Tag Archives: fbc hammond

Yelling Down People In The Audience

So much for people who were hoping the “tone” would change at FBC Hammond now that John Wilkerson is their new pastor. Apparently he’s on board with this kind of perverse “preaching” continuing or else is powerless to actually stop it.

Update 1: I apologize for my hasty comment about John Wilkerson. I misunderstood the date he will start at the church and believed he had already taken his position there. Apparently he will not be starting his role until the 17th of February.

It will be interesting to see whether or not these types of incidents continue under John’s leadership. We will be watching.

Constitutions

Multiple readers have informed me that FBC Hammond is voting in a new church constitution that includes this little gem for its members on page 21:

Here’s the truth: you can’t give up your right to sue. I know because my alma mater tried something very similar to this with its students but they still got sued on a regular basis. This is merely theater to squash dissent from those who don’t know any better.

Isolated Incidents (Completely Unrelated To All The Others Just Like It)

While the folks over at Hammond are still feigning shock that one of their own would be guilty of a “sexual indiscretion,” I though it might be a good time to look back at the last few years and observe some of the other infamous offenders from this church and school. This is not an exhaustive list and do keep in mind that these are only representative of the ones who have been caught…

March 1993, AV Ballenger, Former FBCH Deacon, convicted for molesting a child. Jack Hyles had the church give him a standing ovation and kept him in the bus ministry.

July 1995 Russell K Overla, Hyles-Anderson graduate, pleads guilty to molesting two underage girls at various locations over a period of months and years.

July 1999 Kerry Martin, former Hyles Anderson student, is sentenced to 205 years in prison for raping a teenage girl in his church office.

March 2001 Joe and Evangeline Combs, former Hyles-Anderson staff members who took a girl from the orphanage in 1978 but never adopted her. Joe used her for sex. Evangeline repeatedly tortured her in a jealous rage. Both of these monsters were convicted and are now in prison.

May 2001 William Beith, Hyles-Anderson graduate, kidnaps an 11-year old girl and takes her across state lines stopping at various motels to have sex with her. He had previously managed to get into a counseling program instead of facing charges of exposing himself in public but was allowed to become principal of Liberty Baptist Academy anyway where he met his victim. He was released from prison in 2009

May 2003, David Joseph Jorgensen, Hyles-Anderson graduate, pleads no contest to two felony counts of committing lewd acts upon a child, according to online court records. After he completed probation, he sought to have the crimes reduced to misdemeanors and had his record expunged in September 2006, but is still part of a civil lawsuit for allegedly “committing lewd acts” on a female when she was 14. He then reportedly went on staff at the First Baptist of Hammond.

April 2006, Craig Sisson, Hyles-Anderson graduate, convicted of first degree child molestation of an 11 year old girl.

May 2011, Chris Settlemoir, Hyles-Anderson graduate, convicted for Criminal Sexual Conduct wth underage males.

May 2011 Matt Jarrell, former Hyles-Anderson student, was arrested on suspicion of rape and sodomy after picking a woman up in a West Virginia bar. He then committed suicide in his jail cell before he could be made to face the charges against him.

October 2011 Greg Neal, Hyles-Anderson graduate, escapes charges of sexual misconduct by hiding evidence of his video voyeurism util the statute of limitations had run out. The church refuses to cooperate with the investigation.

January 2012 Tedd Butler, Hyles-Anderson graduate, is sentenced to twelve months in the county jail for Criminal Sexual Misconduct (in two separate counties) for his molestation of a five-year old boy.

Special dishonorable mention goes out to Dave Hyles, Hyles-Anderson graduate, former FBCH staff member, former heir to the Hyles throne, who has never been convicted but was attached to numerous scandals, and bravely pleaded the fifth amendment when questioned about the death of Brent Stevens.

For a college of just over 1000 people Hyles-Anderson College certainly does seem to have quite the stable of perverts, criminals, and twisted minds.

A big Thank You goes out to Jeri Massi who has worked tirelessly to document abuses cases not only from Hyles Anderson but also from fundamentalist institutions around the world. Her passion for helping victims and seeking justice for predators is unwavering.