Allegations abound, stones are thrown, and more sheep are turned to unbelief by the behaviors of trusted spiritual leaders, authorities, mentors or personal messiahs. Christ's question to his disciples remains as relevant today as on the day he spoke it; “How long shall I suffer you?”. In other words, when will you learn to rely on Him as the Word of God and the in-dwelling Holy Spirit as the Voice of God?
In light of the recent allegations and scandal surrounding my former spouse and her ministry I have been asked to respond. Here it is:
For me, it is enough to walk humbly before my God. It is enough to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. It is enough to live without fame, fortune or accolade. Surely none of these things will attend me to the grave. It is enough to have learned how feeble, frail and fraught with failures my own life has been. It is enough to know that God will allow whatever it takes to bring each of us to repentance and relationship with Him, or to destruction and eternal separation from Him. It is enough to trust that God is the source of ultimate justice. I need not accuse, defend or act at all. He shall judge all through His Son, Jesus Christ.
That’s my public, official and scriptural response. My personal feelings are somewhat different as you might imagine. My soul is pierced by how grievous this scandal has become. I sorrow for my daughters and my grandchildren beyond what words can express. At the same time I pray healing for the harmed and God’s mercy to all.
For those asking about what I know. I have no personal knowledge of events related to criminal or misconduct allegations. I have been separated from my former spouse since she petitioned the Circuit Court of Morgan County Alabama for a divorce in March 1995. That divorce was granted by Judge Sherry Brown in August 1995. My former spouse remarried in December of 1995. She intentionally chose to estrange my daughters from me while they were still minors, a threat she made during our marriage and carried out after our divorce.
As adults, my daughters have written their respective biographical works blaming me for leaving them as children at ages 11 and 8, when in fact, I was put away by my former spouse. They have also estranged me from their children. The elder daughter “reconsidered” her childrens' relationships with me in 2014. The younger daughter cut off all communication with me in January 2016. By her, I have one grandchild I have never seen with my own eyes.
In her book, my former spouse alleges ignorance against me when I took up a defense for my younger daughter in December 2014. Her statements that I didn’t know what was going on are precisely correct. The reason for that is simple… everyone was told not to speak to me about family matters. Given the definition of ignorance, meaning “not knowing”, then she was absolutely correct, but the context is somewhat different than what was meant in her book.
So for the record, I am like Seargent Schultz from the 1960’s sitcom, Hogan's Heroes… "I know nothing. I see nothing. I hear nothing". That describes my personal knowledge of my former spouse, children, their spouses and my biological grandchildren since January 2016. My experience as ‘Patient Zero’ is largely anecdotal and perhaps outdated by the 30+ years my ex and I have been divorced. My current information is limited to that which most readers could find from publicly released statements, news articles and social media posts.
It’s worth mentioning, as a side note, that the Lord blessed me with a wonderful wife in June 2007. With her, I have been given another family that includes two daughters and a son. These have produced exactly seven lovely and wonderful grandchildren to replace the seven who were taken from me. My wife’s family is my family now! No man lives in a vacuum. We have been blessed to home school three of these grandchildren, one of whom has reached adulthood and is living a productive life and serving Christ in spirit and in truth. To these seven grandchildren I am their grandfather. I am loved by them and they are loved, and most beloved by me. Thank you Lord for preserving me in your Grace, granting me another chance and for finding peace in my old age.