Frightening Parallels Between Morey and Hanegraaff

Several years ago a friend told me about the many abuses of Hank Hanegraaff, President of CRI and host of the “Bible Answer Man” radio show. This friend told me that there is a series of articles and letters written by Walter Martin’s widow, his two adult children, and many ex-employees of CRI chronicling the deceitful takeover of CRI by Hank, his abuses toward employees, his self-promotion, plagiarism, and other sins. At the time I thought it was interesting, but just sort of ignored it. I found the web page yesterday and read the whole thing last night. I was amazed at the many similarities between the abuses of Morey and the abuses of Hanegraaff. Multitudes of ex-CRI employees banded together in the 90s to call Hank on these many issues and to hold him accountable. They eventually called for his resignation. But he ignored all of them. I encourage you to read the whole thing and the many testimonies for yourself. But here are a few excerpts from the stories. The following snippets are not the words of just one person, but are clips from many different letters from ex-employees of high position at CRI.

Hank, the entire CRI board of directors, and the entire executive staff at CRI (Paul Young and John Stoffel) could resign their positions and step down from the ministry, to preserve the integrity of it and the message CRI puts out. This would also be Biblical since Hank has disqualified himself in light of 1 Timothy 3, and he should step down if he refuses to confess his sin and truly repent of it. Until either of these two things happen in a very public way, it is incumbent on the church as a whole to communicate our displeasure to CRI continually. This can be done by writing to Hank, calling into the Resource Center at CRI and the comments and suggestions line, and by calling into the Bible Answer Man show itself. Most importantly, Hank and CRI will definitely understand the request for Biblical integrity of it's donors stopped donating to CRI. Hank continually encourages people to withdraw their support from aberrant ministries, we should follow his advice in this respect, and collectively withdraw our support for both him and CRI, until the Bible Answer Man does the Biblical thing.

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Once again, we call for the resignation of Hank Hanegraaff. The new charges brought again him are still serious, and we keep hearing them again and again--new voices every time. He owes fellow brothers and sisters in Christ much more than a few arrogant comments regarding them.

Where is the obedience to Matthew 18? Where is the repentance and restoration from the man who claims the title "The Bible Answer Man"? It's past time for the Church to open its eyes and stop inviting him into their pulpits, awarding him book medals, and sending him hard-earned cash to spend on expensive cars, expensive family vacations, and flowers for his mother. There is a wolf in amongst the sheep. Enough is enough.

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How Did This Happen?

In 1994, approximately thirty employees of CRI formed The Group for CRI Accountability in an attempt to hold Hank Hanegraaff accountable for some questionable actions. He refused to meet with them individually or as a group. Instead, Hank Hanegraaff's lawyer, Sealy Yates, sent letters to members of the group which read in part:

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Why Did Darlene Martin and Members of the Martin Family
Call for Hank Hanegraaff's Resignation?

In late 1997, Darlene Martin asked us to investigate allegations against Hank Hanegraaff brought to her attention by close friends and many other concerned Christians. After an intensive two year investigation into the situation at CRI, we are now able to publicly address this issue.

...

How Did This Happen?

In 1994, approximately thirty employees of CRI formed The Group for CRI Accountability in an attempt to hold Hank Hanegraaff accountable for some questionable actions. He refused to meet with them individually or as a group. Instead, Hank Hanegraaff's lawyer, Sealy Yates, sent letters to members of the group which read in part:

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What are the Charges Against Hank Hanegraaff?

After talking with many reputable Christian leaders (who were never CRI employees) about their personal experiences with Hank Hanegraaff and reviewing the affidavits presented by the Group for CRI Accountability, we decided to contact--personally--as many people as possible in an effort to arrive at the truth. If Hank was innocent, we wished to make that very clear to everyone. If he was seriously compromised by the evidence, we felt an obligation, as the family of Walter Martin, to say so. It is important to note here that the Group for CRI Accountability did not initiate contact with us. We were referred to them by several highly respected Christian leaders whose concern for CRI prompted them to call us and discuss the situation. Still, even after this confrontation, Darlene found it difficult to believe the allegations against Hank. For the next two years, at her request, we made hundreds of phone calls and conducted face to face interviews with people who worked very closely with Hank. We hoped for the best, but ended up with a very negative portrait of Hank Hanegraaff--to our disappointment and dismay. We were appalled when we realized the extent of the problems at CRI.

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Many people have approached us with their personal experiences at CRI over the years. Several have worked very closely with you on a day-to-day basis. Unfortunately, according to them, these experiences were not positive. It is extremely troubling to hear their stories of your personal behavior towards them. They stated you were quite verbally abusive, that you used foul language and caused "scenes" inappropriate for the Christian workplace. Perhaps one person making accusations like this could be dismissed, but many people voicing the same experiences cannot be ignored. As a Christian "leader" who has publicly stated that the tongue must be controlled, how do you answer these allegations?

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Secondly, one of our family's main objections to Hanegraaff's continued leadership is his mistreatment of fellow Christians. He has left a trail of wounded people behind him since the takeover of CRI in 1989. The testimonies against him include those who are his "right-hand" people, people who worked closely with him.
Hanegraaff has called repeatedly for accountability in other Christian leaders and should be held accountable himself.

DARLENE MARTIN

...

Why Does Hank Hanegraaff Ignore More Than
50 Brothers & Sisters in Christ?

We ask Hank to answer now what he refused to answer for us in 1999:

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A Trail of Wounded People. . . .

All of the following people have reputations of integrity. Many are still involved in apologetic ministries throughout the United States.

Based on my own direct experiences and the reports of many others, I was forced to go through the following abuses and acts of vengeance over four years ago:
1. I was characterized as a money hungry disgruntled employee . . . but I let it go.
2. Many lies were told about me and my motives . . . but I let it go.
3. I was slandered behind my back to two of my best friends injuring those friendships . . . but I let it go.
4. I was forced out of CRI without notice or cause . . . I but I let it go.
5. I apologized to Hank for reacting in anger to his abuse, only to have it used against me . . . but I let it go.
6. I wrote to you, the CRI board with my great concerns and yet was ignored . . . but I let it go.
7. It was even implied that I may suffer from delusions because of having a sister who is mentally ill . . . But, I even let that go!!!
I let a lot . . . GO . . . back in 1990. But after hearing the testimony of more than 20 people from different backgrounds tell their personal stories of abuse, authoritarian rule, lying and distortions of truth as well as what appears to be pathological behavior and manipulation by Mr. Hanegraaff, your president! It was this that motivated me to, once again, contact you. This time, I will not simply . . . "Let it Go!!!"

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Needless to say, the whole ordeal from the outset was very disturbing and left me in a state of depression and disillusionment. Because I confronted Hank with real concerns - not imagined - I was brought before a kangaroo court where I was "tried" or judged without due process; I was accused of being divisive; I was shouted at and attacked personally by the president of CRI; I was told that I was arrogant and prideful for raising questions regarding legitimate inquiries as to Hank's credentials; I was treated like a criminal; I was wrongly accused of being incompetent, insubordinate, and useless to the ministry of CRI.

...

1. Hank consistently demonstrates conduct unbecoming of Christian leadership. When confronted by concerns, questions, or comments regarding his credentials or decision making, Hank exhibits anger, verbal outbursts, endless self-defense, manipulation of other's words and self-aggrandizement. These are not marks or characteristics of a sensitive, humble, Christian leader.

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I suppose it first began when Craig Hawkins was terminated at CRI. At the time, although I was surprised and saddened, I took it as an internal problem at CRI. However, when Robert Bowman was terminated, it really bothered me. I know it bothered you because of your demeanor when I asked you about his leaving. But again, I chose to overlook it as another internal problem. The resignation of Kenneth Samples, though, was of particular concern for me. I have the highest respect for Ken not only because he is an educator, a fellow teacher, a profession that I held for over thirty years, but also because of his skill as a researcher. I enjoyed translating his articles. His leaving CRI hurt me greatly.

...

This letter is written by request from some twenty individuals who believe that Hank Hanegraaff is not qualified to lead CRI. I feel that in light of what they have testified combined with what I know to be true they appear to have a very good case.

Read the full accounts at
http://www.waltermartin.com/cri.html

By the way, Larry Wessels just mailed me a large box with all the physical documentation in it of Morey's guilt. The stack of documents weighed 3 1/2 pounds and was nearly two inches thick. Just think about this. Who in their right mind would go out of their way and mail out freely pounds of physical evidence if they themselves were guilty? That would be utter suicide. Rather, what a guilty person would do is try to ignore the whole situation, sweep it under the rug, change the names of those he robbed so no one in the future could look them up, and hope to God that it never surfaced. Hmmm...that later strategy sounds all too familier. This is not over.

Here all the evidence on these hours of audio documentation at
http://www.putfile.com/lieutenantcolumbo

I also have the visual DVD versions of these audios where they show all the evidence, but heck, I have the hard documentation myself now thanks to Larry

News Flash! - Spy Photos Catch the Secret "Legion of Doom" Meeting

Pat
Undercover Theocentric Reporter

Theocentric Living brings you the exclusive news first! Our undercover reporter took photos of the infamous "Legion of Doom" at a secret public park. Dr. Robert A. Morey was the first to break the news of this goolish group on his blog some weeks ago. Dr. Morey said on April 12th, 2008:

Dear Brothers,
It has come to my attention that a new “Liars Club” out there in slander-land and gossip-hill is claiming that I am not writing a book on on Natural Theology! If you run across these liars, rebuke them in the name of Jesus. Some of you have even proof read chapters for me.
Remember, all liars shall have their place in the lake of fire. (Rev. 21:8).
In obedience to the Word, I do not consider the “Legion of Doom” members, (eg. Joel, Clark, Tom, etc.) fellow-Christians. As long as they continue to run their “Liars Club,” they give no evidence of regeneration. When the book comes out, they will no doubt say I did not write it! They would not know the truth if it jumped up and bit them!

Just as Dr. Morey wisely predicted, this cultish group gathered at Slander-land park across from Gossip-hill. These faith defecters, motivated by hate and compelled by bitterness and rage, met to plot devilish plans to destroy God and his church. We at Theocentric Living caught them plotting in the act! Even their many children in attendance lurked and slithered about in odd formations and zombie like slowness. We have reason to believe, however, that their plans will be foiled because all this "Liars Club" did the whole time was lie to each other about everything. Here are some of the exclusive photos we captured.



In this photo you can see one of the Legion Leaders, Tom Maxham (in the dark blue shirt). He is no doubt leading one of the evil plots against the work of the Lord.


Look at all these people, you can tell they are having an awful time.








However, you may notice one thing: Joel Hughes is not in any of these photos. Where is he? Our skilled reporter, Pat, was able to actually catch him in one photo lurking by the bathrooms showing his true colors. Look at him in the picture below. He is off to the left in the black hooded cowl. Dr. Morey was right all along.

Pat was actually able to corner the dark gool and forced him into an interview. Listen for yourself as one of the Legion of Doom leaders tells you what is really going on.

Pat: Your name is Joel Hughes?
Joel: Uh, yes.
Pat: Tell me, Joel, what are you all doing here? Are you all plotting and scheming evil plans to overthrow the work of the Lord? Tell me the truth you savage liar!

Joel: Uh, no. We are all friends in the Lord and we were blown up and scattered by Mr. Morey. He struck the sheep and scattered them. He separated brother from brother, sister from sister.
Pat: That's a lie you liar!
Joel: Uh, no it's not. Maybe, Pat, you have been lied to before you knew all the facts.

Pat: No way you dirty unregenerate liar.
Joel: You seem full of bitterness, rage, and hatred towards us. Why is that Pat?
Pat: I am the reporter, I ask the questions, not you.
Joel: Uh, ok.
Pat: Tell me you slanderer, what are you all doing here today? Don't lie to me either!

Joel: Well, we were at one time all really good friends. What we had in common is not Morey, but Messiah. Many of those friendships that Morey divided have been restored and healed here today. People saw new babies that they never got to meet or see before. Our kids who used to always play together got a chance again to play. We discussed our new churches, our jobs, our families, and we shared aspects of our testimonies from our time at FCC.

Pat: Really? You're not lying to me are you?
Joel: No Pat
Pat: Hmm. I only heard one side of the story. You all seem pretty happy and like nice folk.
Joel: We are. In fact, Pat, this is only a third of all the people that could have shown up today. Many were busy, some out of town or state, others still healing from Morey's madness. You know what is also somewhat interesting Pat?
Pat: no what?
Joel: is that Morey accused Clark of stealing sheep from his church, which is not true if you read the emails online, but Morey also said that it would be ok if Clark went out and saved some unsaved people for his church, but it is not ok to bring those into his church who are already Christians. But, Pat, all these ex-FCC members went to Morey's church as Christians. He did not win any of them to the Lord. Most of them were mature believers before they ever went to that church. I know I was. I was already a solid Calvinist as were many of these people. Seems a little hypocritical don't you think?

Pat: Ya, joel, it sort of does. I never knew that.
Joel: it's ok Pat, there is a lot of deception going on. You know we have had a great time today. It is so nice to see all these people again.
Pat: hmm...it sure seems like it. So why does he call you all the "Legion of Doom"?
Joel: Pat, why in the world would any true Christian call other Christians such things? I have no idea, but that there is real sin in the camp. Hey Pat, are you hungry or thirsty?
Pat: ya, I sure am.
Joel: grab whatever you want out of the ice chest there.
Pat: Gee, thanks.

Joel: No worries Pat.
Pat: Gee I tell you, they really spun a dark story over there at FCC about you all. And you say that this is only about a third of the people who could have shown up, ex-members?
Joel: Yes indeed! I can think of so many who were not able to make it. And Pat, get this. Morey says that you can't bring an accusation of sin against an elder unless you have two or three witnesses. How about all these? What if we tripled our attendance here today? Would that be enough witnesses for the church to take us seriously and for Robert A. Morey to repent of his many sins and abuses?