I emphatically and strongly disagree with those who would assert that the church is a cult, he says. A truly just man will. It probably is one the most . Leverages . With these thoughts expressed, I bathe myself of you and any influence you may have had on me in the past. I felt like I had one main responsibility as a child. The church I grew up in was heavily intertwined w/ Hyles . He hated my mom. It was a fine sermon, and the people around memen in suits and ties with neatly combed hair, women in tastefully modest dresses, children sitting quietly beside themsmiled and nodded. 12:9). He owned our lives, and we didnt dare cross him, because we were too afraid we would lose everything. Up until she was about 10, "things seemed very. His preaching had gotten soI hesitate to use the word pornographic. It was so vulgar sometimes that it was just a grief to my spirit., Challenging Schaap, Busby says, was not an option: He had absolute power. Maybe you could start your investigation there. The Bible was to be interpreted literally and by Hyles alone. Thats why people just fell all over each other to exalt [Hyles]., The level of devotionand controlsometimes strayed into the absurd. Questions? Hyles lied about the existence of the door, saying, There IS no door, which was technically true at the time, since it had been removed after the matter became public! DeAnda, a trim 30-something who is spoken of as a candidate for the top job, made no references to sex. You are free to make copies of these at your own expense and share them with friends and family. Vic Nischik testified:These were passionate love notes from Jack Hyles to Jennie, all signed Your aching guy, Jack! They expressed undying love, telling Jennie that she was the only woman he loved. Linda Karlovec, Psychologist, Columbus, OH, 43221, (614) 389-9117, For many clients, achieving their goals means increasing their capacity for acceptance of themselves and others, empathy and . We can see men, but we cant see the Lord except through faith, and the preacher who is not walking by faith in Gods Word will be a man pleaser. The bravest voices lifted against him were the voices of women, the very women who had been hurt by this mans ungodly actions, women who showed themselves stronger than a huge number of weak-kneed, ostrich-like pastors. I grieve for them.. The rest of the open letter. After the divorce, Jennie moved into a brand new $150,000 condominium at Hyles generous behest. It was irresistible: The great Jack Hyles, the man of God, whose schools had dating rules so strict that you could earn a demerit by accidentally touching the end of a pencil held by someone of the opposite sex, was committing adultery. Excrement was left on his doorstep. He divorced his wife and married one of the 14. This was not merely a simple local church issue. When I think of him sitting in a jail cell right now, my heart can hardly handle the ache. The problem is that his dad has set himself up so good, that everybody doubts everything because thats how they have been taught. After serving in the army in World War II, he married his sweetheart, Beverly Slaughter. Former pastor of Temecula Valley Baptist Church, Temecula, California, Convicted in 1999 of molesting a 14-year-old girl. He could destroy you., In fact, he nearly destroyed Busbys marriage. Many people have an attitude of, S. The answer is definitely yes and there are a hundred people who know that. And even turned his own children against their mother. You are a self-proclaimed giant, sensationalist, exhibitionist, and 'big-time spender' grasping for every expression of love, admiration and loyalty that you can get your filthy little hands on. He had affairs. Actually, I have become quite a person with these many lessons of life under my belt and must admit that you were quite a teacher. It is a frightful fact that mans will drives his discernment. I am continually amazed at the pastors who defend Jack Hyles, denying that he was a moral reprobate as well as a dictatorial cult leader. These are not sharable. When all of this happened with our church in Garland, his dad didnt want to hear it. Linda is Jack Hyles daughter, and it appears that the hypocrisy she witnessed has driven her into the arms of skepticism, which is very sad, but it was not necessary. My dad pastored a church that evolved into a 50,000-member cult. You could see their family from our back door. Evaluate 3 (13395 Ratings) Top rated: 3 . It is a culture, past and present members say, enabled by cover-ups and cultlike control. View the profiles of people named Linda Murphrey. In 1972 came the crown jewel: Hyles-Anderson College, an unaccredited divinity school where would-be pastors are taught to export the Hyles approach to churches across the country. I literally feared for my very life if I ever told what went on in our home, for fear that it would hurt his ministry. THE TESTIMONY OF JUDY NISCHIKS DAUGHTERLetter to Jack HylesFrom Judy (Nischik) JohnsonOctober 1, 1986As I am sure you are well aware, my husband and I are moving to the Los Angeles area this month. I remember hearing once that it is not wise to put anything in writing that one would not want the entire world to see. And even turned his own children against their mother. THE TESTIMONY OF JACK HYLES DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, Dave Colemans Interview with Paula Hyles Polonco. Now if I walked up to you tonight and I said to you, Ive got something I want you to drink . According to dozens of current and former church members, religion experts, and historians interviewed by Chicagoplus a review of thousands of pages of court documentshe is part of what some call a deeply embedded culture of misogyny and sexual and physical abuse at one of the nations largest churches. We trust that your Christian honesty will preserve the integrity of this policy. It is nearly impossible, in fact, to entirely escape his influence among fundamental Baptists. The autopsy revealed trauma and numerous broken bones in various stages of healing. His dads philosophy is if I didnt see it I dont believe it. They also corrected a previous repo Join Facebook to connect with Linda Murphrey and others you may know. This preacher, who had held Hyles up as his hero for 20 years and loved the man deeply and prayed for him passionately, approached him in fear and trembling about the matter of the door. But Schaap is not simply one of those rogue evangelists who thunders against the evils of forbidden sex while indulging in it himself. Busby is far from the only person to compare First Baptist to a cult. I believe First Baptist Church gradually evolved into a cult that was in complete idolatry of my father and, after his death, complete idolatry of Jack Schaap, she says. It's a TED Talk by Linda Murphrey. We dont love anyone as much as you! Then he would call us Poopsy-Woopsy and give us pizza and money., To go off campus to buy pantyhoserequired wear for womenwe needed a special pass, Busby says, and had to have three chaperones. A string of assaults and sexual crimes committed by pastors across the country have one thing in common: The perpetrators have ties to the megachurch in Hammond, Indiana. The pastor continued in this vein at some length, proving himself adept at building straw men, creating smoke screens, and straining at gnats. Within a couple of years, his flock had swelled to 4,000, earning Hyles a far-reaching reputation. But all that needs to happen is for the right pastor to come alongi.e., a man with a strong, charismatic personality who is a leaderand boom! Walking away from fundamentalist Christianity was a pivotal event in my life. It was craziness, living one way, preaching another. I entered a bit after the 6 p.m. start time, ducked past the crimson-coated ushers, and found a seat in what I eventually realized was the section reserved for the deaf. In 2000, Joseph was sentenced to 114 years in prison; Evangeline got 65. I knew the man first hand. Yes, then, I agree. The earliest memory of my mother's affair with Jack Hyles that I can remember dates back to the 1960's. , because his influence is so pervasive even to this day. Either by her own choosing or by inability or by unreasonableness, she never did meet those expectations. Her office had a door opening to Hyles' office, but there was a drape in front of it so that no one coming into her office could see it. You are a self-proclaimed giant, sensationalist, exhibitionist, and 'big-time spender' grasping for every expression of love, admiration and loyalty that you can get your filthy little hands on. It was going to be me and my big mouth that ruined my marriage, not Davids actions. Our primary goal with the FBIS is to provide material to assist preachers in the edification and protection of the churches. He was chased from a job running the Sunday school at a church in Pinellas Park, Florida, over allegations of more affairs. The fear of man is as much a problem among preachers as it is among teenagers, and it makes a man weak and incapable of taking the proper stand for truth. In passing, it is interesting to note that Hyles evidence against Vic is loose, unsubstantiated, secondhand, hearsay gossip from unnamed sources (Robert Sumner, The Jack Hyles Story, chapter 5: The Hyles Reply). Fourth, our attitude toward sin reveals the condition of our hearts. He would write the Sunday lessons, and he would teach the teachers what he wanted them to say on the Wednesday night before the church service, says a former member. Then, she makes claim for Linda to claim Linda was abused is a self-centered cry for attention and demeaning to those who were actually abused. So [authorities] have asked us to come in and conduct a thorough investigation. He was so interested in mine and Davids personal relationship. As with most of his sermons at the northwest Indiana megachurchthe 14th largest in the country and the biggest Independent Baptist house of worship in the nationthe message struck as bluntly as a pounded nail: Submit to Gods plan for your life or be snapped like a twig and flung away (as Schaap would demonstrate by cracking a stick over his head, tossing it aside, and barking, Next!). The saddest realization is that it has all been under the guise of Christianity. But even a saved man can deceive himself. I mean, absolutely, purely shocking. But those who have left, the followers who have tried to leave, the outsiders, even the media (it was on 20/20 last year) recognize that it is clearly a cult. Early in my life I learned that there was one thing that could kill a festive mood at a dinner party. He used his temper as a form of control.. You had to really look. With your own insecurities and personal failures as your driving force, you have quite simply played havoc with an entire church, some of my dearest friends and worst of all, my family. You could still see it from his office. For example, after Schaaps conviction, many church members blamed his victim as a temptress. But neither did he dwell on compassion. My older brother became another version of my father. David was a blatant liar. Nischiks letter, which he later publicized, said in part,MY HOME WAS TAMPERED WITH AND MY MARRIAGE DELIBERATELY WRECKED BY JACK HYLES. For information see: www.wayoflife.org/about/makeanoffering.html. Virtually no one would marry without Hyless blessing, several former church members say. Nevertheless, the story of First Baptist is epic enough to rival the most sordid Old Testament tale. Author: jimbaumerexperience.com. Trisha LaCroix, who attended Hyles-Anderson College, says that she was disowned by her parentsFirst Baptist members bothin part for daring to wear pants. I attended at least 12 Pastors Schools. . I thank God for giving me the sense to decide not to become one of the neurotic puppets you employ. Be the first to contribute! Female students at Hyles-Anderson, Busby recalls, underwent sporadic pajama inspections. If the tops and bottoms didnt match, says Busby, dorm supervisors would sometimes make us strip right there and put on an approved set., The pajama-clad young women would gather in the chapel to wait for Hyles. Dr. Linda Lowes, a physical therapist and researcher specializing in the assessment of neuromuscular dystrophies, is a principal investigator in the Center for Gene Therapy and a research associate professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University. He left everything to the organization, which my younger sister and her husband now lead. Wearing a gray blazer, a red patterned tie, and dark pants, clutching a Bible in his left hand, he stopped in front of the TV cameras and planted a long kiss on his wife, Cindy, 52. Dr. Hyles lying was blatant just like Davids. Money poured into the church in other ways: the tithes collected each Sunday, a book-publishing arm, and various conferences and seminars. As I am sure you are well aware, my husband and I are moving to the Los Angeles area this month. Cindy cut off her own sister, Linda Murphrey, who left the cult and has spoken publicly in Ted talks about how her father was abusive, hated her mother, abused church members, and enjoyed his affairs while preaching condemnation to others from the pulpit. until the child is crying, not tears of anger but tears of a broken will. They should leave stripes if need be. Fundamental Baptists organization, which my younger sister and her husband now lead Interview with Paula Hyles Polonco doubts because! 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