Trail of Tears and Blood

Matthew Jarrell was pastor of Miller Road Baptist Church which then merged with Open Door Baptist, was once home to Dave Hyles, son of Jack Hyles of Faith Baptist Church, Hammond, IN.  At some point Matthew Jarrell was simultaneously the pastor of both churches.

Current pastor Jack Shaap is the brother-in-law of Dave Hyles.

Here are a couple of the major low-lights of the story, involving men directly involved with First Baptist Church in Hammond:

A.V. Ballenger, a deacon and bus route driver at Hyles’ First Baptist Church Hammond, was convicted in March of 1993 (and sentenced in July of 1993 to five years in jail) of molesting a seven year old girl. (This crime occurred in a Sunday School room of the church! Incredibly, after conviction, but prior to sentencing, Ballenger was allowed to resume his FBCH bus route!) The highlight of the sentencing hearing was the testimony of three young women. Each was molested by Ballenger when she was a child, and in each case, before age seven. Jack Hyles, who testified on Ballenger’s behalf, defiantly declared the outcome of the trial null and void, claiming that the courts had no jurisdiction in this matter. Hyles told the girl’s parents, “Deacon Ballenger just likes little girls.” 

David Hyles, Jack Hyles’ son, had affairs with at least 19 different women at Miller Road Baptist Church in Garland, Texas, during the time he pastored there. (He was dismissed when a janitor found photos of Hyles having sex with a deacon’s daughter.) Back in the Chicago area (Bolingbrook, IL), and after David’s divorce from his wife, David was cohabitating with a woman by the name of Brenda Stevens. Brenda posed for pornographic pictures in Adam and Chicago Swingers magazines (in an advertisement for group sex) during the time she and David were living together. After David married Brenda, Brenda’s 17-month-old son by a previous marriage was found battered and dead at the Hyles’ home. The police still consider the case a murder and continue to view David and Brenda as prime suspects. At the coroner’s inquest in 1985, Brenda was a no-show, while David Hyles pleaded the Fifth Amendment. [In June of 2003, it was reported that David Hyles had been kicked out of another church (Pinellas Park Baptist in the Florida Keys), this time over a 9-woman sex scandal. Nevertheless, David Hyles still kept a a full itinerary of speaking to churches on Sunday School growth for quite a while thereafter.] 

I post these examples to point out the head-in-the-sand attitude that many Christians take to avoid confronting the truth.  I point that out to show, this is not a new phenomena. Long before Tina Anderson, there was the horrific case of Esther Coombs that was highlighted on ABC News Primetime.

There are 1000’s of similar cases out there.  For too long, When confronted with the evidence that they turn around and it insist the evidence doesn’t exist.  They complain when the media does a story on abuse, it is painting fundamentalism with “too broad a brush.” For all their insistence and whining, fundamentalist preachers chose to close their eyes tight, stick their fingers in their ears and scream, “I’m not listening! I’m not listening!” And then go on to prepare their Sunday morning sermon series on the pedophilia scandal plaguing the Catholic Church and how this proves that Catholicism is from the pit of hell.  The Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International (*note: Chuck Phelps is the vice-chairmen) wrote the following resolution against sex abuse by the Catholic church in 2002.

02.9 CONCERNING PERVERSION IN THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD

The Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International condemns the perversion of the Roman Catholic priesthood that has recently become undeniable and widely known. We express outrage at any official hindrances to prosecution and hesitancy to dismiss from leadership not only those who are guilty of these sins and crimes, but also those who harbor them, regardless of the group responsible. Within the system of Romanism, we find many of the characteristics of the seducing spirits identified in I Timothy 4:1-3. We condemn such a corrupt and heretical system that fosters this abuse, and call professing believers to obey the command of 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

While this blog, or no one wants to down play the sexual abuse that take place in any church, it should be noted that the FBFI has NEVER issued any resolution condemning abuse, physical or sexual abuse, whatsoever, from within Independent Baptist Fundamentalism. It is past time, fundamentalist leaders, pastors and their faithful members demand accountability.  It is time to stop blaming the child victim, in any way whatsoever, for the crime committed against them. It is past time, they stop “investigating,” as Chuck Phelps did, when sexual assault of a child or teen is revealed, and turn it over to the authorities whose experience and training with investigating sex crimes. It is past time, for fundamentalist leaders and pastors to practise what they preach and separate from people like Chuck Phelps who, made a conscious choice, to allow a degenerate who raped a teen girl to remain free, while sending the teen girl into exile.  No matter, what Chuck Phelps “thought,” he was wrong.  He was Tina’s shepherd.  He has told people that he was trying to save the Willis marriage.  Phelps testified on the stand that, Tina had less to lose than Willis.  Rape has been called “soul murder” for a reason. Our criminal justice system is not perfect, but it is responsible for investigate and prosecute these crimes. According to the scriptures, that is one thing for which government is ordained of God.