Toxic Leader Behavior and Proverbs 6

I’m studying Proverbs in my Sunday School class and was reading Proverbs 6 yesterday. Verses 16-19 resonated in my heart in a new way as I began to understand how the Lord feels about those who use His word to manipulate and control those who are genuinely desiring to follow Him.

As I looked through every line of this section of the text, I was amazed, once again, at how toxic leaders, in my experience it was Tim Williams specifically, preach against the very things they do, and accuse those under their care of doing the very things they are guilty of.

There are six things the Lord hates—
no, seven things he detests:
¹⁷ haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
¹⁸ a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family.

Haughty eyes and a lying tongue. The foundation of a toxic leader and a common accusation Tim Williams made of anyone who questioned his authority or the way he used scripture. It was always someone else who was haughty, arrogant, and prideful… someone else who was lying, when all along it was (and still is) he who is the liar. Just take a look at the website he created to try to come across as an authority. www.enumclaw.com. When he couldn’t get the City of Enumclaw to acquiesce to his demands, he used it to smear anyone (myself included) who stood up for the truth, making it look like an official publication of our city. What a LIE! And this is only one example, for more on that, read this post.

Hands that kill the innocent. Interesting that Tim and his late wife, Carla, always went after those with disabilities who were developmentally disabled in some way, and of course those who were so broken from childhood abuse, vulnerable souls, who were easily manipulated. I’ve come to find out all con men and wolves target those who are easily controlled for a variety of reasons. They may not physically kill them, but emotionally and spiritually, they accomplish the task well.

I think back to the time when Tim Williams began blogging, out of the blue, about the Innocence Project and how so many people are sent to prison when they are not guilty. He followed those rants with the topic of false memory syndrome, declaring you could never trust a person who says they were sexually abused as a child. He was diabolically building a case he knew would surface in the future, as his timing was telling. He started blogging on these topics shortly after the family whose daughter was pedophile Malcolm Fraser’s sexual abuse victim left the cult. I believe Malcolm confessed his crime to Tim and Tim developed this plot to hide the truth. A heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong. He crafted his plan to brainwash his followers so no one would even ask the question, could Malcolm be guilty? There are still a handful of followers who stand convinced that Malcolm is innocent, even though he was found guilty on all charges. All as a result of a heart that plots evil to cover up a crime.

A false witness who pours out lies. Tim Williams had his followers lie on the witness stand during Malcolm’s child rape trial. I was appalled as I read the testimonies, thinking to myself, how can he justify the lies? Oh, that’s right, Sarah lied and said she was Abraham’s sister, so that must make it OK. More on that here.

The last verse jumped off the page as I pondered the wake of broken families in his path, mine being only one of many. Using scripture out of context, Tim Williams sowed discord in families. Turned wives against husbands, husbands against wives, children against their parents, adult children against their parents, all in an attempt to gain control. He intentionally would keep one or two families together just to be able to point to them to say he wasn’t destroying families. What evil. To use Luke 14:26 to divide families so that those under his care were easier to control for his own benefit. Interesting that this is a common scripture used in cults to keep their prey from staying in touch with those who don’t buy in.

Shame on you, Tim Williams.

Shame on you.

I would not want to stand before God in your shoes.

And to all who remain loyal to this man who, on all 7 counts exhibits behavior that the Lord hates, I pray for the courage you’ll need to finally realize you’ve been led astray. It was hard for me too, but the peace that comes from admitting the truth, no matter how painful, is more than worth it.

More on Toxic Leaders and How to Identify Them

Brad Sargent aka Futuristguy has cheered me on for years now, ever since I started blogging about my spiritual abuse experience at the hands of Timothy Shelby Williams, founder of Sound Doctrine Institute.

What an honor it was to spend time with him yesterday discussing the possible publishing of his life work. The overall series is for both survivors of spiritual abuse (and their support networks) and organizational developers (social activists, church planters, church and non-profit leaders), and is about deconstructing systems that damage and constructing systems that are healthy.

As we discussed the content and I scanned through some of the charts, I was stunned to see such accurate descriptions of the toxic leadership roles common in unhealthy organizations. Yep, there’s nothing new under the sun… evil men who are puppets of the evil one use the same tactics to control and manipulate those under their influence.

I’m sharing 2 charts that were particularly meaningful to me. You can view the articles on these particular topics on Brad’s blog here.

The two that captured my attention were the comparison of organizations run by agents of damage vs. agents of healing and the pyramid of responsibility. So telling. If you’ve ever been involved in a toxic organization, you’ll be able to identify the roles your leaders played pretty easily. I know I did.

My experience may have been the extreme end of the spectrum, but there are so many other examples of this type of abuse in the church today. I hear from people all the time who’ve survived abuse in the church. Sadly, many of them lose their faith and never return. Just what the enemy was hoping for.

As you read these charts, does any of it resonate with you?

I’d love to hear your comments.

An Update from Chip MacGregor re: WinePress and Me

Chip MacGregor is a hero in my book…a well-respected literary agent who has refused to be intimidated by the thugs at WinePress. This is his most recent post…be sure to read the comments as well!

http://www.chipmacgregor.com/current-affairs/last-last-word-winepress/

If anyone is wondering why WinePress isn’t answering their phones…

I was asked by the attorney for the landlord to take these posts down because they were getting harassed by Tim Williams…the last thing I want do to someone who is trying to deal with the leadership of WP in a civilized fashion is make things difficult for them.

Well, now that their landlord finally kicked them out of the office building, I think it’s safe to say that the world should know the truth about why they aren’t answering their phones today. Of course, anything bad that happens to WinePress is blamed on me, or on the employees who won’t “repent” to Tim Williams’ liking.

But the truth is, just as I’ve been saying all along, the Williams family will pay themselves, their lawyers, the church building rent, and whatever bills they deem to their advantage, but will not pay their rent, their printer bills, their editor bills, their employee salaries or their author royalties! Here is the letter I received in early September showing them owing $150,000+ in back rent, and this doesn’t even count what they owe on the warehouse!

Amazing that this letter came in the DAY AFTER Tim Williams told the reporter for Publisher’s Weekly that WinePress was doing great.

And what does that prove? Just what I have been saying all along. The people in charge of WinePress are liars, and they use scripture to justify lying (hey, Abraham lied about Sarah, right?!). They lied on the witness stand, and they continue to lie even now. The truth is, they have only been living on the good reputation WinePress had when I still had some control of the company.

I’m sorry so many authors didn’t believe the bizarre story I’ve told here could possibly be true, but it was then and it is now, even moreso. Especially since 2 key employees just left WinePress and Sound Doctrine a few weeks ago. The stories they will tell will only confirm everything I’ve been saying for two years.

If you are one of those authors who paid for a special deal on books in December and never got them, that’s because they owe the printer $50,000 and have not paid it down far enough so the printer won’t print any more books. Did they know that when they ran the special? You bet they did. And who got your money? Hmmmm….I will let you speculate on that one. If I were you, and if you paid by credit card, I would immediately do a charge back since you did not receive your product. And even if WP made you sign an agreement that disallows you any option to do a charge back, that’s ridiculous. If you paid for a service or product and didn’t get it, your credit card company is there to protect you!

You Must Be Kidding Me!

I heard today from my friend at the Courier Herald that he reported the latest on the Sound Doctrine and WinePress scandal last week: Sound Doctrine pastor Malcolm Fraser files appeal of child rape and molestation conviction.

I find it disturbing that “Pastor” Fraser is claiming indigent status and trying to get a state appointed lawyer to appeal his conviction…Williams has always been the master of making it look like people make hardly any money so someone else will have to foot the bill…whether it’s trying to keep divorced wives from receiving their due by setting an employee’s wage at the absolute minimum, to appealing to the State of Washington to get them to waste their resources on this ridiculous appeal…it’s all the same strategy…get everyone else to spend their dollars so he doesn’t have to put HIS money where his mouth is.

To learn from the most recent former employees/cult members that so many workers have gone without pay (ummmm…that’s illegal!), landlords have continued to be strung along with promises to pay which never materialize, and estate sales have disallowed “church” members from purchasing any of the Williams Buckley estate until the very last day of the sale. It just makes me nauseous to see the hideous and greed-laden control Williams continues to have over his followers.

I was even told by someone who attended the funeral for Carla that Tim Williams spent the service declaring his sacrifice of laying down his life for his wife for two years while she was sick…without a word to memorialize her as a person. So sick. So blatantly trying to keep his minions in tact so he can continue to be supported by his blind loyal followers.

Lord, please cause the scales blinding the eyes of those still following this madman to be removed…so the Truth can set them free! In Jesus’ Name!

The Tyranny of Tim Williams

I attended a Domestic Violence Awareness workshop a few evenings ago and was stunned by what I learned.

I was still processing the emotions surrounding the passing of Carla Williams, a woman whom I once called a friend, but now I was labeled her enemy (and the cause for her brain tumor) because I was willing to stand up to her husband and expose his tyranny.

Tyranny: arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority. Synonyms: despotism, absolutism, dictatorship.

But here is one of the main things that really stood out to me.

Domestic violence doesn’t start with a gun to the head. It starts with:

• Put downs

• Name calling

• Control

• Isolation

Reeling through my mind were the many times Tim Williams would shame me (and others) with scripture, and yes, it really did escalate to name calling. I even have copies of the posts where he would name call and heap shame upon many of us. I don’t have to worry that my memory blanked out those painful moments…I have the proof to remind me of what I endured.

It’s amazing to me, now that I’m on the other side, that I put up with the verbal abuse he heaped on me, and I’m sure continues to heap on the other loyal followers…but it’s just another way he would take scripture out of context and use it to justify his shameful and abusive behavior…after all, “no discipline seems pleasant at the time” is a great line to keep someone trapped in bondage, and shame them into silent submission.

The control and isolation were two other components that kept me captive, but at the time, of course, I didn’t see it. The “us vs. them” mentality of the group fed the acceptance of such control and isolation… we were convinced it was for our own good. Now that the scales have been removed from my eyes, it’s clear as day.

So, to those who still believe in the lie, I am praying for you. That someday you will have the courage to see what is right in front of your face, come out of denial, and allow God to rescue you out of the pit you are in. He has been raising red flags for years, but you have been conditioned to turn those red flags around onto yourself and declare yourself “in sin” for questioning.

Disgrace is Coming to WinePress and Sound Doctrine

Today marks 22 months that I have been delivered from deception.

Just yesterday I received the demand letter I showed in the last post…so timely that it arrived only hours after the Lord had me reading Psalm 25.

This verse jumped out at me, unbeknownst to me that God was, at that very moment, continuing to prove Himself to be a God of justice!

No one who trusts in You will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. Psalm 25:3

To watch, from a distance, God’s judgment on this group is a sobering thing, to say the least.

• One pastor/leader in prison for child rape,
• Founding pastor’s wife soon to die from a brain tumor*,
• Lies being exposed for all to see.

And while they blame me for all their woes, the word is clear, that those who try to deceive others will be disgraced.

*I do not believe Carla’s brain tumor is judgment on her, rather it is judgment on her husband, who has, for 35 years, used others to do his bidding. Carla and Malcolm have been his primary puppets (along with his 2 sons), and it is obvious that God is taking away all his props. He will stand before God for the destruction he has caused to so many.

My prayers continue to reach the Throne of Grace for those whose lives have been ravished by these abusive leaders…one woman who used to be my roommate, was listed on the demand letter, showing she now lives back in Northern California. Praise God she escaped, but I can just imagine the shape she is in. After selling everything she owned (over half a million dollars in property) and “laying it at the apostle’s feet” (of course, manipulated completely by Tim Williams to give everything without holding anything back…after all, if she did, she’d end up struck dead like Sapphira in the book of Acts), I’m sure her condition is devastating. I watched her become the brunt of so much abuse by the wolf in sheep’s clothing, I can only pray that she will come to realize that God was grossly misrepresented by Tim Williams, and that she will allow God to gently restore her and surround her with safe people.

The Facts of the Matter – Part Two

This particular statement was made on the witness stand by Josiah Williams the youngest son of Tim and Carla Williams and the Executive Director at WinePress. You can see the entire article here in the Courier Herald.

After she sold the business in April 2010, shortly after, she put in her resignation from WinePress and Sound Doctrine Church,” Williams said.

He testified there were several disputes concerning the sale of the business and taxes owed on the business.

Williams said the business was sold to Sound Doctrine for $10 with more than $300,000 owing in taxes.

He said there was also a dispute over who would pay sales taxes owed on capital gains for about $86,000.

I’d like to add some facts to these statements to show the kind of mind control and intimidation Tim Williams uses even on his own family. These statements are completely false and were obviously spoon fed to Josiah, to keep him as a loyal and committed follower.

1)      I turned in my resignation on November 10, 2011 – I would not consider 20 months to be “shortly after” the business was sold. – EXAGERATION

2)      When the business was transferred to Sound Doctrine for $10 there were approximately $350,000 in liabilities…none of them taxes. These were monies due printers, editors, vendors, authors, and other various organizations, none of them governmental.  – LIE

• For the five years leading up to the transfer of the business, I personally had no say in how the money was spent at WinePress, all those decisions were made by either Tim & Carla Williams, Malcolm Fraser, Joshua or Josiah Williams.
• When I approached management (Tim and Malcolm) in writing about the fact that income was down but spending was still high, including first class plane tickets for Tim and Carla, huge salaries to the Williams family totaling half a million dollars a year, and other frivolous spending, I was rebuked, disciplined and called a witch, and instructed to shred all my journals and anything else where I might have written down any incriminating evidence.

3)      There was never a dispute about who would pay the sales tax on the transfer of assets. Even though it was clearly the church’s responsibility to pay it, I was convinced that it was my responsibility to pay. I wrote a letter to Malcolm stating that the State of Washington required payment within 2 weeks or they would go after WinePress for the $15,000. I asked, “Is there anyone in the church could co-sign a loan for me so I can get this paid?” To which I received a letter from the Sound Doctrine/WinePress attorney threatening “further action” if I did not take care of this responsibility immediately.

It was then I realized I’d been deceived for 12 years and turned in my resignation.

For the last 20+ months I have been painted as a disgruntled former employee.  Someone who had made a shambles of WinePress and had to be “rescued” by Tim Williams. One statement was made along the lines of “before I (Tim) got involved in running WinePress, the company charged $20,000 for a book with no distribution or publicity, but now we offer a better product with great distribution and promotion for a fraction of the cost.”

The Facts?

1)      Tim Williams book was published in 1998, 5,000 copies for about $20,000. Not only was his book distributed by all the major distributors, it was taken to the Christian Booksellers Convention and was promoted heavily by our publicity department.

2)      In 1998 there was no such thing as print on demand, so the idea of publishing 10 or 20 copies of a book for a “fraction of the cost” of an offset print run was not even a possibility.

3)      I still have copies of a letter from the host of “Save America” Chuck Crismier where he attempted to address some of the doctrinal error in the book, after he had Tim Williams on his national radio show.  The result of this thoughtful attempt to discuss error? Chuck’s WinePress book was immediately taken out of print and his account with WinePress closed. He was shamed, shunned, and excommunicated from the WinePress family of authors.

A friend sent me this scripture the other day…

“Doom to the shepherd-leaders who butcher and scatter my sheep!” God’s Decree. “So here is what I, God, Israel’s God, say to the shepherd-leaders who misled my people: ‘You’ve scattered my sheep. You’ve driven them off. You haven’t kept your eye on them. Well, let me tell you, I’m keeping my eye on you, keeping track of your criminal behavior. I’ll take over and gather what’s left of my sheep, gather them in from all the lands where I’ve driven them. I’ll bring them back where they belong, and they’ll recover and flourish. I’ll set shepherd-leaders over them who will take good care of them. They won’t live in fear or panic anymore. All the lost sheep rounded up!’ God’s Decree.”  Jeremiah 23: 1-4 (The Message)

May it ever be so for all those who have been deceived by the Sound Doctrine lie.

The Facts of the Matter

Ephesians 5:11

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

For the last 20 months I have been in the spotlight of amazingly yellow journalism on www.enumclaw.com. I have not been able to read more than a few articles, as every time I do I want to defend myself, hire an attorney to sue them for defamation, post a rebuttal, and on and on…in short, I want to fight back.

I have refused to do so, until today. No, I’m not wasting my money on a lawyer to sue them. But after reading the most recent article in the Courier Herald, I felt a factual response was appropriate based on Ephesians 5:11.

I want to focus on one statement made:

Abigail Davidson said Fraser and his wife lived with her and her children for five years and was like an ‘uncle’ to her children.

She said the church’s website, Enumclaw.com, ‘has done nothing but try to defend the character of Malcolm and our church, (it is) not trying to defame anybody.’

First, let me say that Abigail Davidson is the name my former daughter-in-law gave herself (or claims God gave her) after divorcing my son, Ailen Dean, when he chose to leave the cult. Her birth name is Tia, and I knew her as Tia Dean. And those children that lived with the pedophile are still my grandchildren, even though they have been turned against me and their father in ways you could never imagine. For her to not even ask the question… “Could Fraser be guilty? Could he have done the same to my daughter?” is unconscionable and negligent.

But it’s exactly what I expected…you see, not long after the victim’s family left the cult, Tim Williams started blogging about The Innocence Project. He started making a big deal about how people get sent to prison when they aren’t even guilty of the crime, (and granted, some do). A short time later he started blogging about False Memory Syndrome, saying you can never believe it when someone says they were sexually abused as a child…they’re probably just trying to get attention.

So of course, when the truth comes out all these years later, the entire group is up in arms calling it false accusations…of course, blaming me…and no one in the cult even asks the question… “could it be true?”

Are you connecting the dots yet?

Yep, the brainwashing strategy of Tim Williams is classic, cunning, and wildly successful in this small group of followers.

But here’s the point I wanted to make about Tia (Abigail)’s statement. She said:

The church ‘has done nothing but try to defend the character of Malcolm and our church, (it is) not trying to defame anybody’.

Because I won’t waste my time to read everything that’s on there, I will comment on just a one item that proves her statement to be a complete LIE.

How about the one about the Enumclaw Police helping me to steal $20,000 worth of furniture and belongings from my former roommates?

Here’s a perfect example of the way Tim Williams’ rhetoric works…he omits anything that could change the way the story is perceived…even if it’s the TRUTH.

On the surface, it sounds pretty bad…

But there are a few facts he “forgot” to mention:

• I offered them multiple dates and times to come and retrieve their stuff (through their attorney, which was a complete waste of money).
• They refused to come and get their stuff.
• I notified them if it wasn’t picked up by a certain date (new tenants were moving in) that I would give it away.
• They refused to come and get their stuff.
• Two days before the deadline, I called my former roommates’ (Jan Owens) mother in MO and tried to work out with her to get the stuff moved.
• Jan refused to let her help.
• I checked with the Enumclaw Police and was assured it could be considered “abandoned property” and that I could dispose of it without fear.
• I gave most of it away, dumped what was trash (which by the way cost me money to take to the dump) and then took all the sentimental personal items (picture albums, quilts, etc.) to Malcolm Fraser’s house (where Jan and her nephews were living) and dropped them off (took pictures as proof, and Malcolm actually walked out of the house as I was putting them in the breezeway, so he knew I’d brought it!).

Now, go back and read that post, and you tell me what you see.

I’ve read a few other of the scandalous postings charging me with all sorts of crimes. I think rather than address any of the other lies, what I’ve already pointed out is proof enough that Tim Williams is a mastermind manipulator, controller, abuser with Hitler-like power to sway his followers into lying in a court of law. He will twist the facts, omit the facts, and lie about the facts, just to try to protect his little kingdom of 40 followers, (including children).

When I walked away on November 10, 2011, I chose to obey Ephesians 5:11. I chose to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness perpetrated by Tim Williams and Malcolm Fraser, but rather expose them. I have been not afraid to tell my story…after all, they’d already gotten everything from me over the 12 years I was deceived…nothing really left to get, so I was willing to expose those deeds of darkness knowing the backlash would be ominous.

At times it has hurt to see those who were once friends believe the lies that are being told, but He continues to encourage me through those who hear from the Holy Spirit and can see through the rhetoric. I received this email yesterday from someone who sensed in the Spirit something was wrong at WinePress and set out to find me, when she Googled my name she saw all the junk they’d posted…here’s what she said…

“I know you’re a very busy woman, but I thought of you when reading Psalm 27, especially verses 12-14 ‘Give me not up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me; they breathe out cruelty and violence.’  V. 13 ‘(What, what would have become of me) had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living!’ V. 14 ‘Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring.  Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.’”

And that is exactly what I’m going to do. Continue to be brave and of good courage…I choose to allow my heart to be stout and enduring…I wait for and hope for and EXPECT the Lord to expose all that needs to be exposed in order for those who are still in deception to break free.

Child Rapist Supporters Speak Out

Child Rapist Supporters Speak Out

You know, if I didn’t know better, I might think some of what they are saying could be true. But I understand the “group think” (because I once believed it) and I understand fully how these people have been manipulated into thinking any criticism, any question, any demand to be held accountable for actions is labeled slander, hate crimes, gossip, and a host of other labels that attempt to discredit the person who is speaking out. It also has been carefully and strategically planned to keep the “group” isolated from any sound reasoning.

They have been pre-conditioned (using scripture out of context for many, many years) to think that anyone who does not agree is the enemy and listening to them would endanger their “salvation”…and so, they stay in the dark, cut off from family and friends who have tried and failed to point out the obvious. Yes, they stay in the darkness of the lie they have believed is truth, and are fed only what Tim Williams wants them to know, half truths, twisted truth, stories omitting significant facts, and flat out lies. Yes, this is how cult leaders operate, and Tim Williams is one master manipulator.

Pretty amazing that I could be responsible for his wife’s brain tumor, that I could talk a teenager into fabricating a story and then going before a judge and jury retelling unmentionable things, and that I could get the prosecutor and judge to ignore “evidence” …and wow…I am so powerful I could be responsible for the “pastor” to be “unjustly” found guilty on all charges and sent to prison.

Laughable, but so, so sad at the same time.

To think I gave my credibility in Christian publishing to this group, on a silver platter, and now they are using it to not only slander and defame me, but many others who have had the courage to tell the truth.

Lord, have mercy.