An Open Letter to Al Kimball (Pastor of Pastoral Care at Community Evangelical Free Church)

An open letter to Al Kimball, Community’s Pastor of Pastoral Care. This is an open letter of what I wanted to discuss with Al Kimball in his office. Plus does Al Kimball know he is being manipulated by Steve Estes and the Stoltzfus families? How did Al go from being enraged to what Brock allegedly did with a gun, to supporting it? This is addressed to a tormented man who made his bed of which he is sleeping in.

“To be or not to be is not a question of compromise. Either you be or don’t be.”

Gold Meir

“Never comprise your principles, even if it leads to difficulty in the short term.”

Alan Casden

“There is no compromise when it comes to corruption. You have to fight it.”

A.K. Antony

“The things my people do are as depraved as what they did in Gibeah long ago.
God will not forget. He will surely punish them for their sins.”

Hosea 9:9 NLT

 

An Elverson moment?

Al-

You remember me don’t you? I stood in your office and shook your hand. I asked a couple of questions directly to you while you sat at your desk. I wanted to discuss Hurit’s excommunication. I asked about Brock allegedly pointing a gun at Hurit, and told you that she knows she could be dead. You wouldn’t speak to me Al or discuss the situation. So I will speak to you about it here, at my blog.

Before I get into this letter too much, let me tell you a story Al.  In one of my jobs in the past we had an office joke. If a person made a mistake they would come to their desk, or cube with a sign similar to the one I have posted above. The office would joke, “Senior moment Dave?” Other times people would toss that around when a person made a mistake. Its was office humor that broke the doldrums of a stressful environment. In the case of Community Evangelical Free Church,  I would say we are having an “Elverson moment.” That means the following…the situation about Brock is being blasted all over the internet. Its being written by me in Washington, D.C. and Dee Parsons who writes The Wartburg Watch is blasting it out of Raleigh, North Carolina.  Dee has tried to get a statement and is contacting law enforcement in the area about this mess. So in the face of all the negative publicity, despite the fact that your picture is all over the place, your response to me is that you are not going to talk about it?

Al I have news for you…

Community Evangelical Free Church, yourself, Steve Estes and the Elders have run into the same problem that East Germany, and the Soviet Union did. This is the same problem that North Korea fears and why China heavily censures the internet. Community lost control of the narrative…the truth of the situation got out. People know and are walking away. When you could control the story it worked, well you lost control. You recently had a long term member who resigned after being a part of the church for years. They felt, and correctly believed that Steve Estes and the leadership lied about Hurit’s excommunication. All is not well in Community Al, I have had a couple other individuals who have contacted me asking questions about the story. They are starting to ask questions and are slowly coming to terms with the problems in Elverson. Publically, they may tell you or one of the Elders that they have no questions and believe the leadership. But behind the scenes, people are talking and reaching out and asking questions. That is a problem for you guys Al. It was a problem for the Soviet Union and East Germany. Freedom of information is always a threat to totalitarian dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. It doesn’t matter if its Steve Estes or East Germany leader Erich Honecker.  So you guys have a mess on your hands, that is just growing. And I am all the more happy to write bout the truth, and help individuals see through Community’s deception. I am in this for the long haul. I predict a long, slow and painful bleed with a few members leaving here and there.  When they start to put two and two together and they realize what happened to Hurit then they will have questions. Others who have daughters or children will start to ask if what happened to Hurit could happen to their precious child as well.

All this could be stopped if Community Evangelical Free Church faced the facts and was honest and admitted they are wrong. All they need to do is hold a service and admit they were wrong. Apologize to Hurit and her family and own this sin Al.  I am committed to seeing this process through until Community does the right thing in this mess. The more you guys try and ignore and deflect the more this mess grows. I know Dee Parsons has tried getting a statement from Westminster. Privately, I wonder how this is affecting Westminster Theological Seminary. Will this affect Westminster’s ability to recruit? Will this cause people who were accepted at Westminster to have second thoughts? Are some people going to be more concerned with their reputation and rescind an offer of commitment and turn it down? I don’t know what is happening behind the scenes but these are questions I am wondering about here openly.

Then there is this other issue that I have to ask you about Al. Do you realize that you are being manipulated and controlled by Steve Estes and the Stoltzfus family?  So I drive up there and attend church with the express intent of observing and meeting people. After all I emailed the church about a week before I came up there and got no response. I wanted to talk to a number of people and introduce myself, shake some hands and have some long, deep conversations. What should happen but Steve Estes and the Stoltzfus family fled….and they left you behind to deal with me. Just between you and me Al, I’d be embarrassed and looking for a new employer.  Privately, if I were in your shoes I would hang my head in shame that I would support such a scheme while the man who was the quarterback of the entire effort fled and hid. Someone close to the situation who attended Community Evangelical Free Church that morning confirmed that the leadership was not on site. That individual is disgusted over the situation.  So Al if you can’t realize that you are being manipulated then I don’t know what to say to that fact. If you ever want to talk to me about your feelings I am only a phone call away, you can email me and we can arrange a time to speak. But here is another way to look at the situation Al…on December 14, 2014 Community Evangelical Free Church drove an alleged rape victim from the area. Well in April 2016 I drove the Senior Pastor and the Stoltzfus clan out of the area. I think the score in this drama which is being waged over the internet is now Estes/Stoltzfus family 1 and Hurit 1. I’ll go to bat for Hurit any day Al. Sometime in the future I’ll be back up there.

But there is another thing I just have to say Al. As I reflect back on that Sunday at Community I was taken back and struck by watching worship go on in a place of incredible injustice is just stunning. Watching you lead communion in light of the church’s role in going after an alleged rape victim and defending and protecting the alleged rapist is troubling. To be honest Al, I thought I was going to vomit at watching the Lord’s supper being carried out in such a casual fashion while knowing how Community treated an alleged domestic abuse victim. Al, do you honestly think the Lord can be mocked? Do you honestly fear the Lord? If you did, then you wouldn’t have led communion that Sunday morning and you would have stopped everything and done the right thing. As I sit here in my kitchen and type away I am stunned by what disgusting corruption is coming out of Community Evangelical Free Church.

There is another thing I want you to know Al. As I write about the Evangelical Free Church of America I am using the situation at Community Evangelical Free Church as an example of how a corrupt Evangelical Free will be written about. I just finished the analysis of the Northern Plains District which is the EFCA in North Dakota and parts of South Dakota, Montana and Minnesota. In that post I have written about Community as an example of inappropriate church discipline. I also emailed my posts to the District Superintendent and all the pastors, leadership and ministry teams in the District. So in places like Fargo, Bismarck, and Williston, North Dakota along with places like Aberdeen, South Dakota, some pastor or ministry leader is sitting down, having coffee and checking their email and they see this post and read about what a church outside Philadelphia did to an alleged rape victim. If it gives another church second thoughts about shady and twisted church discipline then all this time and effort and typing this letter to you at 12:30 in the morning is well worth it. I am determined to make sure that what happened to Hurit never happens again.

But here is another thing Al, I also want to ask you about. As I understand it, when you first heard what Brock allegedly did with a gun you were enraged. You were upset. You were livid. I have heard that you were so angry that you couldn’t believe that Brock would do what he did. What happened to you Al? How did you go from being so angry to supporting such injustice? How and when did you sell your soul? Did you get on the bandwagon to protect your job and your paycheck? Did you sell yourself out for your paycheck every month? Let me ask you this…was is worth it? How in God’s name can you sleep at night as I sure many people would like to know? Al I get the vibe’s that you are a very tormented man in all this. But you made your bed, and now you have to sleep in it.

There is one final point that I want to say to you Al. As you know I live in the Washington, D.C. area, which is the nations’ capitol and I know a lot of people who have worked in politics or Capitol Hill. One of my close friends worked for one of the Senators in the Midwest. He told me stories of jockeying and working with other aides to get a major bill written for testimony. I’ve rubbed shoulders with other acquaintances who were affected by the budget battles and dealt with furloughs. This is an area where politics and scheming is incredible. However, I also have to say this to you Al…all the politics and scheming that took place to slam an alleged sexual assault victim, run her out of town, and protect her abuser is stunning. I am sure former House Speaker Tip O’Neil has probably turned over in his grave a few times in horror. The politics has no place in Elverson Al. It’s inappropriate and wrong. I can’t believe how much scheming goes on in a small town. It honestly befuddles me.

Well Al, I think I have given you enough to think about. If you are ever interested in getting out of this mess, feel free to contact me. I am going to ask that you own your role in this mess. So much injustice has taken place here it’s sick. It’s just another day in paradise. No not Paradise, Pennsylvania, just another day in Elverson. This is not a letter I enjoyed writing Al.

Very Respectfully,

David Bonner