Hello RFP fam,
I am so glad I found your podcast. It’s so refreshing to hear other’s who have been through similar circumstances that I have been subjected to, and that they are able to recover. I’m still trying to learn what I believe, and what is religious tradition vs. Bible doctrine. I was born and raised in Tabernacle Baptist Church, with Pastor (Honorary) Dr. Lonnie Moore. He is a stable in the Sword of the Lord and travels to other IFB churches to sign and “preach” across the country. Growing up, legalism was preached against, but in reality it was lived everyday, and forced upon all who entered that “church”. Judgement, abuse of “church discipline, dictatorship of pastoral staff, and hatred toward other brethren not perfectly lining up with IFB were pillars of that “church”. My wife and I volunteered in the youth group after getting married, and I cannot tell you how many times we had to play “damage-control” following the hate-filled rants of the “Pastor”. It was so sad to us to see so many good people, especially youth, whose lives were ruined by the IFB movement, and specifically Pastor Lonnie Moore.
My family’s eyes were finally opened when the Assistant Pastor, Kevin Hearn (son-in-law of Lonnie), admitted to the abuse of church credit cards and “apologized” in the middle of church and resigned. After looking into the books (which he and his father-in-law had cooked for years), it was found that he was misleading the church, and had actually embezzled over $300,000 from the church. Rather than getting the authorities involved, the church was basically asked to forgive and forget. Those who did not agree were (not-s0) passive aggressively “called out” and lied about from the pulpit. Eventually it was obvious that particular “church” was beyond repair, and being held captive by a rage-filled despot they called “preacher”. His only priority was his family dynasty and his reputation, and his personal financial security all of which he defended at all costs. He repeatedly referred to the church as “HIS”, and made it obvious he only wanted “yes” men associated with his ministry.
While my church family forsook me, and my idea of “religion” crumbled, I am thankful to say that I have felt more peace and closeness with God since leaving that cult than ever before. I’m so glad that God delivered me and my family from that “church”. We are now faithfully serving in a Christ-centered, Biblically focused church. I still have “friends” within the movement, and it hurts my heart to see them blindly follow tradition rather than seeking Biblical principles and a relationship with Christ. It took a while to see the wrongs associated with this movement, and it might take even longer to “de-program” my thought process moving forward. However, this podcast has already been a literal “God-send”, and I am so thankful to be able to finally begin to move forward away from the hurt that church has brought me. Thank you RFP family for making this a topic of conversation, and allowing our voices to be heard. I think it is important for the truth to be proclaimed, so that others avoid decades of their lives being wasted and destroyed from similar churches. This is not intended to “bash”, but merely let my story be heard to shed light on this subject.
My name is Justin Lawson, and I am FINALLY a Recovering Fundamentalist.
You forgot to mention that Brian Lawson YOUR FATHER was the churches treasurer. So before you start throwing stones about his son n law, you should ask your dad how it was he KNEW it was happening yet said nothing. Also need to mention how much Lonnie Moore did for your family. How many years did you get a good education and they never paid a dime for it???? Start with your stones. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone” that applies to all. Just an fyi.
I was told this didn’t deserve a reply but I feel something needs to be said here to whoever cowardly wrote the anonymous comment. My name is Michelle Minor and I was a part of Tabernacle for over 10 years serving in almost every aspect of the ministry. Our family left in 2017 after we questioned the finances, my son was struggling with his education at TCA, and other abusive situations had taken place. We were met with shame and blame being put back on us along with a month long sermon series on how the sheep are dumb and need a shepherd. Also, the church was told that when funds are given it was the churches prerogative how they used those funds, even if they were given for a specific ministry. At the time of our leaving we were made aware that we were being mentioned from the pulpit for leaving, people were told to not communicate with us, and that Brian & Shannon were told we made accusations against them regarding the non transparency of church funds, which was 100% a lie. We all knew the Treasurer (Brian) was only responsible for Depositing the money and tracking giving records…all done with witnesses in the room. We knew it was Kevin but knew Lonnie would do all he could to protect his family. To say that Brian and Shannon’s boys got a free education is grotesque. I watched and worked along side of Brian and Shannon for years as they spent hours and hours at the church each week teaching, discipling, soul winning, leading ministries, and so much more. They had given so much of their life to the ministry. Brian worked a full time job while doing all this at the church and as far as I know he never received a salary for any of his work. Tuition free education for students of TCA teachers was part of their pay. Not that I now consider a non-accredited Abeka education a good education, but that’s just my own personal opinion. We pulled our kids from TCA because my son’s teacher, at the time, was writing sermons instead making sure my child was learning. Pages and pages of curriculum was coming home empty and they said it was his fault for not paying attention. He was a 4th grade boy at the time using a video program for his learning. The CRIMINAL embezzlement and other abuse that took place there and the manipulation to keep people quiet about it astounds me to this day. Lonnie scattered an entire congregation to try to save his legacy and family name. He should be grateful that many did not decided to speak up or worse sue him and Kevin for fraud. $300,000 is a felony and anyone who supports that type of behavior has no right to be in ministry.
You my friend are a liar and u know ur. You are doing a tremendous job of telling half truths to try and prove your point. The fact is, the reason why charges were not pressed against Kevin is because the church agreed to allow him to pay it back. Also, to accuse Lonnie Moore of cooking the books with absolutely no proof at all is both slanderous and dishonest. I am not saying these things because this is an IFB church or because I go to this church (never have). I am saying it because ur being very dishonest and u know ur sir. I pastor an IFB church, but I have friends that are SBC and Free Will and I would defend them just as quickly. If all u recovering fundamentalist know how to do is sell products and slander people, then I am extremely glad I am what I am. I love Christ and His followers (even those I may not line up with) and what u all are doing is a shame. Get your fact straight sir.