Second member of Trinity Baptist Church reports rape

So sad. I am thankful for Tina’s courage to allow her name to be used and that it is an encouragement to others to come forward. But it is so sad that there ARE others to come forward. It shouldn’t be that way.

Praying for the truth to be revealed.

I haven’t mentioned this in any other posts because the news had not been made public yet. Unfortunately, I am aware of the details of this case as well. My husband and I knew the young girl/now woman in question while we were still at Trinity. Given how the case with Tina Anderson was received at the onset, I will not be commenting on this at all other than this one post.

[LJ Moody] I haven’t mentioned this in any other posts because the news had not been made public yet. Unfortunately, I am aware of the details of this case as well. My husband and I knew the young girl/now woman in question while we were still at Trinity. Given how the case with Tina Anderson was received at the onset, I will not be commenting on this at all other than this one post.

I hope and pray she will receive more support than Tina did. I cannot imagine coming forward. It breaks my heart to read the blogs, testimonies, and postings of those who have been abused in their church. I hate it. I wish that the cult survivors group was so very wrong, but it seems like the more I read and see around me, - it is true. It is happening TOO MUCH in our churches.

My husband and I have talked so much about all of this and evaluated our thinking and what we always thought our response would be. I wonder how the training of our leaders and church people has led to so much of this cover up? Intentional or not. Why do we so quickly believe a ‘godly man’ and explain away the accusation? It’s clear changes need to be made.

It breaks my own heart. How God must grieve for these many, many individuals who have been so hurt, some who have turned away from God because of what they saw or experienced.

There have been no allegations of cover-up in this case.

Why must you assume that it is so before there is even a case, before charges are even filed, if they ever are filed?

[Don Johnson] There have been no allegations of cover-up in this case.

Why must you assume that it is so before there is even a case, before charges are even filed, if they ever are filed?

I’m sorry. I did not mean to make that assumption. With this Tina Anderson case and everything else - there has just been so much on my mind. I guess I was talking about a lot that has been in my mind, not this situation in particular. I will try and be more careful with what I post.

Here is a link to the article that mentions this allegation: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20110602/NEWS03/706029979

“Warner police confirmed Wednesday they are investigating a California woman’s claim she also was sexually assaulted as a minor in the 1990s when she and her alleged assailant attended Trinity Baptist Church in Concord.”

I fear any group the size of Trinity will have these allegations surface, given the right circumstances. I still do not think the attacks are endemic to IFB somehow. However, I am afraid one of the bug a boos plaguing IFB-dom is the instinct to protect the”institution.” This might be endemic to IFB-dom as seen in the responses so often seen to terrible things like this happening in our midst. I fear this mindset has inadvertently replaced the focus on the individual mandated in scripture. While no one would likely preach this, and most would likely not recognize it when it was happening under their watch, I think the pragmatic outworking has morphed into this off-target perspective far too often.

[Chip Van Emmerik]… I am afraid one of the bug a boos plaguing IFB-dom is the instinct to protect the”institution.” This might be endemic to IFB-dom as seen in the responses so often seen to terrible things like this happening in our midst. I fear this mindset has inadvertently replaced the focus on the individual mandated in scripture. While no one would likely preach this, and most would likely not recognize it when it was happening under their watch, I think the pragmatic outworking has morphed into this off-target perspective far too often.

It is human nature, IMO, to seek to preserve ‘the institution’. Just look at incidents involving the medical profession, law enforcement, teachers… first instinct is to circle the wagons, as accusations leveled at a doctor taints the medical profession, dirty cops undermine the credibility of law enforcement, and incompetent or predatory teachers get passed around from school to school, weakening the bond of trust between parents and teachers. One could say that this is played out all the way down to women who remain with abusive partners in order to ‘preserve’ their sense of security and guard the institution of ‘family’.

My belief, though, is that Christianity is the last place we should be seeing this. We have fairly clear guidelines about confrontation, restoration, repentance, and separation, that if adhered to, even to a small degree, would take care of a lot of this kind of mess. I mean, forcible rape and child sexual molestation isn’t comparable to differences on Calvinism/Arminiasm, or pre- vs. a- millenial, or even CCM vs. traditional hymns, KWIM?

I understand the desire to handle things discretely and tactfully, though. I don’t think we (the general public) should start screaming “Cover up!” until confirmable information is made available.

Susan,

There is a genuine indebtedness owed by those reading here, to you. In circumstances such as these it is very tempting for people to project onto situations their personal experiences and bias. The result is, of course, disastrous in many ways. And with a context like this which can appeal to people’s emotions (one way or the other) you have consistently held the line in employing objectivity as the compass for exploration, discovery and discussion. That isn’t an easy thing to do, particularly in light of the hysterical and who-knows-what-they-would-really-do personalities that are willing to privately contact you with volatility and vitriol shooting through their finger tips on the keyboard.

But then you are not persuaded by tantrums or acrimony, rather the facts as I have come to know in reading your posts at SI. You do not give life to assumptions that cannot be validated and when the evidence seems to point to something but lacks certainty, you still do not speak conclusively but with the appropriate reservation in light of the incompleteness of all information/facts.

Thank you for your perspicacity and equanimity.

May the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth be found out and revealed. Also, may there be no unfounded accusations, nor any unnecessay “circling of the wagons”.

There is a new article out about this today http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Woman-says-NH-pastor-ignor…

A woman says she was sexually assaulted as a teen and that the pastor of her church told her to forgive and forget instead of doing what the law required: report it to authorities.

The new accusations were lodged with police by a 34-year-old woman who says her stepfather repeatedly molested her from 1994 to 1996. She said she was 17 and a junior at Trinity Baptist Church’s high school when the assaults began. She left her home in Warner in 1996, when she was 19.

In a statement late Thursday afternoon from Gibbs, Phelps said the girl’s family told him the victim was 18 at the time of the assaults began and that both the police and child protective services had been notified.

“I would tell him, ‘no,’ ‘stop’ — and he wouldn’t stop,” she said of her stepfather. “I went straight to my mother when it happened. She acted like it was my fault. When my mom didn’t do anything about it I went to Pastor Phelps. He told me I need to forgive and forget about it.”

Cheryl now has a criminal record related to a drug addiction and she now lives in a halfway house in Merced, Calif., where she’s on probation.

Her uncle Robert Sheffield, of Big Sandy, Texas, blames the abuse for her problems.

It’s not a pretty picture,” he said. “And it irritates me no end because I know why.”

Sheffield said he once confronted Phelps. Sheffield said Phelps told him the issue had been “dealt with” and that confidentiality rules barred him from going into detail.

“I remember that phone call like it was yesterday,” Sheffield said. “I’ve been angry at that man for 15 years. He definitely told me that he told her to forgive and forget.”

The above quote are selected from the article. Please read the full article if you have time. The quotes break down the gist of what it says.

It was nice of Gibbs to go on record and saying–they this one was an adult as his statement makes it clear that this victim was over 18—you know totally different from that Tina Anderson deal if I may paraphrase.

And if Phelps would make Tina go before the congregation to confess her part of her “sin” in the deal with Wills, was this guy ever brought before the church? Clearly Phelps knew of the sex between these two because his lawyer states—hey they told me she was 18 when it happened. If a man in your church was sexually abusing his own daughter and she came to you for help, does her age really matter? As a shepherd of the flock of sheep who belong to Jesus, would it not be your responsibility to do all in your power to protect her from continued abuse?

Horrifying and disgusting are the kindest comments I can make.

The Stamford Article was http://sharperiron.org/filings/6-9-11/19188] posted as a Filing as well, about ten minutes before your post. Just FYI.

Does anyone know if the woman in this Filing thread is the same as in the Stamford article?

Does anyone know if the stepfather was involved with the church? Or was the girl simply attending the school?

[Jay C.] Does anyone know if the woman in this Filing thread is the same as in the Stamford article?

Yes. The original article posted above is the same person as the woman named “Cheryl” in the Stamford article. The Stamford link is an AP story. Most news outlets nationwide posted the story verbatim with the Stamford version.

[Chip Van Emmerik] Does anyone know if the stepfather was involved with the church? Or was the girl simply attending the school?

Yes. The stepfather was involved with the church and some specific activities related to the school. I remember the family well from my time attending Trinity.