COGIC Youth Pastor Ronnie Powe Jr. Faces Statutory Rape Charge With Teenage Boy
During the transition of the revolution of same sex marriages it seems like the demons of homosexuality and molesting young children is becoming bolder, even in the pulpit of the oldest Pentecostal denomination, Church of God in Christ. Pastor Ronnie Poe, Jr., 27, the youth pastor of his father’s church in Chattanooga, TN., United Tabernacle Church of God in Christ is accused of sexually violating an innocent 15-year-old boy in back of an elementary school, allegedly. Since this case involving Pastor Ronnie Powe, Jr. touching a minor, when will we hear a public acknowledgment from Bishop Charles Blake (the head of COGIC since the death of the late Gilbert Earl Patterson)? It seems this will not be the last case, since there have been several other cases, involving adults sexually violating children for several years.Powe admits to being attracted to the same sex and claimed he met the boy on an online dating site and did not know he was underage. Didn’t know? He met and molested this boy in back of East Lake Elementary School, we are very sure he knew and he most definitely will not get away with that lie in court.
Now, as we have mentioned before, the Church of God in Christ was founded by the late Bishop Charles Mason in 1897, the holiness denomination has preached righteousness, to be set a part from the world for years, but for the last twenty five years or more, the denomination has been caught up in becoming more like the secular world with their hip-hop gospel merging into the their churches nationwide through certain gospel artists who were raised in COGIC and have performed without shame; they have had descendants such as Bishop Yvette Flunder who is yet luring and influencing others to join her homosexual ministry while bragging of being taught under the late Bishop Walter Hawkins who had a gay and lesbian church in Oakland, CA., now under the leadership of his son who never even was ordained until his father died, allegedly; Bishop Carlton Pearson, also descendant of COGIC and an offspring of a dignitary preaches and negatively influences people to believe in his Gospel of Inclusion and along with all of these sinful behaviors, we have been covering issues of child molestation from ministers who cannot control their lusts and abstain from touching children. Now, this case of Pastor Ronnie Powe, Jr., the son of the Pastor of United Tabernacle Church of God in Christ could have been stopped, if he had not been given the position as youth pastor of his father’s church, obviously, like a lot of children of bishops and pastors, he is not called to be a minister.
Bloggers note:
Full Gospel is a branch of The Church of God in Christ. C.H. Mason alleged founder of COGIC received the name and doctrine from Charles Fox Parham (founder of KKK West Coast, founder of Assemblies of God, Grand-master of Freemason) Parham believed in Anglo Israelism or the Anglo European is God’s chosen people. Parham was also a disciple of Albert Pike who worshiped Lucifer as his God. Thus you have COGIC and Full Gospel teaching the Luciferian Rapture Doctrine.Although this doctrine is taught in Southern Baptist Churches and seminaries, it was not the teaching of traditional Black Baptist Convention Churches nor is it in harmony with the truth that emerge from the Protestant Reformation. It is a anti-protestant and anti-reformation doctrine. Parham was arrested for sodomy in Texas in 1907 and he promoted ministers who was favorable to his sexual orientation. Its no accident that so many of the COGIC ministers and bishops are like Parham.
Illuminati ministers will believe and teach Anglo Israelism (British Israel-Rapture), promote the COGIC-Full-Gospel and Illuminati agenda. The question is who will make the best over-seer. The master of the plantation usually chose the slave that was best suited in keeping the other slaves on the plantation in check.The master controlled what the HNIC thought and what he taught.What the master controller feared most was an independent thinking black man.
 |
| Charles H. Mason - Voo Doo Preacher or Witch Doctor? |
Azusa Street Timeline
www.spirithome.com/pentecostalist-history2.html
| February 1906 : A Holiness church without a pastor decided to hear out a preacher ... Rumors were already circulating that Parham was committing sodomy with ... up to the front, like Charles H. Mason, founder of the Church of God in Christ. |
Former KKK Leader now an ordained COGIC minister
Meet Johnny Lee Clary, a good ol’ boy from Oklahoma, proud white boy who is a minister for a black denomination… and oh yeah, a former imperial wizard for the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The founder of the KKK West Coast, Charles Fox Parham is also the founder of the COGIC. The name and the doctrine of the COGIC came from Parham. Parham was the highest ranking Freemason on the west coast. When C.H. Mason visited the Azusa conference which was sponsor by Parham. It was Parham plan to make William Seymour the head of the church that would promote Parham's doctrine (British Israel) but Parham and Seymour had a fallen out over Seymour baptising white people. When C.H. Mason arrived in town, Parham fell in love with him and decided to use Mason as the proxy for the new church which would be finance by the Rothschilds and Freemasons. C.H. Mason had the name that fit perfectly in Parham's agenda.In essence, the largest black church in the world was started by the KKK. The Church of God in Christ is actually a plantation with the bishop as HNIC.
Washington State Church of God in Christ loses headquarters over sex abuse case?
TACOMA, WA – The Church of God in Christ’s Washington state “jurisdiction” headquarters at 9201 Pacific Ave has been put up for sale in July, a consequence believed to be directly related to a million dollar lawsuit the church lost in King County Superior Court.
CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST PROPERTY
9201 Pacific Avenue
Tacoma, WA 98444
9201 Pacific Avenue
Tacoma, WA 98444
The COGIC Property is available for sale. This is a
receivership sale. All offers are encouraged. The asking
price is $1,900,000.
This 61,230 gross square feet retail building was built
in 1965 and modified in 1970 The building is located
on a 389,426 square foot site (8.94 acres). The property
is zoned C-2. All sizes and information are from public
records
The building is vacant and was originally built as
a big box Wigwam store. The north portion of the building
was later added and was occupied by a restaurant/buffet
and shops. Most recently the property was occupied by
the Washington State Jurisdiction, Church of God in
Christ Church.
Located mid-block on the east side of Pacific Avenue,
the property extends east to South A Street. The property
has good visibility and access, with Hwy 512 just over
a mile to the south.
Assessed Value: $1,864,200 Parcel:
COGIC, Inc had been sued by a Jane Doe and several other women [read a legal brief of the case] for sexual abuse of Supt. Charles Smith. Smith died before the case was resolved in court.
According to inside reports, Bishop Blake put up $500k of the money and the Washington “jurisdiction” was responsible paying the other part. The costs were allegedly passed down to pastors in a jurisdiction of about 75 churches, many of them small. We have not yet confirmed whether the jurisdiction failed to pay the judgment and the building was seized to satisfy it or if they did pay the judgment and consequently defaulted on building payments.
A pastor close to the case told us that “Bishop Westbrook and Memphis owns the property. Bishop Westbrook owns either 75% or 85%! When is the manipulation going to stop? So many good people have placed their confidence in, invested time, money and energy into an organization.”
Pastor Harvey Burnett who blogs at The Dunamis Word said in a recent post the church’s unseemly silence on clergy sexual abuse creates waves of damage both in the church and the community.
“When the church deals with the issues after the fact, this seems, in every case, to only further damage the victims, reverse any image of goodwill that the church had established within the community and sets aside the perception that the church is capable of seriously dealing with tragic and devastating personal situations. In other words, the community is exposed to an evil straight out of the pit of hell, and because the church has no nerve, the devil reeks havoc.”COGIC’s leadership, so far has done nothing but employ evasive “policies” and lie to its membership about the depth and severity of clergy sexual abuse in its ranks. Despite mounting evidence and cases all over the country (some we know about but cannot make public at this time) its leadership continues down a path of stunning arrogance. The church’s lead attorney Enoch Perry is mainly responsible for the quagmire of lies and broken lives. Perry recklessly advised pastors to conceal sex abuse issues because it would affect the church’s ability to get money from outside donors.
“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.”But in God’s time the church will reach a point to where the lies, deception and coverup will turn and be their demise. Be not deceived God is not mocked, whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For God is no respector of persons
Alabama COGIC Bishop Peter Wren Sr Accused of Sexual Misconduct
Yet another high-ranking official in the Church of God in Christ—the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States and the second largest African-American denomination—is accused of sexual misconduct. Bishop Peter Wren Sr., who is the head of the Third Alabama Jurisdictional and pastors the East Birmingham COGIC, has been accused by at least two women in his jurisdiction of being a sexual predator.
The allegations surfaced on social networking sites. Wren, who is married with children, denies the accusations and claims the woman is trying to "slander" him:
"She befriended my family and eventually moved into our home. For a period of (2) two years she stayed with my family, providing her a roof over her head and food to eat; worked at my place of business, providing her with revenue to support herself. In just a little while she would show a forming motive, after consumptions of alcohol, she would make advances at me. After rebukes and repeat attempts, I put her out of my home. She became angry and left the church and now is seeking ways to destroy my character by spreading these horrible lies. Tiffany_____, it is my recommendation that you seek some type of Psychiatric help and if these lies continue it leaves me no choice but to take legal actions against you because of Slander and Deformation[sic] of Character.
But another woman also comes forward and says there are many other cases.
“I also come as a victim of Bishop Peter Wren Sr. You confide in him some of your intimate secrets seeking spiritual guidance and he then takes those same secrets and guide you into unwarranted sexual advances and also his bed. I was too young and naïve to see through the deceit because like most innocent souls, we seek love and acceptance no matter what form."
Officials at the Memphis-based COGIC, which claims to have a "zero-tolerance" policy on sexual abuse, have refused comment and will not say if there is an official investigation.
This becomes only the latest charge of sexual misconduct within the rabidly anti-gay Church of God in Christ, which is well known for attracting so many closeted black gay men and rivals the Catholic Church for the many sexual predators within its leadership. COGIC is embroiled in numerous lawsuits and criminal investigations around clergy sexual abuse—there is a micro-site on the Church website—and has been accused of covering up sexual misconduct cases for decades. On January 30, a former COGIC pastor wassentenced to 20 years on charges he raped a teenage girl some 25 years ago. One church reportedly has four convicted pedophiles on its payroll.
BTW: The Church of God in Christ was the denomination that hosted Donnie McClurkin for his now-infamous rant against gay youth when he compared gay men to "vampires". Glass houses much?
In 2008, Ronald Paige, an Arkansas COCIC pastor, was killed by a young man who accused him of rape and molestation. Numerous male victims and their families have stepped forward with similar claims. One woman says she spoke to COGIC bishops about Paige molesting her son in the early 1980s and nothing was done. Watch a news report AFTER THE JUMP
- Foster runs the blog, Gay Christian Movement Watch at gcmwatch.com, which monitors the "unbiblical acceptance of homosexuality" among pastors and churches.
Black Church Ministers Sex Scandals | RENWL
www.renwl.org/six-recent-sex-scandals-with.../7890/Sep 22, 2010 – The 47-year-old Bell is pastor of Refuge Temple Church of God in Christ in Shelby County. He was charged with third-degree sodomy, sexualAIDS | Gay Christian Movement Watch
www.gcmwatch.com/category/aidsDec 22, 2010 – There is a revival of sodomy going in our country, especially among ..... is pastor of Refuge Temple Church of God in Christ in Shelby County.Americans For Truth » Sodomy
americansfortruth.com/issues/sodomy/feed/... Dr. Patrick Wooden, pastor at Upper Room Church of God in Christ, in Raleigh, .... BOTTOM PANEL READS, in part: "Anal sex is the riskiest sexual activity forAmericans for Truth
americansfortruth.com/Heath Assails Sodomy-Based 'Marriage' in Launching Maine No Special Rights .... Wooden, senior pastor at Upper Room Church of God in Christ, in Raleigh,Roll over Azusa
letusreason.org/Pent57.htm... of Seymour the leader) was arrested (1907) and charged with sodomy in Texas, ... us today: The Church of God in Christ formed 1907; The Assemblies of God . Southern evangelist charged with murder, rape, sodomy, sexual ...
forums.online-sweepstakes.com › Miscellaneous › In the News...8 posts - 7 authors - Aug 5, 2008Southern evangelist charged with murder, rape, sodomy, sexual ... 37, was arrested at the Inspirational Tabernacle Church of God in Christ iThe Bible & The Homosexual
www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/Dr.../bible_and_homosexual.htmPerhaps too many Christians have been silent too long on the subject. ... The preachers and churches who advocate the homosexual life style, simply do not know the Bible .... God will not countenance homosexuality, sodomy and lesbianism.Black Church Ministers Sex Scandals | RENWL
www.renwl.org/six-recent-sex-scandals-with.../7890/Sep 22, 2010 – House is pastor of the Lighthouse Church Of God In Christ (COGIC) north of ... 2009 and charged him with sexual abuse by force and sodomy on a male ..... It's makes perfect sense that black culture would be so anti-gay ..COGIC bishop slams gay reporter's “disrespect” of black church...
www.gcmwatch.com/8979/cogic-bishopmckinneyApr 12, 2012 – San Diego based COGIC (Church of God in Christ) bishop George ... and oppressed by equating their “struggle” to normalize sodomy and all .
- Jan 16, 2009 • Here we are again. Channel 5 News (via the AP) in Nashville broke the tragic story of a James Bell, Jr, a COGIC pastor who sexually abused a young …
AIDS | Gay Christian Movement Watch
www.gcmwatch.com/category/aidsDec 22, 2010 – There is a revival of sodomy going in our country, especially among our teens. .... This video is part six of seven posted by the homosexual church ..... Bell is pastor of Refuge Temple Church of God in Christ in Shelby County.
Clergy sex crime cases 5th, 6th for COGIC denomination in 2010
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Rev. Dr. Laneer Fisher, pastor of the Miracle COGIC in Alquippa, PA in suburban Pittsburgh was arrested and charged with indecent assault and corruption of minors [source]. Laneer, who was arrested August 31st, allegedly has a history of sexual improprieties with young males. This is the fifth known case of clergy abuse/misconduct this year for the nation’s largest pentecostal denomination.
The pastor of a church in Aliquippa was arraigned yesterday on charges of molesting two teenage boys.Then on October 13th, Palm Beach, FL police arrested Michael Charles Campbell pastor of the House of Worship COGIC in Deland, FL [source]. According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Campbell devised a scheme to sexually molest a 15 year old girl. He later used the same scheme on a 13 year old girl.
The Rev. Dr. Laneer Fisher, 38, of Moon, who is the pastor of the Miracle Church of God in Christ on Wilker Street, was charged by Aliquippa police with unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault and corruption of minors. He was charged with those crimes as well as aggravated indecent assault, sexual assault and indecent exposure by Beaver Falls police.
“My client vehemently denies these allegations and will defend himself against them,” said attorney Dirk Allen Goodwald, who wonders why the two young men waited until now to go to police.
“My client understands that these allegations stem from a time when these people were young and came from broken relationships and that they may have misinterpreted, misconstrued, misunderstood and could not accept the nurturing and caring from a pastor and man of God.”
A former funeral home employee accused of sexually molesting a teenage girl, then photographing another in the nude, is a pastor at a small DeLand church.The national church’s leadership however continues to deny that the problem of clergy sexual abuse is anything significant. Enoch Perry, head of the church’s legal department told a gathering of leaders last year that the denomination had only had about 20-25 cases since it began in 1906. Asked by the Memphis Commercial Appeal about the mounting sexual abuse documented by Report COGIC Abuse, Bishop Charles Blake downplayed the cases saying too much attention was being given to them. He later admitted that COGIC spends $800,000 a year on sexual abuse cases.
The suspect, 46-year-old Michael Charles Campbell, is pastor of the House of Worship Church of God In Christ in the 300 block of South Woodland Boulevard.
Campbell, charged with lewd and lascivious molestation and lewd and lascivious conduct, was also employed by Lohman’s Funeral Home in Daytona Beach, police said.
The day police say he accosted the 15-year-old girl at a beachside motel in Daytona Beach in the spring of 2007, Campbell first picked up the girl at her residence. He was driving a hearse with a body in it, one he was supposed to deliver to Daytona Beach International Airport, a police report shows. Investigators said Campbell told the teenager’s father that he needed the girl to help him do some work at the funeral home. The youngster’s parents agreed and Campbell went to get the child.
Pastor Donnie McClurkin's Gay Church | CLGS
www.clgs.org/blog/.../pastor-donnie-mcclurkins-gay-church
With many of the gospel music industry mega-stars from COGIC, the church's charismatic worship style shouts to a black gay male queer gospel aesthetic every ..Is COGIC’s “zero tolerance” policy on clergy sexual abuse a failure?
Reporting on clergy sexual abuse in the nation’s largest black pentecostal denomination is not an easy or enjoyable task. But because denominational leadership has repeatedly failed to enact their own policies on the issue, we have to continue exposing not only the careless attitude of leadership, but the criminals who continue to prey upon the weak and innocent in the Lord’s church. People should be reminded that if your leadership will not take measure to ensure the protection of your children at church, then you should know that they will not support you should the unthinkable happen to your child.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.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?
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.
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.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”.
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.
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.
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 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.”
Gay Minister of Harvard Supported by COGIC Bishop Charles Blake ...
Homosexual COGIC pastor murdered; new details surface « Gay …
Aug 22, 2008 … You’re so right that’s it’s going to take a major lawsuit against COGIC for them to get the picture. COGIC has several sexual abuse lawsuits .We reported to you earlier this year that the presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Bishop Charles Blake promised he would make it a priority of his administration to deal with what appears to be numerous cases of clergy sexual abuse and criminal sexual activity. So far, nothing has been done.
Meanwhile, the devastation caused by wolves pretending to be pastors continues. And their primary target: young boys who are seduced into their web of sexual terror.
A Memphis CBS news today aired new revelations on the story of Pastor Ronald Paige who was murdered in his home in April. Now, the man’s 21 year old killer has confessed and told the reason why. The pastor was attempting to forcibly rape him. What’s more, the pastor has a long history of molesting teen boys at his church. Six other victims have already made statements to police.
Bishop Charles E. Blake Battles To Save COGIC
www.pimppreacher.com/COGIC-Bishop-Charles-E-Blake-369.html
Is it time for COGIC Bishop Charles E. Blake to Clean House? ... Lately it seems that every month there is another story in the news about a Church of God In Christ Pastor (COGIC) for either rape involving a .... Gomes, an openly gay pastor The Story of Bishop John Dale Husband Homosexual Activities
Back in the old days, homosexuality was whispered about, but rarely spoken of openly. Case in point, the murky story of one of COGIC’s most prolific preachers, the late Bishop John D. Husband. A resident of Atlanta, he presided over one of the Church of God in Christ’s rising jurisdictions, Central Georgia.
Bishop Husband was consecrated during a time of great turmoil in the church and eventually elected to the church‟s highest governing body, the General Board. Hushed up homosexual scandals were not just relegated to the pews, but the leadership was beset with them as well. The church held its collective breath in early 1991, when a scandal of epic proportions surfaced involving the bishop.
“He [Husband] seemed like a very fine person. He was involved, as I remember, in some scandalous situation. Apparently, he did not survive the reaction; so they must have put him down”, said a former COGIC Missions Department official who asked not to be named.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution [23],[24] as well as the Memphis Commercial Appeal [25] reported in several successive articles that Bishop Husband had been accused of embezzling over half a million dollars of church money. Although the sex scandals were public knowledge, AJC reporters agreed not to print the initial stories of Husband‟s homosexuality because of the young boys and men involved.
As one of the original members of the church’s presidium, Husbands was held in great esteem by some, but secretly despised by others. According to one Texas church “superintendent”, Bishop Husband’s homosexuality was no secret in the denomination. Yet, year after year he was a favorite speaker at the national Holy Convocation in Memphis, a polished and dynamic personality who could move the COGIC faithful with his preaching.
But why church leadership never dealt with his mounting homosexual displays is still a mystery. Or if he was disciplined, why was it ineffective? Rumors about Husband‟s increasingly open homosexual proclivities began swirling madly like Texas tornadoes until the deafening roars reached the wary ears of Memphis 600 miles to the west. Even in Memphis, during church meetings, some that encountered him say his words and actions were very questionable.
A New York-based Pastor (who has since left the denomination) recalled a meeting with Husband: “Once in Memphis, I was with some friends at a restaurant and we happened to bump in to him about 2 am. He was always the only General Board member who hung out all hours of the night at the meetings, and now I know why. Anyway, he made a disparaging remark about [my Bishop]. I quickly defended my Bishop and let Bishop Husband know that I did not think that a Bishop would disrespect another Bishop like that. He gave a weak apology and offered to make it up later on if I called his hotel room. Needless to say, I never called and I never had a personal encounter with him. I have no idea how he was going to make it up, and I didn‟t want to find out.” [26]
Husband‟s own wife, who divorced him in the late seventies, allegedly reported him numerous times to the General Board in Memphis, complaining of his homosexual adultery and liaisons, but to no avail. The top presbytery refused to act. The failure of the board to act swiftly and decisively with their contemporary may have pushed him to even further into the double lifestyle.
Husband was no novice. He was voted in as one of the original General Board members of the church, a consequence of the intense infighting in the church after the death of it‟s founder, C. H. Mason in 1961. Due to the internal conflicts sweeping across the church, Husband was one of six men appointed to Bishop in 1965 by the Executive Board [27]. The behind the scenes struggles for loyalty and power was an attempt to leverage appointments made by Bishop Ozro T. Jones Sr.
What happens when a church goes to war — against itself?
On February 3, 1965, a meeting was convened at Pentecostal Temple in Memphis by the Executive Board to address the problem of church authority. At the center of the controversy was Bishop OT Jones, Sr. The Executive Board, a group of 11 Bishops, contended in a letter, that although Jones had been “recognized and honored” as Senior Bishop in 1962, the agreement was that his office would be worked out (discontinued) in April 1963. [28] Apparently, Jones did not see things that way. The EB went on to say that “Bishop Jones, has since 1962, usurped the power of the Executive Board and abrogated unto himself the authority to appoint Bishops, Overseers and other officials of the church.” Clearly, this was an angry group of men. They officially ordered Jones to “cease and desist.”[29]
Later that year, on October 6, a larger group of clergy —the Board of Bishops—, asserted its muscle in Jones’ defense. They also convened in Memphis and issued a stinging document asserting that it was they, not the Executive Board, which possessed sole power to authenticate the authority of Bishop Jones in the
church.The Board of Bishops strongly rebuked the EB, telling them that they would not recognize any “unauthorized acts, documents, credentials, decisions, appointments, meetings, financial obligations, agreements, “new” jurisdictions, and the like.”[30] Tucked with that rebuke was a rejection of Bishop Husband’s earlier appointment (Husband, standing right side second from end, with COGIC General Board circa 1972). Both groups claimed that they were acting on the express authority of the deceased Bishop Mason. The conflict remained unresolved and escalated to frightening heights. On January 23, 1968, a weary OT Jones issued a church-wide letter again spelling out the conditions of his authority. Like Paul defending his apostolic authority to the Corinthians, Jones pointed out that he was the last of the first five Bishops appointed by CH Mason. He said that Mason specifically chose him to hold the current office with delegated power to “edit and codify and arrange the church‟s Constitution, Doctrines, and rules of Order.” Jones’ lengthy letter issued several challenges to his opponents. He pointed out that every time he was brought to [civil] court, it had been either resolved or thrown out. The matter was indeed resolved, though not to everyone’s satisfaction, by the formation of the General Board in 1969, with Bishop JO Patterson, Sr. being elected as the first “Presiding Bishop.”
Personal and Painful
Although Husband (a favorite of J.O. Patterson, Sr) later became one of the oratorical stars of the church, he skipped serious scrutiny and of his sexual lifestyle. That is, until the problems with money surfaced. After an investigation it was discovered Husband had stolen over $500,000 from illegal sales of local churches. A former member of Husband’s church stated that the embezzled money was a direct result of his attempt to cover up his homosexuality. Others strongly believed the money was used to pay for the medical bills of the male lover who passed the HIV virus on to the Bishop.
Elder Willie Davis, a member of his local church and a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the Bishop, told the Journal Constitution “I don‟t know if he’s used this money for his personal benefit, but it‟s gone somewhere.”
The Atlanta saga was becoming more and more disturbing while Husband spun a wider web of sexual involvement with young men mostly within his jurisdiction. Gwen Fox, now getting up in age, knew firsthand the anguish of Husband‟s sexual outreaches. Her son Toby (Tobias) [33] —whose birthday was the same as Husband— was molested by the bishop during the church‟s Memphis meeting in 1981. [31] The anguish behind years of dealing with the situation caused Gwen to suffer three heart attacks and other personal losses including estrangement from the church she loved so much.
Toby, already a talented organist at age 15, was overjoyed that his mom had allowed him to accompany Bishop Husband to the meeting. Husband was given money to pay for a separate room for the boy, but when they both arrived in Memphis, Husband lied to the boy telling him that there were no rooms available. Further, he said that the two of them would have to share a room. Toby was now in the molester’s grip.
He recalled how the Bishop‟s subtle sexual advances began much earlier than age 15. Husband‟s predatory activities against young boys began long before he was appointed to Bishop. He was brought to Atlanta from Mississippi as a protégé of the late Bishop James Hinsley. A one-time mail carrier, Husband lived with the Hinsley family for some time. But trouble surfaced when neighbors complained to police that Husband was enticing and molesting young boys. A trap door in the back of a store he owned served as the portal to those unspeakable acts. Gwen Fox recalled that the late Bishop W.G. Shipman came to town and quietly bailed Husband out of jail after two arrests.
But in Memphis, Toby was trapped and cornered.
“When Toby returned home, his behavior began to change. He started having trouble at school and it got so bad that the teachers begin to call me and ask if something bad was going on at home,” Gwen Fox said. Toby, twenty one years later and now stricken with HIV and partial paralysis, remembered that Husband had gotten in bed with him and begin forcefully pressing his genitals against the boy. Shocked and bewildered, he jumped out of the bed and asked Husband what he was doing. He said Husband looked at him with a calm face and said, “I thought this was what you wanted.”
Tobias admitted that, at a later time, he willingly continued in a sexual relationship with Husband until his young adult years. “He was powerful and I wanted to be connected to that. I (eventually) felt comfortable around him and wanted his love. He gave me the attention I needed and wanted from a man. He always told me “you’re the best, you’re the best‟, said the talented songwriter and musician. Tobias wrote the popular gospel song “Shabach”. [32]
When Toby finally confessed to an aunt what had transpired in Memphis, Gwen Fox was told. She immediately began petitioning the church’s General Board on behalf of her son. She said she sent certified letters to each member and even hand delivered a letter to then presiding Bishop Louis H. Ford, who angrily refused to accept it even after Fox had waited two hours in line to see him. Fox, whose parents were well known COGIC pioneers in Georgia, got angry herself and threatened to begin contacting talk shows —notably Oprah Winfrey— if the church leaders would not hear her. In retaliation, several anonymous death threats were made against her life.
She vividly recalled the night at Husband‟s Marietta church when several bishops from the church were there to investigate allegations of the financial wrongdoing. Because of the death threats and rumors of gun toting “saints”, undercover police were sprinkled throughout the building.
“It was one terrible, terrible night,” she said softly.
The meeting was about to end and not one Bishop had addressed the sexual allegations which affected so many. Refusing to be put off any longer, Fox and another woman whose son was a victim stood up and asked when they (the Bishops) were going to deal with Husband’s problems. Although she was initially rebuffed, Fox was later told to come back into the church offices to relate her story to the quorum of Bishops and officials.
“Some of them were mean and arrogant, but others listened. Bishop O.T. Jones, Jr. cried when I told them my story. The President of the Marietta NAACP went with me because of the death threats that I had heard about. They (NAACP) even advised me to bring legal action against COGIC, but I didn’t want to go against what the scriptures said.”
Another Bishop from Texas, convinced the church was liable for Husband‟s actions, also urged her to pursue litigation.
At a special meeting in Memphis in early 1991, Husband, through his attorney, submitted a formal letter admitting guilt to “all charges.” He was summarily stripped of all credentials and excommunicated from the church, the first time COGIC had done so with any bishop. Possibly sick of disease, Husband died in late 1991 of unpublicized causes. COGIC erased what part of his legacy and contributions to the church they could. His funeral, held at Rev. Timothy Fleming’s Mr. Carmel Baptist Church in Atlanta, was not attended by any of the COGIC General Board. Some say this was done for several reasons. One, besides the General Secretary, there were at least two other national officers who were following in Husband’s path. They felt more scandals could severely damage the already tarnished reputation of a church reeling from years of infighting. Secondly, perhaps the most tragic, blacking out Husband‟s transgressions helped to ease the guilt on their souls.
Six months after the Husband’s guilty admission, the office of the Presiding Bishop LH Ford issued a letter to the general church declaring the matter over. There was no mention of Husband’s sins or crimes and no acknowledgement or apologies to Husband’s victims or their families.
Appendix
23. Gayle White, “Bishop faces inquiry: Church of God in Christ looks for missing funds” Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 28 Jan 1991, D/01
24. Gayle White, “Pentecostal Group on a Roll, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 6 Apr 1991, E/06
25. Tom Bailey, Jr., COGIC Probes Loan, Replaces GA Bishop”, The Commercial Appeal, 5 Feb 1991, B1
26. Unnamed Source, Personal Electronic Interview, 11 Nov 2001
27. The Executive Board members present at this meeting consisted of Bishops A.B. McEwen, J.S. Bailey, W.G. Shipman, Wyoming Wells, J. O. Patterson, Sr., C.E. Bennett, B. S. Lyle, John White, S. M. Crouch, E. E. Hamilton, and C. H. Brewer.
28. Elder EF Foster, personal correspondence, letter addressed to COGIC clergy from the Executive Board, Memphis, Feb 1965
29. ibid
30. The Official Message of the Board of Bishops of the COGIC, Norfolk, VA, 6 Oct 1965
31. Personal Interview with Gwendolyn Fox, Atlanta, 20 Feb 2002
32. Personal Interview with Tobias Fox, Atlanta, 9 May 2002
33 James Tobias Fox, who at age 15 was molested by COGIC General Board member JD Husband passed away June 4th, 2010 in Atlanta at age 43.
Family Feud: Bishop G.E. Patterson's widow files lawsuit against nephew that replaced him
On August 18th 2008, the widow of well known and recently deceased Bishop G. E. Patterson, of Bountiful Blessings ministries has filed a lawsuit against Milton Hawkins, the new church pastor in a dispute over money. Louise Patterson is attempting to preserve her salary of $27,000 a month, which she thought was to be a lifelong stipend, but apparently was only contractually promised to her for two years after her husband's death. She is also concerned about the approximately $20,000 that comes in each Sunday from contributions.It seems that when Bishop Patterson died and Hawkins took over, the church had about four million dollars in it's coffers. Pastor Hawkins, whose salary is $33,000 a month, has purchased land for about $300,000 and is building his own 1 million dollar home on it. There is some concern, according to Matthews blog, that Hawkins is using church money for his own.
. One is reminded of that old joke about the three preachers discussing how they pay themselves from the church donations. The first said, " I draw a circle in chalk on the floor of my office and toss the money in the air. What falls inside the circle is mine, the rest is for the church." The second says, " I draw a line down the middle of my office and toss the money into the air. What falls on the side I'm standing on is mine, the rest is the church's." The last preacher, who drove a new Cadillac and wore custom made suits said, " I just toss the money into the air. What God catches, he can keep." Another joke is that Sen. Charles Grassley (R) Iowa is investigating the finances of Cerullo and six other televangelist and stated that these non profit organizations should not be using viewers donations to lead an extravagant lifestyle. Imagine a politician saying this. Where else but for government, except for maybe the clergy it seems, can a person get elected to a $150,000 a year job and six years later be a multi millionaire? It would be funny if it were not so sad.
WREG-TV Memphis - COGIC Reacts to Widow’s Lawsuit
MEMPHIS (8/24/2008) - Members of Temple of Deliverance church react to news their former first lady is filing a lawsuit against their new pastor. ..MyFox Memphis | Widow of Bishop Patterson Files Suit Against …
 |
Patterson filed a lawsuit against her nephew Pastor Milton Hawkins June 13.
EURweb.com - MARY J. BLIGE LAWSUIT IS A BIG ‘PAIN’: Singer sued …
Aug 8, 2008 … GREATER MILLER MEMORIAL COGIC HOLDS REVI. … *A $2 million federal lawsuit against Mary J. Blige claims a song on her current album, …Exposing the BIG Elephant in the COGIC Child Molesters Gay
Memphis Man Gets Life in Prison For Killing COGIC Pastor|Memphis ...
Televangelist Juanita Bynum and Bishop Thomas Weeks III have gone through many troubles since last year.
Just a few days prior Prophetess Juanita Bynum lost her father, Elder Thomas Bynum. According to David Wright and other close sources, after a Church of God …
AP ATLANTA (AP) - Lawyers for the ex-husband of Juanita Bynum are suing the televangelist, claiming that she has not paid the first installment of a $40000 .
National evangelist Juanita Bynum was threatened with jail time or a fine Monday in a court document alleging that she failed to live up to the terms of her divorce settlement.
By Jem Aswad Isaac Hayes — a legendary soul singer, songwriter, musician and producer whose career spanned four decades and who achieved unexpected fame …
WORLD POPULATION CONTROL: AIDS
Investigate the AIDS, world population control connection…“July 1, 1970—Senate Appropriations hearings are held for the Department of Defense and refer to eminent biologists who believe that within 5 to 10 years it would be possible to produce a synthetic biological agent (infective micro-organism), an agent that does not naturally exist and for which no natural immunity could have been acquired.
Caesarsmessiah
Who was Jesus?
Why is there no historic archaeological evidence of his existence?
Who wrote the Gospels?
Why were they written in Greek, rather than Hebrew or Aramaic?
How did the Christian religion come to be centered in Rome? Why were the
first Christian pope and earliest saints all members of the Flavius Caesar
ruling family?
History of Christianity -
\
Who Was Serapis Christ - Who Invented The Serapis Cult
