Bro Gary Hawkins 24: Smoking Meat

[Xan]

I imagine that Gary is really confused now.  What should he do?  He's not the sharpest pencil in the drawer to begin with.  He didn't get any kind of an education as far as I can tell.  His dad, Danny, was his role model and all Danny knows how to do is preach badly.  Gary made his own mistakes but thought he'd found a place where everything was forgotten and forgiven.  "Under the blood"!  Now, the man who brought him to Tennessee has just shot himself and turns out to be even worse than people expected.  Gary can't do his traveling evangelist act because Becky is unwell.  He probably has some job that he doesn't like, lives in an apartment in Tennessee not near any family, and all bets are off on the successful continuation of that church.  

I wonder if they'll move again to try to get some distance from the whole situation?

[FiveAcres]

8 minutes ago, Xan said:

I imagine that Gary is really confused now.  What should he do?  He's not the sharpest pencil in the drawer to begin with.  He didn't get any kind of an education as far as I can tell.  His dad, Danny, was his role model and all Danny knows how to do is preach badly.  Gary made his own mistakes but thought he'd found a place where everything was forgotten and forgiven.  "Under the blood"!  Now, the man who brought him to Tennessee has just shot himself and turns out to be even worse than people expected.  Gary can't do his traveling evangelist act because Becky is unwell.  He probably has some job that he doesn't like, lives in an apartment in Tennessee not near any family, and all bets are off on the successful continuation of that church.  

I wonder if they'll move again to try to get some distance from the whole situation?

Bro Gary might find it hard to put some daylight between himself and the Bakers, even if he has the wit to try to do so. There is a site called KJV churches and the church photo above along with a warning of abuse. Site looks legit (though I wonder, since IBC, like other fundy groups, seem to believe that what happens in fundyland should stay in fundyland, would a true KJV adherent publish this on such a site?)

Spoiler

https://www.kjvchurches.com/churches/united-states/tennessee/columbia/family-baptist-church-columbia-tn/

 

 

Edited Friday at 02:51 PM by FiveAcres
typo

[thoughtful]

10 minutes ago, Xan said:

all bets are off on the successful continuation of that church

I would think so, as well, but  who knows? Baker is survived by several adult male children, some of whom have preached there. One of them may continue in some way, in that building or elsewhere.

Someone missed this when wiping his presence off of the Internet - Baker selling his coaching about "getting the heart of your child."

https://david-baker-6333.mykajabi.com/

[FiveAcres]

10 minutes ago, thoughtful said:

I would think so, as well, but  who knows? Baker is survived by several adult male children, some of whom have preached there. One of them may continue in some way, in that building or elsewhere.

Someone missed this when wiping his presence off of the Internet - Baker selling his coaching about "getting the heart of your child."

https://david-baker-6333.mykajabi.com/

Screenshot of Baker (who was counselor as well as a pastor) and his descendants from mykajabi site above.

Spoiler

 

[thoughtful]

3 minutes ago, FiveAcres said:

Screenshot of Baker (who was counselor as well as a pastor) and his descendants from mykajabi site above.

  Hide contents

 

This was taken several years ago, IIRC. All of the little kids in the picture are grandchildren.

[Black Aliss]

On 7/15/2024 at 7:44 AM, Alisamer said:

Honestly? No one sent the shooter, IMO. He was probably inspired by whatever insanity he was deep into, or perhaps even pissed that as a conservative Republican Trump wasn't focusing on exactly his pet issues, but I think he did this on his own.

We will never know because the secret service took him out immediately. I think someone (my money is on Steven Cheung because he's even nuttier than his boss) was behind this and who knows who the target was, because there's no reason for him not being able to hit Trump when he was firing an AR, and all evidence pointed to Trump being hit by a piece of glass from the teleprompter, not a bullet. He could have been aiming at the press in attendance, for all we know. I just think if it were an attempt on TFG's life it would have succeeded.

17 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I imagine even child molesters could try to shield their family from the trauma of finding their dead body. 

As opposed to the trauma he had already inflicted on at least one of his children. My only hope is that his abuse didn't come to light because he impregnated the child. 

[FiveAcres]

10 minutes ago, Black Aliss said:

As opposed to the trauma he had already inflicted on at least one of his children. My only hope is that his abuse didn't come to light because he impregnated the child. 

I found a source on Tennessee law that under Tennessee law sexual battery does not involve penetration or the charge would have been rape of a minor.

 

[thoughtful]

11 minutes ago, Black Aliss said:

As opposed to the trauma he had already inflicted on at least one of his children. My only hope is that his abuse didn't come to light because he impregnated the child. 

We don't know if he victimized his own children (well, sexually - we know he hit them, because he talked about that himself). The charge was sexual battery against a family member under 12 years old.

We don't know when the incident(s) with which he was charged took place. I looked it up - Tennessee has no statute of limitations on this kind of crime.  So, sadly, there are lots of possibilities about who it could have been.

https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/tennessee-statutes-of-limitations-for-sexual-abuse.html

[postscript]

6 minutes ago, thoughtful said:

So, sadly, there are lots of possibilities about who it could have been.

That was my initial thought when someone posted the photo of Baker and his many offspring. Nearly anyone in that photo could have been a victim. 

This whole situation has left me speechless. This has been quite the month in fundy news - Jana gets married, Jill takes a (short) social media break, John Anderson does the closest thing to date to a tell-all about his vile parents, Pastor Baker does what he does, and tomorrow is the long-awaited Tim Rod deflowering wedding, with all the usual potential for Jill drama. 

[Joyster]

Becky posted a fundraiser for the family.

And the local Fox Channel has the affidavit. Yuck.

Spoiler

 

[thoughtful]

If the incidents occurred sometime between 2013-2015,  as the affidavit says, it sounds like this is a case of a victim who is now a young adult, and has become willing to come forward.

Whoever she is, I hope she has lots of support. And  I hope her attempt to bring him to justice is a sign that she is already long-past blaming herself or feeling any guilt (and, if not, that she is well on her way).

[marmalade]

Do we know for sure the victim was female? 

[thoughtful]

7 minutes ago, marmalade said:

Do we know for sure the victim was female? 

Yes, per the affidavit.

Spoiler

 

[marmalade]

Thanks. I missed that somehow. 

[truthseeker]

22 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

I imagine a lot of the congregation are in shock, both from the arrest and then what followed. I am guessing quite a few others besides Gary are experiencing very complicated emotions (Gary of course has the additional hurdle of not being able to express himself well, let alone be in touching distance of his feelings). 

I hope the victims have good support around them, and that people don't blame them for what has happened and how they are feeling.

i am currently reading a book about the Malka Liefer case, and the reactions from some individuals towards those who came forward were occasionally absolutely shocking.

I live in the same neighbourhood as that school, and have been a supporter of Dassi Erlich for years.  Her courage, and that of her sisters, was extraordinary given the community they came from.  I'm so relieved Malka Leifer was found guilty, and hope she's having a truly terrible time in prison.

[Joyster]

Gary woke up with his confused feelings about his church and hero. Not being able to post about that, he posted the first 2024 rant against Helloween. 
 

I had a rant typed about his idiotic transgender Halloween dressing statement and at pending money on missionaries (Missionary’s), but I deleted it. Deep breath for me…

[Xan]

It's interesting to think about how Gary's confused mind has jumbled up cross-dressing with Halloween costumes and how he must look at the decorations and candy in the stores and think, "They could have sent that money to missionaries and evangelists!"  Were it not for Halloween, there might be enough money for Gary to still be an evangelist on the road!

[thoughtful]

Gary is being oh-so-helpful on the community Facebook page:

Spoiler

 

Edited Saturday at 03:00 PM by thoughtful
riffles

[Joyster]

Initial obituary for David Baker: Baker obituary.

So far the comments are kind. I hope they stay that way for the family’s sake. I found it odd that they wrote he died at the hospital. I mean he did, but I would have left that out.

[thoughtful]

A news story included a quote from a thread on Reddit, that sounds like it's from someone who is (or is  purporting to be ) a member of the congregation. I found it and read the comments. Original post (bolding mine) :

Spoiler

My pastor just offed himself.

My husband and I need some advice. We are both very new Christian’s. I was raised in the faith but left and he was not raised at all. About 2 years ago a pastor came to our door and invited us to church. This man helped my husband come to believe in God, baptized us, and married us. This man taught us how to deal with spiritual warfare that my husband has dealt with since being a kid. Well, on the 10th, he was arrested for aggravated sexual assault (likely involving a minor). He posted bond, walked into the hospital and shot himself twice in the chest. Now I’m a victim of a pedophile too so I know how it makes you feel. After doing some searching I’ve realized a majority of the people in the church have some type of child offense or violent s*xual offense. These are people I considered a friend. My husband considered a friend. What do we do from here? We are good friends with pastors kids, but I can’t go back to the church. I have a lot of complex feelings because he did the unthinkable, but he taught us so much. (I’m not excusing his behavior. I just need to know what would you do? How would you go forward?) we’re still new to the faith and I’m not upset with God, we still want to attended church but how can I trust another pastor? How can I trust another church?

Sorry about the wall o' text - that's how she posted it. I don't know if the preponderance of sexual offenders (if true) is an offshoot of Baker's prison ministry, involvement with FIG, and general "it's under the blood" attitude, and they are all no longer offending, or a sign of something more sinister going on there.

 Most of the conversation is people commiserating, giving her guilt and telling her to forgive or see the good in him, 🙄 or to trust Jesus but not men, etc. No new information, except in one answer to a comment:

Spoiler

After someone posted that they had been unfairly accused of rape and had been suicidal (saying that the OP shouldn't assume Baker was guilty just because he killed himself), the OP posted:

 

Edited Sunday at 01:29 AM by thoughtful
fixing formatting

[Caroline]

1 hour ago, Joyster said:

Initial obituary for David Baker: Baker obituary.

So far the comments are kind. I hope they stay that way for the family’s sake. I found it odd that they wrote he died at the hospital. I mean he did, but I would have left that out.

One of the  condolence notes is written very poorly in English with lots of misspellings and grammatical errors. No bid deal, except the guy has the letters Dr. in front of his name.  Is this perhaps an example of a Bible college kind of 'degree'?  Sorry, I'm a grammar snob, I guess. 

[Xan]

1 minute ago, Caroline said:

One of the  condolence notes is written very poorly in English with lots of misspellings and grammatical errors. No bid deal, except the guy has the letters Dr. in front of his name.  Is this perhaps an example of a Bible college kind of 'degree'?  Sorry, I'm a grammar snob, I guess. 

I had the same reaction.  "Tradegy"??  Not once, but twice??  "Condolenscenes"?  If he has that much trouble spelling, I doubt his degree.

[thoughtful]

6 minutes ago, Caroline said:

One of the  condolence notes is written very poorly in English with lots of misspellings and grammatical errors.

Yeah, the first "tradegy" could have been a typo, but the second . . . Also, "condolenscenes" sounds sort of nice, like a montage of images someone shows you to comfort you.

ETA - @Xan, I was still typing and hadn't seen your answer - GMTA, as usual!

Edited Sunday at 12:45 AM by thoughtful

[thoughtful]

This aged like milk - Baker interviewing David Hyles, both of them defending Jack Hyles:

Spoiler

 

Baker's last interview, just 11 days ago:

Spoiler

 

His Fundamentalist Baptist Podcast YouTube videos are still up:

https://www.youtube.com/@davidbaker8430/videos

[Ozlsn]

5 hours ago, Joyster said:

Initial obituary for David Baker: Baker obituary.

So far the comments are kind. I hope they stay that way for the family’s sake. I found it odd that they wrote he died at the hospital. I mean he did, but I would have left that out.

I think they're hoping that it will imply "of illness", and stop questions. Pretty sure that's closing the barn door about 48 hours too late, although it will undoubtedly provide some entertainment to future genealogists as they research their family history.

Side story: I read a story in a newspaper here a couple of decades ago about someone who was looking into their family history. She'd always known that the circumstances of her grandfather's death were a family secret that was never discussed, but had never known why. She thought she'd solved the mystery when she got a copy of his death certificate, which had his place of death as Pentridge (high security prison). Then of course she was curious as to what terrible thing he'd done to be in Pentridge... and discovered that he was actually a highly regarded citizen with no criminal record who was in the prison doing good work with prisoners when he had the misfortune to have a fatal heart attack. The family decided that explaining all this was too complicated, hence the dark secret which had been kept for over 60 years before she found out!