Tommy Shelton

[Cynthia]

Good morning, Alex. He seems to be very qualified, and experienced. I'm glad you like him. I admit, I don't really understand why he is necessary however as the State is representing you and your case against Tommy, and most alleged victims do not find it necessary to retain a lawyer to also represent them. I am also sure he doesn't come cheap, but I guess if you have the money and find it necessary that is your choice.

Have a good day...

[mrst53]

I think what I felt was that "if" Tommy is guilty of pedophilia, then when little children are hurt like that it brings back the hurt I felt and it makes me feel angry and very protective of other children and helpless. Maybe it's the "forgiveness" of ourselves our helplessness and hopelessness that I meant and I took it out on Tommy because he was available and the closest one available. Can you understand that? I know that God is the Author of our Salvation and the only that saves us.

I am glad that you told me how he is, so that I can pray exactly for him. I do want his healing and not for the reason that horsethief does. horsethief , I think has been very hurt by someone close and very recently.

Thanks Cyndy for filing me in and everyone else for being honest in your feelings with me. If we can't be honest, then friendship can not be built.

[proffaberf451]

Mrst53,

I hope as you watch the newly developing discussion on AT that, you will see for the majority, being led by GAJ/RJP, Tommy and his family are merely collateral damage on the way to destroying 3ABN and Danny. There is no desire to help restore fellow Christians, perceived to have fallen off the straight and narrow path, back to a walk in the Saviors arms. The driving motivation is revenge and retribution with each individual being driven by their own dark heart and secret lusts. RJP has been using individuals like Duane, Alex, and Dennis, as a means to his own end. He doesn't *really* care about their hurts, their pains, their lives, their walk with the Lord. These individuals, such as Nick Miller, are merely his means to justify the end he wants to see come to 3ABN and Danny Shelton. This isn't about spreading the love of a forgiving Savior and His Father to a dying world - it's about self glorification.

Watch carefully the fruits of their spirit on AT. You might be fooled by their platitudes. However, I believe you will soon see enmity, greed, and spite coming into full season quickly.

- proff

[Penny]

First of all, imho, horsethief has set his or herself up not only as accuser but also as judge and decided what the sentence should be. From his or her own mouth we see what is in the heart.

Secondly, praying that God give wisdom to the judge is great, but then to go on and
tell God what the judge should do is something else. In my op, it is not asking for God's will but for horsethief's will to be done.

Thirdly, he or she has asked all others to pray the same. How sad is that.

Then he or she says:

"Pray also that the people who have tried to subvert justice
can be exposed for their cruelty and callousness."

In my opinion, I really do not think most of those at AT would really like to reap that.

Paul spoke words of wisdom that should be considered because, in my opinion, they seem to relate why some say and do the things they do.

"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." Rom. 10:3.

Donna, who is this horsethief? Not his or her real name, but rather is this another of AT's regurgitated members, who's opened a new account and attempting to show a new personality? Or is it someone who is entirely new to the forum? I never know who is who over there. As in how many different accounts and names are the various ones over there posting under?

But to the content of your post...IMO horsethief is posting his/her rants and raves to get the troops riled up and to get the conversation going over there. That's the kind of prayer that is best ignored, for his/her posts are a sign of someone who is himself in desperate need of prayer.

[Penny]

I think what I felt was that "if" Tommy is guilty of pedophilia, then when little children are hurt like that it brings back the hurt I felt and it makes me feel angry and very protective of other children and helpless. Maybe it's the "forgiveness" of ourselves our helplessness and hopelessness that I meant and I took it out on Tommy because he was available and the closest one available. Can you understand that? I know that God is the Author of our Salvation and the only that saves us.

I am glad that you told me how he is, so that I can pray exactly for him. I do want his healing and not for the reason that horsethief does. horsethief , I think has been very hurt by someone close and very recently.

Thanks Cyndy for filing me in and everyone else for being honest in your feelings with me. If we can't be honest, then friendship can not be built.

Mrst - We all have feelings for children who have suffered and been abused. But what surprised me from reading your earlier posts is that you seemed to have convicted Tommy in your head and judged him in your heart. I appreciate that you have clarified your thoughts and shared that with us.

I have tried to avoid commenting on the situation with Tommy, because I wasn't there, I don't know what happened and my self-appointed role is one of support for 3ABN and these issues relating to Tommy do not relate to 3ABN. That's how I see it. Pickle and his crew have slung enough mud at 3ABN, including issues with Tommy and undoubtedly some has stuck in the minds of some people.

Many will remember the case in Bakersfield where a number of parents and adults were accused, charged and convicted of child abuse (I don't know that they used the word 'pedophilia') and after it was thoroughly investigated and after a good number of the adults had spent considerable time in prison, it was discovered that there was no truth to the charges and everyone had been falsely convicted. And many lives were ruined.

I'm not saying this is the case here, I don't know that it is or not.

But if the accusers are genuinely interested in seeking justice, then why aren't their efforts and blatherings directed towards the church in Virginia where he was pastoring at the time? As long as the accusers are grasping at nebulous straws to connect this case with 3ABN and ignoring all the connections to the church in Virginia, it is clear that they have another agenda in mind and their primary concern is not for the children or young adults, who, in my opinion are being used as Pickle and Joy's "useful idiots."


edited b/c I had accidentally clicked the submit button when I intended to click preview, so edited to complete my thoughts and correct spelling, grammar and syntax.

[mrst53]

I came to know the Lord under Pastor Jennings Wood and would love to know how Tommy came to be a Pastor there. I don't know Glen Dryden but "IF" there were rumors of pedophia why was Tommy hired at Dunn Loring in the first place? Do churches and Pastors not do any background checks?

When I worked at a Baptist School, we were in search of a new pastor. The committee listened to various preachers and got a wonderful review from this one. What we found out later, was that the other church just wanted to get rid of him, and would have told us anything just so we would take him I think the committee did the same thing when he wanted to leave for greener pastures, after he almost bankrupted us and got us into trouble with the IRS

Maybe all churches do that- hide the bad stuff, just to get rid of a pastor they don't want and don't want to have to deal with. The Catholic Church , as we know has done it forever... I guess we shouldn't be surprised if we find out now that our churches are doing it too. It's very sad.. but then when some people get power, it goes to their heads and corrupts.

[Cynthia]

I came to know the Lord under Pastor Jennings Wood and would love to know how Tommy came to be a Pastor there. I don't know Glen Dryden but "IF" there were rumors of pedophia why was Tommy hired at Dunn Loring in the first place? Do churches and Pastors not do any background checks?

When I worked at a Baptist School, we were in search of a new pastor. The committee listened to various preachers and got a wonderful review from this one. What we found out later, was that the other church just wanted to get rid of him, and would have told us anything just so we would take him I think the committee did the same thing when he wanted to leave for greener pastures, after he almost bankrupted us and got us into trouble with the IRS

Maybe all churches do that- hide the bad stuff, just to get rid of a pastor they don't want and don't want to have to deal with. The Catholic Church , as we know has done it forever... I guess we shouldn't be surprised if we find out now that our churches are doing it too. It's very sad.. but then when some people get power, it goes to their heads and corrupts.

Mrst53, Respectfully, I am asking that you consider something before posting further. You have obviously read much of the internet stuff by the accusers and apparently accepted it as fact without knowing that it is so. It makes it hard to answer you as I feel I need to keep correcting misconceptions and false assumptions in order to do so as the things you think and say or ask are based on misrepresentations and false claims and insinuations by people who only present partial and biased info, and misrepresent much in order to condemn others and attempt to support their claims against them. They mostly leave out or ignore all of the facts and info that may in fact prove them wrong, or explain much of their claims away, imo.

What I would like you to consider is the following scripture and how it may apply here:

Pro 18:17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him. KJV

Other translation put it like this:
NLT - Pro 18:17 -
Any story sounds true until someone sets the record straight.

NIV - Pro 18:17 -
The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.

ESV - Pro 18:17 -
The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

From my perspective you appear to be assuming that the rumors about Tommy were based on facts and so those who knew about them did not act either ethically or morally but that is based on you hearing and accepting the first to speak and accuse. The thing is, yes there were rumors BUT the Dunn Loring Church of God did in fact investigate and look into them when they hired Tommy. Although the involved churches are not my churches nor do they belong to my denomination, based on the information available I do not feel that either Pastor Jennings, nor the Church of God erred in what they did or in how they acted. Of course this is my opinion but it is based in part on the following, and I am providing that here so that you can understand why I hold this view, and why I do not believe that Tommy's accusers are presenting all the information known fairly or impartially.


Yes Glenn Dryden has accused Tommy since 2003, but according to Duane Clem it was Dryden himself who was instrumental back then for Tommy getting hired by the Dunn Loring COG, and moving to Virginia. Dryden was making no accusations back then, and according to Duane, he did so not to shuffle a guilty pedophile onto another church, but because he was motivated by jealousy. According to Dryden, he himself, did not know of any allegations in Illinois then. According to Dryden and others he didn't even know of any in Virginia when he wrote to 3ABN years later in 2003 about allegations in Illinois, and according to others such as the police, the DA, the Church of God Council and the only witness to the events in the Illinois COG there was nothing to the allegations in Illinois...

For example Dryden wrote this in 2006: "Also in the late 1980s there was mention of "allegations" at the time of his receiving ministerial credentials from the Ministerial Council of the Church of God, Inc., but assurance was given by Council leadership that there was no substance to these allegations."

I will supply that quote and more in context and quote material to support all I just said above, and more, in my posts to follow this one. I am not asking you to jump up and start declaring Tommy innocent But I am asking you to reserve judgment and give him the benefit of the doubt (we all, not just him deserve that when we are accused) So I just ask that you try and have an open mind and heart and then weigh and consider all in an unbiased and impartial way after reading all.


I am going to attempt to do as concise a history as I can so that other folks as well as yourself can understand and see all the events in consecutive order in a more complete manner than that which the accusers and hatemongers have been presenting. Of course I don't know all, but I am of the opinion that what I have seen and put together, portrays a much different picture than the one which has been so widely publicized. Please bear with me as I gather all together.

I will start a new thread ( entitled History of..." or something similar in order to do so) and will copy this post there to start it when I post again.

Blessings...

[Lilly]

Thank you Cynthia, this will be helpful for me as well.

Lilly

[Pat Williams]

... who is this horsethief? Not his or her real name, but rather is this another of AT's regurgitated members, who's opened a new account and attempting to show a new personality? Or is it someone who is entirely new to the forum? I never know who is who over there. As in how many different accounts and names are the various ones over there posting under?

But to the content of your post...IMO horsethief is posting his/her rants and raves to get the troops riled up and to get the conversation going over there. That's the kind of prayer that is best ignored, for his/her posts are a sign of someone who is himself in desperate need of prayer.

Many of the new members on AT remind me of the children's song "You can't ride in my little red wagon The wheels are busted and the axle's sagging . Second [third, fourth, fifth....] verse. Same as the first. A little bit louder. And a little bit worse..." because they all sound the same and pick up right where the other left off. They seem to arrive knowing all, and the others there always accept them as one of the fold and require no introductions or hellos. They cause no suspicions or paranoia from people who major in that, and no questions are caused by their sudden appearance and claims. I think this "horsethief" not only chose a name most Christians wouldn't but sounds exactly like the samuelthomas/Adam persona and doesn't talk or think as most Christians I know do either. He all but called for the rape or worse of Tommy and expected others to join him in praying for that. I felt bad for him as he apparently doesn't know what spirit he is following, and agree he appears to be trying to get us riled and whatnot and is best ignored, and in need of prayer. We all are.

Mrst - We all have feelings for children who have suffered and been abused. But what surprised me from reading your earlier posts is that you seemed to have convicted Tommy in your head and judged him in your heart. I appreciate that you have clarified your thoughts and shared that with us.

I have tried to avoid commenting on the situation with Tommy, because I wasn't there, I don't know what happened and my self-appointed role is one of support for 3ABN and these issues relating to Tommy do not relate to 3ABN. That's how I see it. Pickle and his crew have slung enough mud at 3ABN, including issues with Tommy and undoubtedly some has stuck in the minds of some people.

Many will remember the case in Bakersfield where a number of parents and adults were accused, charged and convicted of child abuse (I don't know that they used the word 'pedophilia') and after it was thoroughly investigated and after a good number of the adults had spent considerable time in prison, it was discovered that there was no truth to the charges and everyone had been falsely convicted. And many lives were ruined.

I'm not saying this is the case here, I don't know that it is or not.

But if the accusers are genuinely interested in seeking justice, then why aren't their efforts and blatherings directed towards the church in Virginia where he was pastoring at the time? As long as the accusers are grasping at nebulous straws to connect this case with 3ABN and ignoring all the connections to the church in Virginia, it is clear that they have another agenda in mind and their primary concern is not for the children or young adults, who, in my opinion are being used as Pickle and Joy's "useful idiots."

I think you expressed this very well, Penny. I agree with your sentiments and thoughts about this sad situation. That last paragraph of yours is the kicker for me because as far as I am concerned it is not about justice either. None of what Pickle and Joy have done is designed to help one single person except themselves as far as I can see.

I found myself reading the thread on AT, and thinking "they are so lost" I am not talking about their salvation here, I just mean they are so far off the beaten track in their thinking and ways as compared to rational logical people. It is hard for me to comprehend them. There is no reason whatsoever for Jim Gilley to be "sweating bullets" as they claim, not only does the current case have nothing to do with 3ABN, but Jim Gilley never even arrived or began to serve as President until way after Tommy no longer even worked there...

And you are right, it's not about the Church of God who hired Tommy where Tommy was employed at the time of the alleged incidents and would be the one accountable or responsible if Tommy really did do these things while Pastor there. For Tommy's accusers it's not really even about Tommy, it always comes back to, and ends up with condemning and going after 3ABN as the following post from there this morning demonstrates once again:

Don't worry about a thing. Danny's cornered now. This attorney team has him studied and pegged down. He can't stall anymore. He's a broken man with no influence over anyone. I just hope they nail Gilley, Molly and Lomacang too for their knowledge and attempts to cover this up. They are guilty.

Yet the three named besides Danny weren't even on the 3ABN board when Dryden's letter was sent to 3ABN in 2003, they have nothing to do with anything related to Tommy, and 3ABN has nothing to do with allegation made in 2008 against Tommy long after he resigned....

Then another arrives and says:

"If Gilly, Molly, and Lomacang are found guilty will 3abn change hands or what do you excpect to happen since all SDA programming is connected."

and starts demanding they repent for things they never did.

This get's added:

"They have the option to settle. Which would also be admitting that they did attempt to cover up Tommy's crimes and that they were engaging in intimidation of witnesses and victims"

But the facts are none of these people being named are involved in the case, and none, not even Danny have even talked to the victims, or witnesses, nor even tried to...

Look at this post, same thread:

"Seems to me they really are frightened. Wonder what Jim Gilley, Danny Shelton, and 3ABN are feeling right now? This is one place they did not want to be put in, involved in two law suits."

Why would they be frightened? I can't even imagine except of course it may be a bit alarming to be the focus of hateful crazies... who apparently can't still comprehend that the first lawsuit was dropped 2 years ago, and think a letter of demand (if one was sent) equals another lawsuit. I imagine those at 3ABN might react somewhat like myself. "What planet are those people from?"

Here is Pickle's broken record reply:

Danny even sued two guys as part of the cover up. Imagine that!

If they settle with the victims, they ought to settle with us too.

AS if.. How many times must it be pointed out that Pickle and Joy were not sued for making allegations against Tommy, nor on Tommy's behalf ? No matter how many accusations they have managed to drag up or make since then, it doesn't change that, and it never will. The lawsuit wasn't part of a cover up. In fact they were sued for defamation per se and that defamation they were sued for was in part, but only in part, for their claims that 3ABN and DS specifically had covered up crimes, when they hadn't. The only thing remotely related to Tommy which was named in the lawsuit was Pickle and Joy's false witness that 3ABN engaged in a cover up of crimes when there is no evidence of any cover up what so ever except in their minds and in the minds of those they have infected with that lie.

I have no idea what kind of legal precedent or statute or what reason there could be to even draft a demand letter and send it to 3ABN, IF such a letter has even been sent. I also wonder why they would even attempt to do so before the sentencing hearing in September. Nothing these people do makes sense to me or anyone I know.

[proffaberf451]

This most recent action is nothing more than an overt attempt at extortion. There is no basis for either a criminal or civil suit against 3ABN or any of its officers. It will get thrown out for failure to show cause.

- proff