Author: Lois | Page 3 | Spiritual Abuse Blogs

Registered Sex Offender Justin Scott Gardner Singing at The Apostolic Church of Beaumont

We have another instance of a registered sex offender being used in a position at a United Pentecostal Church.

It should come as no surprise to the readers of this website that we believe it to be very unwise for churches to use registered sex offenders in any position. We have seen time and again in the news where such people reoffend.

When someone is used in an official position in a church, it can be seen by members as giving them a sense of legitimacy. People may assume they are trustworthy and safe and that background checks have been made and they have been cleared.

Justin Scott Gardner, born November 17, 1982, is a registered sex offender who was convicted in California in September 2003 of two counts of lewd and lascivious acts involving children/intercourse and the victim is under 14 years of age. The age of the victim on the registry shows as 12 and 13 years old. He is a member of The Apostolic Church of Beaumont (TAC) in Texas, where Jason Carr is pastor. This is a legally affiliated United Pentecostal Church. Back in 2023, we made a series of posts about this church. (See August 20, 2023, August 20, 2023 #2, August 21, 2023, August 21, 2023 #2, August 23, 2023, June 23, 2023– unrelated to the others)

Justin Gardner has been one of the praise singers at TAC and besides being seen in videos of their services, he is also seen along with others on the ministries section of the church website. Attached are screenshots which show him singing on the platform and being mentioned as far back as 2019 in an official post from the church. It has been alleged that Jason Carr is aware that Gardner is a sex offender.

It is always concerning when any church uses a convicted sex offender in any type of leadership role or preaching capacity. A pastor is unwise to allow this. Has Justin Gardner been permitted to be around minors at the church? Have members and visitors been made aware of him being on the registry? If you are a parent of a minor and are a member or are visiting this church, you should be aware of this situation.

Do Sex Offenders Belong in Church With Your Kids? 7 Myths Every Church Leader Needs to Know by Sarah McDugal

I originally posted about this on June 1, 2026 on our Facebook Page.

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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Giveaway: Take Back Your Life 3rd Edition by Janja Lalich

This is only open to those with a USA mailing address. There is absolutely no cost to enter.

This is your chance to receive a new copy of Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships by Janja Lalich. This is the third edition, which is the latest. The original edition was titled Captive Hearts, Captive Minds and we gave away several dozen copies of that through the years.

“Cult victims and those who have experienced abusive relationships often suffer from fear, confusion, low self-esteem, and post-traumatic stress. Take Back Your Life explains the seductive draw that leads people into such situations, provides insightful information for assessing what happened, and hands-on tools for getting back on track.”

Jana Lalich is an international authority on cults and coercion. She is the founder of the Lalich Center on Cults & Coercion. If you watch documentaries on unhealthy groups, you have probably seen her.

We have a playlist of many interviews and talks she has given here.

This giveaway is a drawing. To enter, just leave a comment to show you wish to be included. The drawing will close on June 3, 2026 at 6pm (eastern time), after which I will draw a winner.

Be sure to check back to see if you have won as in the past some people have not responded after winning and so a new winner had to be drawn. You will then need to email me your mailing address if I do not already have it, so be sure to watch your email and check the spam folder. If I know your Facebook profile, I will message you there.

Don’t be alarmed if your comment does not immediately show as it may require approval.

You may want to subscribe to the email notifications of new blog posts in order to not miss these. While we try to share about our giveaways on social media, those platforms often do not show the posts to many people.

Watch for our July 1 post where you will have a chance to win a copy of of C.H. Yadon and the Vanishing Theological Past in Oneness Pentecostalism by Thomas Fudge. It is the third book in his series on Oneness Pentecostalism. It covers Oneness Pentecostal history, and highlights the United Pentecostal Church, of which Mr. Fudge was once a member.

In 2026, we’ll also be giving away one copy of each of the other Thomas Fudge books on the UPCI/Oneness Pentecostalism (Christianity without the Cross: A History of Salvation in Oneness Pentecostalism and Heretics & Politics: Theology, Power, and Perception in the Last Days of CBC).

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Giveaway: Women and Worship at Corinth by Lucy Peppiatt

This is only open to those with a USA mailing address. There is absolutely no cost to enter.

This is your chance to receive a new copy of Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul’s Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians by Lucy Peppiatt.

This is a more academic version of Unveiling Paul’s Women: Making Sense of 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 by the author and covers additional issues.

“Making sense of Paul’s arguments in 1 Corinthians 11-14 regarding both the role of women in public worship and the value of tongues and prophecy for the unbeliever has long posed challenges for any lay reader or scholar. Despite numerous explanations offered over the years, these passages remain marked by inconsistencies, contradictions, and puzzles. Lucy Peppiatt offers a reading of 1 Corinthians 11-14 in which she proposes that Paul is in conversation with the Corinthian male leadership regarding their domineering, superior, and selfish practices, including coercing the women to wear head coverings, lording it over the ‘have-nots’ at the Lord’s Supper, speaking in tongues all at once, and ordering married women to keep quiet in church. Through careful exegesis and theological comment this reading not only brings internal coherence to the text, but paints a picture of the apostle gripped by a vision for a new humanity ‘in the Lord’ resulting in his refusal to compromise with the traditional views of his own society. Instead, as those who should identify with the crucified Christ, he exhorts the Corinthians to make ‘love’ their aim, and thus to restore dignity and honor to women, the outsider, and the poor.”

This giveaway is a drawing. To enter, just leave a comment to show you wish to be included. The drawing will close on May 3, 2026 at 6pm eastern time, after which I will draw a winner.

Don’t be alarmed if your comment does not immediately show as it may require approval.

Watch for our June 1 post where you will have a chance to win a new copy of Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships by Janja Lalich. This is the third edition, which is the latest.

In 2026, we’ll also be giving away one copy of each of Thomas Fudge’s books on the UPCI/Oneness Pentecostalism (Christianity without the Cross: A History of Salvation in Oneness Pentecostalism, Heretics & Politics: Theology, Power, and Perception in the Last Days of CBC and C.H. Yadon and the Vanishing Theological Past in Oneness Pentecostalism).

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Giveaway: Unveiling Paul’s Women by Lucy Peppiatt

This is only open to those with a USA mailing address. There is absolutely no cost to enter.

This is your chance to receive a new copy of Unveiling Paul’s Women: Making Sense of 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 by Lucy Peppiatt.

As many of our readers know, this section of 1 Corinthians has been used to teach that women must wear a head covering when in church, as well as that women must never cut their hair (as taught in the United Pentecostal Church). It’s also been used to teach that women are somewhat less than men.

I found it very interesting how Lucy Peppiatt puts forth the thought that in these passages Paul is repeating some things that the Corinthian believers had written to him. In other words, she believes that in verses 4-5 and 7-10, Paul was repeating what the Corinthians had previously shared with him. Verse 16 is then saying that there is no such custom of wearing head coverings.

We do know that Paul was responding to a letter he had received from this group of believers, so this thought is not unreasonable. We also know that the Corinthians were very messed up and carnal, and Paul had to correct them on numerous issues.

The author also covers various aspects and views on this section of scripture. I found her view of the passages to be plausible and that they made more sense that way. I don’t believe Paul was anti-women and have never liked when people attempt to portray Paul in a negative light. There are actually those who hate Paul, I believe due to a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of certain passages. Perhaps this book will help someone who feels this way.

This giveaway is a drawing. To enter, just leave a comment to show you wish to be included. The drawing will close on April 3, 2026 at 6pm eastern time, after which I will draw a winner.

Don’t be alarmed if your comment does not immediately show as it may require approval.

Watch for our May 1 post where you will have a chance to win a copy of Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul’s Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians by Lucy Peppiatt.

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Shop at our Amazon store! As an Amazon Influencer, this website earns from qualifying purchases.

Former United Pentecostal Minister Kelsey Cook CSA Conviction Part 3

On March 8 we shared a post from United Pentecostal Church pastor Austin Hopper, of Downtown Church in Battle Creek, Michigan. It pertained in part to the recent conviction of former UPCI minister Kelsey Cook.

In that post, Austin took a firm stand against abuse and promised to protect people and not reputations. We applauded what he wrote in that post. Though we expose various kinds of abuses and have a secondary focus on the UPCI, we also want to bring attention to when their ministers and churches get something right and do what they should when it comes to abuse. Sometimes we receive pushback when we do this. In this case, it was refreshing to see a number of people comment positively about the Hoppers.

Attached is Austin’s March 10 follow-up post. He shares in part that, “Silence has never healed wounds. Ignoring painful realities has never protected anyone. Truth, accountability, and light are what lead to healing and restoration.”

For many, the Cook case came as a complete surprise and shock. Our post on her conviction was seen by over 52,000 people. While some were aware, most appear to have been kept in the dark. As the case had not received any news media coverage, at least not to my knowledge, it was easy to keep people there.

Before her conviction, apparently some were misleading others. Many people were not informed. We heard reports that Kelsey continued to attend services and other events with no word of warning to people. As the allegation involved a female minor under 13 years of age, at the very least parents should have been made aware. This is NOT how one handles allegations of CSA- not even when one might believe that a person is innocent. Since 2023, when the criminal complaint and arraignment occurred, until March 6, 2026 when she was found guilty by a jury, people’s children were potentially placed at risk.

Instead, it should have been openly announced to all in her home church and she should have been removed from all responsibilities and kept away from minors. She shouldn’t have spoken at any church service or event. It should never have been insinuated that charges were dropped. And no one should be contemplating to do so, or telling, lies about her absence.

Not properly handling abuse cases brings darkness. It harms and does not protect. It screams loudly that you and your church are unsafe. Wrong actions cause people to rightly wonder what else may have been hidden over the years.

Any minister who covers up, hides, or lies about abuses, works in darkness. “But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” (Matthew 6:23 NLT)

Austin went on to speak to his fellow ministers and leaders. “When abuse happens and leaders say nothing, victims hear that their pain is inconvenient. When pastors stay quiet because they are afraid of controversy, reputation, or backlash, predators learn that the church is a safe place to hide.

“Protecting the name of the church while ignoring the protection of people is not righteousness. It is cowardice.

“Shepherds are not called to protect wolves. They are called to protect the flock.”

The Kelsey Cook case is the fourth case so far in 2026 where former UPCI ministers were convicted of sexual charges. (Others: Dominic Foor, James Lawson, Scott Huse) Our hearts go out to all survivors and their families and may all who have been harmed find some justice in our legal system.

I originally posted about this on March 13, 2026 on our Facebook Page.

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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