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The First Baptist Church of Hammond is a fundamental Independent Baptist church in Hammond, Indiana. It is the largest church in the state of Indiana and one of the largest churches in the United States. Though founded in 1887, it was under Jack Hyles' leadership from 1959-2001 that it became a megachurch, one of the first megachurches in the United States. It has a weekly attendance of around 20,000. It also operates Hyles-Anderson College and k-12 schools. Jack Schaap succeeded Hyles as pastor in 2001.
First Baptist Church also hosts three national conferences. The first Pastors' School invites pastors, assistant pastors, Christian leaders, school administrators, and Christian laymen to a week of training and learning. Youth Conference, is held in mid-July and is for the youth and teenagers of Christian churches nationally. The final conference of the year, held every October, is the Christian Womenhood Spectacular for Christian women of all ages.
Ministries and Outreach
First Baptist Church has several outreach ministries, including Hyles Publications, Hyles-Anderson College (an unaccredited institution), Fundamental Baptist Missions International, Hammond Baptist Schools, City Baptist Schools, Memory Lane Cemetery, Christian Womanhood Magazine, First Baptist Church Little League, Nursing Home Ministry, Sailor Ministry, Truck Driver's Ministry, Bus Ministry, Blind Ministry, Pathfinder Ministry (Educable Slow), Homeless Ministry, Rescue Mission, Public School Ministry, Inner City Chapel Ministry, and Deaf Ministry. The church also has several services in Spanish and some oriental languages.
Controversy and criticism
Seeing eye dog banned
On July 6, 1984, The Associated Press reported, Donald Baker "a man blind since birth says he's been told he cannot attend his church with a guide dog he acquired in February." Baker "was told by the church's pastor that he could not attend services with his dog Casey because it "would disturb others." Rev. Jack Hyles, was unavailable for comment, but the Rev. Keith McKinney "confirmed Baker no longer attends First Baptist but said he could make no official comment."
Biblical teachings questioned
Bob L Ross has accused Jack Hyles' of erroneous teachings. More specifically Ross has asked if Hyles "read in the Bible that the apostles 'preached' the Word and men were 'born of God'" because "Hyles jumps to the confusion of identifying the "seed" of I Peter 1:23 as being a reference to the 'Word of God.' It is NOT."
Similarly, others have noted "doctrinal errors" in Hyles' teachings. For example Robert Sumner of The Biblical Evangelist argued "(1) Hyles adopted what could be considered a Mormon philosophy of celestial marriage to justify his relationship with Jennie Nischik, Vic Nischik's wife. (2) In 1971, when Jennie first demanded that husband Vic leave, Hyles came to Vic and reportedly asked if, once divorce had been granted, he had permission to marry her.(3) In 1985, when Vic demanded that Hyles give him his wife back, Hyles reportedly told Vic that he could have Beverly (Mrs. Hyles), with the same relationship Hyles enjoyed with Jennie."
Church funds questioned
On May 28, 1989 The Chicago Tribune reported "former associate Victor Nischik has accused Hyles of having an affair with his former wife Jennie" and questionable financial dealings. Pastor Hyles replied by saying the charges were "false" and "he has given 'hundreds of thousands' of dollars to needy friends over many years but has kept no records of the transactions."
Leadership/cult issues
Reverend Tom Neal, amongst others have been said to follow Jack Hyles in a "cultic" way. The Hyles followers are well known within fundamental Christianity as slavishly devoted to the legacy of Hyles and many fit comfortably into the definition of cultists. Neal purported that Hyles took increasingly extreme positions, such as declaring the King James Version the only valid translation of Scripture, suggesting that people converted while reading a different translation were not truly Christians and teaching that one could earn "credits" with God to compensate for sins.
Hyles' college has always been unaccredited. Jeri Massi has argued Hyles-Anderson College combined with ever fundamentalist views, expects professors be loyal Hyles adherents. As a result, some believe this has let the academic quaility to slip to the detriment of the graduates and make it hard to use the unaccredited degrees for employment. Yet, it is noted that the academics were relatively strong in the 1970s and into the 1980s when professors from a variety of substantial institutions were on the faculty, but since the scandals of the 1980s, the faculty is almost exclusively made up of Hyles-Anderson graduates.
Sex scandals
On May 25, 1989 The Chicago Tribune, explained former deacon of the First Baptist Church, Victor Nischik accused Jack Hyles of committing adultery with Nischik's wife and Hyles' long time assistant, Jennie Nischik. Allegations were first made public in the "Godfrey Letter," which was an informative letter sent by Evangelist George Godfrey to several hundred graduates, pastors, and former students of Hyles-Anderson college. The letter did not specify sexual sin but raised questions about improprieties between Jack Hyles and his married assistant, Jenny Nischik. The Godfrey letter also specified other doctrinal and behavioral problems observed in Jack Hyles by this former faculty member.
However, the publication that forced the scandals of Jack Hyles into the public view of Baptist Fundamentalism was a lengthy May 1989 expose printed by Robert Sumner in his newspaper (The Biblical Evangelist) under the title "The Saddest Story I've Ever Told."
Eventually, Victor Nischik wrote a book about the scandal titled The Wizard of God. This work detailed the relationship between Jack Hyles and Jenny Nischik and charged Jack Hyles with alienating the affections of Jenny Nischik from her husband. Within a year, Fundamental Seduction by Attorney Voyle Glover, explored all the evidence surrounding the relationship between Jack Hyles and Jenny Nischik and Jack's son, Dave Hyles', actions surrounding the death of 18 of Dave's girlfriend's son Brent Stevens.
In 1993, a Michigan news team, following up on allegations in five different fundamentalist churches of children molested by church workers, traced each alleged perpetrator back to Hyles-Anderson college. This news team produced a 30-minute documentary called "Preying from the Pulpit" for the Detroit Michigan Eyewitness News program (Preying from the Pulpit pt. 1, pt.2, pt.3, pt.4, pt.5). In this documentary they reported on the "repressive" manner in which women were treated at Hyles-Anderson college, and they focused part of their report on the story of AV Ballenger, a deacon charged with molesting a seven year old girl in her Sunday School class room.
Ballenger molestation
AV Ballenger was a 58 year old Hammond Baptist Church deacon and church bus driver. In 1991 he was accused of molesting a 7 year old girl during a Sunday school class. Furthermore, "a church worker reportedly witnessed the act and removed the girl from the room, police said." During the criminal trial Jack Hyles "told the child's parents that Ballenger 'just liked little girls,' and, 'You don't have a case.'" The parents later filed suit for one million dollars against Hyles and his church." Ballenger was found guilty for molestation and sentenced to five years.
1997 allegations of abuse
On December 8, 1997 Christianity Today reported Jack Hyles and the First Baptist Church of Hammond was being sued by "mentally disabled church member" for being repeatedly raped and assaulted for six years. The lawyer for the women, Vernon Petri, "says Hyles is a defendant because he failed to protect the woman", such that "Controls have to be set to be sure things are conducted appropriately, Petri says."
2000 Comb's abuse
Reverend Joseph Combs and his wife, Evangeline Lopez Combs were members of First Baptist Church of Hammond and Combs was also a professor at Hyles-Anderson College. The two adopted Esther Combs, who "experts" say was "tortured" for nearly 20 years. "The 410 scars she accumulated from curling iron burns, baseball bat beatings and other abuse went undetected because she was in the care of a minister and his wife, who used a cloak of religion and home schooling to isolate her." While one babysitter testified "that they suspected Esther was mistreated but didn't want to contradict Combs, who had been their Bible professor at Hyles Anderson College." Furthermore, the another babysitter testified she "reported her suspicions to the college president, but apparently nothing was done, she said." In 1986, Combs moved to Florida to start a church and he and his wife were found guilty in 2000.
References
- "Blind Man Says Church Bans Him, After He Gets Guide Dog," The Associated Press, July 6, 1984.
- "Charges All Lies, Hammond Pastor Says," The Chicago Tribune, May 28, 1989.
- "The Jack Hyles Story" (PDF). The Biblical Evangelist. 1989.
- "Charges All Lies, Hammond Pastor Says," The Chicago Tribune, May 28, 1989.
- "Hyles' Supporters are Blind Followers of Men". Way of Life. 2005.
- "Hyles' Supporters are Blind Followers of Men". Way of Life. 2005.
- "Pastor Linked to Sex Abuse Lashes Out," Chicago Sun-Times, June 2, 1993.
- "AV Ballenger," South Bend Tribune, August 30, 1996.
- "Church leaders sued in sex-abuse case," The Chicago Tribune, Oct 16, 1991.
- "Baptist Megachurch Faces Sex Suit". Christianity Today. Dec. 8.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - "Experts say Combs child abuse case unusual," The Associated Press, April 7, 2000.
- "Esther Combs faces the woman she called mother and asks: Why?". The Associated Press. April 25.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help)
External links
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