Luther Raine has been active in the work since the mid-1960s. He has labored in Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Mississippi.
On March 3, 2024, Luther stepped aside from the work. The email below was sent to the Alabama/Mississppi/Louisiana staff:
“It has been suggested that because of the CSA allegation made against me, although unsupported, that I should voluntarily step down from the work until it has been settled. So as of this time I am no longer in the work. I am very sorry for the Kingdom’s sake that this has happened, but the God who has brought me this far will continue to keep. Luther Raine”.
On March 16th, 2024, the overseer of Alabama/Mississppi/Louisiana welcomed Mr.Raine back into the work in spite of a credible allegation of CSA against him.
From Robert Eberhart, overseer: “The AL, MS and LA staff met today at Brian Garrett’s in Jackson MS, including Luther Raine. The announcement previously made by him, was revisited, with the outcome of my voice of support for him resuming active ministry. We’re planning on his participation in special meetings and visits where he’s welcome.”
[WINGS NOTE] In August 2019 Robert Eberhardt called for mercy towards a registered sex offender: Offense – Mercy – Saving sinners
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is this the same case I heard about where Luther was never told who the alleged victim was?
Quite likely it is. It is my understanding that the alleged perpetrator is not usually informed of the victim’s name due the overriding need for the safety of the victim or victims.
Overview. The Sixth Amendment provides that a person accused of a crime has the right to confront a witness against him or her in a criminal action.
If you are charged with a crime, do you have the right to see evidence against you before your trial? Yes. It’s called “Discovery
Amen, your armchair lawyering doesn’t apply here. This is at the investigation stage.
investigation stage empties to me that we are trying to figure out if something happened or not. In the mean time it’s alright to ruin a man’s life and never get beyond the investigation? Doesn’t seem right to me. Maybe the FBI can figure it out.
Amen, Mr.Raine was brought back by popular demand to mingle with children. How has his life been “ruined” by an investigation? He is back with free access to children with unsuspecting parents! Rejoice!
What I have seen with folks who wring their hands over an alleged perp’s loss of reputation is that typically they have no idea of the pain and suffering victims experience. There are no winners in this.
@Watchman- I take it that you know a lot more first hand information about this case than I do because you are basically stating he is a child molester with free access to more children. So yes Luther’s life is ruined in your eyes, and many others eyes, he is guilty of a terrible crime- no charges, no trial, no conviction , he is guilty, right? There has been an allegation. Maybe you are correct because you know all the evidence?
Maybe I am over sensitive to this but just this last year I had a very good friend of mine who was alleged ,charged and went to trial for CSA. If convicted he would have lost his clearance, his job, his life, but in the trial every child said NO it never happened and he was acquitted. Glad his employer didn’t act before the trial on the allegation. Glad that I knew nothing about the allegations.
Amen. The first paragraph of that response was sarcasm, not insider knowledge.
All I know is that he has a credible allegation against him and he is under investigation. The math says that the probability of his guilt is about 95%.
Most of the 5% of false accusations typically arise in child custody cases where one party is seeking full custody to harm the other party. That is not the situation here. Sure, that still doesn’t make it 100% certain but here is the thing, are you really in support of giving the 19 of 20 guilty persons full access to children in order to protect the 1 falsely accused? If so, your priorities and sense of justice is really screwed up.
@Watchman , I would have to know a lot more about the specifics of the allegation before I could come to any conclusion as to whether it fits your statistics or not. Also when did the incident supposedly happen? I suspect more than 40 years. Which means if the allegations are true he has had access to children all that time? I think the horse has gotten out of the barn, if so. I don’t know Luther but others closer to him could know if there has been suspicious grooming going on?
Amen, it is not your job or mine to judge these cases. It is your job and my job to PROTECT THE CHILDREN AND THE VICTIMS.
You do not need to know anything more than an alleged victim has spoken up about an alleged crime against their person. That is all you need to know to make a church decision. Whether he/she is guilty is not in your sphere, nor should it be. You just have to understand the extremely high probability of guilt and take steps to protect the children.
I don’t understand why this is such a difficult concept to grasp. We don’t pronounce these people as guilty, we don’t have the skills or knowledge. But if we have any virtue at all about us, we will not let an accused person anywhere near any child where we have the ability to protect.
@Watchman. You won’t find them guilty but you will judge them and take action. Got it?
Using the logic of amen, all accused perps and peds and pervs that have CSA/SA allegations, but have not yet been convicted should be allowed back into “the fold” and free to attend meetings anywhere and anyplace, including the likes of Ira, Reynolds, Corfield, White and all the rest. Maybe Head Overseer Barry can put out guidelines on this very important topic, instead of letting Overseer Eberhardt do it.
Amen, let’s walk through this.
Daughter: ”Dad, Uncle Harry just did this to me: xxxxxxxxx”
Dad: ”How can I know if you are lying or not? I can’t judge this and I sure don’t want to ruin Uncle Harry’s good reputation.”
Daughter: “But dad, please help me”.
Dad: “Sorry, you are going to have to report this to the authorities and I will believe you after Uncle Harry is convicted in a court of law. In the meantime, be nice to him and give him all the hugs he loves to give you.”
Is this how it is supposed to work Amen?
@warchman, your latest scenario is so distant from the facts of this case that I hesitate to answer. Of course if my daughter came to me with an allegation I would respond immediately and probably over react to protect her. Why? Because I know her and know she would not lie to me and she would at least give me a sense of what her uncle did to her, I.e. he kissed me on the head, —-he fondled me, he touched my back, he raped me. From that information I would hope I would know how to respond properly to her uncle.
Hopefully you can see that the current situation is vastly different. The only words the I read are that there has been an unsupported allegation against a man. If you want to support taking severe action against the man based on those words, that is your right and privilege.
I mentioned before that I felt knowing the time scale involved, I.e. how long ago did this supposedly happen was pertinent information. Let me expand on why I think that. It is not that I think really old incidence should not be brought to justice. That is what the law enforcement should do. But that could help us understand the CURRENT threat to our children. Let’s say the first time we learn of an allegation is 40 years after the event occurred. That means for the last 40 years this man has been continually exposed to children. From what many say on this site a true pedophile is constantly looking for his next victim. So in this case there are perhaps thousands of potential victims. so now 40 years later we must immediately act based on very little information and guided by statistics?
Amen, this is an identical case!
Victim says he/she was abused. Alleged abuser says it is “unsupported”, which is exactly what Uncle Harry would say. And you are willing to let Raine off the hook but not Uncle Harry even though both were accused by very real persons and both denied it. You care about Raine’s reputation but not Uncle Harry’s.
Honestly, I don’t know what more to say on this. This is super simple stuff. You make sure alleged offenders do not come in contact with children. Period. Nothing more complicated than that. I’m going to have to stop here.
@Amen – this is Luther on a fishing expedition, trying to figure out which one of his victims isn’t staying silent!
@Henoffour. To make that cute saying I sure hope you know a lot more about Luther than I do. If you have specifics that you would like to share then we can all be enlightened. If not your comment is rather disgusting and quite disturbing.
@Amen – if the case information was allowed to be shared on each of his cases, you’d have the information, just an FYI – It is against the law to impede an investigation.
WINGS is considering publishing more information on this case. There is no question that Mr. Eberhart’s decision is exactly the wrong one.
very sad that this homosexual that likes little boys is welcomed back. The pervert needs to be removed from exposure to children for safety. Nothing being said is not true!
Just to note that terminology is important for clear communication. Someone who has a sexual predilection for children (boys or girls), which is not healthy in any circumstances, is a “pedophile”. “Homosexual” has a different definition.
observer that’s a accurate description of some things. Sadly I have known about Luther since I was a small child. I know that the workers knew also. I also know a report has been filed with the FBI. This is a CSA incident and Luther is very aware sadly he’s not man enough to tell the TRUTH. I wonder if he will tell the truth to the FBI?
Overseer Eberhardt wrote in a letter dated August 23, 2019 that he was a “sexual offender” and advocated that CSA offenders in Wisconsin be in meetings (Wings posted his letter on May 27, 2023). Is it little wonder that Overseer Eberhardt would now reinstate Worker Raine?
Since this is STILL an active investigation, he should NOT be allowed around anyone! Someone who is aware of this man and can contact this overseer – please do…and TURN THIS into the FBI. This is the kind of things they need to KNOW!
First, with the exception of two people, all others are hiding behind made up identities. I find this to be disturbing as it appears there’s a fear of being known. Loudly proclaiming your views but not wanting to own them seems nefarious. What if people in the Bible used fictitious names to hide behind?
Second, Rob doesn’t quantify what he deems to be a credible allegation, so what information does he have that he’s not being transparent about? We know Rob has a soft spot for abusers based on his own personal admission of be a sexual offender ( he didn’t call himself a predator) which likely would have been more accurate seeing the position he is in. Transparency is lacking under his leadership despite the hollow claims of openness. Rob views sexual predators/offenders less of an offense than being divorced and remarried. One is a crime, the other is not. My conclusion is that since Rob has been a sexual offender/abuser and not being divorced and remarried are the reasons he justifies his actions.
@William Johnson – when many of us set up our WINGS accounts, we NEEDED to keep hidden from the overseers, and our predators. The ministry has our ADDRESSES…in other words, they KNOW where we live. Wings For Truth was created to support VICTIMS, not aggressive people who just “want to know all the gory details”.
Some of us still go to meetings, and were threatened to keep our mouths shut, or we would be thrown out (nice way to treat a victim, right?).
The Bible is very black and white on God’s stance about Divorce and Remarriage. So, no worker can change or have a different opinion, or they aren’t a friend or servant of God. We have to follow His teachings. Not that this bunch have done that – clearly. But, this situation has nothing to do with the other. This is sexual and physical and mental harm to another human being. If Rob has admitted to being a sexual offender, then how can he be expected to point a finger at another? My thought it, that’s why NONE of them can point a finger…they are all guilty! I want to help get rid of every single one of them. I don’t want anyone in our ministry that thinks it’s okay to bite & abuse the ones that feed/clothe/house them. So, if it means we lose every single one of them, so be it! God is WELL ABLE to raise up some who HE knows truly love Him, and we can go back to building on the rock, Jesus, our foundation, our Shepherd, our Savior.
Personally, at this time, I wouldn’t care if people know my name, (Judi Hull) but I don’t know how to change it on this site, nor do I have time to figure it out. I am taking classes, average 2-3 meetings per day with those who are either victims, or wanting to know “how can we help”, or even with the workers. I currently have 300+ email messages to get to, 37 phone calls to return, and at this moment 24 text messages left to respond to.
Henoffour@gmail.com