Update from MorningStar Accountability Now, 3 November 2024

Hi all, it’s Emily here. I’m reaching out with some updates on where things stand with our calls for accountability at MorningStar.

Continued silence & censorship highlights MorningStar’s culture of fear and control. It’s been one month since I publicly addressed MorningStar’s leadership team and Board. Since then, not a single board member has responded to me, despite my direct outreach to several of them. Only one current MorningStar leader responded to me via email, but the individual did not answer any of the questions I asked and instead affirmed Rick Joyner as a great leader. 

MorningStar has blocked me from seeing MorningStar or Rick Joyner’s public Facebook pages, despite the fact that all I did was use comments to post the link to our statement or to news about the most recent and horrific cases of abuse of minors by a leader at MorningStar.

I’m flagging this for two important reasons: (1) This response is incredibly hypocritical coming from a church that claims to be about truth, freedom, free speech, etc. (2) Even more important, it is clear evidence of the culture of fear, silencing, punishment, and control that Rick Joyner has created and overseen there for decades. It is this culture that has played a key part in allowing many forms of abuse to happen without accountability for decades. 

These responses are also clear signs of corrupt/bad leadership. Good leaders are open and responsive to feedback and criticism. What does it tell you that in four days, 100+ people who were part of MorningStar in some way signed our petition calling for accountability? We now have almost 250 signatures, the vast majority of whom had personal experience at MorningStar. 

A leader truly committed to love and truth would seek to understand these peoples' stories and why they felt compelled to sign. Instead, as most of you know, Rick Joyner dismissed us as “disgruntled,” (among other things!) which is incredibly foolish and nearsighted. He and other leaders should be seeking to understand why so many people signed a statement that calls for accountability and Joyner’s resignation, not condemning them for doing so and forbidding their staff from signing.

More victims are starting to come forward. Many victims are genuinely scared to speak out publicly, which we completely understand, especially given Rick Joyner’s response to those who have. But more survivors are beginning to speak out publicly. We stand with each and every victim of abuse at MorningStar. If you are one of them reading this right now, please know that there are many of us who are supporting you whether you speak out or not. If you would like to be connected with resources, share your story anonymously, or be connected with the lawyer who is supporting other victims, please email us at morningstaracctnow@gmail.com. 

Encouragement to those still at MorningStar. I personally urge those of you still living at MorningStar properties, attending the church, working there, or giving money to demand transparency and answers to your questions from current leadership. In particular, I recommend demanding financial transparency, which of course is the hallmark of solid and trustworthy Christian organizations but something Rick Joyner has refused forever. There are major financial issues at stake, and I have personally found red flags related to MorningStar’s financial practices in public records. Those of you living there deserve to know what's happening and what might happen so you can plan accordingly and not be stuck in a dire situation that you didn't expect because Rick Joyner and other leaders refused to be transparent. 

Finally, for those of you who watched part 1 of the interview that I did with my brother and are wondering why we haven’t posted part 2 - it’s because I don’t want to distract from where we want the focus to be, which is the continued gross mishandling of abuse by Rick Joyner and MorningStar leadership. I’ve also wanted to wait and make space for other voices to speak out, which has begun to happen. Given all the noise out there right now, I’d rather folks spend time listening to what MorningStar victims have to say. More news/evidence will be coming out soon.

All our best,

Emily and team