– Asks VOM to Allow Independent Investigation

On March 14th, Lighthouse Trails received an e-mail from Michael Wurmbrand, the son of the late Richard Wurmbrand, founder of Voice of the Martyrs. In order to verify the authenticity of the letter we received, we contacted VOM first. A man answering the phone and listening to our question transferred us to a message machine. We left our question but did not receive a call back as of the writing of this article. We then searched on the Internet and found a phone number for Michael Wurmbrand. We called and had a ten-minute conversation with him. We also have had e-mail correspondence with him since. After our phone call with him, we were convinced that this letter below is indeed from Richard Wurmbrand’s son. We have also been able to verify many of the statements he has made below. We also believe Michael is not making these statements out of any vindictive motive.

Some may be asking why we are posting this, given the fact that VOM works to help persecuted Christians worldwide. A few comments on that:

First, as Lighthouse Trails has always maintained, the power of sin lies in its secrecy; and this is especially true in cases of child sexual abuse. According to Michael Wurmbrand’s letter, after VOM director Tom White committed suicide on the same day a police investigation was opened on allegations that White had molested a 10-year-old girl,1 Michael Wurmbrand requested that an independent investigation be conducted, especially given the fact that the Chief of Police in Bartlesville (the city where VOM exists) is also on the board of VOM, and the Bartlesville police closed the case shortly after White’s death. Michael explains below what happened after he made that request.

Second, if indeed Michael’s statements are true (and we have no reason or evidence to doubt they are), then in all fairness, the body of Christ needs to know these things.There have been other concerns about VOM (ecumenism, Catholic sympathies, contemplative, etc.), and to ignore these important issues is wrong, especially in view of the acceleration of worldwide spiritual deception happening today.

Third, as we witness various Christian organizations being exposed for sexual, financial, and other scandals (such as the recent allegations by over thirty women against Bill Gothard, the serious plagiarism by Mark Driscoll, the demise of Vision Forum (a major player in homeschooling resources, and so forth), two things come to our mind:

First, the secular media is using these stories to make it look like this is how most fundamentalist conservative Christians behave.

Second, we think of the Scripture that talks tells us “judgment beginning in the house of the God” (1 Peter 4:17). The evangelical/Protestant church is in big trouble. It needs to be shaken in order to return to its “first love.” Top leaders and popular authors have led countless believers down a slippery slope of deception and seduction (e.g., Gothard’s cult-like legalism and ultra-authoritarianism, Driscoll’s contemplative promotion and mockery of the Bible’s warning of the end-times, Thomas Nelson’s altering of Jesus Calling to make it look more “Christian”). The church is filled with mega-corporation-style organizations that act as if they can do anything they want while they toy with the emotional and spiritual lives of millions and play catch-me-if-you-can. Add to this the utter catastrophe of contemplative mysticism (i.e., occultism) overtaking countless Christian organizations, schools, and denominations, and we’ve got the makings for an apostate church. But many of these Christian “leaders” are beginning to be exposed. While we know that the liberal secular media and the emerging church will use these stories for political gain and actually to cause confused Christians to come over to their side, we also know that God can use these situations to bring about genuine conversion and repentance among many. Already Lighthouse Trails has heard from many believers who have repented after being deceived by the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling.

And this is why we are compelled to post articles like this letter below by Michael Wurmbrand—to bring light to areas of darkness but also to defend true Christianity, to say to the world that there are believers in Christ all over the world who day after day, year after year serve the Lord faithfully, who do not molest children, do not plagiarize, do not practice the contemplative “stillness” in order to know God, and do not steal money or grow monstrous corporations that knock down everything in their path. While we know that 1 John tells us we are liars if we say we do not sin (1 John 1:8-10) (for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God), it also says if we continue in sin, we do not have God in our lives (1 John 3:6-10).

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Does the VOM support the ecumenical-emerging Church and the Roman Catholic Church:

"There have been other concerns about VOM (ecumenism, Catholic sympathies, contemplative, etc.), and to ignore these important issues is wrong, especially in view of the acceleration of worldwide spiritual deception happening today." (Look above!)

Read more HERE!