Divorce, Domestic Violence, Domestic Violence and Churches, Going Back to Church Again, Learn to Discern, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Authority

Learn to Discern: Pastor John Raymond, in His Own Words

Julie Anne

Pastor John Raymond, New Horizon Calvary Chapel Church, Slidell, Louisiana, Steven Angle, Spiritual Abuse

 

Yesterday on Facebook, journalist Ashley Rodrigue of WWLTV posted the following press release from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff in Louisiana (typed and screenshot below):

by Ashley Rodrigue WWLTV 

(PRESS RELEASE)

HAMMOND, LA – Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards is asking for your assistance in locating wanted subject 60 year old Slidell resident Steven Angle on the charge of Stalking.

Angle is being accused of stalking a female subject who has been staying at a residence in our parish. Angle has recently been accused of rape with charges pending in East Baton Rouge Parish and arrested for stalking by the TPSO in January of this year.

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Angle is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800.5534.5245.

Angle was seen driving a white Cadillac and a red compact Honda in the Hammond area.

***

Screen Shot 2016-04-06 at 12.20.21 PM.png
Source

***

Beneath Ms. Rodrigue’s Facebook post/press release, was a comment by John Raymond, who turns out to be the pastor of the wanted subject, Steven Angle.  I have typed Pastor Raymond’s comment below (and beneath is a screenshot of the original Facebook comment, both which will remain on the internet and search engines for a very long time). Pastor Raymond is the pastor of New Horizon Calvary Chapel Church in Slidell, Louisiana.

Hi, Ashley.

I am Dr. Steve’s pastor. I have spoken to him regarding the charges you are advertising on social media. May I ask you a few clarifying questions which could shed light on this situation? First, is it true that the woman claiming to be a victim of rape and stalking is actually Dr. Steve’s ex-wife? If so, it raises a serious question about the validity of her claims as well as her motives.

Secondly, is the deputy involved currently having an adulterous affair with Dr. Steve’s ex-wife? If so, this not only brings scandalous doubts as to his motives, but also raises a legitimate issue of professional misconduct.

Finally, as an investigative journalist, do you simply reprint things that could destroy innocent people, especially one who has given his life to help others? If so, this could backfire on you as well as WWLTV. My kind suggestion from one professional to another is that you delete this damaging post or at least post all the factual details. This will not look good for you if it turns out that you have unwittingly allowed yourself to be played like a pawn in a game of personal vendettas and sexual infidelity. God bless and good luck. Source

 

 

Pastor John Raymond
Source

 

As I read this comment from Pastor Raymond, I noted many red flags. Part of what we like to do here at SSB is to identify behaviors, words, actions of church leaders that could be problematic. This is especially helpful for those who come from spiritually abusive backgrounds and who are looking to find a safe pastor/church to attend.

***

Ground Rules – whoa, she’s getting serious here!

***

Now, just for the heck of it, I did a little searching around the internet on Pastor John Raymond and found “interesting” articles, businesses, etc. This part is probably going to take some restraint because SSB readers are some of the best sleuths around . . . but before you do some internet digging, let’s see what we as a community can learn from Pastor John Raymond’s own words right here. What is he saying? How is he using his position as pastor? Is he using it in a way that could be harmful?  I think they reveal quite a bit.

 

65 thoughts on “Learn to Discern: Pastor John Raymond, in His Own Words”

  1. At what point in his diatribe did the pastor acknowledge that there are actual charges, and an actual arrest from a few scant months ago?

    That’s right, he didn’t. He’s believing the man’s story over the woman’s, of course, painting the usual story of the evil, adulterous woman getting revenge on a good man – a good man who can’t seem to leave her alone, even after an arrest.

    Liked by 6 people

  2. Why do you ‘spose he identified his congregant, Steven Angle, by the title “Dr.?” His title was not mentioned in the press release. Oh, I have so much I want to say on this. lol

    Liked by 2 people

  3. ” May I ask you a few clarifying questions which could shed light on this situation? ”

    Does ‘Dr Steve’s Pastor’ not get the concept of a news report? Why is his parishioner running away from the police if he is innocent?

    Also, he’s basically using this crimestoppers report to gossip.

    Liked by 4 people

  4. I’m not sure whether it’s legally actionable yet, but reading the “pastor’s” comments, it strikes me that he would not know to ask these questions and make those comments if he were not in close contact with the accused, and would likely have information that would lead the police to the accused. He could be even participating in hiding the accused from justice.

    I bet a few calls to the deacons or elders (and other employees) of the church he serves would give the police enough information for a warrant and a subpoena. And really, what he’s doing shows he’s not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, as his comments are coming really close to obstruction of justice. But that said, he’s getting smarter, as I can’t access his Facebook page.

    Liked by 4 people

  6. Actually, all Ashley reported was a police department’s press release. This was not her reporting at all. That’s another issue – he needs to take his gripes up with the police, not the journalist. She’s just passing along information for the police.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. This pastor automatically presumes the honesty of the male perp against the world of his alleged victim, he freely advertises unsubstantiated gossip on social media (!), he rudely confronts and demeans the female reporter rather than contacting the male sheriff who wrote the press release, and he’s obviously hiding a man accused of two felony crimes whose contact information he has.

    Liked by 3 people

  9. He also seems saying that her decision to divorce a man now accused of rape and stalking tends to exonerate him while seriously implicating her as a liar with bad motives. But there’s a much simpler explanation.

    Liked by 3 people

  10. Julie Anne, I am afraid this may cause John to come here and reprimand you, too. 😉 Looking at it without getting into what his response shows, going after a journalist for simply reporting police news is absurd. It would keep him pretty busy if he started writing to all the newspapers and news stations for doing similar. For me, if I were that journalist, it would most likely cause me to do some heavy duty investigating into the situation and share my findings.

    Like

  11. LOL Lois 🙂 I am not afraid of men who think they are important. They put their pants on the same way I do. I may recommend to Ashley that she do some more digging. Good idea.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. The “pastor” is using their typical condescending arrogance thinking it will intimidate the reporter. after all, it works with his lemmings. Dr. Steve must pay for this sort of carte blanche defense as a tither. Let me guess, the church is into comp doctrine.

    It sure would be a real shame if the pastor became the story. :o)

    Like

  15. For all those who are so terribly concerned about Christians losing freedoms-this is exactly how it happens-Christians refusing to submit to laws that are there to protect people. If it keeps up, governments will have to take away special privileges from churches. So ridiculous to act this way in light of Romans 13 amongst other passages.

    Liked by 3 people

  16. So, John Raymond thinks he is more qualified to asses the situation with Steven Angle than the criminal justice system? I wonder what other crimes he has “covered” in his congregation.

    I agree with Bike Bubba about the possible obstruction of justice if Raymond does, in fact, know Angle’s whereabouts.

    John Raymond: “Nothing to see here.”

    Like

  17. There’s oh so much going on here….

    1. “I have spoken with him…” Why would you admit that? I’m sure he received a call or visit from the sheriff after that was seen.

    2. “May I ask you a few clarifying questions….” Ummm…No. It’s a forwarded press release, how would she know more about the case?

    3. Is it true that the victim is the ex-wife? Again, how would she know? It’s a press release with no victim’s name released. But, go on….

    4. If so, it raises a question about the validity of the claim. Oh, really? Lots of possibilities here: 1) Pastor doesn’t believe that the divorce was valid in the eyes of God, therefore they are still married. 2) Pastor doesn’t believe the woman because the man is oh so holy and she is out to get him. 3) Pastor doesn’t believe that rape is possible in marriage, and since the divorce is not valid, he did not rape her. 4) Pastor believes the man because women make up stories like this all the time. 5) Pastor gets lots of faithful tithe from the man (because apparently he’s a doctor) and dammit there goes the money! 6) How dare this woman reporter share a press release about a fine upstanding citizen who loves the Lord!

    5. Is it true there is an affair with the ex-wife? Grabbing popcorn now because this guy’s digging a serious hole. How can an ex-wife have an affair? Did that divorce really happen?

    6. To the reporter: You are creating a scandal and your reporting will back fire on you. Um, no Pastor, I think you’ve done that pretty well yourself.

    Liked by 6 people

  18. Seems to me that this “pastor” believes that once a woman is married, she is the property of her spouse for the rest of her life, even after they divorce. She’s not entitled to her own body, nor the choice of with whom she has a later relationship. And to intimidate and possibly threaten a journalist for merely posting a news article from the public police report can cause him some legal trouble later on. He’s treading on thin ice with this tactic.

    Liked by 2 people

  20. I wonder how much politics is playing into this. Raymond expresses some strong opinions about Democrats on his FB page. Guess what political party the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff, Daniel Edwards, is associated with? (The sheriff’s brother is the current governor of Louisiana.) Raymond says on his FB page that: “Every vote for a Democrat is a vote against the main commands and principles of God’s word.” and “Please pull your head out of the sand and stand on God’s side.”

    This is a huge red flag for me. I think the church needs to stop promoting any political party as more “Godly.” Let people follow their own consciences in these matters.

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Oh look a picture of Ted Cruz standing next to a “monument” of the 10 commandments. Oh look Exodus 20:4 says not to make any engraved images. Nevermind 🙂

    Like

  23. The most tragic element of the pastor’s written defense of Mr. Angle is that he endeavors to undermine the credibility of the man’s victim, a woman who may have been raped and subsequently stalked by her rapist. It doesn’t matter whether she is the alleged perpetrator’s ex-wife or not and, frankly, nothing about the seriousness of those offenses is affected by the woman’s possible relationship with another man. Neither rape nor stalking are minor offenses.

    The pastor’s intent to diminish the seriousness of the alleged crimes and the potential threat to the victim is appalling. I wonder if the pastor would be similarly biased toward the alleged offender if the victim was his daughter.

    Liked by 2 people

  27. it true there is an affair with the ex-wife? Grabbing popcorn now because this guy’s digging a serious hole. How can an ex-wife have an affair? Did that divorce really happen?”

    I wondered about this but then I thought maybe the deputy/sheriff was married? Possibly?

    Who knows. But yeah, you can stalk someone you used to be married to! You can rape someone you used to be married to!

    The weirdest thing to me is that he doesn’t understand that this is not an article, it is a ‘have you seen this criminal, if so call this Number’ deal. These come out all the time. Weirdo.

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Kathi says better what I tried to say earlier–it was a “fisking” I didn’t have time for. Well done.

    One little thing I can add is that I would have hoped that even the most extreme pastor (in whatever way you suggest) would figure out that the man needs a good lawyer as much as he needs a good pastor and act to persuade the man to go to authorities without becoming acquainted with a SWAT team or two.

    Like

  29. I fully expect this pastor to write a recommendation to the judge for lenient sentencing. Sound like anyone else we know?

    Liked by 2 people

  30. Pastor John was on Survivor in 2002. He lasted 3 days. He was fired as executive pastor at an Assemblies of God church in Slidell in 2003 called The Harvest and sued the church. Not for firing him, but for why. Christianity Today had the details in 2004.

    http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/januaryweb-only/1-26-42.0.html

    Raymond is also General Manager of a Christian fm radio station in Slidell.
    Wonder how the court case turned out.

    If it’s the same Steve Angle, he is a chiropractor in Baton Rouge.

    Like

  32. I read his statement with disgust but I snorted out loud when I got to “as one professional to another” ha! you wish, “pastor” John Raymond, you wish.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. …this could backfire on you. Sounds like a threat to me.

    God bless and good luck. After a post like that? What duplicity! Very telling about this pastor’s character.

    By the way, who is David Barton?

    Liked by 1 person

  38. I recognize him from Survivor, but don’t really remember him. That’s what happens when you’re one of the first ones booted off. I’m sure he used that experience as a way to promote himself though.

    After seeing his reviews it makes me wonder if he was a business partner with Steven Angle.

    Like

  39. If a Pastor is told something in confidence, like a wife having an affair with so and so, is he allowed to use that information to smear someone publicly? I think about all the people that go to their pastor for counseling and admit their secrets to him. Doesn’t this action undermine that trust and wouldn’t everyone be anxious now about things they told their pastor in confidence that might be used against them? I mean, if he had information that shed light on this case why not just go to the police rather than broadcasting it on a public forum? Does the wife have any legal rights in this public smear? Isn’t this slander? I don’t know the laws. I surely would be upset to have my reputation tarnished in this manner and most times people think Pastors are honest so they take their word for things.

    Like

  40. katy, it seems like from what I’m reading lately that pastors do NOT follow the same type of standards that regular, licensed counselors do. One more reason not to get counseling from a pastor, sadly.

    Liked by 2 people

  42. J.A.: I misunderstood your question. I thought you meant that John Raymond took down a comment on his Fb wall. You were speaking about the journalist, Ashley Rodrigue’s, Fb wall. I don’t even see the entry any longer about Stephen Angle. Hmmmm…..

    Like

  43. Kay, the recourse of the ex wife (if indeed she is the victim) is as you say. She can sue for libel and/or slander, depending on how the statements are made. I think it’s libel in this case, but the ex would of course have a lawyer who would know Louisiana statutes better than I. As a rule, the complainant who does not have easy media access needs only to prove that the statements were false and damaging, and that the person making those statements knew they were false when he made them. But it’s generally really hard, and of course you can’t sue to get your reputation back.

    Things like this are why, for the most part, the complianants in rape and sexual assault cases are not made public. Some defense lawyers mount something of a “scorched earth” defense where no holds are barred, no argument too unfair, and when it’s false….”oh, I’m just the lawyer, I didn’t know that was wrong.”

    Liked by 1 person

  44. Right, Darlene. The original post was on the journalist’s FB page. Most likely John removed the post that I included in my article above (both typed and screenshot). There was a lot of great discussion on the FB page and I do not think Ashley would have removed it. She also chimed in that if he had an issue, he should take it with the police department who issued the press release. She was very professional in her response.

    Like

  45. Lea, keep in mind here that if the pastor is anyone’s counselor, it’s Mr. Angle’s, not his ex-wife’s. And in this case, he appears to be trying to be both counselor and advocate well before his parishioner has even turned himself in, which would definitely be a breach of ethics for a secular counselor, and most clergy counselors that I’ve heard of would also call that a massive breach of ethics, not to mention confidentiality and revocation of clergy penitent privilege.

    Stuff like this keeps lawyers busy, to put it mildly.

    Liked by 2 people

  48. I’m trying to figure out what this cross business is about. Seems to be saying it’s a huge privilege to pay $99 to “join” and get the materials to make 25 cheesy crosses that you can supposedly sell?

    Liked by 2 people

  49. He majored in counseling! Doesn’t that hold him to some standard of not smearing people publicly? I would think they would teach him ethics right?

    Like

  53. JA: thanks.

    Kay: I’m not familiar with every counseling program or accreditation board, but I can’t see how you would run a counseling program where you encouraged graduates to willy-nilly reveal information their counselees thought was private. Didn’t Hippocrates say something like “first, do no harm”?

    I’m guessing his program did not teach this, but rather he got rather full of himself. I could be wrong.

    Like

  57. The so-called pastor appears to be dumber than a box of rocks. I mean, seriously, he just keeps on digging his whole deeper every time he opens his mouth…

    Like

  58. Had insomnia last night.. Message boards of complaints against the Pastors cross business. 1800 plus reviews in amazon with someone selling them, ( so it must be profitable for some ..) tons of youtubes with people showing how to make them (I’m a crafty person so I was interested )going back to 2009. Wondering if this was his design or was he copying others since he supposedly has a patent. If so many either bought his kit or copying his idea.. Must have made loads. Personal business or church business?

    Like

  59. Ps.. people on etsy and ebay has people selling bags with the nails already bent since that’s a big complaint customers of his kit had…seems like this cross kit was a bug business but like anything there are copycats

    Like

  60. JA, I think what Marko is pointing to is the reality that not every accusation is factual, and I don’t think many of us would deny Mr. Angle a chance to defend himself in court.

    That said, I also think that not too many people here would debate whether his so-called pastor/counselor/advocate/friend has made his task of defending himself far more difficult by alluding to apparent details of the case, giving a credible motive and avenues for investigation to the police.

    Like

  61. @Shy1:

    I’m trying to figure out what this cross business is about. Seems to be saying it’s a huge privilege to pay $99 to “join” and get the materials to make 25 cheesy crosses that you can supposedly sell?

    It’s an MLM Pyramid scheme, just like Amway.

    Like

  63. Are the police still looking for Steve Angle? If he is a fugitive, I know where he is right now, September 24, 2016..
    Signed,

    Like

  64. Sleuthers, this topic is a couple of years old now, but it’s resurfaced as Pastor John Raymond is now running for public office, Slidell District #90. Much has transpired since 2016, one result of which is this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Citizens-Opposed-To-John-Raymond-for-House-District-90-456194714905371/
    The pastor is in a run-off right now, with the election on December 8. Care to do some more sleuthing? The FB page will bring you up to date.

    Like

Thanks for participating in the SSB community. Please be sure to leave a name/pseudonym (not "Anonymous"). Thx :)