A Curious Cluelessness: Dennis McCallum's Correspondence With Us


Commentary by Rev. Rafael D Martinez, Director, Spiritwatch Ministries

The direction in which some people who are challenged to change their ways never fails to at times amaze me. Human nature as it grapples with it's shortcomings can display an astonishing capacity for the twisting and turning of evasion, denial and just plain self-delusion instead of their painful need to be accountable for their failings and to exhibit some measure of humility-tinged conviction over them. 

So it was when the co-founder and "retired" leader of the Xenos/Dwell movement left an email in my inbox in the latter part of August, 2022.  We found that even after months of our attempted connection with Xenos leadership to discuss our findings of extensive religious abuse within his organization, he'd not deigned to respond to anything. Dennis had enough of his personal disciples and church leaders to run interference on our efforts and that of another's.

The defensive tenor of Xenos' reaction to the new levels of scrutiny and criticism they've faced in recent months have ramped up to include shrill levels of elaborately affirmed assertions of the moral failings of those who left Xenos as well as a clutching to themselves an endless avowal of their stance of Biblical fidelity. It's a typical Xenosian rebuffing and dismissal of the plain truth affirmed by so many about their corrupt doings and we were not surprised to see this mindset that prevails among Xenos' apologists, the only response that programmed religious automatons are capable of. 

Nor where we surprised when Dennis' defensive note chose to focus only upon a supposedly grave slight he took to what I and others have affirmed about his moral rectitude and example and we were more than happy to help remind Dennis' that he has a lot more to answer for:

On 2022-08-25 18:38, Dennis McCallum wrote:
 

Sir,

In your interview with Vicky Coss, you made several claims that are provably untrue. Examples include the false claim that I struck my wife, that screaming from my wife-beating could be heard by the neighbors, that my daughter made this claim, that her (Vicky's) husband confronted me on this. None of these statements is true. Everyone mentioned agrees that these assertions are false.

It's natural for people to differ on matters of theology, opinions, or judgment calls. But as a pastor and Christian author, I cannot accept such defamatory claims being made in your podcast. Because I want to humbly approach this and allow for the possibility that you might not have known these statements were untrue, I am warning you now that you have false assertions of fact that are damaging to my reputation. I'm sure you don't want to be passing on false claims. Feel let me know if you will correct this error.


In Christ,

Dennis McCallum

--
Dennis McCallum
Xenos Christian Fellowship
1340 Community Park Dr.
Columbus, OH
www.xenos.org
Organic Discipleship

On 2022-08-30 12:54, Rafael Martinez wrote:
 

There is no defamation here. Vicki Coss merely stated facts:

1) In the early 1980’s a close friend of hers who was informally counseling Dennis and Holly told her that Dennis had physically abused Holly. He said that the arguments between them were so bad the neighbors could hear raised voices and shouting.

2) She said that when her husband Keith was principal of Calumet Christian School Jessie McCallum came to him and told him that her dad had physically abused her mom. When he asked Dennis about it Dennis denied it. Before speaking with Dennis, Keith spoke with Gary Delashmutt and asked him what he should do. Gary told him to talk to Dennis. We presume that will be denied too.

Keith and Vicki kept these incidents confidential until the podcast. Vicki just stated the facts. She has no reason to lie. She has no axe to grind. VICKI STANDS BY WHAT SHE SAID.

She added:

"It is part of the culture of Xenos to minimize physical abuse In marriages. One Xenos survivor shared in writing how she was told God wanted her to hang in with her abusive husband because she was sharing in the sufferings of Christ. She did that for years. When she finally left him, she was told she had to leave the church. It is a matter of public record that Xenos/Dwell elder Gary Delashmutt’s daughter dropped all domestic violence charges against her abusive husband. There were serious charges involved.

Dennis is simply employing the Xenos MO of deflecting attention from the important issues by raising drama in he said/she said situations that he selects. We have nothing more to add to what we’ve already said."

Rafael's response is as follows:
 

Sir,

In your interview with Vicky Coss, you made several claims that are provably untrue. Examples include the false claim that I struck my wife, that screaming from my wife-beating could be heard by the neighbors,that my daughter made this claim, that her (Vicky's) husband confronted
me on this. None of these statements is true. Everyone mentioned agrees that these assertions are false.

Dennis;

Please elaborate where I personally made any such claims. And as Vicky has related them, they are hardly "provably untrue." The claim made in the first interview with Vicky was directly related to your daughter's relating to her school principal, Vicky's husband, of you striking your wife when she was of middle school age. While I can see from your egotistical perspective that it would be in your best interests to require you, your wife and your now adult daughter to deny the claims, "everyone" inferred in your paragraph above aren't in agreement, namely Vicky, her husband and the two individuals who were aware of your first assault on your wife and the argumentation you engaged in which your neighborhood did hear. This first bit of violence occurred when your daughter was a baby and with Jessie's reporting of the violence years later actually establishes a timeline for your dysfunction. They are all statements of true fact.

Stating what appear to be matters of fact, asserted by eyewitnesses, is not the basis for defamation. Defamation is the act of intentionally communicating false statements about a person that injure the reputation of that person. I don't engage in anything but truth telling. Always have and always will. I've been sued for defamation by another cult leader by the name of Gwen Shamblin twice before and understand thoroughly what is defamatory. She lost both times. The First Amendment rights that covered her polarizing opinions and abusive example also supported my own right to call it out for what it was. I sued her right back for her frivolous litigation after the second lawsuit and settled out of court with her. Trust me, I know exactly where you are on this equally frivolous belief that you are a victim of "defamation" when you are actually a slave to your own sin.

I really think, Dennis, you want these assertions to be believed false because they expose a profoundly corrupt side to your nature which has been a quietly kept secret for some time which you have been able to conceal. But your warped life has long proceeded me or anyone else here. Read your Bible on what hidden sin does .. Numbers 32:23. 


It's natural for people to differ on matters of theology, opinions, or judgment calls. But as a pastor and Christian author, I cannot accept such defamatory claims being made in your podcast. Because I want to humbly approach this and allow for the possibility that you might not have known these statements were untrue, I am warning you now that you have false assertions of fact that are damaging to my reputation. I'm sure you don't want to be passing on false claims. Feel let me know if you will correct this error.


After well over 8 months of attempts to dialogue, our exposes and our research and our contact with victims of the abusive dynamics you have created in Xenos/Dwell which you insist is Christian discipleship, your response now is most telling. Of a certainty, your sin has been found out for years and your blinded pride just refuses to see. The grave concern for your reputation and the self-serving metrics that are being hit as of late by the controversies all around you are knocking out the propping up of your dubious self-identity as the cutting edge leader of a last days "harvest." That disturbs you and is what drives you to write now. Not the pain you have caused, not the lives you have destroyed, nor the sin you have committed. All you are concerned about is your market share.

I understand you want to think that your reputation was some how "damaged" by this report of Vicky and the other three witnesses. So your entirely self-centered concern as shown here only abundantly proves once more that I am not speaking as a pastor to a pastor, nor Christian author .. but a leader of an abusive church you delusionally assume is an example of mainstream Christian faith. For all of your affected orthodoxy, your orthopraxy is an abomination in the nostrils of God. Doctrine is not the only criterion for discerning cultism and you've played that narrow card way too long and deceived so many in so doing. Your practices are the spiritual starving, maiming and slaughtering of generations of young men and women with authoritarian control and religious abuse and you have made all too clear you have absolutely no compassion for them whatsoever. Your papers and colloquial exercises and your theology have irrefutably established that. The love of power is what you are about, not the power of love. 1 Corinthians 13. 

And difference of theology, opinion or what you call "judgment calls" (whatever those are, whether they mean your abysmally flawed way you've directed your movement or something else) are not the issue here. What you are being warned of is your need to truly humble yourself before God, confess and repent of your sinful career here and be reconciled to Him.

Read Ezekiel 34. You want an eschatology to look at? Read Ezekiel 34. It is being fulfilled. 

There is no error to correct, no falsehood that has been stated. There will be no retraction. If you want more publicity about your fallen nature than you ever wanted, we suggest it be one in which you come clean and make the rough ways smooth and not continue to deny what is known. Dennis, you can be an example of humility under the mighty hand of God, start a check up from the neck up and repent of the evil you have soaked your "church" in or you can let the cornerstone grind you to dust. It is now your choice.


In the true Christ,

Rev. Rafael D Martinez
Director, Spiritwatch Ministries
 

(to be continued, as responses are received ..)

 

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.   Revelation 3:19

 



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