Hobart Freeman

Hobart Freeman (1920-1984) was a notable Word of Faith preacher and author, who ministered in northern Indiana.

Early Life

Hobart Freeman was born on October 17, 1920 at Ewing Kentucky, and grew up at St Petersburg Florida, where he became a successful businessman even though he was reportedly a high school drop-out.

He was converted to Christ in 1952 at the age of 31, and baptised into the Southern Baptist Church.

He was called to the ministry, and educated at the Georgetown University College with a Bible and History major, and then at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (A.B., Th.M.) with an Old Testament major. He obtained a Doctorate of Theology with Old Testament and Hebrew majors from Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake Indiana, where he was appointed a professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Studies, and Philosophy and Ethics.

Publications

He was the author of two important books published by Moody Press of Chicago, namely: An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets and Nahum Zephaniah Habakkuk: Minor Prophets in the Seventh Century [1973].

He later published another twelve books through his own publishing house, Faith Publications of Warsaw Indiana, namely:

Angels of Light? Deliverance from Occult Oppression
Charismatic Body Ministry: A Guide to the Restoration of Charismatic Ministry and Worship
Deeper Life in the Spirit [1970]
Did Jesus Die Spiritually? Exposing the JDS Heresy
Divine Sovereignty / Human Freedom and Responsibility in Prophetic Thought - Master Degree Thesis
Every Wind of Doctrine
Exploring Biblical Theology: A Systematic Study of the Word of God in Understandable Language [1985] - Published posthumously
Faith for Healing
How to Know God's Will - For Your Life and for Important Decisions
Positive Thinking and Confession: The Key to Victorious Living 365 Days a Year
The Doctrine of Substitution in the Old Testament [1985] - Posthumous photocopy of a typed thesis
Why Speak in Tongues? The Christian's Three-Fold Ministry through Prayer in the Spirit

And two tracts, namely:

Occult Oppression and Bondage: How to be Free
The Purpose of Pentecost

Teaching and Preaching

He was influenced by the teachings of E.W. Kenyon (1867-1948), and what came to be called the "gospel of guaranteed prosperity and health". For him, healing was "guaranteed in the atonement", and has been summarised in his cliché, "What I confess, I possess". Hobart, in his book Faith for Healing said that "Confession brings possession, for what you confess is your faith speaking." These ideas aroused much opposition within the Seminary, and Freeman was asked to leave in 1963.

He established his own congregation with Melvin Greider in nearby Kosciusko County, and built up a loyal following in the 1970s and 80s of over 2,000 members, not including some 15,000 in daughter congregations elsewhere in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri and Tennessee, as well in England, Australia, Canada, Switzerland and Germany. A two-storey meeting hall for the congregation was built in Wilmot North Webster in neighbouring Noble County in 1972, which Freeman named the "Glory Barn", so they came to be known as the "Glory Barners". Hundreds of people would line up for hours to be sure they would hear Freeman preach. As numbers grew, Freeman came to be numbered amongst the leaders of the Word of Faith movement.

Like many charismatic congregations, the "work of the Holy Spirit" was emphasised - with miraculous healings, "testimonies", "speaking in tongues", "slaying in the spirit", three hour “meetings”, interminable preaching and choruses endless choruses. However their chief distinguishing doctrine was what has been called the "gospel of guaranteed prosperity and health".

Christianity Today of November 23, 1984 said that "According to Freeman's faith-formula theology, God is obligated to heal every sickness if a believer's faith is genuine. Faith must be accompanied by 'positive confession', meaning that believers must 'claim' the healing by acknowledging that it has taken place." Hobart Freeman further said in his book, Positive Thinking and Confession, "We must practice thought control. We must deliberately empty our minds of everything negative concerning the person, problem or situation confronting us." After healing is claimed, any lingering symptoms were a Satanic deception which persisted while the Christian waited upon the "manifestation" of the healing that had been "claimed". If death intervened despite a positive confession, it was due to a discipline from God, a lack of faith or an unconfessed sin.

Freeman lived by this "gospel". He had contracted polio as a child, and, in consequence, one leg required a built-up shoe. When questioned, he would say "I have my healing", so he too must have been waiting on the "manifestation" of this "healing". When his own grandson died, Freeman laid the blame on his son's lack of faith for the death.

Tribulations

From the beginning, the congregation had their own tribulations.

Disparaging allegations were soon in circulation.

On October 23, 1974, Barbara Clouse, the Health Nurse for Kosciusko County reported to a meeting of the County Board of Health that “They are laying dead babies and live babies next to each other on the altars and praying over them to get the live babies to bring life back to the dead ones.” This was left uncontested, and was eventually transformed by word of mouth into a rumour that they sacrificed dead babies.

She also reported that “There were times when infants who died were buried in the backyard so that news of the death would not get back to the leadership." However the local newspapers never mention that anyone was ever prosecuted for concealing a death or illegally disposing of a body.

The heath of some members of the congregation was seriously compromised.

Some were reportedly not cleaning their teeth, and over the years these rotted and fell out. Another, bitten by a Black Widow spider, survived but with a rigid withered finger. Another ignored her pre-natal diet and fell into post-natal milk fever from which she eventually recovered.

Barbara Clouse reported that “Diabetics were not taking their insulin and pregnant women were receiving no pre-natal or post-natal care.”

However what received the most publicity were the deaths.

Barbara Clouse reported that “Based on local hospital statistics, the mortality rate for women members of the Glory Barn who delivered babies at home in the past year 1975/6 is more than 60 times higher than the death rate for women who had physicians attending them in hospitals.”

On April 4, 1976, Sally Burkitt of rural Pierceton bled to death in her Noble County home after giving birth two days earlier. Medical help was never sought.

On July 2, 1976, Alice Leach died after two days of severe haemorrhaging resulting from complications during childbirth. The women who attended the birth prayed for her deliverance and never called medical help.

On May 6, 1978, 15 month old Dustin Graham Gilmore died following two-weeks of haemophilus influenza, a non-contagious viral form of meningitis. Medical help was never sought.

On March 5, 1980, four year old Natali Joy Mudd died from a tumour growing out of her right eye and covering most of her face. Her parents, Ron and Martha Mudd of Warsaw never called a doctor for their daughter. Two and a half years later their other daughter, Leah, then aged five, died after a court-ordered operation to remove a basketball-sized stomach tumour.

In the early hours of July 4, 1980, the Glory Barn was burnt down, after local newspapers publicised these deaths. Six people escaped from the burning two-storey building. Two youngsters, Joel and Lee, suffered burns before they were rescued from their bedrooms by their father Brandon Wahl. Fire brigades from North Webster, Syracuse and Cromwell fought the blaze for some two hours until dawn, which was subsequently investigated by the Noble County Police and Indiana State Fire Marshal. Rumour had it as arson, a fire started by opponents of the Assembly, but no culprit was ever charged. However a new hall was soon rebuilt elsewhere to accommodate the undiminished numbers.

On March 11, 1982, 12 day old Carie Sealy died of pneumonia. Her parents, Kenneth and Bonnie Sealy, never called for medical help. Nine days later, her 15 month old brother Joshua died following a court-ordered operation to remove a large tumour in his abdomen. The father was prosecuted by Michael Miner for involuntary manslaughter, convicted and his appeal denied. The charge against the mother was dismissed.

These culminated on July 7, 1984 with the death of Allyson, the 9 month old daughter of David and Kathleen Bergmann, from bacterial meningitis. The parents were prosecuted by G. David Laur and convicted of reckless homicide and neglect of a dependant on September 11, 1984 in Noble County Superior Court, and sentenced in October of the same year to ten years in prison. They were bailed pending appeals which were lost. In 1986, after agreeing to seek medical care for their other children, they were released on probation for the rest of their sentence by Noble County Superior Court.

Final Trial

Michael Miner had Hobart Freeman charged with aiding and abetting these negligent homicides. However two weeks before the matter was to come to court, he died at his Shoe Lake home on December 8, 1984 of bronchial pneumonia and congestive heart failure complicated by an ulcerated gangrenous leg. He had refused all medical help, even to the removal of the bandages so his leg could be cleaned out.

That he should die in this fashion should not be surprising, for previously in his book, Positive Thinking and Confession, he said that "To claim healing for the body and then to continue to take medicine is not following our faith with corresponding action … When genuine faith is present, it alone will be sufficient for it will take the place of medicine and other needs." They were to stand on these "promises" alone.

His death was not reported to the authorities for many hours, while Assembly elders prayed over the body for his resurrection. For many months afterwards, his wife left his suit over the end of the bed, expecting him to one day walk in and have need of it. Some of this was revealed by the subsequent inquiry by the County Coroner.

Mourners did not attend his burial, in accordance with Assembly practice.

Further Trials

Again on April 8, 1990, the death of John David Ricks, the son of Michael and Dianne Ricks, from bacterial meningitis, came before the Noble County Superior Court and again prosecuted by G. David Laur. A plea bargain was negotiated, with the parents pleading guilty to neglect of a dependent for the dismissal of a charge of reckless homicide. Custody of their seven children was given to their grandparents, who were to be responsible for their medical care.

Over the years, more than 103 deaths have been attributed to the teachings of Hobart Freeman, and lawsuits have not been at all uncommon.

Legacy

All too soon power struggles emerged from within the Assembly.

In June 1985, Jack Farrell, one of the two assistant pastors hand-picked by Hobart Freeman, quit the Assembly, telling “The Body” during the Sunday sermon, that they were still “in bondage” to their late pastor.

Some grew dispirited and left, while others followed one man or another, including Joe Brenneman, Steve Hill, Jerry Irvine and Bruce Kinsey. Joe Brenneman had run the Assembly’s tape ministry and continues to do so from his congregation in Warsaw. Steve Hill appears to be pastoring a congregation in Hawaii, and Bruce Kinsey one in Kentucky.

Those congregations acknowledged to be faithful to the vision of Hobart Freeman include groups at Warsaw, Goshen and Indianapolis Indiana, Grand Centre/Cold Lake Alberta and Shelbyville Kentucky.

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