Beaverton Grace Bible Church, BGBC Google Reviews, BGBC Lawsuit

Beaverton Grace Bible Church’s Pastor Chuck O’Neal: Your Past Will Find You

Julie Anne

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Today, Willamette Week, a Portland news outlet, published their third recent article on Pastor Chuck O’Neal, my former pastor who sued me and four others for $500,000.  The first article dealt with his protesting at a local abortion clinic and how civic leaders were looking into whether any civil codes were being violated.  This particular situation got additional coverage beyond Willamette Week’s reports:  KATU.com and Oregonlive.com.

The 2nd Willamette Week article discussed how the Willamette Week reporter was videotaped by O’Neal’s crew as she was trying to cover the story.

This third article, “I’m Not Free from This Guy,” gives more of O’Neal’s background, how he became a Christian, his military service, where he was saved, etc.  It also includes info about our lawsuit and discusses the fact that the abortion protesting is not the first time he has had disgruntled people in his midst:

Since April, O’Neal and volunteers have been videotaping and confronting patients and staff outside the clinic. His actions have set off a state civil rights inquiry, which is examining whether his protests are intimidating employees and women seeking medical services at Lovejoy Surgicenter.

O’Neal says the inquiry, by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, is threatening his right to free speech.

But records and interviews show O’Neal has been less than tolerant of free speech when his own parishioners criticized his leadership.

Last year, O’Neal and Beaverton Grace sued five former church members for defamation when they posted unflattering comments about him on a blog and a Google review of Beaverton Grace.

The church organization under which he served, the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, revoked his credentials in 2012, soon after the lawsuit was tossed out. (O’Neal disputes this and claims he quit the fellowship.)

O’Neal, 41, agreed to talk to WW this week at Beaverton Grace, but only if another person sat in on the conversation. (O’Neal says he will not sit alone with a woman other than his wife.)

In the article, reporter Sara Sneath also interviewed former church member, Emily Sires.  You can read about her encounter with the O’Neals outside an ice cream shop here.  I am absolutely disgusted  – disgusted doesn’t even cut it – at what church member Sketch has posted in her comments about Emily.   Emily, you are one brave young woman for standing up publicly to these bullies.  I am so proud of you.  Sketch is only revealing her heart – exhibiting the same stone-cold heart that she has learned from her bully pastor who really doesn’t understand the love of Christ.

I noticed Paula Coyle’s comment she left for you on your Facebook post.  I think many here would concur with Paula’s words:

Screen shot 2013-08-14 at 3.00.21 PM

I was glad to see that Sneath also contacted Pastor Greg Howell.  He and the Grace Brethren pastors have had many years of dealings with O’Neal and know his character.  They were part of the regional board who licensed him over a decade ago.

Greg Howell is pastor of the Community Grace Brethren Church in Goldendale, Wash. He is also chairman of a regional ethics committee for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

Howell tells WW that O’Neal’s credentials were revoked last August. He would not discuss why. O’Neal can still be considered a pastor, Howell says. If O’Neal attempts to move to another church in the fellowship, however, Howell says he has a “kind of a black mark on him.”

This particular paragraph had my dander raised:

O’Neal says it was alleged he had allowed a teenager suspected of sexual abuse to have contact with other children. He says the allegations were untrue, and O’Neal provided WW with documents he says show the state concluded the charges were unfounded. He says the allegations were retaliation against him for firing a church employee.

Here is the comment I left:

Chuck O’Neal is acting like a victim posting so many comments to defend himself. He should know better than to tell untruths, especially when what he talks about is public information. Case in point, this:

 O’Neal says it was alleged he had allowed a teenager suspected of sexual abuse to have contact with other children. He says the allegations were untrue, and O’Neal provided WWwith documents he says show the state concluded the charges were unfounded. He says the allegations were retaliation against him for firing a church employee.

Fact: If the State found the charges as unfounded, then why do we have court declaration on public file written by the mother of the sexual offender stating that her son was charged, arrested, and serving time? This kid was enough of a threat that he was locked in his bedroom from the outside when he went to bed at night and the house was rigged with alarms to track his moves. (The pdf is 13 pages long and the mother’s sworn declaration begins on Page 9: http://www.dmlp.org/sites/citm…)

Here is some of the untold story of how this “pastor” and his wife and church have behaved since losing the defamation lawsuit suing 5 former church members for $500,000. The evidence here speaks for itself. You will find direct links to Chuck and his wife’s public behavior: http://spiritualsoundingboard….

BTW, Chuck refers to his truebgbcsurvivor blog where he used the name and web address of my blog to fish my readers to his website. It’s interesting to note that he shows only partial pages of some sort of “DHS” report. Never do we see a full page. Why is that? Besides DHS does not send reports of anonymous reporters = fabrication.

Chuck said I notified the media of the lawsuit. Not true, but I know who did.

It doesn’t matter whether O’Neal renounced his relationship with the church body who licensed him. The truth remains that a regional chairman of ethics and a group of regional Grace Brethren pastors who had years of working with him obviously found his behavior bad enough to revoke his license. You rarely hear of licenses being revoked.

It doesn’t matter whether he has a legal right to protest at Lovejoy Surgicenter, his behavior warranted a civil investigation and businesses/neighbors/workers/clients interviewed have stated they have felt intimidated/bothered by him. He does not care. This is his method – bully behavior.

The police have an open file on him (I have the name & #). The police had to get involved recently when he trespassed on former members (and defendant’s) property, 4-1/2 yrs after they left. What pastor visits the homes of former members? This is creepy stalking behavior.

He will say he’s being persecuted for spreading the gospel, telling the truth, saving the lives of the unborn. Guess what – – Pastor Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist claims the same thing. Portland has their own Fred Phelps. Don’t be surprised if you see “God Hates Fags” signs next.

People of Portland, be forewarned. He is not done. Next week, he is having an “evangelism” conference to train more street evangelists and protestors. Check out the schedule. This is only going to grow and continue:http://www.biblicalchurchevang…

Because of misinformation posted in the comments, I uploaded the judge’s ruling here.

Related articles

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97 thoughts on “Beaverton Grace Bible Church’s Pastor Chuck O’Neal: Your Past Will Find You”

  1. I made this comment on the previous post, but I’ve added a link & something else I noticed that applies even more to this post in particular:

    “TETE is a good motto to live by. Test Everything and Test Everybody. Simple. Test everything you read or hear by the Word of God, and test every single person by the Bible as well. That is how you journey your way through life without falling into unbiblical potholes. TETE will save you a lot of heartache.” Mark Cahill

    Who’s he? Another one who tells us to think for ourselves. And another one that Tony Miano speaks out against. Tony Miano says he wanted to know what church he goes to because he wanted to speak to his elders. Mark’s crime? Mark says we can choose to follow Jesus or not, instead of believing that we’re totally depraved robots. Hmmm.

    Notice the pattern? “Are you submitting?” “Who are your elders?” They want to use church authority to shut people up, make no mistake about it.

    Big difference between that & our discussions (which can be passionate at times). There is no authority structure of who’s submitting to whom here. We can speak freely. Good thing.

    I checked CON’s conference speakers. Tony Miano is speaking. And what do you know? The other speaker is Ken Cook with CARM.

    Wow. CARM is the organization that published Tony Miano’s rant against Mark Cahill that I referred to in my comment today on JA’s previous post. Birds of a feather.
    http://carm.org/mark-cahill

    I agree with what others have said, “Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man.” Thomas Paine

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  3. I checked CON’s conference speakers. Tony Miano is speaking. And what do you know? The other speaker is Ken Cook with CARM.

    Wow. CARM is the organization that published Tony Miano’s rant against Mark Cahill that I referred to in my comment today on JA’s previous post.

    “One hand washes the other….”

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  4. I definitely agree with Paula Coyle’s assessment of CON’s psychopathic behavior. Had he ignored your google reviews years ago there never would have been a lawsuit to draw media coverage, and, probably, no SSB. The only one at fault for all the negative attention is him.
    But, hey, it’s just another opportunity to show how abusive pastors/churches operate.

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  5. JulieAnn, Me thinks Chuck is thrilled with this media exposure. Any attention is better than none, right? He seems to be constantly exhibiting sociopathic/narcissistic behaviors. He cannot even see his own hypocrisy in crying free speech when he sued you for the same thing!

    “O’Neal, 41, agreed to talk to WW this week at Beaverton Grace, but only if another person sat in on the conversation. (O’Neal says he will not sit alone with a woman other than his wife.)”

    LOL!!! This one always cracks me up. Does he not trust himself or does he think he is God’s gift to women and the reporter will not be able to contain herself around him? Does he think this makes him sound pious?

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  6. Dang, after reading all this, my hat is once again off to you Julie Anne. I don’t know how you sleep at night, and stay so reasoned & calm. The way chucklenuts spins his side of the story leaves me dizzy and furious.

    Good for you that you stay on point, state the facts. (Frankly, I can’t stand his self righteous, nauseating, cruel God speak.)

    He does more damage than good, he doesn’t give a hoot about the impression & impact he having on the lost, desperate & needy.

    Thank-God, I have long left the Christian ghetto, the folks that I hang with now are people who have been impacted by the likes chucklenuts. To put it mildly they cannot stand people who name Jesus as their Lover. Because C-nuts gets press, and believers get painted in their minds that us lovers of Christ are jerks. Yes, C.Nuts is having an impact, he is keeping souls out of the kingdom by his rude, obnoxious behavior…

    Also, I find it baffling that Sketch obviously a c.nuts groupie is so willing to cast that first stone, and many other stones, her comments were almost murderous, and me- thinks I recall something Jesus said about all of us, our hearts is where murder takes place. Wow, talk about casting stones… Pleaze Sketch look into the mirror, who are you to name the sins of another? God isn’t wringing His hands over anyone’s morality as much as He is weeping over how we fail to love…

    Sorry for the rant. Praying for you daily, thank-you for having the backs of us who have been broken by the pharisees of today… xo

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  7. Gail: Sketch is a very talented lady who has an amazing voice. I loved singing with her or accompanying for her on piano. She was one who validated what I was seeing and told me even more than I knew about. She was the one who told me at the end about not trusting the pastors who were placed in authority over us was wrong. She doesn’t realize she is a pawn used to feed his narcissism. Narcissists need a group around them to build their egos. That’s her purpose. She is being used to further his self-love.

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  8. Every time I read a post about this very emotionally- and psychologically- and spiritually-troubled man, I think of Paul’s words: “When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? . . . In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?” (1 Cor. 6:1, 7 NRSV)

    I read these posts with my mouth gaped open, catching flies, wondering how on earth this could be someone’s reality. I, like Gail, don’t know how you get through it — and the effects of it all are not even over. Unreal. Surreal. I think Lydia is spot on: he thrives on the media attention. Tragic.

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  9. J.A. O wow, that is heartbreaking considering I stood up for my ex-pastor, as a unwittingly pawn way back in the day. However, I was floored when she named the following:

    “Emily Sires is one of a group of teens who engaged in, among other things, sexual acts on church property, online pornography, underage drinking and driving, serving alcohol to minors, etc. When their activities became known by the pastor and congregation they were put out of the church and our fellowship according to the prescribed steps of Biblical church discipline.”

    Yet, mind boggling that you write: “She was one who validated what I was seeing and told me even more than I knew about. She was the one who told me at the end about not trusting the pastors who were placed in authority over us was wrong.”

    I will pray for her…

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  11. I just finished reading all the comments after WW article. Whatever. Some of the same ol’ CON and Company rants. Now they are nicely intertwined with the righteous act of storming the abortion clinics, to claim their strength of purpose and focus for THE Gospel–which takes away from the sting of the court case. He really does insinuate that he was wrongfully treated in court. Wonder how many people hear his pain?!

    Ya really wonder if he is going down the track of taking on the city or state regarding ‘freedom of speech’?? He’s a loose cannon with others supporting his antics and fighting for his rights. Too bad. Guess he will always have a small, devoted following.

    I just noted that CON’s age is 41. I thought that he was older than that. He is actually rather young when it comes to it. Quite the irascible character! What other adjective/s can I choose to describe his behaviors?! Blah, getting too late.

    I trust that Emily is standing tall after all the backlash. Ya gotta be tough to stand up to all this junk.

    Good to see our bulldogs, Ed, Eric, and some others, not to mention Julie Anne, giving these unnamed church members and supporters of CON and CON himself some things to think about. This crowd is certainly relentless, but so are our guys. This small crowd is holding to the party line and there is probably not much that will move them. But keep on barking at them anyway, guys, and providing truth so that those who are reading will have something concrete to sink their teeth into instead of all the blah, blah, blah that keeps getting regurgitated, ad nauseum.

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  12. If there is any encouragement in the latest O’Neal romp into the limelight, it is that attendance at his church is half what it was – 130 down to 60 according to the article.

    That is 70 more people who are out, free, and hopefully healing emotionally and spiritually.

    Kudos to all for addressing the verbal onslaught calmly, factually and reasonably.
    Any response is fuel for Mr. O’Neal, but it’s great when he goes off – people have an opportunity to see spiritual abuse, victim-hood and narcissism in full bloom. The more he comments, the more I see psychological decompensation.

    Cracks me up that he seeks and uses media, but God forbid you respond to a reporters query Julie Anne,

    “NOW, while claiming “I’m not free of this guy,” Julie Anne has once again actively sought out the press with her lies. ” CON

    Ar arr arrrr arrrrrr!
    As a former reporter – one word. Clueless.
    The lack of self-awareness continues to amaze me.

    Mr. O’Neal doesn’t seem to have the number of commenters defending him he did with the Google reviews or during the lawsuit. Perhaps some of those 60 left left are getting weary, I pray they get out and find healthy relationships.

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  13. I rarely read all of Chuck’s comments because they are so obnoxious. I found this gem today:

    No Christian man or woman in their right mind wants to have anything to do with a woman who aligns herself with atheists, LGBT, and abortionists while attacking Biblical pastors, churches, and ministries across America.

    I guess all of my readers are not in their right minds. I hope you guys can sleep at night!

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  14. I know, BD, he is clueless and makes things up as he goes. On my blog, I told the story about how the media was notified of the lawsuit. I refused to do it, but agreed to let someone else tell the story. It was much better for this person to be involved as they, too, were Survivors of BGBC long before I got there. It was through reading their story that I discovered this abuse had been going on for years. I was shocked and even more convinced that exposing it was the right thing to do. I supported their efforts in notifying the media.

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  15. Oh, I just couldn’t help myself! I went back and forth all morning on making a comment. The Spirit made me do it! Yeah, that’s it!

    Really, it’s the same ranting for the past year. It’s old. He really needs to move on to something else…and move out of Beaverton!

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  17. I am appalled by CON’s behavior–totally appalled. I don’t usually recommend a book by Dr. Phil, however, he writes about people like CON in Life Code. He describes people who are backstabbers, abusers, imposters, takers, exploiters and reckless (BAITER). They can be identified by the following behaviors:
    1. They see the world through an arrogant entitlement lens and treat people as targets.
    2. They lack empathy.
    3. They are incapable of feeling remorse/guilt and don’t learn from situation to situation.
    4. They are irresponsible, self-destructive, and disregard the well being of others.
    5. They thrive on drama and crisis.
    6. They brag about outsmarting other people.
    7. They have a pattern of short-term relationships.
    8. They live in a fantasy world marked by delusions.

    I don’t know CON (a fact that I am incredibly grateful for) but he sure seems to fit this profile. It does not matter to me that he tries to wear the mantle of “prophet” or “cleric.” He is dangerous–very, very dangerous. JA, thank you for standing up to him and for spreading the word!

    Brenda

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  18. You know, I could walk around Beaverton wondering if CON (I so enjoy calling him by his initials!), his wife or anyone else who attends that church would be able to find me since I’ve made myself known. It is possible that I have met any one of them because of where I work. But why would I want to live my life walking around fearful or concerned about who I am going to run into and having to defend myself at every waking moment.

    It was that part of the article that got me. He, his wife, and all of the church members are having to wonder what people think of them and them all having to defend themselves to everyone. To me, this is a sign of a mental illness. When one can’t function in every day life without being fearful or on the defensive, that’s a problem.

    It’s interesting to know that his background is in psychology. Having known many students who were psychology or social work majors over the years, I’ve come to believe that many of those students are drawn to those fields of study or make that a career because they have so much themselves that they need to work out. Apparently his study didn’t translate well into his own life.

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  19. No Christian man or woman in their right mind wants to have anything to do with a woman who aligns herself with atheists, LGBT, and abortionists while attacking Biblical pastors, churches, and ministries across America.

    Biblical???!!!!! Oh. My. Lord. Don’t. Get. Me. Started.

    I think Jesus’ words are very applicable in that man’s context: “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes [the atheists, gays, and abortionists] are going into the kingdom of God before you will” (Matt. 21:31). Not that unrepentant sinners are “getting into heaven,” but that if that fraud is “getting in,” then so are the other unrepentants.

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  20. William – They’re “Biblical” by law. Holding up signs telling women that they are murderers, and claiming that is Biblical, is just like the religious leaders who dragged the adulterous woman in front of Jesus to stone her.

    Julie Anne – How influential do you think CON and Tony Miano are? How many people are going to show up at this conference next week?

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  21. Kathi,

    Yes! And Jesus said to those hard-hearted religionists: “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God” (Luke 11:42); “Woe also to you [law-burdeners]! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them” (Luke 11:46). We are warned: “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20).

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  22. JA @7:45

    This is what CONs comment made me think of:
    “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'” Matthew 11:19

    Yeah, I think I’ll sleep just fine tonight, And you should, too. Jesus said “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!” Matthew 10:25

    Jesus wasn’t too fond of the high and mighty.

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  23. How fun that discussion is! (cough, cough)

    I get the feeling, though, that it’s bugging CON and his supporters more than it’s bugging those not agreeing with them.

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  24. It’s interesting to know that his background is in psychology. Having known many students who were psychology or social work majors over the years, I’ve come to believe that many of those students are drawn to those fields of study or make that a career because they have so much themselves that they need to work out.

    I have heard the same many times. That a lot of psychology degrees are done because the future shrink is crazy to start with and getting the degree means he/she can self-treat in secret.

    There was a South Park episode where the kids got rid of all the adults in town by falsely accusing them of molestation. Said adults were incarcerated in an institution where the psychiatrist was heavily implied to be a closet pedo himself who got aroused at hearing all the JUICY details of the accused’s confessions — even if he had to manipulate the accused into the JUICY confession he wanted.

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  25. HUG – When I was working on my MSW degree, I can remember sitting in classes several times where I would think, “I would never want you as my social worker!”

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  26. I once facilitated strategic planning with a state psychological association top brass. Big mistake. They were the meanest, most arrogant and hateful people in the world—with each other! It was surreal.

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  27. Kathi said:

    “It’s interesting to know that his background is in psychology. Having known many students who were psychology or social work majors over the years, I’ve come to believe that many of those students are drawn to those fields of study or make that a career because they have so much themselves that they need to work out. Apparently his study didn’t translate well into his own life.”

    His background isn’t really psychology, per se. The story that I remember is he was just a credit (or a few credits) shy of his degree from Multnomah. He would never return to Multnomah because he strongly disagreed with some things he found unsettling being taught – (women preaching was one that I recall). So then he finished his degree at Corban in Salem, OR. We were all shocked that he selected the major to be psychology because he was so against any outside counseling whatsoever. Hypocrite. I remember hearing about his graduation party. The Smith family was not invited. Perhaps it was better that way.

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  28. Kathi asked:

    Julie Anne – How influential do you think CON and Tony Miano are? How many people are going to show up at this conference next week?

    CON is not influential. He is a nobody. But he is putting his name out there, tweeting big names, showing them that he knows how to evangelize like the best of them. The guy does this “well” if you like street evangelism. I think those here know my complete disdain for shouting about hell/damnation and REPENT to people who are in an emotional crisis. So, basically, he is befriending people who have bigger audiences, schmoozing with them and borrowing their audiences trying to revamp his suing-pastor image.

    Sadly, those whose interest is this style of evangelism will buy it without question if he is endorsed by a bigger name like Miano. It really is who you know in this “business.” And for them, I truly believe it is more about business than souls. It’s much more difficult to take the time to listen to tragic stories than shout REPENT in a megaphone while being videotaped – especially when you know said video will soon be uploaded and tweeted for a larger audience to see how well you are at evangelizing: “Oh, how I love me – look at how well, I evangelize – – I evangelize so well, I’m going to upload myself or others to learn from me.”

    Yup, that’s how they sell it. Pass me the barf bucket. I’m not in a mood to change my words. You’re getting the real ja today.

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  31. I have never been a big fan of street evangelism. But, that’s no big surprise for this introverted person! The Calvary Chapel church we worked with in Russia is big into street evangelism, especially when there are visiting short-term mission people with them. They aren’t “in your face” like CON, but they pass out tracts and do it. Anyone know if the Calvary Chapels in the U.S. are big into street evangelism?

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  33. I read this today and thought it was good. It relates well to the conversation at WW.

    http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2013/08/losing-my-religion-at-least-thats-the-plan/

    I admit that I’ve taken on a bit of a “snarky” attitude in my comments at WW. I guess I get so weary of people who think they know it all and are always right. Forget taking any criticism to heart because that may mean that one has to actually think about what one is saying. Sadly, it leaves me with the impression that they’re all brain-washed or a not often seen example of the Stockholm Syndrome.

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  34. Kathi, that is a very good article. Thanks for sharing it. I would agree with you that any commenter who is a member there is certainly brainwashed. That can be the only possible explanation for following a pastor who knowingly ignores church bylaws and puts former members in discipline, tells parents to shun their own kids (he hates that word), spreads slander blogger cards around town, etc.

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  36. Is there anyway that you could have a court to issue a cease and desist on them goofy cards?

    I don’t know and don’t really care, Ed. The way that I look at it is he is handing out a card that says: Look at me, I’m the stupid pastor who doesn’t read my Bible and read the verse that says I shouldn’t sue. I’m the one that has been in the local news a lot lately creating problems in NW Portland. I like to rock the boat. Won’t you come to my church and join the Kool-Aid-drinking insanity?

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  40. …especially when you know said video will soon be uploaded and tweeted for a larger audience to see how well you are at evangelizing: “Oh, how I love me – look at how well, I evangelize – – I evangelize so well, I’m going to upload myself or others to learn from me.”

    “Blowing Long Trumpets before them, so that they may be seen by Men.”

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  41. I live in Topeka. The kind of shame involved in having WBC practically in your backyard is pretty sickening. I certainly hope and pray that BGBC doesn’t get quite that bad. It’s a black mark on the whole town. :/

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  42. don’t know and don’t really care, Ed. The way that I look at it is he is handing out a card that says: Look at me, I’m the stupid pastor who doesn’t read my Bible and read the verse that says I shouldn’t sue. I’m the one that has been in the local news a lot lately creating problems in NW Portland. I like to rock the boat. Won’t you come to my church and join the Kool-Aid-drinking insanity?”

    LOL!! I agree. Passing out the cards is like advertising that YOU are the sane one.

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  43. I hate to be outdone spiritually by this pastor on the other side of the Columbia River. Therefore I commit (or should I say covenant) to never being in the company of a woman, other than my wife, unless two others people are present. That way if one drops dead or is struck by lightening, I’m still covered.

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  44. Craig, I’m starting to get worried about you. You copycatted CON with your own lawsuit against yourself that you disclosed here on the blog and now this? And also your use of the word “covering” is suspect. We need to talk, bro. Oh, wait. I’m a woman. Some other male will have to.

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  45. This is getting difficult. I’m not sure I can read your blog anymore unless there’s some way I can make sure that at least two other people are reading it at the same time. Good catch on “covering”.

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  47. Craig, I think I have the perfect solution. We can ask Gary W. to draft up some sort of SSB covenant for your eyes. He’s one of those legal-type guys, you know. Oh wait, is it your eyes you are concerned about? I sure hope none of your church peeps do a Google search on your name. This might prove to be embarrassing for you. But anyway, Gary can change the wording as needed, but this new SSB Covenant should suffice, don’t you think? I wonder if this is going to be the new thing for bloggers, “Reader’s Covenants.” That’s for your protection and mine. I’ll have to send this idea out. Craig, look at what you started. Does that mean you are postmodern? All these newfangled terms confuse me. Hmm, this seems to be a run-on paragraph. Oh well. That’s how my brain works.

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  48. Uhh … JA … isn’t this about a “covenant with your signature,” not a “covenant with your eyes”? Oh wait. Never mind, got posts backwards.

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  51. Good question Kathi! It may take a while before we have all of this properly codified. I like the idea of an SSB covenant. Can you imagine my joy if I ever meet that Oregonian pastor. I can say, “Your pretty holy, but did you have the foresight to sign a covenant before reading Julie Anne’s blog? Face it, I’m holier than you!”

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  52. then again, having commented knowing that some unescorted women may be reading it, guess that makes me doubly despicable. so, so sorry.

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  55. Like I always say, “Sacred cows make the tastiest barbecue.”

    About to start 10 lbs. of Hatch chiles to roast, then a 15 lb brisket to put on until tomorrow night.

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  57. Aren’t covenants supposed to be sealed with blood? Remember back in the day when people, mostly kids, would cut their fingers for a blood pact? Where would they get such an idea? But no blood for church/congregant?

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  64. JA, That has been free on Amazon kindle for ages. If you want to know where navel gazing sin came from read it. He is telling God (who already knows by the way) about all his past sins (but not the current ones, dontcha know of wanting to kill Donatists! You can read the proof he was totally depraved because he completely analyzes in agonizing detail his stealing of pears as a kid from a neighbors trees as if he had manned the gas ovens at Auschwitz.

    Ok, Sure you spank a kid for stealing fruit from a neighbors tree. But if he is writing about in detail in middle age, analyzing it as proof of his total depravity, you should be worried.

    Meanwhile back the ranch, believers were rejoicing in Christ., loving God and reaching out to love others….too busy for all that rot because they are “Born Again”!

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  65. Ok everyone. I have a confession to make.

    My husband has neither given me permission to read this blog, nor does he sit by my side while I read this blog.

    Men, continue reading at your own risk. I may be a stumbling block to you.

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  66. I lurv the FB WW comments! I think my two favorites are: 1) Lisa’s with, “What an ass-napkin,” and 2) Anthony’s with, “oh gosh the dude’s in the comments that is always adorable.” Hahaha!

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  67. Confessions of St. Augustine is sooo 1st century. All the cool hipsters these days are reading Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War.

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  68. Kathi: some of us postmodern pre-hipsters were reading Xenophon. in the original. and it was classic … before it was coool.

    Wonder what that makes us? Hipster Archaeotypes, perchance?

    Oops. I addressed an unescorted woman on a blog. Muh bad.

    *Apology.*

    Oh wait, that was Plato.

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  69. Kathi – Those 2 really cracked me up – especially the “ass-napkin.” LOL So funny.

    I didn’t know we’d need to many covenants. Do we need a separate version for women? Where’s Gary W. when we need him?

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  70. I would duly and respectfully submit that the hereinabove-proposed covenant need be suffered to involve no more cumbersomeness than the adoption of that certain covenant professed by Job; to wit: “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” (Job 31:1, ESV). Simply transcribe this verse calligraphically onto a suitably sized sheet of aged and cured vellum, sign in front of two witnesses (being careful to sign twice in green ink before 3 witness if left handed), and seal the covenant with three fluid ounces of ophthalmological blood drawn from each eyeball, whereupon consequent blindness will render moot all issues of covenantal sufficiency, whether as to breadth, substantive aspect, and/or prescription of sanctions, both remedial and punitive, imposable upon breach. All assuming, of course, substantial consensus as to jurisprudential propriety and overall meetness.

    Oh, what the heck? Any man who might actually require such a covenant (to the pure all things are pure) should simply pluck out their eyes and be done with it. Or else just geld themselves.

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  71. “Do we need a separate version for women?”

    Nah. I repeat myself: To the pure all things are pure. And there is never any mention of Eve’s sin being imputed to anybody. Besides, I’m not sure how a woman would go about the gelding procedure.

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  73. “All the cool hipsters these days are reading Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War.”

    Oh No! I am sooooo not cool.

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  74. “Nah. I repeat myself: To the pure all things are pure. And there is never any mention of Eve’s sin being imputed to anybody.”

    This is the thing. Women must stay deceived because of Eve. The cross was of no help either as they remain easily deceived. Deceived then, deceived now, deceived forever. Wait? Isn’t that the segregation slogan?

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  75. Lydia, they just don’t seem to be able to handle it when you refuse to be deceived. Deception has failed, time to place you under male authority.

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  76. Gary,

    Not all is lost. I once heard a famous SBC preacher say that even though women are “under the headship of their husband they can turn his neck”. So, I have necks to turn?

    Where DO they get this stuff? Was he teaching manipulation tactics or throwing women a bone?

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  78. Lydia – As long as men view women as objects of sexual desire instead of fellow human beings, we will continue to turn heads.

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  81. Really–Jonah is not an example of love??? What is up with these guys? Why are they so afraid of love. It must be because they sure are stingy with their love.

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  82. Tom, I think that CON is comparing the words/actions of God and Jonah. The entire book of Jonah is fully evident of God’s love and compassion for people whereas Jonah is upset that God did not destroy the city. Sadly, CON embodies a bitter and angry Jonah more than a concerned and compassionate God.

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  83. JA, it seems to me that CON exhibits some very strange personality defects. First, he engages in attention-seeking behaviour, as evidenced by his protests in front of abortion clinics. While personally I’m opposed to abortion, I disagree with making an ass out of oneself in public. Anyways, he seems to be engaging in a form of self-affirmation, trying to show himself to be more tough and holy than the rest of us plebeians. He is primarily interested in outward appearances, and wants all the rest of us to KNOW that he won’t be caught alone with another woman (in other words, he is exhibiting overcompensation). He’d fit in quite well with the Pharisees of old.

    Also, I noticed that when questioned on the KATU website by another reader about whether or not he believed in Calvinistic predestination, he dodged the question. To me, this indicates deception and an elitist belief that most people are too incompetent to study and learn about Calvinism. Furthermore, he is not willing to be open and honest about some of his church’s more questionable doctrines.

    Personally, I would stay far away from this man.

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  85. Ryan, you made some very astute observations. He is masterful at dodging questions and then magically gets you caught up into the emotion of his rebuttal without even realizing it. He is not an open and honest man. He shows only what he wants people to see (on his BGBC impostor website, you never see a full “official” DHS document, but he convinces everyone that it is). He changed the wording significantly in his press release manifesto without any acknowledgement. I had problems with the man from Day 1, but I was utterly shocked the first time I heard him lie in the sanctuary. Then my ears were perked and I found it was a pattern.

    When studying narcissism, I learned that narcissists are the most difficult people to treat. The reason why narcissists are so difficult to treat is they believe their own lies.

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  86. Outsider reading these posts and was wondering if you are trying to save people or lose people? Is this a church or courtroom Im in.??. Are ya’ll Saints or Sinners?
    I cant figure out which one to believe. Is the preacher bad? or the Members?.

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  87. al: I cannot tell you what to decide, but what I have done here is clearly show the public behavior by Chuck O’Neal so that you and others can judge for yourself. What he says does not line up with his public behavior and certainly not his private behavior. I say he is a wolf, but that’s just my $.02 based on observing his behavior for over 6 years now and also reading personal testimony from those who have dealt with him from before he was licensed as a minister. I have had contact from people who were witness to his behavior from that far back who have reached out to me to tell me their stories.

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  88. Julie tks for the come back. I was wondering if all is settle as of now? Hope you made it thru this mess thicker skin than before. You never once, as I seen, had any help from any body. Did I miss something or did you forebear it alone? Keep your chin up and keep reading the Good Book and let it shine on you daily. That way you will never need a umbrella because it will never rain on you. You sound like a strong person who believes in Jesus with all your heart. I notice you never in my reading of these blogs, you never berated to the point of giving up on the church. Keep smiling and the world will smile with you. Jesus is the answer to all problems… church of Christ al

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  89. Hi al,

    No, it is not all settled. Chuck continues to behave like a bully and stalk former members. Click on the links and you can see what I’m talking about. I’ve mentioned an open police file with a detective in charge (I have the #). The O’Neal’s as recently as a few months ago trespassed on former member’s property. That is not proper behavior for any person, let alone a pastor. Now he is causing disruption in the city “exercising his right of free speech,” but really is behaving like a bully. It is my opinion that protesting at abortion clinics the way he does it, causes women to run INTO the clinic to abort and is not saving babies. His past record at church shows that he does not put his $$ where his mouth is. He may donate a token amount of $$ to crisis pregnancy centers (those of us who know him well, know that most of the $$ came from him collecting at church), when it comes to really helping women in crises, it’s too much of a burden. It’s all talk, but little action, sadly. He puts on a great show, though.

    I am not so strong, but I am a survivor. I cling onto every last bit of real Jesus I can find amidst the false Jesus I see portrayed by so many. I have had a lot of support people encouraging and praying for me. I couldn’t have done it without them. That is the real Body of Christ in action. Thanks for asking and for your prayers!

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  90. Julie tks

    I live away off from you and the others but would like to keep up to date. May I come back and sit in an comment at times? I wish you well in all your undertakings. I hate to see someone hide behind my Lord, and yours, for their own purpose. Hope you have a good day. From the southland wishing you good health and God’s blessing in all you do for Him. church of Christ al

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  92. Hi Julie

    Just checking back to see if any new developments have transpired since last blog? Hope all is going well with you. Has the main man done anything exciting, like sue you again? Is everything settle as of now?
    al

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  93. He hasn’t sued me again, but he’s accusing me of contributing to the corruption of minors by distributing porn donuts. Never a dull moment. He’s also named on the front cover Tony Miano’s book coming out: Should She Preach? O’Neal wrote the foreward. Miano is trying to rescue his bad reputation, apparently. And O’Neal’s church recently decided to add Miano as missionary that they will support – – – hmm don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

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  94. Julie
    What could possibly be a porn donut??? I live in the south and that is a strange term. Why would they support a person such as this, knowing what He is can do.???
    Has the world lost all common sense????

    al

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  95. Al – I took donut orders for a group of high school kids and the place I went to was a “famous” Portland tourist spot. They have odd donuts and odd names (some sexual in nature) and O’Neal exaggerates and twisted comments to insinuate that I corrupted high school kids by getting them porn donuts. The donut shop is edgy. I will give you that much, but for him to imply I am doing criminal-type of behavior is over the top, typical for this pastor who sues people, stalks them, trespasses on former members’ property, records private conversations without permission (plays private conversations to others without permission), passes out “slander blogger” business cards in parked cars at malls and churches, etc.

    Typical pastor behavior???

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  96. Julie
    I don’t believe this is the “typical” pastor. There are some in the “profession” that don’t use good judgement. There are some that are so called “pastors” when in fact they are just hypocrites.. I have a lot of friends who are Preachers and they detest someone who mars the name of Pastors. We have to take the bad with the good. I cannot see for the life of me how He could have a following? Have you been threaten with bodily harm, or, just intimidated? One is nearly as bad as the other.
    I hope you can soon clean all this mess up and get it behind you. You deserve better than this. Don’t give in. Don’t give no one, that is wrong, the pleasure of seeing you quit. Hang in there. Hollow when you can.

    al– in the southland.

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  97. Al,

    You are right. There are many good pastors, and some of them contribute to this blog. Unfortunately, in my 40+ years of doing “church” as an adult, it is running about 50/50 between coercive and non-coercive pastors. I think it is instructive to study the Power and Control Wheel developed for use in combating domestic violence. Here is one place it can be found:

    Click to access Power&Control.pdf

    It is just appalling how the tactics of domestic abusers so easily, and so often, get translated into the “church” realm. With regard to the coercive tactics of minimizing, denying and blaming, for example, there are just way too many examples of pastors: 1) refusing to take an abused woman seriously, 2) telling her it is god’s will, 3) telling her not to go to law enforcement, 4) telling her God hates divorce, 5) telling her it must be her fault, maybe for “letting herself go,” etc. Then, to top it all off, the wife may be excommunicated and shunned when she files for divorce, as per the “Using Isolation” segment of the Power and Control wheel.

    Insofar as the segments of the Power and Control Wheel are concerned, maybe only sexual and physical violence are less prevalent in abusive churches than in abusive domestic relationships. My own growing conviction is that the propensity for coercive conduct in the “church” setting is inherent in any institutionalization of the Faith; but that is a topic that is being addressed in a whole ‘nother thread.

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