The founder of a religious nonprofit that aims to hold the evangelical community accountable engaged in “behavioral misconduct” with a key contractor, according to a report by a firm that independently investigates Christian institutions.

The 94-page document prepared after a six-month-long investigation by Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE) identifies systemic shortcomings at The New Evangelicals (TNE). Specifically, it revealed founder Tim Whitaker’s inappropriate treatment of Adele Mulford, then-TNE creative + brand director.

The TNE board engaged GRACE to conduct the investigation in August 2024, after Mulford accused Whitaker of a “rage driving” incident that left her scared for her safety. Mulford, who is referred to as “RV” in the report, also claimed Whitaker and the TNE board mishandled her initial concerns and attempts to resolve them.

Mulford told The Roys Report (TRR) she supports the findings and conclusions of the report.

“The documentation contained many shocking elements that validate our experience, and the depth of the issue with TNE and its leader, Tim Whitaker,” Mulford said. “We had been trying to address the misconduct from Tim and the board for months. Seeing the report confirm our beliefs, and affirm our credibility was a relief.”

Whitaker told TRR that he fully accepts the report and does not dispute any of its content.

“I never denied the findings,” Whitaker said. “Absolutely, this is misconduct. Thankfully, the report says there was no malicious intent found. That is absolutely true. There was not a bone in my body that was trying to do ill will toward anyone, period. And that’s why I want to own the misconduct and say, ‘Yeah, that was inappropriate.’”

However, Mulford said she believes TNE has focused more on institutional protection than victim repair.

“Having to ask for basic consideration and support over and over has been exhausting. And then watching my story and reputation publicly litigated on their Instagram has been shocking and re-traumatizing,” Mulford said.

‘Rage driving’ and response leads to grievance, resignations

According to Mulford, the “rage driving” occurred in May 2024 after she arrived late at Whitaker’s home, where they were meeting to drive together to a documentary shoot. She said she had been up nearly all night, working to revise the script and had continued working on it at a coffee shop that morning. She messaged Whitaker to let him know she was running late and apologized profusely.

Mulford wanted to drive to the filming location, but Whitaker asked her to get into his car.

“You could just cut the air with a knife,” Mulford told GRACE investigators of the tension in the car.

Mulford said Whitaker began driving quickly, changing lanes, honking, cussing, and muttering throughout the 40-minute commute. Scared for her safety, Mulford began wondering why she was not valued enough by Whitaker that being late would lead to “this fearful, scary situation.”

When Mulford later attempted to address the incident with Whitaker, she said he appeared irritated, frustrated and didn’t offer an apology. She said her assignments for The New Evangelicals soon became “lower level work,” which she felt was retaliatory.

Eventually, Whitaker suggested he and Mulford work with a mediator to resolve their growing conflict. He selected a mediator who had previously appeared on the podcast and who was featured in another episode posted the day of mediation (the podcast had been recorded previously). Mulford said she discontinued mediation after realizing the mediator may not be unbiased because of her previous work with Whitaker.

Mulford contacted Whitaker to let him know she “loved TNE” and wanted to continue working toward a resolution. When she shared her concerns about the mediation, she said Whitaker “exploded.”

“He just started to harangue me, lawyer me, and I just remember I started crying again, because . . . there would be no slowing down on his part,” Mulford stated in the report.

After reaching out to two TNE board members but receiving little support, Mulford and Cherri Rodriguez, another TNE contractor familiar with the situation, submitted a grievance to TNE in July 2024 about the rage driving incident.

In September 2024, Mulford resigned from TNE. She stated that the rage driving incident revealed “deeper issues” within the organization, such as a “demonstrable inability to listen, empathize, apologize, and change.” Rodriguez also resigned for similar reasons.

After interviewing Whitaker, Mulford and others connected to TNE, GRACE found Mulford’s allegations to be credible and that she had “no discernable motive to lie.”

The report described Whitaker as “well-intentioned, often kind, and capable of self-reflection and ownership of behavior in some contexts.” But GRACE also found inconsistencies in some of his statements.

For example, Whitaker told GRACE investigators that he wasn’t aware of concerns about his driving until “at least several months after everything happened.” He added that he learned of accusations “through the grapevine.”

But the report states that in late May 2024 – three weeks after the incident – Whitaker told the TNE board that Mulford had reported to him that she felt unsafe during the ride.

The report noted that Whitaker “held significant power within TNE as the founder, executive director, sole employee, and public-facing personality” and that, in some circles, “he was viewed with almost celebrity status.” Because of the power differential between Whitaker and RV, the report concludes Whitaker “committed behavioral misconduct in the form of verbal, nonverbal, and physical acts that were improper, including a lack of self-control, controlling behaviors, and holding double standards.”

GRACE included several recommendations for TNE to implement to prevent similar situations from occurring again. They include continuing efforts to decenter Whitaker as the source of primary creative control and diversifying the TNE board to include those who are not followers or fans of TNE. GRACE also urged TNE to own harm caused to individuals.

TNE board member Christian VandenHeuvel said the board plans to implement every recommendation in the report.

“The only thing is, which bite are we going to take first out of this huge watermelon of recommendations?” VandenHeuvel said. “We’ve got to get this done, and we’ve got to get it done in a timely manner, without rushing. We want to get it done in a professional manner so we don’t put (Whitaker) or the organization in a tougher spot in the future.”

Former New Evangelicals contractors launch accountability website

Nine days after the final report was sent to the involved parties, Mulford and Rodriguez launched the TNE Reckoning website, publicizing the report and its findings. On the site, they stated that TNE’s failure to publicize the report left them to “bear the emotional and physical labor of revealing this information.”

“We did not go public to destroy TNE, but to call it back to its mission of a better way forward in the Christian tradition,” Rodriguez told TRR. “We spent months trying to hold Tim accountable behind the scenes in an effort to mitigate future harm for other TNE volunteers, employees, contractors, partners, and the community at large. We do not believe he feels true remorse or understands why the things he did are harmful.”

Whitaker and VandenHeuvel said they were surprised by the launch of the site.

VandenHeuvel said TNE never intended to “bury” the report and that board members were discussing how to publicly present it without causing further harm to Mulford when the website went live.

“My preference would have been that we would have had contact with the reporting victim in the future saying, ‘Hey, now that we have this report, is this something you want to keep quiet?” VandenHeuvel said. “We wanted to do it the opposite way of any organization that would want to sweep things under the rug. We want to go the other direction and really be as open and as honest as possible.”

VandenHeuvel said he texted Mulford and Rodriguez soon after the website went live March 15. He said they expressed disappointment that TNE hadn’t reached out about the report and declined a phone conversation about it, saying they were traumatized and needed time to process.

Mulford and Rodriguez confirmed that a TNE board member reached out after the TNE Reckoning website went live and that they “did not feel comfortable or safe” returning the call. They asked for all communication to be done in writing.

Mulford and Rodriguez said they don’t feel comfortable working alongside TNE to implement the report’s recommendations without a mediator present.

“I don’t feel safe with them, and their actions have continued to perpetuate tangible harm in our lives,” Mulford said. “The impact of this is rippling throughout the deconstruction community. Their Instagram accounts contain comments displaying the most horrific outpouring of online bullying minimizing our harm. We spoke up and asked (the) organization to embody their mission and confront their behaviors, but the organization has hid behind screens rather than addressing a scared, tired woman.”

VandenHeuvel and Whitaker declined to comment on the TNE Reckoning website and its content.

Ann Marie Shambaugh has reported as a print journalist in multiple states, including currently in Carmel, Indiana.