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Judgment must begin in the House of the Lord.
First it was Ravi Zacharias, then it was Mike Bickle, and now Tony Evans and Robert Morris. Who are they? Top leaders in the evangelical church with tens of millions of “followers” between them—all now exposed as horrendous abusers of women and children.
Ravi Zacharias was arguably the best modern apologist for Christianity, whose rise was as meteoric as his fall. Zacharias died in 2020 as an unrepentant (as far as we know) serial abuser of women. Under the pretense of getting a massage for his chronic back aches—and eventually even running several massage parlors—he used his fame and spiritual superiority to manipulate these women. After his death, the leadership at RZIM, the ministry he founded, conducted an investigation and admitted that the allegations were true. His sins found him.
This begs the question: How did he get away with it? According to leadership, “Ravi engaged in a series of extensive measures to conceal his behavior from his family, colleagues, and friends.”
Then there was Mike Bickle. We recently reported on his fall as founder and leader of IHOP, the International House of Prayer, a powerhouse in the prophetic/charismatic sphere. Bickle groomed and molested many young female teens over several decades. He told each victim that she would replace his wife Diane, who would die in an earthquake.
Three More Predator Pastors
The past few days have been the uncovering and exposing of two more evangelical giants: Tony Evans of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, and Robert Morris of Gateway Church.
Evans confessed to an unnamed sin a number of years ago and stepped down from leadership. He made history as the first African-American to obtain a Ph.D. at Dallas Theological Seminary. Evans will be "temporarily stepping away from his senior pastor’s duties," according to a spokesperson for the church. On Sunday, the church's website posted Evan’s statement that he "committed no crime," but "did not use righteous judgment in actions."
Robert Morris was forced to resign after a former victim released her story of four years of molestation, including digital penetration, which began when she was 12 years old. Cindy Clemishire, who is now in her 50s, finally got up the courage to tell her parents and the elders of the Gateway Church when she was 16 about the the abuse.
Morris submitted to the elders and underwent a tiny season of correction. Later, he admitted to “catastrophic moral failure” early in his ministry.
Now he calls it an “inappropriate relationship” with a “young lady.”
Of 12? That’s not a young lady, that’s a child.
But according to Morris, all was forgiven by Cindy and her parents, and he was encouraged to return to ministry.
Is Anyone Listening?
It turns out that Morris told a tall tale. Cindy says, "My father never ever gave his blessing on Robert returning to ministry! My father told him he’s lucky he didn’t kill him. I am mortified that he is telling the world my dad gave his blessing! “ The elders at Gateway Church, who apparently never asked for details, thought it would be okay to allow a child predator back in leadership. Or maybe, because Morris held great promise as an evangelical superstar, they decided not to call police and just hoped for the best.
Gateway Church, where Morris served as senior pastor, is said to have the largest congregation in the country, with 100,000 people in attendance each week.
These men are highly accomplished, highly charismatic, and fabulous communicators. They are just what we in the evangelical community “think” we need to reach people for Jesus. Yet each man was hiding huge secrets and depended upon people looking the other way. When we look deeply into the stories, there were always clues.
The problem isn’t just at the top, though. Every leader has his beginning in the local church, like Jonathan Edward Elwing. He was senior pastor of Palm View Baptist Church in Palmetto, Florida, until his arrest last week. He used cryptocurrency to make an online purchase of abuse material, and four explicit images of children were found on his cell phone.
Praise God, this one got caught early.
From Houses of Worship to Halls of Government
The problem of abusive sin in the pastorate is a mirror of our government. Here are just the latest examples of what happens when we value stardom and popularity over moral behavior.
Pedos in Democrat Leadership
Maryland Democrats have a child predator serving as LGBTQ Diversity Council Chair. Michael Knaapen has made three visits to the White House, according to official logs, and has also been to visit the Vice President at her residence. A group called @iFightForKids issued a report showing Knaapen arranged to meet a boy named Luke he believed was 14 years old. He also sent him explicit videos.
A few hours after Knaapen was exposed, the Maryland Democratic Committee scrubbed every mention of him from their website.
White House Communications
Gayness reins at the White House, where Tyler Cherry has been hired as Associate Communications Director. He identifies as non-binary, is pro-Palestinian, pro-BLM, and has called for the dismantling of the police.
Previously, Cherry was employed at Media Matters, a group dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and “correcting conservative misinformation.” Cherry will be working with Karine Jean-Pierre, who is proud to be the first black lesbian White House Press Secretary.
How appropriate that lies from the White House office of communications, will continue coming from people who are very confused.
Department of Justice
In our last issue, we reported on Dr. Eithan Haim, who blew the whistle on Texas Children's Hospital, the nation’s largest pediatric hospital. Haim accused TCH of performing pediatric sex change procedures in violation of Texas law, and committing Medicaid fraud.
Today, the hospital faces an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
But wait, there’s more. The Biden DOJ has indicted Haim for illegally obtaining private information on patients who were not under his care. He faces 10 years in prison.
The DOJ has also gone after TCH clinic nurse Vanessa Sivadge, who became concerned about the manipulation of children and their families by over-eager providers. Two FBI agents showed up at her home and told her she was a person of interest in an investigation targeting Dr. Haim. “They threatened me,” Sivadge said. “They promised they would make life difficult for me if I was trying to protect the leaker. They said I was not safe at work and claimed that someone at my workplace had given my name to the FBI.”
TCH then got busy, trying to appear repentant. They quickly scrubbed the "gender-affirming" doctors from their website and claimed they had temporarily shut down the pediatric sex-change clinic. Shortly thereafter, the hospital secretly re-opened the clinic and is now actively mutilating children again.
Fake it and You’ll Make it
In 2020, there were enough people who preferred fake over real that America got what we deserved: a fake president by way of a fake election thanks in part to a fake media. As the Body of Christ, we must demand integrity in our own leadership: honesty, virtue, and unquestionable character. If we want an honorable government, it has to begin with demanding honorable leadership in the church.
How to Pray: Thank God for the exposure of these wolves! Pray that all serious followers of Jesus will reject any morally corrupt person as a leader. Pray that these men will repent, but not be allowed to resume leadership. Ask God to help us be more aware and wide awake and that He continues cleaning out His church.
1 Peter 4:14-17 - If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”
I Cor. 10:12 - Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands, take heed lest he fall.
As always, Lori, excellent work! You are a bright light! Your reach is much farther than these silly numbers portray. Keep up the God Work!
Well done as usual. Brava!