were molesting kids. ,
I was accused of being a traitor to the victims of clergy sex abuse: a rat, a snake, and a mole, and a secret agent for Bob Jones University. A lot of pressure was put on me to stop doing my comprehensive documentation and to focus on only one case, or one type of case, those cases that come from BJU grads. Some people just wanted me to go away altogether. Of course, as a person with a conscience, I did not knuckle under to bullies. I’m a grown up, and I left schoolyard politics back on the schoolyard.
Now, suddenly, it is very much in fashion to document what has been going on at FBCH/HAC for decades. Great! But all I can say is, what took you so long to appreciate that victims have value and dignity, even when they don’t get you on national television? Unless, of course, the victims of Jack Schaap are just another way to get on national television….
If you need an index of only FBCH/HAC-related cases, here it is. This is similar to what I provided for Darrell Dow of
Stuff Fundies Like, except this list also includes proteges of Jack Hyles, and not just former HAC students. Please note that, unless otherwise stated, all of these people are pastors:
Andy Beith, Hyles-Anderson graduate, sentenced for sex with an 11 year old girl, previous arrest for contributing to the delinquency of a minor:
AV Ballenger, Former FBCH Deacon, convicted for molesting a child. Jack Hyles had the church give him a standing ovation and kept him in the bus ministry:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?cat=219
Chester Mulligan, Hyles protege and fanatical Hyles devotee, accepted plea deal for felony stalking an underage girl, though the facts warranted more serious charges:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?cat=211
Dave Hyles, Hyles-Anderson student, former FBCH staff member, former heir to the Hyles throne, never been convicted, but attached to numerous scandals, pleaded the fifth amendment when questioned about the death of Brent Stevens:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?cat=168
David Joseph Jorgensen, Hyles-Anderson graduate: has successfully gotten his criminal record expunged in Chico CA, but still part of a civil lawsuit for “committing lewd acts” on a female when she was 14. Now on staff at First Baptist of Hammond:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?cat=349
Earl Reeves , Hyles protege and fanatical Hyles devotee, took a guilty plea for molesting four adolescent girls from his church, Lighthouse Baptist Church in San Diego California:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?cat=375
Evangeline Combs, former Hyles-Anderson staff member, now serving sentence for multiple counts of child abuse against the woman formerly known as Esther Combs:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?cat=216
Greg Neal, Hyles-Anderson graduate, escaped charges of sexual misconduct by hiding evidence of his crime until the statute of limitations had run out:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?cat=118
Joe Combs, former faculty member at Hyles-Anderson College, now serving sentence for multiple counts of violent and sexual child abuse against the woman formerly known as Esther Combs:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?cat=216
Matt Jarrell, former Hyles-Anderson student, arrested on suspicion of rape and sodomy. Committed suicide in his jail cell as the investigation closed in on him:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?cat=89
Want More Research?
Here are some recordings to help you gt an overview of the culture and realities of just how corrupt First Baptist Church of Hammond and Hyles-Anderson College are:
Interview with Paula Hyles Polonco, first wife of Dave Hyles. Paula narrates her introduction to the inner circle of the royal house of Hyles:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?p=179
Preying from the Pulpit: a documentary produced in May 1993 by WJBK of Detroit, Michigan on the culture surrounding Jack Hyles and the number of sex abuse cases related to his ministry:
http://jeriwho.net/lillypad2/?p=183
The Lambs of Culpeper, Episodes One and Two: Although this documentary is about Hyles protege Chuck Shifflett, the first two episodes include a lot of coverage of Jack Hyles, and some of the horrible things he said and did from his pulpit:
http://www.jeriwho.net/tloc.html
Members of
First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indianaand people closely associated with
Hyles-Anderson College and Jack Schaap are astonished at the firing of Jack Schaap for sexual misconduct with a minor. (see previous posts
hereand
here) Evidently these people have a short memory or live in denial because First Baptist Church has a long history of pastors getting themselves in trouble with the fairer sex.
Jack Schaap’s father-in-law, Jack Hyles, had an illicit sexual relationship with his secretary. The evidence against Hyles was overwhelming, yet the church rejected the evidence and Jack Hyles continued to pastor the church. (see Conservative Babylon’s section on
Jack Hyles)
David Hyles, the son of Jack Hyles and youth pastor of the church, had numerous sexual relationships with women in the church. The church quietly sent him away to pastor another church, not telling the new church about his sexual proclivities, and he continued to have numerous sexual relationships with women in the new church. (see Conservative Babylon’s section on
David Hyles)
Some people are praising the church for publicly exposing Jack Schaap’s “sin.” This is the same church that ignored Jack Hyles’ “sin”, covered over David Hyles’ “sin”, and whitewashed numerous other scandals in the Church and College, so forgive me if I don’t think they are acting “better” than the Catholic Church. (as one commenter said)
The people of First Baptist Church were taught that if they didn’t see something it didn’t happen. They were taught that unless an allegation could be confirmed by two or more people (Matthew 18) they were not to believe it. This kind of thinking resulted in a culture where “sin” was ignored or swept under the proverbial rug. (a rug that is so high now that you have to walk up a five foot hill to get into the church)
In general, the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) Church movement abhors scandal and they do everything they can to cover it up. More important than the sin or the victims is the church’s testimony. The church’s testimony must be protected at all costs, even if we ignore a pedophile in our midst, like
Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida did. (see Conservative Babylon’s section on
Bob Gray)
For First Baptist Church of Hammond to out Jack Schaap they had to have been backed into a corner without the option of covering it up or quietly making the “problem” go away. (calling in attorney David Gibbs to “manage” the crisis speaks volumes about depth of the scandal)
The root of the Jack Schaap scandal is found in the ministry, teaching, and doctrine of his predecessor, Jack Hyles. The remainder of this post will focus on Jack Hyles. It is impossible to understand the Jack Schaap story without first looking at Jack Hyles’ forty-two year ministry at First Baptist Church of Hammond. (a church that was an American Baptist Church until Hyles pulled it out of the Convention a few years after he arrived there in 1959)
In its heyday, First Baptist Church of Hammond was the largest church in the United States. (and, at times, claimed to be the largest church in the world) The Church was built around two things: the bus ministry and Jack Hyles.
The Church saw attendances exceeding 25,000 people. At the center of this huge church was its Pastor, Jack Hyles.
In the late 1960’s and 1970’s Jack Hyles was, what many of us described, the pope of the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Church movement. He authored numerous books with titles like Let’s Go Soulwinning, Let’s Build an Evangelistic Church, Enemies of Soulwinning, The Hyles Church Manual,How to Rear Infants, How to Rear Children, How to Rear Teenagers, Satan’s Bid for Your Child, Marriage is a Commitment, Woman the Completer, and Blue Denim and Lace.
There was a hard-fast rule in the IFB movement. The bigger the church attendance the more authority you were granted and the more weight your words had. I heard countless big- name IFB pastors say, “until you have as many eggs in your basket as I do you have no right to criticize me.” Pastors with small churches were looked down on and were expected to shut up and learn from the top dogs of the movement.
From 1976 to 1989, I heard Jack Hyles preach numerous times. I traveled to a number of Sword of the Lord Conferences, often taking people from the churches I pastored with me.
Hyles was a dynamic preacher, a real motivator. He used very little of the Bible in his preaching. His sermons were always topical or textual and were littered with personal stories and illustrations.
Hyles was a narcissist. Most of his stories and illustrations were about his own personal life and exploits. His stories about he and his mother are legendary.
Over time, as I became more and more dissatisfied with the IFB movement, I paid closer attention to the substance of Hyles’ sermons. In particular, I focused on the stories that Hyles told. I came to the conclusion that Hyles was a narcissistic liar.
Hyles would often talk about how important and busy he was. In several sermons he talked about how many people he counseled every week. I sat down and did the math and I concluded it was physically impossible for Hyles to have counseled as many people each week as he claimed.
Hyles was a ruthless man. I watched him, during Q and A times at a conference, dress down and belittle pastors for asking the “wrong” question. He refused to allow anyone to challenge his authority as the king of the IFB hill.
Jack Hyles preached a bastardized version of the Christian gospel. The Hyles gospel has been labeled as decisional regeneration or one, two, three, repeat after me. I used to label the gospel of the IFB church movement as:
- win them
- wet them
- work them
- waste them
The only thing that mattered was winning souls. Dennis Corle told me one time that I should spend more time soulwinning and less time studying in preparation to preach on Sunday.
The key to church growth was to keep more people coming in the front door than were going out the back door. IFB churches are notorious for turning over their church memberships, especially when a pastor leaves and a new one comes in. (more on this later)
The Hyles gospel focused on praying the sinners prayer. Pray this prayer and you are saved. Good works? They were desired and even expected, but if a saved person never exhibited any change in their lives they were still considered saved.
If a pastor dared suggest that new life in Christ meant a change of conduct they were accused of preaching
“works salvation.” (
the Lordship Salvation controversy) According to the Hyles gospel, it was all about
praying the prayer and once a person prayed the prayer they could NEVER,EVER be lost again. This is why some people insist that I am still saved even if I don’t want to be. Once God has you he never lets go of you. (
check out RB Thieme’s teaching of this perverted gospel)
The Hyles gospel filled churches with people who had made a mental assent to a set of propositional facts. Every year churches like First Baptist Church in Hammond and Longview Baptist Temple report thousands of people being saved. Most of these new converts stop attending after a short while but this is of no consequence. They prayed the “prayer”…on to the next sinner in need of saving.
The IFB church movement is centered on men. Most IFB churches are pastored by one man who has complete, total control of the church. Most IFB churches are congregational in name only, with the pastor being the autocratic king of the church.
Jack Hyles, Jack Schaap, and countless other big-name IFB traveling preachers routinely promote the notion of pastoral authority. The pastor, under the authority of Jesus and powered by the Holy Spirit, is the final authority in the church. He is the hub around which everything turns.
IFB churches are not known for their name but for who their pastor is. IFB church members routinely say, when asked about what church they attend, I go to Pastor So-and So’s church.
Churches aren’t known for what they believe or even the works they do. They are known for who their pastor is.
When asked where they go to Church a Christian will often say “I go to Pastor Smith’s Church.”
The focus of everything is on the pastor. He is the mover and shaker. He is what powers the machine. Without him it all fails.
Christian TV, radio and publishing is all about the personalities within the Church. Name recognition is the name of the game.
Does anyone really believe Rod Parsley is a good writer? Yet, his books sell. Why? Name recognition.
Everything is focused on and culminates with the sermon and the preacher.
I had people drive 40 minutes to the Church I pastored in SE Ohio. They loved my preaching. They thought I was the greatest preacher since the last guy they thought was wonderful. Really? As much as I think that I am a pretty good public speaker, they had to drive past 40 Churches to get to the Church I pastored. Not one of those Churches had a preacher that could preach competently? (well maybe not, after hearing more than a few preachers)
What happens when the pastor leaves the Church? What happens when the personalities change, when a new preacher takes over? Strife. Division. People leave the Church. Why? Because Church became about the preacher rather than about Jesus and serving others.
Why is it the pastor’s name is on everything? The sign out front. The bulletin . Every piece of literature the Church produces.
If it is really is all about Jesus then why does it matter if anyone knows the pastor’s name?
Ah, but it does matter. Most Christians are good capitalists. (serving a socialist Jesus) They are consumers first and Christians second. They know people are “attracted” (the attractional method) to the Church by the pastor, the programs, the building, etc.
They know the pastor becomes the face of their Church. It shouldn’t be this way, but it is, and quite frankly, it is the Church itself that must bear the blame for this.
They revel in the cult of personality. They love having a name brand preacher. They watch Christians TV and listen to Christian radio because Pastor/Rev/Dr/Evangelist/Bishop/Apostle so-and so is on. Take away the names and it becomes as interesting as eating a no-name hamburger at a no-name restaurant surrounded by no-name people.
Is it any wonder IFB pastors and churches have the scandals they do? Members are taught to obey their pastor without question. He is the man of God. If he is doing something wrong God will chastise him.
This kind of thinking allows IFB pastors to commit adultery, molest children, and steal from the church without anyone ever knowing about it. I could spend the next two days writing about IFB pastors who have abused their place of authority and committed heinous acts against the people they pastored.
IFB churches think they are above the world and other churches because of what they believe. They are Bible believers, and their pastors preach hard against sin. Because of this, they have a hard time believing that their pastor or any other noted preacher could ever commit sins like Jack Hyles, Jack Schaap, David Hyles, and Bob Gray did.
May I present the practical side? There exists more molestation cases proportionately reported in the 42,000 churches of the Southern Baptist Convention than in the 22,000 independent Baptist churches. Consider the largest denomination in our nation, the Catholic Church, and then think on their sexual transgressions for a while. This is not to take lightly one person who is violated by a leader in a church.
Look carefully at the argument Gray is making here. The Southern Baptists and the Catholics are worse than us! Praise Jesus! Such thinking should sicken all of us.
Here is what I know about the IFB movement. They will wail and moan for awhile but, in a few weeks or months, the scandal will pass, and they will go back to “winning souls” and “Preaching hard against sin.” It is only a matter of time before
a-n-o-t-h-e-r scandal rocks the IFB movement
Until the IFB movement repudiates its corruption of the Christian gospel and changes how their churches are governed there is no hope of meaningful change. Will they change? Not likely.
Change is not likely to come because of their literalism and belief in the inerrancy of the Bible. Armed with certainty, knowing they are right, they will continue to preach a corrupted gospel and allow narcissistic pastors to rule over them. It IS in the Bible…
