John Ortberg, senior pastor at California's Menlo Church, is under fire for allowing his son, John Ortberg III, to work with minors, despite knowing he is attracted to children. John Ortberg said in an email that no such restriction exists. Berkovits has no specific knowledge about the situation at Menlo Church. She said Lavery’s concerns have been dismissed in part because of his transition or have been seen as the biased comments of an estranged child angry at his parents. He said he also urged anyone who had knowledge of wrongdoing to report it to authorities. had returned from “personal leave” after allowing a church volunteer (now known to be his son, Johnny) to serve in children’s ministry for months, even though Ortberg knew the man was sexually attracted to children. That decision left both congregation members and other organizations where the younger Ortberg had volunteered in the dark, said Jimmy Hinton, a pastor and child abuse prevention advocate. We can see that clearly because we’re not friends with them. Jessica is a writer for ChurchLeaders.com. Nor did he act to prevent John 'Johnny' Ortberg III—his youngest son—from working with children. Especially the volunteer’s name: John “Johnny” Ortberg III, the pastor’s youngest son. “In the most charitable reading possible, my parents have acted with unconscionable disregard for their responsibilities as leaders, ministers, and parents.”. The controversy that ensued tarnished the reputation of the father, who’d built a career as a friendly, nonconfrontational evangelical pastor who had mostly avoided culture war battles while promoting seeker-friendly evangelism and conservative values of family and sexuality. In 2014, Menlo left the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to join a breakaway denomination called ECO, A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. However, concerned over what Lavery believes was an inadequate investigation, Lavery decided to reveal the volunteer’s identity: “I make this public in the absence of institutional accountability, so that members of the community can create a democratic, transparent process for investigating this volunteer’s history of unsupervised visits to, trips with, and work involving children.”. For example, Johnny Ortberg served for years as a coach with the Gunn Control, an Ultimate Frisbee team made up of students from Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California. After hearing this admission, Ortberg asked if the volunteer had ever acted on that attraction. “It is important to note that sexual attraction to children does not mean that a person will act on that attraction, and one who admits to the attraction and is seeking qualified treatment from an expert, has begun the necessary work. Instead, she said, he needs time for self-reflection and to make amends for his decisions. Ortberg's decision after his older son, Daniel Lavery, wrote to them expressing concerns. We’re just looking at the facts that are in front of us.”. “In situations like this,” Hinton said, “what the leadership needs to realize is that they have the benefit of being in the know and the power to keep everybody else in the dark. Concerned about the safety of children in the church and his brother’s well-being, the elder Ortberg’s other son, Daniel Lavery, revealed his father’s actions in an email to Menlo Church leaders in November 2019 and made … “He stopped returning my texts. The pastor returned from leave on January 24 and went back to work at the church under the guidance of church staff. Vaxed and Unmasked: Will the Honor System Work in Churches. However, Pastor Ortberg … Beakerj: I feel sorry for John Ortberg III, ... Because of his professional training, it’s reasonable to expect that Ortberg should know that Johnny needs professional help (especially with any concerns regarding potential suicidality) and that steps should be taken to protect children. When learning of his son’s struggle, Ortberg asked if Johnny had acted on his impulses and was satisfied when Johnny said he had not. Gunn Control coach John Ortberg III opted for a stifling "zone" defense, forcing High Coup to make lots of lateral "swing" passes and catches in … Upon discovering that his father had taken no action to protect the congregation’s children, Lavery went to the church’s leadership. Lavery feared he had become complicit in giving approval to someone who could be a danger to children. At the time, she was a self-described “happy atheist.” She said when Lavery first introduced her to his parents, he told her, “you’re going to like them more than you like me.” John and Nancy Ortberg are known for having a gift of drawing people in and engaging them in discussions about Christianity. Ortberg’s decision after his older son, Daniel Lavery, wrote to them expressing concerns. Ortberg was placed on leave last fall after church leaders learned he had withheld information about his son, John “Johnny” Ortberg III, from them, a move they described as “poor judgment and a betrayal of trust.” The church cited theological differences in the break, which came after years of dispute in the PC(U.S.A.) over sexuality, and paid close to $9 million in order to keep its property. John Ortberg Under Fire Again, This Time for Hiding Son’s Identity. He told Lavery that he had shared this secret with their parents and their sister the year before. He said his brother has also insisted that he has never harmed anyone. Menlo told church members that Ortberg had shown “poor judgment,” but that the investigation had not found any “misconduct” or evidence that any children were harmed. The senior Ortberg did not tell church leaders or staff about what he had learned from his son. He did not notify the church’s elder board. She described the whole situation as profoundly sad. John Ortberg preaches at Menlo Church in May 2020. Before coming in 2004 to Menlo Church, a San Francisco-area congregation of about 5,000, John Ortberg and his wife, Nancy, had been teaching pastors at Willow Creek Community Church, one of the nation’s largest churches, in the suburbs of Chicago. I go to church. © 2019 churchleaders.com, All rights reserved. “He was in an admittedly horrible, untenable position and he made the wrong choice.”. But nothing in a church or in a family stays hidden forever. The daughter explained their rationale: “[They believed in the] “Virtuous Pedophile” movement, whose values both he and my father defended to me—that close, unmonitored contact with children is therapeutic for pedophiles.” Here, we can learn how queers present themselves. Especially the volunteer’s name: John “Johnny” Ortberg III, the pastor’s youngest son. A spokesman for the Menlo Church elders said John Ortberg has not used that term in their conversations with them. Instead, Lavery told RNS, his father insisted on keeping the matter secret and urged Lavery to show compassion to his brother. According to church officials, Ortberg learned in July 2018 that his youngest son, Johnny Ortberg, was attracted to children. Once the investigation closed, the results found that there was no indication of wrongdoing,” the church’s elders told RNS in a statement. Concerned about the safety of children in the church and his brother’s well-being, the elder Ortberg’s other son, Daniel Lavery, revealed his father's actions in an email to Menlo Church leaders in November 2019 and made … The pastor believed him and kept his son’s confession a secret for 16 months, while the younger Ortberg continued to volunteer with children at Menlo Church and at local … Ortberg allowed the volunteer to continue working with children for months after learning that information, and it has now come to light that the volunteer is his own son, John (“Johnny”) Ortberg, III. Lavery had high hopes when he planned to meet with his brother, who is in his early 30s and a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the fall of 2019. In an email to RNS, the father expressed both his confidence in the church’s investigation and his regret for his actions. I believe his unique relationship to my father, John Ortberg Jr., is the sole reason why John Jr. went out of his way to protect his secret and facilitate his continued contact with children. (RNS) that after speaking with Ortberg, “I became convinced that my parents do not have my brother’s best interests at heart.” Lavery then sent the email to the church and broke with the Ortberg family. First Name First Name. That the volunteer was the pastor’s younger son, John “Johnny” Ortberg III, was kept secret until a whistleblower leaked the news late last month. The volunteer was his adult son John Ortberg III (Johnny), who has for many years worked with young people at the church, on mission trips, and as an athletic coach. In response, the church placed John Ortberg on leave in November — although it kept that information from the congregations for more than a month. Email: info@wallwatchers.org Toll free: (866) 364-9980. Church leaders do not expect the volunteer to have any future role at the church, according to a spokesperson for the elders. Once the board was notified, they took immediate steps, removing Ortberg from his position for months, hiring an independent investigator, and having Ortberg go through a process of restoration abd apologise publicly for his poor judgement, as … with a statement to the congregation acknowledging that people “may be processing this information in a new way and may have questions or concerns.” The statement said that pastors, elders, or counselors were available to church members and assured members that the church staff are required to undergo background checks and training. As soon as we sent it, we called a friend who called the high school and did report Johnny’s disclosures. Danny is a co-founder of The Toast with Nicole Cliffe and currently runs Dear Prudence at Slate. He returned to preaching in March. Family members told Lavery that Johnny was having a hard time understanding his gender transition and that Lavery should “be gentle” with him. Ortberg even suggested that Daniel and Grace had no right to speak into the situation because they are both transgender. A spokesman for the church’s elder board also told RNS that the investigator decided not to interview the volunteer, deeming it unnecessary. In November 2019, he sent a note to team members saying he had stepped down because of a … — Daniel M. Lavery (@daniel_m_lavery) June 28, 2020. Keeping his brother’s name secret also made it harder to find out if his brother had ever acted on his attraction, Lavery said. Said the church, “We love and care deeply for our students.”. My politics have not changed; the fervency with which I try to live them out has.”. Wall Watchers. In general, she said, it would be “the far more prudent choice” for someone who is attracted to children to stick to those other opportunities. Lavery hopes that is the case. Rev. — Daniel M. Lavery (@daniel_m_lavery) June 28, 2020, The church responded with a statement to the congregation acknowledging that people “may be processing this information in a new way and may have questions or concerns.” The statement said that pastors, elders, or counselors were available to church members and assured members that the church staff are required to undergo background checks and training. The younger Ortberg denies acting inappropriately towards children and to date, no one has come forward with allegations claiming otherwise. And I didn’t,” Lavery said. Lavery told Religion News Service (RNS) that after speaking with Ortberg, “I became convinced that my parents do not have my brother’s best interests at heart.” Lavery then sent the email to the church and broke with the Ortberg family. He believes the church’s elders and his father have worked primarily to protect their reputations, rather than finding the truth. Ortberg had previously worked with Tchividjian to investigate the allegations of misconduct against Willow Creek founder, .
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