Allegations of spiritual abuse and anti-law enforcement bias emerge from Elmbrook Church, Wisconsin

We recently had the chance to speak with a former member of Elmbrook Church in Wisconsin, Michael Goldmann. Based on our conversations, we have serious concerns about spiritual abuse and possible anti-law enforcement bias at Elmbrook Church, a non-denominational mega-church located in Brookfield, WI.

About Michael Goldmann

Michael is a former supervisory officer at the Waukesha sheriff’s department. He and his wife have long ties to Elmbrook and were married at the church.

In our conversations with Michael, we found him to be intelligent, personable, a skilled law enforcement officer, and an astute observer of human nature. He was also clearly a highly qualified supervisor within the sheriff’s department, deeply committed to the success of the men and women with whom he worked.

History of Elmbrook

When reviewing Elmbrook’s history, one thing quickly becomes obvious: This is a struggling church beset by poor leadership, bad pastor choices, and unresolved conflict, despite being one of the largest churches in the United States.

We suspect these dynamics are in large measure the cause of Michael’s bad experiences.

Things appear to have taken a turn for the worse at Elmbrook in 2012, when following the departure of long-time senior pastor Mel Lawrenz the church began searching for new leadership.

By 2014, Jason Webb had become Lead Pastor at Elmbrook Church’s Brookfield campus. Shortly after his appointment, Webb began delivering sermons that are perceived by many congregants—especially those with law enforcement backgrounds—as anti-police and lacking insight into threat management and de-escalation. Additionally, his sermons appeared to combine politics and faith, a tricky proposition under the best of circumstances.

Over the next four years, multiple parishioners, including those with law enforcement and security experience, raised concerns with Webb and the Council of Elders. These concerns were consistently ignored. Membership and tithe revenue began to decline.

Then, in September 2018, Jason Webb resigned following public admission of marital infidelities and addiction. The Council of Elders accepted his resignation unanimously.

Subsequently, the church appointed Lee Heyward Interim Lead Pastor. Concerns about the church’s relationship with law enforcement continue to be raised but remain unaddressed.

Conflict emerges

During this time, Michael had consistently advocated for more inclusion of law enforcement officers in the church. This included urging the church to stop the anti-law enforcement rhetoric, and welcoming law enforcement in situation beyond hosting line-of-duty funerals for fallen officers.

His advocacy was consistently ignored.

Things came to a head during a 2020 Christmas Eve service, when Heyward allegedly engaged in physically threatening behavior towards Michael in an apparent attempt to silence dissent.

Michael responded by filing a complaint, which was dismissed by the Elders as a “misunderstanding.” He received a handwritten letter from Heyward claiming the interaction was a standard greeting.

An olive branch? Or not.

Flash forward to July 2021. Amid budget cuts and layoffs, Elmbrook invited Michael to assist pro bono with its physical security program. Michael accepted, viewing the offer as an olive branch.

But he quickly got mixed signals from the church, with many of his recommendations for security being ignored. Even worse, in some cases the church did the exact opposite.Needless to say, at this point Michael was neither feeling the love, nor confident that the church really wanted reconciliation.

Things go downhill

Then, in April 2023, Elmbrook abruptly began pressuring Michael to resign from his volunteer role overseeing Elmbrook Church’s physical security program.

As the basis for its request, the church cited unspecified “complaints” as the reason for his removal, yet refused to provide any details regarding the nature of the allegations, when they occurred, where they took place, or who was involved.

Needless to say, the lack of transparency raises serious concerns about the legitimacy of the claims. Despite Goldmann’s years of service and professional background in law enforcement, he was given no warning, no opportunity for remediation, and no engagement in any form of progressive discipline. The decision is presented as final, with no recourse or appeal. Goldmann, unwilling to remain under such ambiguous and seemingly retaliatory conditions, chose to resign voluntarily.

Later that year, Michael contacts the Council of Elders to negotiate a financial settlement and severance. The Elders responded by denying any anti-police bias and refused to engage in negotiation.

As a result, Michael rightly began speaking out.

Our take

In our experience, anti-police bias in faith communities is all too common. This includes both ostensibly progressive churches and more conservative/evangelical churches. Indeed, we know of some churches that openly ask police officers to leave and can cite multiple examples. And we see more than our fair share of anti-police behavior, including the ever-popular and inappropriate use of “ACAB” on social media. (Figure it out.)

The other trend we have seen is performative support of police. Mega-churches in particular love the recognition of hosting police funerals, but how many, for example, welcome law enforcement to use the church after hours as a place to cool down, relax, use the bathroom, and catch up on reports in a safe location?

The answer is damned few.

And while some may question Michael’s desire for a settlement, we think it’s an entirely fair request. Consider: His pro bono security consulting work would be enormously costly if the church had to pay for it.

But donations to churches, whether in-kind or in cash, are made with the understanding that the church in question is a spiritual home. In other words, the deal is that, as long as you don’t engage in abuse or criminal conduct, you are always welcome. And it’s that aspect, in which church becomes a home and fellow church members become a family, that leads people to give sacrificially.

Unfortunately, we see this situation all the time, where churches and pastors conclude they can tell parishioners to find a new church “just because,” yet they get to keep the money.

Needless to say, ethically that doesn’t work, and it’s an ugly, narcissistic construct on the part of churches and clergy.

In other words, churches can’t have their cake and eat it too.

We also see that paradigm reflected in the canons of the Episcopal and other hierarchical churches. Specifically, the so-called “Dennis Canon” ensures that, even if a parish closes, or members move to another denomination, donations and other gifts continue to benefit the denomination. But sadly, the Episcopal Church, ever organizationally narcissistic, doesn’t think the flip side applies to it, which is that it can’t toss members out based on fabricated claims that they are “domestic terrorists,” “stalkers,” or other BS.

Relatedly, it is spiritual abuse of the worst sort to levy accusations against a member without providing specifics or an opportunity to improve. And that is exactly what appears to have happened here, despite the church’s claims to be welcoming and supportive. (Indeed, we’ve come to suspect that the easiest way to spot an abusive church is to look for ones that claim they are a veritable slice of stained glass paradise.)

What next?

Elmbrook Church did not immediately respond to our requests for comment.

That said, we hope the church will treat this situation not as a threat, or a problem, but rather as an opportunity to make peace with those hurt by the church.

Indeed, we note that, while a financial settlement in this case is appropriate, in our experience, what former church members most often want is an apology and some accountability. By that, we mean a real apology, not the insulting fauxpology we often hear of “sorry if you were upset.”

While we’re on the topic, it’s time for Elmbrook to let go of the knee jerk, “We’re not anti-cop.” That smacks of rascists who say, “I’m not a rascist. My best friend is black.”

Indeed, more than one thing can be true, and we know horrible rascists who, for example, have black friends.

And in this case, the only way for Elmbrook to understand if it is biased is to actually hear what current and former law enforcement officials say about their interaction with the church. Without that, any response is nothing but an empty denial.

Time for Elmbrook to be church, versus doing church

Relatedly, we think there’s an opportunity for Elmbrook here to do the work of being the church. That contrasts with doing church, which appears to be what’s happening now.

Specifically, throughout this situation, we see dozens of indications of skeletons in the closet. These metaphorical skeletons take the form of unresolved conflict that’s been papered over with a thick and gooey layer of happy-clappy church whitewash.

So, we’re here to say: It’s time for Elmbrook to do the heavy lifting, muck out the stalls, and live into the Gospel message. Doing so requires reaching out to those hurt by the church, apologizing, and making sincere efforts to repair any harm caused by the church.

To be clear: The work of unpacking decades of unresolved conflict is neither easy, nor pretty.

At the same time, we want to remind clergy and staff at the church: Church leaders in positions of power are always responsible for maintaining boundaries. No excuses, no exceptions, no explanations. Thus, if someone says they’ve been hurt by the church, this must be assumed to be accurate. The burden is on the church to fix any issues, not the other way around.

In closing, a reminder to the inevitable lawyers: Insert the word “allegedly” in front of every allegation in this post.

That said, we believe Michael, we support him and those he loves, and we urge Elmbrook to act with care, compassion, and integrity in this matter.

In other words, it’s time for Elmbrook to listen to Michael’s concerns, and to make amends for the church’s past behavior. And while the church is at it, maybe ask law enforcement professionals if, in fact, they really feel welcome at Elmbrook.