Correction: In an earlier version of this story, we incorrectly reported a detail of the child sexual abuse at Homestead Heritage. It had to be, because they were terrified of being berated by the elders. Four members, I discovered, had been convicted of sexually assaulting minors, but I uncovered further allegations of sexual abuse of children that had never been reported to authorities. I remember sitting on my bed and realizing I was going to have to change what I thought was reality and in my head it felt impossible. For years, some former members of Homestead Heritage say they felt power- less to counter the stream of glowing news media reports about the local religious community. Members would rather talk with people about what they believe than tell them to read a book, they say. This is the public face of Homestead Heritage, a 500-acre religious community of about 1,000 people seven miles northwest of Waco. They would fare so much better if they broke free like I did. Every former member can speak of experiences that fit into these definitions perfectly. Because there was no context for the truth that he had.. Howard Wheeler, a member who acts as the groups unofficial spokesman, recalls being awakened at 5:32 a.m. by the ring of the telephone. An attorney I spoke to said one defense to a charge of assault can be force necessary to discipline a child. To make matters more complicated, when a religious community is involved, the state is reluctant to interfere. But it is the cases of child sex abuse that are most disturbing. This is the authority of fatherhood, of love, of brother and sisterhood.. The Glendell decision covered 750 hectares as well as the homestead. Three members have been convicted of sexually. It is a very long process in which they get extremely serious and make you say a whole bunch of vows and then they dunk you in a huge tank. Why? Wheeler says. The Shrinking actor talks mental health, being queer, and why the Lone Star State is the perfect home for his new play Silver Foxes. A total of 4.03 inches was logged, which is 0.31 inches or 8.3% above normal for the first month of the year for Mount Airy, which averages 3.72 inches. They are trying to buy out the town, they've terrorized ppl who've left the group, and now they're trying to build a large housing area in town. The group practices nonviolence. Trying to think of a question to ask, I guess is there anything you miss from that time in your life? As another former member told me, Who will believe a child over somebody else in the fellowship? Every November, Homestead Heritage members show off their crafting, woodworking and agriculture skills at the well-attended Homestead Fair. Still, Alexander said, his family was eventually dis-fellowshipped. According to internal documents published by the Observer, church law states that religious matters within the community are not the proper province, of the corporate State and its investigative, police and judicial services. The obinvestigation also discovered families broken apart, and allegations of physical abuse and mind control. We raise a few Barred Rocks and Australorps because they are a nice meat-chicken that also happens to lay large brown eggs that are favorites at our house. For example, one person proficient in leather work has been experimenting with making footwear. If a member were to do something as former member Bob Beechner claims he was required to do leave a pregnant, bed-ridden wife to work on church literature that person would be behaving irresponsibly. The same thinking, not secrecy, guides distribution of literature, members say. Basically you are agreeing to serve them as representatives of God and that you are going to hell if you break away from them. Such treatment might sound harsh, Homestead Heritage members acknowledge. Some have nuggets of truth to them, but thats as far as it goes. For many of us who know history and see how it works, its pretty concerning.. The group noted that the attorney Elder hired became so impressed with the churchs handling of the matter he started bringing his family to Homestead Heritage events and continues to do so. Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story: This article was originally published by the, Articles cannot be rewritten, edited or changed beyond alignments with house style books. Did others leave the cult at the same time? 388 Halbert Lane, Waco, TX 76705 (254) 754-9604. I remember as a kid listening through the door while mom was on the phone to leaders wives. If you ever discussed it with other members or your family, how did they handle your questions? This story has been corrected (see below). The format is akin to that of Sunday services at most churches, plus the meetings are more intimate. What started out at a lone complaint from a former member (who later decided it was too risky to continue providing me with information) evolved into a laborious quest to track down and authenticate allegations of abuse. he says. Press J to jump to the feed. Their literature was mostly books about how we should behave and how we should explain ourselves to outsiders. There has to be authority, but its not authoritarian, Wheeler says. Nor do we hold any personal animus towards the media personnel involved. If the group really had something to hide, Wheeler says, why would it host so many public events? I was planning on leaving the instant I turned 18. Partners must notify. Somehow we ended up in a scuffle and he took my thumb and started bending it into my arm so I kicked him in the knee and punched him. That belief isnt arrogance, longtime member Joel Stein says. The two controlling factors in life are fear and love, and I think churches have so much potential to be a positive thing, but in the end they end up controlling people by fear.. And in July 2011, 31-year-old Richard Santamaria, another member of the community, was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a minor. This was also refused. All critics have to do is twist such groups views of authority into authoritarianism and many people are willing to condemn them, Wheeler says. I suggested to him that he should turn himself in and he said he would.. The truth, however, is that Homestead Heritage members live a simple, self-sufficient lifestyle as much as possible, the group says. He dragged me by the ear, threw me down on the floor, took a wooden spoon and beat me until I was black and blue, he said. The religious group even wrote a book entitled What We Believe in response to Olsons request for information. At Homestead Heritage theres an order to the authority: Blair Adams is at the top. Homestead Heritage, sexual abuse, lewdness. An ex-member told me, To join, first of all you have to say youve heard from God that this is a place youre supposed to be. All of the Texas Observers articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. Among the signatories is Carolyn DeLong, Bill DeLongs wife, who according to court records, also knew about her husbands pedophilia a year before he went to police, allowing the abuse to continue. As for John, he said his effort to maintain a relationship with his parents, who are still members of Homestead Heritage, has been emotionally taxing. They reject the idea of once saved, always saved.. Homestead has been around since the 80s and have moved and changed names many times. In another effort to discredit Arnn, the group gave e-mails to the Tribune-Herald which they say show Arnn was not interested in getting Homestead Heritages side of the story before he began attacking the group. I love you, yet you pushed me away. It was published in the February 2005 edition of Christianity Today, a magazine distributed throughout North America. I sat down with Sandy (not her real name), for whom every day is a struggle coming to terms with what happened to her at Homestead Heritage. Leaving you said it was difficult to leave, did many people come and go or was it more of a closed society? People who dont continue walking in a relationship with God can jeopardize their salvation, they say. Christina was a member back then, and she recalls Adams quoting scripture as he went into some detail about what fathers should use to beat their children with; what kind of switches to utilize and what they could be made of. So I didn't personally experience that but it did happen and it is surprising to me how many other people I have talked to that have left have told me it happened to them. Every accusation so far has been false, he says. The family sells its products onsite Wednesday and Friday, at Sunsport. The reason for that is because some of the wording in the constitution might sound apocalyptic to those unfamiliar with Homestead Heritage history, Wheeler says. The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead.In all, more than 160 million acres (650 thousand km 2; 250 thousand sq mi) of public land, or nearly 10 percent of the total area of the United States, was given away free to 1.6 million homesteaders; most of the . Once that frame was built around the group, Arnn could introduce the idea of spiritual abuse. Gary Green and Arthur Brown Jr. are set to be killed next week by the State of Texas. Then you were put on "Friday night status" for a few months or years until they felt like you were buying into everything again. All Homestead Heritage asks of such people is that if they join a church with greater light, then tell Homestead Heritage leadership where it is, leaders say. It was dealt with swiftly.. It also leads into the supposed teaching that people who leave the group are damned, they say. Homestead Heritage claims most criticisms amount to secular attacks on religious freedom, but all of the ex-members the Observer spoke to still consider themselves religious. Some Anabaptists, for example, practice familial shunning. In fact it took me a while of being out of there before I realized how cult like they are. Making the point that Watchman Fellowship claims to be a truth-discerning ministry, Homestead Heritage officials furnished documents which show that several articles on Watchman Fellowships site about Branch Davidians were written by a man named James Trimm. Sex is treated as an extremely taboo subject and it leads to a lot of weird behavior. She's really thinking "this worldly woman is wearing pants instead of a dress, she is going to hell.". The extent to which that is true varies from family to family, but most regularly do things such as make their own soap. Members also point to a statement Arnn made later in that first Internet post about Homestead Heritages Sunday meetings being open only to certain people. There is not a lording over their lives, Wheeler says. Before they died, its members couldnt keep suppressing these normal human feelings and emotions so some of the men had themselves castrated. Theyre well known in this city of 125,000 along the Brazos River as harmless religious folk devoted to an earlier, simpler way of life. John, who also requested that his real name not be used, is one of eight children and for the past decade since he left Homestead Heritage, he has slowly learned to adapt to life outside. DeLong then told the officer that sometime around March 2003, he sexually assaulted a 6-year-old girl, according to his statement. Tours, Activities, Learning Opportunities, Craft Shops, Furniture and Gifts, Dining and much more. I'm a former member of Homestead Heritage, a cult located in Waco, TX. The group does teach that the spirit of Jesus is manifested within the body of Christ. Did you encounter anything like that or have someone tell you about that sort of thing? But the group says they indict their critics as a whole because his attitude and falsehoods have infected other ex-members. Within a short period of time, the country went from awarding military honors to Jewish soldiers and lauding Jewish scholars to denigrating and destroying them, he says. That's why I wish they knew that there are other options that are so much better. The truth is that group needs are never placed over family needs. Since then, the board has exploded with posts, thrusting the Waco group into an unwanted glare shed mostly by its critics. An attempt to make Homestead Heritage appear clandestine and shadowy is apparent in Arnns first post on FactNet.org, members of the group say. We just dont believe obedience to God is negated by some kind of cheap grace.. They strictly enforce dress codes (I remember an elder yelling at me for wearing a T-shirt). The group said those crises and shortcomings help explain the troubled states of mind that spurred some of the accusations. The more hes learned, the more hes been impressed, he says. His parents were teenagers when they joined the group, and his dad was a one-time leader. However, Trimm came by his knowledge of Branch Davidian theology through legitimate study, Arnn said, and that knowledge is still sound. And I think thats why some people turned to child abuse. Our family made it out although it was very difficult to leave. Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story: This article was originally published by the, Articles cannot be rewritten, edited or changed beyond alignments with house style books. Homestead Heritage is an agrarian- and craft-based intentional Christian community. They used to get pissed at me when I would climb the fence to fish this pond. Experts say this is a classic tactic employed by cults to maintain control; that members (and elders) are reprimanded in front of the rest of the congregation one day, and love-bombed the next. Report abuse. She told an elder about the abuse she suffered, who in turn informed other elders in the church. Lt. Clay Perry of the McLennan County Sheriffs office told the Observer that officers decided not to pursue a prosecution against Klingensmith. I am a male and all the people who said it happened to them are female, so maybe that has something to do with it. 5.0 out of 5 stars Right price and product. He kept silent. Im going to hurt other people emotionally if I dont, she said. The Bible says youre allowed to discipline children, but everything was magnified with Blair, she said. But he backed off., Again, an elder was called, but his solution was that Alexander simply needed to be baptized. Anyone who leaves the group, Beechner claimed, is shunned and denounced as being the spirit of the antichrist. However, the group believes it can prove its case in a few instances. 3-car garages available Near shopping, schools, downtown Pricing From the low $300s Builder Lennar Homes New Homes for Sale The thinking is that if critics can be shown to be lying about one thing even small matters it stands to reason theyre lying about other allegations. Skip to main content. My mother and I would go out there sometimes when driving through from Fort Worth between 2007-2010; it never occurred to us that it was a cult. They lie and steak and have decieved many. Ex-members are making the sensational claim because one characteristic of a cult is having a charismatic leader or group of leaders, members say. Attorney Jeff Blackburn, a crusader for the innocent, fought injustices across Texas in his improbable, utterly original, and often profane life. In Internet posts, for example, the group and its leadership have been compared to Nazis, Jim Jones and Warren Jeffs. He suspects the caller was a member of a New Zealand anti-cult group that he believes has had contact with an ex-member of Homestead Heritage. Another false allegation is that Homestead Heritage is not conducive to a healthy family, members say. This is a Christian community of farmers and crafters who offer their beautiful, handmade furniture, soaps, home decor, and products from the foods they grow on the farm such as hand-milled flours, mixes, jams, and . Were only certain people allowed to do so? He intends to plead guilty, according to the McLennan County DAs office. Homestead Heritage, on the other hand, lets members decide how much, if any, contact to have with family members who leave. Because of that reaction, Morgan came to Waco to talk to people on both sides. If members see such a person in public, they might say hello. It began with Arnn individually contacting people who left the group. In interviews with the Tribune-Herald, Homestead Heritage members repeatedly described the allegations of their critics and ex-members as incendiary, inflammatory or insidious. Members continually compared the claims to allegations made against persecuted groups, including Anabaptists, blacks and victims of the Salem witch trials. Years later, he asked her about it, but she denied it had ever happened. (Everyone always seemed friendly and relatively normal when I visited, so just wondering.). Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed. and pray about it. He even sat in on an April 2005 workshop for exes held by Watchman Fellowship, a self-described Christian research ministry devoted to exposing cults and giving voice to those who had escaped their all-controlling influence. I know of someone who felt like he was doing something wrong because he had sexual feelings toward his wife. They call themselves a "nondenominational religious organization" although they are somewhat similar to united Pentecostals in how they dress, etc. Church elders failed to promptly inform law enforcement of sexual abuse of children, as required by state law. Such people are generally shunned, at least partially, because theyre breaking a commitment to God to live out their Christian walk in the context of that specific body, members say. Many are trying to rid themselves of the discomfort of sin that forced them to leave the group, Wheeler says. But my parents have set up a pretty awesome support network for people who leave and a few families left after us and are great friends now. Theyve literally called us just about every name in the book, Wheeler says. A Dallas news channel and some other statewide and local publications did a few pieces. Are there any things you were taught in the cult that are hard for you to remember are false? He did everything he could shy of getting involved., In his statement to police(warning: graphic material), DeLong said he also told his wife, Carolyn, about his crimes a year before he gave himself up and that the couple just prayed and cried over what happened for a long time. The officer asked him if his wife ever told him to turn himself in and he said they just prayed and were hoping something would change.. Improve this listing Similar Experiences If he says take out the trash, you dont question it; if he says the sky is green, the sky is green; if he says he has to put his hand there, you have to let him. That approach also ensures people know exactly what awaits them if they join Homestead Heritage, members say. They say it's for "nurses, doctors and teachers" but they don't use any teachers. But my dad stayed strong and got out. Our safety was never threatened but when when we left I moved out of state to go to college and get away from them. Another accusation that troubles the group is that members dont lead the lifestyle they claim to. The second link mentions there are allegations of child abuse. Was there any special criteria involved with working at the cafe or the various buildings during public hours? And if a child is brave enough to tell, its going to take an awful lot of guts for anyone inside to do anything about it., One ex-member I spoke to, John (not his real name), said members of Homestead Heritage are repressed emotionally, spiritually, psychologically and sexually. So happy you did this, so thanks for taking the time to share and answer questions! I still am to an extent but I love interacting with people now. If you are invited from there, you can come to particular Friday night meetings. And when you dont find joy in everyday life, you go looking for pleasure elsewhere, anywhere you can find it. Church policy, according to internal documents, states that religious matters within the community are not the proper province, of the corporate State and its investigative, police and judicial services. In fact, our investigation has exposed a litany of tragedy: families broken apart, child abuse and allegations of mind control, cover-ups and secrecy. Welcome to our online showcase of unique, traditional, solid wood furniture. Another charge leveled at the group to make it appear cultic, members say, is that leaders exercise authoritarian control. It was a cut-and-dried case, he said. While its true the document is not given to members nowadays, thats because the church no longer uses it. And at that moment I knew I was never going to another meeting.. Cult, abuse: these words define a popular community located in Waco, Tx, known to most as Homestead Heritage, with perhaps a thousand or more faithful members. In the end, the magazine opted to publish one of the critical letters, written by ex-member Bob Beechner, along with an editors note. A number of former members the Observer spoke to said they believed Blair Adams sees himself as a messenger from God. How did you end up leaving/was it hard? According to several ex-members I spoke to, the only person who has never fallen from grace in this way is Blair Adams. The three levels are simply a tool to help lead people through their ever-deepening walk with God, Wheeler says. The concept isnt unique. For one thing, some of the writings are works in progress, Wheeler says. The community that's known today as Homestead Heritage began in the early 1970s as a small peace church in the lower east side of Manhattan, New York, in an area known as "Hell's Kitchen". 64 reviews of Homestead Heritage "There is so much to see at Homestead Heritage, you should visit their website at www.homesteadheritage.com to get a good feel for all they offer. So many people who started to tell their stories backed out for fear of severing ties with family and friends within the compound many took months to convince to talk Some would only talk on background, others were able to provide me with compelling evidence but wished to remain anonymous. Watchman Fellowship created an Internet discussion board about Homestead Heritage through F.A.C.T.Net. Sorry if others have asked the same questions (don't worry about answering any that have been already answered) I started typing them up when you said you were planning to do this AMA :). Its a process that never stops. And I will never forget the first movie I saw, Spiderman. Besides, Arnn says, he has volumes and volumes of Homestead Heritage literature. Recently I had some major health issues and ended up at the hospital where I died and had to be revived. Hey, I meant to ask you this earlieris your username a reference to Monty Python?? At first my mom wasn't going to leave and they were going to have to get a divorce and stuff but luckily she got out as well after a bit. If children at Homestead Heritage misbehave, many parents practice corporal punishment. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. Were they judgmental of them, envious, suspicious? But ever since all that I've changed in the sense that Im not angry at all at them but I do think it is important that people do what they can to spread the truth and make the world a better place. We at Homestead Heritage hold no ill will towards any of the former members who instigated and participated in this slanderous media attack against us (which has found two venues but is really one story with common sources). In fact, one of their members from the Arizona branch ended up torching her house and burning herself and her kids in it. Why would it open itself up for discussions with local theology professors and students? Thanks! "A Texas Observer investigation has found allegations of child sex abuse involving at least six members of the Homestead Heritage community. at Homestead Heritage We're open year-round, Monday through Saturday, 9AM to 5PM. He met with Homestead Heritage leaders as well as some ex-members. Through the years, he says he has learned when something might be gained from meeting with group leaders and when it wont. Birkbeck said she spent time each weekend with him, and even though she was not assaulted in any way, she is concerned she was left alone with a child molester. Alex Hannaford writes about the death penalty, crime, prisons, religion and human interest issues for the Telegraph, Times and Guardian in the UK, and to GQ, The Nation and the Texas Observer. To Olsons dismay, the article provoked opposition to Homestead Heritage. About one fourth of them live on the Brazos de Dios community property, and the remainder live on their own personal properties in the surrounding area. All rights reserved. In 2007, the Waco Herald-Tribune ran a feature that voiced some of those concerns of spiritual abuse but after its publication, ex-members claimed the story didnt go nearly far enough. Now Daniel, what kind of man writes that kind of a letter and then makes someone else sign his name to it? Arnn says in the e-mail.