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I’m glad people are speaking out about the spiritual abuse that takes place at BT. My wife and I have first hand experience dealing with JC.
First for all, don’t cross or disagree with JC. You will feel the full weight of his passive aggressive fury. My family was part of his “inner circle”. To us he could do no wrong. When he thought my wife and I would be a perfect couple to plant a church in the NYC area he couldn’t have been nicer. He encouraged me to quit my job and come to work at the church and be mentored by the staff. It was weeks later when I found out he never bothered to tell payroll he hired me. He was going to send me to work at an orphanage in Haiti. When I insisted my wife come on the trip it was cancelled. Instead of being mentored or going to staff/pastor meetings I wound up shoveling dog poop off the sidewalk behind the church on Flatbush Ave. as part of my “training” in the maintenance team. “Obedience is the key.”
When I talked to JC about his oversight/misrepresentation he told me that I had no faith and that “faith” was not calling his phone number when these types of issues came up. He got quite surly and from that point on got very passive aggressive ignoring me whenever he saw my wife and I. He even went so far as to change the telephone number on his private line.
I watched another family member go through the same ordeal but only after JC convinced them to take out a mortgage on a broken down former pastors house in Brooklyn to use as a ministry building. The project was a disaster from the start. In the end they left her hanging with tons of repairs and a mortgage she could not afford.
I talked to several pastors on staff at the time and was told “that’s just his way. He has a problem following through.”
Fortunately, one of the other Pastors on staff invited us to breakfast. His advice to us was to cut and run as fast as we could. He said JC had no intention of helping us to start a church. Apparently he had a habit of making grand promises, making people feel “special” and then never following through leaving you to feel like you were the problem.
We cut and run as fast as we could. Family members did the same. That was over 30 years ago and we never looked back. I have no respect for JC or any of those that covered for him. BT has no real accountability structure. JC is the boss and if you don’t like it you are free to hit the door.
I’m sharing this now after all these years to encourage everyone who has a story (and I know there are many) to share it. I would have been on this forum long ago had I known it existed. The only way the spiritual and all other forms of abuse will stop is if we raise our voices and let our stories be heard.
Finally, Paul Brewer, I am heartbroken at what you have gone through. I applaud your courage in making your story known. I pray you find justice.
@wasthere89to91 thank you for your courage and for sharing what you and your wife went through. I am so sorry for the spiritual abuse and manipulation you both suffered. It’s awful. The number of stories of abuse perpetrated at the at the hands of Jim Cymbala are piling up, but you and your wife aren’t merely a statistic. Every single story is so heartbreaking and personal.
You were fortunate to find a pastor at BT that wasn’t willing to cover for Jim, lie, and encourage you to stay in the spiritual bondage you have described. You got out. And I am glad for you and your wife in that respect. Like so many others, it could have been decades of you and your family missing out on God’s plan and purpose for your life, usurped by Jim’s whims.
Your topic title is important: “Glad to find this forum.” That is one of the reasons it is so important to spread the word about the topics in this forum. There is healing in community. And there is danger in isolation. I encourage everyone who reads this to text, email, tweet, share this forum. It could be that someone’s spiritual well-being is at stake, having been abused and left alone. There are more victims of one type or another. I know of some of them who have come to me personally. I believe this site has helped them to know they are not alone. Some have shared their stories here. Some are still reeling from their abuse and have chosen to read other’s stories to gain their strength.
No amount of carefully crafted books can cover the lives torn down and wrecked at the hands of Jim Cymbala. His pattern of behavior will reach a tipping point; and I believe it has. The years of abuse is now and will continue to be exposed. The Church God Blesses will not be the one where the senior pastor is molesting his congregants. No matter what it looks like on the outside.
For those of you who have the strength, share your story as I have and as this husband @wasthere89to91 has.
Evil thrives in dark places.
Pray for the abuse to STOP. Pray for Jesus, whose name is Justice, would intervene. Pray the victims would find safety and healing.
Happy to hear desolate times at BT turned into thriving on the other side. I love to hear how God comes through!
You mention Roberta. Such a sad story. 😢 And such a sweet woman. I still have a recording somewhere of her giving her testimony one Sunday. I never knew the cost it took on her until she was gone. So many suffer silently. I suppose in the end, she wasn’t silent. I saw links somewhere on here from the web page she created. I didn’t know how much she pursued exposure and accountability of the abuses and corruption of the Cymbalas and the leadership at BT.
God sees. God judges us all, and judges leadership all the more.
We serve an all-knowing God. What is done in secret will be shouted from the rooftops. It’s a spiritual principle they will not be able to escape.
Well I would not say you have courage but are a coward. Pretty much everyone on this forum is a coward.
Everyone on this silly blog is a coward. If what you say is true then use your name and be willing to speak the truth. If not then your story is useless banter and gossip.
I confronted Cymabla publicly and it got results. He was exposed for what he did to my sister and had no choice but to comply to my demands. And comply he did.
So if you really want to see justice and results use your name and stop being a coward
Steve Langella
With all due respect to your pain and suffering,I find your comment rude and disrespectful,bordering on bullying. Everyone has their way of processing things and maybe for some the hurt is still too raw to be that exposed. So no need to be calling any one a coward or saying ” your story is useless banter and gossip”. This can cause division. “United we stand,divided we fall”.
I would like to submit this excerpt from the USA Today article.
[“USA TODAY does not typically name victims of sexual abuse but Clemishire said it was important to her.
She said that she has been sharing her story for decades with leadership in “very large and high-profile” churches and organizations, but no one took Morris out of ministry or the pulpit. Clemishire decided to come forward publicly to encourage others who may be victims to tell their stories, she said.
“Any and all victims, come forward … I just don’t believe that I’m the only person,” she said.
At 54 years old, Clemishire said she has a “different confidence and a different understanding” that no longer makes her “feel intimidated.”
“The courage is there,” she said. “I just couldn’t stay silent anymore.”
Clemishire also included her name in the Wartburg Watch blog because she has “no shame.”
“I’ve always just trusted that God’s timing would take it wherever it needed to go,” she said about Morris. “Why hide?”]
As you can see, all her prior efforts came to nothing. It is not until at this age with the confidence and understanding she has now- by her own words-the lady was able to do it publicly.
And she even speaks to ” timing”.
Yes,public shaming of the perpetrator is one thing,but one is also bringing your family into the limelight with you.
And even that family may shun you and you have to walk that journey alone. Which means you have to be strong of yourself,with God, for whatever comes then.
Dont be so quick to condemn others so harshly.
If everything that is being said on this forum is true then use your real name. Accusations were made against Robert Morris but only when the victims came out publicly and used her real name and was not a coward did results happen.
If you have a story of abuse by the hands of a pastor who refuses to repent. Then tell your story. I will even do a video for you and post it on YouTube. If you are telling the truth and all of these allegations are true why are you hiding? You should all be together and corroborate your stories amen make a video telling your story. But as long as you hide behind a computer screen and post anonymously, you’re just wasting your time.
This got results.
Jim Cymbala: Selling Testimonies For Souls Who Don’t Matter (To Him)
This is the only way to deal with a pastor who repeatedly sins and refuses to repent. The Bible says to rebuke them publicly. This verse is revelry related to elders
1 Timothy 5:20
[20] As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.
So unless you’re willing to put some skin in the game, do us all a favor and go find another hobby. It’s offensive to those who willingly put their reputation on the line to speak out against corrupt leaders.
You are amazing Steven. Good for you. There are victims and stories of victims. I would never ever call them cowards, whether they use their names or not.
You have gotten progress with the issues of your sister. But look at how Jim Cymbala ravaged your sister.
Jim Cymbala has a long history of being confronted by people over the years. By name. The names do never mattered to him. His self-preservation is the only thing that mattered. So I support the efforts to bring to light some very dark things contained on this forum.
When the abuser stops getting protected and it is safe for victims to talk, they may use their real name. Jim Cymbala knows the names of his victims.
To those who have had enough courage to tell their story on here, I commend you. I pray for justice for your situation in the same way Steven found justice for his sister Roberta. I also pray the abuser and enablers would come to the light.
You are amazing Steven. Good for you. There are victims and stories of victims. I would never ever call them cowards, whether they use their names or not.
<span style=”font-size: 1rem;”>You have gotten progress with the issues of your sister. But look at how Jim Cymbala ravaged your sister.</span>
Jim Cymbala has a long history of being confronted by people over the years. By name. The names do never mattered to him. His self-preservation is the only thing that mattered. So I support the efforts to bring to light some very dark things contained on this forum.
When the abuser stops getting protected and it is safe for victims to talk, they may use their real name. Jim Cymbala knows the names of his victims.
To those who have had enough courage to tell their story on here, I commend you. I pray for justice for your situation in the same way Steven found justice for his sister Roberta. I also pray the abuser and enablers would come to the light.You don’t have to remind me of what Roberta went through. But if people want to hold someone accountable they need to stop being cowards. Sorry if that offends you. But hiding behind a fake name is not going to work. Real names and real people with real stories that can be verified is what works. This forum will fade away and abusive pastors will continue.
This will be my last response to this. I would rather speak to people with names.
If you want to speak to me they can email me at
theauthorofmyfaith@icloud.com.
And I ask all to please stop using my sister and her story on this forum. I already confronted cymbala. Thank you.
Steve I was on staff back during the 2009 blog. The only they cared about was who is writing on the blog.
The pastors know the victims by name, but they are keeping everything quiet.
I agree with you. They will never do anything until the public pressure is too much to ignore.
With all due respect to your pain and suffering,I find your comment rude and disrespectful,bordering on bullying. Everyone has their way of processing things and maybe for some the hurt is still too raw to be that exposed. So no need to be calling any one a coward or saying ” your story is useless banter and gossip”. This can cause division. “United we stand,divided we fall”.
I would like to submit this excerpt from the USA Today article.
[“USA TODAY does not typically name victims of sexual abuse but Clemishire said it was important to her.
She said that she has been sharing her story for decades with leadership in “very large and high-profile” churches and organizations, but no one took Morris out of ministry or the pulpit. Clemishire decided to come forward publicly to encourage others who may be victims to tell their stories, she said.
“Any and all victims, come forward … I just don’t believe that I’m the only person,” she said.
At 54 years old, Clemishire said she has a “different confidence and a different understanding” that no longer makes her “feel intimidated.”
“The courage is there,” she said. “I just couldn’t stay silent anymore.”
Clemishire also included her name in the Wartburg Watch blog because she has “no shame.”
“I’ve always just trusted that God’s timing would take it wherever it needed to go,” she said about Morris. “Why hide?”]
As you can see, all her prior efforts came to nothing. It is not until at this age with the confidence and understanding she has now- by her own words-the lady was able to do it publicly. And she even speaks to ” timing”. Yes,public shaming of the perpetrator is one thing,but one is also bringing your family into the limelight with you. And even that family may shun you and you have to walk that journey alone. Which means you have to be strong of yourself,with God, for whatever comes then. Dont be so quick to condemn others so harshly.If my words seemed harsh and offended you then I apologize. My point is that nobody is going to do a thing unless people with real names and real faces come forth. The woman did not hide behind a screen name and got results. Nobody real pays attention to anonymous posts.
What are you afraid of? If you truly believe what is being written in this site and people are being abused, those who see it and are silent by not speaking up are just as guilty. You can’t condemn the BT pastors who clearly have turned a blind eye to so much corruption and abuse over the decades, and then do the same by not soaking out as a real person who has experienced it. So if you were offended I hope at least the offense causes you to rethink your strategy. As long as there are no names and faces this blog will die a slow death.
With all due respect to your pain and suffering,I find your comment rude and disrespectful,bordering on bullying. Everyone has their way of processing things and maybe for some the hurt is still too raw to be that exposed. So no need to be calling any one a coward or saying ” your story is useless banter and gossip”. This can cause division. “United we stand,divided we fall”.
I would like to submit this excerpt from the USA Today article.
[“USA TODAY does not typically name victims of sexual abuse but Clemishire said it was important to her.
She said that she has been sharing her story for decades with leadership in “very large and high-profile” churches and organizations, but no one took Morris out of ministry or the pulpit. Clemishire decided to come forward publicly to encourage others who may be victims to tell their stories, she said.
“Any and all victims, come forward … I just don’t believe that I’m the only person,” she said.
At 54 years old, Clemishire said she has a “different confidence and a different understanding” that no longer makes her “feel intimidated.”
“The courage is there,” she said. “I just couldn’t stay silent anymore.”
Clemishire also included her name in the Wartburg Watch blog because she has “no shame.”
“I’ve always just trusted that God’s timing would take it wherever it needed to go,” she said about Morris. “Why hide?”]
As you can see, all her prior efforts came to nothing. It is not until at this age with the confidence and understanding she has now- by her own words-the lady was able to do it publicly. And she even speaks to ” timing”. Yes,public shaming of the perpetrator is one thing,but one is also bringing your family into the limelight with you. And even that family may shun you and you have to walk that journey alone. Which means you have to be strong of yourself,with God, for whatever comes then. Dont be so quick to condemn others so harshly.If you want to have a conversation with me you can email me at theauthorofmyfaith@icloud.com. I will end my comments here. You have no idea what me, my sister, and my family went through with Jim Cymbala. I was a member of the Brooklyn Tabernacle for 20 years. I gave my life to that church. I was married at that church. But I threw it all away because I had the guts to confront publicly a very narcissistic and abusive pastor. I was demonized, ostracized, called a demon, and ridiculed by those who were once my friends. I fought a 10-year battle trying to get Jim to remove my sister’s false stories from his book. So I know what it means to pay the price for speaking the truth, trust me. this will be my last response. Anyone elswe who chimes in I will not respond. If you want to talk to me then email me and let me know who I am speaking to, and then maybe we can have a meanigful dialouge about how to Biblically addresss abusive pastors. Thank you.
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