Derek Jones is currently the center of attention in a scandal that rocked the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Derek has problems with his ego and his anger. Several people went to the Archbishop of the ACNA and complained about the way Derek treats people, which led to him being suspended, pending the completion of an investigation to see if an ecclesiastical court is necessary to charge him with violating the canons of the ACNA.
But Derek was not about to allow himself to be examined by a trial court, so he left the ACNA, took about half of his chaplains with him, and started a rival church. Anger and ego again.
Had the ACNA been more “on the ball” they could have contacted Derek’s old denomination (the Evangelical Episcopal Church) to uncover even more scandal. I knew Derek when we were both in the same diocese under Dr. Michael Simmons. I was a priest and Army chaplain, Derek was a deacon preparing for ordination to the priesthood. It seems that Derek wasn’t too happy with Dr. Simmons because he dared to follow the process involved in moving from the transititional diaconate to priesthood.
So Derek just up and left Dr. Simmons and found himself another bishop who would not only immediately ordain him to the priesthood…he would make him a bishop too! And that’s what happened to Derek.
You see, Derek has massive insecurities about appearances as well as problems with anger and ego. And when you mix all this up, you get an insecure man of little substance who takes out his anger and self-loathing on subordinates…all the while gaming systems and fooling people by “looking good” so he can “get ahead”.
In short, Derek Jones is a fraud.
In fairness to Derek, I ran afoul of him ten years ago. He was my former endorsing agent when I was with the ACNA. But Derek decided that my wife divorcing me was the right time to try to put me through a witch hunt instead of doing his due diligence and getting to the truth about my marriage and my ex-wife’s mental health challenges. And in the midst of all this, Derek violated his ordination vows by revealing privileged information in written documents.
I was angry for a long time, but not now. I believe what Derek and another bishop (Bill Murdoch) intended for evil, God intended for good and the salvation of many. Not the least of which is no longer being in the ACNA and free of the dysfunction found therein.
But I am concerned about the people still in the clutches of Derek in his little club where he gets to be the big cheese. And anything I can do to expose tyranny – especially in the Church – is part of my calling.
Jimmy Swaggert died about two weeks ago after an agonizing period of suffering from a cardiac event. His death, like his life, was a reminder to all of us who love Jesus that, “what goes around, comes around.” In this case, the agony of suffering is a theme in Jimmy’s life, which is the theme of this essay.
Swaggert was ordained by one of the most unusual organizations I know: The Assembly of God. They sponsored his ministry and took in millions of dollars from his music and crusade offerings. Their role in Jimmy’s suffering becomes clearer later in this journey, but we start here because the Assembly of God gave Swaggert his institutional credentials for his ministry, both as an evangelist and a Gospel singer.
Swaggert had no formal education. His theology showed it. His simplistic and often twisted hermeneutics left professional ministers puzzled by his claims. None perhaps more than his anthropology and soteriology. Swaggert taught that when a person is converted, they are totally washed clean…that they aren’t really “sinners” anymore. And then when they are “baptized in the Holy Ghost”, they are empowered to live the Christian life as “new men”…tempted, but without sin. So Jim Bakker – a man he helped expose for his own sins of the flesh – was obviously a charlatan to Swaggert, who went on multiple diatribes against Bakker on his ministry TV program. Like too many in Pentecostal circles, he also regularly committed the ancient heresy of Montanism. Essentially, this means that prophesy and other spiritual gifts can supersede the clear teaching of Scripture just by adding, “The Lord said…” This will also come back into this story…as we see a suffering man try to justify his sin by saying these very words.
In 1988, his theology was exposed for the public to see. Swaggert, a married man, was seen in the presence of prostitutes. The inference was clear that he was having sexual relationships outside of his marriage with women of the night. This behavior was more than just sinful, it revealed a serious flaw in his character and significant problems in his marriage. I won’t “psychoanalyze” Swaggert at this point…but I think it is safe to say that he was a man suffering on many levels, including his sexual appetite.
Re-enter the Assembly of God. Swaggert was pulled into a meeting with his local (and biased) leadership in the AOG where he was confronted for his grievous sin. Swaggert confessed apparently, which was both prudent and accurate. The end result was that the leaders of the AOG in Louisiana put him under a sort of discipline for 3 months – no public ministry – and he had to publicly confess his fall from his own pulpit. Swaggert agreed to those terms and he followed them.
Now enter the International leadership of the Assembly of God. They were not satisfied with these terms, so they dragged the Louisiana leadership into a meeting, demanding that Swaggert be silenced for two years. Y-E-A-R-S. This was what their governing documents required of a clergyman who needed rehabilitation in the wake of public sin. So the Louisiana AOG brought Swaggert back for another meeting and made clear he would need to stay out of the pulpit and the piano for two years.
Swaggert held a public press conference where he refused to abide by the two years because it would do too much damage to the ministry. My translation is that Swaggert was looking at the loss of millions of dollars from concerts, crusades, and television appeals. In other words, Swaggert was more motivated by dollars and cents than his own character and (most of all) his spiritual health.
The International Assembly of God defrocked Swaggert.
Then a few years later, Swaggert was found with another prostitute. This time, he went on his stage and told the gathered congregation that God told him to tell them it was none of their business. The spiritual smugness, arrogance, and temerity of such a move still shocks me to this day.
In the intervening years, multiple people who worked for the various departments of Jimmy Swaggert Ministries exposed the inner working and personalities of Swaggert and his wife, Frances. The “ministry” was a cash cow. The real power behind the scenes was not Jimmy, but Frances…who was apparently a nasty person to her staff and volunteers. The inference I draw from this is that Jimmy was in a marriage with a woman who was power hungry and drawn to material things more than a spirituality of compassion.
There were other reporters who dug deeper into Swaggert – including the man who broke the story of Swaggert’s dalliances with prostitutes. They suggested that Swaggert was playing fast and loose with tax and property laws to his advantage…all the while cloaking himself as the victim for what happened in 1988 and saying that he had no money.
Finally, as Swaggert’s health began to fail, his son and grandson grabbed ahold of his coattails and launched into new approaches to ministry. They launched a Christian TV network which was modestly profitable, which helped fuel their opulent lifestyles.
When Jimmy had a heart attack, the historical revisionism began from the pulpit of his church. His son, Donny, began describing his ailing father as the poor victim, whose ministry was responsible for millions of people coming to faith in Christ, and who was greatly misunderstood by the masses. No mention of his Fall from Grace.
And this past weekend, they buried this tortured and suffering man and held a memorial service where people could drown their grief by wallowing in a program about the greatness of Jimmy Swaggert.
It was a pathetic scene.
I’ve tried to be careful in writing these words. I don’t want to be unfair to Jimmy…I believe he is a pitiable figure. Sure, the man’s work was flooded with deception and cover-ups. He was a sex-addict. He was uneducated, but tried to portray himself as a Bible scholar to get some support for his preaching and ministry. And there is no doubt he was a top tier performer and musician.
But Jimmy Swaggert suffered throughout his life. I doubt he ever came to terms with his own dark side. I think his marriage was more a business partnership than the wonderful union that is available to those willing to invest in their mates and their relationship. He knew he was lying and covering up…and because he was also a man with a hunger for things spiritual, he probably had fits and bouts of guilt over it all.
No, I don’t relish this man’s death. The whole thing about heralding him as some champion of the Christian faith is as phony as the man’s real spirituality…paper-thin and absent from the depth of a genuine Christian transformation.
So as he goes to the ultimate day we all face, I pray for God’s grace for this man. Jimmy Swaggert is no different than all of us on some level. Like him, I’ve disappointed people by my dark side. I’ve walked in places where I never should have been…and consorted with people that were no good for me. And most of all, I’ve deceived myself and others about the real mess I am inside. I hide my brokenness and pain instead of rejoicing in the mercy and grace that allows me to look at those times as God’s loving work in a prodigal son.
Rest in peace, Jimmy. And may you now find in the face of Jesus the peace you were denied in your life among us.
The pontificate of Leo XIV began on Thursday, May 8. The 1.3 billion Roman Catholics were ecstatic. Most of us from America were intrigued by the College of Cardinals electing an American as the Vicar of Christ – partly because we were told it could never happen. Most of the people in my orbit were pleasantly shocked and rejoiced with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters in this choice.
I do not envy Pope Leo. He becomes Pope at a time of turmoil in both the Roman Catholic Church and the world. His predecessor (who made him a cardinal, btw) left him a church that has more questions about the future than it has answers. Francis was steeped in the liberation theology of his time and was swayed by the social side of the church. Some found his liberality and synodality a welcome change from the conservatism of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Others saw Francis, the first Jesuit Pope, as a heterodox leader whose initiative for priests to bless same-sex unions as a serious violation of the church’s moral teaching about the sacrament of marriage. Pope Leo is inclined to follow the same path as Francis socially, but there is a sense of strength in Leo’s adherence to Catholic dogma. We shall see how he handles this.
There are several hot spots in the world that reminds us that violence and war are still seen as viable tools in statecraft. The most obvious is the war between Russia and Ukraine, now entering its third year with no apparent end in sight. Another sore spot in the world is the ongoing war between Israel and the terrorists in Palestine sworn to murder not the Jews of the Middle East, but around the world. Finally, the on-again, off-again tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir flared up concurrently with Leo’s election. Leo needs to use whatever influence the Vatican can muster to bring these warring nations to the negotiation table and bring the conflicts to an end. Can Leo do it? Time will tell.
This I know…we Christians should be quick to pray for our dear brother now Pope Leo XIV. He needs our spiritual support to accomplish his mission as the leader of the largest sect of Christianity. At the same time, we should be reluctant to judge too harshly or quickly. Give the man a chance.
Full disclosure: I have faced accusations of moral inappropriateness in my life as an Army chaplain. I also resigned from ministry because my wife left me. And I faced a probationary period my last semester at a Christian College because of inappropriate sexual behavior with my then-fiancee’. I am no stranger to this situation.
What is happening in Dallas / Fort Worth at Gateway Church is terrible.
Here are the facts as reported in the media:
Robert Morris, the now-former pastor Gateway Church, had sexual contact with a 12-year old girl. Not sure how old Morris was at the time, but I’m guessing he was in his 20’s and married. He was very open about this situation and went through a process of reconciliation and forgiveness with the girl’s family. Throughout his ministry, he was open about this situation except the age of the child.
He apparently did not discuss this latter detail with the leadership team when he planted Gateway Church in the year 2000. Now, almost 40 years later, the woman is going public and making this an issue. She claims it was “abuse”, and instead of going to Morris to confront him, she went to a “whistle blower” to make a media issue out of this situation.
Here are my thoughts in the midst of these reports:
1. What Morris did with a 12-year old girl was immoral, inappropriate, stupid, and illegal. He was the adult in this relationship and bears the full consequences. All people of goodwill can agree that this was repugnant and SINFUL.
2. The parents had the right to prosecute Morris in 1987 but chose not to do it. I don’t know if there is a statute of limitations involved here, but there may be legal issues involved.
3. Pastors are moral leaders. Situations like this are complex because a young pastor made a serious moral error, but did everything correct in response. I believe raising this issue 40 years later is questionable.
4. Morris made the decision to resign his position today, which was the correct move. The people in his congregation have suffered too much for him to continue in ministry with them.
5. After a period of recovery, I believe Morris can and should take up ministry again…whether he should pastor a church is a matter between him, a congregation, and those to whom he is accountable.
6. I am OUTRAGED at how the media is silent about this woman coming forward 40 years later. This smells putrid to me. I believe the same sort of thing happened to Bill Hybels – with the difference that he still emphatically denies any sexual behavior occurred with his accuser.
7. Finally, the #MeToo movement looks more and more like a means to destroy people instead of healing victims. Make no mistake: inappropriate sexuality has no place in our society and definitely the church. But these revenge situations four decades later – especially in a case where the accused dealt honorably with his sin – is both wrong and immoral.
Fr. Jim McNeely 