Some very scary shit is going down in Texas. Scarier than usual. “Repent Amarillo” is a rabid group of religious nuts—homegrown religious extremists of the conservative Christian variety—and they’re not just going after the gays.
At first, the swinger community was mystified by the attention. On the 60-some hours of surveillance footage the Meads have, a swinger can be heard telling a Repent member that the swingers haven’t done anything to bother them.“You’re going to hell, and it bothers me,” Grisham responds. “What bothers me is you’re going to hell.”
Perhaps the most insidious tactic Repent uses is trying to destroy the reputation of the swingers. In Amarillo, people can be ostracized over a whiff of impropriety. On one tape, Grisham directs followers to get the license-plate numbers in the Route 66 parking lot. “A new couple can be here three or four hours,” says Mac. “Whenever they leave, the Repent Amarillo group will call them by first and last name, know where they live, know where they work, just within a very few hours.”
Randall Sammons says he was fired from his job of 13 years in August after his boss learned Sammons was a swinger from another employee, a Repent member. He believes he’s now as good as blacklisted in Amarillo. “I’m screwed at finding a job,” Sammons says. Russell Grisham, David’s 20-year-old son who has a conviction on his record for hacking the computer system at his high school, has posted the names, photos and workplaces of swingers on the Internet, including one man whose wife works for a school district. (“Family-wise, it will kill both of us,” the man says.) In at least two instances, Repent members called swingers’ employers.
Having successfully harassed a local and very discreet group for heterosexual swingers out of existence, Repent Amarillo’s “warriors” are now planning to go after…
1. Gay pride events.
2. Earth worship events such as “Earth Day”
3. Pro-abortion events or places such as Planned Parenthood
4. Breast cancer events such as “Race for the Cure” to illuminate the link between abortion and breast cancer.
5. Opening day of public schools to reach out to students.
6. Spring break events.
7. Demonically based concerts.
8. Halloween events.
9. Other events that may arise that the ministry feels called to confront.
They’re also going after churches they believe to be insufficiently Christian (Episcopalians, Christian Scientists, Unitarians), palm readers, people who practice witchcraft, and anything and everything that might create a “demonic stronghold” in Amarillo. And they’re not just threatening to pray for people: Repent Amarillo’s “actions” include prayer, according to Repent Amarillo’s website, “but [also] may involve more aggressive use of soldiers and prayer warriors.” Check out the group’s locked-and-loaded website. (Please note: Repent Amarillo’s website “is not designed for non-Christians,” or the wrong kinds of Christians, so don’t look long lest you defile the group’s website with your eyes and turn into a pillar of salt.)
Hello? Moderate and liberal Christians? In Texas and elsewhere? Now might be a good time to speak the fuck up. Maybe you could spit out a few press releases, organize a massive, anti-Phelps-style counter-protest, and come to the defense of the people and churches and artists and businesses being menaced by your co-religionists. This calls for something above and beyond mewling in comments threads on liberal blogs about how “we’re not all like that.” Don’t tell us, tell them.
The very least you can do is to join this Facebook group. More info and links at How To Have Sex In Texas.
eventually they’ll cross the line with the majority of Amarillans, and it will be Girolamo Savonarolesque.
That or they’ll terrorize them into submission, but i bet the feds step in 1st – it ain’t the Bush years.
@51, I believe this is the quote you were thinking of:
They came for the Communists, and I didn’t object – For I wasn’t a Communist;
They came for the Socialists, and I didn’t object – For I wasn’t a Socialist;
They came for the labor leaders, and I didn’t object – For I wasn’t a labor leader;
They came for the Jews, and I didn’t object – For I wasn’t a Jew;
Then they came for me – And there was no one left to object.
-Martin Niemoller
@ 24 – Yeah, where’s that BRAVE Christian soldier Loveschild to defend her brothers and sisters in Christ? Maybe not so brave? Maybe…a total coward?
@24 & 54 – I was wondering the exact same thing.
Ugh, comparing all Christians to these fuckwits is like comparing all leftists to Mao or Stalin. Yes, Christianity has a bloody history, just like every other fucking belief system or political ideology on the planet because people suck.
By the way did none of you “Why aren’t Christians speaking out against this” people notice that they’ve got certain denominations like the Episcopal Church, The Unitarians, and Christian Scientists on their shit list precisely because those denominations to speak out quite vocally against this sort of thing? Guess not…
These guys at Repent Amarillo really want to hear from you. They have their contact info right on the website:
Pastor David:
Telephone: +1 (806) 553-0128
Hours: 24 Hours A Day
Email: PastorDavid@repentamrillo.com
BigJohn 24 Hour Prayer:
Telephone: +1 (806) 853-PRAY
Hours: 24 Hours A Day
Email:BigJohn@repentamarillo.com
Team Line:
Telephone: +1 (806) 553-0128
Hours: 24 hours A Day
Email: PastorTodd@repentamarillo.com
Tech Support :
Telephone: +1 (806) 553-0124 Hours: 9:00 AM-11:00 PM
Email: Tech@repentamarillo.com
These guys at Repent Amarillo really want to hear from you. They have their contact info right on the website:
Pastor David:
Telephone: +1 (806) 553-0128
Hours: 24 Hours A Day
Email: PastorDavid@repentamrillo.com
BigJohn 24 Hour Prayer:
Telephone: +1 (806) 853-PRAY
Hours: 24 Hours A Day
Email:BigJohn@repentamarillo.com
Team Line:
Telephone: +1 (806) 553-0128
Hours: 24 hours A Day
Email: PastorTodd@repentamarillo.com
Tech Support :
Telephone: +1 (806) 553-0124 Hours: 9:00 AM-11:00 PM
Email: Tech@repentamarillo.com
I have never more wanted to go to Gay Pride in Amarillo TExas. Who’s with me for a road trip?????
#9, If these psychos succeed in completely hijacking your religion, you will wish you had said something.
Unless of course you expect that god will smite his more loathsome followers.
You’re right, 60, all of the social justice work that I do and that my church does is insignificant if I don’t dignify ignorant assumptions linking me to the Christian Right with some kind of official dissociation.
@50 And I legitimately pity minors who live in Texas, and anything awful that happens to them is unfair. But once you hit 18, it’s in your power to get the hell out. People just have to make a value judgment, and if you decide to live in Texas, then you choose to live surrounded by racist sexist homophobic religious fanatics.
But, according to Jesus, this guy is committing adultery every time he fucks his fourth wife. It doesn’t matter if he’s repented for his past bad acts.
Yuck.
Seeing as my denomination is on their list, I am not surprised. I can’t attend the only church that has individuals both clergy and lay that speak out? Or the only denomination whose clergy get arrested for standing up. I can’t be the only one speaking out, in my circle Robertson, Driscol, Warren, etc. and their company are spoken out against and addressed. Heck, that is why I changed churches, because I was not taken seriously at the previous one and I wasn’t going to stand by and watch them bring an ex-gay program in. (Enough of a stink was made and the program was dropped.)
I know I, without malice, offend some individuals and have lost relationships due to my outspoken mouth. And, that I offend individuals here, who don’t agree with me. Still I can’t be quiet. If I am quiet then I have consented. And, I have to live with myself.
Ps. Keep up the work, Sheryl @ 13.
Man, how come authoritarian dickbags are always cowards?
You don’t see these people coming to a hotbed of liberal sin like Seattle and picking on a community that wouldn’t give a good goddamn if they, say, exposed my terrible secret life as a bisexual nonmonogamous atheist evolutionist whatever-else-I-am-ist.
They have to victimize people they can actually harm, people who live in communities that’ll condemn them. They can’t take on a real challenge. Fucking jackals.
Oops, I’ll amend that: they’re ALMOST always cowards. There are of course the true crazies – the brave ones, I guess? – like the Westboro Baptist Church. Say what you will about Phelps’ folk (there’s plenty to say and none of it good), but you can’t fault them for staying home and quietly picking on the town outcasts. They set themselves a challenge, insane and hateful as it is.
If they want to play at their little harassment, let the fuckwits have it.
I say the good people of Amarillo ought to ALL spend time at the places these assholes despise. Park their cars at the nearest coffee house, gay bar, abortion clinic, swingers club, bar (in general), wtf ever. Have it so that damn near everyone is there, and they can’t sort out the “omg, sinners!” from everyone else. If everyone’s doing it, they can’t stigmatize and harass anyone.
These kind of groups get a lot of notoriety but eventually burn themselves out because they’re fringe groups and don’t speak to the majority of the people in the community. And, like most Christians who are incredibly pushy about their beliefs, they have something hidden in their closet (so to speak). That doesn’t mean people shouldn’t speak out about them, but I wouldn’t be too worried about them taking over Amarillo.
@58- “BigJohn”…seriously?
Gosh, what’s the fuss?
They just want to civilly confront swingers…
@70: Why do swingers need to be confronted? Why do these people feel the need to violate the privacy of others?
God, I thought South Carolina was wacko enough, it seems like Utah and Texas have it beat when it comes to religious weirdos. There was a lot of reasons why I left S. Carolina, but I’ll definitely say that the increasing disturbing fundamentalism was a big reason I left. I lived in a tiny, tiny town that somehow managed to house the KKK and the John Birch Society.
Somehow all these societies and fundamentalist Christianity go together and bleed over into each other.
On another note, when I glossed over this blog’s titles, I thought it said “Repent Armadillo”. What did armadillos ever do to anyone?
I can’t believe they aren’t attacking the mormons and their crazy temple ceremonies full of blood oaths. Or naked washings and annointings.
Until Dan decides to speak the fuck up about homosexuals who adopt boys to have sex with them and rent them out to other homosexuals to have sex with them we must assume that Dan and all homosexuals are OK with homosexuals who adopt boys to have sex with them and rent them out to other homosexuals to have sex with them.
http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives…
This calls for something above and beyond mewling in comments threads on liberal blogs about how “we’re not all like that” and “I hope he goes to prison”.
71
Why do people who signed the R-71 petition need to be confronted? Why do these people feel the need to violate the privacy of others?
@69 — Yes, seriously, “Big John”. He seems to be the surliest of the bunch — but I sincerely recommend calling all of them. Most entertaining 🙂
Pastor David:
Telephone: +1 (806) 553-0128
Hours: 24 Hours A Day
Email: PastorDavid@repentamrillo.com
BigJohn 24 Hour Prayer:
Telephone: +1 (806) 853-PRAY
Hours: 24 Hours A Day
Email:BigJohn@repentamarillo.com
Team Line:
Telephone: +1 (806) 553-0128
Hours: 24 hours A Day
Email: PastorTodd@repentamarillo.com
Tech Support :
Telephone: +1 (806) 553-0124 Hours: 9:00 AM-11:00 PM
Email: Tech@repentamarillo.com
How did they know about the group if it was discreet? Did a swinger repent and become an “ex-swinger”?
@75: The people who signed the petition put themselves into the public eye by attaching their name to a political (and therefore public) initiative. Their voluntary and public announcement of their views means that their privacy is not violated insofar as revealing that they attached their names to the petition.
The swingers’ actions were not only perfectly legal but also part of their own private lives. They signed no petitions, made no public statements, and took no political action. They have a right to privacy.
Try to keep up with me, okay, Alleged?
“You’re going to hell, and it bothers me,” Grisham responds. “What bothers me is you’re going to hell.”
If I’m going to Hell, isn’t that my business? OK, no, I guess you have a Christian duty to try to save my soul. And if you were acting like that’s what you wanted to do, I’d be annoyed, but I might cut you some slack. But these efforts don’t seem directed at salvation at all. The goal seems to be to make people miserable right here on Earth. It’s almost like you don’t really believe I’m going to Hell — but you think I should. So since you don’t trust God to do it, you take it upon yourself. Not very Christian of you, is it?
You’re absolutely wrong, Dan. This isn’t a job for liberal Christians. This is a job for the FBI.
I think this is a bigger problem than just harassment. Did anyone else notice that the banner says Army of God? The Army of God are a Christian Terrorist group who’ve committed numerous murders, and attempted car bombings and suicide bombings of abortion clinics and federal buildings.
@80 FTW.
78 it seems a lot of fuss over a little civil confrontation…
We should all be very afraid – and make our voices heard. Help us out Dan – how do we effectively make a difference here? Emails to Texas governor and other politicos … to the Feds? How do we get the media to report this group as the terrorists that they are?!
84
We must all get on the comments threads on liberal blogs and mewl about how “we’re not all like that” and “I hope he goes to prison”.
“You’re absolutely wrong, Dan. This isn’t a job for liberal Christians. This is a job for the FBI.”
Ah, such sweet naivete. Amarillo law enforcement are WELL aware of the problem, but Texas authorities aren’t taking the side of swingers over Christians. So far the line is that Repent Amarillo haven’t broken the law, and that they have a right to free speech. Are the federal authorities going to really swoop down to defend swingers in BF nowhere? I seriously doubt it.
“Emails to Texas governor and other politicos”
HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAH
Well if it makes the armchair internet activists feel better, sure go for it. It won’t do squat though.
@35
I’d hate burst your bubble, but crazy religious folks like these are actually pretty common in Australia, as well.
Okay I’ll stop being funny and try to give some advice:
People are saying “call/email Repent Amarillo” and I honestly believe that would be the best thing that ever happened to them. They’d love nothing more than to be under siege by a bunch of “sexual deviants.”
If people want to make a difference, they should call the Potter County’s Sheriff Department and complain to them for allowing abuse and harassment against people who engage in alternative lifestyles. If you read the original story where this issue was first broke by Forrest Wilder at the Texas Observer, you’ll see that the Sheriff’s Department enabled the activities against the swingers by Repent Amarillo:
http://www.texasobserver.org/dateline/he…
I would recommend not visiting their website (to jerk off or otherwise). I got a malware warning, and it appears whoever coded it left it wide open to SQL injection attacks.
Instead, contact the US Army and tell them someone is using their logo and imagery without permission.
89
be sure to give the Sheriff’s office your full address, phone, etc.
that will save the Army of God some legwork….
LOL. They stole my religious symbol and made it into a filthy, militant Christian thing! I want my pentacle back!
And Texas is a sad, sad, sad place. I have lived here in Texas for 9 years now, and I’ve seen my fair share of nut jobs. It’s like they are specifically bred here. I’ve lived in Central Texas, North Texas, and now, far west Texas (El Paso), and whackjobs abound.
I tried to escape Texas once, but it totally blew up in my face, since all my family lives here, and I couldn’t find a job where I went, so I ended up having to crawl back here. Meh. 🙁
@92: At least move to the Austin area, if you can, I guess. Good luck holding out!
Oh joys. I get up online and find that my old Hometown (where I still have family, including a daughter and two grandkids) has been almost taken over by crazies. Joys and yummies.
I’ve got to come up there soon and I’m a Wiccan (read: witch) and I imagine that they will be very happy to use me as an example if they can find me. Joys.
And, hey, 92, you’re in the wrong spot. There are LOTS of us pagans in Texas. DFW, Killeen, Austin, Houston, and Corpus all have groups who are getting together and welcoming newcomers. Not all Texans are wackos.
For more information about Repent Amarillo/ Raven Ministries, please go to http://www.repentamarillo.NET or sign up as a fan on Facebook: Amarillo Citizens Against Repent Amarillo.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=fe…
We have been dealing with this small group of 7 or so people for over 1 year. The group consists of David Grisham (a security guard at a Nuclear Bomb making place), Tracy Grisham (his 4th wife), Russell Grisham (his 20 yr old son who lives at home with his wife, because he has a deferred adjudication for HACKING into the local school district), Angie Grisham (Russell’s wife), Big John Leinen (a 24-25 yr old who says that he has been in the Crips and does not mind going back to jail), Mark Shelton (another 20 something), and Todd Bohn (whose brother is the head of Raven Ministries that calls itself a non-profit, but is not signed up with the IRS).
Please go these sights to gain more understanding and to get links to other sources about this group.
Thank you for your support.
Why, oh why, must some of us liberals (and I’m looking at you here, Dan) decry stuff like this as “scary”? It’s bullshit, if you’ll pardon my French, and a cause for righteous anger.
Gather ’round Catalina’s withered knee while I tell you a story, dearies: I was raised Catholic in a town where Catholics were regarded as “not christian” (I miss those days, because rank-and-file Catholics tended not to be self-righteous jerks back then) and my older sister went to Catholic school. The school was on a curve of a busy road, and my dad quite reasonably thought that the city should put up a school warning sign with flashing light, and wrote a letter to the editor of the paper expressing that thought.
Certain Christians went quite apoplectic by that: We got many late night phone calls about the “fucking Catholics” and even vague threats to mow my sister down with a car. We got nasty stuff in the mail about the pope, and we got a vandalized garage door, and a broken car window.
My mom – who was not from there – was quite reasonably freaked out, but my Dad – who was very much from there – got mad. He didn’t do anything stupid, but he stood his ground, and got appointed to the library board, where he was a strong advocate for open access and a wide selection of books. He then ran, and quite improbably, got elected to the public school board (the Catholic school had shut down by then, probably because no one who went there could spell – just asck my sistar) where he became a notorious liberal voice – or at least notoriously liberal for that place, at that time.
My point is that my dad, who was not a particularly courageous man (and he’d be the first to tell you that, and I’d be the first to tell you I follow firmly in his footsteps) quietly stood up against the kind of crap that the Repent Amarillo freaks are doing. He didn’t stand in front of a tank or stare down the barrel of a gun, but he would never talk about how “scary” his opponents were, either – even though they were intimidating, in that way that bullies have. He was the sort of example that I wish more liberals would follow these days. We need to stop imagining ourselves as Liza in “Cabaret” and standing up to this sort of crap.
“You’re going to hell, and it bothers me,” Grisham responds. “What bothers me is you’re going to hell.”
&
“If I’m going to Hell, isn’t that my business? OK, no, I guess you have a Christian duty to try to save my soul. “
you know what this reminds me of?? The Inquisitions… torture to get them to repent and then death is acceptable as long as we save their souls, right?
I am a Christian and sad to say that there are days when I meet people on the street that wear it like a badge to get someone to trust them so they can rip that person off… I am so sick of all the bickering and whining about this and that and no one even really cares what Christianity is really about. There is no need to “fight fire with fire”, that isn’t what Christ taught and no, I can’t quote scripture to anyone I just know that I have faith in my relationship with God.
To each their own, I have my beliefs and other people have theirs. If you want to see what I think is a really good response to all of this, here you go;
The Room …
In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endlessly in either direction, had very different headings.
As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read “Girls I Have Liked.” I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.
And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn’t match.
A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file named “Friends” was next to one marked “Friends I Have Betrayed”.
The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. “Books I Have Read,” “Lies I Have Told,” “Comfort I Have Given,” “Jokes I Have Laughed At.” Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: “Things I’ve Yelled At My Brothers.” Others I couldn’t laugh at: “Things I Have Done In My Anger,” “Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath At My Parents.” I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped.
I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to write each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.
When I pulled out the file marked “Songs I Have Listened To,” I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn’t found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of music, but more by the vast amount of time I knew that file represented. When I came to a file marked “Lustful Thoughts,” I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.
An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: “No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!” In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn’t mattered now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.
Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore “People I Have Shared With About My Belief In Jesus.” The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.
And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that the hurt started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus.
I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn’t bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?
Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn’t anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn’t say a word. He just cried with me.
Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.
“No!” I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was “No, no,” as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn’t be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don’t think I’ll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, “It is finished!”
I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.
By Joshua Harris. Originally published in New Attitude Magazine © Copyright New Attitude 1995
The funny thing about what Christ taught is that Love and Fear/Hate can’t coexist in the same place and if you fill your heart with Love, (and who cares what they say or do) there isn’t a single thing that can be done to you (think being crucified here) that can’t be forgiven… and besides, when was the last time you saw a hater not lose their mind when being loved for their “sin”
Kill ’em with kindness 🙂
Okay, so I tried to visit their website, but it appears someone may have killed it for the time being with a DoS (or DoSesque) attack.
I guess what now I might need to ask is: who’s engaging in the old-fashioned Ecotopian cyberwarfare? Anyone? Perhaps from another board? Perhaps it’s a slashdot, that Dan’s post merely overloaded the idiots with traffic?
Either way, it sounds like these “Repent Amarillo” guys are stupid, hateful and cultish dumbfucks; but be that as it may, they do have the right to freedom of speech on the internet as much as any other assholes. That way, at least, we know what they’re saying (or trying to say), so that we also use the internet to point out how they’re being hateful and cultish dumbfucks.
I guess all I’m asking is we put our cyberguns away and let well-articulated arguments like Dan’s suffice, if the relevant person even exists and can even hear me… there’s no need to go all internet wild west on this bitch. It should be obvious it’s dramatically more effective to defeat ignorance by responding rather than silencing. When you respond, other, totally unrelated people who might be persuaded to hateful ideas are able to reconsider the error of their ways in the process.
Anywho, I’ll check it in the morning to see if it’s back up. Thanks for the bizarre, scary, but fascinating update, Dan!
PS. This hilarious/scary video is on their MySpace, for those interested: http://blip.tv/file/1691705/
Haha, it’s like they’ve simplified the beauty of the entire philosophical complexity in the human condition down to a bad Dungeons-and-Dragons episode. Oh well…
wow.
Scary-
Who would imagine hate filled bigots could get you fired and even blacklisted?
100
yeah-scary.
maybe in a backward intolerant prejudiced place like Texas but this could Never happen in, say, California…