Good morning,
I have been reading all of the posts in the last thread regarding Trinity and the ABC 20/20 report coming on tonight. Many were very thoughtful and are encouraging to me, as a long time member of Trinity Baptist Church. Although I joind the church the year after the incident took place in 1997, I sat under the teaching of both Pastor Phelps and Pastor Fuller. I have a great deal of respect for both of these men...but again, the key word here is men. I am also a former police officer in NH so I have a bit of knowledge on how the laws work.
Knowing Pastor Fuller as well as I do, I can assure you he is very greived over the incident and how it was handled. He also joined the church after the incident and had no idea it had occurred until February of 2010 when he received the first phone call. As many have stated, legal issues sometimes conflict with what God's word says is correct. Attorneys would have you keep quiet about incidents such as these because of self incrimination. However, when someone keeps silence, the community runs wild with speculation and half truths.
I believe Pastor Phelps made a mistake in 1997 when this occurred in how he handled it. Having said that and knowing his heart, I believe he always thought he was doing the right thing and was never, ever, trying to cover anything up.
One of the aspects that gets lost in this whole sad issue, is the Concord Police Department's handling of the case. In short, they dropped the ball. The Concord Police Dpartment is probably the 3rd or 4th largest police department in the State. There were reports that when Tina went to live in Colorado, that it ended the Concord Police Departments ability to prosecute the case as they had no witness. That is a false hood. The Concord Police A. Never asked any one where Tina was. B. If they had known, the local police department in Colorado could have conducted an interview and garnered enough information about the crime to indict Ernie Willis. C. If Pastor Phelps had refused to provide them with information on Tina's whereabouts, an obstruction of justice charge would have come pretty quickly. D. Even if Pastor Phelps had not provided the Concord PD with her address, there are several ways to find out including through the Postal Services, and also an entry in NCIC as a missing person. If Tina ever tried do anything, such as obtain a license, or anything to do with a minicipality, a traffic stop, NCIC would have ticked up with a hit. So in short, Concord PD did not follow through.
Pastor Fuller and the congregation have taken steps to assure this never happens again. Trinity has amended their constitution to insure a minor can never be brought before the congregation. Pastor Fuller spent Wednesday evening service talking to us about this. The church has claims Micah 6:8. "He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God"
I ask for your prayers for all involved. But above all, I ask for your prayers that through this trial and possible correction, that God will be glorified and it will lead to the furtherence of the Gospel, especially in the Concord, NH area.
Hi Louise,
Pastor Fuller has spoken directly with Tina. He was shocked and saddened when he found out about this. When this all came out, Pastor Fuller was at the hospital with his wife for the birth of their third child. Also, it was not Tina who brought this to light, but a former church member who continued to sit at the services up until a few years ago, even when he was "troubled" by what went on in 1997.
My wife and I left Trinity for about a year and a half and went to a smaller church. Not because we were angry with or disagreed with Trinity, but rather we felt we could be a servant in a smaller church. Trinity membership is about 1,000 and it is easy to hide and just kind of show up. After the news broke in May/June of last year of the 1997 events, we both felt a draw to return...can't explain it, but we did.
Unfortunately, I responded to posts on local newspaper websites ina defensive manner and probably did not come across as modeling how a Christian should behave. Pastor Fuller has told me that's not the kind of response we should be providing and I agree and am sorry to anyone I hurt in the defense of my Pastor(s).
Pastor Fuller has gone against advice from attorneys by granting interviews to media outlets, including 20 20. He believes that while Trinity has nothing to hide, that we do have something to learn.
Upon our return to Trinity, my wife and I found a more relaxed atmosphere under Pastor Fuller. He has not in any way, amended th doctrinal statement/position of the church and has no intention to. However the constitution has changed as I mentioned.
I come from a Catholic background and for a time when I was 19, considered the priesthood. I was also molested by a priest when I was very young. A priest from Dublin Ireland who was 6'6" with a beard...quite imposing.
I feel badly for Tina although I do not know her. I know her parents...not well. I had always thought that if her mother had spoken out about what was done and how it was handled and her agreement with it, things might have been different. But she didn't.
My wife and I have been through some difficult times with our children and on ocasion, had our hearts broken. However, we really try to find out what lesson God is teaching us...not only our daughter. I believe Pastor Fuller and Trinity have approached this the same way. They are looking to learn from this...and have.