Lighthouse Trails Research Journal
John Crist—continued from previous page
other stories regarding sexual abuse we have
covered. One of the first books we ever pub-
lished is Laughter Calls Me, the true story of
a mother who learned her four children had
become victims of a child pornography ring.
In 2011, we wrote “Child Sex Abuse—
Can We Ignore It?,” which was a follow-up
article from one we did regarding sexual
abuse cover-up in Calvary Chapel. 3
In 2012, we wrote “‘Heartfelt’ Letter
from Voice of the Martyrs Neglects Con-
cern for 10-Year-Old Molested Child,”
which challenged Voice of the Martyrs on
how they were handling the tragic events of
VOM Executive Tom White’s molestation
of a little girl and his subsequent suicide. 4
Also in 2012, we released Seducers
Among Our Children a powerful book writ-
ten by Sergeant Patrick Crough who spent
over twenty years catching sexual predators
in the state of New York. Today, he heads
up a team in Florida fighting against human
trafficking.
In 2013, we released Gregory Reid’s
book The Color of Pain, a tribute to men
who were sexually abused as boys.
In 2014, radio host Jan Markell in-
terviewed Patrick Crough on protecting
children from Internet predators.
And also in 2014, we wrote “Bill Go-
thard Resigns from Institute in Basic Life
Principles Under Allegations of Sexual
Abuse.” 5 After years of Bill Gothard being
in a trusted position, over thirty now-grown
girls came forth with allegations of sexual
harrassment and assault by Gothard.
In 2015, we posted “Obama Adminis-
tration Enables ‘Boy Play’”—Child Moles-
tation Overlooked by U.S. Government.” 6
In 2017, we wrote “Saddleback Church
Statement Appears to Downplay Role of
Alleged Molester Ruben Meulenberg.” 7
In 2019, we wrote “Child Sexual
Abuse Scandal at Matt Chandler’s
Popular Village Church Raises Concerns
Over How Churches Handle Abuse.” 8
And there are other articles we have
VOLUME 8—NO. 1
19
posted on this issue of sexual abuse and
its cover up.
Most recently, we began carrying Pas-
tor Stacey Shifflet’s book Wolves Among
Lambs, an incredible and needed book that
describes his own story of being a victim
of sexual abuse and the cover up that fol-
lowed. Every church library should have
a copy of this book as it offers remarkable
insights and advice on how churches can
help protect their children.
We have given a bit of a recap of our
reporting over the years on sexual abuse be-
cause often when we post an article about
sexual abuse, someone comes forth and
challenges us asking why we are reporting
on something that is not within the param-
eters of deception in the church (New Age,
contemplative, etc.). It may be that those
people are not aware of the Lighthouse
Trails motto: “Bringing Light to Areas
of Darkness.” Another criticism we have
received when bringing to light sexual
abuse in the church is that we shouldn’t
voice such concerns for the world to see.
That’s an invalid criticism because the
secular news outlets report on these stories
as much or more than the church does. In
other words, the world is watching, and
they already know about it long before
Lighthouse Trails writes about it.
In some Christian coverage of John
Crist, his actions are being described as
a “sexual sin” that Crist has committed
against God. While this is true, we must
not minimize the horrific damage that
a sexual predator causes to his victims.
Already, it is reported that two of Crist’s
victims have left the Christian faith feel-
ing very betrayed by a man they highly
esteemed because he proclaims to be a
Christian. Crist used his Christian claim,
his power, his charisma, and his celebrity
status to lure in his victims.
If you are in church leadership and
know of abuse taking place, you have a
responsibility to the victims, to the law of
the land, to the church, and to God to do
all within your power to make sure it is
exposed and stopped.
If you are a member of a church,
make sure your church leadership is held
accountable and make sure all church
members, volunteers, and paid staff are
educated properly in how to protect chil-
dren, teens, and young adults from sexual
predators.
Churches and Christian groups are per-
haps the main target for sexual predators
because of the loving and trusting nature of
Christians. And when the sexual predator
claims to be one of us, the risk is all that
much higher.
ENOUGH
by Catherine Brown
(from Laughter Calls Me )
May kids be brave enough to tell
Parents be strong enough to believe
The Church, Christ-like
enough to support
America, wise enough to judge
May offenders be sorry enough to stop
ENDNOTES:
1. Taylor Berglund, “John Crist Cancels 2019
Tour Dates After Reports of Sexting, Harassment,
Manipulation” (Charisma Magazine, November 6,
2019, https://www.charismanews.com/us/78703-
john-crist-cancels-2019-tour-dates-after-reports-
of-sexting-harassment-manipulation).
2. Ibid.
3. “Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa named in
Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuit” (https://www.
lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=7211).
Also see: https://www.thedailybeast.com/
calvary-chapels-tangled-web.
4. https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.
com/blog/?p=9224.
5. https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.
com/blog/?p=14828.
6. https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.
com/blog/?p=18120.
7. https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.
com/blog/?p=22796.
8. https://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.
com/blog/?p=30348.
SPRING 2020