Voice of the Victims: Confronting CFCMI in 2024
Those of us behind the creation of cfcmihelp.com hadn’t engaged with or closely observed Christian Fellowship in a number of years, perhaps a decade or more, beyond responding to the inquiries of victims or others impacted by CFCMI.
When we were made aware of their 50th Anniversary (Jubilee) Celebration planned for June 27th to 30th, 2024, we felt moved to re-engage. That included the creation of this website (which is a “reboot” of a similar site published in 2009). In addition, those of us available decided to converge on the celebration, being held in Norfolk, VA, in order to hold a peaceful demonstration. Our aim was to protest the treatment of victims and others impacted by Christian Fellowship over the past five decades. We were determined to give the victims a voice. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to prepare. When the initial decision was made to demonstrate, we had less than a week. Without any recent information, we didn’t have much of a plan. We published cfcmihelp.com, threw together some signs and a banner, and got on the road to Norfolk.
In the meantime, we did a little research online to see the current state of the organization, as well as the thrust of the celebration. Here’s what we found.
First, through watching most of the services the week of the Jubilee celebration, and several other recent sermons, it became apparent that Ed and Pete, despite being in retired status, are still very much part of the power structure. They regularly provide messages from the pulpit and enjoy overwhelming deference from the entire organization, pastors and congregants alike.
Second, many of the historical CFCMI teachings essential to keeping control over members, which are analyzed in various ways on this site, are still in place. As a particularly salient example, in a sermon entitled “He that is without Sin” on 6/9/2024, Pat Tamakloe, the local pastor of the Norfolk congregation, perpetuated the persistent, power-grabbing teaching that has been the backbone of the abuse, that the pastor’s words come directly from God. Pat did this by stating the following (at 26:40 – 27:40):
“Do some people come to church just to find fault with what the pastor says? You’re not finding fault with me…I’m just a tool that the Master is using to speak his word. If you find fault (with me), you’re finding fault with Christ. …I don’t speak anything that I think, I only allow God to guide me in what I say. So, if you got fault with me, talk to God.”
This is despite the apparent reforms put in place years ago with the intention of decentralizing power (presumably taking power away from the abusing pastors) by implementing an “elder leadership model”.
Several other recent messages, such Ed Thomas’s sermon on “Stewardship: Committed to Lordship” on 1/21/2024, continue to reinforce the controlling, oppressive teachings of the CFC “early days” (or as Pete and I agreed to call it, the “cult years”) that were the cornerstones for creating a culture that allowed rampant abuses by the leadership.
Third, it was clear that the main aim of the 50th anniversary celebration was to put the past behind them (for example, a sign reading “Bitterness to Forgiveness, laying it all Down” has been on the platform for several months). In particular, sermons leading up to the event focused upon themes that could be used to squelch any form of discontent or expression of concern by the congregation. These themes included “He that is Without Sin (…cast the first stone)” (i.e., congregants can’t point any fingers), “State of Emergency” (which discussed the golden-calf rebellion facilitated by Aaron when Moses lingered on the mountain), “Spring Cleaning” (getting rid of lingering problems that “hinder” you), and other messages that focused on not “grumbling”, etc. This effort to put a 100% positive spin on the past and hand a healthy, “start fresh” organization off to new leadership completely ignored decades of abuse, cultic practices, and victim shaming.
Armed with this updated insight, we arrived in Norfolk toward the end of the week and prepared for our first demonstration, which was timed to coincide with the evening worship service on Friday, 6/28. We arrived an hour before the service and set up just outside of the parking lot gate. We also happened to arrive just as most of the leaders were arriving, giving us a chance to talk with several of them, as we expressed our purpose of giving victims a voice in the representation of the past fifty years. We also had the opportunity to interact with several longtime members whom we knew and had been friends with. Most interactions were cordial, and some were even heartfelt, as we explained what we were doing. A few were mildly contentious.
About 30-40 minutes after we got set up on Friday evening, Pete Paine arrived. He approached us, we stated our purpose, and he apologized to us for any harm done. We ended up spending about 90 minutes talking with Pete about leadership accountability, outreach to victims, supporting victims, etc. Phil Davis was engaged in most of this particular discussion, with Mary Ann Baker participating and Janice Knights continuing the demonstration with her husband, Kelly.
Topics covered in the discussion with Pete:
We came on behalf of the victims over the past 50 years, to give them a voice.
We pointed out that the “victory lap” nostalgia services on the afternoons of Thursday, 6/27 (Pete & Debbie talking about Waukegan history) and Friday, 6/28 (Ed & Pam talking about Norfolk history) completely misrepresented the realities of abuse that occurred and ignored the victims involved throughout the entire time period (i.e., the past 50 years).
Pete admitted to and agreed with the fact that Christian Fellowship was a cult in the first 20-30 years (at least; we did not nail down a date when he felt that it exited cult status). He openly stated, “we were a cult” and “those were cultic behaviors” in response to many examples we gave of unhealthy practices. NOTE: While this was a huge admission, you cannot find any negative references to CFCMI’s past in any of their literature or online presence.
Pete claimed they had reformed their way out of being a cult, primarily by implementing an elder-led organizational structure, instead of pastor-led. He mentioned a book they used as the basis for their new structure, but I didn’t catch it.
Beyond the elder-led model, he did not reference any other specific reform actions, although he did say “we don’t do that anymore” to several unhealthy activities or policies that were brought up in discussion.
His main, oft-repeated responses to examples of abuse and victimization we provided was “I didn’t know about that”, “I’ve done everything I can do to reach out to victims…what else could I have done?”, “I’ve spent my entire adult life trying to change things for the better”, “I apologize”, and “I’ve taken every call from every former member that has called me”.
We pointed out the failure in leadership that occurred both (a) in detecting or standing up against LR Davis’s sexual abuse, and other abuses by those in leadership (like Ed’s double standard, nepotism, and financial exploitation of members) and (b) in implementing effective reforms to stop and prevent future abuse.
We provided examples of things that could have been done to reform the organization, up to and including resignation of Pete and Ed due to systemic abuse under their leadership and shutting down the organization. Pete’s response was that he decided to stay with the organization because he felt he would be more effective in implementing reform from within. He stated that he now realizes, as a result of our demonstration and conversations, that his reform efforts were ineffective in terms of the support provided to victims. We agreed and pointed out that the ineffectiveness of his efforts was another example of leadership failure, which was systemic.
Other examples discussed of victim-supporting actions that could have been taken included transparency about the past (instead of white-washing and gaslighting, which was occurring within the sanctuary even as we were speaking), using their website to provide factual information and resources for victims, specifically taking responsibility for the abuse, in all of its forms, and finding ways to empower the victims. These were just a few ideas discussed, as it was an emotional back-and-forth that wasn’t intended to be a comprehensive plan for true restoration.
Pete offered to engage in an ongoing dialogue about how to more effectively reach out to and support victims. We agreed to participate in a conversation, but expressed our skepticism that we would reach very much consensus on actions to take.
Pete offered to speak to any victims or impacted individuals personally and provided his cell number. We pointed out that for many victims, talking to the former general pastor may not be healthy or helpful in their pursuit in healing. That said, we agreed to post it on CFCMI Help, and did so (in the Links section).
The Norfolk Police Department did respond to the scene, due to a request from CFC. They told us we were completely within our rights and were fine, as long as we stayed on public land. Their only request was that we not go into the CFC parking lot, onto their property, etc., then they left.
Our second demonstration was at the church building again on Saturday, 6/29, just after lunch. We demonstrated for just over an hour. Having been told on Friday night to ignore us by Terrance Taylor, a local pastor, it was evident that most folks did not want to talk to us or at least appeared conflicted. Foot traffic was slower than Friday evening, but we still interacted with several members that we knew from our time in the organization. Again, we appealed on behalf of the victims. In particular, Jeff Linger, one of the local pastors in Norfolk, spent a good amount of time talking with us. No one made any specific concessions, but several people appeared curious and perhaps even marginally sympathetic.
On Saturday evening we set up across the street from the banquet facility where the organization was holding a “Formal Anniversary Dinner and Recognition Ceremony”. We arrived about 45 minutes before the event and held up our signs, focusing on the cars as they drove in and parked. Once the event began and most of the participants were inside, we closed out our protest and with that ended our weekend of demonstrations.
Of note, Ed Thomas did not engage with us whatsoever the entire weekend. When Pete was out there with us on Friday night apologizing, admitting CFCMI had been a cult, offering to help victims, etc., we asked if he thought Ed felt the same way or would say the same things. He simply responded that Ed was his own person, but that he had been “right there” when the reforms were being implemented. In the meantime, we later learned (through watching the sermon) that Ed was in the pulpit at that very moment calling us “dry bones that need salvation”. This is another great example of the gaslighting and victim-shaming that continues to be entrenched in Christian Fellowship’s culture, especially amongst the leadership.
Watching the Sunday morning (6/30) service, we found that Hubert Ulysse was installed as President of the International Board, relieving Pete. Terrance Taylor was installed as Vice President, and appeared to relieve Ed. It will be interesting to see what level of involvement and influence Pete and Ed have now that Hubert is in charge.
As we find out more information or gain additional insights, we will make additional blog posts.
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For the demonstrations on 6/28 & 6/29, below are the quotes we developed for our signs. Below is the CFCMI event schedule for the celebration, with the events we demonstrated against indicated with bold italics font.
“Something off? Ask questions, there ARE answers.” – sign
“There’s more to the story” – sign
“Jesus wasn’t indifferent” – sign
“Truth isn’t one-sided” – sign
“50 years of victims” – sign
“Restoration doesn’t ignore victims” – canvas banner
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Thursday, June 27
Continental Breakfast at 9am
Brief praise and worship service in the sanctuary
Fellowship/excursions/activities in the Norfolk area
Evening service at 7pm with fellowship afterwards
Friday, June 28
Continental Breakfast at 9am
Brief praise and worship service in the sanctuary
Fellowship/excursions/activities in the Norfolk area
Lunch cookout at the church
Evening service at 7pm with fellowship afterwards - DEMONSTRATION
Saturday, June 29
Continental Breakfast at 9am
Brief praise and worship service in the sanctuary followed by fellowship
Light Lunch at the church - DEMONSTRATION
Leadership Session with Pastor Ulysse and a Pioneer Session - DEMONSTRATION
Formal Anniversary Dinner and Recognition Ceremony at 7pm at the Grand Affairs Banquet Hall - DEMONSTRATION
Sunday, June 30
Breakfast snacks at 9am
Worship service from 10am to 12pm
Lunch afterward at the church
Fellowship into the evening