January 29, 2026
Before we dive into the next post, I want to say thanks to everyone who has reached out—through Facebook messages, calls, and texts. I appreciate your kind words and concern for Dad.
I also want to share a quick update:
After receiving messages, emails, texts, and calls from readers who want to share their own experiences of trauma involving members of Johnson Chapel Church, I’ve decided to add a second category to this blog. This new section will be dedicated to stories submitted by others who feel ready to speak out and will launch later this week.
Here is my diary entry from January 29, 2026:
I’ve talked to Mom every day this week. She’s a wreck. How could she not be? She’s been pulled from her home—her bed, her kitchen—and separated from her husband of nearly fifty years.
Of course, no one physically forced her out or made her leave. They didn’t have to. She had a brutal choice: leave Dad, or lose her relationships with Lara, her grandkids, and her sisters. Dad’s situation is proof of that. Stay with him, and she would be treated the same way they are treating him.
I’ve talked to Dad too. He’s subdued; we talk about everyday things. He’s fiercely loyal to the church, in spite of how they are treating him. I guess 70+ years of indoctrination can’t be easily undone no matter how badly you are treated.
Mom said that Gerald told Dad not to come back to church until “his heart is right with God,” and that God would “let them know” when that happens. Not sure what “letting them know” will look like, maybe a feeling, maybe a dream—but it puts everything in the hands of people (not God) – the same people who are upset with Dad, people who believe Dad wronged them personally.
So, I know there’s no chance they’ll have a “good” dream anytime soon. If dreams are had, they’ll be “bad dreams “or “dreams from the devil.”
It’s times like these when I wish people could see this side of things—what’s behind the gentle, sweet public image. The same people who admire them, who love their music and trust them—I wonder what they would think if they saw how cold and ruthless they can be.
I pray this is temporary, that Dad is back soon and this ends before more damage is done. If it doesn’t, I may have to risk my relationship with Mom to speak up. I’m not a child anymore—I see things clearly now. I won’t change them, but I also won’t stay silent.