After a pastor blew the whistle by way of an open letter, a team of investigators (sent in by the churchs parent organization) spoke with current and former church members, eventually issuing a report that condemned the leadership for allowing these abusive practices to continue: Four Valleybrook Church pastors left after widespread claims surfaced about them pushing members and staff to reject their families, matching unrelated pairs of parishioners into knit-together relationships to replace biological family, sharing personal information gained in confidence, and abusing their authority by demeaning and shaming others. A downtown Eau Claire church is picking up the pieces after a scandal that tested the faith of the congregation and led to the resignations of the entire pastoral team amid allegations of spiritual abuse.. Our children's and student ministries are solid. To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. Select a subscription and get started today. Connect with neighborhood businesses on Nextdoor. Valleybrook Church Sound Beauty Trunk-or-Treat at the Hive with Harry Potter Event Saturday, Oct. 31, 10am-5pm The Hive 1120 122nd St., Suite 3, Chippewa Falls A Harry Potter-themed Halloween event with special treats, themed menu, and more. In fact, Burns said, interdenominational churches such as Valleybrook often follow a theology in which humans are viewed as weak and unable to do anything without God, making them more likely than other churches to put ministers on a pedestal. Valleybrook members also are attempting to give back to the community, most recently by raising more than $8,600 for local food pantries. How many people gave for absolutely nothing, just late fees? he asked in an interview. God completely changed her life and it is her greatest desire to see people encounter Jesus in a real way. Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Another factor, Mitchell said, is that people tend to trust pastors because of their position. Burns, who has researched nonintervention, equated that tendency to what is known as the bystander effect the concept that explains how people can watch someone get beat up on the street and not do anything about it because nobody else takes action. Choose wisely! The Lighthouse Youth Center offers children a safe, supervised and nurturing environment to interact with other children, parents and adults. The answer, according to people familiar with the situation, revolves around the masterful way former Valleybrook lead pastor Doug Lebsack asserted his moral authority to justify his behavior and manipulated any checks and balances that might have stopped the abuse. All of that makes these churches more susceptible to this kind of thing, she said of spiritual abuse allegations at Valleybrook. No matter what, I think theres a certain amount of respect given to a pastor just for being a pastor, he said. This is exactly how the Bible was passed down for generations yet today people seem to believe that the Bible is a list of dos and donts instead of a beautiful story of love, betrayal, forgiveness and redemption. Not only did former Valleybrook staff members cite this practice, but Charlene Burns, chairwoman of UW-Eau Claires philosophy and religious studies department, said she heard multiple examples while listening to just one segment of a recording of one of Lebsacks old sermons. Mitchell noted that Lebsack promoted a feeling that Valleybrook, whose parishioners he sometimes referred to as Gods chosen people right here in the heart of Eau Claire, was different and somehow better than traditional churches. Valleybrook Church, based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is under fire for what a former leader is calling "abusive practices [that] were inappropriate and pushing the church away from God." Without further ado, heres a PDF of the Valleybrook Church Report. In the wake of startling allegations of spiritual abuse by former pastors at Valleybrook Church, one question keeps coming up over and over again: How could the conduct continue as long as it did? Valleybrook Church . Recognize the signs, myths, and factors that continue to perpetuate human trafficking. We are within walking distance from family housing, college housing, and apartment buildings. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. The majority of the congregation has no idea whats going on because they see the pastor only on Sundays. VALLEYBROOK CHURCH is located at 412 SOUTH BARSTOW STREET in the city of Eau Claire. According to our database, there are approximately 88 churches in Eau Claire, with 9 Catholic churches, 8 Baptist churches, 1 Pentecostal churches, 4 Methodist churches, and 66 other denomination churches. Want more from the Friendly Atheist? People did express disappointment when they heard that, Solberg said. Lebsack didnt respond to questions from a reporter, but hes believed to be in Texas right now. Former Valleybrook Church employee Matthew Mitchell says he believes the former lead pastors efforts to muzzle dissent contributed to a climate that allowed spiritual abuse to take place at the downtown Eau Claire church. Itll take a while to say the least. To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. You have permission to edit this article. Get our FREE Newsletters and special offers! New things, new revelations, new truths. North Granby, CT 06060. Want updates when Valleybrook Church has new information, or want to find more organizations like Valleybrook Church? She then moved to Nashville, TN where she still calls home and continues to travel throughout the US and internationally leading people in worship, singing songs of hope and sharing a message of finding your value and purpose in Christ. That included paying for five pickups a week from a pair of large trash receptacles. Whose morality rules at Valleybrook Church? One minute you are laughing and the next minute you realize that the Holy Spirit just spoke and you have an aha moment that will stay with you forever. Create a password that only you will remember. No, this site is dedicated only to preserving information. Recognizing that families inside and outside Valleybrook were adversely affected by the spiritual abuse scandal, the church said in its statement that it has paid for professional counseling for individuals who requested it. We are continually seeking to know God's will for our church. Go-to place to discover events for more than 20M people globally. Late payments on church credit cards resulted in charges of more than $7,500 in penalties, interest and late fees between April 2013 and March 2015. Boston St Patricks Day Pub Crawl & Block Party! 160 Granville Road*. Find Best Western Hotels & Resorts nearby Sponsored. You can park in the metered lot by the bus station on Farwell St. You can park behind Valleybrook in the parking ramp on Graham Ave. Eau Claire, WI 54701 Share with friends Discover More Events in Eau Claire Sat Jan 28 2023 at 11:00 am Divine Guidance with Kim Grocery. 189 (Granville Road) 860.844.0001. office@valleybrook.cc. Her quick wit and southern charm are infectious. Valleybrook's Easter Celebration Service (10:00AM) happening at Valleybrook Church, 412 S Barstow St, Eau Claire, United States on Sun Apr 17 2022 at 10:00 am. And when you hear about how he acted, you can understand why: Lebsack turned Valleybrook into a fringe church with an isolationist mindset and coached the pastoral team into believing it was the only valid church in the area, possibly in the world, [former pastor Grant] Schultzs letter said. Previously on a personal blog, I ran a series of posts sharing stories from my time in this cult. Valleybrook Church is a Christian organization in Eau Claire, WI, which was founded in 1974 and has an unknown amount of revenue and number of employees. But if youre curious, its like Valleybrooks denominations HQ. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. Tales from the Cult is a free effort to bring stories of abuse into the light so they may be prevented from happening again. Organization Information Organizations with the same name Location Information Organizations in the same zip code Similar Entities This Converge Worldwide Baptist General Conference church serves Eau Claire County WI - Pastor Doug Lebsack. They were duped as much as everybody else.. The Converge report indicated a number of those interviewed reported that Lebsack would rail against anyone who questioned him, outbursts usually followed by telling them how much he loved them and how nobody believed in them as much as him. Humans can be so susceptible to peer pressure and group think, Burns said. We told people this is where we were, this is what weve done and these are the steps weve taken to establish layered accountability to prevent a leader from becoming autocratic in the future or operating without accountability.. Sitting down to talk with worship artist Jaime Jamgochian you quickly realize she is a woman of faith who God is using in many different ways through her music and message. It is my hope that with enough web presence, a Google search will highlight the names of these individuals in an effort to prevent abuse from happening elsewhere. Likewise, Lebsack was able to manipulate the churchs overseers and facilitate the departures of assistant pastors who dared question his methods and messages, said Mitchell, who has written about the events at Valleybrook in a series of blogs titled Tales from the Cult., Ideally, the overseers would have stopped that, but many of them were in Dougs back pocket too, Mitchell said. cult. 5:30 pm. This report will also be made available under Media in the site menu2. There is a clear and widespread pattern of spiritual abuse led by the former lead pastor, embraced by the former co-lead pastor, the former teaching pastor and the current executive pastor, the report says. Reader's Choice Awards - Voting has ended. Doug Lebsack, resigned because they say the final report didnt tell the full story and, it seems, because they didnt want to be around when it was read to the congregation. Nonprofits; Nonprofits by category; Nonprofits by location . Welcome To Valley Brook Community Church Hello! This has been the most challenging thing Ive ever been a part of, Haugen said. Valleybrook was/is affiliated through Great Lakes Baptist Conference, which was renamed to Converge. With rumors about financial misconduct running rampant in the congregation in the wake of the spiritual abuse allegations, Valleybrooks transitional leadership team hired the accounting firm Wipfli to conduct an audit of the churchs books and then reported those findings to the congregation. Clark indicated there is another side to the financial story but said she didnt think it was her place to comment becausethose things werent decided by me. In April, Clark also questioned the veracity of some of the findings in the Converge Great Lakes report. The letter went on to say many of Lebsacks teachings came from what he claimed were direct revelations from God, and then the pastors would twist Scripture to fit the theology. Bethesda Lutheran Church: 123 W. Hamilton Ave. Eau Claire, WI Tuesdays at 9:00 am Jan 17, 2023 - Apr 11, 2023 Saving Grace Lutheran Church: Saving Grace Lutheran Church (New Location) . Valleybrook Church Non-Denominational Churches Churches & Places of Worship Website 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS Amenities: (715) 834-9993 412 S Barstow St Eau Claire, WI 54701 CLOSED NOW 2. 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I currently attend a different church in Eau Claire than the one mentioned on this site. About GriefShare; Seminar topics; Seminar experts; Healing. There is not now, and will never be, a fee to access this site. In addition, the regular mentions by Lebsack and Nate Hagedorn during their co-sermons of all the time they spent together outside of church made Larson uncomfortable. Valleybrook Church Location 412 S Barstow St, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 54701, United States Description Industry Organizations General Organizations Discover more about Valleybrook Church Org Chart - Valleybrook Church Phone Email Julie Smith Valleybrook Church Eau Claire, Wisconsin REGISTER Join us for two days of growing, learning, and building your ministry toolkit while being inspired and motivated to lead like never before. Various people from the church have been public, but always offering their own viewpoint - the LT article is the first I know of to attempt an unbiased overview, for whatever value the word "unbiased" has for anyone. Maybe my belief is weak. The developments led to the resignations of Valleybrooks entire pastoral team as well as three of the churchs overseers. Call480-812-1100to have a packet sent to you. Staff photo by Dan Reiland Doug Lebsack Charlene Burns Its immediately evident she has a passion to see people know how much God loves them and a desire to see that reality change their livesbecause it has changed hers. 6,802 were here. National Human Trafficking Awareness Day Events, St. Patricks Day Events & Celebrations In USA 2023, MicroMania Midget Wrestling: Glendale, AZ at 44 Sports Grill. Indeed, the Hagedorns revealed that before Nate cut ties with them 18 months ago he told them he spent 12 hours a day with Lebsack after the former lead pastor indicated God wanted the two of them to be knitted together. . We wanted to be fully transparent.. From the moment we could sit still in our mothers arms, we have loved stories. A Wisconsin church is under fire for behaving like a GASP! However,I will seek to make sure that repentant hearts are protected, and that it is made abundantly clear whodid what. Lindquist can be reached at 715-833-9209, 800-236-7077 or eric.lindquist@ecpc.com. We are seeing significant evidence of restorative grace, transitional leaders said in their statement. They also often dont require formal seminary training or even psychological evaluations for people to become pastors, she said. I used to be a staff member of that church. The primary goal was to provide the congregation with a factual representation of what we found in the books and, almost just as importantly, to outline ways were working to rebuild trust, said Chris Solberg, a longtime Valleybrook member who was elected to the transitional leadership team. Peers. 412 S Barstow St. Eau Claire, WI 54701-3605. New procedures call for bank statements to be reconciled on a monthly basis, reimbursement requests to be accompanied by receipts, two nonpastoral signatures on all Valleybrook checks and payment of cellphone data overages and parking tickets to be the responsibility of staff members who incur them. Valleybrook Church: 412 South Barstow Street Eau Claire, WI 715-834-9993: GriefShare. Between 2008 and 2014, $6,488 in church money was used to pay parking tickets. At first we really liked the sermons because they touched on real life things going on, but then it started turning to almost a little over the top, Larson said. Its enough to make people think, Maybe Im wrong. Valleybrook Church. Why, then, does this site exist? Plenty of Halloween fun for both wizards and muggles alike. Mitchells Tales from the Cult blog series has exploded in popularity since the allegations emerged. He also said it was disrespectful use of church money to pay parking ticketssimply because staff could not take the time or effort to follow the laws like everyone else. Mitchell acknowledged that he, too, accumulated about 10 parking tickets while working at Valleybrook, but always paid them himself. Born again: Valleybrook Church takes steps to right wrongs found in pastoral abuse scandal. This is hindsight to me, but it seemed like there was no separation in their lives. 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