Three leaders at televangelist Mark Barclay’s Michigan church face charges of sexual assault. Now, the latest leader to be involved is facing additional charges, according to Midland County Circuit Court records.
Randy Saylor, associate pastor at Living Word International Church in Midland, Michigan, was charged with three new charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct at a pre-exam conference on Tuesday. Two of the charges involve a minor while the other involves someone he was related to, according to court records.
In May, Saylor, was charged with two other second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported.
Saylor, 71, faces a total of five criminal sexual conduct charges that will be tried in two separate cases. All of the charges are connected to alleged acts that occurred between 2016 to 2019, according to court records.
Saylor posted a $50,000 bond on Tuesday and is due back in court on June 11, court records report. He has pleaded not guilty on all charges, according to WNEM 5.
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Living Word has suspended Saylor from all duties “pending the outcome of the investigation,” Living Word Church Administrator William Bailey said in a statement in May. He noted that there are no allegations that the abuse involved the church in any way or took place there.
“Living Word International Church is deeply saddened and concerned to address recent allegations of misconduct involving one of our ministers,” Bailey added. “This is not the first time our church has faced such a situation, and we acknowledge the pain and trauma this causes to those directly affected, as well as our entire community.”
Saylor is the second pastor and third person involved with the church to be charged with sex crimes.
In April, Randy Saylor’s son, church elder and volunteer Brandon Saylor, was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for sexual assault crimes, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with three children under 13, TRR previously reported.
Then in May, 44-year-old Saylor was resentenced to add lifetime electronic monitoring for the Sex Offender Registration Act to his verdict, TRR reported.
Additionally, James Randolph, son-in-law of Mark Barclay and a minister at the church, was arrested and charged with sex crimes against children in March, TRR reported. His case is still making its way through the court processes, according to court records.
He is currently on administrative leave at the church but is out of jail on a $5 million surety bond, court records report.
Living Word Administrator William Bailey said that an independent investigator recently reviewed the church’s internal safety and protective practices and that the results were positive.
“We continue to follow our legal counsel’s advice to make certain we are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of our congregation, especially our children,” Bailey said. “Our policy has always been to immediately report any misconduct to the appropriate authorities, which we consider a good practice for all parents, churches, and ministries.”
Living Word Church was founded by Mark Barclay, whose TV ministry reaches millions of viewers each week, according to the Mark Barclay Ministries website. The website describes the church as a “world-class network of ministries and churches.”
Freelance journalist Liz Lykins writes for WORLD Magazine, Christianity Today, Ministry Watch, and other publications.
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11 Responses
Well now, we can certainly sleep better knowing that this church has its procedures in place and ‘there are no allegations that the abuse involved the church in any way”.
God in heaven-this was children! And someone in his family! For the sake of these precious children who have been violated, can at least one church lead with wailing and genuine sorrow that precious children of God have grievously harmed and their lives forever changed?
I can not fathom why these church leaders are so hardened that they are so callous and removed that they cannot hear the angels in heaven mourning as they look down on this travesty of what a true church should be.
“The least of these…” for God’s sake. I have no more words to mourn these situations…
Amen! I’m reminded of something about a millstone around the neck and drowning…something my Jesus said…red letters…that would be better for him than to cause a little one to stumble. One version says that he should scandalize one of these little ones.
Barclay has had the leaders of his church speak for him. His leaders are also the ones arrested. 🤔
I can fathom why. Our beloved “Christian” celebrities are malignant narcissists. There is room in heaven for only one celebrity: Jesus Christ. Our celebrities get to where they are by stepping over and on top of everyone to get to the top of the pile of jerks. Discipleship is the opposite. Humility is the path to heaven. Personal glory is the path to hell. The path Satan took long before any of us tried it.
This will NEVER end all the while the gospel that has been taught since the civil war is totally rejected, & the true gospel of Christ as found in any bible is taught as it was during the ‘Holiness Movement’ prior to the civil war. Included in the gospel of Christ are the following: Be perfect as God is perfect Mat. 5:48. Be afraid of God. Matt. 20:28. Stop sinning. Jn. 5:14, Jn 8:11, 34, Mat. 5:27-30, Lk.13:3 & 5. Give up everything you have. Lk. 14:33. To be His disciple one MUST obey EVERYTHING He commanded us. Matt. 28:19-20. I have been to many evangelistic rallies & NEVER heard any of that. Franklin Graham NEVER mentions any of that.
Would Jesus command anyone to sin no more if He knew that it was impossible for human beings to live free from sin? No, He would have been setting them up for guaranteed failure, disobedience, & eternity in hell.
The apostles who wrote the NT letters spent much time assuring us that sin must NEVER be part of a Christian’s life. Romans six is very easy to understand, so is Ephesians five, so, as these were written well after Jesus did His work on that cross, these apostles had never heard of having one’s sins atoned for just bc a sinner says some words. In fact, John gave us the truth that nothing Jesus did on the cross is of benefit for any sinners until they meet the conditions of such a promise. 1 Jn. 1:5-7 Our sins are NOT purified until we are walking in the light as He is in the light. That is clearly after repentance & the forgiveness of all our past sins, & the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38
Colin,
Before we get too nostalgic about how holy America’s culture was for children before the Civil War we need to realize that at the time of the founding of this nation our state governments (in our “Christian nation founded on Biblical principles”) set the age of sexual consent at 10-12 years old, with the exception of Delaware which set it at 7 years old.
And in most of these states it was not a crime to rape black slave women or children. Two of the top evangelical preachers of the time George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards were owners of slaves with these laws in place.
Jonathan Edwards, one of the most famous “holiness preachers,” wrote one of his Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God sermons on the back of a receipt for a “14 year old negro girl” named Venus whom he had just purchased.
For all the handwringing about how immoral our society is today, America 2024 is in many ways morally superior to that of the 1700s and 1800s.
Where did u dig that up from & how do u know it’s true? Even if it is true, according to God’s word, His kids NEVER sin. 1 Jn. 3:4-10 KJV makes that ABUNDANTLY clear. The modern versions have words added by the men so the truth can be twisted, & that has happened all over this planet, since. .I have NOT sinned since I repented, & that’s the way it needs to be. Check out my book ‘A Nation Broken’ from Amazon or B & N to see my story & God’s true gospel,
Colin, thank you for directing me to your book because the one review is spot on so I don’t have to repeat it here.
You need to stop spreading your heresy on this website.
Tricia, I agree with you. It’s time for Colin to stop using this forum to promote his 11-year-old book that rehashes Christian Nationalism/Anglo-Israelism. On May 25, 2024, Colin said, “According to my publisher, only one person has ordered my book over the past five years…” He misses the point of 1 John 3:9 where the Greek uses the present tense to denote an on-going action (on-going, habitual sinning). Likewise, he contradicts 1 John 1:8.
One shows fruits of repentance that demonstrate they are truly regenerate. Zacchaeus the Tax Collector in the Gospel of Luke is a clear example of this.
What you describe is NOT the gospel of God. That is why you never heard it at evangelistic meetings. There is such a thing as false professions that never show the fruit of righteousness, but adding a list of things that must be done perfectly is just another works religion. What happens when you do sin, even if at some small point? Do you lose your salvation? Are you walking perfectly before God?
Administrative leave is not the same as church discipline (suspended from office). He could be relieved of official duties but still be drawing pay. One of the marks of the true church is church discipline.