Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will speak at Trinity Baptist Church after all. Here’s the latest update on Trinity’s website:"1/26/08 Update: Gov. Mike Huckabee will address the congregation of Trinity Baptist Church via live phone-in to the Worship service at 6PM on 1/27/08. There is a great worship service planned and we look forward to hearing from the Governor and Pastor Tom Messer"
So, Huckabee will “address the congregation” by live phone-in. I’m guessing Trinity will probably put him up on a giant video screen.
It’s a cold slap in the face for clergy abuse survivors.
I’m hugely disappointed.
Huckabee is choosing to speak at a Baptist church that has one of the biggest on-going clergy sex-abuse and cover-up scandals in the country. And Huckabee knows about it.
By speaking there anyway, the unmistakeable message Huckabee sends is that clergy sex-abuse and cover-ups are no big deal.
That would be a terrible message for ANY presidential candidate to send. It’s a message made even more tragic when the presidential candidate is also a Baptist preacher.
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11 comments:
Hello.
Let me first say that my heart hurts for you and anyone that is abused. I cannot imagine what you have gone through and the pain that you still carry.
I had to look up what you said and the abuse that happened there. I listened to a news report as I read. Shamefull, my heart goes out to you for your anguish.
I don't think that Governor Huckabee is doing anything wrong by speaking to the congregation.I think that Huckabee's vid-cast is to reach and speak to the body of Christ in the Trinity congregation, not to elevate the pastor or condone any wrongdoing.
May GOD comfort and heal you,
JB
Actions matter as much or more than intentions. No one knows what Huckabee intends. But we do know what he will do: rub salt into our wounds and signal to other church officials that they can conceal clergy sex crimes and experience little, if any, discomfort or consequences.
We've told Huckabee, in no uncertain terms, that these will be the results of his visit to Trinity. But he ignores this. It's the height of recklessness and insensitivity, rewarding deceptive actions by Baptist officials for his own selfish, political purposes.
I agree with you Christa.
Its a shame.
I'll be more direct and specific than you are.
Tom Messer could have stopped Bob Gray as he knew in the early 1990's that Gray was abusing children. Messer has admitted this. His admission of this was exposed by First Coast News. Yet Messer remained silent. Even silent when Gray went to Germany as a missionary, Messer decided to remain silent and never told the missionary agency about Gray, and thus one could only assume that there are German kids who were abused by Gray over there.
And the congregation has no backbone because they keep Tom Messer as the pastor, knowing that Messer knew of Gray's abuse, but Messer chose to remain silent. They as a congregation should have sent Messer walking.
But many Christians have left Huckabee for Romney, and thus its desparation on his part.
I might expect a career politician to make this move and speak at Trinity, but for a Baptist preacher candidate to do it, its doubly bad.
Go Mitt Romney!!
g.r.gerber: I think you've characterized the situation at Trinity correctly. On another blog, Jeri posted this statement about it: "Trinity Baptist is on the same level, morally, as a production studio for child pornography. Both have grown on a secret deal to use and discard innocent children. The porn shop does it for 'the sake of the business' and Trinity did it 'for the sake of the ministry'."
anonymous 1: A visit by someone of Huckabee's prominence confers status on a church. Until Trinity comes clean and is totally transparent, no presidential candidate should be conferring status on that church. The fact that Huckabee is a Baptist preacher himself makes his blindness to the extraordinary wounds there all the more troubling.
..... but for a Baptist preacher candidate to do it, its doubly bad.
....The fact that Huckabee is a Baptist preacher himself makes his blindness to the extraordinary wounds there all the more troubling.
...and my comment is that what else would we expect from this Baptist minister??
He reflects the same blind ambition and lack of godly character that other SBC leaders and Sr Pastors have shown.
Sacrifice the innocent to achieve your self serving goal!
If this candidate can't take a stand against this horrible sin and crime....why would we trust him with the country!
To give the appearance that he condones what is public knowledge enables these predators to continue their evil.
There is no shame and outrage left. We have become beasts!
First and foremost: Trinity is NOT a church. They have proved it by allowing the pastor to stay in ministry who knew about the abuse and covered it up. He is unqualified and Huckabee knows it.
My regret is that I don't live in Florida so that I can vote aganist Huckleberry.
Good point gmommy: "If this candidate can't take a stand against this horrible sin and crime....why would we trust him with the country!"
Huckabee is a politician, and if he's going to run the country, he has to get used to it -- some Americans commit crimes. Pedophiles are voters too, sick as that is. Also, he has a campaign manager to listen to. I seriously doubt that the show was cancelled at first for the scandal, and think it was more of a scheduling and security issue.
Politicians don't care about other people; they care about themselves and that's it. When are the little have-nots people going to realize this?
wake up,
All the more reason for us little have nots to take a stand to protect our innocent little brothers and sisters who have no voice at all.
I went to tbc.org web site and heard Gov. Huckabee's phone address. Please disregard my previous post questioning whether the live phone call took place.
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