LANSING — Mike Rogers is continuing to face backlash after he was “not willing to publicly address” concerns from Midland community members about how Rogers “has surrounded himself with people tied to the Living Word Church sex abuse scandal.” 

The New Republic reports Rogers “dodged” reporter questions on Wednesday about “why two pastors from the Living Word Church were on Rogers’ Faith Leadership Coalition, months after three elders at the church’s Midland chapter were sent to prison for sexually abusing children.” One of the leaders appointed by Rogers “defended former pastor James Randolph at trial, before he was sentenced to at least 25 years for first degree criminal sexual conduct,” and another “admitted he initially did not believe the sex abuse victims.” 

Rogers has “received criticism for not speaking publicly” about his campaign leaders’ ties to the church roiled by a child sex abuse scandal and has “refused to acknowledge” concerns from former members of the Midland church who say Rogers “elevated leaders connected to the sexual abuse scandal.”

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The New Republic: The Church Sex Abuse Scandal Mike Rogers Won’t Talk About

• Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers has surrounded himself with people tied to the Living Word Church sex abuse scandal, but he’s not willing to publicly address the matter.

• The former FBI agent dodged one such question while collecting a local endorsement in Saginaw on Wednesday, where a reporter asked why two pastors from the Living Word Church were on Rogers’s Faith Leadership Coalition, months after three elders at the church’s Midland chapter were sent to prison for sexually abusing children.

• The dubious personnel inclusions involved Brian Ford of Living Word Church in Ludington as well as Tim Cross, the founding pastor of Living Word Church in Muskegon. Ford defended former pastor James Randolph at trial, before he was sentenced to at least 25 years for first degree criminal sexual conduct.

• [Rogers] did, however, briefly address his prior connection to Cross, who resigned from Rogers’s team earlier this year after he admitted he initially did not believe the sex abuse victims.

• “Our volunteers, the people that volunteer for us, one of those folks have stepped away from his volunteer work, someone is still in the faith volunteer work, we think the most important part here is about who is stepping up and who is surrogates,” Rogers told reporters.

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