Jeff Testerman Pulitzer Prize Winning “Fabulist”!

Jeff Testerman
Tampa Bay Times

Nobody covers dirt better than Jeff Testerman,  the Tampa Bay Times’ veteran investigative reporter, says Creative Loafing Magazine.  Why is he now being accused of being a “fabulist”?  What is a fabulist?  a liar, especially a person who invents elaborate, dishonest stories.  When you are finished with this story, you will probably understand why.  Now remember this is only one story of many written by Jeff Testerman over the years for the Times that have proven to be full of fabrications and exaggerations.  Some of the stories put Testerman in court defending his stories before a jury and judge.  

Testerman is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist has made a career by digging deeply into issues of public interest often involving political corruption or corporate wrongdoing. However, Testerman known for his over-ambitious reporting, has been accused of embellishing and even fabricating his stories to sell newspapers.  The Tampa Bay Times, who employees Testerman is known to many in the Tampa Bay area for yellow journalism in the style of the National Enquirer.   A prime example from their archive is the “embarrassment of winning a 1985 Pulitzer Prize for an “investigation” of a local sheriff who was later exonerated by the court.  Who needs facts when you can make them up, many of Testerman’s co-workers would say!   The Times and Testerman have both been accused of violating the code of conduct for journalism,  which is to report news events and issues accurately and fairly, not manufacture it.

 

Belinda Clark
2014

Over the years, the Times has resorted to questionable tactics that are even unethical and illegal, say journalism and legal experts in order to sell newspapers.  Jeff Testerman has been Tampa Bay Times leading investigative reporter for many years.  His penchant for getting the “scope” has led him in the the ‘weeds” on many occasions and even landed him in court defending himself from libel as in the case of the Seminole Indian Tribe.  Now some excuse his “over-ambitious” techniques as the price for getting “big stories of corruption in the community!  However, for every accurate story their have been others that were proven to be nothing more than Testerman’s ability to include some facts in his story to lend credibility to the conclusions he has drawn that are not only proven to be wrong but in some cases nothing more that slander.   One Times employee who knows Testerman said, “if Jeff said it, they probably did it and if he got the facts wrong, they probably deserved it anyway!”

The problem is not when Jeff Testerman or other Times reporters get a story right but how many people have been hurt when he gets it wrong?  In one of several libel cases brought against Testerman, he was caught fabricating sources and entire stories.  However, the Times did not fact checking Testerman stories and printed them anyway.    Testerman’s style is to write every story as if he was “god”.  He would become policeman, judge and executioner of his subjects as he wrote with absolute impunity. He had the reputation of being a  journalist with a grasp on all the facts.  He often drew conclusions about the story that later proved false.  However, Mr. Testerman was an award-winning reporter who never backed down from his assumptions even when he is proven wrong. Our search of the Time archive could not find one retraction made by Testerman in the years that he has worked for them.  Testerman seems to be so sure of himself that he will  rarely us the word “alleged” but rather writes his stories with impunity.  In person he can be a snake charmer or an ass.  When Testerman’s writes a story, one would wonder why bother having a hearing or trial, after all, the all knowing Jeffry Testerman has spoken!  This classless reprobate gives readers assurance that guilt is certain and the case should be closed.  After all, Testerman is always right and there is no need for a trial, just get the rope and “lynch them”!  

In one such series of stories written through out 2003, Mr. Testerman had investigated the “divorce of

Daryl Scott Akers (mugshot)

one of Tampa Bay’s most popular pastors, Ron Clark of the mega sized Living Water Church located on I-4 across from the fair grounds. Testerman stories made the headlines of the Times as he reported that Clark had “embezzled funds and hid the money offshore”!  He reported he had evidence that Clark even had plans to flee prosecution and “flee to the jungles of Africa”.  The fact is Testerman was “creating a story” that simply had no facts to support it.  The truth is Clark was investigated by IRS because of Testerman’s stories .  Testerman does not tell you that his source for the story was Clark’s wife who used the made up story to try and gain an advantage in a custody battle with her husband.  After a year of being investigated by the criminal division of the IRS, Clark was cleared of any wrongdoing and Testerman’s source for the story, Belinda Clark was convicted of perjury.  In addition, Clark obtained full and permanent custody of both minor children in part due to Belinda Clark’s perjured testimony.  Once again neither the Times or Testerman failed to print a retraction or correction to his scurrilous stories.

Another bold headline story written by Testerman indicated that Clark had been accused of domestic violence by his estranged wife, Belinda Clark.  Testerman took the “scope” he obtained from Belinda and wove it into a story that the reader would have naturally assumed that Clark would go to jail. Testerman’s story ends there.  He fails to inform his readers that a hearing was held in Pasco County  before Judge Linda Babb and that Clark that the allegations did not result in any charges and Clark was cleared of any wrongdoing.    The judge ruled that Belinda and her witnesses lacked “candor” and her story seemed to change each time she testified.  However, Testerman knowing the outcome of the hearing continued to repeat that Clark had been accused of domestic violence in other stories but never mentioned that no charges were ever filed in the case.  This is the Testerman style, he seems to believe that if he says something enough times that it will become true.  He never admitted in his articles that his assumptions about Clark were proven to be baseless and without merit.  Did that bother Testerman, probably not.

Testerman’s portrayal of Belinda Clark as the victim seemed to sell newspapers.  Their is nothing more outlandish than a preachers wife accusing him of wrongdoing!   It seemed to be apparent to Testerman that this was just an old fashion divorce by an unfaithful wife but that story does not sell newspapers.  However, by making the wife a victim of violence mixed with accusations of thousands of dollars stolen from a church and you got front page news.

The truth that came out in sworn testimony but was never printed in the paper was Belinda Clark was having an old fashion torrid sexual affair with a convict turned minister named Daryl Ackers.  Both

Pastor Ron Clark

Belinda and Ackers worked at the Carpenters Home Church with Pastor Karl D. Strader.  Belinda was the principal of the church school and Ackers was the prison and visitation minister.   Belinda was hiding her affair in order to get an advantage in the divorce and custody hearings.  She wanted to get $4,000 a month in permanent alimony,  keep custody of their two minor children along with several thousand dollars in child support.  Her efforts backfired on her and her lover Daryl Ackers was caught selling narcotics and had to testify in his prison orange jumpsuit and shackles.  His testimony confirmed their drug fueled love affair.   He asked Belinda to wait for him to get out of prison to marry him.  He was carried out of court professing his deep love for her.  You think this would have been salacious enough to make the paper but it didn’t.  Why you might ask?  Testerman had already made Clark out the villain in his story and was not wiling to admit his assumptions were wrong.

In the end, Testerman stopped reporting on the Clark’s when Judge Linda Babb charged the source of his stories with perjury.  A fact that was printed by the Times rival newspaper the Tampa Tribune.   Belinda Clark was convicted of conspiring together with her sister-in-law, Linda Clark-Gestrin (Clark’s sister) to deceive the court by fabricating stories and coordinating their testimony for nearly a year.   Both Mrs. Clark and Gestrin were implicated in “suborning perjury” which resulted in a trial and conviction of Belinda Clark where she was sentenced to one year in jail but later the judge suspended the sentence since it was her first criminal conviction.

Part II

Linda Gestrin city commissioner High Springs Fl

Apparently Belinda Clark’s conviction for perjury in a Pasco County Court had a dramatic affect on her claim for permanent alimony and custody of the Clark’s two minor children. Belinda lost custody to her husband of both minor children along with nearly $2000.00 a month child support.   Florida courts rarely gives a husband “sole custody” of minor children.  In addition, Belinda was ordered to pay child support for their care.

In the matter of permanent alimony, court records indicated that she could have received up to $4,000.00 per month but the Judge ruled that she was entitled to no alimony.  apparently, Pastor Clark was forced to file for divorce when Belinda, his of 25 years ran off with the Clark’s minor children after her sexual affair with a convict turned minister turned convict again,  became public   Florida does not have “legal separation” and there is no legal way for one parent to get custody of minor children from another parent except after filing for a divorce.  Clark said in court that he was forced to file and try to get custody of the children when he did not see them for months.  Once Clark filed the divorce papers,  his wife, Belinda started her accusations of wrongdoing against her husband.

Reverend Karl Strader

Pastor Clark later testified in court that he did not want a divorce and hoped he could reconcile with his wife.  He stated “She is the first and only girl I have ever loved”.  He went to say “I could forgive her of the affairs but when she took the children away for months and I knew when the children told me what they were seeing their mom and boyfriend doing,  I knew that I had to file the divorce and try to get them home.”

Evidently, Pastor Clark’s fears about his children’s welfare were founded in truth.  In court testimony it became evident that  Belinda was having an affair with a convicted con man and drug dealer Reverend Daryl Akers. Akers, was a convicted felon who reportedly “got religion in a Florida prison”. Subsequent to his release, he was hired by the Reverend Karl Strader and his son . Reverend Stephen Strader to be the outreach minister for the church.

Reverend Karl Strader is the pastor of the 10,000 seat Carpenters Home Church which was one of the

Carpenters Home Chruch

largest churches in America during the 1990’s but has since collapsed and is only a few hundred people.  The demise of the church was caused in large part by the The Reverend Strader’s son, Daniel Strader age 37,  who defrauded many hundreds of the churches senior members of millions of dollars in an fraudulent investment scheme.  He plead innocent but was convicted 238 felony counts and sentenced to 45 years in prison in August 1995.  The evil and wicked deeds of Dan Strader and his 238 counts of theft, fraud and racketeering have haunted Carpenter’s Home Church in Lakeland for years.

Apparently Rev. Strader had hired Daryl Ackers to do visitation in the prisons and homes of the members.  Ackers was a convicted felon who found religion while in prison.  In addition, Strader had asked Belinda Clark to come serve as the principal of the large school located at the church.  While attending a staff meeting Ackers and Clark met one another and a sexual affair ensued.  After months of secret meetings in seedy hotels the affair became public.  Belinda Clark’s husband, Pastor Ron Clark was pastor of one of Tampa’s largest churches called Living Water.  He was forced to file for divorce in order to get custody of the couples two minor children who had disappeared with their mother and her boyfriend.  This resulted in a very public and messy divorce that made it into the local papers.  A year long battle in the court ensued.  Clark obtained a “bifurcated divorce” after within a few months of filing the paperwork.  However, the custody and alimony issues were not settled for many months.

Reverend Karl Strader

Judge  Babb stated in her final ruling in the custody battle that “no evidence” was ever presented to the court to substantiate their outlandish accusations made against Dr. Ronald Clark by his now ex-wife and his sister, Linda Gestrin.  The fact that both Belinda and Mrs. Gestrin had made up the stories about Pastor Clark and  Belinda’s conviction for perjury committed in the case also had a dramatic affect on the judge’s ruling.  Belinda’s claim for permanent alimony of nearly $4,000 per month was denied by the court.   As for custody of the Clark’s two minor children, the judge ruled in favor of Pastor Clark and gave him “permanent custody” of both children even though Florida courts seem to always rule in favor of the wife.  In addition, Belinda forfeited about $2000.00 a month child support and was also ordered to pay child support for their care.   The judge had already granted Pastor Clark a “bifurcated divorce” around August 2003 but had reserved on the matters of alimony and custody until nearly a year later.

Also contained in the judges final ruling was that much of Belinda Clark’s testimony and that of Pastor Ron Clark’s sister,  Linda Clark Gestrin’s testimony was not considered by the judge as truthful or credible.  Belinda Clark paid a high price for her lying to the court.  One person who was in the courtroom when the ruling was given said ” I wonder if she would have had that affair if she would have known what it was going to cost her?”    Testerman did not report any of the judge’s decision to the public.

Finally,  after a year-long criminal investigation by the IRS was suddenly closed by the Justice

Department when the only witnesses, Belinda Clark and Linda Clark-Gestrin, with any information about the alleged wrong doing by either Clark or the Living Water Church board of trustees were accused of Perjury.  Testerman was provided with a copy from the United States Justice Department to Dr. Clark indicating that the case was closed but chose not to report write an article about that fact.    It is apparent that Testerman and the Times probably did not report the way this who story ended to the readers since the Times had printed so many articles for the past year and a half “accusing and implicating Clark of criminal wrongdoing”.

The truth true about the Clark’s divorce probably would not have garnered the “headlines” or got Mr. Testerman another nomination for a “Pulitzer Prize” if he had written the real story.   Belinda Clark had an “old fashion sexual affair and she got caught.  All she wanted to do was cover her moral failure by making her husband the story and it almost worked”.  said Pastor Clark’s lawyer, renowned Tampa attorney,  Arnie Levine said in a TV news interview when asked about the Clark’s divorce.   Levine went on to say ” I am satisfied that anyone who is interested in the truth would come to the same conclusions as the judge in this case”.   How many other stories that were written by Mr. Jeff Testerman over his illustrious career were true?  No one will ever know.

 

 

Testerman’s Con on Tampa Bay (part one)

Testerman’s Con on Tampa Bay (part one)

The Truth About Jeff Testerman 

Written by Brett James (free-lance reporter) trialbypress.wordpress.com

(2005, 2012 updated and re-published)

Jeff Testerman
Tampa Bay Times

TAMPA BAY-   Jeff Testerman was an award winning, Pulitzer Prize star of the St. Pete Times. However, he seemed to make a habit of only telling the parts of his investigative reports that fit his story line.  Many have said he sensationalized his articles to get attract readers and sell newspapers!   He is quoted as saying “I am not in the business of telling the truth but a story that sells papers”. 

In one particular series concerning the Seminole Indian Tribe , Testerman and the Times faced a lawsuit for libel from a powerful Indian Tribe in Florida.   The Seminole Indian Tribe responded with scathing comments about Testerman and the Times in their Tribal Newspaper.   Testerman was accused of writing articles with manufactured or exaggerated evidence and he was accused of the unethical way he tried to gather his evidence.  Testerman wrote a belligerent attack on the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida, However, he had finally met a powerful and wealthy adversary whose operations are financed by tribal casinos.  There deep pockets were probably deeper than the Times and they were not going to take it lying down.  Testerman and the Times had misjudged the tribe for the last time.  Testerman’s investigative reports were on public trial and the Seminole Indians had their own media outlets to spread the story.   Testerman was brought to his knees and humiliated some said at it cast a long, dark shadow on all the articles that he has written, said many who heard the facts.  The Seminole Tribe prevailed in the courts splint decision.  

In another investigative report where Testerman seemed to base his entire story on questionable

Pastor Ron Clark
2014

investigative techniques, half-truths and innuendos occurred when Testerman set out to destroy a prominent Tampa minister, Pastor Ron Clark of Living Water Church in 2003 and 2004.  His stories made front page news and were read by tens of thousands around the world.  The problems with the story line he created was they proved to be false.  Pastor Clark was in the middle of a divorce with his wife of 25 years, Belinda Clark.  Pastor Clark sister, Linda Clark Gestrin had joined her sister in law, Belinda in making serious charges concerning Pastor Clark’s handling of church finances.  As a result of their accusations, it became apparent that Mr. Testerman had a “juicy story” that could win him another “Pulitzer”!   After all, everyone is interested in a “crooked preacher” story.  However, just as the Seminole Tribe discovered the truth about Mr. Testerman, so did a group of college journalism students that took the time to verify his stories.  His accusations were bogus at best and probably should have resulted in another “libel suit” but Pastor Ron Clark and the church did fight back.  I will explain just how we came to this conclusion that Pastor Ron Clark was vilified by Testerman with his “fictional story line”.  Here is the basis for our conclusions.

I investigated this story with a group of students as an assignment for our journalism class in 2005.  As an idealistic student with a passion for writing, I wanted to “learn” from the Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalism skills of Mr. Testerman.     I traveled to Dade City, Florida to read for myself the court records of the divorce proceedings.  Hundreds of hours of sworn testimony were on record.  I interviewed witnesses, court observers as well as Living Water Church members and board members who knew Pastor Clark best.  I was also able to track down a few relatives and they gave me insight into Pastor Clark and his sister Linda Clark Gestrin.  It became very apparent that most of what Mr. Testerman wrote in the TIMES was either half true or not true at all.

I was able to read a copy of the “depositions” of the Clark’s, Gestrin and other prominent witnesses.   I was shocked at the discrepancies between the “St. Pete TIMES” articles and the actual court records.  Mr. Testerman’s stories imply that Pastor Clark was involved in some nefarious activity, but Arnie Levine, one of Clark’s attorneys said in a TV interview, “Mrs. Clark was caught in an affair with the Rev. Daryl Akers and this is just an old fashion divorce”. Deposition testimony supports Mr. Levines statements. Reverend Daryl Akers, who is an an inmate in the Florida State Corrections system, was convicted on drug sale charges and could not be reached for comment.  However, the court records indicate that he was called to testify in the Clark’s divorce and admitted to having an ongoing “sexual relationship” with Mrs. Clark.  He indicated that he met her while they both served on the staff of the Carpenters Home Church with Pastor Karl Strader.

 

Belinda Clark
2014

Akers was brought to court by prison guards and was wearing a prison orange jumpsuit, white slippers and was shackled both hands a feet as he testified.  Akers is awaiting sentence on numerous felonies and will spend years behind bars.  Akers apparently used his “status” as a minister for a cover during his drug deals.  He told the court that he would be a much better “dad” for the Clark’s two minor children than Pastor Clark.  He was angry that “Belinda had broken up with him when he was convicted and jealous that she already is living with a new boyfriend, Ronnie Fraley.  Akers was drug from the courtroom by Bailiffs and was crying.  Mrs. Clark had no comment on her love affair with Akers but confirmed that her new boyfriend was Ronnie Fraley.  When asked if exposing her children to men like Akers was a good influence on young teenagers, she responded that he was always nice to them”.   Mr. Testerman attended the same hearing but failed to comment on Akers testimony but did report the accusation made by Belinda Clark that her husband had been “stealing $400, 00.00 from the church and hiding the money in an offshore account”.  The

Daryl Akers 2014 mugshot
arrest indecent exposure

fact that she could not provide any evidence to support her claims was not included in his story.

Testerman’s headlines did prompt a full criminal investigation by the IRS into Pastor Clark and the churches finances.   However, after a yearlong investigation the inquiry suddenly ended when Belinda Clark was lying to the court in testimony about her husband and was convicted of Perjury by Judge Linda Babb.  She faced a one year sentence but it was suspended since it was her first criminal offence.  She will serve it on probation.  In addition, Belinda Clark was caught by court an official passing notes to witness’s on how they should testify in a deposition and was subsequently convicted of contempt of court.  Again, Mr. Testerman did not report on Mrs. Clarks trial or conviction and never reported the IRS had dropped the case against Pastor Clark.

 It is apparent that Jeff Testerman’s articles did not remotely resemble the narrative of several hundred hours of court testimony and his story about Pastor Clark was not remotely true.  This was my first introduction to the seedy, dark world “yellow journalism”.    Yellow Journalism is the practice of writing stories to attract readers with sensational headlines, exaggerations during the turn of the 19th century in New York City.   In fact, the Pulitzer Prize was named after Joseph Pulitzer who was the leading proponent of “yellow journalism” in the early 1900’s in New York City.  His skilled use of “bogus” stories dominated the headlines and sold millions of copies.  An endowment from his vast earnings created the “Pulitzer Prize”.  How ironic is the fact that Mr. Jeff Testerman had won a “Pulitzer Prize” for investigative reporting!

Most of Testerman’s stories followed closely in the writing style of Pulitzer with sensational stories and “outlandish headlines.  In the case of Pastor Clark, he was able to sway public opinion and stir up an IRS investigation with his stories about the pastor of one of the largest churches in Tampa Bay.  Newspapers sales went up during the Clark’s divorce case.   Clark was the pastor of a flock with thousands attending the church that sat on Interstate 4 across the Fair Grounds.  Clark had been a highly respected leader in the community had his name and reputation tarnished by Testerman’s penchant for “making up the news rather than reporting it.

Clark, who earned his doctors degrees from Oral Roberts University, was also the founder of a great humanitarian medical organization, Global Medical Relief.   Among other awards, Clark and Global Medical were nominated for the prestigious “Conrad Hilton Humanitarian Prize” in 1997 for his humanitarian efforts especially on behalf of children in developing countries.  His nomination was based in part for building one of the most advanced hospital for children in all of China in the mid 1990’s. The 120 bed children’s hospital in Shenyang, China took 4 years to complete and was estimated to be worth 50 million dollars.  Clark’s organization donated the finished hospital to “children of China”.

Clark was also well-known in Florida political circles since he was as a friend of both Democrats and Republicans.  It is reported he was a close friend of 4 term Tampa Mayor Dick Greco and the current Mayor Bob Buckhorn.   Under Mayor Greco, Clark and the church were honored with a “Mayors Proclamation” on behalf of the city for his outstanding humanitarian efforts.  In addition, he was honored by Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida Senate.  Mayor Bob Buckhorn appointed Clark a “goodwill ambassador” to China in 2011 and Clark’s behind the scenes efforts with the Chinese brought Chinese trade to the port of Tampa.

After 9/11, Mayor Greco and the city commission asked Pastor Clark to address the city at a prayer vigil held at “packed out” Tampa Bay Times Arena.  Later, Mayor Greco was heard referring to Pastor Clark as “Tampa’s Pastor” for always being a help in times of crisis.  Clark was called on to comfort the city at the tragic death of Judge Harry Coe.

Some have speculated that it was Clark’s stature in the city was what caught the attention of Times reporter, Jeffrey Testerman.   It seems Testerman could see “blood in the water” with Clark’s story and one Times insider said “it didn’t hurt that the Clark story sold papers!  Little to no regard was given by Testerman or the Times regarding the subsequent “fallout” in the religious community or the impact that it would have on the city much less the Living Water Church.  This type of journalism is what give journalist a bad name and why the Tampa Bay Times is regarded as a “rag newspaper” by most people.

Linda Gestrin city commissioner High Springs Fl

Testerman’s penchant for half-truths or fabrications in his story became very clear when I read the court transcripts regarding the “criminal perjury” charges and resulting trial for Belinda Clark during the divorce trial.  It appears that Belinda Clark and Linda Clark Gestrin had conspired together to “fabricate the allegations “made against Pastor Clark.  Both were caught passing notes during testimony and lying to the court.   They were accused of “suborned perjury” in the same court room where they had made the serious charges against Pastor Clark.   After the short criminal trial, Belinda Clark was convicted of contempt of court and perjury on February 24, 2004.   The Tampa Tribune  printed an article in their Law and Order section detaling her crime.   As one reporter wrote, “A judge has found former Living Water Church co-pastor Belinda Clark guilty for contempt of court and perjury or lying under oath after she was caught in several lies while testifying as well as passing notes to a witness (Linda Clark-Gestrin) in order to influence testimony…”  during a hearing to address visitation issues between her estranged husband, Ron Clark, and the couple’s teenage children.She faced one year in jail and a fine.  However, Circuit Court Judge Linda Babb “suspended the sentence” because it was her first criminal conviction.  However, the impact of the perjury resulted much of the testimony of both women was “stricken from the court record”.  In addition, Linda Clark Gestrin was physically removed from the courtroom and not allowed to return for the rest of the case.

The “inside witness” of Mr. Testerman was Linda Clark Gestrin.  This was revealed when Gestrin inadvertently sent documents that she said she had taken from Pastor Clark study and sent them to Testerman, the IRS and Clark’s own attorney, Dennis Alfonso by mistake.  The problem seemed to be that the documents were not real.    After his client’s perjury conviction,   it was implied that Mr. Hogwind, Belinda Clark’s attorney may have “coached” both women in their testimonies and apparently tried to influence the Clarks children to make up charges or misconduct by their dad.  This was revealed when the children testified in their custody hearing that he had told them what to say.  However, these allegations were dropped when Pastor Clark obtained permanent custody of both their minor children.  These facts never appeared in the St. Pete Times.

How to spot a modern day Jezebel in your church

The Devil Comes To Church In A Dress!

Jon Hamilton, contributor

But I have this against you, that you let the woman Jezebel say she is a prophet [claiming to be inspired] and give false teaching, making my servants go after the desires of the flesh and take food offered to false gods.” (Rev 2:20)

[1 Kings 16:31; 2 Kings 9:22, 30.]

Who was Jezebel?

Jezebel was an actual person. Jezebel, the Biblical character, first appears in First Kings 16, when she marries Ahab, king of Israel. Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, the king and high priest of the Baal worshipping Sidonians. Baal worship was closely associated with obsessive sensuality and often involved sex acts. Jezebel, as a daughter of this perverse kingdom, was raised in an atmosphere where sex was a path to power and influence.

Ahab, King of Israel, was completely subdued and dominated by Jezebel (a type of modern man). Jezebel then introduced the worship of Ashtoroth to Israel. This god/goddess represented the Canaanite culture of the moon, was a power-hungry goddess of love and sensuality. Priestess-prostitutes filled her shrines and serviced her worshippers. The lure of these legal, readily available erotic encounters was more than the men of Israel would resist. By Jezebel’s influence, most Israelites, the northern kingdom, left the worship of God for Baal and Ashtoroth. The prophet Elijah laments that only 7000 men in the entire nation were not swayed by her control.

Ashtoroth or Asteroth for the Philistine was the same as the Semite Astarte, both modelled from the Babylonian Ishtar, Her other counterparts are Isis and Hathor of Egypt, Kali of India, and Aphrodite and Demeter of Greece. The Roman counterpart was Diana the same as in Act 19:35. Indeed the same goddess in these days goes by the name of Mary.

The Council of Ephesus, 431 AD had the cult of Diana the virgin goddess (in Greek = Artemis, in Phoenician = Astarte, her cult continued in Ephesus until 431) supplanted by the cult of Mary by the Roman Catholic Church to legitimize that Mary was the “mother of god” and the “mother of all” and not Diana that also had these attributes. They also gave to Mary all the other attributes of Diana such as “queen of heaven” and “divine virgin” etc. Before 431 AD, Mary was not recognized and so they effectively paganized Christianity at Ephesus and Diana, still alive, had her name changed to that of Mary.

What kind of spirit does Jezebel Have?

The Jezebel spirit is born of witchcraft and rebellion. This demon is one of the most common spirits in operation today, both in the church and in the world, and it is a powerful enemy of the body of Christ. She operates freely on sincere believers whose hearts are for God individually, and has attained positions of power as powers and principalities within the Church. This spirit establishes its stronghold primarily in women; however, many men have been victimized by it as well, where it functions as a “controlling” spirit.

The spirit of Jezebel is behind the daughter of Democracy, i. e. Feminism.

The Spirit of Jezebel is a controlling spirit working through the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It has, in general, two aims:

• To gain identity, glory, recognition, power, and satisfy the need for the “praises of men”. This is a consequence of the desire for love and self-worth focused on SELF.
• Secondly, the Jezebel spirit is a men hater and seeks to emasculate all men, and divest them of their authority and power over others. It fosters a distrust and hatred of men in general. The “Jezebel spirit” is in a constant agitation, terribly aggressive, very determined, callous, controlling, selfish, power-hungry, manipulative, unrepentant, deceitful spirit, an overwhelmingly evil spirit, and those are mostly only its good points! Indeed this spirit can be definitely named “Satan’s woman”.

There are two main types of the Jezebel spirit:

• The high-profile type is generally gregarious, outspoken and highly visible. She is often seen as the “woman who wears the pants in the family”.
• The low-profile type is soft-spoken, giving the illusion of being solicitous, motherly, protective, even appearing very submissive. The low-profile type may be the most dangerous, as she is the most difficult to discern. She relies heavily on manipulation for her power, in extremely subtle performances.

Some Character Traits of Jezebel

Within these two main types, there are two manifestations: the SEDUCER and the COOL.

The SEDUCER uses any type of seduction available to gain control and power, as a method of manipulation but specializes in spiritual seduction to operate on both males and females. Her seduction usually uses subtle flattery and her seduction is spiritual fornication. Men are particularly blind and easy victims to the subtleties of this seduction, as she flatters them with her attention. Women seduced by the Jezebel are blinded to their own seduction, as they do not expect it, or are not aware of such manipulation.

A good example of the COOL Jezebel personality can frequently be seen as the efficient (and often plain) executive assistant at the side of a powerful businessperson or church leader. This Jezebel often lacks a gregarious personality, but may be very outspoken and aggressive.

Some of this spirit’s features:

Deceiver
This spirit works in “private”, people outside her circle hardly know her maneuvering and are an easy prey for manipulation. Those that are possessed by her tend to defend her from any form of criticism. Like many men today defend feminism.

Man-Hater
Jezebel hates men and majors in destroying them. She cannot have a true Godly relationship with men; because her desire is to strip them of all their perceived power and then destroy them, to emasculate them emotionally and spiritually.

Un-submitted
Jezebels revile (despise and show no respect for) authority over her. Building on “dislike of authority” (especially of men since they are frequently the authority figure) coupled with rebellion, she hates anyone placed in authority over her (particularly men), and seeks to destroy them and take their power. Jezebel sees herself as the “goddess on the pedestal”.

Power-Hungry
Jezebel is extremely power-hungry, respecting only power stronger than her own do. She disdains or considers herself superior to anyone she perceives as having no power or power less than hers. She works through her conquest to attain power over others.

Intelligent
this spirit from hell is very intelligent and finds very challenging to control and manipulate intellectually able people. She is able to manipulate them so well that actually they worship her.

Hard Worker
Jezebels are frequently “super achievers”, which sadly is admired both in the church and business world. She is also a master in hinder others to achieve anything, kind of: doing everything she can to prevent others achieving their set goals for then criticize them for not having achieved these aims.

Self-Worship
Internally Jezebel worships herself even though externally she may portray a picture of humility and submission. She is very proud of herself and extremely vain, and in her pride can only talk about herself. They are usually very attractive and they use that to seduce their victims.

Jealous
she cannot suffer other getting attention over herself and she will do all she can to prevent others receiving attention and recognition. If one gets between Jezebel and the person she is trying to control, she will attack most viciously, trying her best to destroy that relationship with that person. She will try to destroy his reputation, undermine his authority and generally stop at nothing to separate anyone from her intended “victim”. Beware!

Manipulator
Jezebel uses other people as objects, where it suits her need, to gain control, influence and power. Once she has gained the control desired, she generally rejects and tosses the people aside. If they are in her family, she does this emotionally.

Queen Bee
Jezebel demands worship from others (the “queen-bee” syndrome). She must have dominance and control in her home. Other family members exist just to please her. Jezebel requires “worship” from her family and followers … to be their “goddess”.

Domineering
The Jezebel is extremely authoritarian (“bossy”) by nature, though subtly with the low profile type. She is easily offended if her authority is questioned, and will often respond with extreme anger at even the slightest offence. She demands blind loyalty.

Unrealistic Expectations of Others
Her expectations of others are always unrealistic, because others cannot meet her demand for complete submission. If they do try, she despises them and casts them aside when she has what she wants out of them. Anyone attempting to relate to a person with this spirit is literally in a difficult situation”. Nothing pleases this spirit.

Perfectionist
Perfectionism is a common characteristic of the Jezebel, generating self-hatred in the victim, and a despising of others around her who fail to meet her exaggerated standards. This is part of the “unrealistic expectations” she has toward herself and others, but it is also an excuse for disrespect toward others, especially those in authority since they do not “measure up” so she does not have to show respect, of course.

Seduction, Control, Manipulation
Control and manipulation are the strongest parts of the Jezebel nature. These are “spirits of witchcraft” and are extremely dangerous! Nearly everything the Jezebel does utilizes one or both spirits to attain her goal. Jezebel is the ultimate manipulator. The adulterous woman says: “This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have done no wrong.”” (Pro 30:20)

The first step in Jezebel’s work is to control her victim by seduction. She will use flattery, smooth prophetic sayings, pleasant words and seducing tears. She views children in a marriage as tools and weapons to manipulate hubby and family.

She knows how to use deep emotional hurts and wounds to manipulate and control as she creates apparent deep ties with others. Jezebel loves to pull people unto herself and away from those who can truly speak into their lives. Jezebel flows best in a whirlwind of confusion and turmoil, where she works best.

Shark
Jezebel is like a shark; she is most vicious and dangerous. She circles the lives of others looking for teachable, seducible, controllable, “disciples” of her own. Jezebel likes to birth spiritual children of her own as she looks for disciples to eat from her own table. She will look for those that are in rebellion, who are weak, wounded, or those who are contending, bucking, and fighting any established spiritual authority.

Possessive
Jezebel is very possessive and domineering; she wants to control over others. Jezebel loves power, “Give me, give me, and give me.” You see, money is not really the issue with this spirit; it is Power and Authority that she is after. She likes to be in control of others life because she draws her strength from controlling others. She spiritually drains her victims. She uses faults or weaknesses that she perceives in the person she is attempting to control to create feelings of shame or guilt, and therefore ultimately submission to her will. She also often uses fear and intimidation to manipulate others into submission to her.

Self-pity
she uses self-pity and her own weaknesses to manipulate another into submitting to her out of compassion or pity. Feeling sorry for Jezebel, is not compassion, its folly!

Even though often very gifted of the Lord, the Jezebel will frequently operate in the false discernment of the enemy by speaking words of knowledge gained from familiar spirits, and NOT from the Spirit of God. This is “witchcraft”. The power of witchcraft is derived from Satan himself and every attempt at manipulation or control “sells out” more to Satan and strengthens the deception the Jezebel is under

She will even use prayer to manipulate the one she is attempting to control, especially audible prayed over that person to create the illusion, that doing Jezebel’s will is actually “obeying God”, or to generate fear or other emotion within the person which the Jezebel can then use for manipulation of them.

This is what Rev 2:20 is all about.

Wants to Power
Jezebels are attracted to people of power like “moths to flames”. Often, a very intelligent, efficient, attractive, and even blatant Jezebel can be found serving “at the feet” of prominent leaders, even in the church. The deception and/or seduction of the Jezebel is often so successful that the leader does not recognize who is at his right hand. The Jezebel’s true desire is to wrest the power from the person being served. If that person is prophetic in nature, the actual mission is to destroy them by any means available (destroy their credibility, undermine their authority, discredit their ministry, cause them to fall into sexual temptation, etc.).

Ambitious
Jezebels are desirous of “moving up the ladder” wherever they are, not that ambition is always “evil”. It is just another character trait to look for. However, you simply will not find a humble, repentant, democratic and non-ambitious Jezebel.

Convinced
While Jezebel’s beliefs system is obviously incorrect and evil; they are very firmly held beliefs.

Jezebels are usually people of deep convictions. As mentioned earlier, many people controlled by the Jezebel spirit have a true heart for God and earnestly desire to serve him. The original Jezebel (the Spirit’s first noteworthy in queen of Israel) was devoutly religious, but was at total enmity with God. She worshipped at the altar of Baal (worship of the flesh). Modern day Jezebels may indeed believe they are serving the one true God; however, the true hidden agenda is “self-worship”. In many cases, they have a Private Interpretation on the Bible, but they will vehemently insist they are correct.

Murmuring, Complaint, and Criticism
murmuring and complaint and criticism a type of spirit very popular everywhere, especially in the church, which one of the spirit most used by the evil one. She uses criticism of perceived faults in others to build up her own self-esteem, and to justify her disobedience of, or lack of respect for, others. Because she tends to perfectionism, any fault she finds in others is grounds for disobeying their authority. She uses criticism as a tool to manipulate those around her, and along with murmuring and complaint, causes divisiveness to weaken her opposition, thereby to gain control over, and to destroy them.

Lustful
Jezebels are “lustful spirits” with lust for power being primary; however, as mentioned earlier, their lust may be manifested sexually, if it will bring the desired result. The manifestation varies from a wife withholding sexual union from the husband for manipulative purposes, to utilizing sexual temptation to draw one more powerful into a compromised position that will cause their destruction or downfall.

Jezebel displays angry, vicious and sometimes violent behavior when opposed. She will turn on the one who refuses to do her will or submit to her (especially if she has been successful in manipulating this person in the past), frequently with a vicious, berating verbal attack aimed at humiliation. The emotional damage caused by these outbreaks can be devastating to the one at whom she directs her wrath. This is often the source of terrible emotional wounds for her children and spouse. When this angry behavior happens in public, it often exposes the true spirit in operation to others who may have been previously deceived. Watch for it.

Infirmities and Disease
Jezebels frequently enjoy people’s (including their own) poor health, especially the “Low-profile” type. For them, it is a tool for attention, sympathy and other forms of manipulation. The tragedy is that this form of “invited infirmity” eventually leads to real physical problems, and becomes a part of the destruction wrought on the host by this spirit, but it serves to further Jezebel’s ends, not to weaken her.

Have you ever felt insecure? Be careful, Jezebel loves to delve in the realm of insecurity. She will spot this in you “instantly” and then the seduction begins.

Destruction
In addition to destroying those around her, Jezebel especially hates the prey she is controlling (remember the mission of Jezebel is to kill the prophets: the victim is often herself anointed of God to be prophetic), and will ultimately cause her victim to self-destruct. This is referred to as the “Black-Widow spider syndrome” since black widow spiders kill their mates. In the spirit realm, there are two applications: 1. the Jezebel spirit seeks to kill the male authority figures (or prophets) and 2. She seeks to kill her victim, which is mated to her when Jezebel takes control of their life.

Cursing
Jezebels curse everyone, unwittingly bringing a curse upon themselves, most of the time. Criticism is a form of cursing, both of the person being criticized, and of God their Maker. Murmuring and complaint is a cursing of circumstances, which also curses God for allowing them. Jezebel is a master of criticism, murmuring and complaint, as mentioned previously. Often those whom she is at enmity with are deliberately cursed in a conscious effort to “punish” and “bring them back into line” to bring them back under her control. Jezebel firmly believes she has right on her side in doing these things, and displays vicious and callous disregard for the well-being and independence of others, having convinced herself that it is ultimately for their good as well and that she knows best and really has their best interests at heart in doing so. Those people who have been on the receiving side of Jezebel’s curses feel the anger and the viciousness other curses acutely and many succumb to them. However, for those under the “protection of the Cross”, these curses are most often transformed into blessings instead, leaving Jezebel sapped of emotional energy, frustrated, confused and completely defeated; wondering what went wrong?

Superiority Complex
Jezebels frequently perceive themselves as intellectually and spiritually superior to others, and “talk down” to others. This attitude is actually despising of others.

The Jezebel Spirit absolutely hates and shuns Repentance and Humility.

Because the Jezebel spirit is prideful and rebellious, she hates repentance and humility. These are two mighty weapons, which can be used against her. This is also the key in discerning this spirit -a pride-filled rebellious person refusing to repent.

Jezebel and Fashion
Jezebel is very much attracted to the latest fashion in dressing and she dresses up to demonstrate superiority and literally to “kill”.

Bitterness and Resentment
Bitterness and resentment against past hurts and offences are nurtured in the victim by the Jezebel spirit, because she knows a root of bitterness will grow like a cancer and manifest itself in all sorts of physical ailments, which she can use as tools of manipulation, as previously noted.   Of course, this cancer of bitterness is also slowly destroying the victim. In many cases, the countenance of the victim gradually grows more and more unattractive, and in the end, victims controlled by the Jezebel spirit may resemble the very witch like crones often used to symbolize witchcraft -where this spirit is birthed. The victim rots from the inside out, physically and spiritually, and it shows. People eventually find Jezebel’s “Spiritual ugliness” very repulsive.

Jezebel Covens
Many Jezebels will be drawn to the most influential Jezebel in operation. Though this is done unconsciously, it has the effect of creating a fully-fledged and very effective witches’ coven, with a “high priestess” in charge with devastating results! You can see them spread all over the country in the Feminist organizations.

Jezebel and Children:
Jezebel’s view of children is perverted. She says she loves them, but she really does not even know how to love them, using them as weapons to advance her own selfish needs. Children are simply pawns in her power and control games. Indeed the trend now all over the Western world is to have very few children, if any. A Jezebel Feminist said: “The most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill it.”

Jezebel is a classic “Back-stabber”:
Jezebel is the classic back-stabber; she will smile at you, give you a hug and a kiss and then, as soon as you turn-around, stab you in the back, repeatedly, with vigor, enjoying every wound she inflicts. She is a most vicious and devious spirit. Beware.

This, just to mention only a few of the characteristics of this very evil spirit from Hell.

What about the Spirit of Ahab?

One thing to be noted in these days is that in general there are more women attending church, than men.  This occurs when the “spiritual and natural” head of the family is the women. Men have the tendency to “run to the hills” when women infringe upon their roles.

The spirit of Ahab is a weak and emasculated figure, indeed the majority of modern men are under that spirit, enslaved to their women. An adage says: “There are two kind of people in this world: those who rule and those that are ruled, if you do not rule you are ruled”.

The couple Jezebel and Ahab represent very well our present society.

It is Jezebel that was the more spiritual, it was she that took the leading role, Jezebel used Ahab’s emotional stresses to endear herself to him, it was this woman that drove her husband to do what she wanted, and she was in charge in every aspect. Is not that a picture of our Democratic culture?

However, what happens when the woman takes the leading role that God had prescribed for men?

• If a woman plays her husband’s role in directing the family, he will lose his natural drive to bear responsibility.
• When a woman takes the lead, she is playing the masculine role. Unless her husband fights her for supremacy, he must assume second place. In addition, men who are forced into subjection to their wives tend to be angry, dejected and retreat like Ahab.
• When a husband steps into a spiritual role at his wife’s command, he becomes vulnerable to her guidance in that role. This is against God’s directives and the nature He gave, and often brings conflict in the family and in the church.
• Many men turn their heads when they see their wives stepping out of their God given role. These men would rather not have to deal with the stone-cold anger they would receive from their wives if they offered any resistance. Have you seen that behavior here and there?

Ahab chose not to notice when his wife worked behind the scenes. Many men turn their heads when they see their wives stepping out of their God-given role. Jezebel knew that she was not the rightful head, so she invoked her husband’s name to give her word authority. Did you ever hears it said, “Oh, my husband will not let me do that,” when you knew in truth he really would not care? It is a way to maintain control and stop those who would question you. When a woman does this, she stops any ministry God has to her.

Jezebel was deeply concerned about spiritual matters and took steps to help promote her spiritual leaders. In the process, she provoked her husband to destroy those in spiritual authority she did not like. Have you ever seen women influencing their husbands to think evil of those in authority because you did not like something about them? When a woman comes to this place, she might as well change her name to “Jezebel.”

The fact is that man is made in such a way that he has no defense against the love of a righteous wife, but if he falls into the end of a Jezebel, truly is life will be hell on earth.

Unfortunately for men, with the advent of Democracy and the so called egalitarian approach there are billions of Jezebels in the world and the once manly men have been reduced to weak type of Ahab’s, they have been mentally emasculated and the world is in deep decadence because of that, as we see today.

How many women do you actually know they do this today? “10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” (Pro 31:10-12)

How powerful is the demon of Jezebel?

For seven years, God had carefully protected Elijah. God fed him in the wilderness. When Ahab’s armies sought to kill Elijah, they were unable to lay a single finger on him.

Finally, in a showdown at Mt. Carmel, Elijah called down fire from heaven and resoundingly defeated and killed the priests of Baal. All Israel fell at his feet in repentance, worshipping the true God. Elijah was the man of the hour. He was vindicated, victorious, and clearly in charge.

Nevertheless, when Jezebel sent Elijah a single threat, he suddenly turned coward and fled to the desert. Anxious, depressed, and miserable, he begged God to kill him! Typical of men today, run to the hills. Once I asked one of our secretaries to prepare some papers, I gave her plenty time, but when time came, they were not ready, so I let her know my displeasure clearly. She looked at me with all the hate she could muster and hissed between her teeth the usual feminist phrase: “you are a male chauvinist”. “Yes” I responded, “on so is my Father for he created them “male And Female””. She looked at me rather violently, I felt she was about to hit me, (be sure that had she done that I would have returned the favor) but she turned around and never talked to me ever again, but the papers were made ready quickly and I had no problem with her with other papers. You see she hated me, but she respected me for I stood my ground. How many men would have done that in these days? Methinks very few.

It makes NO sense. Elijah enjoyed supernatural protection for seven years. He watched fire fall from heaven and defeat his enemies, yet when a single angry woman threatened him one time, he lost every shred of vision and ran away. He moaned in self-pity and depression, begging God to kill him! Surely, that was a magnificent display of God’s power and that power was with Elijah, but at a word from Jezebel, he forgot all that and ran in fear. Surely that must have annoyed the Lord at least a little, for it seems that in that occasion Elijah feared more Jezebel that the Lord God.

This is a great example of Jezebel’s powerful demonic “anointing” to intimidate, create fear, and cause men of God to withdraw. Jezebel steals our vision. Jezebel will even make us depressed and anxious when there is nothing significantly different in our circumstances. If there are difficult circumstances, this spirit will tell us they are insurmountable, impossible, and overwhelming. Jezebel will make us feel like dying, when in reality, we are God’s minister “of the hour”.

Jezebel’s witchcraft will attack key leaders in her targeted area through intimidation. Those under attack may awaken one morning to find it takes effort just to breathe. All joy seems to depart. Spiritual life seems irrelevant. Demonic voices will echo in our minds “something’s wrong with you!” We may suddenly find ourselves in unreasonable anxiety, fearing tragedy or death. Much of what is called “depression” in the ministry is simply Jezebel.

Jezebel wants to paralyze with fear, condemnation, depression, apathy or whatever it takes until we withdraw. The only answer for those under Jezebel’s attack is perseverance in battle. We must remain on course no matter how long it takes!

The sad thing is that she is so successful in her endeavor these days.

War

The war continues today between Jezebel and Elijah. Like all wars, there are casualties. Leaders sometimes fall. Soldiers sometimes withdraw. Jezebel wants to keep the church and the world within its present boundaries. She claims to decide the extent of the church locally. We must not tolerate this.

What we must do

First, we must rid ourselves of Jezebel’s ways. We cannot cast out lust when we harbor lust in our lives. We cannot bring down a spirit of control if we use manipulation and hype to control our congregations. We must examine our own ways, and repent of Jezebel.

Second, it takes Jehu. Although Elijah was Jezebel’s enemy, it took JEHU to trample Jezebel.

Jehu took no prisoners and showed no mercy to Jezebel. He had singleness of purpose and was driven by it. As he approached Jezebel those who saw his chariot noted he “drives furiously” (2Ki 9:20). When others offered peace and compromise, Jehu responded, “How can there be peace as long as the harlotries and witchcrafts of Jezebel are many?” (2Ki 9:22)

This is repeated in the NT: “What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” (2Co 6:15) NO COMPROMISE

Jehu would not rest until Jezebel was dead. Her pleasures could not attract him. Her threats did not deter him. He would not tolerate Jezebel.

Jesus says we too cannot TOLERATE Jezebel. (Rev 2:20) We must learn the prophetic power of the word “No!” We must give no ground.

When Jezebel attempted to captivate Jehu, he did not even allow himself to be drawn into conversation with her. Instead, he called on her eunuchs (a type of today’s men) to cast her down from her balcony. Those with the Jehu anointing will call to Jezebel’s emasculated slaves to rise up above their miserable situation, and they too will cast her down, and be set free.

“NO” is the operative word against Jezebel, when those in spiritual authority say “NO” to her, she is ready for war. Remember, Jezebel is a warring spirit who is always dressed for battle.

Brothers, the time is over nigh, the time is well passed, but we must stand and we must rise up and regain our God given position. What shall we say to our beloved Master, Christ Jesus, when He will ask us: “what have you done with the life I gave you?”  There will be lowering of heads and faint voices: “You know, o Lord”.

We must work all of one accord with a Trowel in one hand a Sword in the other.

“16 ¶ From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. In addition, the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, 17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. 18 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.” (Neh 4:16-18)

But I have this against you, that you let the woman Jezebel say she is a prophet [claiming to be inspired] and give false teaching, making my servants go after the desires of the flesh and take food offered to false gods.” (Rev 2:20)

[1 Kings 16:31; 2 Kings 9:22, 30.]

Gospel Ministers: Slandered, Reviled, and Maligned

By Dr, Robert Morey

(Submitted by reader)

Faithful men of God have always been the object of vicious attacks from hateful and malicious people. They have always been maligned, slandered, denounced, called every evil name in the book, and accused of all wickedness. Yet, biblical history and Church history remembers these great men of God while their critics are forgotten forever.

In the same way, modern men of God who stand solidly for the truth of the Gospel against liberalism, Islam, the cults, the occult, and, yea, against all unbelief, are maligned and slander on every hand. But the foundation of God remains secure. The gates of Hell will never prevail against the Church or her faithful ministers of the gospel.

Whitefield is remembered today as a man mightily used by God in one of the greatest times of Revival in English history. His ministry is credited with saving England from suffering a bloody revolution like the French Revolution.

While George Whitefield is praised today, he was often maligned and persecuted in his own generation. Rev. Reeves wrote an insightful article on the abuse heaped upon Whitefield during his ministry.

Let all true ministers of the gospel take note that if Whitefield, Spurgeon, and, indeed, our Lord himself, did not escape slanderous abuse and malicious attacks, they why should we think that we shall escape persecution.

The following is part of the Dudley Reeves’ article “George Whitefield in Scotland” (Banner of Truth, no. 162, March 1977, pgs. 27-28)

————————————————————————————————————–

A third valuable lesson that Whitefield taught Scots was to receive personal abuse and spiritual opposition with patience and humility.

In 1742, Whitefield suffered an onslaught of pamphlets aimed against him. This was no new experience to him, for in the six years he had been a minister there had possible been as many as 160 pamphlets directed at him in England and America, in addition to the sermons, magazine articles and news reports attacking him and his work. The Scots Magazine itself had joined in the jibes before Whitefield became known to Scotland I person. Many of the 160 pamphlets were written by fellow ministers, many contained scurrilous personal abuse and some had descended to the indecent and the obscene.

In 1742 the Secedes’ understandable anger towards Whitefield turned into inexcusable abuse. In June, Adam Gib, one of their ministers, published his 75 page pamphlet against Whitefield. Part of the title reads:

“A WARNING against Countenancing the Ministrations of Mr. George Whitefield…Wherein are shown, that Mr. Whitefield is no minister of Jesus Christ; that his Call and Coming to Scotland are scandalous; that his Practice is disorderly and fertile of Disorder; that his whole Doctrine is, and his Success must be diabolical; so that People ought to avoid him from Duty to God, to the Church, to themselves, to Fellow-men, to Posterity, and to him.”

In 1744 a Seceder accused Whitefield of “dreadful Error, flagrant Enthusiasm, gross Delusion, and horrid Blasphemies” and making “filthy lucre” his chief aim.

Though Whitefield continued to be the object of abuse elsewhere, in Scotland there was less criticism after 1750…In a letter to Lady Huntington, Whitefield was able to write,

God be praised for the many strippings I have met! It is good for me that I have been supplanted, despised, censured, maligned, and separated form my nearest, dearest friend. By this, I have found the faithfulness of Him, who is the Friend of friends.

Whitefield’s patience and humility while under fire from several quarters must have been a good example to many Scots. Surely others felt as one Aberdeen minister wrote of Whitefield in 1741,

His calmness and serenity under all he meets with, yea his joy in tribulation is to me so surprising, that often think, the Lord sent him to this place, in particular, to teach me how to preach and especially how to suffer.

Conclusion

Let us all learn from Whitefield to embrace slander and gossip as proof of our ministry. Rejoice for great will be our reward in heaven when men revile you and say all manner of evil against you falsely

 

Innocent youth pastor gunned down by police

 

Youth Pastor Jonathan Ayers (on left)

TOCCOA, GA — A Georgia youth pastor was gunned down by police in his vehicle at a gas station during a botched sting over $50 worth of drugs. The pastor had nothing to do with drugs; he was giving a ride and money to an impoverished woman in his community.
Fatal encounter at the ATM
This story is about the killing of Jonathan Ayers, the pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Lavonia, Georgia. On September 1, 2009, Pastor Ayers, 28, was driving and recognized a woman walking that he had known for a number of years, Johanna Kayla Jones Barrett. Ms. Barrett had no permanent home and was living with her boyfriend at the Relax Inn, an extended-stay motel.
Pastor Ayers offered her a ride and gave her the $23 that was in his pocket to help her out with rent. Ayers had helped the woman in the past as part of his ministry, his wife later confirmed.
Ayers and Barrett then pulled into gas station in Toccoa, where the pastor proceeded in withdrawing another $20 from an ATM.
With cash in hand, Ayers then got back into his car. Immediately, a black SUV then veered into the gas station and 3 strange men hopped out and aimed guns at Ayers’ vehicle. Fearing for his life, Ayers attempted to evade the trio of belligerent gunmen.
Unfortunately, the hostile forces weren’t carjackers or armed robbers as they appeared. They were undercover police officers dressed in plainclothes who had been trailing Ms. Bennett, who had been suspected of getting high without government permission.
When Pastor Ayers put his car in reverse and mashed his gas pedal, his vehicle grazed (or nearly grazed) Agent Chance Oxner, of the Mountain Judicial Circuit Narcotics Criminal Investigation & Suppression (NCIS) Team.
Agent Billy Shane Harrison opened fire, striking Ayers in the liver. Ayers’ vehicle continued a short distance until it crashed into a utility pole on the side of the road.
Gas station surveillance cameras captured the confrontation on video. (click on link)

The incident, from the time the black SUV screeched to a halt, to the time Ayers was shot, lasted approximately ten seconds.  He had only picked up Ms. Barrett approximately ten minutes before the shooting.

‘I didn’t do anything wrong.’

As Pastor Ayers was picked up by ambulance, he reportedly told medical personnel that he thought he was being robbed and did not know the men were police officers.

Ayers survived approximately 4 hours after being shot; long enough to say goodbye to his young, pregnant wife, Abigail.  Before he died on the hospital operating table, he told her, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I didn’t do anything wrong… I love you. Take care of yourself.”

No drugs were found in Ayers’ vehicle or in his possession.  An autopsy showed no drugs in his system.  He was a complete bystander to the investigation — an investigation over a possible transaction involving $50 worth of drugs.

Daniel Parker, one of Ayers’ friends and former colleagues, spoke very highly of him, saying it was no surprise that he would have been helping a woman in need.  Parker told The Northeast Georgian, “He was the kind of guy who would do whatever he could to help you, that would give you what you needed and never complain about it.”

Jonathan Ayers had a blog, titled “New Beginnings.”  It contained inspirational messages related to his ministry, demonstrating his enthusiasm for his work and his life with Abby.  Following his death, his widow posted a couple of final post-mortem notes to Jonathan’s readers.

Seeking Justice

Following the shooting, the department unsurprisingly defended the agents, backing their commando-style tactics and use of deadly force.  Harrison claimed that he believed the pastor was trying to run over police officers, and therefore felt it necessary to shoot him.  A grand jury ultimately agreed and declined to indict the officers on criminal charges.  After some paid time off, the agents all returned to duty without consequence.  This enraged some members of the community.

In 2010, Abigail Ayers filed a civil lawsuit (PDF) against the officers and agencies allegedly responsible for her husband’s death.  The lawsuit exposed a number of shocking details, such as the fact that Agent Harrison had not even completed the series of firearms training classes required by the department in his 40 days since being hired, and had no police training on the use of deadly force as a police officer.

Agent Harrison might have escaped criminal charges, but he did not escape the verdict in the civil case against him.  In 2014, over five years after the pastor’s killing, U.S. District Judge Richard Story declared that Billy Shane Harrison would not receive civil immunity for the shooting, and a jury determined that he was financially liable for Ayers’ death.

Judge Story found it unreasonable for Harrison to think “that Ayers posed an imminent threat of serious harm or that deadly force was necessary to prevent his escape.”

Harrison owes nearly $711,000 in attorneys’ fees, and more than $121,000 in expenses, plus a judgment of $1.64 million, for a total of nearly $2.47 million, Courthouse News Service reported.

Story submitted by Church Slander reader

Murder charges dropped against pastor

 

Pastor Cox

Friday wasn’t a day of celebration for Rob Cox. Standing in the foyer of The Place of Refuge and taking cover behind a granite counter top, the Manteca pastor – who has been embattled in a fight with Las Vegas prosecutors for more than two months about his role in the death of a man outside of a Las Vegas restaurant last year – shifted nervously as he talked about the case that has turned his life upside down.

Just hours before he had learned that the prosecutor had withdrawn his indictment consideration from the grand jury, effectively clearing him of all charges. It ended a year-long ordeal filled with demonizing police reports, character assassination attempts and the constant fear that would at some point be separated from his wife and children forever.

But at the end of it all, 55-year-old Link Ellingson was still dead. His family is still shattered from what happened on that fateful June night. The magnitude of that situation wasn’t lost on the man that was finally, after a year of waiting, able to tell the full story.

“Even after all of this I don’t want to be the one that talks about how Link (Ellingson) came at us that night,” Cox said. “I don’t want to do that to his family. They’re grieving through all of this, still, and I don’t have any hard feelings against him or his family or anybody else – regardless of some of the things that they have said about me.

“I just don’t want that coming out to his kids or being the bar that I set for my kids.”

That doesn’t mean that Cox doesn’t want to clear the air after months of not being able to say anything about what transpired that night in the parking lot of The Four Kegs – a Las Vegas restaurant made famous by an appearance on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

Sitting on the counter in front of him was a stack of legal paperwork that outlined every last detail associated with the case. It had the first statement that he made to police, the one which he claims was dictated to an intern who then wrote and signed it for him, and included no mention of any punch ever being thrown. It had Ellingson’s toxicology reports that showed he was intoxicated at the time that incident occurred. It had the few witness statements that Las Vegas Metropolitan Police actually collected – three out of Cox’s traveling group and several from patrons inside of the bar who heard or saw what happened after the fact – and dozens of other pages all marked up and ready for a legal trial were it to proceed that far.

Cox thumbs through the papers looking for specific, highlighted details that he says show that the case against him was flawed from the start. For instance, despite the case that was supposedly built against him, he was never brought in to the Las Vegas Police Department for questioning on the matter, and never contacted by representatives from Clark County until after the warrant for his arrest had been issued.

By then the damage had been done. He was a fugitive from justice. A rogue Christian pastor that beat a man to death in a Las Vegas parking lot.

What was he doing there at 1 a.m. anyway? Who goes out to a restaurant at midnight with a bunch of young adults and his family in tow? What did he expect to happen?

The sounds of silence

From the start Las Vegas Metro police had painted the issue out as if Cox had admitted to punching Ellingson when police arrived on scene and then recanted that statement when asked to provide it in writing.

But the narrative, he said, seemed to be taking shape before he even got the chance to tell his side of the story. With Ellingson on the ground and Cox standing there with a broken ring finger on his left hand, officers, he said, automatically assumed that he threw a punch and that’s what led to Ellingson falling back and hitting his head on the pavement.

“You punched him?” they asked. “No. I pushed him away.”

And early paperwork that was filed seemed to reflect the fact that Cox was acting in self-defense. Several documents paint Ellingson out to be the aggressor that attacked the group that Cox was with and him the victim – he was punched during the melee – but that somehow changed as investigators started digging deeper into the case.

The broken ring finger, he said, wasn’t indicative of anything substantial because, for one, he’s right handed and it’s highly unlikely like somebody, especially an untrained pastor thrust into a delicate situation, would know how to throw an off-handed punch with the sort of power that could put a gigantic man like Ellingson on his back.

None of this, however, could be spoken of while the district attorney’s office and the grand jury were kicking around the idea of either pursing charges or an indictment that could have put him in jail for life. It wasn’t so much that he or his attorneys were worried about what the truth would do, but that the prosecutors would use something that he said to the press against him. He had a right to remain silent, and the potent legal team that was representing him advised that he do just that.

That came with its own challenges. It meant swirling accusations and misinformation and having to sit idly by while one side presented its evidence in the court of public opinion when he was not able to do the same himself. It ground on him. It wore him down.

“You become anxious about nothing and have to learn to practice patience,” he said. “I had to trust the system that was coming after me with everything that it had, and obviously it persevered in this case. But this is something where the evidence just doesn’t lineup and that’s a hard thing to process.

“Especially when it’s something that you can’t talk about for such a long time. I don’t hold any animosity towards anybody in this, and I’m just glad that I can speak publicly about it for the first time. People have asked me whether I’m going to sue (the district attorney’s office) and right now I’m just really focused on clearing my name.”

The surge and the storm

Cox spent a week in the San Joaquin County Jail, and by the time that his story had made the rounds – spread quickly thanks to the advent of social media and the Internet – media outlets from throughout the region, and the country, were clamoring to carry the story about the pastor being charged with murder after defending his family and his flock from an attacker.

There was a live Fox News segment. Nancy Grace carried it on her show. Newspapers from New York to Los Angeles had the story and The Associated Press had a dedicated reporter in Las Vegas that carried every aspect of the court proceedings.

The coverage was overwhelming. And learning how to deal with it on the fly was something that he said just needed to be done.

“You need to keep your mind and your emotions in check in situations like that,” he said. “You’ve got your body and your soul and your mind and your spirit and you’re trying to explain to somebody who is on the outside looking in what is actually going on and you can’t really tell them the entire story, and you can’t get emotional or swept up in any of what’s happening because that’s when you get trapped.

“I’m just a Regular Joe and it was definitely unexpected. The bad came with the good – there was a lot of support.”

Despite its reputation as Sin City, Cox said that the Mormon community, which founded Las Vegas, came out in droves to support him when his story became public. Well-wishes and prayers from people around the country and from right here at home, helped propel him forward and give him the drive needed to continue fighting the good fight.

And along the way he picked up friends and he picked up followers. Media representatives from Las Vegas told him about how local law enforcement likes to “crack the whip” on out-of-towners that come in and break the law thinking that it doesn’t apply to them. Some of that, he said, might have come into play when officers first responded to a large group of California people and a battery allegation that put one man in the hospital.

His church, and the greater Manteca community, rallied behind him. It took three trips to Las Vegas and the financial support of both his family and his fellowship, but the only days that Cox actually had to spend behind bars were while his attorneys were arguing against extradition to Nevada.

“If it wasn’t for all of that support, without a doubt, I would be in jail in Las Vegas, right now,” he said. “There’s no way that I could have done that on my own. They (the state) have all of the resources in the world and you’re completely outgunned. All that we had on our side was the truth, and that was enough this time to make it work.”

Adoption put on hold

Just two weeks before Cox was arrested he and his wife Julie, who has worked adamantly to maintain social media accounts and keep on top of web comments that have swept across the Internet since the case became public, learned that they had been approved to adopt two more children into their family.

The possibility of a murder conviction derailed those plans, and even though the agency felt comfortable enough knowing that Cox was innocent of the charges being levied against him, the weight of the situation was too much for the couple to handle at the time.

Now he wants to get back to that.

“That’s what it’s about me – faith and family and living my life to honor God,” he said. “I truly do feel sad for the Ellingson family and everything that they’re going through right now. But this wasn’t my choice.

“I didn’t go out and look for this. I was legitimately afraid for the safety of my children and my students and I and I did what I thought I had to do in order to protect them. He just made a poor choice that night. We tried to save the guy – we were the ones that called for the ambulance. It’s just a crazy situation.”
Original story by Jason Campbell