Gas. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. With just enough truth, and just enough fruit, to make us focus on the good, and distract us from the growing darkness, wrote Schultz, a pastor at Valleybrook for seven years who expressed regret he did not act on his misgivings sooner. That claim to moral authority, combined with peoples natural herd mentality, apparently was enough to prevent anyone from effectively challenging Lebsacks methods until another former pastors revelatory resignation letter in February finally meant the jig was up. #WELOVe - We are a Worshipping, Equipping, Loving, Outreach and Visionary. Recognize the signs, myths, and factors that continue to perpetuate human trafficking. Want more from the Friendly Atheist? Eau Claire, WI 54701 Lebsack didnt respond to questions from a reporter, but hes believed to be in Texas right now. 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. After that, you can add on 1 or more as needed. 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. 2 recommendations for Valleybrook Church from neighbors in Eau Claire, WI. A Memorial Service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011, at Valleybrook Church, Eau Claire with Pastor Grant Schultz, Pastor Mary Clark, and two members of Steve's family officiating.. From the moment we could sit still in our mothers arms, we have loved stories. Valleybrook Church is a tax-exempt organization filed with Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Peers. Valleybrook Church is child organization, under the parent exemption from. It employs 1-5 people and has $0M-$1M of revenue. When trust is violated, it takes a really long time for trust to be built back up.. LeaderTelegram 374 subscribers Jody and Bob Hagedorn watched as their son Nate, a married 32-year-old with 4 children, became involved at Valleybrook Church in Eau Claire and rose to a. Its enough to make people think, Maybe Im wrong. There is a substantial core of people who have remained who are committed to rebuilding. I would like to briefly give my take on this report before I share the linkand I really mean briefly: They nailed it. Now hes claiming to have a direct channel to Jesus, so hes already set you up to be in real spiritual trouble if you question anything, Burns said. . No matter what, I think theres a certain amount of respect given to a pastor just for being a pastor, he said. VALLEYBROOK CHURCH is located at 412 SOUTH BARSTOW STREET in the city of Eau Claire. Hotels. 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. The Employer Identification Number (EIN) is #391805767. 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. We had previously served Triumph Lutheran Brethren Church in Moorhead, MN for 25 years. Valleybrook Offices411 S Barstow StEau Claire, WI 54701. 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. 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. Maybe my belief is weak. Valleybrook Church . *Entrance located on Rt. Humans can be so susceptible to peer pressure and group think, Burns said. 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. If youre on a laptop or desktop, the menu is likely floating around on the left side of the page, indicated also by three horizontal bars. The pastor in charge has fled the state. Find top employees, contact details and business statistics at RocketReach. Even Mitchell, whose blog was highly critical of what he called the truly terrible, abusive, manipulative, unethical and illegal acts that occurred under Lebsack and Clark, said he no longer has any qualms about Valleybrook under its new leadership, although he doesnt attend services there. 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. condemned the leadership for allowing these abusive practices to continue. Plenty of Halloween fun for both wizards and muggles alike. If you havent read the About This Site page, please do so before reading any article here. A Wisconsin church is under fire for behaving like a GASP! Please consider distributing fliers to your bible study or small group. See the real faces. At the same time, Diederich said, Lebsack took steps to disconnect Valleybrook from Converge to limit denominational oversight, leaving the truth-tellers with no one to appeal to. Those of us who have been out of the church for awhile have been seeing and saying these things for years, and now its public information. Live Stream Here! This Converge Worldwide Baptist General Conference church serves Eau Claire County WI - Pastor Doug Lebsack. Phone Number: (715) 834-9993. The offices are located across the street from the Hollywood Theater. We also stream live from our Facebook Page and have a livestream link on our Valleybrook APP. Before you know it there is an unintentional conspiracy of silence, he said. The letter prompted Valleybrook to request an investigation by Converge Great Lakes, a denomination with evangelical Baptist roots that helped start Valleybrook 21 years ago in the former Hollywood Cinema in downtown Eau Claire. Stream Live - Valleybrook Church Connect Ministries Messages Give Stream Services - Sundays at 10am Give Online Connection Card Join us at home or on the road by streaming from your phone, tablet, or computer. Reader's Choice Awards - Voting has ended. 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. Four Valleybrook Church pastors left after widespread . Some of the pastors, including head of the church Rev. (With the bonus of a home run ball). Founding pastor Valleybrook Church Oct 1993 - Jan 200511 years 4 months Eau Claire, Wisconsin Area Youth Pastor Salem Baptist Church Jun 1986 - Oct 19937 years 5 months Eau Claire,. The company is headquart ered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 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. Shannon uses her divine knowledge of Scripture to put the story back together again. Winners to be announced at later date. You can find a spot to park on the street (2-hour limit). Please support us by making a contribution. Other Chippewa Valley churches have been supportive through this difficult time, he said, with some even offering to partner in joint ventures. Much of our heritage is learned through the passing down of stories. Though they were sad to leave after thinking theyd found their church home, Larson said, they observed several things that sent up red flags, including constant drama and crying in sermons. Former Valleybrook staff member Matthew Mitchell said he believes tolerance of the abusive practices can be traced to how Lebsack coached parishioners and employees to believe criticism and questioning were bad. Just look for the old movie theater marquee, and you will find us. Choose wisely! Pastor Kendall Anderson of Valleybrook Church, Eau Claire, officiated with music provided by organist, Barbara Sandford and soloist, Peter Lea. Valleybrook is trying to rebuild itself in a healthy way, and they are doing a fine job of that. 715.834.9993 We won't share it with anyone else. 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. Please refer your friends and family to this site if you find it useful or informative. Weve worked hard to put in place a high level of internal controls, said interim lead pastor Tim Haugen, adding that the church has no plans to pursue legal action related to the financial review. 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. Despite the widespread concerns, several sources indicated that many families just left Valleybrook when they felt things were getting strange later in Lebsacks roughly 10 years at the church. employees. God completely changed her life and it is her greatest desire to see people encounter Jesus in a real way. The developments, which led to the resignations of Valleybrooks entire pastoral team as well as three of its overseers, prompted many church members to leave and left transitional leaders with the daunting challenge of regaining the trust of remaining members and the community. Cause IQ is a website that helps companies grow, maintain, and serve their nonprofit clients, and helps nonprofits find additional foundation funding. 160 Granville Road*. The Hollywood sign above the marquee will also be relit as part of the project to replace more than 1,100 bulbs at the outside entrance to Valleybrook Church in the 400 block of South Barstow Street in downtown Eau Claire. Shes a regular at some of the best comedy clubs in the country and her versatile show has delighted crowds at fund raisers, corporate parties, and churches. A lack of oversight and former lead pastor Doug Lebsack's claims of receiving direct messages from God are among the reasons cited for a recent scandal at Valleybrook Church in downtown Eau Claire that prompted the entire pastoral team to resign amid allegations of spiritual abuse. There is not now, and will never be, a fee to access this site. Between 2008 and 2014, $6,488 in church money was used to pay parking tickets. Valleybrook Church is part of the Organizations industry, and located in Wisconsin, United States. Ronald L. "Ronnie" Horstman, 43, of 1601 Bergman Rd., Chippewa Falls, died Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls, after a lingering . 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." . The goal of those posts was to tell my part of the story, but also to expose some corruption within the leadership. Connect with neighborhood businesses on Nextdoor. The Lighthouse Youth Center offers children a safe, supervised and nurturing environment to interact with other children, parents and adults. Church Online Platform Facebook Live YouTube Live View Past Services 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. Many people have several pieces of the puzzle, yet they have no idea how it all fits together in the greatest love story ever told. While it has been a challenging year for Valleybrook Church, it has also been incredible to see Gods hand as we navigate forward, the church said in a statement sent Friday to the Leader-Telegram. 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. Former Valleybrook employee Matthew Mitchell, who attended the meeting and reported on it in his Tales from the Cult blog, said parishioners were informed that the church paid Verizon Wireless nearly $30,000, including upgrade fees and data charges, from January 2014 to March 2015 for 16 lines of cellphone service for former church leaders and their families. Share with friends Discover More Events in Eau Claire Sat Jan 28 2023 at 11:00 am Divine Guidance with Kim It was during that time in Seattle that Jaime signed with Centricity Records and went on to record 3 albums with them. This is what Shannon does! 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.. Order 10 or more to qualify as a group! 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. Add to your calendar iCal Google But that was easier said than done at a place where several former members stressed that Lebsack cultivated a climate that discouraged dissent. Mitchell also reported that current leaders indicated that several bags of cash (some labeled Kids Offering) were found in former assistant pastor Mary Clarks office, six staff members rang up $6,000 in charges on their Valleybrook credit cards for dining out, and Lebsack, believed to now be leading a church in Grapevine, Texas, received an annual salary of $113,000. He indicated certain characteristics often are present in such church leaders. To view our latest e-Edition click the image on the left. Something just didnt feel right to us in our gut, so we left, Larson said, acknowledging that perhaps they too could have said something about their suspicions. They were duped as much as everybody else.. There is nothing more perverse and distorted than a toxic pastor, he wrote. Reader's Choice Awards - Voting has ended. There was not much in them. Call480-812-1100to have a packet sent to you. Valleybrook is located in the heart of downtown Eau Claire. Likewise, the pastors inner circle typically is muted, and those on the outer circle notice questionable behavior but dont have enough evidence or proximity to the pastor to say anything. Lindquist can be reached at 715-833-9209, 800-236-7077 or eric.lindquist@ecpc.com. With the truth-telling voices gone, the abuse was able to increase and take deeper root, Diederich said. Born again: Valleybrook Church takes steps to right wrongs found in pastoral abuse scandal. Just look for the old movie theater marquee, and you will find us. Boston St Patricks Day Pub Crawl & Block Party! If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. Kind of. The nine-page letter by Grant Schultz identified multiple examples of Lebsacks alleged manipulative practices, including frequent attempts to push parishioners and staff to cut off ties with their biological families and instead form knitted-together relationships with other Valleybrook members of his choosing. I went and checked, said Solberg, who immediately negotiated an 87 percent reduction in the bill, down to $136 a month, after joining the transitional team. Please link to this site on your own sites if you are willing, please share links to stories and media on Facebook. The majority of the congregation has no idea whats going on because they see the pastor only on Sundays. Tales from the Cult is a website dedicated to preserving important artifacts from a church in Eau Claire where horrific spiritual abuse took place over several years. Go. We are solidly into the post-Christian world, and so the pressure for pastors to bind their congregations to themselves in steadily increasing. You have permission to edit this article. There has been lots of healing and many encouraging developments.. The business address is 412 S Barstow St, Eau Claire, WI 54701-3605. Valleybrook Church412 S Barstow StEau Claire, WI 54701. Attached here is the report that Converge1 wrote about Valleybrook Church, following two days of intensive interviews with anyone who had a story to share relevant to Valleybrook Church. Stay tuned for details, Northwood grad credits active shooter training preparing him for Michigan ordeal. 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. You havent read the About this site page, please share links to stories and media Facebook... 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