The Master’s University, The Master’s Seminary, Grace Community Church, John MacArthur, Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse, Jane’s Story, #DoYouSeeUs
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Introducing the Account of Master’s University Student “Jane” Being Raped
Earlier this week (September 18), blogger Marci Preheim shared the story of Jane (pseudonym), a Master’s University student who was drugged, then raped. The horrific story of what happened and how she was treated afterward is entitled, Do You See Me? This incident occurred in 2006, 11 years ago.
Of course, this has created quite an uproar in social media, so much so, that statements from Pastor John MacArthur’s church and schools were posted on the Facebook pages of Grace Community Church (GCC), The Master’s University (TMU), and The Master’s Seminary (TMS). John MacArthur is the pastor of Grace Community Church, and founder and president of both The Master’s University and The Master’s Seminary.
Here is the statement posted on these Facebook pages:
The ministries of Grace Community Church and The Master’s University and Seminary have been informed of the blog article posted on September 18 by a Ms. Marci Preheim on behalf of an undisclosed individual. Although there are both evidentiary and biblical limitations in dealing with anonymous accusations, we take all claims of misconduct very seriously. According to our initial internal inquiry and review of the available records, we believe the blog article is plainly incorrect, a reality that we have verified with the police report on record. In addition to the various inaccuracies in the posted narrative, the male student that was accused in the official report was never a student at either The Master’s University or Seminary. In our view, anyone who would post such accusations without first verifying them has committed an unconscionable act of defamation, and anyone who would spread such misinformation is equally culpable in that irresponsibility. Should the undisclosed individual or any other person who has direct, firsthand knowledge of this matter wish to address this issue with us, we would request that they contact Kent Haney at The Master’s University who is overseeing the internal review of these allegations. Source
I have issues with the statement, but in the interest of time, I will let others who posted responses on the Facebook pages of TMU, GCC, and TMS have the floor. By the way, the following comments are no longer there. The powers that be decided they did not like these comments and removed them. Why would they remove and squelch the voices of people who are responding with their full identities? At this blog, aptly named, Spiritual Sounding Board, I believe that all Christians should have an equal voice, regardless of their status within their churches or schools.
No one from TMU, TMS, or GCC responded to any comments.
One concern that I take very seriously is the one of defamation/slander and harming innocent people. Mike Riccardi, the Pastor of Local Outreach Ministries at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, wrote a blog post, How to Kill Your Neighbor, which discusses slander and the harm it can cause. I agreed with a lot of it …
Scripture couldn’t be clearer. Proverbs 11:9
says, “With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor.” Two verses later, we’re told that entire cities are torn down by the mouth of the wicked (Prov 11:11
Earlier in that post, Pastor Riccardi discusses how society elevates celebrity victims:
In our climate of perpetual offendedness where our most celebrated heroes seem to be those who have projected themselves as victims, combined with the lack of accountability and reputability that social media affords one attempting to spread information, any quasi-plausible accusation—no matter how outrageous its content, no matter how reputable its victim—is regarded as true until proven false. And that means that the one accused in the matter is guilty until proven innocent.
… however, this conclusion seems one sided.
It’s interesting that this article came out September 22, at the height of Jane’s story making the rounds in social media. Let’s just pretend that his article was penned as a result of Jane’s story or any other story like hers. I have a couple of thoughts:
- With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor. The word “godless” is very important. We have to be very careful about accusations and calling accusers “godless.” Maybe God called the accuser to bring light to the cover-up and poor response. Let’s not be so quick to label an accuser as godless, in order to defend the actions of people in an institution just because you respect the institution.
- If someone is reporting a heinous crime, we should believe them, show compassion, but also investigate. The first response should not be to dismiss the accusation and attack the victim, as we see in the statement.
- The reputation of leaders should never take precedence over investigating the possibility of evil or sin in the camp.
- When leaders post about the sin of slander immediately after their reputation is on the line with a specific public accusation, what it really says is “don’t believe it; it’s untrue.” It does not allow for discussion or further investigation.
- This article diminishes the possibility that there could be sin in their own camp. It places little to no responsibility on leaders’ part for self-reflection.
- It’s one-sided, and blames the accuser.
- If the accusations are true, it is not slander (if spoken), libel (if written). Before labeling accusations as slander or libel, a prudent person would check to see if there is any truth in them.
Ok, enough about Pastor Riccardi’s post. Let’s move on and take a look at a few more screen shots taken from the Facebook pages. Note that these are people who left their names and personal stories that seem to match the story of Jane, as far as the response of TMU when she reported her being raped.
The point is: Jane’s response from TMU is not isolated.
Folks, there are more than two or three witness who are voicing the same concerns. How many more are needed before they are taken seriously?
And then there was this comment, which in my opinion seemed to be a reasonable suggestion in light of the many personal testimonies of harm done in other cases. Take note, Mr. Swanson spent 25 years there. He put his reputation on the line as one taking the “slanderers'” accounts seriously, after all, the Bible does talk about love and believing people, doesn’t it?
But look at this surprising response from Jesse Johnson (Dean of The Master’s Seminary in Washington, D.C.) regarding Mr. Swanson’s suggestion to be transparent with records. If TMU is innocent, they should have no problem with this suggestion.
Frankly, I was taken aback at the tone Pastor Johnson used with Mr. Swanson, someone senior to him. Let’s make no mistake about it, Pastor Johnson is attempting to squelch Mr. Swanson’s voice. We need to ask why. What harm is done with an independent investigation? Does TMU really care about these concerns?
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Questions About Responses to Cases of Assault and Abuse, in Light of TMU’s Mission Statement
I have spoken with Jane a couple of times, and we have also exchanged texts. I found Jane to be believable. One thing she has made very clear to me is this: This is not about her story, even though she detailed her account publicly. She publicized her story to draw attention to how she was treated by leaders at The Master’s University. She is not suing anyone. This story came out 11 years after the incident. That should tell you something. This should not be a fact-finding mission about Jane. This is about challenging TMU, TMS, and GCC to respond to how they handle assault and abuse cases.
Before we move on, I wanted to highlight part of The Master’s University’s ,Mission Statement. Notice moral integrity. TMU wants to empower students with moral integrity.
Mission Statement
The mission of The Master’s University is to empower students for a life of enduring commitment to Christ, biblical fidelity, moral integrity, intellectual growth and lasting contribution to the Kingdom of God worldwide.
A little farther down the page, moral integrity is described in more detail:
Moral Integrity, as evidenced by:
- The nurturing of holiness through self-examination
- Stewardship of time, abilities and resources
- A lifetime of wholesomeness and moderation that regards the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit
- The practice of honesty, courtesy and civility toward all persons
- The practice of biblically confronting and restoring sinners
(Source)
When reading that, I wondered if TMU practiced these “evidences” as they dealt with Jane when she reported the crime committed against her? Furthermore, was she believed, respected, cared for as a Shepherd cares for a wounded sheep? Or was she battered further, told to repent of her sins, told to meet with her rapist? By the way, who does that? Who in their right mind would force a rape victim to meet with her rapist?
Interestingly, I saw this quote from John MacArthur:
“Jesus has an unequaled capacity for sympathizing with us in every danger, trial, or situation that comes our way, because he’s been through it all.”
If we are to be Christlike, then shouldn’t we be sympathizing with those who have experienced danger … or rape? That is not what we see from Jane’s account at all.
This is not about defending an institution, trying to make sure all facts are exactly perfect. For crying out loud, this woman was drugged and raped AND it is 11 years later. We should expect some minor discrepancies. This is about how women are treated and how reports of sexual assault and abuse are handled. This is about caring for the flock under your oversight, not trampling over them with accusations of sin, forcing them to be in the same room and look at the person who physically, emotionally, and spiritually traumatized them.
***
BREAKING NEWS 09/21/2017:
Confirmation for Details from Jane’s Account About the Aftermath of the Rape
Last night (September 21), I received a message from someone who claimed she was there when Jane got back to the dorm after being drugged and raped. She said she heard Jane crying and comforted her. When I told Jane about this witness, she was unfamiliar with her name. That had me concerned for a second. Then I texted her picture, and it all came back to her (Jane). Jane remembered bawling with this “stranger,” still feeling drugged.
With this person’s permission, I am posting the screenshots of the pertinent parts of our text conversation.
Note: This witness got Jane’s first name correct, but last name wrong (which is why I did not blot out the last name). Later, in the conversation, the witness recalled Jane’s last name. She also said later in the conversation that she was unclear if it was spring break or Outreach week, but she remembered that most students were not there.
In conclusion, this is what we know:
- TMU acknowledges an incident occurred with Jane.
- There was a police report filed.
- At this point, the discussion does not pertain to whether or not a rape occurred.
- The discussion is about the response by TMU to this rape claim.
Jane told me she would like the focus to be on how churches/Christian leaders respond to claims of sexual assault and abuse, not focus on her. There are many (I posted only a few) who have reported that they have received similar treatment from leaders at TMU.
When reasonable requests are made for TMU to take a look at how they respond to sexual assault and abuse claims, we see leaders shut down the conversation, blame the victim, remove posts. Something is wrong with this picture. It’s time to look more closely at how leaders deal with sexual assault and abuse claims and be transparent. Victims should not be scared into silence, nor should they be told to repent and meet with whoever assaulted/abused them.
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RELATED ARTICLES
Additional posts may be listed here without a notice of updating.
The Stones Will Cry Out: A Commentary on Sexual Abuse in the Evangelical Church (by Sarah Taras and Marci Preheim; March 6, 2016).
Do You See Me? (by Marci Preheim; September 18, 2017).
Believing Jane: Reflections on a Rape and it’s Cover-Up at The Master’s College & Seminary (by Hannah; September 20, 2017).
How Evangelical Ideas About Forgiveness Failed This Rape Survivor (by Libby Anne; September 20, 2017).
Jane and the Masters [sic] University Rape Scandal (September 21, 2017).
Regarding Jane (by Marci Preheim; September 25, 2017).
Jane’s Story and How The Leaders Failed Her (by Becky Castle Miller; September 25, 2017).
Spiritual Sounding Board 
Avid Reader,
Seems there is a serious question on whether the accusations against author Frank Anthony Viola are true. According to this, they have been discredited and the evidence is against another person named Anthony Frank Viola. There’s a lot of fake news out there, we have to sort through what is real and what is not.
http://frankviola.org/jimwrightfrankviolajonzens/
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This makes me sad for her, actually. This is the reason PK’s go wild.
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@Mwcamp, “Should we discredit someone’s theological research/position on the basis of their personal morality?”
I think there is significant reason to question it. Not throw it out necessarily, but, for example, is Gothard’s “umbrella” theology valid when it seems it underpinned his systematic grooming and abuse of female employees.
I believe that theological systems and moral issues go hand in hand. I’m not going to say that Biblical Inerrancy is suspect because Haggard preached it, but I do think that Haggard’s preaching on same-sex attraction is highly suspect because at the same time he was preaching one thing, he was living the opposite. So, there is reasonable likelihood that his condemnation was more of the form of self-deprecating penance rather than truly trying to understand Biblical teaching on the subject.
But to go further. If these preachers who fell are wolves, then we have to consider that their preaching was not to bring glory to God and understanding of Biblical principles, but was instead designed to bring power and authority to themselves. “His speech was smoother than butter, But his heart was war; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.”
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I put up my response to Amos, and he invited me to engage. I chose not to. He is so distorted in his interpretation, as well as cherry-picking verses to suit his opinions, that i don’t see any point–nor do I have time to engage him verse by verse. I love theology, but I prefer to dialog with folks who have a substantive argument.
That being said, I know churches have problems; they always have. I was a “professional” Christian for 15 years, serving as a missionary here and overseas. I learned to look for healthy churches-leaders committed to the spiritual welfare of their people, congregations that supported leadership and helped the weak, but who also confronted serious sin. The current church I attend models these attributes. When an elder was discovered in adultery several years ago, the situation was dealt with by elders long before the congregation was aware. When we were notified of what had occurred, it was done in a spirit of loving correction, with the warning that we are all capable of falling into serious sin. I was in another church where a new pastor was called to salvage what was left after the previous pastor’s sexual fling. It took a few years, but he was able to put the place back together, and the congregation has continued to do well.
As soon as I walk into any church, I enter with all of my baggage. It’s how the church deals with baggage that shows its integrity. The problem with so many churches/ministries is that they stuff it in the closet until it explodes, with all of the awful consequences.
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Lea, knowing her father really well, and hearing her talk about it openly, I don’t think he was asking her to shape up because of his image. It seemed more that he was seriously pondering whether he met the qualifications of pastor and was trying to understand where her heart was. I know it’s hard to convey that in text.
He is one of the pastors that I use as a benchmark, and others typically fall far short.
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Mark
I appreciate your thoughts, and the way you express them. Good stuff.
I also appreciate the way you tend His sheep, feed His sheep…
Care for His sheep, shepherd His sheep.
On this thread and others.
(Ravi Zacharias)
You ask a good question @ NOVEMBER 28, 2017 @ 1:39 PM
“Why would Jesus tell Peter to “shepherd”
if there is only ONE shepherd?”
I tried submiting to Mere Fallible Human “Titled,” shepherds, leaders…
Who told me they were “called by God,” to be pastors, over me…
I did as I was taught… Ouch!!! Lots of pain… Lots of tears…
Found out, when you dis-agree, question, your soul is NO longer important.
It caused me to ask some different questions…
And get different answers…
Questions I have asked…
Why are there so many abusive pastors?
How do WE, His Sheep, KNOW who is a qualified, good, pastor?
So, I studied the qualifications in 1 Tim 3, and Titus. They are tuff.
Why did Jesus say there is NONE good but ”ONE,” – God?
Why did Jesus refer to Himself as **The “Good” Shepherd?
Why did Jesus refer to Himself as The”ONE’ Shepherd?
Why did Jesus say, “MY Sheep – Hear MY Voice – and Follow ME?”
Since leaving ”The Corrupt Religious System.” In the early 90’s…
Through much Pain, Tears and Spiritual Abuse…
”I have decided to Follow Jesus – NO turning back – NO turning back.”
I have experience, The”ONE’ Shepherd, is The “GOOD” Shepherd?
Hmmm? Questions…
Which ”Shepherd” should I recommend to a new believer?
Which ”Shepherd” should I recommend to a hurting believer?
Some Mere Fallible Human who does NOT meet the Qualifications?
Who wants you, demands you to, Pray, Pay, Stay, and Obey?
Or – should I recommend…
The “GOOD” Shepherd?
The “ONE” Shepherd?
Paul said – Follow Me as I Follow Christ…
I have decided to follow Jesus the Christ…
That is my recommendation…
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Mark
You ask a good question @ NOVEMBER 28, 2017 @ 1:39 PM
“Why would Jesus tell Peter to “shepherd”
if there is only “ONE” shepherd?”
More questions…
Is “ONE” always a number?
Is “ONE” only a number?
What is popular is NOT always “Truth.”
What is “Truth” is NOT always popular.
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Mark
In my experience…
And I was ordained. in leadership…
I have seen the dangers of “Titles,” of “Pastors,” and of “leaders.”
Spiritual Abuse – for both the “leader” and those “being led.”
IMO – The word “pastor/leader” is very, very dangerous for both.
In my experience… With pastor/leader/reverends…
No matter how loving… eventually…
No matter how humble… eventually…
No matter how much a servant… eventually…
The pastor/leader…
Will “Exercise Authority” like the Gentiles.
And “Lord it over,” God’s heritage.
A No, No, for His Disciples. Mark 10:42-43… 1 Pet 5:3…
“Pastor/Leader” = exercise authority = lord it over = abuse = always
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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Mark
You write @ NOVEMBER 29, 2017 @ 8:19 AM
“However, (c)hurches like to say that these are aspirational qualifications that none but Christ can meet. I think they do this so that when elders do fall into sin, they can try to claim that they are still qualified to hold office.”
I’ve heard a lot of twisting but I never heard this one…
“… these are aspirational qualifications that none but Christ can meet…”
But, I agree. – These qualifications can only be met by “ONE”
The “Good” Shepherd. The “ONE” Shepherd.
When I was ordained…
I “Ignored” the quailfications.
I had read the quaifications but never really paid attention.
I just went along with my elders who said I had the “Gifts.”
Who was I to argue with such spiritual maturity and wisdom… 😉
Yup – MY elders also “Ignored” the quailfications.:-(
It was very humbling when I finally searched them out and realized…
I did NOT Qualify. Oy Vey!!! – Now what Lord???
This was just one of the reasons I destroyed those precious papers.
xxxxxxx
Seems, “most” congregations do NOT know the 17+, very, very, tuff
Qualifications, for elder/overseer. Or “Ignore” them.
And, “most” “pastor/leader/elder/overseers,” who do know the “Qualifications,” will just “Ignore,” and “Twist,” the 17+, Qualifications in 1 Tim 3:1-7, and Titus 1:5-8, so they can maintain their “Titles,” and their Power, Profit, Prestige, Honor, Glory, Reputation, that comes with those “Titles.”
If a pastor/leader/elder/overseer, does NOT meet the Qualifications?
Shouldn’t they just remove themselves?
And be a good example to the Flock?
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Msrk
Here’s just three Qualifications in Titus.
1 – Must Be BLAMELESS.
2 – JUST. 3 – HOLY.
Titus 1:5-8 KJV
5 …ordain elders in every city…
6 If any be BLAMELESS, the husband of one wife,
having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
7 For a bishop “Must Be” BLAMELESS,
as the steward of God; NOT self willed, NOT soon angry,
NOT given to wine, NO striker, NOT given to filthy lucre;
8 a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober,
JUST, HOLY, temperate;
1 – Must Be
Strongs #1163, die. – It is necessary (as binding).
Thayer’s – necessity established by the counsel and decree of God.
This must be is the same Greek. – You must be born again. Jn 3:7
Seems to be a small word but very important. Yes?
1 – BLAMELESS
Strongs #410 anegkletos – unaccused, irreproachable, blameless.
Thayers – cannot be called into account, unreproveable, unaccused.
Dictionary – Without fault, innocent, guiltless, not meriting censure.
How many, pastor/leader/elder/reverends…
Who honestly examine themselves…
Seriously considering this one qualification…
Can see themselves as **BLAMELESS,* without fault, innocent…
And thus qualify to be an pastor/leader/elder/reverend?
And if you can see yourself as BLAMELESS?
Is that Pride? Deception? Delusion?
And NO longer without fault? 🙂
And, if a pastor/elder/overseer does NOT Qualify???
Will they remove themselves?
And be a good example to the Flock?
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Mark
Here are two more Qualifications from Titus.
That most pastor/elder/overseers “Ignore,” and Twist.”
2 – JUST
Strongs #1342 – dikaios {dik’-ah-yos} from 1349;
Thayers – righteous, observing divine laws, innocent, faultless, guiltless.
3 – HOLY
Strongs #3741 – hosios {hos’-ee-os}
Thayers – undefiled by sin, free from wickedness,
religiously observing every moral obligation.
Now that’s three tough qualifications for pastor/elder/overseers. Yes?
1 – Must Be BLAMELESS?
2 – JUST? 3 – HOLY?
If WE, His Ekklesia, His Church, His Called Out Ones, His Body…
Take seriously the many tough Qualifications in 1 Tim 3:1-6, and Titus 1:5-9…
The number of Biblically Qualified – pastor/leader/reverends…
Is quite small. 😉
But, will these UN-qualified, pastor/leader/reverends…
“Remove Themselves?”
And be a good example to the flock?
xxxxxxxxxx
The Bible talks about elder/overseers.
And Qualifications for elder/overseers.
Can you have one without the other?
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Would you all be okay if I either created a new post to continue this conversation or go to the off-topic area? I’m trying to keep this post relevant to the case at TMU, especially since more will be coming to light and people will probably want to read comments. I’m just not sure they want to read unrelated comments. Let me know
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Hi Julie Anne
Fine by me.
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Yes, Julie Anne. We went way off topic into rabbit holes. The “church” discussion should be on another thread.
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Mwcamp,
Of course Frank Viola would deny the allegations. That proves nothing.
I agree with you that we should dig a little deeper before believing something just because someone said it. That goes for Viola’s denial as well. We can’t just automatically disregard the testimony of Jim Wright because Viola told us to.
All right, to respect Julie Anne’s request, I’m going to go back to only discussing the main topic of this thread.
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I’ll make a new post from my phone. It will be ugly, but I’ll clean it up when I get home. Lol.
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Here it is: https://spiritualsoundingboard.com/2017/11/29/church-discussion/
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Julie Anne, I think this on target to Jane’s story.
Rather than go into a lot of story, I will sum my thoughts. Much of Grace Community Church/ The Master’s Seminary and this “culture” bent on the pride of correct theology that can miss the “spirit” is very similar to the movie, “A Few Good Men”. A MUST watch imo.
Previously, I have discussed The Bridge on the River Kwai and the analogy of “the frog in water” to grasp HOW & WHY this could happen. I believe those are excellent resources. Another is “A Few Good Men”.
The film covers the court-martial of two U.S. Marines, Lance Corporal Dawson and Private Downey, who killed a fellow Marine, Private Santiago, at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Santiago compared unfavorably to his fellow Marines, had poor relations with them, and failed to respect the chain of command in attempts of being transferred to another base
When Dawson and Downey are later arrested for Santiago’s murder, naval investigator and lawyer Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway suspects that they carried out a “code red” order, a violent extrajudicial punishment.
Here is the cross-over;
1. Chain of command
2. Code Red
Grace Community Church has a theology that John MacArthur prides himself has every “i” dotted and “t” crossed. He has mentioned this many times…”If I knew where I was wrong I would correct it, but I don’t.” His “chain of command” contains no error, therefore, everything should be in order, there should be no need for a “code red”
The Case of Jane revealed everything is NOT in order. So there is a need for a “code red” If there is such “perspicuity” why a need to cover-up?
What is the “code red”?
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I’ve read the very official report created by WSCUC who put Masters on probation for among other things completely failing to report sexual issues like RAPE and SEXUAL ABUSE, and then recently had to extend that probation because Masters didn’t fix all the problems.
I’ve also heard what Masters President McArthur said about the WSCUC just being an anti Christian burocracy that is trying to destroy all Christian organizations that is making up lies about his school. I am sad to say that I don’t believe McArthur because I know he’s lying when he claimed he was not even aware that there were accusations of RAPE and SEXUAL ABUSE on his campus. He quotes the official reports well, but of course his official record is clean, his school never reported any of the incidents, the WSCUC said they were totally out of compliance with CLARY act. I also know that the school uses fear and intimadation, also cited in the WSCUC report, to stop students and staff from reporting rape and sexual abuse allegations. McArthur himself believes he and his staff report to a higher authority and therefore don’t need to report, but rather are divinely qualified to council victims themselves.
They badger and intimidate good Christians into keeping quiet so the schools reputation won’t be tarnished. They may not have any more sexual problems than public institutions but they are far worse at dealing with them, which makes that school a haven for sexual predators. They even retain staff that has been accused of things like rape, much like the Catholic Church has done on many occasions. Public schools might have just as many incidents but at least they get the proper authorities involved and don’t protect and hide the perpetrators.
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@ Christy Han:
“Public schools might have just as many incidents but at least they get the proper authorities involved and don’t protect and hide the perpetrators.”
I wouldn’t be too sure:
https://defensemaven.io/bluelivesmatter/news/judge-dismisses-charges-against-school-officials-who-punished-sex-abuse-victim-uou7IsCkDkStpZQ7sfIJPA/
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Shortly after Jane’s story was published, another story came out supporting the WASC assertion that TMU ignores federal reporting laws. As Christy said in her comment, they are apparently protecting the violent rapist as described at http://www.marcipreheim.com/2017/11/26/do-you-hear-me/
Even commenters have figured out who this guy is. He now teaches at Lancaster High School and Antelope Valley College along with his online duties at TMU.
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