Church

“My Life as the Daughter of a Cult Leader”

August 25, 2012 By vorjack 6 Comments

In the wake of Jack Schaap’s removal as pastor, here’s a TEDx talk by Linda Murphrey, daughter of Jack Hyles. Hyles was a pastor at First Baptist Church in Hammond before Schaap, and grew the church into a megachurch. During part of the 90s, First Baptist was probably the largest Baptist Church in America. And, according to Linda Murphy and a large number of other people who knew it, the church was a cult.

Listening to this, I’m reminded of a saying: the first rule in an abusive home is “don’t”. Don’t talk about it, don’t think about it, don’t write about it. It couldn’t happen, it doesn’t happen, and if it did it wasn’t that bad anyway.

(Note: this video was taken down and is now back up. It may go down again. I’ll keep an eye on it.)

Via The Way Forward

Filed Under: Christianity, Church, Videos 6 Comments

Ladies and Gentlemen, Jack Schaap

August 7, 2012 By vorjack 74 Comments

Jack Schaap, truly a Fundy’s Fundy, demonstrating how to polish a rod, while men in identical suits sit behind him trying not to stare at the perverse lunatic.

To the surprise of no one except those at First Baptist Church of Hammond, Jack Schaap is in trouble for sexual abuse. According to the Chicago Tribune, the FBI is investigating Schaap for a sexual relationship with an underaged girl. This has led to his ouster from the megachurch and set the Independent Baptist community back a step.

Those blogs that keep an eye on American fundamentalism have long seen this coming. Jeri at Blog on the Way has compiled an extensive list of stories relating to sexual abuse tied to First Baptist of Hammond and the associated Hyles-Anderson College. Stuff Fundies Like caught wind of the story back when Schaap was placed on “indefinite medical leave,” a code phrase for “about to be fired.” And Bruce Gerencser provides analysis of the legacy of Jack Hyles, Schaap’s father-in-law and former pastor of First Baptist. All three blogs have been following the story extensively and are worth a general read besides.