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Tenth Anniversary: "Is It Enough? The Unfinished Story of Sexual Abuse at FCCF"



(NOTE: On March 3, 2015, Steve Wingfield, pastor at First Christian Church of Florissant (now Christ First), and the elders were informed in the document, "Is It Enough: The Unfinished Story of Sexual Abuse at FCCF" that Winfield willingly covered up knowledge of the sexual misconduct of six additional minors (not the original two minors who came forward) by Milburn, a convicted child molester.


The first edition of the document is posted below; it was updated on March 28th, and another document "What's Going on at FCCF? Serious Answers for a Serious Problem" was sent to Wingfield and the elders on April 6, 2015.


This story is still unfinished ten years later. It was most recently documented in Joy S. Taylor's book, "Clergy Cover-Up: Does It Work? An Analysis of Abuse in the Church" available on Amazon.)


 


IS IT ENOUGH?: The Unfinished Story of Sexual Abuse at FCCF

By Douglas Lay

March 3, 2015


Brandon Milburn—a Bible college graduate, a skilled musician, a talented worship leader, a gifted creative arts director, a youth sponsor, a church intern, a church member—and a pedophile.

 

On January 26, 2015, in a courtroom in Saint Louis County, Brandon pleaded guilty to seven counts of sodomy with two minors under the age of 12—two innocent, impressionable, and trusting boys from the youth program at First Christian Church of Florissant[1]. He awaits his sentencing on March 30, 2015, a sentence that could bring 10 years to life.

 

But that is not the end of the story, nor is it the beginning of the story—it is the middle of the story.

 

The beginning of the story goes back to a time when Brandon first arrived in St. Louis. He enrolled at Saint Louis Christian College[2] in August of 2005. Twenty months later, in June of 2007, Brandon committed six accounts of sodomy against two young boys under the age of 12. It would be four months later, in October of 2007, that Brandon committed the seventh count of sodomy.

 

No one knew except the two innocent victims—and Brandon.

 

From this point on, the story of Brandon will take on a new perspective. When you now read the rest of his story with the knowledge of the sodomy charges from 2007, it will help to interpret the “circumstantial” evidence by connecting the dots more clearly. The sexual abuse in 2007 was most likely not an isolated, one-time event. There is much more to the story.

 

Brandon left town after graduating from SLCC in December of 2009 and returned to his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. He was employed at Southeast Christian Church[3] as an

Atmosphere and Media Tech from October 2008 to April 2009.[4]

 

Brandon returned to St. Louis to re-enroll at SLCC in August of 2009 to pursue a BS degree in preaching and to resume his ministry relationship with FCCF—including his connection with the two minors.  The following summer, 2010, Brandon served as an intern as part of his college degree program at Discovery Church[5] in Simi Valley, California.

 

While at that church, Brandon met a young woman, and they started up a friendship. After corresponding with each other during the fall of 2010, she enrolled at SLCC for the spring semester of 2011. She told me one day after class that although she had received offers from other colleges, she turned them down to attend SLCC for one main purpose—to be with Brandon. He, however, was not interested—a sentiment he repeated every time I asked him about her. He would often say that he just wanted to focus on his relationship with the Lord and ministering to the kids at church instead. I believed him.

 

When he returned to SLCC in August of 2010, he finished out his last year of college and graduated in August of 2011 with a BS degree in preaching.

 

During Brandon’s entire enrollment at the college, I was one of his professors, his only academic advisor, a mentor, and a friend. He also was, during this time, a member, a youth volunteer, and an intern at First Christian Church of Florissant, the same church where my wife and I are members and teachers. At no time from August of 2005 to August of 2011 did I ever suspect any inappropriate sexual or emotional relationships with minors by Brandon, nor had I ever been told of any complaints or allegations from any student from the college; any youth, parent, or staff from the church; or any individual outside of the church—no one.

 

In August of 2011, Brandon was hired by FCCF as the Creative Elements Director, a position he held until January 2012[6] although he was still listed on the FCCF website as the CED as of February 16, 2012.[7]

 

During a two-day mission trip to tornado-ravished Joplin by a group of members from FCCF in August of 2011, I first noticed “something unusual” about Brandon. He had been asked by the church to provide video coverage of the trip, something for which he was profoundly talented. Yet, during filming one day, I observed that a young boy, about 14 years old, was constantly following Brandon. They had traveled to Joplin separately from our group in the church van; they had traveled together back to St. Louis in a separate car. The minor was quiet and reserved, often looking away from me if I tried to speak to him. I forgot about it until six months later.

 

At the end of January 2012, Brandon left FCCF and was hired on a contract basis to do graphic art design at Gateway Christian Church[8] in St. Louis, a job that was similar to what he had done at FCCF. This was my second “something unusual” moment. Brandon was exceptionally talented as a speaker, musician, artist, and techie. Churches would always be highly interested in someone with Brandon’s skills—so why would Brandon leave a church with over 1000 members to work at a much smaller church down the street?  

 

Brandon continued to volunteer with the youth group at FCCF on Wednesday evenings while he was working at Gateway Christian Church on Sundays. This continued from about February to May of 2012. This is when I had my third “something unusual” moment. Why did Brandon leave his employment at FCCF but continue to volunteer on Wednesday evenings with the youth at the church where he was no longer employed?

 

Each of these “something unusual” dots seemed insignificant by themselves, but they soon were about to be connected—the beginning of the end for Brandon.

 

After Brandon had left FCCF around the end of January 2012, a church member at FCCF—a parent of children in the youth group and also a former youth sponsor—responded to an invitation by the senior pastor[9] of FCCF and the executive minister.[10] The senior pastor had received a call from the minister at Gateway Christian Church about allegations of sexual conduct by Brandon with a minor while Brandon was at FCCF. The minister at Gateway had heard about the allegations through a former member with a connection to this parent.

 

The parent met with the two pastors from FCCF for over two hours. Immediately afterwards, the parent stopped by my house, very distraught and obviously shaken. Over the next several hours, the parent shared with me and then with my wife, a long list of disturbing sexual allegations between Brandon and a group of boys, all minors, from the youth group at FCCF. These allegations took place between 2009 and 2012.

 

Here is a list of key allegations this parent reported to the senior minister and the executive minister in February of 2012 and then shared with my wife and me in our home:

 

1.     Brandon had a male minor staying with him—off and on—in an apartment located across the street from McCluer North High School. Brandon was employed at the church and later was a youth volunteer at the church during these episodes. Brandon gave the minor a key to his apartment and gave him gifts, including an iPad and an iPhone. The iPhone was included in Brandon’s cell phone contract and was purchased specifically for the minor.

 

2.     Before Brandon moved to the apartment, he had lived with the parent from FCCF. On more than one occasion, the parent witnessed Brandon in the same sofa bed as the minor, sleeping in a “spooning” position.

 

3.     After the parent shared this information with a counselor, the counselor hot-lined Brandon to the proper authorities. Although the counselor was told there was not enough evidence to warrant a further investigation, the counselor was obligated as a mandatory reporter.

 

4.     The parent contacted the mother of the minor and informed her of the following facts: a) Brandon had given both an iPad and an iPhone to the minor, b) Brandon had included the minor on his cell phone plan, c) Brandon had given a key to his apartment to the minor, d) Brandon frequently allowed the minor to spend the night at the apartment alone with Brandon.

 

5.     The parent, after conferring with another pastor, hotlined Brandon for a second time. Again, although there was not enough evidence to investigate, the parent was told it was important to demonstrate a pattern of inappropriate behavior.

 

6.     Brandon contacted this parent and asked to meet alone with the parent. Brandon and the parent met at a park in Florissant. Upon arrival, Brandon expressed to the parent his relief that the parent had come without the police.  Brandon then talked about his “emotional” relationship with the minor, pleading with the parent to convince the minor to return to him because the minor’s mother had cut off her son’s relationship with Brandon.

 

7.     Five males from the church, all minors, told the parent’s minor daughter, that Brandon had exposed himself to the boys and had convinced them to expose themselves to Brandon.

 

This was the first time I had heard from a reliable source about any allegations of sexual contact by Brandon with minors from the church. If they were true, I was grieved—grieved for the pain placed upon these innocent and trusting minors, grieved for the impact this would have on the church, and grieved that such a talented and gifted young man could be involved in such despicable acts. Yet I was not completely surprised—I was beginning to connect the dots.

 

I was equally grieved and shocked at what I heard next. Concerning these allegations, the senior minister said he would stake his career on Brandon’s innocence. He said that he would not have written a letter of recommendation to Gateway if he had believed he was guilty of improper sexual activity. The two ministers then began to question the parent’s own mental capacity to the point that when she arrived at our house, she began to question the severity of the allegations herself. My wife and I, however, immediately reassured her that these allegations were very serious and that she had acted legally and morally by reporting the allegations to the two pastors.

 

These allegations—shared by a key church member whose children knew the very boys with whom Brandon hung out—should have been enough to warrant a church-wide investigation. These allegations—reported by a youth sponsor who spent extensive time ministering to the very boys with whom Brandon was accused of abusing—should have been enough to call for an examination of the charges.  These allegations—conveyed by a parent who had the courage and strength to bring them to light—should have been enough to launch a probe into the allegations.

 

It should have been enough—but it was not enough!

 

Consequently, my wife and I laid out three imperatives concerning these allegations. The parent had already carried out two of them; I was about to carry out the third one.

 

1.     Brandon had to be hot-lined to the proper authorities—the parent and her counselor had each fulfilled this one.

 

2.     The allegations had to be reported to the church leadership—the parent had just warned the senior and executive ministers.

 

3.     Brandon had to be confronted about the allegations—I would follow through with this one about a week later.

 

When I asked Brandon, in my office at the college, about each of the allegations, he blew off the allegation of exposing himself to the five minors by saying, “it was just something boys do when they are joking around.” Brandon denied any inappropriate behavior with the minor staying at his apartment. In fact, he denied any type of inappropriate sexual behavior with any individuals at the church. He looked away from me often, staring down at the floor. He was not shocked or intimidated by my questions—it was as if he had already been prepared for them. As he walked out of my office, Brandon cut off our 6-½ year friendship, not wanting to have any contact with me during the remaining time he volunteered at the church. 

 

But I now knew, for the first time, that he was most likely involved in some type of inappropriate sexual activity with young boys. Although there wasn’t enough objective evidence to warrant an arrest, there was enough circumstantial evidence to begin to connect the dots to be highly suspicious of Brandon. It was then that I began my own investigation by putting together a narrative of Brandon’s story, documenting his history at the college and at the church—thus the genesis of this story.

 

About a month after these allegations were shared with the two pastors, the parent sent me a text from Brandon. By this time, the minor’s mother had requested her son to cut off his relationship with Brandon. So Brandon sent the parent this text, begging the parent to convince the mother to let her son, under the age of 18, to return to Brandon. The names of the people in the text have been replaced with their titles.  

 

“So, I've been going back and forth on whether or not i should send this text. But i just have to. Its' similar to that "momma bear" feeling you always told me about. and i get it. totally now.

 

I see (The Minor) as my son and God had definitely been guiding that so similar to Paul and Timothy and Jesus and John. We were closer and closer. And now I have this feeling that I would do anything to get my son back. This text is not to accuse you of anything but to just tell you what has happened. (The Minor) has no phone anymore (not a big deal) but (The Minor) can never see me ever again, he isnt allowed any communication with me. and worst of all he can't attend church anymore.

 

His parents told me how they were surprised I was fired from fccf for accusations against me regarding teen boys. But the reality is, they have no idea that their son went from Saul to Paul. that he's been clean of drugs and alcohol for a year and a half, that he's remained sexual pure. And not to have an ego boost there,but it was because of how I guided (The Minor). They see me as a bad person and a threat to their son, when in reality I was the very vessel that God used to help same him. (The Minor) messed up by keeping alot of our activities from them. I didnt kkow that. What I do know is that (The Minor) stopped lying about going to your house a while back. And he didnt lie about going to (Name) or (Name)....he just never updated them after he was with those guys.

 

My request is simple please please please please call his mom back today and let her know how good i was/am for (The Minor). please let her know his past before I came into his life. And please let her know that the only reason he hid the relationship from her was because he was used to hiding things from her before and that I urged him to tell her things. And he started to.

 

I am willing to jump through any hoop, pay any amount, go anywhere, do anything, I will do whatever you want, becasue what God had been doing in that boys life the past 4 weeks was incredible. He was planning to ask his mom about going on a missions trip (without me) and had started preaching to his friends on facebook. He even talked about attending bible college. We read the bible together ever night. he started showing signs of mentoring towards younger boys on simple levels. He is a good kid who made a simple mistake. And now he's facing persecution. I was filled with bitterness and rage and anger, and i let it all pass.

 

But what remains is a heart for a son. To continue to raise him up in the LORD. please call her today. please”


The parent did not, at any time, ask the mother to let her son return to Brandon. But it was still during this time that Brandon was volunteering at FCCF on Wednesday evenings.


After Brandon completed his contractual agreement at Gateway Christian Church sometime in May of 2012, he headed west to another church, this time in Ventura, California. When he first arrived, he posted a video, created by himself, of a young male skateboarding with Brandon at Moor Skate Park in California.[11] It appears that Brandon began attending and/or working at Mission Church,[12] possibly as early as July 8, 2012,[13] and according to his Twitter account, he stayed there until August of 2013.


Brandon again was on the move in August of 2013. He was hired by the Real Life Church[14] in Valencia, California. This would be Brandon’s last place of residency until his arrest in St. Louis on February 7, 2014. Two days before Brandon was arrested, he twitted this comment: “Who I am hates who I’ve been.”[15]

 

A few days before Brandon’s arrest, a detective appeared at the parent’s home because Brandon had listed the parent’s address as his St. Louis residence. The parent was informed that Brandon was going to be arrested when he arrived in St. Louis. A day after his arrest, the parent called me—Brandon was in police custody.

 

The day before the news[16] broke on all of the media outlets in St. Louis, I visited[17] Brandon at the Saint Louis County jail.  He appeared dazed and confused, quite surprised to see me. On my second visit, a week later, Brandon told me to not tell anyone he was in jail; it was too late—his mug shot had been plastered all over the media. His secret was out.

 

When the story did break in St. Louis, FCCF released this statement to the press on February 11, 2014:

 

"Having just heard of these charges from something that happened in 2007, our first concern is with how we can best help any victim heal,””The charges point to a time when as a college student he served in a part-time role as an intern. For the last several years he has been living in another state. We have a justice system who can do the investigation and we will assist them any way we can as our church family works through this."[18]

 

The senior minister then addressed the charges against Brandon during one Sunday morning service. He then communicated the church’s concern with a number of small groups during one Wednesday night event at the church building. Surely these two pro-active actions were enough to finally jump-start the investigation into the allegations from 2012. I had assumed that during the eleven months leading up to the trial, the elders of FCCF had investigated the allegations, first by interviewing this parent and second, by interviewing others, including myself. I was, however, shocked and dumbfounded to discover that no staff or elder had ever followed up with the parent concerning these allegations!

 

Shouldn’t the arrest have been enough to convince the leadership of FCCF to investigate the 2012 allegations? Shouldn’t the six counts of sodomy that had occurred nearly 7 years previously have been enough to move the leadership to reexamine the parent’s warnings? Shouldn’t the 100,000 cash-only bond have been enough to show the seriousness of the charges to wake up the leadership to reconsider the allegations from 2012?

 

It should have been enough—but it was not enough!

 

After the charges were released to the public, I assumed the two victims were the boys from the 2012 allegations. It was eight months later, however, when I learned the shocking news—these two victims were not connected to the allegations of 2012.

 

It was enough for me to act.

 

My wife and I met with the family of one of the victims who had come forward. I talked with a family member of the other victim. I contacted the Saint Louis County prosecuting attorney, sharing with him the 2012 allegations first reported to the leadership at FCCF and sharing the church’s failure to follow up on those allegations with this parent. As the trial date of January 26, 2015 approached, the prosecuting attorney subpoenaed me as a potential witness. I revised and wrote several more drafts of this story in preparation for a trial. Fortunately for the highly vulnerable victims, they did not have to testify publicly.

 

Without any fanfare or media blitz, Brandon Milburn pleaded guilty to not six, but seven counts of sodomy with two minors under the age of 12 on a Monday morning at the Saint Louis County courthouse on January 26, 2015. He still awaits sentencing as of March 30, facing a prison term from 10 years to life.

 

So ends the story of Brandon Milburn, for the victims and their families, the college, and the church—or does it?

 

This is simply the middle of the story, a story that is not completed, a story that is not finished, a story that continues to be written.


The consequences and fall-out from Brandon Milburn’s actions at FCCF and potentially other churches will not simply go away when Brandon goes away to prison in a few weeks. FCCF is not ready to “move on” and “put this behind them” as much as they might want to.  FCCF must slow down, FCCF must investigate the fall-out, FCCF must learn from this tragedy, and FCCF must prepare to bring healing, comfort, and justice to any and all of the people affected, directly or indirectly, by the actions of one young man—Brandon.  


The elders must lead this call; they are called to be the leaders.


Over thirty years ago, my wife's home church ordained me into the Christian ministry, and I have had the honor and privilege to serve the church in multiple positions--youth minister, co-pastor, missionary, senior minister, elder-- in different locations--overseas and in the states--and in a variety of environments--well-established churches and new church plants.


I understand that the biblical role of a pastor/elder carries with it a high privilege—“If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.


The role of a pastor/elder also brings with it a tremendous responsibility to "shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory" (I Peter 5:1-4, ESV).


The elders must shepherd the flock, a flock of confused and hurting young boys affected by these events, a flock of angry and frustrated parents trying to make sense of this, a flock of volunteers and workers attempting to figure out how they missed all of the signs, and a flock of leaders feeling overwhelmed with how to manage these events.


The story is unfinished--the elders must minister to all the victims, to their families, and to any church members affected by this event. The elders should:


  • Support and applaud the two victims, who with great courage and strength of character, came forward without the support of the church, to stop Brandon from hurting any more young boys.

 

  • Surround the families of the victims with love and support, apologizing for ignoring their pain and praying for their recovery.  

 

  • Reach out and care for any of the volunteers, youth sponsors, and parents who were affected by Brandon’s actions.

 

  • Apologize to the parent for ignoring the parent’s allegations from three years ago and for minimizing the parent’s motives.

 

  • Work tirelessly to identify, assess, support, and care for the needs of any other victims—those included in the allegations of 2012 and any new allegations—for as long as it takes to bring healing and restoration to them in the name of Christ.

 

  • Pray for confession and repentance for Brandon and for restoration and reconciliation with the church as he enters into the prison system, remembering Jesus’ words to visit those in prison.

 

The story is unfinished—the elders must reexamine the church’s official statement released to the press on February 11, 2014. The elders should:

 

  • Recognize that the official statement released to the press was incorrect. Brandon had not been living in California for the past “several years” but had actually been working at Gateway Christian Church and volunteering in the Wednesday evening youth program between February and May of 2012.

 

  • Investigate why the official statement was inaccurate and released to the press.

 

The story is unfinished—the elders must initiate an extensive investigation into any mismanagement or failures by the senior pastor/ elders/ or staff in handling this situation and thoroughly reassess all of the church’s policies and procedures concerning sexual abuse allegations. The elders should:

 

  • Investigate any past or current allegations immediately. Although Brandon was brought to justice, the legal authorities will not investigate any other alleged charges nor interview any potential victims unless they come forward first. Until they do, the church cannot hide behind the law and not conduct its own internal investigation of past or current allegations.

 

  • Consider the example of the Real Life Church in Santa Clara, California, who although they had received no complaints about Milburn, still opened an internal investigation on February 13, 2014, only days after his arrest. [21]  The church posted that “the church is reaching out to members through email, Facebook, and meetings to try to communicate what the church knows, Gray said, although officials at Real Life Church are still conducting their own investigation into the situation.” [22] 

 

They also stated “Milburn, who worked with the church for about five and a half months, came highly recommended by references, including a pastor in St. Louis, Gray said. Church officials have been “horrified” by the accusations, he said.”[23] Remember that Brandon had been associated with FCCF, not for 5½ months but for nearly 5½ years, and that FCCF had received complaints—by a youth sponsor/parent—of allegations of sexual behavior against not one but numerous minors from the church.

 

  • Ask a series of questions of all church staff, elders, deacons, volunteers, teachers, and members who may have had a role, directly or indirectly, in Brandon’s nearly 5½ years at FCCF, and when necessary, take corrective action.

 

1.     Was Brandon hotlined to the authorities by the senior and executive ministers as mandatory reporters? If not, why not?

 

1.     Was Gateway Christian Church made known of these allegations after Brandon left his employment at FCCF? If not, why not?

 

2.     Were staff and/or elders at FCCF made aware of the allegations in 2012? If so, to whom and when? If not, why?

 

3.     Was either of the two churches in California given letters of recommendation from the senior minister?  If so, what were the recommendations?

 

4.     Were the three churches in California made aware of these allegations? If not, why not?

 

5.     Did the staff and/or elders do a follow-up investigation with the parent who brought the allegations to the senior and executive ministers? If so, when and how? If not, why not?

 

6.     Why did Brandon continue to be a youth volunteer on Wednesday nights during the spring of 2012 after the revelation of the allegations was made known?

 

7.     Have any staff and/or elders met with the two victims and their families to provide pastoral and spiritual support? If not, why not?

 

8.     Have the staff and/or elders met with Brandon while he is in the Saint Louis County jail? If so, who and why? If not, why not?

 

9.     Have any staff/elders/deacons/teachers been contacted by anyone, inside or outside the church, with any information, concerns or suspensions related to Brandon’s behavior with minors? If so, who and when? What was done with the information?

 

10.  Have any staff/elders/deacons/teachers initiated any communications with anyone, inside and outside the church, concerning any information, concerns, or suspensions related to Brandon’s inappropriate behavior with minors? If so, who, when, and why?

 

  • Examine, assess, and revise problems with the church’s policies and procedures concerning any type of abusive, ungodly, or illegal behavior—physical, sexual, or emotional—displayed by any staff or member of FCCF.

 

  • Reassure the congregation that the leadership is committed to protecting the church, particularly the most vulnerable members—its youth—from predators and promise to take any and all future complaints or allegations of sexual abuse seriously.

 

  • Pray for wisdom and discernment, practice confession and repentance, and seek forgiveness and reconciliation.

 

As I write these words with a heavy heart for the pain and broken trust of the victims, as I pen these ideas with high respect for the office of eldership, and as I share this story to lay the groundwork to build a stronger and healthier church, is it enough to end this story?

 

The book on this story is not closed; it will be opened to the light of day and to the light of  the truth of God’s word. [24]

 

 

March 3, 2015


"Is It Enough?" (6th edition, March 28, 2015



"What's Going on at FCCF? Serious Answers for a Serious Problem" (April 6, 2015)






[1] First Christian Church of Florissant http://www.fccf.org/

[2] Saint Louis Christian College https://stlchristian.edu/

[3] Southeast Christian Church https://www.southeastchristian.org/

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[8] Gateway Christian Church http://gccstl.org/

[9] Steve Wingfield was the Senior Pastor in 2012 and is still employed at the church as of March of 2015.

[10] Scott Strandell was the Executive Pastor in 2012 but is no longer employed at the church.

[11] 2 Go Cameras Moor Skate Park https://vimeo.com/43318414

[17] February 10, 2014. The news broke on TV on February 11, 2014.

[19] 1 Timothy 3:1 ESV

[20]  1 Peter 5:1-4 ESV

[24] It is with the upmost care and prayer that I have researched the dates and places mentioned, to interview individuals related to its content, and to write with clarity and truthfulness, as I understand the events, with no intention to falsify or alter the facts, or to deceive or defame any individuals in the letter. I still continue to investigate, rework, revise, and update the information in this story.

 
 
 

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