On May 12, 2006, Jamin Wight pled guilty to felony Injury to a Child. Seven days later Pastor Douglas Wilson of Christ Church, Moscow, posted the cartoon below to his website. Note the words “youth ministry” in the caption. Jamin Wight was a 23-year-old ministerial student at Greyfriars’ Hall when he began raping his victim, who was a 13-year-old youth. And Mr. Wilson memorialized Wight’s crimes & motive in the “Sunday Funnies,” with his own hand-drawn art (in the comments someone asks him who drew the picture, Mr. Wilson answered, “I kinda did.”). He titled the post “Yes, I Know There Are Many Godly Youth Ministers.”
Mr. Wilson has recently accused a few people of scrubbing their websites. So please note for the record that he scrubbed this cartoon from his website and he even managed to scrub the image from archive.org, which likely required a web developer unless his expertise includes writing robots code. But he didn’t scrub it before Team Truth grabbed it.
Mr. Wilson called his artwork funny. I am sure his student Jamin Wight agreed. The victims upon whom Mr. Wilson blame-shifted responsibility for Wight’s crimes probably not so much.
“Mr. Wilson has recently accused a few people of scrubbing their websites.”
Doug, would you hold still for just a little bit?
Au contraire: the more Doug thrashes about, the funnier this gets.
Also, the timing on that is damning.
It’s a horrible thing to joke about at any time, but it could have just been the product of an idle thought gone astray, if it weren’t for that date stamp.
It certainly shows that Doug does not take the situation seriously.
The timing should end it. It won’t; but it should. Categorizing this with the “Funnies” is the final insult to the Greenfields and says everything we need to know about Wilson and his opinion of this crime, because “Whatever comes out your fingertips is your theology.”
Doug Wilson’s cartoon reminds me of a Mafia movie or tv show where a mobster beat someone with a golf club. When asked if he was sorry he at first appeared contrite and said. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” Then he added, “Next time I’ll yell ‘Fore’ first,” and laughed.
Given the timing of the cartoon, it’s another example of the hypocrisy that is Douglas Wilson. Says he sorry about Natalie. His actions say otherwise.
Parents need to take this “funny” seriously. For those familiar with seeker friendly models, this is the truth. Many junior and senior high youth groups have been infiltrated by grown men seeking interaction with hot young bodies ages 12-18. Many of these kids go to church seeking comfort as they are lonely, depressed and/or come from broken families. This makes them ideal targets for predators.
At Gateway Church in Southlake (one of the largest churches in America) parents are currently not permitted to attend (this has not always been the policy but parents are currently being turned away from the doors). The youth pastors and leaders at all five Gateway campuses spend a copious amount of time working out then wearing painted on skinny jeans and extremely tight t-shirts with very low u-necks to show off their “hot bods”. This can be intriguing and exciting to the young tweeny and teen girls who spend their days with nerdy, skinny boys with acne. Steven Furtick’s Elevation operates similarly as do many of the other giant megas in DFW.
These pastors and leaders work very hard on their hairstyles, comedy lines, beat box technique and their use of the latest slang to say “See bae, I’m one of you”. But they aren’t. They are over 21 and some are in their 30’s. They are flirtatious and promote an environment of sexuality, encouraging the kids, during the pre-sermon body of Christ greeting, to “check out the hottie next to you and say “Halleluyer to the Lamb of Gawd” or “Dayum girl, you are SO fiiiiine!” and the like.
They believe that making constant references to their “smoking hot wives” and all the great post purity ring sex they are having is an inoculation against any criticism. They realize some might question their motives for taking the altar to muscle flex while wearing clothes so tight you can read every tattoo through the thin fabric and even tell the model of phone in their jeans. Many people have wondered over the years why youth pastors constantly use the “smoking hot wife” line. I assure you this is why. It is misdirection/defense for when they openly flirt with their young charges.
Many of these young girls at these youth groups wear excessive make-up and clothes suitable for nightclubbing in Dallas. The leadership often does not discourage this as it suits their own needs and desires and also because it helps keep their numbers (metrics) up as teen boys like it too. The Executive Pastor over all jr and sr high at Gateway, Jason Laird, brags about being a convicted felon who served time in prison “developing his testimony”. He even brags about how the police had to be called out for his baptism as he broke into a private pool in the middle of the night for it. This man hosts an annual Youth Conference for 4,000 students who travel from all over the U.S.
They periodically give sermons about sexual purity and the need to “partner with your parents” so parents can be reassured and the Senior Pastors can defend their younger staff’s otherwise questionable behavior. However, outside of these few sermons, your children are being tantalized by the sex appeal of the pastors, leaders and worship leaders who are entirely focused on their physical and fashion appearances. You should hear the nicknames the kids have for some of these leaders. At a later point in life they will have to sort out their confusion and conflicting feelings of worshipping the Lord in a sexually charged atmosphere.
Parents, take this “funny/cartoon” seriously. On this topic, Doug Wilson knows what he’s talking about. Some youth leaders/pastors do enter this field with no other intention than to lust after your kids (male and female). Do not let your children go to these youth groups where the youth pastors and leaders dress as trendy sex symbols. I assure you this isn’t being done to further the Lord Jesus Christ’s work or His Kingdom. You are confusing your kids and possibly opening them up to victimization. If parents are not allowed in the youth service, grab your children and RUN!
Read your Bible ,pray everyday and you’ll grow grow grow! Parents wake up! When was the last time you heard that song sung ? And this behavior from youth pastors is what the church gets when we the congregants fail to “do” this little song!