Some Boys ... oh yeah.

Great time in Portland

Oh we had a great time in Portland...... good food and fun at the Japanese Gardens. So many cute guys and beautiful environments.

If you are ever in Gresham, check out "Kenny" at the Best Buy...... he is adorable.

Pastor stabs wife

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WHBQ FOX13 myfoxmemphis.com)-- --
A Forrest City, AR pastor accused of stabbing his wife remains in jail, unable to post the one million dollar bond set Wednesday.

Thomas Holloway was arrested Monday after stabbing his wife at a West Memphis doctor's office.

The woman was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. A spokesperson from the MED stated she would not release any updates on the wife's condition to the public.

Her family members fear for their lives, saying Holloway made it clear to them he's not done.

Holloway faces 1st degree battery charges. If convicted he could face up to 20 years behind bars.

Pastor sent to prison

Man sentenced on 48 pornography counts
WJRT By Kevin Holmes

FLINT (WJRT) - (04/26/07)-- A Genesee County youth pastor convicted of child pornography was sentenced to prison this morning.

When police arrested 51 year old Paul Gagnon last year, they confiscated close to 900 pictures from his computers- many of them pornographic and all of them involving young boys.

Today the mother of one of those victims said her life, and the life of her son, has changed forever.

"Paul, you caused me many sleepless nights. As I slept next to my son's bed, as he contemplated killing himself, because you left him feeling like he lost everything."

This woman's teenage son was one of several young boys who was videotaped unknowingly. We are not naming her to help protect her son.

Police say they found pictures of young people both in the bed and in the bathroom on Paul Gagnon's computer.

Today, Genesee County Circuit Judge Archie Hayman sentenced Gagnon on 48 counts of child pornography. "Twenty years in prison, minimum 156 months, maximum 240."

"What you've done is devastating. I just don't have words to...it's so devastating. I don't know if you understand the amount of pain you've inflicted," Hayman said.

Police say last August two people turned in video tapes of Gagnon engaging in sexually explicit acts with minors.

This victim's family is especially pained by this ordeal. "We knew this man as part of our family. He wasn't just my son's youth pastor, he was like next of kin to us," the victim's mother said.

The woman says son has since left the state to begin a new life.

She says for her and the other victims involved, today's sentencing marks the beginning of a healing process.

Drunk Pastor

A Brooklyn assemblyman, Karim Camara, was arrested early yesterday in Albany for drunk driving and speeding, according to a Times Union report.

At 1:45 a.m., police found Mr. Camara driving at about 65 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone and weaving.

Police said he failed several field sobriety tests and refused to take a breath analysis exam at the station. He was charged with DWI refusal and arraigned in Albany's City Court yesterday, the report said.

Mr. Camara serves as executive pastor at First Baptist Church of Crown Heights, according to his assembly Web site.

He said in a statement he has not received any special treatment. "I will continue to abide by the process that is taking place and will be glad to comment further at the appropriate time," he said.

Deleted by host

Ex-teacher arrested on sex charge

A former teacher at El Sendero Christian Academy was arrested following accusations that he sexually molested one of his teenage students, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant.

Charged with sexual assault of a child, Matthew Aaron Hernandez, 26, was released from Bexar County Jail on Thursday after posting $20,000 bond.

It's the general policy of the San Antonio Express-News not to identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

The student, a teenage boy, told his mother that Hernandez bought him "numerous expensive gifts" and took him in December to a motel, where they had sex, the document said. At one point, the student moved into Hernandez's home, sleeping in the teacher's bed, where Hernandez fondled him "numerous times," the student claimed, according to the affidavit.

Hernandez, who denied the allegations, taught science at the private school. He resigned in March from the academy after the boy's mother alerted Superintendent Robert Lara to her son's accusations, the document said.

Lara said the boy moved into the suspect's home during the summer break.

Hernandez admitted to police that he bought the student expensive gifts, allowed him to move into his house, slept with him in the same bed and took him to a Super 8 Motel. But he denied fondling or sexually assaulting the boy, the affidavit said.

The academy is housed by El Sendero Assembly of God, a church whose community was stunned in 2005 when a former youth pastor there admitted to police he'd stabbed to death his pregnant teenage girlfriend, a congregant at the church.

Adrian Estrada, 23, was convicted of killing 17-year-old Stephanie Sanchez and sentenced to death this year.

Lara stressed Friday that the school and the church are separate entities.

Youth pastor hid past from church

Every few months for five years, she scanned the Internet for his name. The mother of a Cherokee County boy who accused Phillip Glenn Terrell of molesting him in 2001 knew his name eventually would resurface in the news. This month, it did.

"I typed his name in and there was his picture," said the woman, who is not being named by The Times in order to protect the identity of her son. "It was like a knife going through your chest."

Terrell was acquitted by a judge in 2002 of molesting the boy, then 12, when Terrell was a youth detention center guard in Paulding County. His past remained a secret from the members of Gainesville's Emmanuel Baptist Church when he was hired at the red brick church on Atlanta Highway as a youth minister in 2004.

On March 30, Terrell, 35, was arrested by Forsyth County authorities on charges of aggravated child molestation in the alleged assault of a 12-year-old boy in 2006. Hall County authorities have pending molestation charges against Terrell, whom they say molested another 12-year-old boy inside the church late last year.

"It's been very hard on the church," said interim pastor Ken Martin. "The church doesn't want to accuse or condemn or convict anyone. We simply want to be a church that reaches out, and helps and heals."

Martin said church leaders did not know that Terrell had previously been charged with child molestation when he was hired. They learned of the 2001 arrest when Hall County authorities began investigating a claim against Terrell in November.

Martin said the board of deacons of the church, which has about 50 to 60 regular members attending services each Sunday, placed Terrell on administrative leave about two weeks after the allegations were first made. In February, he was asked to resign when it was unclear whether charges would ever be brought, Martin said.

"Since allegations had been made, we thought it best to have him leave," Martin said.

'We've scratched his record'

In 2001, Terrell was a detention officer for a state Regional Youth Detention Center in Dallas when a 12-year-old boy who was being held there overnight accused him of molestation.

He was indicted by a Paulding County grand jury of child molestation and sexual assault on a person in custody, according to court documents. In May 2002, Superior Court Judge Richard C. Sutton found Terrell not guilty in a bench trial after the defendant waived his right to a trial by jury.

The boy's mother spoke to The Times by phone this week, saying Terrell's acquittal at the close of the two-day trial was heartbreaking.

"My son cried on the courthouse steps," she said. "He said, 'Mama, I thought you said this was the right thing to do.' I said, "It's OK, we've scratched his record; it won't come up again.' And it did."

The woman said the case fell apart after her son, who has mental disabilities, made the wrong identification in the courtroom. The judge had no choice but to find Terrell not guilty.

According to court documents, Paulding County prosecutors planned to call another boy to testify in the trial that Terrell had also tried to molest him in the detention center between 1997 and 2000. But prosecutors were unable to locate the witness when the time came, the woman said.

Carmen Bolden, the prosecutor who tried the case, and Dick Donovan, Terrell's former defense attorney, both declined to comment on the case when reached last week.

The woman does not blame prosecutors or Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice officials for Terrell's acquittal. Former DJJ Commissioner Orlando Martinez spoke personally with her several times during the course of the case, she said.

"I have to commend the people involved in our case," she said. "They gave us a lot of support."

Background checks now policy

The mother of Terrell's previous accuser said she could scarcely believe he had become a youth pastor.

"It was surprising to me he was in the position he was in," she said.

By the time Terrell was accused of improprieties at Emmanuel Baptist last year, his job title had changed to minister of education. He would oversee Sunday school programs, church officials said.

Authorities say a criminal background check would have shown Terrell's previous arrest on the child molestation charge.

Martin, the interim pastor at Emmanuel Baptist, said he did not know if a background check was made at the time of Terrell's hiring, which preceded Martin's arrival at the church.

"I do know it is now being instituted," he said. "Anyone who works with children or youth in any capacity will undergo a very thorough background investigation."

Terrell apparently started his own ministry out of his Flowery Branch home at 5122 Timberline Trial after leaving the church.

Hall County Sheriff's Maj. Jeff Strickland confirmed that Terrell and a woman formed a home-based prayer group. Officials are uncertain whether the ministry was aimed at youth, adults or both.

"So far, no additional victims have come forward," Strickland said.

Terrell remains jailed in Forsyth County without bond, three weeks after his arrest. His court-appointed attorney, Bobby Wilson, was not immediately available for comment this week.

Martin said it's the job of the courts, not the church, to see that justice is done.

"The responsibility of the church is to reach out to people no matter what their situation is and better them," Martin said. "We're praying for Phil, for the victims, and also for any other victims that might come forward in the future."

Terrell will stay in jail pending trial unless granted bond by a superior court judge. Hall County authorities say they intend to arrest Terrell on the charges here should he make bond in Forsyth County.

The Cherokee County woman whose son first accused Terrell says she wants to attend his latest court proceedings.

"I can really feel for those parents and family members," she said.

She said Terrell's most recent arrest lifted a burden she and her son have struggled with the last six years.

"We were glad he had been apprehended," she said. "We were relieved."

Going to the coast

Going to the Oregon Coast for a couple of days, see you all when we get back.
Click on image to enlarge.
Onanite

Great News!

The Human Rights Campaign is proud to have partnered with Basic Rights Oregon in 2006 to elect a fair-minded majority to the Oregon Legislature and this year to pass pro-equality legislation.

Michael Dell Long, HRC's Oregon political co-chair and committed citizen activist said about the vote, " I sat in the House Gallery yesterday and heard the Minority Leader of the House, Rep. Richardson, defend his "God-given right" to discriminate against anyone he believes engages in immoral acts - "smokers, drunks, drug addicts and homosexuals" - I realized the true depth of misinformation and homophobia which currently exist in Oregon - and how vital the passage of both pieces of legislation is to our GLBT community throughout Oregon."

Yesterday, members of the Oregon House of Representatives approved in bipartisan votes the Oregon Equality Act (SB 2) and the Oregon Family Fairness Act (HB 2007).

The Oregon Equality Act, which passed the State House by a vote of 35 – 25, will outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations. The act was introduced in the Oregon Senate at the request of the Governor’s Task Force on Equality in Oregon and passed the Senate on March 21 by a vote of 21 – 7. Because amendments were made to the legislation in the House, the bill will now return to the Senate for a concurrence vote before being sent to Governor Ted Kulongoski for signature. At a rally in March, Gov. Kulongoski indicated he would sign the legislation, stating, “I have the pen ready.”

When the Oregon Equality Act is signed into law, Oregon will become the eighteenth U.S. state to ban workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and the ninth to ban such discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

The Oregon Family Fairness Act (HB 2007), which passed the State House by a vote of 34 – 26, would establish domestic partnerships for committed same-sex couples and provide all the same state-granted privileges, immunities, rights, benefits and responsibilities for same-sex couples entering a domestic partnership as are granted to married couples. This bill will now be considered by the Oregon Senate. If the bill passes the Senate and is signed by the Governor, Oregon will join a growing group of states providing significant protections to committed same-sex couples.

“Today Oregon took two great strides toward equality by passing the Oregon Family Fairness Act and the Oregon Equality Act,” said Oregon Speaker of the House Jeff Merkley (D-Portland). "Citizen activists from all corners of the state, along with Basic Rights Oregon and the Human Rights Campaign deserve great credit for this victory."

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Some Boys for Fun

Good Luck

ABOUT MONEY:

WITH MONEY YOU CAN
BUY A HOUSE
BUT NOT A HOME

WITH MONEY YOU CAN
BUY A CLOCK
BUT NOT TIME

WITH MONEY YOU CAN
BUY A BED
BUT NOT SLEEP

WITH MONEY YOU CAN
BUY A BOOK,
BUT NOT KNOWLEDGE

WITH MONEY YOU CAN
BUY A DOCTOR,
BUT NOT GOOD HEALTH

WITH MONEY YOU CAN
BUY A POSITION
BUT NOT RESPECT

WITH MONEY YOU CAN
BUY BLOOD
BUT NOT LIFE

WITH MONEY YOU CAN
BUY SEX
BUT NOT LOVE

Finally truth from an xtian!

Lubbock Youth Pastor Faces Sexual Assault Charges

Court documents have surfaced that show a youth pastor at Lakeridge Baptist Church in Lubbock was arrested for sexual assault of a minor more than three years ago.

Blaine Miller is still awaiting trial on the charge, but he was arrested for the sexual assault of a child younger than 17.

And the senior pastor of the church says it doesn`t bother him because he doesn`t believe the accusations.

"Nothing in his character would make me suspicious" says Lakeridge Baptist Senior Pastor, Merle Fulmer.

He has known about Miller`s sexual assault arrest for some time. Miller was a youth pastor in the East Texas town of Kirbyville until 2004 when he was arrested for sexual assault.

A Jasper county grand jury indicted miller on the charge in May of 2005. But the Jasper County District Attorney said Friday that he will be prosecuting the case when it goes to trial next month.

But the pastor at Lakeridge says he’s not bothered by the accusations.

"We are comfortable with it, and have been all along" says Fulmer. Lakeridge Baptist parents didn`t know about Miller`s past until two days ago, but Fulmer says the parents are ok with it.

The Jasper County D.A. says his office has performed a lengthy investigation and he is ready to prosecute the case but Fulmer says he’s positive his youth pastor will come out clean.

Assistant Pastor Charged With Lewd Act On Girl, 9

WHITTIER, Calif. An assistant pastor at Whittier Seventh-Day Adventist Church has been charged with performing a lewd act on a 9-year-old girl, authorities said.

Misael Blanco Sarsoza, 56, of West Covina, was working as an assistant pastor when the child's grandparents reported the suspected molestation to Whittier police, who arrested him April 5, authorities said.

Sarsoza gave Bible study classes and prepared sermons for the church. He had direct contact with various children in the church.

Sarsoza was freed after posting $100,000 bail and will appear in Whittier Superior Court on April 27 to face the charge.

Attacks on gays

(Washington) Police in Tennessee and Colorado are investigating separate attacks on gays.

In Irving College, Tennessee a gay man has been the victim of two attacks within the past three weeks. In the most recent his home was spray painted with homophobic slurs.

The Warren County Sheriff's Department said the home of Neal Anthony had "Fags deserve to die", and "gays go to hell" painted on it. A rock was thrown through the window of the house, which has been in Anthony's family for three generations.

Security locks were smashed and his mailbox was destroyed.

Three weeks ago a group of people all terrain vehicles drove by the house, yelling gay slurs and shooting about 80 paintballs at the house.

Anthony told Nashville's WKRN television he believes the people behind the attacks are trying to drive him out of the community - something he vows is not going to be achieved.

That he is gay has never been a secret around town Anthony said. He lives with his partner, Michael Duncan, and the two are well known in the community.

"I'm openly gay, people up here know I'm openly gay," he told the station.

In Colorado, police in Pueblo are investigating an attack on an openly gay 15 year old student as he walked home from school.

Anthony Hergesheimer received a broken nose and a fractured cheek bone after he was struck in the face with a metal object.

Six teenage boys have been charged with assault. All six attend the same high school as Hergesheimer and face a one year expulsion from school in addition to the criminal charges.

I am so upset

My best friend is going away to a federal penitentiary for 51 months for possessing child porn. It makes me sick. He is sick. I cannot tell you all how upset I am. I love this guy, and he has been my friend for 15 years. I cannot understand it; he is such a cool guy. As you all know I love to out perverts, especially Christians. But now, it is my friend. Child porn is just wrong, and it hurts children.

I am horrified. This problem is just insidious. We all need to protect the children from this abuse I just don't know what to say, just protect the kids.

Onanite

Just another lazy day ....

ah

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

Oh man today is nice outside. I love this time of year in Oregon. The air is so fresh and clean. It even smells sweet with all the blossoms out. It's one of those days I am thankful I am not weighted down with Christianity. Yahoo!

Disney to let gays have fairy tale weddings

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Same-sex couples who want to exchange vows in front of Cinderella's Castle now have the chance.

The Walt Disney Co. had limited its Fairy Tale Wedding program to couples with valid marriage licenses, but it is now making ceremonies at its parks available to gay couples as well.

"We believe this change is consistent with Disney's long-standing policy of welcoming every guest in an inclusive environment," Disney Parks and Resorts spokesman Donn Walker said Friday. "We want everyone who comes to celebrate a special occasion at Disney to feel welcome and respected."

The company said it made the change after being contacted by a gay couple who wanted to use the wedding service, which offers ceremonies at Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disney's cruise ships.

The service offers flowers, dining, music and many optional Disney touches, from ceremonies in front of the parks' iconic attractions to having Mickey and Minnie Mouse in formal wear as guests. The packages start at $8,000 and can cost more than $45,000.

Groups not affiliated with Disney have held annual "gay days" celebrations at Disney parks for years. Company officials have taken a tolerant attitude to the weekend, allowing party promoters to rent out parks after hours and rebuffing religious groups that condemned Disney.

In 2005, Southern Baptists ended an eight-year boycott of the Walt Disney Co. for violating "moral righteousness and traditional family values."

Family's faith shaken by former pastor

LUMBERTON — While teenagers were in one room learning Bible verses at Vacation Bible School, the Rev. Ronald Lee Simpson was in his office making sexual advances toward one of his youth members.

The 14-year-old girl was called to Simpson’s office at St. Matthews Missionary Baptist Church for arguing with her cousin during Bible class. The boy apologized, then Simpson sent him out of the office. He told the girl to stay. He later asked for a hug.

“I didn’t think anything of it. I thought he was a pastor, and he just wanted a hug from one of his members,” said the girl, who is now 18. “When I hugged him, he grabbed my butt. I thought, ‘What is this man doing?’’’

The girl sat on the sofa at her home in Lumberton as she talked about what happened over a two-month period in 2004. It was the first time she has talked about the incident since Simpson, 42, pleaded guilty last week to statutory rape of a 12-year-old.

The 12-year-old, who did not attend Simpson’s church, later had his child.

Simpson was sentenced to 15years to 18 years in prison.

He also was charged with sexual offenses involving the 14-year-old. Those charges were consolidated into the statutory rape charge.

The Observer does not identify victims of sexual assault and is not using the 18-year-old’s name or her mother’s name.

The girl ran her fingers through her braids and spoke with anger as she recalled what happened at the church.

The incident during Vacation Bible School was the first of many advances by Simpson, she said.

How many? She could not recall.

They did not have sex, the girl said, but he asked.

Simpson would tell the girl to wear certain clothes to church, such as a short black skirt, she said. He would ask her whether she thought he was attractive. He often told her that she had a nice body and that she could have been a model.

The girl said she was scared to tell anyone because she didn’t think they would believe her.

“He said I would get in trouble if I came out and told people, and that we would both get in trouble; that people would be disappointed,” she said. “I was confused and scared. … It made me feel like I was being convicted by God because I kept it in for so long.”

The girl said she decided to come forward when Simpson started making comments about other young girls in the church. She didn’t want the same thing to happen to them, she said.

Simpson, through his lawyer, declined to be interviewed.
Surprised parent

The girl’s mother said she was in shock when her daughter told her what was going on.

Simpson had started several activities to get the youth more involved in the church, the woman said. He often would take her daughter to church functions and call to speak to her daughter about church business.

“I couldn’t believe it,” the woman said. “This was someone who portrayed himself as a person who cared about young people.”

“I actually wanted to beat him down, but I know that is not Godly-like,” the woman said. “He seemed so perfect. He had a lot of people fooled. People were more focused on the man than on God.”

The woman initially wondered why her daughter hadn’t told her sooner.

“Then you realize that your child is scared and fearful,” she said. “There is no way of telling how he would have acted or what he would have done. But I am glad she did what she did.”

In December 2004, the girl’s family confronted Simpson in his office.

“He sat there with a straight face and denied everything,” the mother said.

The girl got so angry with Simpson that she started yelling at him, she said. She ran out of the office into the church sanctuary. The next time she confronted Simpson, it was in front of the congregation.

“People at the church started shaking their heads and stuff because they didn’t believe it,” the girl said. “After that, he started praying, and I walked out of the church. I wasn’t going to sit there and let this man pray over me.”

The girl’s self-esteem dropped when church members didn’t believe her, she said.

The accusations against Simpson divided the church. When he resigned, about half of the members left with him.
DNA test

It wasn’t until rumors about the 12-year-old and the results of a DNA test proved that Simpson was the father of the 12-year-old’s baby that people begin to realize she was telling the truth.

“That really hurt because some of the people were family,” the girl’s mother said. “We stayed away from the church for a while, even after they found a new pastor. I really didn’t want to go back, but I started seeking the Lord and there is where he wanted me to be. Some questioned how I could go back to a place where people didn’t believe you, and you didn’t know who to trust.”

Simpson resigned in January 2005, nearly a year after he started working at the church.

In October 2005, he was charged with attempted statutory rape and sex offense with a child and two counts of indecent liberties with a child involving the 14-year-old. He also was charged with statutory rape of the 12-year-old.

The family waited two years for their day in court. They got a phone call March 26 saying Simpson had agreed to plead guilty. The girl’s mother was surprised because Simpson had continued to profess his innocence.

A part of her didn’t want her daughter to go through a trial because she didn’t want her to relive what happened.

“When court was over that day, he looked at me but he kept looking at her,” the woman said. “I believe if he had another opportunity, he would take it. I believe it is going to take God to deliver him from stuff like that. I hope he can get counseling in prison.”

The girl’s mother said she feels she will be able to forgive Simpson. “But I can’t forget,” she said.

Simpson reports to Robeson County Jail on Monday. The mother said she was upset that the court would allow a sex offender to go free for two weeks.

“He’s been out since he was arrested,” she said. “No telling who else he has come in contact with and who else he may have hurt. He had enough time to get his business in order.”
Moving on

The girl said she has been able to get through the ordeal with the help of her mother, friends, family and prayer.

“I feel like it has made me stronger,” the girl said.

The girl said anyone who is a victim of sexual assault should not be afraid to come forward.

“It’s best to come and tell things like this,” she said. “It can destroy your life if you hold it in. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can not go to someone to tell. Something will be done about their actions.”

Her mother agreed.

“People who are going through things like this — it may not involve a pastor. It may be a parent or somebody else, a teacher, who knows — it is all right to come forward because someone will listen,” she said. “Not everyone has a closed ear.”

Pastor gets prison in porn case

A former pastor will was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison Thursday after admitting he had nearly 4,000 images child pornography, including small children engaged in sadomasochistic sex.
Jerry Paull

Jerry Paull, 64, pleaded for mercy from U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent, but Nugent told Paull to instead focus on the lifetime of pain he's caused the children in the images.

"These people have life sentences and they're innocent," Nugent said. "You're guilty. You should be disgusted."

Paull was arrested in 2004 after investigators seized two computers from his home in Amherst. Paull downloaded several videos and computer images showing prepubescent minors involved in pornography, including children engaged in sadistic behavior, according to his plea agreement.

"There were images of small boys tied up, pretty horrific stuff," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said.

Paull worked as minister for 36 years, most recently as pastor at Christ United Methodist church in Akron, Sullivan said. Paull was retired before his arrest, but the images go back to 1997, when he worked at the church.

Prosecutors believe all of the images were from Web sites and no children who worshipped at his church were portrayed in the videos, Sullivan said.

Members of Soulforce arrested at Bob Jones University

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Three members of a gay rights group who tried to enter a Christian fundamentalist college campus Wednesday were arrested and charged with trespassing.

Members of Soulforce, a Lynchburg, Va.-based organization, stood mostly silent outside the gates at Bob Jones University, but when three activists tried to walk on to campus, they were handcuffed. Curious students stood on a walkway and watched the arrests.

Click here to find out more!
The gay rights activists wanted to enter the campus to speak with students and university officials about policies they contend discriminate against homosexuals.

"I think this shows the great lengths we're willing to go through to bring dialogue," said Amanda Harris, 22, of Little Rock, Ark. "We're willing to stand out here among people who hate us to bring a message of hope."

Harris was arrested along with Katie Higgins, 24, of Charleston and Bronwen Tomb, 23, of New London, Conn., according to the Soulforce Web site.

Tomb, a University of Connecticut student, was discharged last year from the Coast Guard under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, according to The Day of New London.

About two dozen anti-gay protesters stood opposite the roughly 30 Soulforce members, holding signs and preaching through a bullhorn.

"Soulforce, welcome to Greenville, South Carolina. Soulforce, welcome to God's country," shouted Billy Ball, a pastor with Faith Baptist Church in Primrose, Ga.

Others held signs that read "Sodomy is Sin" and "Three Gay Rights. 1. AIDS. 2. Hell. 3. Salvation."

"A person has to be lost before they are saved," Ball said. "That's really the only message we're here to send."

Bob Jones University President Stephen Jones repudiated some of the protesters in a personal letter provided to each Soulforce activist _ along with a boxed lunch. "Any hateful name calling does not represent BJU's scriptural response," Jones wrote.

Soulforce has met protests at other locations, but nothing as fervent as Bob Jones, said group member Jarrett Lucas.

"There's always someone there that says, 'Homosexuality is disgusting and sinful,"' Lucas said. "The delivery of the message has been unique to this place. Bob Jones is the first school we've seen so many people come out in this way."

Soulforce attempted to arrange a campus meeting with Bob Jones officials and students. But university spokeswoman Carol Keirstead said the school does not grant open forums and discussions to a group that aims to "undermine the clear teachings of Jesus Christ."

The school's Web site says prohibited behavior for its students includes "dishonesty, lewdness, sensual behavior, adultery, homosexuality, sexual perversion of any kind, pornography, illegal use of drugs and drunkenness."

Barbara Wilson, whose daughter, Mary, is a freshman at the school, assembled among the anti-gay protesters. The family chose Bob Jones because "the teachers take a stand for God," she said. "They do not teach or believe that homosexuality is OK."

Mary Wilson said university officials told students not to interact with the gay rights group, but if they should encounter any members to act kindly and call school officials.

"It's a little bit intimidating to think people want to get on our campus," she said.

University officials stressed that they planned a normal school day. Keirstead said the university community was preparing for its annual Easter celebration starting Thursday that was expected to draw thousands of visitors.

The stop at Bob Jones University was part of Soulforce's Equality Riders Tour that began last month and expects to visit 32 Christian colleges before it ends April 26.

Tomb and three other people were also arrested Monday and charged with trespassing at Covenant College, a northwest Georgia private school affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America.

--------
Comment:

If Christians really wanted to "save" the riders, how can they do it without even talking to them?

Onanite

Gainesville youth pastor charged with child molestation

GAINESVILLE - A 35-year-old Gainesville youth pastor has been arrested in Forsyth County and there are warrants for his arrest in Hall County on charges of child molestation.

Forsyth Sheriff's Captain Frank Huggins says Phillip Glenn Terrell, of 5122 Timberline Trail in Flowery Branch, was arrested Friday and faces two counts of Aggravated Child Molestation, two counts of Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes and one count of Cruelty to Children.

According to Forsyth County Sheriff's Office Investigator Jonathan Neville, the case developed when a juvenile male victim disclosed to his parents last week that he had been molested by Terrell. A forensic interview was conducted with the juvenile and this led to the arrest of Terrell.

Neville says the alleged incidents took place during 2006 at various locations in Forsyth and Hall counties. The male victim lives in Forsyth County.

Terrell is youth pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Gainesville.

Investigators with the Hall County Sheriff's Office have also taken warrants out on Terrell.

Major Jeff Strickland says investigators will arrest Terrell on charges of child molestation upon his release from the Forsyth County Jail on similar charges.

The Hall County incident occurred sometime between August and December 2006. It reportedly occurred at the church.

At this time Terrell is being held without bond in the Forsyth County jail.

Asheville church choir director charged

ASHEVILLE — Police have arrested a well-known Asheville church choir director on charges he had sex with two children.

Leonard Jerome Smith, 53, of Blanton Street, Asheville, is charged with felony statutory rape of a child older than 6 and felony first-degree child sex offense.

The acts are alleged to have happened in January 2001 involving one child and between June and August 2004 involving a second child, said Capt. Tim Splain of the Asheville Police Department. Splain would not say how Smith knew the children.
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Smith was the director of the Asheville-based Full Fellowship Community Choir, a choir made up of singers from across Western North Carolina. He was nominated for a Martin Luther King Jr. Award in 2004 for service to the community.

Smith was one of four contract workers at the Hillcrest Enrichment Program at Hillcrest Apartments, said Gene Bell, director of the city’s Housing Authority. Smith billed the city by the hour for the time he spent tutoring 12-, 13- and 14-year-olds, Bell said.

He said there was no indication of problems between Smith and his students in the program.

Bell said Smith has not been back to work since his arrest Thursday. He does not expect to see Smith back at the program.

“I was surprised, shocked,” he said. “I just didn’t think that, but why would I?”

Splain said because of the nature of the crimes, and because the case is still under investigation, he could discuss few details. He said he could not discuss how investigators learned of the crimes, or whether they believe there might be additional victims.

He said it isn’t unusual for reports of sex crimes to surface years after the acts allegedly occurred.

“In a lot of these cases, people don’t, as a young person, know that it is inappropriate at that point in time,” he said. “The right circumstances don’t come about that they have an opportunity to talk about it. Why people prey sometimes on young children is because they don’t understand or they are not believable at that point as witnesses.”

Smith was released on bond and has a court appearance on April 18. No one answered the telephone at his home.

Splain said anyone with information about Smith should call Asheville Police at 259-5910 and ask to speak with a detective.

The Rev. Samuel Payne of Sycamore Temple in Asheville, where Smith was choir director, said the charges have shocked the community. He said Smith was well-known as a man always willing to help his neighbors.

“Brother Smith is well-recognized in the community,” Payne said. “He won the confidence of the people. We are just sorry that these things happen.”

Pastor Facing Sex Abuse Charges

DOTHAN, Ala. -- A Dothan pastor faces more criminal charges after police said a third victim alleged she was sexually abused.

53-year-old Earl Houston Holland is now charged with nine counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Holland is being held at the Houston County Jail under a $250,000 bond on each count. He was arrested March 27th and was charged with four counts of sexual abuse.

Police believe most of the incidents happened during a church-related event at Holland's home and one at the Dothan Conference Center. A District Judge set his bond at a hearing Thursday and made his first court appearance Friday.

Police said the abuse involving the latest victim is believed to have occurred between October 2006 and March 2007.

Authorities declined to name the church Holland pastors.