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Beaverton Grace Bible Church and Pastor Chuck O’Neal – A Year after They Lost the Defamation Lawsuit

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But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blpasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!  2 Tim 3:1-5

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Admin note:  Ok, I apologize in advance for the length of this article, but I could not find a dividing point without losing the flow and making it disjointed.   The goal was to have all of the documentation in one post.  So . . .  if you only have time for reading the condensed version and important parts, read the BROWN font and the tweets.  

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One year ago today, we heard the ruling from Judge Fun regarding the $500,000 defamation lawsuit against me and 4 other members (2 were later dropped).  We won!  I was away at a Christian summer camp serving as a counselor when we got the news and quickly got away for about an hour to share the news.

In an attempt to move on from Beaverton Grace Bible Church (BGBC), I have not reported some of the goings on in recent months, but there have been quite a few.   On this anniversary date, in an effort to understand how spiritual abuse plays itself out for lengthy periods of time, I felt it was important to make this exception.

Many people thought that our victory meant that we all could go on with our lives as normal. Well . . . some of us have a new normal.  The lawsuit and publicity brought a tremendous amount of  support to me, but also brought me a tremendous amount of abuse stories to absorb.  People connected here as I shared my stories from BGBC.   There was a need and so the blog transitioned from discussing Beaverton Grace Bible Church and Chuck O’Neal to a place where we discuss spiritual abuse and dangerous church trends in general.

Although Chuck O’Neal’s minister’s license was revoked in December of 2012, he continues to pastor his church at Beaverton Grace Bible Church.   Chuck O’Neal does a lot of things well.   He knows how to make himself look good.  He’s great with public speaking, is confident, and charismatic (no, not as in speaking in tongues).  His facade is polished very well.  But is that what God wants?  I think God is more interested in the heart:  character and behavior.  I would like to present the following documentation:

Mid-December of 2012 we discovered Chuck O’Neal had created what I call an “Impostor Blog.”  The name of my old blog was BGBC Survivors and included a Blogspot web address.   Evidently in spring of 2012, within weeks of suing us, he purchased domain names connected with BGBCsurvivors.  Why?  Did he have plans to lure people to his web address even back then?

Evidence:  A pastor who sued former members and purchased copycat domain names.  This was obviously a maneuver to lure my blog readers over to his blog so that you could hear his side of the story.  Aren’t there laws against this kind off thing?  Most importantly, Is this Christ-like character?  

On January 1, 2013, I unveiled the new Spiritual Sounding Board blog.

In February of 2013, I formed a team called WhoWouldJesusSue in an effort to bring media attention to the defamation lawsuit brought on by Calvary Chapel Visalia Pastor Bob Grenier against his son Alex, and former member, Tim.

It was during this time that we discovered that Chuck O’Neal got a Twitter account, well actually two accounts:  his first account @pastorchuck_ is no longer active, and then @Chuckoneal_ showed up on the scene, most likely because his other account was suspended from Twitter at least a couple of times.

THIS 2013-02-22 at 11.01.05 PM
I got this screen shot of @PastorChuck_ account before it was disabled.  The 1st tweet shown on his 2nd Twitter account feed is Feb 25.  All of the tweets between February 22 and 25 are gone.   We’ve seen this behavior before:  removing evidence.

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Instead of minding his own Twitter business, O’Neal may have tried to circumvent what we were doing on the WhoWouldJesusSue media blitz.   Here is a screen shot from his first Twitter account apparently showing his attempt to disrupt the media blitz.  He was clearly a Twitter newbie, by not tagging me. Later he caught on.

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Screen shot 2013-07-26 at 7.24.39 AM
This Twitter account is no longer active.

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Not only did O’Neal get a Twitter account, but he led the bandwagon for his church followers to get their own Twitter accounts as well.   When we were there, we were warned against using social media.  Things have sure changed.

I have heard of incidences at local establishments where the O’Neals and extended family have run into former members and the interactions were not pretty.   Sometimes police were called to intervene.  I have heard that recordings have been made (and played for others).  After these altercations, the typical pattern we see is Twitter “vomit” like this:

Con 15 2013-02-23 at 10.47.58 AM

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It’s interesting because I haven’t had any new articles about him and then all of a sudden I see this stuff and it makes me SMH = shake my head.

These people are current church members/extended family members who have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon – giddy-up:

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Con 7 2013-04-09 at 7.45.20 PM
Source
CON 6 2013-04-15 at 2.05.26 PM
These tweets from April 15, 2013 are still there as of 7/26/13.

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Now this tweet is a bit revealing.  It shows how much they are into evangelizing:

Con #4 2013-07-12 at 10.24.33 PM

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But check out this new kind of evangelizing:

Con A 2012-12-18 at 9.08.18 AM

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I don’t know that I have spoken about this here, but evidently, the pastor’s wife had 5,000 business cards printed up.  This is a screen shot taken from their site (the impostor blog).   You can read the comments from members and Tonya there as well.  They are pretty serious about this.  UPDATE: In 2014, this webpage was taken down, here it a cached version of the same page as it was in 2013.)

I’ve heard of several accounts of people getting these cards in the Beaverton area.  Some have found them on their cars when they went shopping at the mall, etc.  Another person was handed the “business card” when BGBC team came evangelizing in their neighborhood and came to their door.    Does that seem like evangelizing to you – – handing out those “business cards?”

In June, I came to Portland for a high school graduation and a friend of mine who goes to a church in Beaverton told me about an incident at her church.  Evidently a group of people from BGBC came to the church and put those business cards on parked cars.  Church security escorted the group off the property and later confiscated 253 cards from the parked cars.   Is this Christ-like character?  

I got to hold one in my hand to see for myself:

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Slander blogger card front

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Slander Card Back

Also in  June, I got word from former lawsuit defendant Meaghan Varela, that she found “slander blogger cards” on her property.  There was an earlier no trespassing order from years before when Mr. O’Neal and the elders had come to her door with a hidden recording device. Police was notified and the O’Neals were “trespassed” – told once again that they (and their family) are not allowed to trespass on Varela’s property.  Folks, what is this, nearly 5 years now?   Is it appropriate for a pastor to go to your house on your private property 5 years after leaving your church?   Is this Christ-like character?  

CON 21 2013-06-12 at 12.04.43 PM
Screenshot 6/12/13

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It was after this incident that Tonya O’Neal got her own Twitter account:  @pastorswife_  Click on the link and you can see her tweets yourself.   This is a public account.  As of today’s date, she has 10 followers.  She tweets as if she is talking to the Varelas, but the Varelas don’t even have Twitter accounts.  They don’t care about these tweets.  So, who is Tonya tweeting to? This is a pastor’s wife?  Does your pastor’s wife tweet?  Does she tweet like this?

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Screen shot 2013-07-26 at 12.41.46 PM

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Here you see Tonya’s tweeting debut.  Start at the bottom screenshot and work your way up to the top.   This rant started on June 14 and continued until the following day, June 15.

Screen shot 2013-07-26 at 12.46.12 PM

Screen shot 2013-07-26 at 12.45.57 PM
Tonya’s tweets June 14-15, 2013

 Is this Christ-like character?  

Less than a week after Tonya’s premier twitter event, we see this tweet from Chuck:

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Con 8 2013-06-20 at 12.58.08 AM
Chuck O’Neal stalks my blog and then likes to tag people I have covered on my blog articles. Here is one example. My blog article on Voddie Baucham was June 17, and O’Neal tweeted 2 similar tweets warning Baucham on June 20, 2013.

But wait, there’s more from Tonya.  Remember, Tonya called us mean vicious women in a tv interview.  Keep reading:

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Con 11 2013-07-05 at 6.10.58 PM

Two days later more:

Con 13 2013-07-08 at 10.26.04 PM
Source

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~ Image Control ~

THIS shot 2013-05-06 at 12.14.53 AMThis Chuck O’Neal’s original Twitter profile (from his 2nd account).  Does this look like a typical pastor’s profile?  When you go to a church, is your goal to find a pastor to defend you from egalitarian, antinomian slander-bloggers?

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Con 12 2013-07-05 at 6.19.52 PM

Look at this one, a change of heart, perhaps? Or is it image control because now he’s schmoozing with the likes of well-known evangelists?  (screenshot taken 7/5/13)

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July 8, 2013  1 Corinthians 15: 33  Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.

Take note of this relationship.  Fred Butler is a familiar name to this blog.  He accepted gossip from someone at BGBC and publicly broadcast it on his blog.  What he publicly broadcast has been the kind of thing that has caused people to commit suicide, the words were that destructive.  He entertained gossip and rather than asking me about it personally (he had my private e-mail address), he publicly trashed my daughter’s name/reputation.   You know the really sad part about this is that my daughter has left the faith.  He knew that.  How does this kind of behavior look to unbelievers?

Here is an excerpt of the BGBC Lawsuit Archive on this situation:

Part of what made this so volatile was that Mr. Butler revealed he had been in direct contact with plaintiff Charles O’Neal. Also, Mr. Butler’s comments (and those of others on his blog) seemed to hint that he was receiving supposed inside information about BGBC and the Smiths. All of this escalation eventually halted after Mr. Butler posted false information (i.e., gossip) from a second-hand source about Ms. Smith’s oldest daughter Hannah, who was also a defendant in the case.

After being confronted both online and behind the scenes, especially by Julie Anne’s husband, Steve, Mr. Butler retracted his comments, and apologized to the Smiths. On August 3, he also was publically appealed to and challenged on Ms. Smith’s blog by her husband to post a retraction and apology on his own Hip and Thigh blog, which he did on that same day. Mr. Butler’s Mr. Butler’s official retraction/apology post has since been removed from his blog. Because of its significance to the post-lawsuit history, the following screenshot is included later in this section.   (Source)

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Screen shot 2013-07-09 at 10.09.23 PM

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CON 20 2013-05-09 at 9.40.49 AM

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Chuck O’Neal has been doing a lot of street evangelizing lately.  Take a look at his tweets and you can verify for yourself.  The Lovejoy Surgicenter is a clinic where abortions are performed in Portland, OR, and O’Neal has been frequenting the place to “street evangelize.

July 9, 2013  – I received this e-mail from someone I do not know regarding his efforts at the Lovejoy Surgicenter.

Hi JulieAnn [sic].  I followed your case a little and admire you for standing up to Chuck O’Neal.

You may not believe in the cause, but I’m writing because of O’Neal’s antics as a protester at the Lovejoy Woman’s Clinic.  Just so you know, I am pro-choice.  Regardless of your views there, I was thinking you might not approve of O’Neal’s antics.

I do not think a woman experiencing a heartbreaking fetal anomaly who is carrying a severely deformed fetus should have to endure a large man in her face screaming at her on the sidewalk, filming her entering the clinic while calling her a murderer – and then promising he’ll post the video on-line.  That seems like cruel bullying to me to all but the most mean-spirited of souls.  I sense no compassion in him, only arrogance.

Do you know anything about his antics at the protests?  Do you have any insight for me?  Thank you.

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This person raises a good point.  If they are only seeing a man on the corner raising his voice to women, using a megaphone and a video camera, how is that showing the love of Christ?  Is there another way that might draw one in to listen to the words of life?  How about asking what it would take to keep those babies alive?  Maybe the pregnant woman needs help financially or available childcare in order for her to make the choice to choose life for her unborn child.  Are those practical needs being addressed?  Wouldn’t asking those kinds of questions show the love of Christ in a real and compassionate way?  Would the ground be softened for further gospel seeds to be planted?

Right now, I don’t see sowing seeds.  I see sowing strife and a whole lot of attention to self:  self on the megaphone, self on the video tape, self uploading the video to Sermon Audio, self tweeting about self evangelizing.  Self-grandiose, much?

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July 12, 2013, I found this note from my friend, Emily Sires.  Emily Sires was raised at BGBC and was a teen when we were there.  She was married at the church.  Emily and her husband eventually left the church.  Sometimes spiritual abuse happens more after you leave a church.  I have told scores of similar stories and experiences on my blog.  Here is Emily’s account (shared with her permission) of what happened when she and her husband ran into the O’Neal family at a local ice cream establishment:

I try to keep all my Facebook posts pretty innocuous, safely talking about the “rainbows and sunshine” parts of my life. Sometimes, though, things need to be said. I say this to not only make people aware of what is going on, in order to be wary, but also simply because I am upset and I just WANT to talk about it. . . .

Chuck and Tonya O’Neal are bullies, even if you don’t speak to them when you run into them in public. Jeff and I did not engage them tonight whatsoever; we didn’t even smile or wave in their direction, like I normally would try to do. We went into the same public place as they were sitting, got our ice cream, and left. Tonya followed us into the parking lot and started screaming–I don’t exaggerate here; she was hollering at the top of her lungs–at us with accusations galore, none of which I am responsible for.  . . .  Please read the rest of the story/comments here.

What is the purpose of this blog post?   Is it that I am just not over BGBC?   It is true that BGBC is still on my mind from time to time.   Many people thought my story was done.  It is not done and it may not ever be done in my lifetime.   

Telling my story drew attention to spiritual abuse in general, but it changed nothing at the church. If you think going public will make your church or pastor or members change, think again.   Spiritual abusers do not see themselves as abusers.  They do not see their own bully or stalking behavior.  They seem to want to blame everyone else and try to convince everyone else that they are the ones being divisive.   I cannot prove to you or anyone that he is off doctrinally or that he is legalistic, or that he twists bible verses without proof.  He’s too smart and knows not to say “off” things while his sermons are being taped.   

Some of what you’ve read here is from personal accounts.  But a lot of what you have seen here is behavior that they want you to see.  Folks, police reports have been filed.  They have displayed their behavior on public platforms and are not ashamed of it.  I think the evidence speaks for itself.  What are they preaching on Twitter?

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50 thoughts on “Beaverton Grace Bible Church and Pastor Chuck O’Neal – A Year after They Lost the Defamation Lawsuit”

  1. Their actions show that they are truly not concerned about others, but only concerned about themselves. This all really makes me sick.

    Like

  2. I’m sad to read such hardness of heart. The gospel according to your former pastor seems to be “I’m right, they’re wrong”. The Gospel I read in the Scriptures is “I’m wrong and God is right in Christ”

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  3. Wow- a year already? Though for you, it may seem different.

    The behavior is wild, comical (to think a pastor/church would wish to be defined this way) & sad. A whole lot could be said, but I will refrain from doing so. I guess since they had to pay out many, many thousands of dollars due to losing their suit, they wish to somehow make something of it all. And, perhaps, they have the thought that since you & the others “got away” with what you wrote and said, they feel they are free to say and do anything they please. Or perhaps they are hoping one or more of you will file your own lawsuit against them, so that they could have their day in court that they may feel they did not get with their own lawsuit. It’s hard to say for certain.

    Just something to think about on this, but will your reporting on all of these more recent activities just help to encourage them to continue? They probably get some kick out of Twitter interactions and when you bring up any of their antics here or elsewhere. Plus any reports here may be viewed by them as what they are doing is “getting to you” and the others, and thus encourage them to continue and perhaps do more. (I don’t say any of this as a put down to you. It is just that I have never seen such grade school type behavior from the ministry, coming on the heels of something like this. There seems to be a very disturbed mindset behind it all.) What may be next? A TV show on the local cable company? A book? Radio broadcasts? They just don’t appear to know when to stop. Or perhaps they are determined not to stop until you no longer have a blog?

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  4. Certainly not the spirit of a servant demonstrated by those people, Julie Anne, Christ taught us to live in humility and peace with everyone, yet the fundamentalist and biblicist preachers seem to think they are sent to be prophets of God’s wrath. A very sad state of affairs, when preachers intentionally harm the body of Christ.

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  5. Lois, I didn’t really “plan” on doing this post initially, but I have had a lot of people talk to me as if it’s over and they are surprised to hear that it is ongoing. Most of us go on with our daily lives putting them out of our mind. And then an incident will happen.

    If my blog is to be a place to learn about how abusers abuse, then it’s only logical that I share a follow-up from time to time. This post took a really long time gathering all of the tweets, finding all the links. I’d be happy to not do this more than once a year.

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  6. Wow, they really can’t stand losing control over people. Very very immature–they’re acting like bratty kids that always want their own way.

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  7. Holy crap! How ridiculous! I skimmed through most of this post. At the beginning, I was thinking, I feel sad for these folks who are so determined to protect their reputation over being salt and light to the world. Then I kept reading, and felt embarrassed for them. Really? The world is watching your behavior, people. No love. Just tracts. Ya really think that’s the answer to WWJD? I think he would scoff at this. Then I kept reading, and thought, wow- Julie Anne has a lot of self control to let things like the silly business cards slide without a mention here when it happened, and stay focused on topics that provide a space for healing for the readers. Gotta be honest, if a former pastor did that to me, and even left it on my doorstep, I don’t think my response would be so cool, calm and collected. But the funny thing is, which JA seems to have figured out, the more they draw attention to defending themselves, the more emotionally unstable they appear and the more positive attention it brings to the greater issue of spiritual abuse.

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  8. What a bastard this chuck guy seems to be. Lucky for him he s in the northwest. Harassing people on private property here in the Midwest is a good way to get a 12 gauge pointed at you

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  9. RP said:

    Julie Anne has a lot of self control to let things like the silly business cards slide without a mention here when it happened, and stay focused on topics that provide a space for healing for the readers. Gotta be honest, if a former pastor did that to me, and even left it on my doorstep, I don’t think my response would be so cool, calm and collected.

    Oh please, RP. You should know me by now. I am a redhead. You need to feel sorry for people like Brad, Barb, the WWJS team, etc. Why do you think I need such a big support network. It’s for ME and my ranting!! 🙂

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  10. Wow… that was a year ago? it seems like just yesterday…. and at the same time awhile ago. Hope I never have to go through that again, but it was fascinating to learn about the judicial process from the inside. Glad we had an amazing attorney going to bat for us!

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  11. Happy anniversary, Hannah! 🙂 Sorry you had to go through that ride with me. I remember when I told you that the Google reviews were removed and you got mad and wanted to do something about it. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree and you sure didn’t like anyone doing that to your mama. I love you.

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  12. “Telling my story drew attention to spiritual abuse in general, but it changed nothing at the church. If you think going public will make your church or pastor or members change, think again. Spiritual abusers do not see themselves as abusers.”.

    This. This is it.

    I pondered for years a lot of the “ministerial” evil I witnessed doing my gigs in mega churches. I came to a personal conclusion about it: This is all they know to do. Be in ministry. I mean what sort of a career outside of ministry are you going to do with an M.Div? Many of these guys would last 5 min in any sort of high pressure career where you had to produce and had some snarky woman boss breathing down your neck. They are TERRIFIED of working in the real world.

    The problem for Chuck is he is two bit. He does not have the brains, power or resources behind him to do the “revenge” thing well. (because they were persecuted, dontcha know.)

    Now, if he had risen to mega church level…..things might be different. He could so some real harm there to people who dare disagree with him and there would be NO tracing it back to him. Those guys are pros.

    But it IS embarrassing to claim the name Christian when Chuck calls himself one, too. I mean he is wearing a neon sign that screams: Bully. Bullies always respond this way when they don’t win.

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  13. JA, I’m glad you have behind the scenes support!

    A gentle piece of input about this post- I went up and read some of this in more depth and clicked the link to the facebook post of Emily’s. It just occurred to me that even though she gave permission to share that, I wonder if everyone who commented on her post on FB would want their comments posted publicly here.

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  14. RP – Good point – I thought the same thing after seeing the original posting. I have reason to believe that the commenters are aware that the post is public. By observing Twitter behavior, you can be sure that CON and his followers have seen everything, too.

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  15. This is me —> 🙂 This is me beside myself —> 😦 Reading this post was like reading a very disturbing fiction; it just doesn’t seem real. You’ve probably heard and read this before, but the place resembles a cult, not a church of Christ Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for getting some people OUT of that environment.

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  16. I think I may be to the point that, if I should ever again consider becoming active in a traditional so-called church, I would want the entire leadership to submit to and publicly release the results of a thoroughgoing psychoanalytic diagnosis; and I would insist on choosing the physician/analyst. Of course, it almost certainly would never happen–yet, why shouldn’t those claiming to be the vessels through whom Jesus exercises His authority be willing to be totally transparent?

    Not suggesting anything about the O’Neals, specifically, other than that it is my personal opinion that behaviors of the sort described by Julie Anne above are unacceptable, no matter who the actors are–and special caution is called for with regard to those who would claim to be competent to care for our souls.

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  17. Gary W. – Good luck with that. But I do hear where you are coming from.

    It’s interesting. I did not post all of their tweet vomit. What you see is just a sampling, but I noticed the dates as I was going through the screenshots for this post. Sometimes the tweets occur within day or so since the last tweet vomit. (BTW, I don’t get credit for the vomit word – another former member coined it and it really is appropriate – it’s nasty, it’s smelly, it’s sick.)

    It is just plain difficult to trust after going through spiritual abuse. Boy, do I hear ya.

    The church we went to after BGBC was run by elders. There was no “head” elder, all 5 elders were of equal status. That was very reassuring to me because I did not want another one-man show. Another thing that caught my attention was I had a hard time figuring out who the elders were. They don’t draw attention to themselves. They acted just like everyone else. One of the first weeks we were there, we were at a social event having normal conversation. It wasn’t until after the dinner, someone at my table told me that the guy across the table was an elder. They just were not into titles or putting themselves “above” anything. Yet, after being there for 2 years, I did see how they cared for the flock.

    Anyway, what a perfect church for me to go to after BGBC because it showed me there are godly men who are in the role as shepherd who do not lord over, do not flaunt, do not abuse, but who truly care for your soul. They may be rare, but they are out there. I know a few of them and I’m glad that I do so I can tell you all about them 🙂 Once you find one like that, you will appreciate their giftedness and what they can add to you and your spiritual walk.

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  18. Wow, just pulled my jaw up from off the floor 😦
    I agree with Nickducote:
    You rock!
    I want you to know I’m praying for you and your family and this info really helps….

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  19. LOL, Eric. Now, please, come back and provide another song, though. I’m a musician and I really have a hard time with corny melody lines that stick with me ad nauseum for the rest of the day. Ack – I can feel it coming already. Must have replacement, pronto!

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  20. The Tallis is the first movement of Lamentations of Jeremiah, “Incipit Lamentationem”, and, yes, I really do listen to this stuff. I love renaissance sacred music, and used to sing tenor and counter from my teens to my thirties.

    Just because I’m a jazz and folk guy these days doesn’t mean I never got a foundation in the classics

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  21. Thank you for taking up the cause, unintentional as it may have been. The can of worms you opened up is teeming with those trampled upon in the name of Jesus. That’s a heavy burden. Allow Jesus to carry it. If that doesn’t help, print 5,000 preposterous business cards and throw them at people who couldn’t care less.

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  22. JA – I sometimes write new words for songs. I’ve written a short one on the subject of this thread. Admittedly, it’s rather juvenile. If you don’t like it, I can try again – or just quit.

    To the tune of “Camptown Races”:

    Chuck and Tonya think they are
    Victims…victims.

    Chuck and Tonya really are
    Those who victimize.

    Love to print up cards;
    Love to yell real loud.

    When it comes to being vomitous,
    They are ahead of the crowd.

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  23. Very cool. I love a very wide variety of music, all kinds of jazz, blue grass, folk, pop, classical and even beatbox 🙂 I especially love simple acoustic with real instruments, guitar, piano, violin, flute, cello, etc. (as opposed to keyboard-created). I also swoon over good vocal a cappella.

    Our community choir is singing a couple of sacred pieces by living composer John Rutter. These aren’t the best productions, but give an idea of Rutter’s work:

    and

    The altos have wonderful suspension notes in the Winchester piece where we sing: O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, As our trust is in thee, as our trust is in thee. . .O Lord, in thee have I trusted; let me never be confounded. (starts around 8:18)

    I don’t know how many Christians are in the choir, but it is most certainly a prayer as I sing it.

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  24. JA, I have sung choral music, hymnody, 6 part harmony stuff in a 100 voice choir, in a mens quartet where the other guys were 25 years plus my senior, and solo. Used to sing to accompany the pianist at a couple of restaurants. All the show tunes appropriate to a baritone or bass, or when he could lower the range for me, which was close to three octaves. Sang 2nd tenor in the quartet, then baritone, and then bass, over a period of four years. Led congregational singing for five years, including Sunday night pick a hymn sing along. Knew all of the hymns in the old Broadman hynmal, and in a couple of editions of the Baptist Hynmal. Once, while lying on my back in the back of the ER with a broken neck for four hours, sang my prayers for the entire time without repeating a hymn. Used to sing French and German folk songs and show songs. Can sight read most anything with an accompaniment, and then sing it the second time at pace.

    Favorites are show tunes from Camelot, South Pacific, and other similar musical dramas. Some of those numbers are really dramatic.

    Have also sung duets in church with my spouse and a couple of other females. With spouse, we trade off on the melody vs. harmony. And I am not a professional musician, just a guy who loves to sing. I regularly sing to my spouse, e.g., “if ever I would leave you” from Camelot.

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  25. *hugs* for you, if you want them. a year can be a long time, or no time at all, but it has to feel good that you’ve made it this far, even if things are still going on in various ways. 🙂 more importantly, you haven’t stood still or let yourself get trapped in it all, you’ve stood on top of wreckage and kept climbing, you’ve let God use what happened to you to help others, and that’s what I try to focus on in my own life, too. sometimes it’s hard to know how, but I figure you can never go wrong reaching out a hand. you’re a strong, vibrant example, and you’ve done a lot of good for a lot of people, including me. you should feel good.

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  26. Thank you, Kagi. I wouldn’t want to go through that experience, yet I find my life has been enriched in ways that I never could have imagined. And the big bonus is I have new friends that will most likely be life-long friends. There’s something very special about meeting people who have gone through something so emotional. There is an instant connection and it is a deep one. You can’t put a price tag on that!

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  27. Julie Anne: Do you know if the court received the payments that were ordered?

    Thank you for updating, it is good to know you have continued solid behind the scenes support.

    Since people are sharing such great music, please indulge me while I share a personal favourite.

    The Prayer Cycle by Jonathan Elias (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prayer_Cycle)
    has kept my little Canuck brain and soul functioning through some dark nights of the soul.
    The track I most love is the Benediction. May it bring peace to you as it has to me.

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  28. Hi BD: Thanks for the song. I’m going to have a listen as soon as I hit send on this reply. Yes, payment was received by our attorney literally the last day and last hour possible before my attorney could have taken court action. The check was signed by the church secretary. I’m pretty sure Brad has included this information in the lawsuit archive, as I didn’t have any more blog posts about BGBC until now. I found it – here it is. The lawsuit archive is found under the “About Julie Anne” tab at the top of the page:

    January 9, 2013. No appeal or payment is received from the plaintiffs by the defendants’ attorney for nearly a week after the January 3, 2013 deadline. So, on January 9, Linda Williams issues “10-Day Notice and Demand” letters requiring payment. They are sent by mail with return receipt to Charles O’Neal as an individual judgment debtor in the case; and to Barbara Gilgan and Dale Weaver, two individuals listed as officers for Beaverton Grace Bible Church on their Corporation Division website as an Oregon non-profit debtor. Signed receipts are received back from the two church corporation representatives. However, none is received from Mr. O’Neal. This necessitates further action.

    January 17, 2013. Because Mr. O’Neal and BGBC filed as co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and they lost their case, both were liable for the entire judgment award. This means that if one is not able to pay anything, the other is responsible to pay the whole amount. Therefore, it was necessary to ensure that all debtor parties received notice that the award payment was overdue. So, On January 17, 2013, Linda Williams sends a process server to deliver the letter in person to Mr. O’Neal.

    January 19, 2013. However, on January 19, Linda Williams receives checks from Beaverton Grace Bible Church covering the full amounts due for court costs and attorneys’ fees for the final three defendants – Julie Anne Smith, Hannah Smith, and Meaghan Varela. Each check also includes 46 days of interest, accrued from the date of the judgment (December 4, 2012). Since the judgment award is now paid in full, serving the notice on Mr. O’Neal is no longer necessary, and the process server is withdrawn.

    As the court-mandated payments are received on January 19, 2013 – the 10th day after the “10-Day Notice and Demand” letters were sent – this ends the dealings with the aftermath of Judge Fun’s decision on Beaverton Grace Bible Church v. Smith.

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  29. BD – I’m 1:21 into the song and in tears. Wow – it’s gorgeous. Thank you for this beauty. I’ve never heard Linda Ronstadt like this.

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  30. BD- Thank-You for sharing this. I just watched Grace – Jonathan Elias (and poem by Matthew K. Wiley) O, how my heart needed this. Look forward to listening to all… Beautiful, soothing…

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  31. Thanks Julie Anne, glad to hear it’s been paid.
    Ronstadt is awesome in this, isn’t she?
    Alanis Morisette surprised me,
    That Elias effectively used so many world class artists and music cultural streams is still stunning to me,

    The 8th movement (Benediction) is sung in Spanish by Linda Ronstandt and Urdu with Nusrat Paten Ail Khan, the English Chamber Chorus and American Boychoir sing in German The BoyChoir sololist is Devin Provenzano

    We are a world
    Growing dark with dying flashes
    While the moon is crying
    Full of unfamiliar music

    With some heaven
    Between God & prayer
    I watch
    For here the light
    No longer follows

    I see the new ghosts
    Lost in the innocence of their mission

    On an earth that is burning
    Who will be there

    Angel of death
    In the moon of the red grass
    Surrender your shroud

    Gail aka scared:
    So glad you like it!

    Movement 5: Grace
    The English Chamber Chorus (Italian) and James Taylor (English) John Williams on Guitar

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  32. This is just freaky weird psychopathic narcissistic behavior on the part of the ONeals. Can you imagine joining a church to go out and pass out fliers defending your pastor? Seriously? That’s what the church is about? Julie apparently only has told us the tip of the iceberg and the church is by “accident” while trying to cover that up, showing us more of it. It’s really sad that they can’t see it, but then, that’s the definition of a psychopath isn’t it?

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  33. Hey you forgot to include the screen shot of Fred’s apology that he somehow has managed to make go *poof* into the ether.

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  34. Oh wait never mind — that was quoting from the other article where the screen shot is. 🙂 That was a really good apology, wonder why he took it down? Why recant an apology? If you’re not sure you should apologize, then don’t! All this back and forth is ridiculous. Obviously these guys don’t know what in the world they’re doing.

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  35. Maybe because he doesn’t want to admit he made a mistake? I don’t get it. He and guys like him don’t understand that there is strength in weakness and humility.

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