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The United Pentecostal Church has been holding its North American Youth Congress Conference in Indianapolis. It is attended by those outside of the organization as well as those within. At the conference, those in charge displayed a fake tweet from President Trump. I have heard that other spoof tweets were also shown. I believe they displayed these to be funny. One person on our Facebook Page stated, “It was from a segment called ‘Fake News’ they parody tweets from different people, it was meant to be funny.” Unfortunately, social media being what it is, some are running like crazy, spreading this around as something real.

There are members of the UPCI that have run with this picture and believe that Trump really sent a message to the NAYC. Even when some have been told it is fake, they have denied it. A friend of mine was blocked and her notice of it being fake was removed by one young woman named Summer who quickly denied it. Instead of taking the time to check out if it was real, she simply blocked her. Another person posted saying they heard it was fake and they stated again, “No it is real.” Yet a third person told her, “All the tweets they put up this morning were fake. It was a prank.” She still denied it and then removed those posts. Later, two others commented to her that it was fake and within minutes she had removed them, this time without bothering to comment. One even shared a link from a UPC minister that explained it was fake. Summer is actually in attendance and I guess she didn’t pay attention that the tweet wasn’t real. How many others in attendance missed it as well? [Sept. 7 Edit: A month and a half later, it was still displayed on her timeline as being true.]

It is very easy to verify if President Trump actually did this. Go to his twitter page and search for yourself. You will find it nowhere.

Now, I am sure some will say or wonder if Trump’s tweet was since removed. (And yes, there it is, someone saying he deleted it and “I assume it was because it was causing a lot of issues…..?”) No, it was never there. While you check out his twitter account, take the time to look at how all his tweets are displayed. You will see that Twitter ads a blue check mark after his name to verify that the tweets are actually from his account. When you view the NAYC photo, it is missing.

<<This is a real Trump tweet.

Additional Information: Since initially posting this, I have received some clarification on what happened. This fake tweet, as well as others, was displayed in the early session of the Thursday gathering (July 27). UPC minister LJ Harry was in charge. On the same day, he made a tweet and Facebook post about it, showing it wasn’t real. Even then, some were responding as if it were. Some in attendance felt it was made clear that it was posted in jest, while others say it was not.

Despite knowing that hundreds of people were passing around the spoof tweet of Trump, thinking it was real, the following morning session continued to display similar spoof tweets from celebrities. (That is somewhat interesting in itself as UPCI members are discouraged from watching television and becoming involved in Hollywood activities.) In the early morning session from Friday, it was neither clarified on the screen, nor audibly, that these were all fake, made up by some in charge. They were displayed without explanation. I can only assume that similar happened Thursday, since some in attendance still believe the Trump tweet was authentic.

It is quite easy to make fake tweets, even from President Trump, through this website. That one even displays the blue check mark. Here is one generated on that site by a friend. >>

Next edit: On Friday (July 28) they did read a letter from Vice-President Mike Pence, who was recently the Governor of Indiana (where NAYC is taking place). The volunteer work mentioned in this letter was about 1700 of them, out of about 34,000 in attendance, helping at Gleaners Food Bank, packaging up 200,000 meals in one hour. Letters such as this from politicians happen all the time and are often written by staff. Here it is for those who wish to view it. This was a live stream (link has since been removed) of it being read which only partially captures it.

This isn’t the first time that people in the UPC have heard or seen something and then run with it without checking to see if it is real and true. I am sure it will not be the last. But perhaps there will be some who were fooled this time who will think twice before passing along messages like this without first seeking verification. It doesn’t make you look good when you quickly pass around false reports and even continue to do so after being notified it is not real.

September 7, 2017 Edit: Since this was written, there has been some actual interaction between President Trump and some from the United Pentecostal Church. It was announced on September 6th that Reach Out America, a UPC operated non-profit ministry based in Houston, would be one of the recipients of Trump’s million dollar pledge to charities helping with the Hurricane Harvey recovery. $100,000 of this money was designated to them. [See this Washington Post article.]

Prior to this, on President Trump’s second visit to the Houston area on September 2nd, one of his stops was at First Church, a United Pentecostal Church in Pearland that is a FEMA distribution center. Fox news did an interview with Ken Gurley, the long-time pastor, about the visit.

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After leaving, there may be a time period of trying to find some balance, a time when a person might go to opposite extremes with a sort of pendulum effect. Different people seek different kinds of balance. Some may go to extremes with their looks or actions. For me, I think the majority of my pendulum time has been spent learning to set boundaries and say no.

I learned a lot during this time from just being free to do these things. I was amazed when I discovered I wasn’t shunned for saying no, setting boundaries, or even leaving situations that made me uncomfortable, even if my friends stayed in those situations. I was even more amazed that these people remained friends. Yes, a few people ended their friendships with me, but many others were true friends and encouraged me and were there for me through this time.  Just being able to set my own boundaries and make my own decisions was helpful and healing, but knowing that I was accepted as I did these, even when I was more extreme, was even more so.

I’ve known people who didn’t seem to understand why I might need to do this. Maybe they didn’t share my experience of feeling I had to stay in an unhealthy church, had to support them or do things for them, keep participating in their activities, or had to remain silent and accept what I saw as harmful or frightening. It’s taken nearly eight years to regain some of the balance of being able to say “no,” to set boundaries, and even to leave a situation when I want… and it still takes a whole lot of self-talk sometimes to do them, especially without feeling guilty or embarrassed. But I’m learning.

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So I couldn’t decide in which order to write my story so I hope what I say will make sense. Sorry, it took so long to write more life is crazy!

My first memories of church were sleeping under the old wooden pews. My mother took us to church when we were sick and when we were well. She took us when we were on E and didn’t know if we would make it back home. (In her defense, we were never stranded going or coming from church.) I also remember crying and praying until I felt sick, trying so hard to speak in tongues so I wouldn’t go to hell. I was so fearful I wouldn’t make it and the rapture was going to happen soon and we had better be ready and repenting and re-repenting every day.

My birthday always fell during family camp. The year I was turning 8 everyone kept telling me “wouldn’t it be neat if you got the holy ghost at camp on your birthday.” The Sunday night before my 8th birthday I prayed so hard and was told I had spoken in tongues. I believed it but now I question that experience. I was just a baby. I got baptized the following week.

I always felt like what I did was never good enough. I had/have such a low opinion of myself, but at the same time, I was learning to be an elitist. We were the “chosen” people. No one had the “truth” but us. We should feel so blessed.

The pastor at that time taught against random stuff, such as no shoulder pads for women (the men could wear them in their suits) but it was the 80s and 90s for goodness sake lol, no hair bows, no red shoes (really he didn’t like women wearing red at all), women must wear their hair up (if you wore it down you were “loose”), panty hose at all times. Those are some I remember I’m sure there were more.

That man also told my mom if she didn’t leave my dad for good he would turn her into child protective services. My mom did leave him but the pastor didn’t make sure we were safe, had food, have a place to live, check on us etc. He continually was very manipulative to my mother and sister. When my mom went in and told him we were leaving and going to another United Pentecostal Church he cursed her and said that she would never prosper spiritually, financially or prosper in life in general. My mom felt extremely guilty but we left anyway. I do not believe in curses but it messed with my mom’s head and she still struggles to this day.

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In looking for something else, I recently came across the experience of a woman who joined the United Pentecostal Church and had been married to one of their ministers. She shared how her husband regularly lied when he spoke at churches and how she never said anything when he did. Below are some partial quotes from the article.

My husband was super-popular on the evangelism circuit and often asked to testify, but he lied constantly on the pulpit about having been an ex-Satanist (uh, no), ex-Wiccan priest (NO), and drug addict/dealer (NO NO NO). No, he wasn’t Mike Warnke–just very similar! I was expected to smile and nod and go along with the lies, or else I was standing in the way of God’s work. I began to wonder if everybody else was lying about praying and fasting–I knew we never did either, but he was telling people we did…

I’d already been questioning, but my faith actually broke on the awful day I ran across my husband’s training manual for his “Crisis Pregnancy Center” counseling position. It was like finding a serial killer’s diary, in retrospect; I remember turning pages and barely breathing, I was so beyond furious and horrified at the outright lies the group was encouraging, the faulty science, the utter manipulation of hearts and minds, all in the name of doing God’s work…

…I’d have put up with all of it and stayed with my husband, though, until he began to threaten me physically to bring me back into line. I fled the country immediately and was viciously, violently stalked for the next year and a half, through our divorce and right up to his wedding day to another woman.

This caused me to think about things I knew during my time in the same organization and what I had heard from others through the years. I began to wonder just how much of this happens in unhealthy churches and groups and how long the list might be for each of the various denominations. How many ministers preach one thing and yet live another life? How many lie about their background? How many don’t give true reports of alleged revivals, conversions, healings, and the like? While there are many people in the UPC and other churches who would not think of doing what this woman’s ex-husband allegedly did, there are ones who have done similar.

As people commented on what she shared, she elaborated on her ex-husband’s ministry. Read on….

I’m glad to talk more about the manual, though. It was a nightmare to read. It advised telling women whatever had to be said to get them to the third trimester–tell them you’ll give them food or housing, tell them you’ll help with the medical bills, WHATEVER. However, it did not outline any strategy for aiding them once they’d hit the point of no return, and my Evil Ex talked often about his victories in convincing women to keep their pregnancies, but did not ever speak of helping them afterward or even visiting them in the hospital. I asked him once about what his group was doing to help babies once they were born, and he just seemed shocked anybody would even ask. The manual also outlined how to create a properly manipulative atmosphere for women–putting baby toys in the foyer, making sure the CCTV played baby videos, describing what sorts of books and pamphlets should be available to read, how long to make women wait to see a counselor, etc. It was unashamed in admitting that the whole free pregnancy test offer it made was a front to get women in the door to talk them into keeping their babies. From the moment a woman walked into a CPC for her “Free pregnancy test,” she was bombarded with psychological assault. It also made a huge deal out of post-abortion stress syndrome, which I knew had been debunked even then (in the early 90s). And I can’t forget that almost every page was plastered with Bible quotes and that my Evil Ex at least viewed every encounter as a “soul-winning” battle, a view his supervisors seemed to fully support.

Why should any minister feel the need to lie about their past and make up sensational sounding stories about themselves? Why aren’t such claims checked by fellow ministers? What causes a minister to lie about praying and fasting? Why does a minister teach certain standards but yet doesn’t follow all or some of them himself? How can a minister sign a bi-annual affirmation of faith and yet not truly believe or live what he is signing? Why do some turn a blind eye to such things and feel they are permissible?

Should someone be permitted to remain in the ministry who threatens another with physical harm, including their spouse? And how do some have affairs or sexually assault children or adults for months or years without being noticed or investigated by fellow ministers? Why do some pastors brag about having a board of ministers they are accountable to when those ministers will do nothing when any claims of improprieties are brought to their attention and where many or all of them don’t even regularly attend the church?

What about ministries which seem to be more about counting people and bringing fame to those in charge, while neglecting the care and welfare of those they are supposed to be helping? Why do some ministers feel the need to exaggerate the number of people who are baptized or speak in tongues?

These things are not Christ-like and they go against how believers are to live. Yet we see them in the lives of some who believe they are supposed to be our spiritual guides and leaders. This should not be so.

I am pretty certain that most reading this will recall their own memories of what they witnessed or heard about ministers or ministries that were wrong. These things cannot be excused because a minister, church or organization also does some good. How many people walk away because of the facade? How many people believe that if this is how Christians act, especially their ministers, they want nothing to do with Christianity?

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Editorial Note: The following is reprinted with permission from Eleanor Skelton’s blog. It was originally published on July 20, 2017.

This post is not intended for debate about LGBT issues, but just to tell my story. 

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So I’ve been a Huffington Post contributor for a little over a year now, but today I’d like to share something I’m posting there with my regular blog readers.

This is a journey that I’ve been on for several months now. Here’s my heart, friends. I love you all.

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“But how should we respond?”

Someone asked this in my church’s home group, the week after the Pulse shooting in Orlando.

“My friends in that community are grieving right now, so how do I show support for them even if I don’t agree with their choices?”

The room was full of young families. They had known me for almost a year as the nerdy, awkward girl who moved back here from Colorado.

They didn’t know that I was hanging on their every word because I have dated girls.

In fact, I was currently on several dating apps asking out… girls.

I chose this church and this town, moving back to my childhood home, even though I knew they weren’t affirming, because I loved this place and these people and they didn’t seem like the sort to make a big deal about these things.

But now I looked down at my Bible, barely breathing.

This was the test.

Yesterday I was on the Huffington Post talking about one of the bravest things I’ve ever done. Won’t you join me there?

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