Wolves Among the Sheep > Childhood sexual abuse stories come out from NeedToBreathe brothers; Still more fallout from the Robert Morris affair as Colorado pastor resigns; Some Buffalo Diocese Catholic churches to close

 

Popular band rocked as frontman is accused of sex abuse by brother, former bandmate

Fans of popular rock band NeedToBreathe were shocked over the weekend as former guitarist Bo Rinehart accused his brother and current band member, Bear Rinehart, of sexually abusing him as a child.

“This is Bo,” his post on Instagram read. “I am an alcoholic. I am a sinner, but I am a believer. I believe in God’s grace, and I believe that this mercy has shown that he is consistent, even though we don’t deserve it. I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I’ve been sexually abused by a Camp counselor. I’ve been sexually, physically and emotionally abused by my brother. And I’ve been abused by my youth pastor.

“I believe that God has bigger plans for me and part of these plans are telling my story because it’s so hard for anyone to tell stories like these,” he continued. “Even when my faith has been crushed, I know that God still has provisions for me. If you’re out there and you’re thinking, nothing can be done, no one can help, there’s no way out, I’m with you, but I believe in a God who always finds a way. Don’t give up and don’t lose hope.”

Bear Rinehart denied the accusations in a long post on his Instagram.

“I feel the need to comment on the deeply hurtful and misleading accusations that my brother Bo made the other night on social media,” he wrote. “I love Bo deeply and I always will. Since his departure from the band over five years ago, we have done everything in our power to treat him with respect and privacy. I would never choose to disparage him, especially at a time where he is clearly in pain. But as a father and husband, I must protect my family from claims that misrepresent the truth.

“Until now, I had chosen to share this publicly — not because I’m ashamed, but because I’ve wanted to protect my family,” Rinehart continued. “I have three young boys, and I wanted them to hear about my story from me directly, when the time is right and not through social media or online speculation. Bo’s post has now made it impossible for me to remain private about this period of our childhood any longer. I can only hope that God has a plan for this down the road. I have always respected Bo’s right to speak about his own story, but I cannot allow him to misrepresent mine.”

He then laid out a disturbing story of his own.

“My brother and I were both sexually abused at the age of 8 and 6 by a teenage counselor at the Christian camp where we grew up,” he wrote. “Neither of us received support for these events until well into adulthood and were both left to navigate the rest of childhood and adolescence with deep pain and confusion. I carried shame and anger for years after, but through many hours of counseling and the support of friends and family I was able to share it with, I truly believe I had found freedom from it.

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Brady Boyd Resigns as Pastor of New Life Church Amid Accusations That He Knew About Robert Morris’ Alleged Child Sex Abuse

Brady Boyd has resigned as senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, amid allegations that he knew about the alleged child sex abuse perpetrated by disgraced Pastor Robert Morris. 

In June 2024, Morris resigned as senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, after allegations came to light that he sexually abused a 12-year-old in the 1980s. Morris was in his early 20s at the time of the alleged abuse. 

Morris had for years been open about the fact that he had engaged in “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady.” But last year, Cindy Clemishire came forward to allege that she was the “young lady” in question and was a child at the time. 

Now, Clemishire has filed a civil lawsuit against Gateway Church founder Robert Morris, Morris’ wife Deborah, and numerous current and former Gateway leaders. Morris also faces criminal charges in Oklahoma, where the abuse is alleged to have occurred. If convicted, Morris could face up to 100 years of prison time. 

Additionally, Morris and Gateway Church are engaged in litigation against each other over a dispute about retirement compensation Morris believes he is owed. In a recent court filing, it was alleged that Boyd, who previously served as an associate senior pastor and a church elder at Gateway, knew about Morris’ alleged abuse. 

While Gateway Church has said that Morris withheld information about his relationship with Clemishire, Morris is claiming that he informed the elder board of Clemishire’s age by 2005. Boyd was an elder during the same period that Morris said the board was informed of his alleged abuse. 

On Sunday, June 8, Boyd told congregants of New Life Church, a multisite congregation, that he had no knowledge of Morris’ alleged abuse until Clemishire came forward with her allegations last year. 

“I was deceived,” Boyd said. “I was lied to.”

“I worked alongside him. I had no reason to believe he had any kind of character issues,” Boyd added. “He did confide in me he’d had a moral failure when he was 20 years old. That’s really all the details he shared.”

RELATED: 1 Year After Robert Morris’ Sex Abuse Scandal, Gateway Church Names New Senior Pastor

Regarding Clemishire’s allegations, Boyd said, “Shocking. It was mind-numbing. It was awful. It was evil. And he admitted to a four-year relationship that started when he was 20. The girl, Cindy Clemishire, was 12 years old when the abuse started.”

“I didn’t know that,” said Boyd. “Very few people knew that.”

Now Boyd has resigned. According to KOAA, a statement from the church’s elders was read to the congregation during an evening service on Friday night.

New Life Church, Colorado Springs

“Recently, Brady has insisted that he was unaware until 2024 that Miss Clemishire was 12 years old at that time that Morris had abused her in the 80s,” the statement said. “We believe this to be inaccurate. Brady also made statements in his public address to the congregation on June 8 that the board of elders know to be inaccurate.”

“Brady had nothing to do with Robert Morris’ past abuse. Still, we believe that trust is the currency of leadership,” the statement continued. “When Brady recently told our congregation inaccurately that he was unaware of certain details regarding Morris’ past abuse, trust was broken, and the elders asked Brady to resign.”

The elders said that when Boyd was hired at New Life Church, the elder board of Gateway Church informed elders of New Life that “Morris’ past abuse was known to Miss Clemishire’s family, Gateway elders…and legal counsel.”

“Gateway also informed New Life that Morris had been through a restoration process, and inaccurately that Miss Clemishire and her parents had supported Morris’s return to ministry,” the statement said.

The elders said that based on this information, the board believed that the alleged abuse “was known by the relevant persons, and the search committee concluded that Morris’ conduct from 25 years earlier, while terrible, did not involve Brady and did not impair his fitness to serve as our senior pastor.”

Pastor Daniel Grothe, who has been serving as an associate senior pastor for New Life Church, will step in as the new senior pastor.

This is not the first time New Life Church has been rocked by scandal. In 2006, Ted Haggard, the church’s founding pastor, was fired amid allegations that he had abused drugs and engaged in the solicitation of a male prostitute. 

In 2010, Haggard founded St. James Church, also in Colorado Springs. In 2022, new allegations of a similar nature were brought against him.

RELATED: Gateway Church Congregants Take Up Morris’ Offer To Get ‘Money Back’ on Tithes

Boyd took over as senior pastor of New Life Church in 2007 following Haggard’s ouster.

Good grief!

Holy Apostles Stands To Pay 80% Of Assets

To Sex Abuse Claims

Holy Apostles Parish stands to lose 80% of its unrestricted cash as part of the Buffalo Diocese’s settlement with victims of sexual abuse pending an appeal of the settlement.

The settlements, which are basically a tax on Catholic churches in the diocese, faces a higher total owed because it was chosen for extinctive merger under the Road to Renewal. Other churches that are remaining open are set to pay 65% of their unrestricted assets into the settlement fund. The 80% settlement would affect the Ss. Peter and Paul, St. John and St. James Catholic churches in the city.

“They have also confirmed that this will occur regardless of the suspension of our decree of merger,” Samantha Scalise, procurator of the group leading the appeal to overturn the closure of Ss. Peter and Paul Parish. “They claim that if our decree is overturned, they will refund the parish the difference between what we would have been assessed (which I believe to be 65% based on a table the Diocese has publish and our financial records) but there is an understandable level of skepticism as to whether or not this will even be possible at that time.”

Buffalo media are reporting parishes throughout the diocese have to contribute between 10 to 80 percent of unrestricted assets to help pay for the $150 million settlement. The church’s contributions would total $80 million.

The contribution is based upon a progressive percentage applied to the parishes’ self-reported and unrestricted assets held as of Aug. 31, 2024, the end of the Diocesan fiscal year, according to a recent news release from the Buffalo Diocese.

“As we have maintained throughout this protracted process, the participation of the entire Catholic family is necessary to bring to a close this painful chapter of our Diocese and achieve a level of restitution that is owed to the many who have had to carry the tremendous burden of physical, emotional and spiritual harm of sexual abuse throughout their lives,” said Bishop Michael W. Fisher.

Contribution percentages range from 10 percent to 80 percent of each parish’s unrestricted cash with the highest percentage being applied to parishes scheduled to be closed or merged as part of the Road to Renewal, aimed at better sharing resources and bringing together unsustainable parishes with stronger parish communities.

Representatives of the Holy Apostles parish were part of a group that attended a vicariate meeting on June 12 to discuss the settlement. The Holy Apostles Parish appeal group was not allowed to attend as an observed, and two members of the parish who attended had to sign confidentiality agreements and couldn’t share more until the diocese had received approval by the plaintiffs’ attorneys, according to Scalise.

Scalise said local Holy Apostles officials have only been told percentage of unrestricted assets the parish will have to pay – but she said other parishes in the diocese have received firm dollar amounts they will have to pay toward the settlement. While local parish officials said during weekend masses the week of June 14-15 that they expected to receive a dollar amount from the diocese this week, Scalise said an amount hadn’t been received as of Thursday.

Scalise also raised concerns about the language being used regarding the assessment. It had been said the assessment would be mandatory, but Scalise said recently the diocese has begun to imply the assessment amount is a contribution and not an assessment or tax.

“While I could probably lengthen this post further while discussing this subject, I will try to keep it short by saying this: while the bishop does have the power under Canon Law to impose such a tax, this tax must be moderate and based on the parish’s income, not 80% of its unrestricted funds” Scalise wrote. “Furthermore, while Father Paul, as the administrator for the parish, can gift/donate money to the diocese, this donation is limited (I believe to $15,000) and has to be given free-will and free of coercion. Given that the discussion has always been that the sum will be mandatory and the diocese recently claiming in their talking points that parishes will lose protection from the child sexual assault cases if they do not pay the ‘suggested contribution,’ I think it’s fair to say that there is coercion present and that it therefore cannot be a gift.”

That language, and the thought the parish would remain as is until the Vatican decides whether or not Holy Apostles Parish will close churches, is prompting the Save Holy Apostles Parish to appeal the assessment on Ss. Peter and Paul and the rest of Holy Apostles Parish.

“Because of the issues discussed above, our team has made the decision to appeal the assessment on the grounds that it is not valid under Canon Law,” Scalise said. “Furthermore, we believe it to be a violation of our suspension from the Dicastery and the bishop’s promise that parishes in recourse will remain ‘as is.’ Yesterday (June 18, 2025) I mailed a remonstratio letter to the bishop requesting that he reconsider his decision to assess our parish at 80% of it’s unrestricted funds. The process is the exact same as the process was for the merger appeal. Additionally, because the loss of this amount of money qualifies as a substantial change to the parish, the previously signed mandates from our appeal of the merger are valid for this appeal as well. I will try my best to keep you up to date with this process as it unfolds.”

There has been no further update on the group’s effort to halt the merger of churches in the Holy Apostles Parish, which would eventually close Ss. Peter and Paul. A letter received by the appeals group in April from Andres Gabriel Ferrada Moreira, titular archbishop of Tiburnia secretary, said because resale values of properties was a factor in the decision to decide which parishes would be merged, the office was granting the Save Holy Apostles Parish’s request to suspend the extinctive merger while the Vatican reviews the decision. The Vatican has contacted Michael Fisher, bishop of the Catholic Diocese in Buffalo, for a response. The post said the Vatican would look through the evidence sent to them and decide on the ordered merger at some point.

Scalise said she has sent a letter to the Dicastry for the Clergy with recent developments, with 47 additional mandates requested for review, bringing the total number of mandates to 313. Requests include not having a proper pastor appointed, not having parish trustees appointed as required under state law, not having a scheduled confession time established as other Catholic Neighbors in Faith parishes have, and the sex abuse settlement payment discussion.

“I have not had any communication from the Dicastry since we received our suspension,” Scalise wrote.