Homosexual Pornography

What was not disclosed to the congregation and what many people still don't know is that most of what was found on Pastor Stephen Foster's phone was homosexual pornography. This information can be found in the legal court affidavits (here: https://www.scribd.com/document/341527137/Crystal-Lake-Police-Department-search-warrants) detailing everything that was found, sworn testimony from several Verizon employees and from law enforcement.

The bulk of what is detailed in the linked documents above is the Verizon employees testifying to seeing homosexual pornography, websites and text conversations on Foster's phone. These accounts date back to April 2016. Below are excerpts; the full account is found on pages 4-6 of the linked documents.

Employee 2 said “many of the text messages on the phone were of homosexual pornography.” Employee 2 also said that, in one of the photo galleries “the first twenty images he saw were of nude males from teenaged to thirty years old.” Employee 2 also testified that they interacted with 2 different phones – one of the phones was consistent with what would be appropriate for a pastor or a priest. The other phone, the first phone, had nothing on it that a “religious guy” would have. An additional employee, Employee 3, said that they saw text messages that were of “homosexual stuff.” Employee 2 also said that when they opened the phone there were“between sixty and eighty browser tabs open, and from what Employee 2 saw, they were all open on homosexual pornography sites.”

It may be possible to open pornography websites or download pornography on someone's phone, but what I find really problematic is the idea that someone faked pornographic text conversations, least of all Foster's personal assistant (referred to below as PA). This is really difficult to do.

And again, not a word about the adult pornographic content was breathed to the congregation. I would not have even known about it had I not read the court documents, which Foster and church leadership publicly and adamantly told the congregation not to do.

Many congregants obeyed this instruction, which is where extreme control plays a role. Remember, the church was told on Sunday, March 12, 2017, that the Northwest Herald article was “fake news” and persecution. Further, it was stated more than once that this horrific "attack of the enemy" was evidence that Foster and Morning Star Church were clearly making an impact for the Kingdom, etc.

But I couldn't shake my red flags. I was freaked out, sick. I didn’t want any of the unthinkable allegations to be true, but I couldn’t ignore the reality staring me in the face. When I got home that night, I retreated to the basement, pulled out my laptop, read the article again and clicked over to the court records, and that was the beginning oof my end at Morning Star Church.

To this day, there is an extreme degree of spiritual control and abuse at MSC. The language I am using is intense, but it is true to what I and many others dealt with for many years. Decades for some. The experience of Morning Star Church is one that is very confusing spiritually and emotionally, because at times the love there is very real. People love Jesus. Some truth is taught. Our friendships were/are real. God can and does move through sinful and broken people and places.

Yet, the closer one gets to Foster, the clearer it becomes how much control he has over everyone. I tried to convince myself otherwise for years because the very last thing I actually wanted to do was leave. The friendships I had there were some of the dearest friendships of my life. Having to face public documentation of the illegal and hypocritical behavior of my once trusted pastor wasn’t anything I wanted to face, and I tried to convince myself that it couldn't be true. But after a few days I realized that, in true Foster fashion, I was gaslighting myself and I had to stop. I had to turn toward and begin to wrestle with the truth, and what that would mean for my life.

All of this information is consistent with my and others' red flags and experiences over the years. Countless members have been to his home and seen the pictures of half-naked, muscular men posted throughout his house. These pictures were typically of shirtless, ripped men, usually only in underwear or sometimes jeans, but unzipped. From the first time I was at Foster’s home in mid-2009 to my last visit, sometime in February 2017, these pictures were present. I was at the Fosters’ home regularly, for countless meetings and usually for holidays as well and for every occasion the images were taped on the walls, refrigerator, on cabinet doors and, in some cases, taped to the inside of kitchen cabinet doors.

It bears belaboring that more people in the church have seen these photos than have not seen them. We were always told was that Foster was trying to get in better shape and wanted to "keep the vision before him,” a convenient manipulation of scripture.

The first time I was invited to the Foster house, commonly referred to by church members and leadership as “the house,” I was just the new girl. I had been attending Morning Star for less than two months, and I felt very honored to be invited into their home. I knew next to nothing about these people, but they seemed warm and kind, and like they really did live lives grounded in the tenets of our shared faith.

I was there with a group of girls my age to start planning the bridal shower of one of the longtime members, one who I was just beginning to know and adore. I had moved to Illinois only months before, and I was grateful to be included. I needed friends.

I remember standing in the Fosters’ kitchen with everyone, taking in the images plastered throughout the room. Noticing my confused expression, one of the church’s associate pastor’s leaned over and gave me the “Pastor is keeping the vision before him” talk. He explained it so calmly, and in a roomful of women and pastors, no one seemed at all bothered. I had begun to trust these people, so I let it go. Looking back, I see instead that Foster’s level of control was so high and so sure, that he was able to brazenly post near-soft-porn and remain unquestioned.

Removing Foster’s position as pastor from the situation, if anyone else had exhibited these kinds of behaviors for years and years, and then law enforcement found homosexual images, websites and conversations on their phone, what conclusion would you come to?

This is a question directed to current church members. Obviously, the fact that he is a pastor makes it even more alarming.

End Note #1: It is an incredible double-standard that, in the Morning Star culture, it is 100% okay for the pastor of the church to have sexually provocative images of men hanging all over his home while at the same time the youth and young adults of the church are quite literally screamed at (aka, blasted*) in the same house regarding Foster’s assessment of their sexual purity, time and again. I would label the meetings I witnessed in his home around this issue as extremely abusive, emotionally, verbally and spiritually. Without question.

End Note #2: Adult pornography of any kind is not illegal. This is why it was not mentioned in the Northwest Herald article and why law enforcement couldn’t have cared less about it, and rightly so. Their concern is children. That said, for a pastor such as Foster, who enforces strict rules in his congregation regarding sexual purity, this is a huge moral failing. It is the definition of hypocrisy, and another check mark in the "not above reproach" column. 

*Blasting: In the 90s, Stephen & Mary Foster were affiliated with Sam & Jane Whaley’s ministry. Read more about blasting here: https://apnews.com/e9404784f9c6428a8d4382f5ada8f463/AP-Exclusive:-Ex-congregants-reveal-years-of-ungodly-abuse

During my time at Morning Star Church, the blasting I witnessed was intensely verbal. I have heard credible stories from individuals who attended MSC in the 90s and experienced physical and verbal blastings, but that is not something I personally saw and it seemed to have been eliminated from the Foster and church leadership’s blasting repertoire by the time I arrived in 2009. That said, Foster was and is excellent at manipulating and “handling” people, and I would not be surprised if some kind of physical blasting is still taking place.