Category: Q&A Comments and Responses

Is KP infallible? No, only Jesus is. So how can you implicitly trust a fallible man? Can you see the danger in that? There are countless stories of ministry leaders who have fallen. Is KP or any one of us immune to that possibility? “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).

Many of us already had quite a few one-on-one discussions with leadership while still on staff about these concerns. In fact, some of us were fired and immediately escorted out of the office for raising them. The GFA leadership team lied when they said that none of us did this, just as they lied when they claimed that every one of us had an exit interview.

After receiving our letter, they did reach out to each grieved party attempting one-on-one discussions, but when we each responded thanking them for reaching out, we requested a group meeting. They initially promised such a meeting, but then refused to accept our invitations to meet and instead told us the board would investigate and get a response to us. Many months have passed and we still have not received any such response from the board.

How many times do they have to tell obvious lies before people stop implicitly trusting them? God will hold each of us accountable for how we conducted our lives, and when we are at the judgment seat, KP won’t be there with us.

KP is not a mediator between God and man, nor is any other Christian leader. Each staff member will be held responsible and judged for committing sin while doing something KP asks of them, including passive sins such as failing to love one’s wife as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her, or failing to go where God asks.

Also, KP is not a prophet. Each one is accountable for one’s own decisions and not obligated to follow KP in all areas of life. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).

This authority issue is the root of the false teaching at GFA. How we long for all to see the damage it causes! This is how KP manipulates his staff into doing his will, regardless of whether or not he is in step with God’s will.

We wonder if this is what KP has told the staff. But the truth is he hasn’t apologized to any of us for any of the specific sins we addressed in the letter. He gave generic blanket apologies for “hurting people” by some “mistakes” he’d made, but to this day he has refused to admit wrong on any of the points we raised or have any further discussion with us about it. He handed the process off to the board and they have not met with us or discussed these matters with us either.

Please consider examining leadership and the claims against them, instead of simply trusting they are right no matter what. How serious of a report would you have to hear before you felt obligated to examine the evidence on your own to see if they are speaking truth?

The scripture commends the Bereans as having noble character because they did NOT trust what Paul said but examined it themselves to see if it was true. “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

When you read the testimonies you will see that KP has lied to the staff many times. Even Troy’s recent testimony describes how KP fired him and then lied about it to staff saying it was Troy’s decision, due to family problems, when in reality it was entirely GFA’s decision. Pat also lied to his staff about the reasons why Tammy was at home. There is a pattern of lying among leadership, and that is a mark of unrepentant sin.

And as for steps GFA is taking, we welcome them, but we have not heard of any of them. Have they publicly repented to those they have hurt? Have they admitted their guilt publicly in these five areas of concern? Have they worked to inform the donors of the true nature of Believer’s Church, stating that they were wrong to deceive? All of these things would show real change, and we hope they are forthcoming.

We are not concerned about Bibles being printed in local languages. Our concern is that GFA is intentionally misrepresenting the nature of the churches planted on the field. For example, we have documented Photoshopped images of KP and the fact that GFA doesn’t mention anything Episcopal on gfa.org except on one well-hidden page about Believers Church, and yet the word Episcopal appears 45 times on the website intended for church members in India, believerschurch.com.

Another area of concern is fundraising for items the ministry has no intention of buying. That is also lying, and yes, other organizations do it too. Will GFA answer by saying it’s OK to deceive donors because everyone else does it and the Gospel was still preached? We hope not.

UPDATE: In the beginning of April, GFA added text about the Episcopal structure of Believer’s Church accessible in its FAQ section of its website.

When you read all the testimonies, you will see that the good we are accomplishing is preventing more of God’s precious children from being abused in similar ways. We are also helping donors see the nature of the organization they are funding so they may decide if they want to continue.

Many ex-staff have been seeing biblical counselors for years to recover from the lies, emotional abuse, false doctrine, self-guilt, and shunning they experienced as a result of GFA. In fact some have walked away from the faith and blame the hypocrisy of GFA’s leaders. Many have not been able to return to church for fear of being manipulated and hurt again by new leaders. We hope to spare others from the effects of spiritual abuse.

The end does not justify the means. Pointing to the fruit on the field does not justify abusing the staff or deceiving donors. In Matthew 15, after Jesus accused the Pharisees of worshiping God in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men, His disciples asked him if He knew He had offended them. He told them that every plant not planted by His heavenly Father would be uprooted. The entire religious system of the day was uprooted by Jesus’ teachings and He was not concerned about the fruit of the ministry, but the filth that was coming from the hearts of those who were leading it. Jesus cares about both the end and the means.

Actually this is false. He has never met with us as a group, even though he promised us he would. When, at the last minute, he delegated it to the board, the board never arranged it. He did offer to meet individually with just JD, but JD desired accountability and a reasonable number of witnesses at the meeting, as it is our whole group who is bringing up these offenses, not just JD. KP agreed to that group meeting with representatives, but he never came through on it.

You can read phone conversation transcripts and email exchanges to get a full understanding of the communications between KP and this group on the Communications History page.

We have no evidence that KP has taken adequate steps to address our concerns. We do know, however, that the leadership has dismissed our concerns and has not admitted publicly to specific wrongdoing on any of the points we addressed. The few times they have apologized for “misunderstandings” or “hurts” are not adequate when we are dealing with specific sins that includes lies to raise money, false teaching, and shunning other believers.

If that grievance was an offense we had done to them, a busy schedule or important roles would never excuse accountability before God to obey the Scriptures and repent when confronted after sinning against someone. Jesus takes this so seriously, even for a “small” sin, that He says, “If another member of the Church sins against you, go and point out the fault … if the offender refuses to listen even to the Church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17)

For leaders who sin, James says, “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19) and “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1)

Having a bad day does not excuse sin. Everyone—leaders and laymen alike—are accountable before God and His Church for sin. God is holy, loves us, and desires that we repent.

KP’s abusive behavior has been documented in the testimonies and spans over a decade by our accounts alone. This length of time and pattern of behavior can not be attributed to simply having “bad days”.

James 4:11-12 speaks of not judging a brother. The context here is judging for the purpose of condemning a brother by speaking evil. But judging to cause correction and discipline is not evil speech, and is promoted by scripture.

Church leaders are not above reproach and can be accused of sin by another leader or fellow believer. See 1 Timothy 5:19-20: “Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.”

This passage says that charges against an elder or leader in the Church are admissible if there is evidence from at least two or three witnesses. We have brought charges against KP with seventy-five witnesses, and yet KP has dismissed us as wrong and misunderstanding, and persists in his sins. If he continues to persist then he ought to be rebuked by the other leaders in the presence of all, according to this passage. Oh that they would have the courage to do this.