This is Interesting

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[IWishToRemainAnonymous]

https://youtu.be/2BLxW8P1NWA

14 minutes in.

[Janet Easson Martin]

Thanks IWTBA. It does seem JD was likely dissatisfied with what he saw in GCx. If that was my only available experience with Protestant Christianity I’d be looking, too.

[Linda]

I just listened. At the 17 minute mark or so he says, "So March came around of 2018 and I sat down with some of the leaders and I said, "Look, guys, you've got a week to figure this out. If you don't, I'm going to war for my father."

Really? So, Jeromy Darling went to the elders of Evergreen (now called Hometown Church) and issued an ultimatum? This is news to me.

Jeromy was a paid staff member at the time. Mark insisted that his hands were tied and because he was an employee he could not defend himself. But his son can issue demands to the elders and post insults and vulgarities on this forum? It's astonishing that he admits this.

It's also pathetic that he continues to attack the character of many after the investigation revealed abuse. I'm guessing the interviewer here has no idea what really happened.

It's also hilarious that he called "The Reckoning" an "essay"! More of an illogical rant, but he's entitled to his opinion.

[Janet Easson Martin]

Thank you for bringing that to our attention, Linda.

[Huldah]

"Someone out of nowhere made an accusation against my father."

Out of nowhere? I though the original accusation was made way back before Scout & her husband went to Berlin. Surely Jeromy wasn't unaware of that, especially since he was reading here.

He's also saying that the ECC BOT's investigation was always meant to be a "fake" investigation (16:25), just for show, because "we know your dad's innocent." I remember how many of us here suspected as much, and how surprised I for one was when they actually found against MD on many of the accusations.

[Huldah]

One other thought. It was made to sound as if there were only one accuser. This doesn't seem honest, given that there were actually multiple women who made accusations.

[Linda]

Since Jeromy seems so proud of "The Reckoning", I wanted to clarify a few things that at the time I stayed quiet about because I thought he was writing it from a place of hurt and wanted to give him and his siblings space. But, since I was mentioned by name in it, and he is still using it to discredit the victims, I wanted to call attention to this statement.

"Heidi, Joy, Linda, Deb, Johnsons, Suzanne - were we not kind to your children?"

I speak for myself, not the others mentioned here, but, no, you were not always kind to my children. In fact, only one of the children ever associated with a couple of mine. And that one, was, in fact nice. During many of the high school years, large groups of ECC youth were in our home several nights a week. Not once did a Darling enter our home that I am aware of. On one occasion, one of my children was asked not to sit with the Darlings at lunch at the Community College because my child's Intervarsity friends didn't dress cool enough and it was a poor witness. On another occasion when my child first arrived and was trying to get to know people my child participated in a fundraising car wash at a gas station. My child approached a Darling who was speaking with another youth group member and was told to please go away as this was a private conversation.

So, no, Jeromy, was not always kind to my children. And, we know from his behavior on this forum, that he is not a person known for his kindness.  

[Janet Easson Martin]

I am so sorry your children were treated in such a rude manner on several occasions by some who call themselves “brothers in Christ”. That’s a fleshy show of worldly wisdom to “supposedly” introduce people to a humble and selfless savior full of grace and mercy. Where’s the imitation and example in that?!


Does JD realize that he is revictimizing his dad’s victims by slandering their character, and those of people supporting them?  He may be becoming too much of wolf himself in his pursuit.  How tragic.  

[Linda]

Thanks, Janet. The Evergreen/GCC experience is a trauma to recover from. I actually had put those things out of my mind in the "cruel things teens do" category, and was only reminded of it when I revisited "The Reckoning" after Jeromy mentioned it in this video, saw my name in that fine piece of work, and remembered I never responded.

Jeromy Darling's father, Mark, used to take 1 Samuel 16:7 out of context quoting "...for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart,” saying it taught the importance of dressing to attract unbelievers because they look at the outward appearance so outward appearance matters. Or, some convoluted twisting of Scripture like that. It was only fitting that his kids wanted to sit at the cool table in college and keep the uncool Christians away because it might blow their testimony. It was pathetic and seems even worse as the years go by.

[Linda]

https://youtu.be/0dtG9k-JRPA

I had some time so I Googled and found this. Starting at the 15 minute mark.

The acronym that comes to mind immediately in listening to this is DARVO

D. Deny
A. Attack
R. Reverse
V. Victim and
O. Offender

It is astonishing.

I have transcribed much of this and will make comments as time permits.

"I come from a line of fighters, liars, and musicians.” (15:49)

Can't argue with this! His words, not mine.

"2018 at the beginning of the year, someone whom we didn’t know very well who was a partner in our churches in my youth, tweeted something very malicious toward my father and it seemed very harmless at first, very sad, but very harmless." (19:54)

Where to begin on this.

I'll start with "someone whom we didn't know very well".

This someone:

—Was mentored personally (alone) by Mark Darling for years starting in the late 1980s
—Was engaged to/married to someone who Darling hand picked to be a founding pastor at the first ECC church plant
—Was good friends with Mark Darling's wife
—Often babysat Jeromy and his siblings before and after she got married
—Was the pastor's wife at the church location Jeromy attended for several years (oddly Mark's wife and kids didn't attend the Bloomington ECC location where Mark "pastored")
—Was involved in a "big deal" church plant in Berlin
—Was in a couples small group with Mark Darling and his wife and other ECC leadership people
—Was part of a counseling session with Mark Darling and his wife and Pastor Mark Bowen, where Mark D. was confronted on his abusive behavior (this session was acknowledged in ECCs Tweeted reply)

Even his own words in betray him.

"In fact, most people that knew Suzanne as long as I did..." —Jeromy Darling, "The Reckoning"

So, no, I'm not buying "someone we didn't know very well" story. This was someone the family had known VERY well for a VERY long time.

[Linda]

"2018 at the beginning of the year, someone whom we didn’t know very well who was a partner in our churches in my youth, tweeted something very malicious toward my father and it seemed very harmless at first, very sad, but very harmless." (19:54)

Picking up on the phrase "someone whom we didn't know very well", it seems to me he is implying that there is one person.

Last April, I was scrolling through my Twitter feed and was shocked to see a photograph of Mark Darling that was linked to an article about the investigation on the Twitter account of Dee Parsons from Wartburg Watch. I followed the thread to see what that was all about and in doing so learned some things.

The thread in question was not about ECC or MD, but, if I remember correctly, was about "exvangelicals" and Jeromy was involved in the discussion in typical fashion. However, one of the people involved was the wife of the representative of the BOT from the Rock and an intense exchange happened. All of this is public and on Twitter.

The topic turned to the investigation and Jeromy tweeted this when it was mentioned that 19 women total came forward: "There weren't 19 and if there were, we were told of 4. And of the 4, he was allowed to respond to one and that response was never seen by anyone. In a court of law this would have been a slam dunk. In the court of a frothing mob, it was a lynching."

The wife of the BOT member from the Rock Tweeted a reply to Jeromy, "There were 19 total. 9 that were known about during the investigation. 4 that agreed to be interviewed and 10 that came forward after the investigation. My husband was on the board of the church helping to run the investigation. I have my numbers right."

Takeaway:
—Jeromy knew of at least 4 women making claims. So it wasn't "someone". Jeromy knew that it was at least 4 "someones".
—The BOT knew of 9 claiming abuse during the investigation, 4 were willing to talk to the investigator.
—10 more came forward after the investigation was complete

[Huldah]

I can accept that Jeromy sees it from a very different viewpoint and that he wants to remain loyal to his father. What I can't justify is the apparently deliberate use of half-truths and misrepresentations to make his dad look like an innocent victim.

Even if his dad were completely innocent, how would distorting the truth serve his innocence?