Sadness, abuse and John Langworthy

I am sitting here after a long week last week in Clinton Mississippi where I watched three victims finally get the one thing that they have been longing to hear for over 20 years....."GUILTY" for molesting them when they were young boys.  No, John Langworthy did not receive any prison time as a result of his plea bargain (for many reasons) and yes, he does have to register as a sexual offender and receive a felony conviction.  Was this justice enough?  Some will say yes, some will say  no.  There have been much crazier sentences for these types of offenses going both ways...so it is all a matter of opinion.  I believe that ultimately there will be more to come for Mr.  Langworthy and so I rest in that at this time.

My sadness comes from many parts regarding this entire 30 years of molestation that this man has committed.  First and foremost, his victims.  Whether they have remained in silence and torture for the last 30 years with no where to turn, whether they have been outspoken and no one has listened, or whether they have received justice...they are all victims of this man, sexually, emotionally and spiritually.
My heart breaks for what they had to endure as children and for the people in authority who listened to what he did to them and then re-victimized them once again by failing to protect them legally.

My sadness is for the parents of these victims, who felt helpless, shame and did not know that they had a voice.  Authorities telling them, or even pressuring/threatening them to not report these crimes...and they were unaware of their rights and voice.   My sadness comes from all that they had to endure, and still endure to this day.

My sadness goes out to the current members of Prestonwood Baptist Church.  They have no idea what took place 20+ years ago, and are still not being told the truth.  I am saddened by an executive staff and the choices that they made at the time that John was on staff, and the choices that they are currently choosing to make by remaining silent in light of legal testimony showing otherwise.  They had a LEGAL responsibility to report these crimes, especially when the offender admits these crimes against children to them and they STILL do not report to the police.   I am sad for them that when even ONE victim comes forth in Mississippi after John's stay at Prestonwood, they will have to live with the fact that had they done the right thing...there would be no more victims.  They are culpable for any victims that come out of Mississippi after 1989.  I am sad that their choices most likely have resulted in a large amount of victims.  I am sad they are not being honest with their congregation.    I ultimately pray for healing for this church when this all comes to a head, and it will.   Members of this congregation (at least those not involved in the John Langworthy case in the late 80's) had no idea and will still suffer consequences based on this staff's choices.  I hope that through this, healing will begin in multiple levels at Prestonwood Baptist Church.

I pray for the congregation at Morrison Heights Baptist Church.  I am saddened still by how this was handled, but ultimately it proved to be God's mercy and timing.  I am sad that there is still a large community at this church who are more concerned about the welfare of Mr. Langworthy than his victims.  They have created an environment which is very volatile for victims to speak out.  They will be scared to death, especially since he is still out in the community and they see the outpouring of support for him.  This community has made it almost impossible for any of his victims to feel safe.  The school and the school administration of Clinton High School is also culpable for that too.  Sadness for the victims still in Clinton and Jackson  Mississippi who are not free to receive the help they need.  I hope and pray that Morrison Heights will step up and create a safe environment and focus now on the potential victims of John Langworthy and not slide this under the rug as Prestonwood has done for 25 years now.

I am sad that there are so many people whose lives have been affected by this ONE MAN....from many, many victims and their families, to church staff members and the integrity and character of a church, to political leaders in Mississippi whose careers could be affected because of him, to judges and attorneys, and to many other parties and entities that we do not even know about.  I am sad that his children have to endure what they will now endure and pray constantly for healing for them through this.  Mostly I am sad that a man, who presented himself a follower of Christ, has caused SO MUCH HARM to the church body and to non-believers.  He has yet again, allowed Satan to use his efforts to kill, steal, and destroy lives.  Lives of victims, lives of believers, lives of non believers who will now again look at a church with disdain, contempt and refusal to believe in Christ.  That is what overwhelmingly breaks my heart.  I am righteously angry at John Langworthy for all he has destroyed and for the hundreds of lives he has impacted.  There are some who say that he is the reason that they found Christ.  My first response to that is that God can use ANYONE to lead you to Christ, even a donkey.  John Langworthy did a fantastic job of leading double life...he was VERY good at it and manipulated and controlled a lot of people, and I suspect he still does.  But JESUS CHRIST is the complete opposite of John Langworthy.  He will never harm a child, He will never condemn you or spiritually manipulate you, and He will never shame you!   He is TRUTH,  He is LOVE, and He is COMPASSION and He will always be there for you, with no ulterior motive.   So, despite all of your harm, Mr. Langworthy,  JESUS WILL PREVAIL !  Despite Prestonwood's lack of character and legal responsibility, JESUS WILL PREVAIL, and despite Morrison Heights lack of a safe environment for victims, JESUS WILL PREVAIL!