Ryan Soderburg, ex Young Life Director of Wauwatosa, WI- has been arrested on charges of posing as a woman online and supposedly soliciting nude photos of underage boys.
You can click on the following links to read the local media reports surrounding his arrest: here, and here.
I’ll post any updates as I become aware of any additional info on the case.
According to various news outlets, Jeffrey Bondi, former Young Life Area Director in VA beach, was found guilty of sexually assaulting an 18 year old babysitter in 2001.
During the trial, it was brought out that Bondi had been investigated as far back as 1997 for being accused of fondling a 15 year old student on a bus coming back from a Young Life camp in North Carolina.
You can read the local reporting on the conclusion of Bondi’s trial below:
Former Virginia Beach youth pastor found guilty in 15-year-old sexual assault
Former Va. Beach youth pastor found guilty of object penetration
Yet again, another Young Life (former) Area Director has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a student. Jeffrey Bondi, former Virginia Beach Young Life are director, was arrested and denied bond, for alleged sex crimes with a then 18 year old student who attended Mr. Bondi’s youth group.
You can read some of the local press concerning this latest sex scandal involving a Young Life leader at the links below:
Bond denied second time for former ministry leader accused of sex crime in Virginia Beach
Former Virginia Beach Young Life employee indicted for sex crime
Dear Christian-
I know you think I’m just out to poke holes in your faith. Sometimes I feel that way, but mostly I hate seeing good people, who happen to be Christians, taken advantage of by dishonest clergy who are only out for themselves.
Tithing
Tithing simply means a tenth, and it is a term used in the Old Testament for offerings of cattle, grain, food, and sometimes money. These offerings of a tenth (10%) were used for the sacrifices of the Temple in Jerusalem and for special feasts throughout the year. It acted like a type of National tax that funded the Governing bodies of ancient Israel.
As a Christian growing up, I was consistently taught that Christian were supposed to tithe to their local church, just like the Israelites. I accepted this teaching at face value and began tithing in my late teens. Once in my early years of marriage I faced some daunting financial situations. Talking to my pastor at the time, his first question was whether I was tithing. I told him we were tithing and he seemed pleased and instructed us to keep tithing-even though we were in dire financial straits.
After many years of tithing, I decided to study the topic myself and was surprised to find that tithing is not taught in the New Testament. Not once are Christian believers commanded to tithe. I also realized that in ancient Israel, the tithe was more like a tax than a donation to a local body of believers.
Non-Profits
Some Christians I knew had come to similar conclusions about tithing, but still felt obligated to give 10% of their income to good causes (missions, feeding the poor, etc…).
The problem I’ve learned, is that many non-profits have loose accountability, and many of the funds can go to expenses totally unrelated to the cause they claim to represent. So while you may feel good about giving to a poor child in another country, in reality, much of your donation may be going to the overhead of running a non-profit instead of helping out those in need. Not to say that there aren’t good non-profits out there-but do your research before turning over your hard earned money.
Take Care of Your Finances First
My own opinion on finances, is that you should always be able to take care of your own obligations before giving or tithing. What good does it do if you give money to the poor and then end up poor yourself?
Final Observation
It has been my experience, that church leaders who preach a hard and fast rule on tithing are abusive. They typically are quick to line their own budgets with conferences, expensive offices and church buildings, multiple family vacations, and are often content to preach about giving to the poor and not much else.
If you care about where your money is going…then don’t give to these sort of people.
In my opinion-stop tithing…. Best Regards-CA
Ok…it’s not scientific by any stretch of the imagination. But here’s my Almost 100% Foolproof Way to Recognize an Abusive Church.
Wait for it………….
You are attending an abusive church if you do not know the salary of the Senior Pastor.
Seriously, if your church does not publish an annual budget including the pastor’s salary, then run for the door.
Here’s the caveat, some churches may not publish the specific salary, but are more than willing to share specifics when asked by members or at an all church finance meeting.
But to my point, if you can not find out this information with relative ease, then you are most likely dealing with leaders who are not trustworthy and are abusive. You’ll here all sorts of excuses as to why this information is not disclosed, but I’ve never heard an adequate reason to withhold this information from the people whose generosity has provided the church with it’s financial resources.
Without transparency, there can be no accountability. And where there is no accountability, abuse is ripe.
So there you have it….don’t make say I told you so by ignoring this
Almost 100% Foolproof Way to Recognize an Abusive Church.
Peace-CA
Another sad story of abuse lurking at the top of the Homeschooling movement…
By R.L. Stollar, HA Community Coordinator
Paul and Gena Suarez, owners of the “global homeschooling company” The Old Schoolhouse, have been accused by a former key employee of allegedly protecting several known child predators. Furthermore, they are accused of shaming and silencing members of their community who tried to stand up and do the right thing.
About the Suarezes and The Old Schoolhouse
Paul and Gena Suarez are the publishers of The Old Schoolhouse (TOS), a Christian homeschool magazine and self-described “global homeschooling company.” TOS has been called “one of the largest homeschooling magazines in America, and indeed, the world.” TOS’s vision is “to continue to lift up the Lord in every endeavor, every action, and every word spoken or written,” and that “as homeschooling grows, so TOS grows, and concurrently, that as TOS grows, more families will be introduced to home education through our many and varied resources.”
Paul…
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Excellent re-cap of all the lies and mistruths concerning CJ Mahaney, Josh Harris ,and the whole pastoral staff at Sovereign Grace’s former flagship church-Covenant Life in Gaithersburg, MD.
In short-they knew about sexual crimes committed against children and they did nothing, covered it up, and allowed a pedophile to exit their church and continue to abuse children for another 20 years. So much for all that Apostolic oversight they used to brag about…
Some of you might have read Mechanic Dude’s comments here at CA and picked up on the sad, sad story of his son’s experience with Young Life. Here is the whole story from the perspective of a grieving father who believes his son was pushed to suicide because of his involvement with Young Life.
This is the story my son told me before his death at just 17yrs old. I have left it raw and emotional. The Young Life Organization is a Christian youth ministry with a special focus on public schools. In fact they are practically non existent outside of the public school system and their elaborate summer camps, usually located in very scenic and expensive areas of the US.
My son attended a public high school in Reno NV. My first knowledge of YoungLife was when he asked if he could go out with a friend that had a car. He said that he was older and a very nice person from his high school. At just 15 yrs. old I was skeptical and wanted to meet this person. A very young looking person shows up at the door and assures me he is a safe driver and that they were just…
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Darin Evans (married with three teenage children), a former pastor and Young Life leader in Elmhurst, IL. was arrested and charged with criminal sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault. The victim of the assaults was 16 years old when the sexual assaults started. One report claims that the female victim was told by Evans, that he would kill himself if she ever ended the relationship.
Another report describes the assaults:
From 2004 to 2011, Evans allegedly sexually assaulted his victim on multiple occasions at multiple locations, including his vehicle, public places and on a church-sponsored youth retreat, according the State’s Attorney’s Office. ABC News is reportingthose locations included cemeteries and restrooms.
Evans has confessed to the relationship and now faces a possible 47 years prison sentence if convicted of all the charges.
You can read more about this tragedy by clicking on the links below.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=9033271
I was wondering how long it would be before former homeschoolers started speaking out about the restrictive and sometimes abusive control that many have experienced. I guess it has started….
For the media:
Former homeschoolers rally against abuse
March 16, 2013
A group of former homeschoolers are joining together to bring awareness to, and healing from, different forms of abuse in extreme homeschooling subcultures. The organization, Homeschoolers Anonymous (HA), is being coordinated by former homeschoolers across the United States, including California, Louisiana, Oregon, and Washington.
According to recent surveys, approximately 2 million children are taught at home in the United States. The total number of home-educated kids doubled between 1999 and 2007. While some are being homeschooled in non-Christian families, the National Home Education Research Institute claims almost three-quarters of those 2 million children have conservative Christian parents who aim to pass on their moral and religious values to their kids through home education. This makes religion the primary motivating factor behind this form of education.
HA’s creator is R.L. Stollar, who was homeschooled from K-12 and currently resides in…
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