01 October 2011

Photo Courtesy Of Lydia SmithBy Raymond Billy | ResonateNews.com

MINEOLA, Texas — Statistically speaking, this area of East Texas has no more incidents of child abuse than any other community. The jurisdiction that it inhabits, Wood County, has seen 116 reported cases of child abuse this year through August, compared with 139 in nearby Upshur County, according to data from the Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center. But the severe nature of the episodes that have occurred here in recent years is leaving some wondering whether the city is under spiritual attack.

Kenneth Teo, pastor of Bethel Worship Center, a non-denominational church in Mineola, said he sensed that spiritual bondage might be the source of the city's problems.

“There's an air of darkness here. We're in the 'Bible Belt,' but there are many hearts that are still hardened,” said Teo, 60, who moved to the city a decade ago with his wife shortly after emigrating from Singapore.

Noting the perhaps not-so-ironic fact that the community was named Sodom before being renamed in 1873, according to the Texas State Historical Association, Teo said until Mineola confronts the supernatural source of its problems, they might reoccur.

Aberrant behavior in the city could be the result of a spiritual “stronghold," said Teo, who also runs Mineola's Bread of Life food pantry. “I assume that the stronghold has not been broken. There are Christians who don't believe in a stronghold of Satan and as a result, it continues unchallenged.”

Other residents in and around this railroad community noted a troubling historical thread, questioning the likelihood that the thread could be pure happenstance. Mineola was a hub of prostitution in the early 1900s. In the 1990s, Mineola High School's perennial award-winning drama department was not averse to having students perform sexually provocative scenes onstage, such as in the play “Devils,” according to a former Lindale High School student who witnessed such scenes during a competition. Earlier this year, local teacher JoAnn Stephens, 43, was sentenced to 6 months in Wood County Jail for having an “improper relationship” with a former Mineola High School student.

Longtime resident Shirley Chadwick, 68, said she took part in a prayer group for 10 years with other members of First United Methodist Church, Mineola, that spanned the 1970s through the early '80s. She said throughout that stretch, the group “felt led” to pray about the spiritual condition of the city, though they had no specific spiritual battle in mind.

“A constant prayer was that if there were any harmful spirits over Mineola, God would remove them,” said Chadwick, a retired Chamber of Commerce official. “I don't know if we heard a sermon about that topic or what, but it was on our heart to pray about that often.”

Wayne Roberts, 62, did not say the city had a spiritual problem. But he said there were at least “pockets of disfunction” that were undermining the quality of life there for everyone. He pointed to Jennifer Lynn Stone, 24, a worker at Guiding Light Day Care in Mineola. She was indicted in August for injury to a child after being caught on video manhandling a 5-year-old boy. Stone has since been fired.

Roberts said his then 5-year-old granddaughter, Kylie, attended the day care center several years ago. She was removed because her mother was uncomfortable with the way the day care was managing the children. Roberts said Stone is indicative of an unruly segment of the community.

“There probably is a subculture of close to a 'backwoods' mentality of 'I'm going to do whatever I want and to heck with it,'” said Roberts, who has lived in Mineola about four years.

Mineola residents who spoke to ResonateNews.com struggled to pinpoint a potential source of spiritual decay in the city. That might be because of what they explained is the private nature of many residents that belies community cohesion.

Bobbie Hunt, 80, said Mineola's problems are merely indicative of modern-day American culture.

“I just think it's a sign of the times. The whole country seems like it's lost its moral bearings,” said Hunt, who moved to the city with her now-deceased husband in 1977. “They've taken prayer out of schools and we can't have any civic recognition of Christianity anymore. So I don't think we're any different from anyplace else — but I guess I could be wrong.”

Jerry Williams, pastor of First Assembly of God church in Mineola, sounded a similar note. He said “the enemy is the prince of this world and has some dominion,” in the city. He said people's unwillingness to turn their lives over to God was strengthening spiritual oppression here, just like most other places in the U.S.

“The Christian church has become more and more irrelevant here and in society. There's still a lot of religious people here. But most people aren't interested in spiritual maturity” said Williams, who has lived in Mineola for 10 years.

Teo said Mineola can emerge from a spiritual malaise if Christians here overcome their unwillingness to acknowledge adversaries that are unseen.

“We have to know the reality of things. We have to admit that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities,” he said, paraphrasing Ephesians 6:12. “It's a stronghold that needs to be broken and we as Christians need to be aware so we can address that stronghold.

“We also need unity across denominational lines,” Teo continued, saying that there is spiritual power over evil when Christians join in large numbers to pray. “Let's face it, the body of Christ is not unified.”

---