Author: Lois | Page 6 | Spiritual Abuse Blogs

When Legacy And Sexual Abuse Collide: John Shivers Part 3

This is the 54th installment in this series and a follow up to the previous articles on former United Pentecostal Church pastor, John Shivers. (Part One, Part Two) Shivers was an ordained minister and presbyter, as well as pastor of Centro Vida Church.

(There have been no criminal convictions or arrests in this situation and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has not admitted guilt. However, there has been an ongoing investigation by police. There has been a problem with the statute of limitations so far in order for criminal charges to be made.)

May 29, 2022 John Shivers listed as pastor — May 29, 2022 John & Liz Shivers listed as pastor

You may have noticed on the church’s Facebook page, that starting in June 2022, their church service posts changed from listing John Shivers and Elizabeth Shivers as pastors, to listing their son, Jonathan, as the pastor. They appear to be currently in Costa Rica according to the July 24 service. John Shivers is now touted as the founding pastor and bishop, with Liz as the first lady. They were previously spoken of as the senior pastors.

June 1, 2022 Jonathan Shivers is listed as pastor

The actions of the Western District of the United Pentecostal Church have been troublesome and disappointing since 2019, when a several hundred page complaint against John Shivers was filed by several women. I previously shared how earlier in 2022 they elected Ron Bohde as a presbyter- a man who TWICE mishandled sexual abuse cases. (See this article) That sends a message to sexual abuse survivors that they do not care. Are they blind or tone deaf? Both cases received news coverage.

Ron Bohde Western District Presbyter — Ron Bohde, elected as presbyter in 2022

July 2021 Elizabeth Haney is granted a UPCI license — July 2021 Elizabeth Haney Shivers is granted a UPCI license

Prior to this, in mid July 2021, the United Pentecostal Church afforded Liz Haney Shivers a general license. She had never attempted to seek licensing the decades prior to the investigation into her husband’s actions. How could this happen while her husband was still acting as the pastor of Centro Vida Church, after his license was revoked, and she went along with it? Since he lost his license, the UPCI Directories have listed his son Jonathan as the pastor, even though it was quite apparent that he was not acting as such. It has all been such a farce and church members have long been kept in the dark as to the complaints against John, the District action and his license.

It appears that one of the greatest temptations facing the ministry is sex. How does sexual purity relate to God’s requirements? Sexual immorality is clearly excluded by the requirements of ‘blameless, good report, good behaviour, just, holy, and husband of one wife.’ Again, a sexual sin is an obvious disqualification in light of all the Scriptures. – David Bernard, January-March 1988 Forward (an exclusive magazine for UPCI licensed ministers)

October 31, 2021 Jesse Pinheiro at Centro Vida

Besides the above, ministers of the Western District have been speaking at the Centro Vida church. This includes one of their presbyters, Jesse Pinheiro, who preached at Centro Vida Church on October 31, 2021. (Starts around 1:31 mark) Incidentally, this service was honoring John and Liz as the pastors. It is more troublesome seeing a Western District official like him doing this, as he would have been aware of the complaint against Shivers and the decision of the committee. Since 2015, Pinheiro has been the pastor of the legally affiliated Revival Tabernacle in Santa Maria, California.

April 3, 2022 Rodney Nielsen at Centro Vida

On April 3, 2022, yet another presbyter, Rodney Nielsen, spoke at the church. (Starts around 1:25 mark) Nielsen is the pastor of East Valley Pentecostal Church in San Jose, California and is a best friend of Shivers. (In the UPCI Directories he has been listed as Nelson.) Rodney Nielsen went on to call John Shivers “an incredible pastor” and that the church was “so fortunate” to have him and called it “a great church.”

The District Superintendent, Gaylen Cantrell, has been aware of ministers preaching at Centro Vida, but has chosen to not intervene. A number of other UPCI ministers have spoken there since Shivers’ license was revoked, including some well-known names in the organization like Mark Drost and Bruce Howell.

When the Western District investigated the February 1, 2019 complaint against John Shivers, they unanimously found him guilty. Shivers appealed their decision, but the national Ministers Appeal Council of the UPCI upheld it. The charges against him included multiple sexual assaults, sexual harassment and attempted rape.

Nathaniel Haney was to be the interim pastor at Centro Vida

Instead of permanently revoking his license, which is what should have happened, they placed him on probation. He was to resign as pastor, and not attend for nine months, Centro Vida and all their branch works. He was to attend another church and not preach anywhere. He was to forfeit his UPCI license for 18 months and submit to bi-weekly professional counseling. After nine months it would have been possible to return to the District Board and be permitted back at Centro Vida as pastor. After 18 months it would have been possible to be fully restored as a licensed minister.

Nathaniel Haney was appointed to be the interim pastor. How very convenient that another family member was brought in. Nathaniel later appointed Jonathan as pastor, at least as far as the UPCI Directories were concerned. Nathaniel is the pastor of Christian Life Center in Stockton, California and was in that role when appointed the interim pastor.

Shivers fought the directives of the Western District and made changes to the church bylaws three different times. He has deliberately manipulated the UPC rules in order to remain in leadership all this time. The church is still listed as United Pentecostal in the 2022 Directory. I have stated before that this case is why the UPCI adopted the position paper on Abuse and Sexual Misconduct in 2019. It is my understanding that the organization has been in the process of making additional changes to their Manual so that a situation like this cannot happen in the future.

December 11, 2019 from District Secretary Troy Fair to Amber Fant, one victim

John Shivers may feel he is above the rules and the law as he is married to one of former General Superintendent Kenneth Haney’s four daughters. He may keep all of this under raps and hidden from members of Centro Vida in Stockton, as well as some other UPCI members and ministers. You can be well spoken and thought of in some circles, have a legacy name, polished church services, money, nice things and people who will believe the lies or will defend you no matter what the truth is. Yet there often comes a day of reckoning when the curtain is pulled back and the man behind it is exposed for exactly what he is.

The police investigation of John Shivers started in the summer of 2020 and is still open. If you have been a victim, or know of someone who has, please contact Detective Richard W. Keiser at 209-937-8165 or Richard.Keiser@stocktonca.gov.

August 24, 2022 edit: Today the Stockton Record released an article about John Shivers. You must have a digital subscription to read it. See https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2022/08/24/pastor-john-shivers-accused-sexual-assault-preaching-stockton-centro-vida-pentecostal-church/5695797001/

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

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Former United Pentecostal Minister Glen Alan Uselmann: Guilty of Sexual Assault

This is going to be a short post to announce that on the evening of July 14, 2022, a jury convicted Glen Alan Uselmann of five counts of second degree sexual assault. This came after a three day trial with multiple witnesses. A date for sentencing has not yet been announced. His bail was revoked and he was taken into custody, being held behind bars at the Dane County Sheriff’s Office’s at their Public Safety Building, a medium security facility. This is Dane County Case Number 2020CF001760.

Glen Uselmann Guilty — Glenn Alan Uselmann convicted of five counts of 2nd degree sexual assault on July 14, 2022.

Glen Alan Uselmann was born on May 19, 1959 and the charges against him are from when his victim, Rebecca Martin-Byrd, was from 12 to 16 years old. She was born in 1976, so there is a 17 year age difference. The crimes occurred when both parties were members of Calvary Gospel Church, which is currently located at 5301 Commercial Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin. During the years in question, John Wesley Grant was the pastor of Calvary Gospel Church and is yet the bishop. Roy Howard Grant, his son, was not in the position of a pastor at this time, as he wasn’t brought in until early 2013. Glen Uselmann was wrongly granted a local license from the United Pentecostal Church in 2013, which was after committing multiple sexual crimes against minors, and either lost or relinquished his license in 2019.

Younger John Grant — A much younger John Grant.

John Grant testified at the trial yesterday, after attempting to get out of it more than once. On July 7, the parties discussed possibly allowing him to do video testimony due to his claims of being too ill, but the judge rejected this. Then on July 13, they discussed about him allegedly being hospitalized. (The judge had previously shared that she wanted him in the courtroom unless he was in the hospital.) He and his wife, Darlene, did show up the morning of July 14 and he testified.

See my prior articles on this case: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.

Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 5

Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith: Conscientious Scruples. Comparing 1952 to 2022.

The United Pentecostal Church formed in 1945. Here we will examine what the Articles of Faith have stated about conscientious scruples.

As a side note before we go into the current topic, in the third installment of this series I wrote, in regard to the two groups who merged to form the UPCI in 1945, “David Bernard, the current General Superintendent, has downplayed the fact that the two groups had differences in beliefs.” Quotes were shared from Stanley Chambers and W.T. Witherspoon, showing that there were differences in beliefs, to the extent that one stated that they “diametrically disagreed” on some issues. There were apparently enough differences that the PAJC shared that the following year after the merger, there were ministers who broke away from the UPCI. (Yes, the PAJC is still around.)

From the PAJC Articles of Faith and Constitution: “In the year of 1931 the P.A.W. and the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ merged together forming the P.A.J.C. and continued until 1945. Then in the year of 1945 the P.AJ.C. and the Pentecostal Churches, Inc. (P.C.I.) merged together forming what is now called the United Pentecostal Church (D.P.C.). [Note: that should be U.P.C.] From 1945 to approximately August, 1946 this continued. Then a group of brethren who became dissatisfied revived the charter of the P.AJ.C. and continued on with the charter. In the spring of 1948 the Churches of the Lord Jesus Christ met with the brethren of the P.A.J.C. and a proposal of merger was proposed. In August, 1948 the merger became complete.”

Above is how conscientious scruples appeared in the 1952 UPCI Manual. David Bernard explains this section in Understanding the Articles of Faith: Revised Edition. “At the time of the merger, such status was available under United States law only to people who were members of a religion that took such a position. Now, however, it is available in time of a draft if individuals can simply show that they have a personal scruple, whether or not they belong to an organization that advocates this approach. Prior to the merger, some ministers were jailed for refusing to serve in the military because of their convictions. According to Nathaniel Urshan, general superintendent of the UPCI, this article was designed to enable ministers to serve in the military as conscientious objectors and to instruct them to do so rather than refusing to enter the military when drafted.”

2012 Articles of Faith Conscientious Scruples

In 1984, the following sentence was added at the end, “We further believe that our military personnel must live in a manner consistent with the Articles of Faith.” This most likely is in reference to holiness standards. The quote above shows part of this section, where the sentence had been added.

On August 29, 2012, David Bernard announced in an email, “In 2011 the General Conference approved two amendments to the Articles of Faith. To be adopted, all such amendments must be approved by a two-thirds vote in two-thirds of the districts. The article entitled ‘Atonement’ was approved by 100% of the districts and the amendment to ‘Conscientious Scruples’ was approved by 79% of the districts, so both are now part of the Articles of Faith.” This change was a complete overhaul of the section as you will see below. The new version first appeared in the 2013 UPCI Manual.

David Bernard, in his book Understanding the Articles of Faith: Revised Edition, had this to say about the changes, “While the purpose of the former article was to ensure that United Pentecostals could qualify for conscientious objector status in the military, the language expressed it as the organization’s view rather than merely the protection of a minority view. A General Board discussion in 1992 revealed that a strong majority of its members held this view, but a similar discussion in 1998 disclosed significant differences of opinion. In 1996 the General Conference called for a committee to study this matter, but the committee never reached agreement on an amendment. In 1998 the General Board decided that the matter could be handled by a position paper saying it was a matter of personal conviction. In 2009 the General Board determined that the statement in the Articles of Faith did not represent a consensus and adopted a proposal to replace it. In 2010 the General Board decided to present the new article to the 2011 General Conference, where it passed. The new article was ratified by the districts and became effective in 2012.”

To read the entire 1952 UPCI Articles of Faith, go here.

Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 1: Public School Activities
Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 2: Holiness
Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 3: Fundamental Doctrine
Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 4: Atonement
Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 5: Conscientious Scruples

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Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 4

Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith: Atonement. Comparing 1952 to 2022.

The United Pentecostal Church formed in 1945. Here we will briefly examine what the Articles of Faith have stated about atonement.

There was no mention in the Articles about atonement when the UPCI formed and it continued like that for decades. It wasn’t until 2012 that it was added and it first appeared in the 2013 UPCI Manual.

The 2022 version of the Articles of Faith states the following concerning atonement:

“The Lord Jesus came ‘to seek and to save that which was lost’ (Luke 19:10). The divine act of atonement is dependent on the blood of the Lamb of God and is the foundation that makes salvation possible. For ‘without the shedding of blood is no remission’ (Hebrews 9:22). ‘In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace’ (Ephesians 1:7). ‘Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood’ Revelation 1:5. Salvation is by grace through faith based on the atonement provided in Jesus Christ by His death, burial and resurrection (Acts 2:38; 20:28).”

In Thomas Fudge’s 2003 book, Christianity Without the Cross, he wrote on page 135, “Historic Christianity has often affirmed the centrality of the cross as the very heart and focus of the Christian faith.” On the following page he continues, “It is of note that the ‘Articles of Faith’ of the United Pentecostal Church contain no substantive mention of the cross or the doctrine of atonement.” Thus, part of the reason for the title of Fudge’s book.

Continuing on page 142-143, “It is possible to argue that the atonement is misunderstood in the United Pentecostal Church, detached as it is from the life and living of Christ, and restricted to the moment of death on the cross which raised other theological, principally Christological, problems. It must be admitted that the UPC preaches the crucifixion, but not the cross. The latter is the power of God for salvation. The details of the suffering of Christ are enumerated but the message of the cross itself lacks significant analysis. There is a crucial difference between the crucifixion and the cross. The idea of redemption is understood in United Pentecostal theology as a legal transaction, which helps to explain the absence of emphasis on grace. The lack of theological articulation devoted to the preaching of the cross, grace, justification and the atonement can be put down to the stress placed on the doctrines associated with the Name of Jesus and Acts 2:38.”

Thomas Fudge spoke with 139 ministers and observed that there was a “clear division of opinion regarding the place of the cross in the theology of the movement generally and specifically as it relates to the doctrine of salvation.” (page 136) The interviews noted in this section of his book went back as far as 1998. Even with those he spoke to in the 1990s, some ministers felt there should be a mention of atonement in the Articles of Faith.

It only took more than a decade after those interviews for the organization to do so.

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United Pentecostal Pastor David Reever: Judicial Procedure Part 1

This is the fourth installment of my coverage on former United Pentecostal Church minister, Don Giovanni “Donnie” Martin, who plead guilty on October 28, 2021 to the second degree rape of an 11 year old minor. He is currently serving his time at the Baltimore City Correctional Center, a minimum security level facility in Baltimore, and will soon be up for parole.

This is case number C-03-CR-21-002614. You may read some of the court documents in PDF format here.

If you have not yet read the first three installments, please do so. (First article, second, third.) You will not be able to see the egregious nature of what happened if you don’t. In those it is shared what Don Martin did in 1990 to an 11 year old minor, how she told her sister and mother, and how the pastor set up a meeting with Martin. It also explained the second meeting between Martin and three other ministers in 2003, where Martin admitted to his crimes and yet was allowed to return to Abundant Life Church. The licensing process was also detailed, as Martin became a licensed UPCI minister in 2019, with pastor David Reever endorsing him, even though he was present at the 2003 meeting.

We will now start to cover the judicial procedure, as a complaint was submitted to the General Board against David Reever for his wrongful actions in this case. When a complaint is against a minister who serves on a District Board, one needs to go directly to the General Board. While the majority of complaints filed against any minister will be handled by a District Board, this is why the complaint was sent to David Bernard instead of the Maryland-Washington DC District, as Reever is the District Superintendent.

I’ve known about this case since June 24, 2021, when on Twitter BaptistAccountability shared a news report about Martin’s arrest. While the article did not mention that Martin was affiliated with the UPCI, I saw in the Directory that he held license and started gathering information. The following day the article was posted on Facebook. While Martin’s profile was available at that time, it was removed at some point between then and sentencing.

June 2021 Don Martin’s Facebook profile

In late October I was made aware of Martin’s plea agreement and a second post was made. At that time, I learned that the victim wanted the UPCI to investigate, as David Reever had been elected as the District Superintendent during the same year. I shared the current UPCI Manual with the person who had contacted me, so they could read about the judicial procedure and how it worked.

David Reever 2021 District Superintendent — David Reever April 2021 District Superintendent

Nothing more was heard until March 2022, when I learned that a complaint had been filed against David Reever on March 22. A certified letter was sent to David Bernard and a response was received by email on March 30, via his Executive Assistant.

The complaint was filed by the victim and her sister. (Redacted screen shot 1, screen shot 2) Below is what was written, with some redactions:

“Dear Dr. Bernard,

“I am submitting a written complaint about District Superintendent, David M. Reever. I am asking for judicial procedures to investigate, David. The following is my sister, [name redacted], and my knowledge of details leading to a known pedophile, a church and district backing him, and him being jailed.

“Myself, [name redacted] and my sister, [name redacted] attest to the following information. David was our pastor for some time (about 1997 till 2008). He was aware of sexual abuse that happened to us by Don G. Martin while he was our youth pastor (prior to him pastoring us) at Dundalk UPCI (since renamed Abundant Life UPCI, where David is pastor). After the abuse we told our mother, [name redacted] and she told our then pastor, Chris Tharpe. They moved Don to the Curry’s church (another local UPCI church) where he again abused, but he waited till she [redacted] was 18. After this he came back to Abundant Life Church, even though [the victim] was a member. Later we both left Abundant Life Church.

“David knowing this recommended Don to be a licensed minister-local, general and ordination. He was preaching and baptizing people per their online presence. When my sister, [name redacted], contacted David and asked how he could recommend him to be a minister and put him on a platform-knowing his past abuse. David told [name redacted]; he hopes she finds healing. Worried that Don would use his position again to hurt another child. She felt the only thing she could do was involve the law. She did that and enclosed are court documents naming these incidents.

“Judge Cahill thankfully sees the importance of this not being allowed to go unpunished. Unlike David, the church, or the district board. On the day of the sentencing trial, anywhere from 15 or more church members, including some ministers came to stand with Don surprising the district attorney and Don’s council. Don’s council would not allow them into the court since it was his sentencing and it looked so unbecoming for him.

“The Abuse and Misconduct adopted by the General Board in 2019 says, “It is the responsibility of every local church to cultivate a culture of protection, both to prevent abuse and to support victims who have been abused.” This you will not find in Baltimore, MD by David M. Reever, the congregation of Abundant Life Church or the Maryland/DC District. They stand behind and support a known pedophile(s) and recommend them to local, general, and ordination licensing. Please stop this kind of thing from happening in the future! No, we are not UPCI members but as victims it feels unsafe to have Pastors, Ministers, and Superintendents that support known pedophiles and turn a blind eye to victims. Please investigate this, discipline and change the way this is done so that other children might be protected.”

David Bernard quickly responded on March 30 (redacted screen shot):

“Your complaint was received in our office. We will process it according to our Judicial Procedure.

“A committee will be appointed to investigate. The committee chair will contact you to set up an interview. If you are willing, we need contact information for both of you. Please include email addresses and phone numbers.

“As soon as we appoint the chairman we will inform you of the individual’s name so you know who is contacting you.”

At the time of David Bernard’s response, it was shared with me that, “We do hope they make changes, but my hopes aren’t high. David Reever is a long-time minister and highly loved in the organization.”

As of April 11, they had not heard anything further. It wasn’t until about the second week of May that they met with the UPCI committee for the first time via Zoom. Before that happened, the investigative committee had contacted David Reever.

In the next installment we will look more closely at what followed.

I previously wrote an article on the United Pentecostal Church Rules Regarding Sexual Immorality & Ministers as well as a six part series with information on licensing in the United Pentecostal Church and the rules for ministers.

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

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