After 18 years of traveling and speaking with an incredibly hectic schedule, which included speaking as many as 900 times a year and flying over 2,000,000 miles, Dr. Hovind was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for failure to withhold and pay employee taxes.
People have contacted our ministry with a variety of opinions, but ultimately offering support for how God has used CSE to build their faith.
Dr. Hovind’s person who assisted the attorneys for this case has written a lengthy article concerning the facts and outcome of all that has happened. If you are interested in reading this article, you can do so by going to www.penaltyprotestor.org and looking on the right hand side of the page at the bottom of the menu and clicking on “Hovind Case.”
In his opportunity to address the court, Dr. Hovind tried to choke back the tears as he went through the history of the ministry as well as a history of his correspondence with legal advisors on taxation and the letters written to the IRS that were never answered.
“I intend to obey the law and think that everyone should obey the law,” he said. “If I would have known that I was doing something unlawful, I would have corrected it.” He admitted that he had dragged his wife into a battle that she did not want, and in his final comments he asked the judge to take any sentence that would be imposed on his wife and add it to his own.
For Mrs. Jo Hovind, the judge invited the attorneys to file more motions that could result in her sentence being reduced. With that said, a new “tentative” sentencing date was set for March first of this year. Jo was allowed to return home.
As I sat through the sentencing process for my mom and dad today, a flurry of emotions went through my soul including sadness and pain in seeing how this whole process could have been avoided, thinking about the money we needed to raise, knowing my kids will miss their grandpa, and knowing the big shoes I have to fill.
God has already demonstrated time and time again that He is more than able to take a challenging situation and use it for His own glory. I don’t know how often you try to figure out what God is doing, but there is always something in me which tries to guess what God is up to. Then I remember the rhetorical questioning of Isaiah where he asks, “Who hath known the mind of the Lord?”
Yes, despite the circumstances, we look to a bright future here at CSE as we continue to produce and distribute creation material that will be used to train and equip Christians for the greatest opportunity ever – the opportunity for God to draw others to Himself through the work of CSE. There are still many who do not know the truth about creation. We feel that it is our responsibility to make this message available to all who will hear.
Please pray for me as I accept the challenge to lead CSE into this new season. I am excited, because I know God has things we cannot even imagine on the horizon. I am humbled, because as I said, these are big shoes to fill.
I have been working for my dad all my life. He has taught me everything from how to ride a bike to how to build a house. I have learned a great deal from him as I have served with this ministry in doing everything from digging ditches to speaking in churches for eight years now. I have had the opportunity to present my dad’s seminar in more than 40 states and six countries. This message and information on creation still amazes me! I will be continuing my speaking schedule to include the requests for creation talks that come in weekly. In fact, the Creation message will be the sole focus of my speaking engagements, as that is the battlefield that God has called our team to fight in. So our ministry to churches, conferences, and public engagements will not change. I would encourage you to schedule in advance and sooner-vs-later since we have one less speaker on our team for the time being.
The obvious question which many are asking is whether CSE is implementing any changes to avoid these unfortunate circumstances in the future. I would like to assure you that I have personally met with the IRS and have been seeking their advice on the future direction of our ministry. This is part of our commitment to make the creation message the sole focus of this ministry.
Many of you have asked what you can do to help and have already demonstrated your love and faithfulness to us by writing letters to the court and sending the money necessary to continue this work for God. Your love and concern overwhelms us with encouragement. And yes! There is much you can do to help.
First and most obvious, I ask that you pray.
–Pray for my dad, that God would give him peace in the midst of storms. –Pray for my mom, as she still has to go to court for sentencing on March first. –Pray for me, that God would give me wisdom to lead this ministry in my dad’s absence. –Pray for souls to be saved with the message of creation that is so vital to today’s world.
–Pray for God’s mercy in the appeal.