Tag: lie

An Open Letter to First Baptist Church of Hammond, IN – from Jack Hyles’ Daughter Linda

~ Bob Hayton ~ 5 Comments

Today, Jack Schaap was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for his crime. I wrote about this issue when it happened, and recently the lurid details were unveiled by the prosecuting attorney. (More here and here.)

Linda Murphrey, daughter of Jack Hyles — the former pastor of First Baptist Hammond, at one time the self-proclaimed largest church in the world — has written an open letter to the church at this time, knowing Schaap’s sentencing was scheduled for today. Schaap is her brother-in-law, and Linda grew up on the inside of the ministry, and in the very home of, the most powerful man in fundamentalism in the 1970s and 80s. Her letter includes an apology and an admission of the secret double life that Hyles lived, and Schaap perpetuated.

For anyone who knows something of the history of First Baptist of Hammond, and Jack Hyles, this letter is quite amazing to read. It is written with such grace and humility, fervor and love, and above all, honesty. I encourage you to read it and pray for the future of First Baptist of Hammond. The current leadership there has a vested interest to deny the truth of Linda’s letter. This wing of fundamentalism cannot admit that Hyles was phony. So much of their very ethos is tied to his persona — at least it would seem. But I pray that many who have been shaken by these events can find grace and help in her first-hand testimony. May her final words come true:

Hopefully this is a new beginning for the thousands of walking wounded. Hopefully the end of an era has arrived. And hopefully the baton has finally been destroyed.

As you move forward, may you find complete healing from all that has hurt you. May you find peace from the turmoil caused by the abuse of religion. May you abandon man-worship and forsake the venomous spirit of fundamentalism.

And may you completely undo the God of Jack Hyles, embark on a personal journey to discover who God really is and experience a joyful life living in complete freedom and truth. [link to Linda’s letter]

The Superlative of Grace

~ Bob Hayton

Bob Bixby comments on the sad case of a fundamentalist preacher pretending that he was a former Navy SEAL. In his thoughts, he explores why it is that preachers especially have a need to be special. I think his answer is correct and it offers a chance for all of us to revel in God’s grace for poor ordinary sinners like us.

Here’s an excerpt, but I encourage you to read the whole thing.

A fundamentalist pastor confessed to lying about being a Navy Seal. Why? Why would a pastor lie like this?

Former Navy Seal Don Shipley suggests that part of the problem is just being clergy. You can almost hear the disdain in his voice:

“We deal with these guys all the time, especially the clergy. It’s amazing how many of the clergy are involved in those lies to build that flock up,” Shipley said. (source)

Jim Moats graduated from Bob Jones University in 1974, pastors a rural KJV-only church and, per the church website, associates with the far-right elements of Independent Baptist Fundamentalism. The story is very sad, but it is telling.

There are so many things to glean from the story. I’ll name a few:

* American evangelicals in general (particularly conservative/fundamentalist evangelicals) put such a premium on patriotism and American exceptionalism that they are particularly vulnerable to a “Jesus-Made-in-America” ideology.
* The American military is consequently so idealized (idolized?) that many clergy inflate their military experience in order to boost an aura of authority and heroism around them for the sake of a much-craved-for respect. (I remember hearing fantastic Vietnam stories from fundamentalist leaders when I was a kid and when I began to read military history assiduously as a young man I started developing a suspicion about the credibility of some of the stories that I had heard. I felt I had been tricked into adulating a spiritual leader on the basis of stories that were, because of my voracious reading in military history, were becoming increasingly unbelievable to me.)
* Fundamentalists, particularly, are prone to yarn-spinning leaders because of a distorted understanding of the Gospel.

The reason we embellish our stories is because we cannot embrace the reality of our nothingness. But it is our nothingness that makes God’s grace so amazing. The brother who is being publicly embarrassed right now was caught in a story that he let develop and then ultimately promoted because it met a deep personal need in his life. He needed to feel like he was somebody. Why are you brothers and sisters in the fundamentalist circles who read my blog so offended when I, your brother in Christ, ask a very simple question:

What kind of gospel do you proclaim when your leaders “” your leaders! “” are so afraid to admit error, be real, and be nothing?

Read the whole piece here.