Learning from Duluth

(the seeds that we've sown)

(This is a follow-up post about the tragic events involving the Duluth Vineyard, their former senior pastors and former Vineyard USA Trustee and Super Regional Leader and the involvement of the institutional leadership of Vineyard USA.)

In recovery rooms, including my therapist’s office, I’ve learned that Jesus was right, the truth can set you free. Rigorous honesty can lead to healing, restored relationships and a better day. Unhealthy systems thrive in the dark. A basic tenet of dysfunctional systems, including both families and institutions, is “don’t talk, don’t tell.” The group is bound together by a general disapproval about airing our collective “dirty laundry” where the neighbors can see it. This doesn’t mean that it’s always healthy or wise to tell everyone everything all the time. But it does mean that churches and Christian institutions should not rely on Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to manage who gets to tell their own story. Christian leaders shouldn’t call people telling their own story “Gossips” or “divisive” because they are telling people the truth about their own experience. Church leaders who follow Jesus shouldn’t try to use shame to keep people quiet. We get healthier when we tell each other the truth. Recent church stories of abuse in leadership is showing us, over and over again, the danger of people keeping silent.

Dr. Scot McKnight writes, “Yes, the church is part of the good news of Jesus. And the church proclaims the good news of Jesus. But when men and women have only seen churches formed by unhealthy power, celebrity, competitiveness, secrecy, and self-protection, our corporate ecclesial life belies the truth of the gospel. The church can only witness to the truth of Jesus by seeking justice, serving with humility, operating transparently, and confessing and lamenting failures.” (Scot McKnight, A Church Called Tov) Practicing TOV means telling each other the truth. If we who say we believe in the power of repentance, forgiveness and grace can’t talk openly and plainly about the ways we’re getting it wrong, it’s hard to take seriously our claims about the kingdom of God and the efficacy of rigorous honesty (Ep 4:25).

The apostle Paul’s Substack post to the Galatians, publicly shares the private/public story of his confrontation with the apostle Peter in Antioch. Paul spills the tea and tells the churches in Galatia (reading this publicly in their meetings) that what Peter did “was very wrong” (Ga 2:11 NLT). Telling each other the truth about things going on in the church is important. First, it helps us align ourselves with those who have been harmed, marginalized or overlooked – this is the movement we see of Jesus in the Gospels. This is, in part, participating in the solidarity created by a suffering savior who emptied himself of power and identified himself with the disenfranchised and oppressed.

Second, it engages us in the kind of due diligence that truth-seeking people are meant to practice. Unfortunately, our tendency is towards confirmation bias – whatever we hear, read or see, what we choose to focus on and remember are usually the facts that confirm what we already believe. We tend to judge things by their surface appearance instead of looking deeper. We tend to believe what we’re told to believe by people in power. But doing our due diligence is what people in the story about Jesus and the kingdom of God do because we follow a king who commands us to stop judging by mere appearances. Our scriptures tell us that the wise seek to investigate a matter (Pr 25:2). It’s the vibe the gospel of Luke begins with, “Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you…” (Lk 1).

Third, an awareness of what has happened, of how things have been handled, gives us the only reliable information about what we can expect in the future. As Maya Angelou wrote, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That's why it's important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are”. Look at how people have been treated in the system you are a part of to discover how people are most likely to be treated by that same system in the future. A friend of mine likes to say, “The only control you have over the future are the seeds you sow today.” You can tell a lot about what the future outcomes of the system you are in will be by looking at the actions (or seeds sown) by those with power in the system right now.

That’s all preamble for what I’m writing about today.

I was recently told by a lawyer who specializes in working with non-profit organizations that very often, members of non-profit organizations fail to read their mail, their governing documents, their bylaws and their constitutions. Basically, we non-profit prophets tend to be a bunch of do-gooders out to make a positive difference in the world and we feel we can trust each other. “Why then,” the lawyer asked me, “do non-profits need legal documents then? If we’re such a trustworthy bunch, why bring legal documents into our relationships? Why do non-profit institutions have people sign agreements? Because the people in power obviously don’t feel the same way about their constituent members as the constituent members are asked to feel about the institution.” Our story about Jesus and the kingdom of God recognizes our vulnerability to trouble from within (Ac 20:30).

To be honest, I think that most of us are so busy doing the Jesusy stuff that we don’t feel there’s time or value in reading through a bunch of legal papers and reports. I get that a lot of us haven’t read web pages, updates or reports and often we don’t even have time to watch short update videos. Life can come at us pretty fast.

My best understanding of the Story that we’re in as followers of Jesus requires me to demonstrate my solidarity with the vulnerable and the powerless. I believe that looking out for each other is a basic aspect of our vocation. I also think that doing due diligence, if I can make time to do that, is what love does. It also seems wise, in this season in which I find myself in a denominational transition from one form of ecclesiology to another, to pay attention to how our institutional leaders are conducting themselves. It seems reasonable that to get a picture of the shape of things to come we look at how our institutional leaders are treating people and constituent churches right now.

A little while ago I shared a post about a heartbreaking, abusive and criminal situation that developed at the Duluth Vineyard Church and the Guidepost report that was made public by Vineyard USA about an aspect of that situation. Just an aspect. The report was confined to the allegations of abusive leadership practices by Michael and Brenda Gatlin, former senior pastors at the Duluth Vineyard. Michael was also a Trustee for Vineyard USA, the head of Multiply Vineyard (our church planting group) for a decade, and Brenda was a Regional Leader and was hired as part of the National team to be one of 3 Super Regional leaders for Vineyard USA overseeing one third of our churches and their pastors. That’s a lot of power conferred by VUSA on 2 individuals who are also a married couple, and senior pastors of a local Vineyard church.

What the report doesn’t really go into are the criminal charges that are working their way through the court system. Recently, (and let me give you a trigger warning here regarding details of sexual abuse), Jackson Gatlin, son of Michael and Brenda, pleaded guilty to criminal charges. Here’s what the Minnesota Star Tribune reported on November 25, 2024:

“Jackson Gatlin was sentenced to 13 years in prison Monday, the first of back-to-back days of sentencings after the former youth leader from Duluth Vineyard pleaded guilty earlier this month to felony-level sexual misconduct.

In early 2023, a handful of women came forward with similar stories of sexual assault from when they were teens or younger at the hands of Gatlin — who held a position of authority at the church where his parents, Michael and Brenda Gatlin, were senior pastors. On Nov. 6, Jackson Gatlin, 36, pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal sexual conduct.”

The article goes on to report that:

“Since Gatlin’s plea earlier this month, nine victims have filed civil charges against him — in addition to his parents, Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA, its governing body.

In the civil complaints filed Nov. 6, Gatlin is accused of extended hugs, touching teenage girls over and under their clothes, making them touch him, tackling them in the guise of playing games, and raping them. He is accused of tying a girl to his bedpost. In one case, Brenda Gatlin reportedly walked into her bedroom and found her son sexually assaulting a girl. Nothing came of it, according to the complaint.

Gatlin told several girls he was going to teach them and show them the love of God, according to court documents. A parent found sexual text messages from Jackson Gatlin to their daughter and notified at least one of his parents.

The Gatlins, Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA are accused of continuing to give Jackson Gatlin access to minors, even though leadership had been told of his actions, not providing proper training, covering up information and not going to the local Police Department, among other accusations.”

On November 27, 2024, Vineyard USA posted 3 brief paragraphs on the Vineyard USA website as an update, acknowledging the sentencing and condemning “all acts of sexual assault and violence. Additionally, we condemn the abuse of authority, trust, and pastoral responsibility.”

But it’s a statement that begs for an answer to this question: if we condemn the abuse of authority, trust and pastoral responsibility – demonstrated by the Gatlins – why did we give a substantial financial payment to Michael and Brenda after they chose to quit the local church rather than face their responsibilities there? Did they sign an NDA? If so, why? What are they being paid by Vineyard USA to not say? It feels very hard to reconcile “we condemn the abuse of authority, trust, and pastoral responsibility” with a substantial financial payout. I hear the words but I see the actions and I’m more convinced by actions than I am words.

The Guidepost report enumerates the many ways in which Michael and Brenda Gatlin abused their authority, abused trust, abused their pastoral responsibility and practiced toxic leadership. The report makes it clear that both of them were promoted into various positions of authority on the Vineyard USA national leadership team despite people in Vineyard USA leadership being aware of accusations of abusive leadership practices going all the way back to 2013. Even as early as 2007, the Guidepost report tells us that Jay Pathak heard that Michael Gatlin was raising his voice at Duluth staff meetings and that some staff felt like the Gatlins had created an unsafe environment. According to the report, Jay advised a senior leader of VUSA of staff concerns about Michael. Another Vineyard staff member confirms that at the time, there was “murmuring” that Michael was “hard to work with” but he did not know of any significant action to address this.

It's easy to see how the local church staff would feel trapped in a lose/lose scenario if their senior pastors are known at the national level for abusive behavior but keep getting promoted to key positions on and by the national team. Who watches the watchmen? How can you feel safe sharing your concerns with the same national leaders who keep promoting the people known to be doing you harm? And it’s important to note that this is not ancient history. Under the new reorganization process, both Michael and Brenda were promoted to some of the most senior positions of authority by the current leadership of Vineyard USA who the Guidepost reports acknowledge were aware of these toxic behavioral issues at the time of their promotions.

Even in the early days of the investigation into the substantial allegations of Jackson Gatlin’s criminal behavior, Robb Morgan speaking for Vineyard USA was pushing the leadership at Duluth to turn to Michael Gatlin, the accused’s father, for guidance and direction. The Guidepost Report states that:

In the early stages, VUSA Managing Director Robb Morgan ("Morgan") encouraged Duluth leadership to include Michael in the process and communication relative to the investigation due tohis senior pastor status. In an interview, Morgan explained that initially he supported Michael's involvement with certain decisions relative to the investigation. Morgan thought that while the Gatlins should not be decision-makers, he thought Michael should be allowed to provide "direction" based upon his leadership experience. In an email to Duluth, he wrote:

"While we know that it is complicated, I do think that any decision that requires ongoing leadership and pastoral care will need to include Michael - he will have to lead from the front even though the relationships make it quite complicated. I do think it's wise to remove Michael and Brenda from the oversight of the investigation and pastoral care of Jackson. I do however, believe Michael will have the most wisdom to be offered as it relates to how you move forward as a church."

In our interview of Morgan, he acknowledged a possible bias due to personal friendships and added that he should have "encouraged a stronger recusal right off the bat." (page 14 of the Guidepost report)

Who watches the watchmen? During a Reorg that touts the benefits of multiple levels of national leadership, including paid positions that are meant to create greater levels of accountability, the system provided less than helpful direction from Vineyard USA national team leaders. Documentation and communications make it clear that from Jay Pathak’s initial video response to the allegations throughout the involvement of Vineyard USA with the local church, they often made things harder rather than easier for the local church and local church leadership. In fact, one root of the troubles in Duluth were two VUSA national team members, Michael and Brenda. There is no magic in the ReOrg. Choosing people known for abusive leadership practices in the local church and at the national office level, does not create a safe institution. The Gatlins were chosen to be a Trustee and one of three Super Regional Leaders despite what Vineyard USA leadership knew about their leadership practices. The same national leadership that gave the Gatlins a substantial financial payout after they resigned from Duluth Vineyard rather than face discipline by church leaders there.

What does it communicate to the local church when the national leadership financially supports pastors who resign and leave town rather than face the restorative discipline the local church is working hard to provide? What should local Vineyard churches take away from this? Can we all be expected to be treated the same way in times of trouble or do some Vineyard pastors receive preferential treatment because of their relational connections? The Guidepost report indicates that the Gatlins certainly seem to have received preferential treatment.

If you care to do some due diligence, you will discover that during this same period of time as the new ReOrg structure and current personnel have come into power, other VUSA pastors have been removed from Vineyard USA and Vineyard churches under an entirely different approach to discipline from the National office.

One indicator of the future for local Vineyard churches under the new leadership structure of Vineyard USA would be to look at how Duluth Vineyard has fared through this ongoing process with Vineyard USA. I know that the Duluth Vineyard would tell you that VUSA’s response has made it worse for them, they said this to VUSA in face-to-face meetings in October 2023 and June 2024, but you should do your own diligence and judge for yourself.

The Guidepost Report is fascinating in this regard. A great deal of the report acknowledges the broken system of leadership under the Gatlins, both in the local church and (to a smaller degree) at the national level. For instance, the Guidepost report states, “VUSA leadership became more aware of Brenda’s behavior when she began serving in her role as SRL.” (“more aware” implies a baseline awareness already existed.) But at the same time, the report seems to work very hard to criticize the local church for what they allowed the Gatlins to do and criticize them for the times they kept quiet rather than coming forward with their complaints. It’s as if the people at Guidepost are entirely unfamiliar with psychology and group dynamics (they are not) and the pressure the local church had to be under to keep quiet and follow the leader because of the Gatlin’s elevation as a Trustee and Super Regional Leader with the denomination. Michael ran Multiply Vineyard with control over a substantial portion of the annual budget of Vineyard USA. As noted earlier, even as horrendous things were coming to light, including accusations that one or more of the Gatlins knew all about some of the allegations prior to them becoming public, still Robb Morgan pushed for Michael to be consulted by the local church leadership as they worked through the crisis.

John Kliewer, Interim Lead Pastor of Duluth Vineyard, in an open letter to Guidepost, makes some very important observations about the report from the inside, from the perspective of the local church. His letter, among other significant points, notes 14 significant omissions from the report sponsored by Vineyard USA. Here are a five of them:

A. Page 5, you fail to give background details about Michael and Brenda’s status as paid

employees of and volunteer leaders for Vineyard USA.

B. Pages 6-11, you omit a great deal of detail and particularity regarding Michael and

Brenda’s toxic leadership and spiritual abuse. For example, although you specify

Michael’s bullying at Duluth Vineyard staff meetings, you fail to enumerate examples of

such behavior “in relation to their VUSA positions.” You talk of using pseudonyms to

protect victims’ identities on page 4, yet none are actually used in your report because

you fail to tell any of their specific stories.

C. Page 11, you fail to address the accuracy of Jay Pathak’s comment regarding Vineyard

churches being autonomous. In fact, Vineyard USA exercises a level of control over

such churches using a trademark agreement (e.g., related to gay marriage).

D. Page 11, you make the incomplete statement that Jay approached Michael as a peer

pastor. Jay also served on the executive team for the entity (Vineyard USA) of which

Michael was an employee. Jay was more than just a peer.

E. Page 12, you fail to specify that the allegations were sent only to Vineyard USA, that

Michael was a paid employee of Vineyard USA, that the allegations primarily related to

Michael and Brenda’s roles working for Vineyard USA, and that Vineyard USA conducted

no investigation.

You can read the entire letter HERE.

Previously, in an email dated April 14, 2024 and sent to Robb Morgan and John Elmer (but CCd to Danny Mercado, Regional Leader, and Vineyard USA Trustees John Kim, Todd Hunter, Phil Strout, Adam Russell, Tom Campion, Jay Pathak, and Ted Kim), John Kliewer writes to ask for specific actions to be taken by Vineyard USA as a sign of their support for the local church, Duluth Vineyard.

The publicly available email that was not marked by the sender as confidential in any way, acknowledges that Robb Morgan and John Elmer and Vineyard USA have, to some extent, been a support to the Duluth Vineyard in a very painful and hard time. Then Kliewer goes on to say:

However, two things can be true at once and it is also true that we in Duluth have not always felt supported by Vineyard USA. This lack of feeling supported may be because the Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA have fundamental disagreements about how to respond to abuse (e.g., whether to take a victim centric approach). It is clear that neither Duluth Vineyard nor Vineyard USA would fully endorse how the other has responded to the abuse in Duluth. It may also be true that we in Duluth have contributed to us not feeling supported by not being sufficiently clear about what specific support would be helpful to us.

The abuse in Duluth has caused an enormous amount of pain and trauma. As the Duluth Vineyard looks to Vineyard USA for support and Vineyard USA desires to support the Duluth Vineyard, below please find a list of ways Vineyard USA could support the Duluth Vineyard. Please consider these to be formal requests for support from our church.

The email goes on to request eleven (11) specific actions, “formal requests” for Vineyard USA to act upon that would be helpful and healing for the Duluth Vineyard.

Each of the eleven are broken down or unpacked or explained. I’m listing them here simply as bullet points, but you can read the entire email HERE. (I encourage you to read the thorough explanations under each point in the original email.)

A. Provide Moral Leadership for the Vineyard Movement Related to Abuse

B. Pursue Cultural Change for the Vineyard Movement related to Abuse

C. Confess, Apologize and Repent for Vineyard USA’s Role in Abuse and Cover Up

D. Support Duluth Vineyard’s Church Discipline for the Gatlins

E. Receive Training and Develop Competency (to promote a trauma-informed culture at Vineyard USA)

F. Refrain from Weaponizing Faithwalking and/or Family Systems Principles

G. Structural Accountability for the National Director

H. Reports of Abuse Delivered to Independent Trustees

I. Remove Phil Strout from the Vineyard USA Board of Trustees

J. Provide Leadership for the Vineyard Movement Related to Nepotism

K. Visit Duluth in Pursuit of Interpersonal Reconciliation Between Leaders

Throughout, Duluth Vineyard is acknowledging their own responsibility as a local church in this tragedy and lamenting the toxic leadership culture that is at the heart of the abuse that Jackson’s victims experienced as well as the abuse the recipients of Michael and Brenda’s toxic approach to leadership experienced locally. The local church has acted with integrity and Christlikeness in the aftermath of the horrific abuse perpetrated against at least nine victims and the cover up – as the report indicates – by the Gatlins.

I feel frustrated by the way in which it appears to me that the Gatlins and Duluth have been referenced in Regional and National Vineyard USA meetings that I’ve attended since the charges against Jackson and then toxic leadership allegations against Michael and Brenda have become public. It’s felt troubling, tone deaf and evasive. Information has been managed and unless you and I engage in some due diligence, we only know a little part of the story. For instance, have you read anything from Vineyard USA on the amount of money paid to Michael and Brenda after they resigned from Duluth and from Vineyard USA? Do you know where the money came from – was it our 3% giving that funded their parachute? Who voted for it and what were the reasons behind it? Has more money been spent supporting the perpetrators or supporting healing for the victims and local church? What have we already done for or offered to do for the victims that Jackson Gatlin has already pleaded guilty to harming? It feels like the tragedy in Duluth and the actions taken by the Gatlins has mostly been used as a cautionary tale in our conversations about ordination as if none of this would have happened if we had a national ordination in place. If we can’t trust a Trustee and one of three Super Regional Leaders to do the right thing, will ordination really make a difference?

For me, it raises other questions about things that have happened involving the Gatlins leadership appointments by the leadership of Vineyard USA.

In October 2021, Brenda sent out an email as a Super Regional Leader to Vineyard pastors regarding an investigation she led into allegations made by believers at La Vina, St. Paul of harmful leadership behavior. Others were involved in the investigation, but it concluded that no one had done anything wrong. Given what we know now, shouldn’t an independent investigation be carried out – if it’s possible after this much time – but shouldn’t we be suspicious of investigations that have been led by Brenda knowing what we know now from the Guidepost report?

In October 2022, Michael Gatlin, serving as a Trustee for VUSA, was chosen to investigate allegations from Reagan Waggoner of misconduct by Jay Pathak. One other person worked with Michael and together they concluded that Jay did nothing wrong. Knowing what we know now about Michael’s toxic approach to leadership and pattern of hiding abuse, don’t we need to ask why he was chosen for this important investigation? And shouldn’t we ask for an independent investigation to take place by a group at arm’s length from Vineyard USA, an organization or individuals who are not looking for ongoing contract work? You can read Reagan’s story HERE.

Also in October 2022, GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) filed an independent report with VUSA and the reporting victim about an incident involving the son of the senior pastors of a different Vineyard church, alleged to have occurred on July 22, 2016. The report is public, anyone can find it via Google. It includes details on how VUSA responded to the allegations of sexual misconduct at the time and since, right up to and including the current national leadership team. Once again, Vineyard USA promoted one of the pastors involved in the report to a national position. Vineyard USA gave zero dollars to reimburse the reporting victim for their counseling bills stemming from this incident and how it was handled. The incident did not involve criminal charges, but shouldn’t this be a part of our conversation about what we are offering victims of abuse and sexual interference and how our current approach to leadership nationally seems fundamentally broken? Spending money to set up new systems for reporting isn’t the same thing as making amends to those who have been harmed. Isn’t this a sign that we should be engaged more in lament and reconciliation rather than ReOrg and Bylaws? UPDATE 1/4/25: with permission I can share this link to information published by the reporting victim.

Conclusion

I’m writing all of this because I think if you see something you need to say something. As I’ve talked with other Vineyard USA pastors, I’ve been surprised by the number I’ve talked to who have never read the Guidepost report cited in this post or paid much attention to the pleas of the Duluth Vineyard for sister churches to stand with them against systemic issues that affect all of us. To the very core of who I have been as a follower of Jesus for over two decades now, I have resonated with the Vineyard dream that John Wimber articulated. And I have no illusions about some perfect past. But what I do believe is that what we’re called to do is self-correct with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and become better versions of ourselves with each generation. I’m pretty sure justice stills stands at the heart of the good news and my desire is for victims to be shown justice in whatever way we can. I’m writing about all this in the hope that it will contribute to a conversation among our senior pastors and our local churches about how we can be better together.

As Paul’s story about Peter in his letter to the churches of Galatia demonstrates, it’s not divisive to share facts and tell the story. More than anything, I want justice, healing and support to be shown for the victims of this horrific failure in leadership. My intent in sharing this post isn’t to be divisive but to show solidarity as an expression of love, for a sister church and the movement of which we’ve been a part. My hope would be that after reading this post, you would want to do your own due diligence and search this matter out. Dig in. Get below the surface of institutional answers or institutional silence or the things I’ve written here. See past the spin. Ask Vineyard USA leadership the hard questions yourself.

One thing I know that will happen, because it has happened to me and to Reagan Waggoner when we published posts about abusive church practices, people will reach out and share their own stories. (Read Reagan’s post HERE.) A lot of people. But they ask for anonymity and ask not to be quoted. Please, if you have your own story, share your story publicly if you can. It’s o.k. to tell the story of the things that have happened to you. You don’t owe anything to people who have abused you, harmed you or manipulated you. Perpetrators of harm should never be allowed to set the agenda on what is appropriate for you to say or do in response to the harm they have done to you. If you’ve seen something, say something.

Please stand in solidarity with victims of abuse. Especially clergy sexual abuse. If you follow Jesus, it’s hard to read the gospels and not see the movement of Jesus away from institutional religion towards the abused, the marginalized and disenfranchised. There are nine victims who have filed civil charges against the Gatlins, Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA. Ask Vineyard USA not only to do what is legally required in this case but to pursue justice, act mercifully and meet with the victims to support them however we can. Making amends is TOV. They will have a lifetime of trauma now that will affect them and the people close to them, especially any spouses, parents or children. This is the kind of harm you don’t just get over and forgiveness doesn’t make disappear. Sexual trauma or interference, wrapped up in the context of God, the Church and pastoral leaders – and how a denomination responds to your abuse – is a devastating combination. Standing with these victims is simply what love does.

Please, listen to the victims. Listen to their stories. Listen to what happened to them and how they were treated by people in power when they told their story.

Finally, I invite you to join me in an appeal to Vineyard USA to pause the process of By-laws amendment and national ordination until together, as Vineyard USA churches and senior pastors, we can work through the systemic issues the situation in Duluth has revealed.

“If you are aware of chronic or severe mistreatment and do not speak out against it, your silence communicates implicitly that you see nothing unacceptable taking place. Abusers interpret silence as approval, or at least as forgiveness. To abused women, meanwhile, the silence means that no one will help—just what her partner wants her to believe. Anyone who chooses to quietly look the other way therefore unwittingly becomes the abuser’s ally.” ― Lundy Bancroft, Why Does He Do That?

UPDATE TO THIS POST (1/4/25): Another public document I encourage you to read is from the GRACE investigation at Duluth Vineyard. HERE is the LINK. It contains the following information - again, trigger warning for those who have experienced abuse:

On February 13, 2023, Duluth Vineyard located a 56-page complaint letter in Michael Gatlin’s church email account written by a former student of HLI in 2019 regarding the student’s experience at HLI. Regarding the letter, Duluth Vineyard wrote in a timeline posted on its website:

At the time it was made, the HLI Complaint went to both Michael and Brenda Gatlin. The many allegations in the HLI Complaint include behavior constituting sexual harassment under Duluth Vineyard’s policies, harsh and unkind treatment, and spiritual abuse by Jackson Gatlin and spiritual abuse by Brenda Gatlin. No record of any investigation or disciplinary action was found. At the time these complaints originally surfaced, the Church Council was evaluating and deciding whether to continue the HLI program. Neither Michael nor Brenda shared this pertinent information with the Church Council.

After returning home and telling her parents what had occurred during HLI, her parents reached out in January 2019 to an HLI national director who was coaching Jackson and another leader. Dylan sent an email to the national director on June 24, 2019, with her 56-page statement of her experiences. She wrote in part, “I am extremely concerned about future HLI students and my goal in talking about my experience is to make sure that the experience I had does not happen to anyone else.” She also requested a refund for her HLI tuition. According to Dylan, nothing changed after that exchange. She did not receive any contact from the Gatlins.

Former National HLI Leader stated in her email to Associate Pastor 1 that she did forward this email with the attachment of Dylan’s statement. Former National HLI Leader recalled, “I received an email from Brenda on 6/27/19 stating she looked forward to hearing from them and would likely send her tuition back.” Dylan did receive her tuition back, according to the council, but no questions were asked about why Dylan left the program. One council member recalled knowing some of Dylan’s complaints, and spoke to Jackson about it. “And his response was that their interview process hadn't worked real well and [Dylan] wasn't actually ready for HLI kind of thing if I remember. That's kind of the way he had put it.” The council member agreed that there was some amount of trust in Jackson and that there wasn’t follow-up with Dylan as to why she had left. He said, “I guess in hindsight, it’s easy to see. That we should have followed up with her.”

After reaching out for help first with Brenda, then with External Vineyard Pastor and Former National HLI Leader, Dylan said, “So that was honestly the last place we left it at.”