Issues & Concerns Category > 3ABN (Links & Resources)

Unauthorized History of 3ABN

(1/3) > >>

Daryl Fawcett:
The following were posts made by sister in another forum, which I am posting here with permission:

Now that Linda is out of the picture, more of Danny's family are appearing on the air. Danny kind of lets everyone assume that they are all Seventh-day Adventists...

His brother Tommy was a minister in another denomination and was removed from his pulpit for conduct that is not acceptable from the Bible or man. And unless things have changed extremely recently, he is not a SDA.

His brother Kenny has also rejoined the fold. Long ago when 3ABN started the founders were Danny, Linda and Kenny. The three of them were once on the cover of the Review together. At that time Kenny had a lot more charisma on screen than Danny and when people would call in they often preferred to speak to Kenny rather than Danny. That was not Danny and Linda's plan, so a call went to the board telling about an affair that Kenny had had a while before, Kenny was removed from his postion and no one was left in the way of Danny becoming the face, along with Linda, of 3ABN.

Meanwhile, Kenny left the West Frankfort church, where all the Sheltons attended services and switched to another church in the area in Herren. Kenny tryed to build up his own ministry using the Herren church as his foundation, the name of his ministry was Behold the Lamb. He even started doing some TV programming of his own. Soon he started taking over the local church and going in a direction that was not in line with the Conference. At one point, when the local pastor arrived for the service, they asked him to leave. The pastor entered the building anyway and sat down on a chair. Under the leadership of Kenny they carried the Pastor out of the building. (The pastor, himself, described the incident to us.) After much attempted counciling with the Herren church, the entire church---lead by Kenny Shelton---was disfellowshiped. (others who were not in agreement had already left for other SDA churches in the area) These disfellowshiped members became the core of Kenny's ministry. A number of years later, Kenny and his wife divorced, but they did not want to loose the income from the ministry, so it was done very privately and they kept a good face in public for the congregation. This was just a few years ago. When the sheep found out how their shepard had pulled the wool over their eyes, they left him and the majority of them joined the West Frankfort SDA church.

Now that Linda is gone Tommy has the postion of producer at 3ABN. Kenny has joined the band wagon as well.

Stay tuned for more of the story.

Daryl Fawcett:
Another one of the Players: Molly Steenson

When Molly and Hal Steenson had their own ministry---oh, by the way, this story came from the lips of Molly in earlier times, I think the point was that you can always raise more money, even from people who really don't have anything to give---Molly had a desperate need to raise more money for a "special" ministry project, money was not coming as quickly as this special need had arisen. So, she was pounding the bushes, visiting the members, to encourage them to give more sacrafically. She was visiting in the home of one family and they really would like to help, but there just was not any extra cash to give at this time. So Molly ask them to get their checkbook, she then sat down with them, looked though it and told them where they could cut back on their expenses and write a check right then and there for the "special" ministry project. Using her best powers to persuede this family, she walked away with a check in her purse.

THE SPECIAL PROJECT: two new matching baby blue caddys for Hal and Molly, they were already on order and the cash was just not coming in fast enough, white folks like those big cars in the south. I do not believe that the folks in the congregation ever really knew what the "special" project was that they invested their hard earned cash in.

Is it possible that Molly tutored Danny in the fine art of raising funds, her special style of slight of hand? It sure looks like it. Only now the stakes are higher and instead of baby blue caddys it is a corporate jet. It would be a whole lot cheaper just to send Danny first class on a comerical jet, but he is far too important have to get to the airport two hours early to wait for check in. Strange, the President of the General Conference of SDA flys commerial airlines, as do the Division Personal, it is considered good stewardship of the Lord's money. Funny that Danny Shelton doesn't see it that way, he does claim to he a good old boy from the wrong side of the tracks, I sure his Daddy must have instructed him in the careful use of what the Lord had provided....

Molly's current position at 3ABN, since the demise of Linda: General Manager of 3ABN, member of the board of 3ABN, Danny's right hand. Her husband Hal Steenson is in the pastoral department.

Stay tuned for the next installment...

Daryl Fawcett:
We be like God...

Over the years there have been many accountants at 3ABN. Some of them SDAs, some not and some part of the Shelton clan. This is the story of one in the last group.

A number of years ago a cousin of Danny was running a retirement home in Michigan. He and Danny were not just related, but close friends. He left a very good job and returned to southern Illinois to help in the ministry. He was a good man and wanted to serve God. Well, as time went on he started seeing things that were just not right, so he approached Danny. On one of these occasions he brought up the issue of Danny buying horses using donations made to 3ABN. He told Danny that it just wasn't right, people had sent in their hard earned offerings to support the work of spreading the gospel and Danny was using it to buy something for his own pleasure. Linda's response to all this was that anything Danny said was right, even if he were wrong, we are like gods here. To make a long story short, the cousin/friend was fired---who needs an angel sitting on your shoulder pricking your conscience, it just gets in the way of following the little man on the other shoulder---and Danny continued buying horses and in the future, land to run them on... with ministry money.

Where did the cousin go? He went to work in Marion, Illinois for the Conference at the local SDA school, but that is a part of another piece of the story...

I know that Linda has been through a hot mess in the last few years, but she, too, is a part of this history, and the preceeding shows just how your words can come around and bite you where you sit. She found out just how true her words would become years later, "anthing Danny says is right, even if it is wrong", only this time she was on the receiving end. It is also a lesson in what happens when you cross Danny or get in the way of something he wants. Perhaps Linda just got in the way...

There was a very young girl, under 5, and when something of another member of the family went missing, they knew to go looking in her room. The assumption on her part was: what was her's was her's and what was everbody elses was her's. As an adult she has learned that life just isn't that way. Too bad that Danny never heard that story, because at the age of 54 he still belives that what is Danny's is Danny's and what is 3ABN's is Danny's. That kind of thinking can cause some real problems for a ministry.

Stay tuned for more from Danny Land.

Daryl Fawcett:
The 3ABN school and a professional quality basketball court for Danny

About five to six years ago, Danny suddenly saw the need for a school on the 3ABN grounds. The timing just happened to be the same as his grandchilden were ready to begin school. Over the years there have always been school aged children belonging to the families of the 3ABN workers and the need for the school had always been there. But now it appeared for Danny that the time was over ripe.

A simplier and less costly solution for the educational needs of his worker's children would have been to purchase a small bus and drive the children to the adventist school in Marion. But there was one problem with this solution. The principal, who was also one of the teachers in the school, was none other than the cousin who had formery been an accountant at 3ABN, who Danny had fired years before. Now, Danny does not have the reputation of being a very forgiving man, if that were the case, he would probably still be married to Linda. So, this was not an option.

So, quick-quick, double-time, a teacher was hired and construction began on the building. The building was not ready in time to begin the first day of Danny's granddaughter's education, so until it was ready classes were held in the Thompsonville church, but it didn't matter, 3ABN owned that, too. (Actually there had never been any reason to start the Thompsonville church, there was a Conference church, served by the local district pastor, only 5 minutes down the road. But that is another story.)

The school had one teacher, one room with a accordian door that could divide it into 2 small rooms, a second room that had a kitchen in it and a very large gym with a very high ceiling. Like most building designed by Danny it resembled a barn. (In the part of southern Illinois where 3ABN is located there are not any building code requirements.)

Now comes an interesting part: THE GYM. In order to save costs a simple smooth floor was all that was needed. Well, this gym has the quality of professional basketball court flooring that would satisfy the Chicago Bulls. In the very least an overill for a school with less than 12 young children. All the lines for basketball were in place and regulation backboards were installed. Danny had planned to put the 3ABN logo in the center, just like the pros have, but fortunately he was talked out of it. One evening a week was basketball by invitation played with Danny. On saturday nights after sundown it was open for gym night for the Thompsonville church.
When the gym was new Danny used to just come over, pull away the construction crew who were working on the building from their jobs to have an impromtu basketball game with him. He would run them until they were sweaty and some of the middle-aged guys pretty worn out. It must he nice to be the boss, with playmates at your beckon call. By the time the game was finished it was time for the workers to go home.

Until the new worship center was built, the school was where the 3ABN campmeetings and the Conference campmeeting for southern Illinois was held. That was the reason for a 2-3 room school to have one room with a kitchen, vacant most of the rest of the year, except for campmeeting time.

Danny now had a fantastic new toy, a dream come true. But at what price and who footed the bill? Who needs more than fify thousand dollars a year in salary, when all your dreams can come true, without you footing the bill?

And the story continues...

Daryl Fawcett:
The Shelton Gang rides again... Part 1

In the history of southern Illinois, in the time of gangland Chicago, where Al Capone was king, there is told the story of two rival gangs: the Birgers and the Sheltons. The only reason these small time hoods go down in the annals of gangland history is because they were the first gangsters to drop a bomb on a rival gang from an airplane. The bomb was hand held and it did not hit it's intended target, but then these were good old boys from southern Illinois and what more could you expect...

Many years later the Shelton name again surfaces in the history of the southern part of the state. Another Shelton has been raised up, another good old boy, but this Shelton has learned from the family history. He has two faces that he wears: one on his television network when he says to the people "ask the Lord what he would have you give..." and another when he goes about his "business".

We all know about the horses, the land and the jet plane the ministry has provided for Danny, but what else does the good people who make their sacrificial donations and pay their tithe to 3ABN provide for his pleasure?

Some of the perks for being the President of 3ABN are... oh, by the way, whose idea was the perk system that has provided so well for Danny over the years, while his employees are told that there wages are so low because this is a ministry and they need to make sacrifices for the LORD's work? This is beginning to sound more like French history, than southern Illinois history. Just before the French Revolution when Marie Antoinette was told that the people of France were so poor that they had no Bread to eat, she laughed and said, "Then let them eat cake". There is a history of 3ABN workers with families receiving goods from WIC, a government program that provides food for low income families to ensure proper nuitrition for mothers and young children. So while Danny sits up in his southern Illinois style mansion with a swimming pool and jacuzzi, having the income to eat whatever he desires, workers get their "cake" from the Welfare system.

Danny gets a brand new truck every year, not one of those cheap things, but a big one with power something in the $30,000+ range, of course that is necessary to pull a horse trailer. But where does the family sit? Linda always got a van for a perk, perhaps that perk will now pass on to Danny's new wife. And of course since 3ABN pays for the vehicle it also foots the bill for all the gas and the maintenance. But being the kind man that Danny is and not wanting to rub the noses of the workers in his good fortune, Danny always get the same model and color of truck each year. Then of course there is a clothing allowance, but there is no wardrobe room at 3ABN, so I guess that Danny can just buy whatever he needs, not a big perk in its self, but it all adds to the total.

To be continued in Part 2...

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page