Ep. 381: Clint Pressley, Pastors and Politics,and Vineyard Anaheim

MinistryWatch Podcast

On today’s program, after a slew of controversies, Southern Baptists chose a low-key leader. We take a closer look at new SBC President Clint Pressley. And, Pastors and politics—legally, what are churches and other Christian nonprofits allowed to do when it comes to this year’s presidential campaign? We also highlight the results are in from our summer survey of top ministry executives. They tell us their biggest challenges—and hopes for the future. But first, a former youth volunteer for Vineyard Church in Anaheim, California, has been sentenced to more than 120 years in prison. The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Jessica Eturralde, Daniel Ritchie, Kim Roberts, Tiffany Stanley, Yonat Shimron, Anna Piela, and Brittany Smith. A special thanks to the National Association of Evangelicals for contributing material for this week’s podcast. Until next time, may God bless you. FIRST SEGMENT Warren: Hello everybody. I’m Warren Smith, coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina. Natasha: And I’m Natasha Cowden, coming to you from Denver, Colorado. And we’d like to welcome you to the MinistryWatch podcast. Warren: On today’s program, after a slew of controversies, Southern Baptists chose a low-key leader. We take a closer look at new S-B-C President Clint Pressley. And, Pastors and politics—legally, what are churches and other Christian nonprofits allowed to do when it comes to this year’s presidential campaign? And, the results are in from our summer survey of top ministry executives. They tell us their biggest challenges—and hopes for the future. Natasha But first, a former youth volunteer for Vineyard Church in Anaheim, California, has been sentenced to more than 120 years in prison. Warren: Todd Christian Hartman, 41, has been sentenced to 125 years to life for collecting and creating child pornography materials and molesting four girls between the years 2009 and 2014. In 2015, investigators found hundreds of child pornography images and videos in Hartman's Newport Beach home. Federal agents arrested Hartman on child pornography charges, but the case collapsed after a judge ruled he was not informed of his Miranda rights at the time of his arrest. Natasha: What happened next? Warren: In 2016, Hartman contacted the father of two of his victims and admitted to repeatedly molesting one of them after meeting through his volunteer work at the Anaheim Vineyard Church children's ministry, starting when the girl was 6 years old. Hartman was also convicted of molesting the girl’s younger sister and molesting a 14-year-old girl and 12-year-old girl at a sleepover in 2009. Natasha: How did the church respond? Warren: MinistryWatch contacted the Dwelling Place to inquire about Vineyard's handling of the employee's concerns, including whether or not church leadership was informed. We have not yet heard back at the time of publication. Natasha: Let’s move to our next story Warren: A Colorado man has been sentenced to at least eight years in prison for sexually abusing a child, with the possibility of life behind bars. Michael Paustian, age 53, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child from a position of trust for a victim under the age of 15. He also pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child. Both are class 3 felonies. Natasha: Was he connected to a ministry? Warren: Paustian was employed by Group Publishing as the company’s creative director. Group Publishing is widely known for publishing curriculum used by churches. He’d began working at Group Publishing in 2005, and informed “company leaders in 2023 that he was being accused of incidents that allegedly happened in his home 18 years ago, not related to his work at Group.”