Update (9/24/18 12:10 PM): Audrey Stevenson has filed suit in Texas. The suit names Rhonda Lewis, Brandon Amie and Deonte Greham, claiming they falsely imprisoned Stephenson and caused her emotional distress. The Potter’s House of Dallas and Fort Worth and T.D. Jakes Ministries, Inc. are also named in the accusations and additionally accused of negligence and negligent hiring. In the suit, security guard Brandon Amie is accused of assault. According to Tarrant County records, Amie was previously charged with assault in 2004.
Audrey Stevenson was assaulted at The Potter’s House Fort Worth Campus What happened to her, even before she was ASSAULTED BY A MAN THREE TIMES HER SIZE is not okay. Her screams and pleas for help echo in my mind.
BACKSTORY:
A Church Elder (an older woman) confronted Audrey for giving the Visitor’s Welcome during service. For contrived reasons unclear to senior leadership, this elder made a unilateral administrative decision to sit Audrey down. (Sitting someone down usually happens when someone’s committed an affront to the church and needs a season of repentance).
Apparently, this elder was the only one aware of her decision. After Audrey completed the welcome, she was asked to come to a private room to discuss the issue. The elder then initiated a spirited confrontation, accusing Audrey of lying about not knowing about her sit down. After a minute of back and forth, the church security guard (male) stepped between the two and began to address Audrey. Unwilling to continue the conversation where she was being attacked, Audrey attempted to leave.
As Audrey attempted to leave the room, the security officer grabs her and prevents her from leaving. After repeated requests to be let go and to leave, the security officer body slams Audrey to the floor. She can be heard screaming, pleading, and nearly losing her breath while insisting she’d done nothing to be assaulted (she hadn’t). The elder who initiated the attack stood silently as this woman was nearly crushed under the weight of the security officer (who appears to be over 300 pounds).
WELCOME INTO THIS PLACE
The irony of Audrey being assaulted for giving a welcome to fellowship for church visitors doesn’t escape me. Our churches are supposed to be a place of refuge, transformation, and most importantly, safety. It is not a place for your ego in leadership. It is not a place for your unresolved issues of jealousy, envy, or anger to be projected onto the people you’re called to lead. Surely, we aren’t meaning to welcome people with unresolved toxicity into positions of leadership where they may poison others. Yet, the attempted silencing of Audrey’s story seems to do just that.
No, it’s certainly not all churches and this is not an opportunity to lament the Black Church. Just as Black Lives Matter when we are harmed by police, they matter when our church staff is reckless with both our physical and spiritual well-being. This has impacted Audrey and her mother, Heather Stevenson, more than we’ve begun to understand. Her mother, decades into her Christian walk, was reduced to tears when recounting what happened. Sadly, Mrs. Stevenson was also a member of the church and prayed her daughter would find a home there. Instead, a short year after Audrey began her membership, Heather found herself on the receiving end of a parent’s worst nightmare: hearing that her child had been harmed. Bullying has no place in our pulpits or our pews.
YOUR PASTOR IS NOT ABOVE CORRECTION
Yet instead of our full outcry being directed towards those who caused harm, Audrey is being vilified for speaking truth to power. As usual, when discussing people’s toxic pastors and ministries, people’s mouths are swollen with misinterpreted meanings of Psalm 105:11-15.
Let’s be clear: we are ALL God’s anointed. 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 is unambiguous in its declaration that the anointed are ALL of God’s people, not just those doing duty in the pulpit. To do no harm means, quite literally, to do no physical harm or cause death to God’s people. That scripture is NOT a pass to place your pastor in an idolatrous state of being above reproach. There are numerous instances in the bible where God’s prophets and teachers are rebuked and corrected (I Samuel and II Samuel with Saul, Amalek, and David are great places to start).
As a woman, especially a Black woman, I cannot sit silently and watch a bright light be extinguished and unjustly silenced. There is no rational explanation for what happened to Audrey. There is no exceptional reason to silence her story. We don’t need to tell her that there’s a better way to handle it and really mean that she should be quiet. We should not jump to defend our churches and pastors before protecting the least among us. Your pastor is not (or should not be) your God but more importantly, your pastor knows their accountabilities as a shepherd to God’s people.
Audrey Stevenson was assaulted at The Potter’s House of Fort Worth. Her screams and pleas for help echo in my mind.
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@Blackpearl respectfully it doesn’t matter what she did. NO ONE has the right to impede her from leaving. That is unlawful detention/kidnapping!! And she was assaulted!! All of this in the church, the house of the Lord, a sacred place of worship which she said repeatedly. Shameful!!”
I stand with you Audrey. I have always been a supporter of TDJakes ministries not anymore. This behavior was unacceptable I saw the video. Audrey was giving this lady elder Lewis the upmost respect and by addressing her as maam out of respect. She went on the defensive with this young lady for addressing her as maam. It appears they did not want to even consider what this young lady was saying. Seem more like a power issue to me and the elder was upset. But to act like this in the house of God was unbelievable. Brandon you overstepped your boundaries completely, you are a big coward for even putting your hands on this young lady. God sees and knows everything and you should be ashamed of yourself. All she asked was to let her leave she stated her membership is done. So why you all just didnt do that. It was clear that you all was making her out to be a liar and she was telling you she spoke with someone else at the church and were to have a meeting. Elder Lewis tou seemed a bit afraid of that meeting. That should have not happened to her. Elder Lewis especially the instigator and the one who feels noone does anything without her approval and probably a little jealousy involved because it seemed personal to me by listening to the video. Elder Lewis needs to be Sat down and Brandon needs to be fired and dealt with by someone your own size. I see why people rather not come to church because if hypocrites like you all.
First of all I have said it before and I will say it again. Elders do NOT sit people down or anything else. I have seen the video and when this elder says, “If I say it’s sat down it’s sat down.” So not only does Brandon need to be fired but the elder who initiated this mess needs to be sat down, and if the pastor won’t do it then he needs to be removed! I say that as an Elder of the Church of God in Christ who has many years experience working under the old church. Its not my place to sit anyone down period!!
As a person who went to church today in Australia and listened to a message by someone from this church I decided to see where he hailed from. I’m an older white woman and I was horrified to read and see what had happened to this poor young woman, we are supposed to be nurtured and have a safe haven in the building where we go to worship God. I hope she wins her case and the person’s involved sacked from whatever position the may hold. There is no place for such behavior in the house of God. Really a sad day for her and other Christians.
We riding with you beloved
So what happened after all of this? WHAT was the Final Outcome?! Was that So-Called “Elder” Rebuked & Sat Down For A Season To Learn Her Place? Was The Goon Of A Security Guard FIRED?? And did the Arrogant Pastor EVER Apologize? Personally I Would Have SUED!
I will try to reach out to Audrey and see! I’ve chatted with her briefly via private message!
This brought back bad/negative memories. I hope she sues amd press charges. Does she need a Go Fund for a lawyer?
D. Danyelle , thanks for this post . For discussion ,It’s a great topic! I will make a reply when my blood cools down. The fact that the victim is being blamed is outright atrocious -and ungodly .This is an outrageous & unacceptable incident
Don’t understand this story, no meat about what happened to cause them to sit her down? Why was she called into a a one on one meeting ? Where was he other leadership of the church ?
There’s an entire 40+ minute video linked LITERALLY in the first sentence. Whatever reason she was allegedly sat down wouldn’t justify being P H Y S I C A L L Y A S S A U L T E D at a church. Like how difficult is that to comprehend? You can literally watch the 2 minute video of her assault before watching her 40 minutes of backstory and words from her mother. But not a single damn reason justified her being tackled to the ground by a grown ass man 🙄🙄🙄
So right!!!
Hearing the praises of the most high in the background and this young lady is screaming in anguish makes me cringe. I left the church after a senior member said disparaging things about me over the pulpit. Sadly, I was only 14, given permission to start up a youth activity by the pastor, and was very active on several auxiliaries. This senior Elder was threatened by my spirit and in turn it wounded me. I’ve not left Christ but I’ve also not attended church since that day in 1996.
Too many questions: What’s the full story? Why was Audrey ‘sat down?’ Was she aware? What was the beef and who is the unnamed church mother? Has anyone talked to her? I don’t have time to sift through an hour-plus video but I would like more information to get on board.
Respectfully, why she was sat down (it’s unknown and there is confusion amongst leadership of if she was ever officially sat down, which is what’s stated in the video and my summary) is of no consequence to her being physically assaulted in church. Period. There’s no “backstory” before getting on board. There’s knowing what’s right and what’s wrong. If you don’t have 49 minutes, hopefully you have 2 to watch the filmed assault available freely on Audrey’s profile. F
AWESOME WORK! YOU IS PREACHING! GO ON DANNI
I stand with Audrey too. Thank you for your perspective on this!