“We came into the world like brother and brother; And now let’s go hand in hand, not one before another.”
―William Shakespeare
Julie Roys has just published a new article titled, “Leaked Email Reveals Cedarville President Withheld Information From Trustees & Conflicts With Public Statements.”
In Roys’ article, she displays the leaked email authored by Dr. Thomas White, President of Cedarville University. White said in part that “I have talked on the phone with the elders of the Village at the Fort Worth campus and the main campus. Both have expressed support for this plan. I should have a letter of recommendation Friday from the main campus of the Village stating this in writing.”
While I suspected that Thomas White and The Village Church conspired together to obtain employment for Anthony Moore at Cedarville University, it is breathtaking to see their joint culpability, brashness, and terrible judgment admitted to in White’s email. I think it points to a serious problem in the culture of both Cedarville University and The Village Church. I would think major personnel changes needed to be made in both institutions.
In my first article on this scandal, “It Takes a (9 Marx) Village,” I briefly touched on the role that Grace Baptist Church of Cedarville has played in the promotion of Anthony Moore. Below is a photo of Anthony Moore and his wife in the role of “greeters” at Grace Baptist Church. The photo has recently been removed from the website of Grace Baptist.
Below is a short video of Grace Baptist Senior Pastor, Craig Miller introducing Anthony Moore. Moore is the preacher on Sunday morning, March 8, 2020. Pastor Miller apparently has weekly meetings with Moore. The video has now been removed from both the Grace Baptist website as well as the Vimeo page of Grace Baptist. One must wonder about the discernment of Pastor Craig Miller. He was fully aware of the reason Moore was fired from The Village Church but had no qualms letting him preach from the pulpit on Sunday morning. Then, once word got out on Anthony Moore, Pastor Craig Miller suddenly thought it was a terrible idea to allow Grace Baptist member Anthony Moore to preach, or even be seen on the Grace website, so he furiously worked at removing all traces of Moore from the website. Did Pastor Miller suddenly develop sound judgment?
Grace Baptist Church is populated by many students and faculty of Cedarville University. Pictured below are the Elders of Grace Baptist Church. You will notice Dr. Jason Lee is an Elder. He is good friends with Moore. Dr. White told us in his statement of April 24. 2020 that he “talked with Anthony several times with Dr. Jason Lee, Dean of the School of Biblical and Theological Studies at Cedarville, and others about the situation and about the need for ongoing counseling and accountability in order to proceed with restoration.” White also stated that Moore “would maintain a close accountability with Dr. Lee and do whatever was asked of him to provide appropriate and healthy accountability and to demonstrate the spiritual growth expected of those in ministry.”
So, it’s clear Elder Lee knew everything about Moore’s past, yet Lee apparently had no issues with his good buddy preaching at Grace Baptist. Additionally, Moore has taught at multiple events for church teens. Neither Pastor Miller nor Elder Lee thought it necessary to alert parents to Moore’s past.
The secrecy appears to be continuing at Grace Baptist. Here is a “communique” the church leaders have recently sent out to members. Grace members, the secrecy that surrounds this is a good indication that your church is a toxic, unhealthy place. I would resign and find a healthy church to attend. Don’t be restrained by any unbiblical member contract you may have signed. Just leave.
Next, I would like to point out a disturbing connection between Grace Baptist Church and The Village Church. I believe this connection further supports what Thomas White stated in his letter to the Board of Trustees regarding the hiring of Anthony Moore; namely, the two institutions jointly worked to bring Moore to CU.
Below is a screenshot of The Village Church staff of the Flower Mound campus. You will notice that Brian Miller is a Lead Pastor. Brian Miller’s brother is Craig Miller, the Senior Pastor at Grace Church of Cedarville!
Brian Miller is a graduate of Cedarville University! In my research, I found that both of Brian’s children have lived in Cedarville. Sarah spent a year living at Lawlor Hall, a student housing unit on the CU campus. Oddly, Sarah’s time at CU doesn’t show up on her detailed list of education. Scott spent only about 7 months in Cedarville. It appears Scott was living in a home owned by a businessman named Greg Larrabee.
Nathan Miller is the son of Pastor Craig Miller. Nathan graduated from CU, obtained his Master’s degree and then was an intern for one year at The Village Church.
I was really amazed to see all the interconnectedness between these institutions. It helps make sense of how Moore could move so quickly and quietly from The Village Church to Cedarville University.
wpDiscuz