Did you know that before ministry, I was an actress and singer? My major in college was Musical Theatre. I was the lead in a Broadway Tour, I sang backups for Perry Como on his Christmas tour (if you are too young to know him, Google him), and was the voice on several Disney kids’ books. I loved this work. Life was great!
Then I got saved.
I got a job at a local church and have served in ministry ever since then.
In 2005, I had signed up for grad school at Moody Bible, but my new boss at Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicagoland asked me to drop out and stay focused on the ministry I was doing locally.
So, in 2016, when I was a traveling missionary, I heard about an online Bible school and jumped at the opportunity. I wanted to honor God by learning more about Him and His Word so I could teach more accurately.
From 2016-2018, I attended Bible school with Welton Academy. In the fall of 2018, the leader, Jonathan Welton (JW), was exposed for sexual assault of his female staff, plus a lot of behavior that led to a clinical diagnosis of covert narcissism and sociopathy. The school closed, and my training lost all credibility. But that isn’t the terrible part of this story.
My Story:
One of my final assignments was to pray and ask God for a “prophetic word” about the movement at Welton Academy. I turned it in and didn’t receive any feedback. Find it on my blog here.
Months later, when it came time to be commissioned, I was denied. My mentor said, “JW made the decision.” I was disheartened because I had very few interactions with JW. I never received anything but positive feedback from my mentor and classmates. JW knew the weight of that decision, and it meant that, to the students, ministry leaders, pastors, etc., I wasn’t considered qualified. Any further ministry opportunities to speak or teach would have the undertone of “unapproved.” At first, I felt so much shame. Later, when talking to a classmate, I said, “I know who I am and who God says I am. JW’s opinion may carry weight in this community, but not in the Kingdom.”
I decided not to let it stop me from what God had called me to do. I didn’t need JW’s approval.
At graduation that year (I didn’t attend), I got a text from a friend who congratulated me on my commissioning. I was so confused. I called someone on staff, who said they (the staff) decided I deserved it and that everyone on staff knew God had gifted me in the prophetic and for the office of a prophet. She said that the word I gave months earlier was so accurate that JW was fuming mad and was punishing me. Out of all the students, mine was the only one that came with a warning and wasn’t positive. To JW, that was evidence that I was not called or prophetically gifted. She told me JW used my past to discredit me. He told people he didn’t like me and that they should avoid me, too. What’s interesting is that I felt it in my spirit and noticed a wall up with people I interacted with from the school. I thought I was being paranoid, but it turned out to be discernment. But the damage to my ministry was done. This is what slander does … it’s like a scent in the wind. You can’t take it back.
What he did was more than slander. It was psychological abuse of his staff and ultimately me. An abuser manipulates bystanders to believe a falsehood about someone else to create division by gaslighting them. And as someone who carries authority, if you choose to disagree, you too will be ostracized. Human nature tells our minds it’s not safe to be alone, so most people believe the authority that carries the key to the inner circle. These behaviors, interspersed with warmth and kindness, will desensitize victims and make abuse difficult to recognize. Upon some research, I learned it’s also known as emotional or mental abuse; it’s a pattern of behavior designed to cause psychological trauma, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, by systematically diminishing another person’s self-worth and/or independence.
I had to trust God to make it up to me somehow. There is no better place than to be in His hands when others are against you. I never wrote or spoke about this and moved on.
Side note: I walked away from prophetic ministry shortly after because I saw so much corruption in various ministries. I’m still sensitive to the Holy Spirit and hold back more than I share. God has given me other warning dreams and words over the years, and I realize that is very uncharacteristic of what is taught in the prophetic circles. I’m still cautiously working this out, and above all else, I want to share what strongly feels like the Lord.
“You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.” Ez 34:4
Restoration of JW:
In the months that followed, the board (including Danny Silk of Bethel Church in Redding) began “helping” JW. Long story short, the board found that JW was neither repentant nor willing to do as they asked. He’d be apologizing and taking responsibility through tears in an accountability meeting while at the same time threatening his victims in anonymous emails. He secretly held a men’s group at his church after being told not to do any ministry during this process.
Two PhD psychologists diagnosed JW with the worst case they’d ever seen of covert clinical narcissism, also known as vulnerable or quiet narcissism, which is a subtype of narcissistic personality disorder characterized by hypersensitivity to criticism, passive-aggressive behavior, and a chronic sense of victimhood rather than overt grandiosity. While it shares core features with overt narcissism—such as a lack of empathy, a need for admiration, and an inflated sense of entitlement—covert narcissists mask these traits behind a facade of introversion, humility, or self-effacement.
Danny Silk was one of the main leaders in this “restoration” and sent a letter to all of us in the school saying JW should never be in ministry again. I was encouraged to see a ministry finally “doing it right.”
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Eph 5:11
Danny Silk:
Less than a year later, Danny Silk included JW’s restoration story in his book “Unpunishable.” The victims were not consulted to confirm JW’s repentance, and JW did not apologize to the victims. The staff, accountability board, and victims were still in the thick of it. A covert clinical narcissist is not “healed” within that short timeframe. Most of us were shocked when we read the book, and many were angry. The way publishing goes … he had to have written it within months of sending us that letter and confirming JW was disqualified. But now, a few short months later, JW is released to resume ministry? The timing didn’t make sense.
Danny Silk’s book, Unpunishable, is harmful. Leaders have been taking his advice from false success stories and following ungodly practices for the restoration of predators. This is not what God’s Word says. I would like to see Danny Silk retract his endorsement of JW, remove it from the book, and publicly state that he aligns with the truth.
“As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him…” Titus 3:10
“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Eph 5:3-6
Current Day:
To this day, JW’s never publicly stated specifically what he did to cause the school to shut down and lose his ministry. He has posted generic, minimizing, and misleading public statements and apologies that have further harmed the victims and proven to the board and other leaders that he is not healed. His apparently humble approach aligns with his pathology. But the public still didn’t know exactly what he did.
Until now.
This week, the Minor Prophets Podcast (and Ron Cantor) released an investigative report that exposes the truth. They interviewed many people who were on staff and some of the victims. This podcast is long and doesn’t include all of the victim statements or stories. Many still are not comfortable speaking publicly because of how bad their experience was. As it is, they had to cut about 7 hours of content to fit in this 6-hour video. That’s how much there is to this story. It also includes a current-day testimony that confirms JW has not repented. I recommend you listen to it, in chunks, if you need to.
I was honored to be part of this podcast and to share some of what I wrote to you here today regarding my prophetic word and experience with JW. I also listened to and coached some of the victims, so Minor Prophets invited my insight. As I mentioned earlier, the case was much more than physical abuse. There was mental, spiritual, and psychological abuse, too. I also offered a few insights as someone who is now an advocate for victims and a certified trauma-informed coach.
The reason for speaking up now, after all these years, is that JW is restoring himself to ministry without calling it ministry. He released a new book and is coaching men in marriage. He is releasing new videos and teaching. He is speaking at events. This is dangerous for the sheep who are unaware of his behavioral patterns, which began before he started his own school, when he was working for Randy Clark. Let that sink in … decades of abusing women. I’m not sharing anything JW hasn’t said himself. He’s admitted to thinking he had an affair when working for Clark, but later realized it was abuse because of the power dynamic. He wrote a book about his healing, started his own ministry with Welton Academy, and then abused women again.
You’ll learn in this video that two PhD Psychologists diagnosed him with Covert Clinical Narcissism and Sociopathy. In their words, the worst they’ve ever seen. Someone who is an abuser of women shouldn’t be restored to any role that involves working with people. Lay people are not the experts on this pathology and should not be deciding JW is fit for service again.
Now, as Christians, we believe in God’s power for healing and restoration. JW can be restored in the right relationship with God and his wife. However, we must be cautious about praising JW for what he defines as “healing.” It could actually delay his process of seeing the truth. My expert source says we must consider the clinical evidence and what the fruit of healing looks like. He would not be trying to gain access to people who feed his addiction or be in close proximity to people’s vulnerability. He is doing that. He would see that his past sexual assault disqualifies him from mentorship or ministry. He does not.
My post cannot cover what the video podcast does so well, so please watch it before you make a well-meaning decision based on JW’s touching and convincing words of apology that prick your heart to believe he is humble and has changed. His gifting makes it hard to discern, so I’m thankful for the laborious work of JonMark on Minor Prophets and others.
In Conclusion:
My hope is that the Minor Prophets podcast clarifies that JW should not return to any position of influence or leadership.
Those who have had him speak at their church or conference, or who have attended any of his own events, I am sending out a warning. You are being groomed, masterfully manipulated, and JW’s pathology suggests he will harm again.
If you are leaning toward “JW is forgiven and can be restored,” please watch the video. At least make a decision based on the witnesses, not on what I say. And not by what JW has said on social media. Understand the pathology so you are not manipulated.
I believe God is powerful and can heal, redeem, and restore all people, no matter what they’ve done. It just doesn’t look like being restored to a PLACE of influence. There are some crimes that have lasting consequences. Including never being able to hold that title, position, or be in that profession again. We cannot let the “world” respond to abuse better than the Church.
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Get Free. Live Free. Set Free.
