It was a cut-and-dried case, he said. Rather, Homestead Heritage teaches that every member receives a piece of it. But after praying and studying Scriptures, they came to the conclusion they should not only give Elder the money he sought, they should give him more. Joseph Ratliff was convicted of five counts of sexual abuse, sexual assault, and indecency with a child. Those most vocal in their criticism of Homestead Heritage have adopted the same techniques, group members say. Under Texas law, ministers and clergy are required to report any suspected child abuse sexual or otherwise to authorities within 48 hours of being told, otherwise they too are committing a criminal offense. His attorney, Darren Obenoskey, told me what the church did or didnt know about his clients crimes never came up. She finds it hard to date people and often worries about the children still living in the community of Elm Mott outside of Waco. Theologically it therefore is considered to be a cult of Christianity. He and the rest of the elders recently tried to get even more money by taking all the members' private businesses and making them part of the church so they would get a tax break but that's when the county stepped in and said no. Officer Brad Scaggs escorted the bulky 54-year-old to the interview room and pressed the record button on the video machine. But the process doesnt involve screaming or yelling as ex-members claim, they say. Even when people break the rules, the discipline is not as some Homestead Heritage ex-members claim, the group says. Homestead Heritage is an agrarian- and craft-based intentional Christian community. If you express interest in joining the elders have to talk to you which I guess is part of the vetting process. Anyone who honestly reads the groups literature or listens in earnest at meetings could not possibly come away with that idea, he says. 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. A few people have left over the years. PDF Media. Unusual to a huge degree, yes. Others helped with the story but, because they still have family members inside the community, refused to speak publicly. Was your family's safety threatened when you left or was that not a concern? Thats not to say nonmembers never come to Sunday meetings. They were doing just what they were supposed to do, and their discipline was absolutely effective. Add in distortions about customs and claims of abuse and even the most wholesome religious group can be branded a cult, he says. I had some substance abuse issues for a while because it was the first time I realized I could actually control the way I felt and I'd been depressed just about my entire life lol. The posts cover a range of topics of varying importance. It was to set the record straight, especially for those outside the group to whom Elder had given his epistle. A number of former members the Observer spoke to said they believed Blair Adams sees himself as a messenger from God. Publications, Forms and Documents. Homestead Heritage, on the other hand, lets members decide how much, if any, contact to have with family members who leave. If children at Homestead Heritage misbehave, many parents practice corporal punishment. The rationalization that Elder and other ex-members have engaged in, the group says, has left those ex-members vulnerable to Watchman Fellowships manipulation. Consequently, they have begun eyeing any group outside the mainstream. On occasion they do, members say. Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed. Do you think free access to journalism like this is important? But it took me a lot longer to get past the belief I was going to hell. We have reposted it following a recent report on Homestead Heritage by WFAA in Dallas. This is the public face of Homestead Heritage, a 500-acre religious community of about 1,000 people seven miles northwest of Waco. He started getting to know Homestead Heritage members in 1996. Theologically it therefore is considered to be a cult of Christianity. . Watchman Fellowship defines Christian orthodoxy very narrowly and seeks to label everyone who falls outside those confines as un-Christian, Homestead Heritage leaders allege. And that took a very long time. The environment in Waco is particularly ripe for such accusations to fester, Homestead Heritage followers say. Again, the elitism claim is made because it fits the image of a cult, members say. Or was it strictly on their own? 388 Halbert Lane, Waco, TX 76705 (254) 754-9604. Cafe Homestead serves deliciously healthful food in the unique setting of a traditional craft village in our sustainable, organic farming community in Waco, TX. Through the years, he says he has learned when something might be gained from meeting with group leaders and when it wont. This is the authority of fatherhood, of love, of brother and sisterhood.. 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. . Ex-members are making the sensational claim because one characteristic of a cult is having a charismatic leader or group of leaders, members say. That was basically the gist of every 8 hour long Sunday "meeting". Its the persons attitude. But we incorrectly reported the timeline that DeLong gave to police. It also leads into the supposed teaching that people who leave the group are damned, they say. Waco, Texas Contact Suggest edits to improve what we show. (Everyone always seemed friendly and relatively normal when I visited, so just wondering.). 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. But the alleged victims refused to speak publicly, and the details of their stories couldnt be independently confirmed. Pasture-raised beef, fresh breads, award-winning local cheese, and house-made sauces and condiments; these are a few of the things that help make Cafe Homestead one of Waco's most-loved restaurants since 1994. They have allowed their memories to become altered by Watchman Fellowships tainted information. If members see such a person in public, they might say hello. - this is the exception and not the norm in Africa's value system and rich heritage. The Observer has learned from a number of different sources of other cases of sexual abuse within Homestead Heritage. Here, a small but ever-growing group of believers came together from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds to worship and share their lives . When we are walking by faith, everything is covered under the blood of Jesus, Wheeler says. In an email, one elder, Dan Lancaster, wrote of the groups concern that countering in a public media forum a laundry list of sour grapes accusations and distortions would, at best, simply lend credence to a characterization of our community that is misleading. Instead, Lancaster suggested meeting in person to talk completely off the record. The Observer asked for a telephone interview instead. 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 . 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. 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. We all were. Tours, Activities, Learning Opportunities, Craft Shops, Furniture and Gifts, Dining and much more. Olson described the sect as a mix of Pentecostal fervor with Anabaptist simplicity and accountability. He wrote although they dont use the word Trinity in teaching about the Godhead, his close questioning detected no aberrant teachings about God., Olson noted that the group made decisions by consensus; babies were typically born at home; and prayer and medicine were combined for health and well being. But the truth is Homestead Heritage does not fit that mold, they say. Thats all just a lie, Wheeler says. My guess is that they somehow talked their way out of it, they can sound pretty convincing. The Shrinking actor talks mental health, being queer, and why the Lone Star State is the perfect home for his new play Silver Foxes. It would seem to me that most people would think that such a man is one of low character, even a coward. On the other hand, Olson was afraid that giving Homestead Heritage increased exposure could do more harm than good. Church leaders follow the biblical pattern of first going to someone in private about the offense. Then came a so-called recovery workshop in April 2005, a forum for ex-members to discuss their experiences. Basically you are agreeing to serve them as representatives of God and that you are going to hell if you break away from them. They were filled with the "elders" screaming and prophesying people dying, diseases spreadiing, etc., people speaking in tongues, falling on the ground in what I guess I would now call seizures-it sounds crazy now but back then it was perfectly normal. Adams, now in his mid-60s, taught that the end times were near and his followers needed to learn to live off the land. Bringing an offender before the entire community is one of those steps, members say. Prince William County Executive Chris Shorter proposed major pay increases for county employees and a 5.3-cent real estate tax reduction Tuesday night, all part of his $1.61 billion budget proposal Many were former members of the group. The man told Wheeler that soon the whole world would know Homestead Heritage was the next cult in Waco and that the news media would become involved. Anyway after that we did have several weird instances of people following us and coming up to our house in the middle of the night but I can't really prove it was them and honestly I don't care. Nothing like how they are later on. Contrary to Elders subsequent assertions, nothing in Homestead Heritages public response, issued in the form of a book, was confessed to a minister, the group says. Did you have much privacy growing up, or were you constantly around other people? The Observer found more allegations of sexual abuse of children that have never been reported to the authorities. 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. She told me she is considering counseling. I didnt think about the effect this would have on a child, particularly one who was home-schooled and all he had was his family. Former members say Sunday meetings began at 10 a.m. and often lasted until after 3 p.m. Theyre existing under enormous psychological pressure., In 2005, Roger Olson, a professor of theology at Baylor University, wrote a gushing piece about Homestead Heritage for Christianity Today, headed: Where Community is No Clich. They were seperationists who exerted a high level of control over their members. So there are a lot of allegations of abuse but I never personally experienced anything like that. Why would it open itself up for discussions with local theology professors and students? When you work these cases, you need all the help you can get as far as testimony is concerned, he said. The group said those crises and shortcomings help explain the troubled states of mind that spurred some of the accusations. 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. And not just on my ass. 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. 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. Their literature was mostly books about how we should behave and how we should explain ourselves to outsiders. Homestead Heritage is an agrarian- and craft-based intentional Christian community. All I want is for you to love me. The church later declined to answer emailed questions from the Observer and instead chose to issue a statement: Weve become very familiar with the character and agenda of the former members behind these slanderous and inflammatory, yet typically subjective and unverifiable, accusations against us. Homestead Heritage is a 1,000 member congregation located on a 500-acre, gated commune north of Waco, where God and family come first. And as long as the leader is allowed to act without any checks and balances, they tend to become more and more domineering., Homestead Heritage has made new members sign and notarize a resolution obtained by the Observer, which states, among other things, that each openly, voluntarily, under no coercion agrees, even should [they] leave the fellowship to never bring before the public outside our church any disagreement the individual may have with the church, any accusations of wrongdoing or any charge or suit or court action against any of its members., It says all disputes should be settled within [italics theirs] the confines of the church covenant., Tellingly, it also states: Since the church is the Bride of Christ, we do not view its marriage relationship to God as a public spectacle; nor for us is religion an agent, or the proper province, of the corporate State and its investigative, police and judicial services.. So honestly I was never for my parents speaking out and all that but if they hadn't, I doubt this info would be out there. Its redemptive. 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. The stations veteran investigative journalist Brett Shipp has been working on corroborating and documenting allegations of physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children at Waco religious community Homestead Heritage since September last year. But my dad stayed strong and got out. Luckily he still turned himself in but it makes you wonder how many times this doesn't get reported. Watchman Fellowships efforts have been so extreme that some of the exes may truly believe what theyre saying, Homestead Heritage leaders say. No matter what we say, as the Jews have experienced, you cannot falsify the accusation that someone has a secret, Wheeler said. At least 20 people who were critical of the article contacted the magazine, says deputy managing editor Timothy Morgan. That way, when theyre asked to prove their claims, they can throw up their hands and plead a secret conspiracy. A Dallas news channel and some other statewide and local publications did a few pieces. While there arent documents nonmembers are forbidden to see, the group generally doesnt load down visitors with a stack of books. Church elders failed to promptly inform law enforcement of sexual abuse of children, as required by state law. Attorney Jeff Blackburn, a crusader for the innocent, fought injustices across Texas in his improbable, utterly original, and often profane life. A Texas Observer investigation has found allegations of child sex abuse involving at least six members of the Homestead Heritage community. I lived in chalk bluff when I was younger. Some still have a novice period before confirmation. Its forcing people not to be human., Janja Lalich, a sociology professor at California State University and author of two books on recovering from cults and abusive relationships, said sexual repression is one of most powerful ways that a group can exert control. It is a community that former members say represses sexuality, tries to deal with crimes in house and is controlled by an authoritarian regime; a community, former members say, that operates very much like a cult. 04/06/2021. They would fare so much better if they broke free like I did. The truth is visitors are asked to come to Friday night meetings because they will be more edifying, followers say. They strictly enforce dress codes (I remember an elder yelling at me for wearing a T-shirt). But as congregations have become more consumer-oriented, many have dropped church discipline. About 190 families, totaling nearly a thousand people, comprise the Homestead Heritage Community in Texas. Members also supplied documents showing that the ranch is owned by the church, not Adams. Criticism also has been leveled at the groups belief about salvation. The truth, however, is that Homestead Heritage members live a simple, self-sufficient lifestyle as much as possible, the group says. We just dont believe obedience to God is negated by some kind of cheap grace.. The group does teach that the spirit of Jesus is manifested within the body of Christ. 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). Heritage School of Woodworking Our Heritage School of Woodworking, located in Central Texas, has successfully taught thousands of aspiring woodworkers over the past 20+ years. When we were in Sunday meetings, the screaming and yelling and belittling of people was so atrocious, she said. All of a sudden they can really start remembering that this place is hell on earth, Wheeler says. Today, she said, some of the kids of group leaders do online college what she refers to as their cameo students.. The Glendell decision covered 750 hectares as well as the homestead. 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. The group first tried community living at a ranch in Colorado, but eventually settled on a 500-acre farm in McLennan County, near Waco. Montana, The Walk. Recently I had some major health issues and ended up at the hospital where I died and had to be revived. Their silence on the Web might play into their critics claims that they have something to hide, leaders acknowledge. Correction: In an earlier version of this story, we incorrectly reported a detail of the child sexual abuse at Homestead Heritage. Contact; Hours & Location; Menu; Make A Reservation; But stranger things have happened, he says. If he walked by and patted you on the shoulder, it was as if God shined down on you.