In
this essay, I will briefly
address three Christian
situations/personalities with
short excerpts pertaining to the
title. I got to know these three
men, two of them were
pedophiles. Afterwards, I will
raise some pointed observations
in hope of raising awareness in
response to those that don’t
want to talk about things!
The
Martin Luther King Question
As
a junior in college in 1988, I
had asked the question, “Dr.
Faulkner, is there any truth to
the rumor that Martin Luther
King was denied enrollment at
Tennessee Temple University (TTU)
due to race?” Dr. Faulkner was
Dr. Lee Roberson’s right hand
man at Highland Park Baptist
Church and TTU for decades. For
those unaware, the South (USA)
was racially segregated at the
time. Dr. Faulkner could have
simply addressed this, and put
an end to the rumor!
Random
chance initially paired us
together on a local golf course.
After that day’s first round,
he asked for my number and we
ended up playing again on two
different occasions. Dr.
Faulkner was a pleasant man to
be around, but his countenance
quickly changed after I had
asked the question about Martin
Luther King. He didn’t answer
my question and that was the
last time that he asked me to
play a round of golf! I was
persona non-gratta afterwards!
Instead
of answering a straight up
question that could have
squelched a long-standing rumor,
he let me know that he didn’t
want to discuss it.
His silence spoke volumes.
Dr.
Bob Gray, Jacksonville, FL
pedophile ex-minister
At
one time, Dr. Bob Gray’s star
was as bright as one gets as an
Independent Baptist pastor. He
was considered to be perhaps the
finest pulpiteer in the country;
his church’s Sunday-school
numbers were amongst the nations
largest; he was often in the
Sword of the Lord newspaper, and
he was the president of Trinity
Baptist College!
I
was enrolled at his college in
1987 and was called into his
office for “disciplinary”
reasons due to two preacher’s
kids getting demerits for being
tardy. His associate pastor gave
me the “heads up” for what I
was about to encounter. He told
me that he had never seen
anything like this before and
that he was having problems with
“they’re having a meeting
with me” about something so
petty! He assured me that I had
done nothing improper and he
told me that he admired my
character and work ethic.
Nevertheless, I walked into a
crowded room with all of the
school’s “luminaries”
gathered for my head.
I
listened with disgust as the
stooges proceeded, it was clear
that they had no interest to
discuss things. I asked, “Did
you consider what your
distinguished associate pastor
who knew all of the details had
said? I see that no one present
here was decent enough to talk
with me man to man prior to this
“big” meeting!” I then
looked Dr. Gray straight in the
eyes and said, “you ought to
be ashamed of yourself!” He
demanded that I apologize
immediately for my statement. My
last words to the man were
these: “I will not apologize!
I am a reasonable man; you and
your staff members have no sense
of equity! You’re a bunch of
perverts!” I adjourned the
meeting and transferred to
another school! The associate
pastor resigned, leaving the
school as well!
Those
last words that I spoke to Dr.
Gray proved to be prophetic in
deed!Dr. Bob Gray was a
pedophile and the church had
covered these things up for
quite some time! He was
imprisoned and was awaiting
trial when he died. Should you
want more details, visit this link
about Trinity.
PS: While I didn't know at the time of Gray's pedophilia, I take great satisfaction in recognizing, 20 years earlier than the general public, and was able to look the bastard in the eyes and to call him a pervert to his face! Priceless!
Donald
Domelle, Salinas, CA pedophile
ex-minister
I
once knew Donald Domelle and his
family very well! I attended his
church, Baptist Temple of
Salinas while I was stationed in
the US Army in 1983. After I
graduated from TTU in 1990, I
returned to California and
stayed in the Domelle’s home
for a few weeks. There were a
lot of good memories, amongst
those was the time that I took
the guys to see Nolan Ryan’s
sixth no-hitter in Oakland! But
things changed afterwards and we
grew apart. By 1993, the visits
trickled down to my visiting
once or twice a year. 1999 was
the last time that I had spoken
with Donald Domelle or his wife
Margaret (she has since passed
away).
Brian
(L) & Donald Domelle
May 1983 at Baptist Temple
of Salinas
My
first acquaintance with one of
the victims was just prior to my
leaving the church in 1984 (I
received orders to West
Germany). This victim came under
the Domelle’s custody about
the time I departed California
and was adopted about the time
that I returned in 1990. She was
a sweet and lovely child that
shared the common desire that
all kids need growing up: the
security and feeling that she
belonged and was loved! The
victim’s mother’s lifestyle
choices resulted in an
inappropriate environment to
raise a child. So she turned to
someone that she thought that
she could trust to raise her
daughter.
It
pains me to think of all of the
agony and suffering that this
victim has had to endure in
life, to me she isn’t just
another face in the crowd! In
the later years as a visitor, I
noticed a rigid demeanor towards
the victim, primarily from
Margaret. Things as
insignificant as a grain of rice
falling from the victim’s fork
en-route to her mouth were
enough to draw the ire of the
adopting mother. It must have
been a daily living hell for
this sweet little girl that I
once knew! When she told of her
abuse, nobody believed her. She
was then sent away (by the
Domelle’s) to another
Christian school in Texas. She
was engulfed in an uncritical
culture that was oblivious of
humanity!
I
don’t think that the
mother’s initialdecision
to turn her daughter over to the
Domelle’s was a dangerous
decision at the time.At least two of the
Domelle’s own kids were still
living in the home then. But
time and pressure have ways of
changing a man (addressed on The
Pleasure Police page). He
was a man of small physical
stature that after many years of
praying with folks turned to
preying on vulnerable children
while openly occupying a pulpit.
Donald
Domelle was facing more that 50
criminal charges but took a plea
agreement on Jan. 19, 2006 admitting
to two felony counts of lewd
conduct with a child and agreed
to a minimum of 15 years in
prison. He isn’t eligible to
apply for parole until he turns
80.
Since
discovering this case, I have
contacted the closest family
member that I knew how to reach
in Salinas (this was his
son-in-law). My questioning
about how such a close-knit
family could be so “blind”
and fail to notice the events
within the home, church, and
school went unanswered! You
guessed it, “He didn’t want
to talk about it!”
There
was no sympathy for the victims,
only the pedophile. This
ex-minister started off in the
Independent Baptist culture, I
haven’t noticed much critical
inquiry from within their
movement to curb their
pedophilia problems. Both
pedophiles (Gray & Domelle)
were Independent Baptists.
The Independent Baptist
ringleader Jerry Falwell once
stated that the Trinity
situation was a mere "bump
in the road"! With
statements like these, do you
think that they have a clue?
For
the sake of brevity, there is so
much more that could be said
here. Churches aren’t going
away anytime soon. Many of us
aren’t satisfied with the
effort or effectiveness of
churches to address what has
become a problem of epidemic
magnitude. I do not trust the
churches to police themselves!
Nor should you! I would welcome
and hope that the new incoming
Secretary of the Department of
Health and Human Services would
bring new energy and critical
concern in addressing these
types of problems. They would
certainly have my enthusiastic
support!
Concluding
remarks
I
can’t help but notice how some
church folks emulate their
Biblical Adam by evasion and
hiding when they themselves are
scrutinized or called into
accountability! It’s a shame
that they have chosen to retain
the negative lessons of the
scriptures rather than the
positive! How can they teach
others when they themselves have
not learned?
I
see right through these folks.
They are blinded about the
plight of their fellow man and
hide behind their pulpits. One
senses the inner turmoil of a
man that refuses to discuss
something. You know one is
headed in the wrong direction
when they refuse to face
reality. Their silence speaks,
but what is says about
themselves isn't admirable!
There
are plenty of good men and women
in churches! But the “red
flags” should be raised when
they do not want to discuss
something. Yes, sometimes there
are good reasons not to discuss
things but churches have proven
themselves to be unworthy of the
benefit of the doubt!
I
am suspicious of those that want
to save others from the
“devil”. As well as those
that insist on “teaching”
others something yet they
themselves are oblivious to the
humanity of their fellow man! So
much so that they fail to notice
such things as I have addressed
here such as racism and
pedophilia. They do not
want to talk about it, but I
do!
Brian
WorleyEx-minister.orgMarch 2, 2009All rights reserved.
