Category: News

Most abuse disclosures this year have involved North American overseers, workers and friends.  However, many have shared their hope that growing transparency and engagement will spread to other continents. It is well-known that abuse is a global problem and no area is immune.

This developing transparency has largely been due to victims and survivors courageously providing details of their abuse (sometimes anonymously, and sometimes with their names). This has given strength to others to also disclose their experiences, and to break the silence and secrecy that have been imposed on victims.

This secrecy may have been common in general society many years ago, but is no longer acceptable. Victim-survivors continue living with trauma, and open acknowledgement of their experience is a crucial part of healing, as well as prevention of future abuse.   Secrecy surrounding previous cases allowed some perpetrators to continue their abuse, at times in an unsuspecting area when they were silently shifted to a new field, sometimes in another country.

WINGS has received reports of abuse in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australasia and Africa. 

This is the time for growing transparency, for friends and workers to share information no matter their geographic location. WINGS aims to collate and share information in an honest and victim-centric way, with the hope of leading to radical, victim-centric changes in the treatment of abuse cases:

• Sincere, individual apologies to all known victims
• Arrangements to fund therapy when required
• Revisiting past cases where perpetrators were protected and moved
• Open discussions and clear guidelines regarding perpetrator attendance in meetings, conventions
• Zero-tolerance policies toward abuse
• Regular training to identify and report abuse, undertaken by all workers and others with responsibility

WINGS advocates for past child victims, and protection of current/future children.  The prerogative for more general change in the fellowship lies with friends and workers.  WINGS has received communication from many expressing concern that the strict hierarchy in the fellowship limits accountability among those in positions of power.  In many cases, this has allowed immoral actions harming the most vulnerable among us, which might have been prevented or minimised if there were more involvement of elders, friends and women. 

Note: This post has consistently used the term ‘abuse’. It is intended to refer to both Child Sexual Abuse, and adult abuse, of all types.

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Note: Edited June 18, 2023 to provide clarity. Content not changed significantly.

From: Richard Gasser <email redacted>
Date: 6/15/23
Subject: REVISED KS NE EMAIL

Dear KS NE Friends,

As we had said before, we had planned to send an email after our Scottsbluff Convention; Which we believe everyone who was there would agree, was very special and very timely! A very special soft spirit was there, and so much encouragement to raise our vision to Jesus the Rock, the One that will not be shaken. We heard what Jesus told Peter, “Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as Wheat.” The Combine does a lot of shaking to separate the chaff from the wheat.  The kernel is saved: That’s where the life is. Maybe sometimes it’s pride that has to be shaken out; Maybe some of our own agenda has to be shaken out; or self righteousness; or self pity. He has prayed for us that our faith wouldn’t fail during the process. He wants us to make it through! Job said, “But He knoweth the way that I take; When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

Since Marge Major’s passing, we are now short of 2 sister workers, with no one yet to fill the need; so it  looks like we now will be combining some of the fields. It seems best that Lincoln will now be a part of the Omaha field; Kearney and Broken Bow will be a part of the York – Grand Island field; and McCook and North Platte will be a part of the Kimball Bird City Field. Columbus will go back to the Valentine – Norfolk field Marleah will be with Julie in the Kimball North Platte, Bird City field, and Sarah with Darla in SE KS.

Sarah and Marleah are helping out at Elizabeth CO preps this week and will then be there for the first convention. Jon, Dale, Martha and Heidi are in Riverton this week; Julie, Christina and Lara are at Chugwater; Roy, Lyle Dena & Tanya will be at Hermosa for Conv. next week.

In July, Andy and Darla are to go to some of the conventions in Canada. Dale is going back to NM to help with the preps and Conv at Mountainair NM, so Jon will be with Richard during that time while Andy is gone.

Our whole staff did attend a child abuse seminar held in the Western Nebraska Community College and were made aware of some of the laws and services that are provided. We have appreciated the professional help from those who are familiar with, and deal with these matters everyday. Some of those resources will be printed below if any would like to look into them.

We also would suggest that elders, (or anyone else) would also take the online Ministry safe course. There are a lot of helpful tips there that can make us aware of how to deal with this problem. This is the same course we workers have been taking for the past 10 years or more.

Here is a link to that:
https://ministrysafe.com/training-saat/

We all have a fear of creating more policies to deal with these things;  I believe we all know these actions are so wrong already.  There are plenty of Bible verses written that can say it far better. For example: 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the Will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication.”  In plain English, fornication is anything sexual outside of marriage. And then in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”  I believe we all just need integrity, integrity, integrity.

Romans 8:13-14 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

We do believe there should be no tolerance for CSA (Child Sexual Abuse) or Sexual assault in this Fellowship.  Matthew 18:6 “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” To me that use of ‘offend’ means to do something that would destroy their faith. I can understand totally if someone you trust to be a servant of God, would do something of that nature, it can easily destroy faith. If we don’t believe that verse we really shouldn’t be in this ministry. And Romans 12:19 “Vengeance is mine, I will repay sayeth the Lord.” It should be enough to make anyone behave.

We are very sorry that in the past, too often the victims were not believed and things were not taken care of as they should have been, I feel there a is different environment now and victims are being heard. We are glad laws are in place for all of this sort of thing in our country’s government. In Nebraska everyone is a mandatory reporter for abuse to a minor. In Kansas not everyone is mandatory, but anybody can.  We want to comply with the law in every way we can.  We have been told, and we know, we are not investigators; So please just take it to the Law. 

1 Timothy 1:9 “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine…”

Now, if it is just a boundary issue and not criminal,  Matthew 18:15 is the answer. “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”

Even if it is a worker, we should not be above taking correction from anyone; we are guests in your homes. Now some people have different boundaries than others; Please always feel very free to share them to anyone who is a guest at your house. It doesn’t matter who!

There are a number of you who have said you do not want to receive the emails that contain some of the recent allegations, however, some who have been victims do.  I don’t have a list of who wants to know and who doesn’t. I will just add this link to a page that contains them. If you wish to, you can click on it and it should take you to it; Or else you can just delete it. THANKS.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11_9EKjX-FJZA_XvrQRXu5VQlgbddOFTYShcr1ogdmxE/edit?usp=sharing

Sincerely and with care
The KS NE Staff

Nebraska Child Abuse/Neglect / Elder Abuse Hotline: 800-652-1999

Nebraska Family Helpline: 888-866-8660

Kansas Child Abuse/Neglect / Elder Abuse Hotline 800-922-5330

Kansas guide to reporting: http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/pps/documents/guidetoreportingabuseandneglect.pdf

RAINN (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network) Hotline: 800-656-4673

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233

NetSmartz: resource developed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to support healthy and safe boundaries and behavior with electronics/the internet https://www.missingkids.org/netsmartz/home

Culture Reframed Parents’ Program: building resilience and resistance to hypersexualized media and pornography http://www.parents.culturereframed.org/tech-guide

Circle of Security parenting education and support http://www.circleofsecurityinternational.com

Contact information:
Shelley Thomas, Forensic Interviewer/MDT Coordinator at CAPstone Child Advocacy Center, Gering, Nebraska ptinterviewer@capstonenebraska.com

Detective Brandi Brunz bbrunz@scottsbluff.org

Children and Family Services Supervisor Caroline Teeple Caroline.Teeple@nebraska.gov

A resource from Darkness2Light: https://www.d2l.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/FINAL_D2L_5-STEPS-BOOKLET.pdf

I would like to talk about a few things that have been heavy on my mind lately. Maybe I should add a trigger warning for CSA/SA because I am going to speak bluntly.

Lately I have heard and read some very disturbing reactions from some of the friends and workers. It feels like there is a lot of lip service to the child sexual assault, sexual assault and sexual misconduct issues, and a hope that this will soon blow over and everyone will forget about it. To be fair, I have also heard some very positive things, but I am not writing about that today.

To be specific, I have seen statements that indicate some feel that if there is not significant evidence or offence to secure a legal conviction, the accused should be considered innocent. One such example was from an overseer speaking about an admitted pedophile and long-time sexual predator with a huge list of survivors in his wake. “but he was never convicted”…. Are you kidding me? Anyone with half a brain could determine that this man should never be allowed to attend meetings or church functions.  And he would have been convicted if you hadn’t covered it up years ago.

Or what if it is just “innocent” touching? Hypothetically, if a young girl complains about a worker who hugged her awkwardly and felt her butt, the likelihood of a legal conviction is almost zero. But that should still be a huge red flag. Was it an accident? Highly unlikely, you don’t grab a young girl’s butt or feel her chest accidentally. But let’s say there are multiple complaints of the same behavior from different girls. Still, he’s probably not going to be convicted and sent to prison. But it’s proof that he is a sexual predator and has no business attending church functions let alone being a minister.

This old, “that’s just uncle Brad, he’s just kinda handsy but he’s harmless” way of thinking is just plain wrong. And no, the hell, it’s not harmless, not even a bit. The harm that comes from incidents like this are real and the harm of sweeping it under the rug is worse. Like it or not, ministers and elders are held to a higher legal standard when it comes to stuff like this, whether committing it or reporting it.

And let’s talk about consensual relationships. We hear a lot about that. “Well, it was inappropriate behaviour for a worker, but it was a consensual relationship, so no harm done. Who can blame two people for falling in love?” This is a very slippery issue. First of all, whether we admit it or not, there is very much a hierarchical order of organization within the “Truth”. There are country or regional head workers, state or area overseers, older brother workers, younger brother workers, older sister workers, younger sister workers, elders, back up elders, saints, and wives, unmarried men and women and children. Pretty much in that order. In the business world, if an executive manager has a relationship with a subordinate they are sacked. Why? Because it isn’t appropriate and there is too much room for the more powerful person to persuade the less powerful person to do something that they wouldn’t otherwise do.

I get it, people fall in love and that can be a beautiful thing. But in a hierarchical organization, where the man has power over the woman, “consensual” relationships are more often than not, not actually consensual. Let’s say, good ole handsome brother worker Tom likes the ladies, and the ladies like Tom. But what the individual ladies don’t know is that Tom is a player, he has a lady in every state. So, when the lady in Kansas is found with Tom, she defends him and says, “it was consensual.” Sure, she thinks she is his one and only, she doesn’t know about Miss Oklahoma or Miss Nebraska. So, is it really consensual? Or is Tom a dirty rotten sexual predator that has no business holding his position? He will never be convicted in court, but he absolutely deserves to be fired and sent away in a transparent manner.

The type of sexual assault we are talking about hardly ever involves a man dragging a vulnerable woman or child into a dark alley at knifepoint and raping them. What we are talking about is very sophisticated and deliberate grooming or courting, so that by the time the actual sexual assault happens, the carefully chosen victim feels helpless to do anything about it or even might feel like they are somehow special that this wise and powerful “servant of god” has chosen them to be his special one.

To deal with this problem, we must understand what we are dealing with. We must understand the level of evil that we are dealing with. We must understand that these types of predators don’t just stop doing what they do because they got caught. We must stop thinking of them as someone who is good that just fell into weakness and start thinking of them as evil people who are very good at appearing to be good. We need to stop being wishy washy about how we deal with these predators and cut them out like the evil cancer that they are.

Aside from the moral right and wrong aspect of this issue and the fight between good and evil, there are also very serious potential legal accountabilities that many of us could be faced with. Those who have meetings and conventions, or just host a get-together or have an open home. Have you thought about your legal liability if a known predator assaulted someone on your property? Or forget the legal aspect, how would you feel knowing that someone’s child was assaulted at your home? This is serious business and must not continue to be swept under the rug.

Every one of us has much more power to address this than we think we do. All we have to do is speak up. It might be uncomfortable, speaking up to those who are above us in that very strict hierarchical organization, but it is possible, and it is effective. The hierarchical organization only exists in the minds of those who accept it, after all, that country head worker or state overseer has no closer connection to God than you do, and is certainly no more intelligent or business savvy. It’s time we realize that and hold them accountable.

Joe Trapp

Doyle,

You’ll notice the tone of this email is much different than my last one. That is because we are out of patience. And when I say “we” I mean Ryan & I, the people of the Church, and every single victim who has been ignored.

I wrote you an email in April detailing my abuse at the hands of Scott Richardson and your words were “I’m not exactly sure what our next step will be, but I do need to inquire further. We do have some ground to cover. There has been a lot to think about – it’s been more than overwhelming frankly.”

I was so absolutely frustrated at this response that I could not even type out a reply. The hurt and anger and betrayal I have felt the last couple months is unparalleled. So now that I have had a few weeks to sort out my feelings, let me tell you what your next step SHOULD have been (and what still needs to be done) since you seem to be having trouble deciding. These steps need to be taken immediately:

1. You should have called Scott Richardson and told him that he is no longer welcome in fellowship meetings. Ever. For the rest of his life. This is non-negotiable. Then you should have communicated this to the rest of the state so they are aware.

2. You should have called every single other predator within this fellowship that you are aware of and told them they are no longer welcome in fellowship meetings. Ever. For the rest of their lives. Then you should have communicated this to the rest of the state so they are aware.

3. You should have removed Harold Bennett from the work. He is a predator and is no longer welcome in fellowship meetings. Ever. For the rest of his life. Then you should have communicated this to the rest of the world so that they are aware (Harold’s reach is far & wide).

4. You should have notified every single other predator worker within this fellowship that you are aware of and told them they are no longer welcome in fellowship meetings. Ever. For the rest of their lives. Then you should have communicated this to the rest of the world so that they are aware.

Going forward:

5. You should step down from overseer. You have proven yourself unable and unwilling to meet the demands of the position.

6. You should repent before the church. Be it in email, video, or (preferably) in person, you should admit to putting the feelings of predators before the needs of victims. This step can only happen after the first five. True repentance is proved by deeds.   .and NOT combined with excuses.

On a personal note, our faith in the ministry has been broken. And as such, our home is no longer open for (most) workers. (We will always welcome those who walk in honesty and truth). By your unwillingness to address the despicable evil that has infiltrated our church, the ministry has been tainted. You saw and did not see, you heard and did not listen.

We are well aware there are “good ones” among us. In time, they will come forth as gold. But right now, we are in a battle. We are in a battle for souls! If you aren’t willing to pick up a sword and fight against that which besmirches the name of God then step down and let others cleanse the temple. Yes, I realize I just used a bunch of different references but the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). The Word of God doesn’t necessitate “inquiring further”. The Word of God has already told us what we are to do with wolves: we remove them from our fellowship (1Cor. 5:2).

We await your reply,
Ryan & Jessica Garrett  

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From: D Smith <email redacted>
Subject: Re: What you should have done….
Date: June 13, 2023 at 9:07:03 PM PDT
To:  Hi

 Just one quick note tonight… (I’m scheduled to speak tomorrow) Harold Bennett is no longer in the work and Scott R. isn’t presently coming to meetings… 

Doyle

Jim lived a double life for a good number of years. He wore one face to those of us who were his companions and fellow-workers. Another face to the women he attempted or succeeded in setting up relationships with. No one can accomplish this without making some foundation changes to belief and faith and character. On the surface, he continued to show his characteristic self-effacing manner.

Consider how one would have to warp your doctrinal beliefs to accomplish the following:

In 2009, While I was in language school, he would meet up with one woman or another either online or by phone or in person to continue his relationships, then return to our bach, converse with me, get on his knees to pray, and prepare for and participate in a gospel meeting, then repeat. I know this because one woman discovered him cheating on her with another. It was this blow-up in his secret relationships that spilled over into public view.

I don’t believe that he could have repented of this double life and stayed in the ministry. If he repented, I would have known of it because he would have made a great effort, one which would have included him admitting it by asking for forgiveness. See 2 Corinthians 7 to understand what this type of repentance looks like. Can anyone show me what he has done to clear himself? What about the ability to live a double life without conscience? How does a person repent from that?

Some have told me that he never had sexual relations with any of the women. I’m not sure how they would know but anyhow, this is naive if not disingenuous. Even with a clean mind and heart, Jesus understood the reality of where a man’s thoughts lead and he made it clear what to do about it.

In any case, after Jim left China, I opened a laptop he’d left behind. He had attempted to erase it but a photo remained of a Chinese woman (not one of our friends or contacts) sitting clothed, on his bed in our bach. I’d never seen her before. It was evidently a woman who felt comfortable in that place and who he felt comfortable taking the picture of her there. Let that sink in awhile to understand the import of it. We had a small sitting room just outside his bedroom, if it were an innocent photo.

The fact that I never caught him actually in bed with someone isn’t the point. His girlfriend that he was secretly grooming, did catch him in at least one extra relationship other than her. That’s why she was angry. She had the evidence. His phone was registered in her name, giving her access to his phone records. She got suspicious and began calling numbers on his record. That’s how she found other women.

I was incredulous about what Jim had done, but it took some years to fully understand the effects on others and the depth of wickedness of it. I am identifying some of those now.

Through the years, as Jim was caught in his behavior, called to repent and then continuing his habits of persuading women to enter into secret relationships with him, then being caught again, ad nauseum, Jim absorbed and accepted a doctrine from somewhere that allowed him to feel good about himself while keeping his secret life. Eventually he became a dedicated predator, able to groom women to his desires. According to Richard DenHerder, this young woman in China had not had sex with him yet, but she was considering it. This shows how far he’d gone in grooming her.

Some of the workers have known for years of his behavior. He’d been confronted by Paul Sharp as well as others. Then they promoted him to overseer AFTER they knew! One needs to think about this with seriousness. A question you could ask yourself is, How would you go about convincing a woman to have a secret relationship with you? You’d need years of practice to hone that skill.

Some of the fault lies with me. I should have insisted at the time, when I was still in China, that Jesus’ words in Mt 18 be followed. I was told by Richard then, that we couldn’t tell the friends in China because they were so young. I should have smelled the coverup but didn’t. The fact that this occurred shocks me now. Why weren’t the scriptures consulted then and followed? Why hasn’t anyone tried to in the intervening years? Dale Shultz told me that Jim was doing well in South Africa even though he conceded that Jim lied to get to stay there. How could he possibly know how well he was doing? Jim was good at concealing his behavior, assigning himself to this girl’s area, right under Richard’s and my nose. I could feel something was wrong but kept blaming myself for our shallow companionship. I noticed things but didn’t realize what I was seeing.

A very common theme of the false doctrine that Jim embraced was this saying in one form or another, “We will wait for the Spirit to guide.” This sounds so good, so right, and yet it opens a door to wickedness because it makes the answer subjective. It most definitely does not lift up Jesus as All in All. A better version would be, “The Spirit will encourage and strengthen our efforts to lift up Jesus.” It seems like a small change but it would make a huge difference.

Jim used the former statement in verbatim to me after I confronted him in person. I agonized over this for several days until realizing that the Spirit has already guided us. He always turns our eyes to Jesus as our example, never to Himself. We don’t have to wait for the Spirit to tell us something we already have the answer for. I’ve heard this statement about the Spirit guiding from so many that I think it must be a widespread false doctrine among us now. I beg all readers to think long and hard about these last two paragraphs because I believe this doctrine is the foundation for the coverups and the stonewalling from the workers against serious changes.

So I called in others as the scriptures teach and boy was Jim angry. He’s never apologized to me for the lying, deceit and outright lecherous behavior. I longed for a companion in those days who would feed my soul. He wilfully damaged a sweet young woman in our field. One who I loved as a sister in Christ but who he was actively grooming to be a secret sexual partner.

When this blew up in China, Richard interviewed the woman and learned that he’d told her often how much he loved her. Why then didn’t he marry her? I believe it’s because marriage wasn’t what he had in mind when he was secretly grooming her to his purpose. Think of the gravity of that. Those are the actions of a dedicated predator. When I called in Richard, his reply to me was, “I’m not surprised because he’s done this three times before.

When I was in China, after Jim Chafee was gone, I had a companion from Ireland. He was a genuine man, I thought. Then I was put with a different companion. It didn’t take long to realize that he was about the same brand of cat that Jim was. He was about spiritually dead as far as I was concerned. I surprised him once by returning a day early to the Bach and found a pair of women’s small slippers by the door which he quickly scooped up into the cupboard. He rarely lifted a finger to pick up anything so it really surprised me. I noticed a home call massage business card nearby which in China would usually include some sort of sexual service beyond a massage. Especially to a man alone in his home. I told Richard DenHerder, who didn’t agree with me, even after I told him what I’d observed. Richard told me that the man had a good spirit. Can you imagine? Richard being able to tell who had a good spirit and who didn’t? This is the same person who told me that Jim had done his deeds three times before that he knew of! Incredible that he KNEW about Jim and never warned me so that I could be on the lookout! This man, Richard DenHerder, who couldn’t tell whether Jim had repented, was confident he could tell who had the Spirit! Does this make him like the man mentioned in Mt 18:6? Because of his horrible decision to be complicit in covering up Jim’s pattern, ANOTHER sweet person was damaged! Who then is the problem here? Jim, who did it over and over again throughout his life, getting more crafty with each time he was caught. Yes. Or is it also Richard, et al, who did nothing to stop it permanently? Is it Dale Shultz who told me that Jim was now doing well in S. Africa? Is it the number of other workers who knew and never raised the alarm?

For Richard’s part, I’ve often wondered why he was so lenient towards Jim. After Jim left I told Richard that he had absorbed some of Jim’s doctrine of the “spirit leading” himself. This made him quite angry and he strongly defended himself. Hardly the attitude of a humble child, in my opinion. Anyway. I made poor choices myself right at the last few days of my time there. But at least I had the honesty to get out. Not saying the same for Richard or Jim or many, many, others.

Today, Jim is still in the work. He was invited to ND for conventions in 2022. I strongly protested and told Leroy Sandford. He consulted Barry Barkley and Ray Hoffmann who both declined to discuss it with me or look into it further. I skipped conventions but listened to Jim speak in one meeting. It was all about how grateful we are to be in the one true way. Just a dead sermon with a dead message, in my opinion. When the news of Dean Bruer broke, I wrote to Leroy and asked him to apologize to all the friends in the Dakotas for having Jim come after he knew about him through me. I described to LeRoy what must happen in the heart of a man who hides his sin and doesn’t honestly repent. Two days later, Leroy left the work. Now I’ve asked Perry Pearson and Paul Haakenson to follow through but they don’t respond. It seems like everyone judges repentance by whether they feel the person has the right “spirit”. Whatever that is.

Gary Myers (Ex-worker)

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WINGS Note: This post does not concern Child Sexual Abuse but it does illustrate the cover-ups that seem to be common within the workers and overseers. If these cover-ups hadn’t occurred, numerous adult and child abuse cases would not have occurred.

Years ago, someone identified the cover ups and silence among the workers as the same as the doctrine of “Omerta”.  That is the code of silence and refusal to give evidence against others that the Mafia uses to protect each other.   This could seem to be an exaggerated comparison but in practice among the ministry group, it is much the same.

Cover-up leads directly to abuse happening and continuing.