The Casual Christian

My name is Craig Olson. I recently met with Elmer Lorenz of TEAM, The Evangelical Alliance Mission, regarding the sexual abuse of my son by one of their Japan missionaries when I was serving in Japan with Overseas Missionary Fellowship. This pedophile also abused four other young boys, three of whom were brothers.

My son was so traumatized by this incident that he became violent when he reached his teens. He began doing drugs and abusing alcohol. He became promiscuous. He was so dangerous that we had to send him to a very expensive boarding school. I used up my life savings and went deep in debt to pay for this school and for therapy.

My wife blamed my son’s problems on me and drove me out of our home. She began an affair with her boss and took what little I had left.

When I realized I could no longer handle all the stress by myself and that neither the church nor my family would help, I approached TEAM. They denied the entire affair. Then I was able to contact some of the other victims on the Internet and TEAM leaders began to change their story. Still, they refused to help me pay off any of my enormous bills, saying they were not at fault. But the fact is that they subsequently began to screen for pedophiles as part of their recruitment process, a tacit admission that they never should have allowed this man on the field.

TEAM’s negligence cost me my life savings, put me deep in debt and resulted in the loss of my family. I haven’t seen either of my children in over a decade. All I asked from TEAM was a token payment of $10,000, a mere pittance compared to what they cost me. Here is their response:

“Hi Craig, 

Here at TEAM we have carefully considered and discussed the matter of your request that we make a payment to you as a means to bring to a closure your ongoing dissent with TEAM because of the wrongful actions of Phil Fondaw.  Along with you, we truly abhor the evil that was done by Phil in Japan and grieve for those children …who were abused by him—including your son.  At the end of our deliberations, however, we have decided to not make a payment to you.  We really believe that TEAM is not the party that wronged you and the other victims of Phil, rather it is Phil himself whom you need to address.  

Sincerely,

Elmer Lorenz 

TEAM Director of Operations”

This same man told me that to make a payment to any of the victims would be a tacit admission of guilt.

The reason I am writing you is to ask for you help in encouraging the leaders of TEAM to fulfill their Christian duties. At the very least, they should take to heart the biblical injunction to bear one another’s burdens. After all, if they don’t qualify as a burden bearer then who does?

I have enclosed a letter which I would like you to read and sign and then send on to the designated recipients, if you so choose. Then if you don’t mind, please let me know how you responded my emailing me at craig@casualchristian.net. In so doing you will help bring this matter to resolution in a way that glorifies God.

Thank you and God bless.

Sincerely,

Craig Olson

Enc. Letter to TEAM