Awful, isnt it? Once I said, if we really want to run like an efficient business, we should get rid of all the weak students, since they take up a disproportionate amount of our time that did not go over very well! BELLEVUE'S STEVE GAINES ELECTED TO LEAD SBC - Baptist & Reflector Bellevue Baptist fires minister after investigation of sex abuse At one point, Hook had reportedly told the girl that he wanted to be a father figure to her. [9] Sermon Notes The church says in its response that no one there knew what was happening and that they never allowed unsupervised and unrestricted access to volunteers. But apparently they knew enough to believe Hook was innocent of any wrongdoing; members of the church apparently showed up to his sentencing hearing to show support and ask the judge for leniency. The complaint also alleges that staff members saw Hook and the girl together, alone, but failed to intervene. Married to Ryan Wingo, Minister of Worship, Prince Avenue Baptist Church, Athens, Georgia. Sat with a evangelist preacher on an airline flight, and they talked shop. Browse Media - Bellevue Baptist Church Thousands of evangelical women are calling on him to step down. Bellevue Baptist Church - YouTube In this Houston Chronicle report, Swofford refused to comment. Swofford is a powerful figure in the SBC, like Gaines. Rather than sell it, the congregation voted to donate the original black and white television cameras and equipment to missions. Bellevue Baptist Church - Wikipedia According to the lawsuit, Hook used his position to encourage Janet Doe the pseudonym used to identify his 15-year-old victim to volunteer in the childrens Sunday School program, where he had access to her alone. Join us in prayer as we anticipate the coming of Easter. One student who was molested by another youth leader (Billy Bob Burge) went on to commit suicide, and the mans parents sued the church in 2015. [4], William Ramsey Pollard was pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, when Robert G. Lee retired. The membership was 1,430 when he became the church's fourth pastor. 0:00 - Introduction of our text 6:11 - A Christian man is watchful 8:06 - Discipline your eyes 9:30 - Live in God's . However, it appears that the church was warned about him. YOu can read about it here. The real problem is that Steve will stop at nothing to keep his power and position. Married: June 14, 1980, to Donna Dodds GainesWomens Ministry, Speaker, Founder of ARISE2Read, Author of Theres Gotta Be More, Leaving Ordinary, Choose Wisely, Live Fully, and SEATED: Living From our Position in Christ. You can also fill out our general contact form by clicking the button. We take no ads to make money. I believe there is a subtle innuendo at play that this poor teen victim comes from a questionable background and that maybe her molestation is the fault of her parents or her upbringing.. The crosses are engineered to withstand 70-mile-per-hour (110km/h) winds and are constructed of four pieces of structural steel and angle iron painted white. [4], The move created some controversy both in the city and church communities. "Bellevue Baptist Church Televises Sunday Services", "Explore one of Memphis' Megachurches: Bellevue Baptist Church", Bellevue Baptist Church's History and Vision, Bellevue's Lee 'One of the Towering Giants', Bellevue Baptist to Hear Prospective Pastor Sunday, SBC The Baptist Faith and Message Committee, Union graduate called as pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, "Ft. Worth church produced Baptist leaders", "Bellevue Baptist Goes on Global Mission", Churchgoing: Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis, Doctrine, Demographics, and the Decline of the Southern Baptist Convention in Shelby County, Tennessee, "Bellevue Leadership Report from September 24, 2006", Bellevue conflict bleeds onto Internet, into Public Square, 'People losing trust' in Bellevue pastor, seminary leader says, "Bellevue Baptist Church Opening Up to Casual Service", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bellevue_Baptist_Church&oldid=1136470808, Evangelical megachurches in the United States, Christian organizations established in 1903, 20th-century Baptist churches in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 January 2023, at 13:40. In 2006-07, it was mired in reports of a clergy child molestation cover-up. [4] When Lee retired in 1960 after serving as pastor for 32 years, Bellevue's membership had grown to 9,200, making it the largest Baptist church east of the Mississippi River and the second largest church in the Southern Baptist Convention. We take no donations. But God made me see what is happening about 12 years ago and I had to go out and see what is going on out there. lawyers for Bellevue Baptist Church say the church had no knowledge of the abuse and denies that Bellevue Baptist Church is liable for any actions of James Hook which were outside the course and scope of his employment., According to Katherine Burgess of the Commerical Appeal in Bellevue Baptist Church responds to lawsuit over staff members abuse of teen, In its response filed in court, Bellevue deniedany suggestion or insinuation that Bellevue permitted, condoned or was aware that Hook was grooming his victim. Thx again, Dee, for the post and your research with experts. He tweeted out the following: Exact quote is Drown the bunnies put a Glock to their heads.. It is such a mirror of the Corinthian church that allowed such wickedness that not even the pagans would do such things. June 20, 2022. Married to David Golding, Engineer with Turner Construction Company in Memphis, Tennessee. [34] For the community they presented 38 consecutive performances of Handel's Messiah, as well as other classical works like The Seven Last Words of Christ and Mendelssohn's Elijah. This is super creepy but also kind of sounds like a threat/blackmail to me.why on earth else would you send that? Steve Swofford, who was on the 2019 committee to name a leader of the EComm Investigating sexual abuse in the SBC has a similar issue in his church, First Baptist Church of Rockwall. I havent heard of Episcopal churches with pederasts in leadership roles, either. TWR360 | Bellevue Baptist Church with Pastor Steve Gaines A wonderful person, too! Bellevue's Gaines should resign, seminary president says Allison Gaines Hill: stay-at-home mom. It just aint fair. However, they need to contemplate Jesus who showed us that its about caring about the other: the abused teen, the disenfranchised, the ones who dont look or live like us. The lawsuit admits that Hook had an extramarital affair with the victims Does mother years ago and that Does father once warned church leaders to keep his daughter away from Hook. [37] The landmark crosses were dedicated at a special ceremony with choir, orchestra, and hundreds of church members at midnight on New Year's Eve, 1999. I learned about this in June from the minister involved and believed the issue was settled. It will only further demonstrate their ignorance. I have paid for some tech support and Im glad my husband supports any expenses I have on the blog. They were warned by this teens father yet they continued to dole out his paycheck. Missions Week 2023. So disturbing. Pastor Steve Gaines begins a multi-week series on "A Godly Christian" with a message on "A Godly Christian and His Faith." Focusing on the Genesis 22 story of Abraham and Isaac, we see how faith strengthens us to endure the trials of life. She will need intensive counseling and I think the church should be willing to pay for outside, nonchurch connected counseling. [16] Fred Swank was the legendary pastor of Sagamore Hill Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He came in an completely changed the structure of the church and was allowed to do so in the name of church growth, increased number of baptisms and increased giving. I am now an independent Baptist. Feb 21. (PS What is the difference between a paid volunteer and an employee?_. Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, TN | bellevue.org. Church, get on the right side against predation, against church as a hunting ground. They also had a child together, Janet Does sibling, according to Bellevues response to the complaint. The idea is that they should have known everything that their daughter was doing, and if they didnt, then thats purely on them and the churchs hands are clean. According to the site, deacons from the church met on November 5 and reviewed Gaines' credit card charges, unanimously finding no inappropriate expenditures. The lawsuit notes that Hook knew Janet Doe and her family outside of Bellevue: Hook and the victims mother had an extramarital affair in 2011, long before the abuse, according to the complaint. Then felt a call and became a Deacon at their church. Avoid churches where people brag about their past sins. Browse all of Bellevue's on-demand sermons and original content on any device. October 9, 2022 | Concluding our three-part sermon, "Change Your Thoughts-Win the War," Pastor Steve Gaines focuses on what we can do to go on the offensive with our thoughts. [34] For more than three decades, he directed the student nurse choir at Baptist Memorial Hospital known as the Nightingales. I have raised 3 children to adulthood. Bill and Kyle discuss how God transforms a church during seasons of revival. If Steve Gaines found out that a child had been sexually molested by one of his ministers and if he did nothing to address it, then he needs to step down immediately, the newspaper quoted Spradlin as saying in a Dec. 20 article. Poor us. The newspaper did not identify his position at the 30,000-member congregation, although Bellevues website previously listed him as minister of prayer/special projects. [31] Iglesia Bella Vista is a Hispanic church plant near Summer and Highland. If it takes blaming Janet Doe to try to get this dismissed you can rest assured that Steve Gaines will stoop that low to do it. Bellevue Baptist reaches partial settlement in lawsuit over - Yahoo! No thats not what that was about. Oh, its not subtle at all. The actions, according to some, have opened up a needed avenue of dissent in the church but, according to others, have served only to . "More Than 10,000 Gather for BJCC Easter Service". MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP)-Several members of the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church have begun to air disagreements with the church's pastor on the Internet and on local television and print media outlets. Pastor Steve Gaines of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN. So, I did some digging, this President, who had been a CEO of and investment company, and NEVER been an academic, was fired by his board.However, he claims he never said, or was taken out of context, all the bad thingsthat were said about him. Steve Gaines is the pastor of thousands of people at Bellevue Baptist Church. [32], In July 2007, Bellevue Baptist was named one of the top 50 most influential churches in the country, coming in 38th. Southern Baptists Refused to Act on Abuse, Despite Secret | News 49 min. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and our podcasts for on-the-go access. His leadership style is not that of a pastor but that of a dictator. One couldnt even imagine such sickness and a church so dysfunctional. Under Rogers, Bellevue was a key supporter of the conservative faction within the Southern Baptist Convention during the "conservative/moderate" controversy of the 1970s and 1980s (Rogers served as SBC President for three terms). ), Union University, Jackson, Tennessee (1979), Dyersburg High School, Dyersburg, Tennessee (1975), SBC Baptist Faith and Message Study Committee (19992000), SBC Committee on Nominations (1991, 1999). what matters is that they themselves are sin-free, and didnt lose any God points. Gaines later said he should have immediately disclosed the information to church leadership. In November, 2006, the church formed a communication committee to address the controversy. [19] Bellevue has also planted churches in Honduras, Uruguay and Nicaragua. [10] In 1994, he was asked by Focus on the Family founder and president, James Dobson, to serve on the organization's board of directors. Steve is a manipulative and controlling person. Maybe this church will be sued out of existence. CORDOVA, Tenn. (ABP) In the latest development in a scandal at one of the Southern Baptist Convention's largest churches, Bellevue Baptist Church fired Paul Williams Jan. 22. Open Discussion Page. He kept quiet. [4], The church's most well-known leader, Adrian Rogers, was the senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist from 1972 until March 2005. Most importantly, Bellevue seeks to help people grow in their relationship with God. On November 15, 2005, Rogers died of complications following colon cancer treatment at age 74. I was beginning to see that I had kicked over a hornets nest by starting this blog. After being located in the heart of Midtown, Memphis for over 80 years, Bellevue relocated to its current campus in Cordova. This teen has been deeply wounded by Hook. [4] Through the Southern Baptist Mission Board in 1962, Pastor Ramsey Pollard led Bellevue in being the first church to adopt a Cuban refugee family and help establish them in America. According to the Commercial Appeal in Bellevue Baptist Church sued after paid volunteer coordinator sexually abuses teenagerby Katherine Burgess: The parents of a 15-year-old sexual abuse victim are suing Bellevue Baptist Church, saying the flagship church in the Southern Baptist Convention provided a space for her abuser to groom and abuse her, and that church officials failed to remove her abuser from working with children after being warned. TWW recognizes the power of truth. [38] In 2009, Pastor Gaines was awarded the Open Door Award for his leadership with Bellevue Loves Memphis. Jeff Anderson taught me about the legalities surrounding blogging and offered his assistance if ever needed. The church relocated to its current building (2000 Appling Road), which seats 7,000 in the main sanctuary, on a 377-acre (153ha) campus in Cordova, a Memphis suburb, in 1989. This isn't the first time Bellevue has faced . Bellevue is the largest church in Memphis. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs . Some people have questioned why I waited for several months, Gaines acknowledged. Police noted that both Hook and the victim described themselves as being in a father/daughter relationship. You can find Bellevue media anywhere. Children and adults alike can grasp on to such a simple, Scriptural description of what Bellevue is, and will be." -Dr. Steve Gaines. [14] After eight months of reviewing potential candidates for senior pastor, the search committee reached a unanimous decision. On Sunday, November 19, 1989, overflow crowds attended back-to-back morning worship services at 2000 Appling Road in Cordova. Thats how I understand the phrase paid volunteer coordinator. More than 10,000 attended his memorial service at Bellevue on November 17, 2005. Continuing to look at the promises of God found in Isaiah, Pastor Steve Gaines delivers hope for your future out of Isaiah 43:18-19. Do professing Christians even believe in Christ? [36] Under Pollard's leadership the church continued broadcasting services, upgrading to color cameras and equipment in 1970. This post almost needs a trigger warning. A family life center, preschool wing, athletic complex, and multipurpose wing with a west lobby entrance were added to the worship center and two original wings in subsequent years. [31] Bellevue Frayser operates a weekly food pantry, with Bellevue volunteers distributing food each Saturday morning to approximately 175 families.