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-------- Original Message --------
| From: |
Bob |
| To: |
Danny Shelton |
| CC: |
Walt Thompson, Elder Ken Denslow |
| Subject: |
Some additional verification needed for Walt Thompson's statements. |
| Date: |
Tue, 05 Dec 2006 06:14:06 -0600 |
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Greetings, Danny.
I trust that you received my email attached at the end, which
was sent six days ago as a follow-up to the suggestion of Dr.
Walt Thompson, your board chairman, that I verify what he had
told me. As I have pondered it all, I see some further questions
that I need clarification on in order to do just that, and so
I will add below to my original five questions what I wrote out
over the weekend.
I'll first say that I really hope to hear from you soon, since
there are many, many people eager and anxious to hear your side
of the story, and see you and Tommy cleared of these allegations
being brought by a pastor and members of the Church of God, by
members of your own community, and, not maliciously and a bit
indirectly, your own board chairman. It is highly critical that
there be as little delay as possible.
Dr. Thompson wrote:
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"The allegations against Tommy were made about 30 years ago."
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Frankly, this was the first time I had heard of any allegations
of 30 years ago. The oldest allegations I have heard about were
the ones that led to the revoking of Tommy's ordination in Illinois
in or around 1985, which I have thought were therefore about
20 years ago rather than about 30. Thus,
Question 6: What exactly were these 30-year-old allegations
that Walt referred to, and when and in what locality or localities
did the alleged events take place?
I have one more chronology-related question. One of your employees,
one of the O'Briens, informed me indirectly, maybe a month ago
or so, that Pastor Dryden's May 2003 letter to Walt was a rehashing
of something that had already been hashed around in the '90's.
At the time I thought that someone must have gotten the dates
mixed up somewhere, and that the '80's was really what was intended
to be or what should have been said, but something Gailon told
me last week makes me wonder if there might be another possibility.
Gailon wrote:
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"Bad news...the 3ABN board in the mid 90's took up the issue
of Tommy Shelton as he was working in production at the time.
The board clearly determined it was best that Tommy not be working
at 3ABN based upon an investigation of the allegations against
Tommy at the Ezra COG. Shortly after this decision, Tommy received
a call to the Dunn Loring COG and moved to Mannassas, finally
into the parsonage."
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I wouldn't even mention this at all since I have no evidence
of myself to this effect, but since one of the O'Briens indicated,
unless something got garbled in transmission or recollection,
which is always possible, that there was some sort of discussion
in the '90's, I'll ask the following:
Question 7: Did the 3ABN board determine in the mid-1990's
that it was not best for Tommy to work at 3ABN; and if so, on
what basis was there a later reversal of their position; and
if not, how can I get copies of the board minutes leading up
to Tommy's departure so that I can post them and put to rest
once and for all this allegation?
You may be tempted to pick out some sort of trivial detail
that isn't quite absolutely correct and concentrate on that to
the exclusion of everything else, so I would simply suggest that,
while you may need to correct some minor errors, you also ensure
that you put to rest the major points of concern as well.
Walt wrote to me the following:
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"Based upon my understanding [obtained from Danny Shelton] that
Dryden had had a long standing feud with Tommy over factors unrelated
to the above accusations, it did not seem indicated to approach
the boys in question directly, having been informed that no case
had ever been filed with the courts or legal disposition made."
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I think it would be extremely helpful to know more about Dryden's
alleged feud with Tommy. This is especially true given the following
facts:
- Walt said that the allegations were about 30 years old.
- Pastor Glenn Dryden says that he did not meet Tommy until
somewhere around the early '80's or about 1985 when Tommy's ordination
was revoked.
- Dryden says that he first became associated with the Dunn
Loring, Virginia, church in 1974, served as an assistant pastor
from 1983 until 1993, at which time he moved to Illinois.
- He claims that he had a good pastor-to-pastor relationship
with Tommy after meeting him.
Question 8: Did Walt mean to say that Dryden was the cause
of the original, 30-year-old allegations; is it true that Tommy
did not meet Dryden until at the earliest the early '80's; and
if both these points are correct, how is it that the allegations
were caused by a feud between two men who had not yet met; or,
if this is not what Walt meant, what exactly did he mean?
Since I have no evidence at this point that would indicate
that either Tommy or Dryden had achieved celebrity status, I
think the following question is in order.
Question 9: Are Dryden's details regarding his states of residence
correct (as well as the date of the revoking of Tommy's ordination),
and if so, what was the nature of their feud that would have
motivated Dryden to promote allegations of child molestation
against a pastor who lived 800 miles away from him?
Walt wrote:
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"The picture that was painted by that leader of the Church was
exactly as portrayed earlier by Danny. Dryden was jealous of
Tommy and was out to get him - a jealousy that has continued
to the present."
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Here is an area that becomes a little more nebulous, for it
gets into the area of he said, she said, something I prefer to
avoid. But it should be mentioned that Dryden denies that this
was the case, and claims that there has been no opportunity for
jealousy to arise. And frankly, since Dryden arrived in Illinois
in 1993 and Tommy left for Virginia in 1995, according to Dryden's
chronology, it would seem that there was precious little opportunity
for jealousy to arise. Thus,
Question 10: What exactly about Tommy was Dryden jealous of,
and during what periods of time and in what ways was this jealousy
manifested?
Dryden also claims that Tommy has used this jealousy argument
as a smokescreen, but with this variation: He claims that Tommy
told the folks in Virginia that allegations had been raised against
him because churches around him were jealous of both him and
the success he was having. Thus,
Question 11: Is it true that Tommy told the folks in Virginia
something even remotely akin to this and if so, what was the
nature of the success that Tommy had that surrounding churches
of his own denomination would make false accusations against
him of such a serious thing as child molestation?
Dryden also claims that Tommy never informed the folks in
Virginia regarding what the nature of the allegations against
him were. Thus,
Question 12: Who specifically in Virginia did Tommy tell about
the exact nature of the allegations against him, and how can
I contact them to obtain a signed statement to this effect?
Walt wrote:
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"Except for pastor Dryden's personal accounts, there are apparently
no other records of the allegations."
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Dryden claims that in early 2003, Roger Clem of West Frankfort
confided in him that he had been victimized by Tommy, and that
Roger subsequently shared openly about this in his church and
about the community.
Question 13: Is it true that a member of your small community
did indeed share openly his claim that your own brother had victimized
him, and if so, a) when did you first become aware of these new
allegations, b) how did Walt arrive at the opinion that there
are no other accounts of these allegations than Pastor Dryden's,
and c) how is it that you never corrected Walt on this major
discrepancy?
Dryden claims that after Roger came forward, that,
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"It was within a week or less that Tommy called me."
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In that conversation Tommy told Dryden, according to him,
something along the lines of, "I have something to read to you.
Maybe you don't want to even talk to me. It's difficult." Dryden,
thinking this was part of Tommy's damage control efforts and
that there might be an attempt at manipulation, told him their
conversation would need to be face to face and in the presence
of another member of the congregation. Dryden had prayer with
him, and he claims the meeting never took place.
Dryden then claims that Tommy called up someone who was a
pillar in the church and read his statement to them, which convinced
them of his guilt.
Dryden says that Tommy has made statements like, "I made some
mistakes," and "I have regrets," and has said such for damage
control purposes, but has never made a meaningful apology to
his knowledge, nothing like Ted Haggard's confession, and that
Tommy has been unwilling to be subject to church discipline.
Thus,
Question 14: Did Tommy in fact call Dryden and the other individual
in the church in early 2003 and make statements to this effect,
and if so, how can we get a copy of what he wrote and read at
that time, and if not, what evidence or testimony to this effect
can be produced?
Question 15: Is it true that Tommy was unwilling to be subject
to church discipline even though Walt claims he did apologize
for some unspecified thing; and if so, for what reasons was he
unwilling; and if not, who can I contact to confirm that he indeed
was subject to church discipline?
I would want nothing more than to see you personally vindicated,
and to see some sort of plausible explanation for not just one
or two or three of the perceived inconsistencies, but for every
last one of them. This issue of the allegations against Tommy
is only one of many swirling around you and/or 3ABN, and I would
take great delight in seeing each one of those issues decided
in favor of you.
But I think we clearly need to get the air cleared of this
one as soon as possible. It is absolutely crucial that we demonstrate
that your word is utterly dependable, or else the court of public
opinion as well as that of ASI will be less inclined to accept
solely your testimony and the testimony of the 3ABN board about
Linda's alleged guilt of the sin of adultery.
And, as a loyal Seventh-day Adventist church member, a member
in the middle of nowhere who is but a lone voice without any
actual say-so, I must say that I am a bit concerned because of
the potential liability issues that could arise if there ever
was a problem in the future. I certainly hope that the apparent
way this was all handled would never be used in a court of law
as a justification for compromising the financial security of
the Illinois Conference, which I understand, from websites affiliated
with the church or its leadership, voted to move part of their
Academy operations to Thompsonville.
Perhaps this is what concerns me most of all, that somehow
in all of this God's cause and my church could be brought into
reproach, and we as a people could be blamed for the very type
of things that we so ardently oppose, through no fault of our
own or because of innocent mistakes on the part of some, all
because of the not-so-innocent mistakes on the part of others.
Danny, in all sincerity, I pray that God grant you clear discernment
of what is right and what is wrong, and what He wants you to
do at this hour. May you stand for the right though the heaven's
fall, whether it be for the first time or the millionth time.
And may 3ABN and its ministry be truly blessed by the Spirit
of God in the days ahead in proportion to its fulfillment of
the conditions laid out by the Lord for the reception of the
latter rain
Bob
P.S. I really need ASAP the name and contact info from the
Church of God leader Walt referred to but did not name. I don't
know who else to contact to hear another side of the story, and
talking to him or her may help quite a bit.
Also, Pastor Dryden has expressed personal concern for Tommy,
indicating that he wishes that we would all pray for his health
during the stress of all this, and that he do the right and appropriate
thing.
God bless.
Bob
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