Testimony of Linda Shelton

I was raised in Racine, Wisconsin.  I have wonderful memories of tobogganing, ice skating and snow ball fights with my family.  Every summer we traveled to northern Wisconsin to a cabin on a lake for some sun, water fun, camp fires, good cooking and warm fellowship.  They were happy times.

I recall the Spirit of the Lord tugging at my heart-strings at a very young age.  My parents strongly believed in "early to bed, early to rise..." so I often spent the evenings, when I could not sleep, praying and thinking deep thoughts about life which were beyond my years.  I can specifically remember praying for an Easy-Bake oven, a Chatty Cathy doll and a good husband.  I believed then and I very much believe now that God answers prayers...no matter how old we are.

I had a recurring nightmare when I was a child.  I had the nightmare three times and each time I awoke screaming, causing the remembrance of it to be forever carved in my mind.   In the dream there were people that I knew well.  All of a sudden they all reached into their hair and they began pulling a zipper down, making their human skin fall away, revealing vicious wolves with yellow eyes.  Considering what has occurred in my life the last 5 years, I think back to that dream with wonder.

I was raised going to parochial schools and going to church every Sunday.  It was a paradox, but I was drawn to the goodness of God by what I learned, and repelled by the harshness of God as taught in some erroneous doctrines.  No matter how I tried to wrap my mind around it, I could not combine the "loving God" concept with the "burn you in hell" concept.

When I was 13 I attended Confirmation classes.  These were classes taught by the Pastor so the young folk in the church could re-confirm their baptismal vows.  I remember one fellow classmate asking the Pastor, "But what do you do if you read something in the Bible and you don't understand it?"  The Pastor answered, "Bible study is optional.  Understanding the Bible is optional.  The thing that is really important is believing.  The Bible says "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and Thou shalt be saved."   Thus at this church, there was no Sunday school at the time.  Concepts like this made me have the impression that God was so far away and apparently disinterested in our human existence.

When I was a teenager I felt impressed to press back the boundaries of my upbringing and do some searching myself.  I visited a number of churches of different denominations.  I met people who loved God in every church.  But somehow I knew God had a place for me somewhere and I prayed God would reveal to me exactly where He wanted me to be.

I married at the young age of 21.  I gave birth to a precious daughter, Alyssa, when I was about 22.  Somewhere along the way of dating my husband to be, I lost the fervency of finding my place with God.  But during and after the delivery of my first baby, I found myself in the Intensive Care Unit fighting for my life.  I ruptured an artery during the delivery and nearly died.  Two weeks later when the stitches melted away, the same thing occurred.  I ended up receiving a total of six pints of blood.  I was in a lot of pain...but I was intensely JOYFUL when I left the hospital.  I felt the Lord gave me another chance at life.  I WOULD do my part to honor Him and leave a good mark on this old dark earth.  Amazingly, eleven months later I welcomed my son, Nathan, into the world.  Alyssa and Nathan continue to be two of the sweetest joys of my life.
A colporteur knocked at my door when I was 24 years old.  I bought a set of beautiful Bible storybooks for my children...and myself.  Debbie, the colporteur, and I got into a doctrinal discussion which ended in her inviting me to the prayer meeting at her church, the Seventh day Adventist Church...I'd never heard of this Church prior to this day.  I attended the prayer meeting that Wednesday evening.  I was not particularly impressed.  That evening I went to bed alone, since my husband worked second shift.  When I was nearly falling asleep all of a sudden an intensely strong, electric power filled the room.  I quickly sat up in bed, my ears ringing and wondering what in the world was happening.  The power was there for about ten seconds and then  was abruptly gone.  I asked "Lord, what was that?"  There was silence.  I thought about the events of the day.  The only thing that I had done differently was attend the Seventh day Adventist Church.  Was this a sign from God?  I felt it was.  I continued to attend the church every time the door was opened.  I was baptized three and a half months later.

My heart was singing!  Everything was different!  My  study of God's Word led me to the conclusion that my God was an AWESOME God!  I learned about the Seventh day Sabbath, the evidence that God really wanted to have fellowship with me!  He wanted involvement in my life!  I learned that God does not burn people in an eternal burning hell, but He is just and fair in ALL of His dealings with human beings.  I learned doctrines (a fancy word for wisdom) that made me know that I had indeed struck it RICH in having the opportunity to love and serve God!  And God made it abundantly clear to me through dreams and impressions that this was the Church where He wanted me to worship, learn and grow.  It was invigorating, life-changing and soul-surging!!  I would NEVER be the same!!

Tragedy struck my home in the months that followed.  For a period of time my husband attended the Church with me.  He shared the excitement in learning new truths.  Then I had to travel to Wisconsin to attend a wedding and was gone several days.  His family, who was heavily involved in politics, spent time with my husband and convinced him my Church was not politically correct for them or him.  He never attended the church again.  In the months that followed alcohol, drugs and difficult behavior intruded our home.  Eventually he left with "It's your church or me."  I think it was his plan to manipulate my decision in this way, but in a matter of weeks another woman had entered the scene and thus, the marriage was over.  I am convinced that no one experiences real pain until one endures a divorce. Hearts are ripped to shreds.

My life changed dramatically after that.  I lost my home, my income and my security.  Since I had two small babies I could not make enough money to merit working because of the cost of child care.  I was forced into the option of living in government supported public housing.  My apartment had no conveniences, no air conditioning and it was simply crawling with cockroaches.  It went completely against my grain to receive my $225.00 per month and food stamps to live and feed my family.  But I was backed into a corner.  But just as Daniel discovered contentment in a lion's den when Jesus was there, I found contentment in my humble circumstances.  God made it okay.  And looking back, the Lord was step by step building something called "conviction" in my heart...an unshakable persistant conviction that would eventually serve as a platform to send the Word of God through the airwaves around the world!  And let me add here that my belief system came to me at a great cost...and there is NO WAY I would frivolously throw something this precious away...no matter what anyone says!

I started writing songs when I was 17 years old.  When I was baptized I dedicated the talent to the Lord.  From then on I only wrote songs to uplift Jesus Christ.  I met Danny Shelton through my devotion for songwriting.  Danny's wife had recently been killed in an automobile accident.   He was in a full-time music ministry at the time we met.  I then co-wrote a couple of songs with his step-daughter, Lisa.  Later  he approached me and asked me to do some writing with me.  I was thrilled to have this door open to praise the Lord through the music ministry the Lord gave to me.  Eventually my songwriting led to assisting Dan and Melody, Danny's daughter, with a three part harmony in churches throughout the United States.  My ministry and my passion for ministry grew.  On November 14, 1984 Dan felt impressed to begin 3ABN.  We were married 10 days later.  Our entire marriage consisted of building and developing Three Angels Broadcasting Network.  We were married for 19 years.

An important part of my story includes this painful chapter.  When my son. Nathan, was 15 years old his father took me to court to fight for custody.  I told Nathan at the time that I could not in good conscience place him in a home (his father's) where there were drugs, alcohol, etc.  On the witness stand I was asked "Why can't your son eat meat like all the other boys in this community?  Why can't your son play basketball on Friday nights (the Sabbath) like all the other boys in this community?"  In a nutshell, I was made to look like an unbalanced religious zealot.  I lost custody of my son.  I was Vice-President of a worldwide religious network, but I still lost custody of my son.  In the years that followed, Nathan's life steadily spiraled downhill.  Many have asked me where much of the inspiration of my devotionals and songs came.  Much of it came from a pain no words can express, and a pain only a mother can know.

My years at 3ABN were fruitful years.  From the very beginning I was consistently challenged with new things to do, things that I had never done before.  But as a co-founder of the ministry, I had the eagerness and passion to make 3ABN grow and prosper, thus I plunged in to new territories where my efforts were needed and I felt that the Lord blessed "whatever I put my hand to do."  My small beginnings were writing thank you cards to donors, but as the years passed my responsibilities grew to where I was in charge of the print work at 3ABN.  I  wrote and produced many of the printed materials which represented the ministry to the world.  I also was responsible for scheduling and the development of the flagship program, "3ABN Presents," but also I was responsible for the scheduling and development of the programming for both 3ABN Television and 3ABN Radio.  These were responsibilities I earned through hard work.  These were responsibilities which I felt that the Lord had created me to do.  The Lord richly blessed my creativity and the radio studios,  three television studios, as well as the 3ABN Production Truck, which were more than busy.  I was incredibly busy in my corner of the ministry and profoundly blessed to see the fruit of the ministry too.  I was one of the few in this life who discovered the "shoes that fit."  I loved my work in serving the Lord!

As Christians we are a part of God's family.  Sometimes good things and sometimes bad things happen in families.  Sometimes there are gray areas in dealing with our children, and sometimes there are gray areas in dealing with highly complicated situations which arise in the church. Most of the time it is best to pray and let God work out the details in our day to day situations.  But there are also times when the Lord expects us to deal with situations ourselves, especially when it involves illegal or immoral activity which radically affect individual's lives.  And this is why I am coming to you, my Church family, asking and seeking wisdom for my situation.  In the spiritual sense, my life and ministry belong to God and to YOU as the Church.  This God-given ministry has been under severe attack for nearly the last five years.  I have sought help from the General Conference levels, to leaders, to individuals and I have found no solutions.  Thus, I bring the crisis to YOU, who will experience the blessings from my revived ministry, or who will experience the silence of a squelched ministry.

Most little girls in my generation grew up playing dolls.  There was a Mommy, a Daddy and a Baby.  It was all about family and relationships. Then playing dolls evolved into playing with Barbies.  And then the teen years ushered in a few romance novels.  Meanwhile, most of the little boys of my generation grew up playing trucks, playing ball and riding bicycles.  There is a big difference here.  Family is in the very foundations of most women's make-up and when that crumbles, she crumbles. 

I remember having a conversation with Dan a couple of years before "the crisis."  He wanted to get a private plane for the ministry.  I listened to his reasoning for desiring this plane, and I listened to how he intended to raise the money to obtain it.  He talked about how the plane could actually save 3ABN money if it was used every weekend.  I said, "Dan, if getting the plane means we have to be gone every weekend, we need to drop the idea.  We need time together."  The plane was purchased.  This was my first clue that things were not headed in a good direction.  His secretary, Mollie, was given the assignment to seek out engagements in churches.  3ABN was at its height of its popularity so the schedule was relatively easy to fill.  But the first year with the plane only demonstrated a loss in income for the ministry.   There was a noticeable  distance between me and my husband.

Some have asked me, "Did you ever see anything where you felt Dan was inappropriate with other women?"  Yes, I did.  But quite frankly,  I felt that I had more marriage security than others because of the incredibly huge responsibility we carried with being leaders at 3ABN.  Our marriage could not fail.  The whole world of viewers would be adversely affected.  I saw things which made me wonder about Dan's loyalty to me but I quickly dismissed it.  Our marriage would WORK.  It had to. 

Long ago Dan and I had a discussion about the intense responsibilities of the ministry.  I offered to work part-time so I could focus more on the home duties.  Dan said "No, what you do at 3ABN is much more important."   I said "We need more time together as a family."  He assured me that just as James and Ellen White had a special calling which required them to have less time together, our lives were required to endure the same.  I tried to quiet my conscience with these words along with the thought that this was our sacrifice for Jesus Christ.

Some months before "the crisis" began I told Dan that I wanted to trade my vehicle for another one.  While we were at the dealership Dan told me that we would be putting the car in my name.  I told him that we had never done it that way.  He very firmly said "If we do not put it in your name you will not get the car."  Dan stopped using our master bedroom bathroom.  I dismissed it thinking he just prefers another bathroom in the house.  He started doing sit-ups every night.  He had never done sit-ups in our entire marriage.  He purchased very expensive  Bo-flex exercise equipment.   There were a few times  where Dan purposely humiliated me on live television.  There were bursts of unqualified anger, insults and words I did not deserve.  One day out of nowhere he said "You are going to end up like your Mom, alone."  My CD "Makin' Memories" was released in November of 2003.  I dedicated this CD to Dan and wrote a song especially for him entitles "You are the one."  It proclaimed my love and appreciation for him.  I had previously asked Dan to sing the song with me as a duet.  It took MAJOR arm-twisting to get him to agree to this when the song was recorded by the musicians for the album early in 2003.  He bought a car for my college age daughter without my knowledge.  My daughter at a later date told me why.  I am still in shock to this day regarding what she told me. 

There was one particular subject that was causing major problems between Dan and myself during this time.  He wanted me, as head of Production and Programming,  to promote and broadly use the music of one of his family members, who was very obviously not living for the Lord, on 3ABN.  He wanted this family member to travel with us every weekend and be a central figure in our "on the road" ministry.  I said I could not do it.  This person needed to show some sign of conversion first.  He was very angry about this and often brought up the subject in our home.

Then it happened.  In March of 2004 Dan said, "If you do not stop speaking to Nathan's (my son)  doctor (who lived in Norway), I am going to get you fired from 3ABN.  I had met Dr. Abrahamsen  for the first time the last week of December 2003.  He was visiting another couple who were staying at 3ABN, Johann and Irmgard Thorvalsson.  The meetings were brief.  He tested my son, whose physical condition was extremely poor from a drug addiction, and then invited him to come to Norway for treatments.  A friend of mine, Brenda Walsh, and I traveled to Norway and stayed a total of 3 ? days in February to give Nathan some support.  Other than occasionally speaking with Dr. Abrahamsen on the phone about my son's problems, this was the only personal contact we ever had with each other. 

Dan, and later Brenda's, accusations of a romantic relationship between me and this man were completely untrue.  Dan once told me "If you tell a lie long enough it becomes the truth" - an axiom that he has used to his own advantage ever sine.

There are certain boundaries or things that are acceptable or not acceptable which are set up by a husband and wife.  In my position at 3ABN I often had single men in my office, sometimes for long periods of time for meetings necessary in planning productions.  I often spoke with men on the phone or at conventions.  Never in 19 years of marriage was I ever accused of doing or saying something inappropriate.  Likewise, Dan often spoke to women on the phone.  At the time of "the crisis" he was not only often on the phone to my friend, Brenda, he was at her 3ABN apartment alone with her.  His secretary was a woman and she was at times in his office for hours at a time discussing personal problems.  The accusation of adultery viciously flung my direction was and continues to be a smokescreen attempting to hide things in his own life.

Speaking from a secular viewpoint, I had reached a pinnacle of success in my career.  I had literally every technological tool at my fingertips to accomplish any type of ministry I wished to do, and I had the authority to do it.  To imagine that I would frivolously up and leave it all is ridiculous.  Many women would have walked out when their husband suspended them from their position as Vice President for no good reason and forcibly took her key away.  I didn't.  Many women would have walked out when he had public meetings with all of 3ABN's employees present humiliating his wife.  I didn't.  Many women would have walked out when the Chairman of the Board called to say that the Vice President (me) was not welcome on the premises of 3ABN, and if I needed something from my office I could only come in to the building  if I was supervised.  I didn't.  Eventually because of the extreme mental and physical abuse, we had to separate.  Dan was so successful in making me completely miserable and afraid for my safety in my home that eventually we did separate on June 1, 2004.  Dan immediately changed the locks on the doors to our home.  After this, I was only allowed entrance into the house on two occasions to collect my personal belongings, only things which he approved for me to take.

March of 2004 was one of the worst periods in my life.  I alternated between three lines of thinking, 1) That Dan had a breakdown and had become bipolar or a manic depressive, 2) That Dan believed Brenda's lies and had become jealous to the point of borderline insanity, 3) I just wanted things to be like they were before so I did not really accept what I was seeing and hearing as reality.  Clearly, I was utterly confused by Dan's behavior and in denial that this could really be happening.

It was Monday, March 8 when Dan threatened me with loss of my employment.  The same day he said he wanted to counsel with John Lomacang, the pastor at our local church, about the situation.  I thought it was so ridiculous I refused.  Later I spoke with John to tell him that I would not be counseling with him.  During that conversation he said his wife, Angie, had a male friend that she had been close to for years and that she often spoke with him on the phone.  My thoughts were "Well maybe John will be able to speak some sense into Dan about the situation" so I agreed.  We met with John on Tuesday evening.  The conversation consisted of the following:

1) Dan trashed me to John for a couple of hours about everything.   The phone conversations with Dr. Abrahamsen about my son's progress only came up at the conclusion of his tirade.

2) Although I stressed the fact that Nathan was in a life or death situation, John felt I needed to cut off all contact with Dr. Abrahamsen.  John said he would personally minister to Nathan himself.  He never did.

3) I told Dan and John that they were men and did not have the same perspective of the situation as a woman has. Dan said "Well let's get Brenda Walsh on the phone and get her opinion."  I was in agreement with this because I knew her personal opinion.  She was my best friend (I thought) who had often said that Dan was too controlling and demanding of me.  She also felt Dr. Abrahamsen was helping Nathan very much.  I was shocked when her comment to the three of us was that I needed to cut off all contact with Dr. Abrahamsen.

The next morning Dan was harassing me very much about his perception of "my relationship with Dr. Abrahamsen."  He finally said "Even Brenda feels that you are in love with him."  I said "That is NOT true."  He said "Let's get her on the phone."  I was SHOCKED when my so called "best friend" said "Yes, I think she is in love with him."  Dan's harassment got so bad after that statement that later I started packing my bags.  He then said, "We have to be ready for a church engagement this weekend and we have to pull it together.  Let's fly to Branson, Missouri for a little get-away.  I agreed.  So Wednesday, March 10, we flew to Branson.  We had a fairly nice dinner together and then retired to the hotel.  At 1:00am he woke me up with all the harassment again.  His deluge of false accusations and demented picture of how he viewed things continued until 5:30am when he charged out of the room.  I was a "captive" audience.

Friday, March 12 it was time to leave for a ministry appointment.  Dan said he wasn't going.  Although I still was not "happy" with Brenda, I considered it to be an emergency.  Brenda and I took care of the Live broadcasts from the church the next day.  Dan had the private plane fly back to Illinois and pick him up for the afternoon meetings.

From this point in March until the end of the month, it was a blur of harassment and accusations  to the point of intense psychological and emotional abuse.  I remember one point when I was so emotionally broken down that when Dan was in my face repeatedly sayings "If you don't say you are a pathological liar. the marriage is over and and you are through at 3ABN."  Considering the insanity of his actions I felt I had to calm him down in some way, so I finally told him what he wanted to hear, "Okay, I'm a pathological liar."  It shut him up the rest of the day.  I was grateful. 

But the next day included the same harassment which concluded with, "If you don't say you're an adulterous woman, it's the marriage and 3ABN"  (meaning, "They're both OVER.")  Again, fearful of his insane words and actions, and trying to calm the crisis situation, I submitted, "Okay, I'm an adulterous woman."  The next day it was, "If you don't say you've given your heart to another man, it's the marriage and 3ABN."  That was it.  I packed my bags and drove to my daughter's apartment in Springfield, Illinois.  Her phone rang a number of times.  Although I had the phone in the bathroom she could hear his tirade coming out of the phone in her living room.

This happened several times, but I always went back home to Dan.  I knew that some how, some way we had to pull it together.  I remember getting so broken down that Dan would say "Repeat after me..." and I did.  I wanted to save the marriage and 3ABN.  There was so much at stake. There were e-mails he forced me to "write" (dictated by him) to which he made me sign my name.  Each time I thought, "Maybe if I do this it will put the fire out."  I remember Dan would often repeat his tirade again and again and dash out of the house to see Brenda or John Lomacang.  I felt that it was useless to involve others.  I also felt his unstable behavior should and would be obvious to them.

One night it was after midnight and Dan came into the bedroom and lay down on the bed.  (Ever since our marriage in 1984 Dan rarely if ever, went to bed at the same time I did.  He said he had back trouble and could not lay that long, so he often would come to bed anywhere between 1:00am and 4:00 A.M..  I almost always went to bed at 10:00 P.M. )  He started in again with his tirade.  Only this time he was demanding answers from me.  Something in his voice made me feel physically threatened.  I got up and pretended I had to go to the bathroom.  But instead, I put on my tennis shoes and headed for the door.  Dan yelled, "If you go out that door you are going to the Doctor" (somehow meaning, in his distorted view of things, that Dan would view my actions as "leaving Dan" for the Norwegian doctor.)  I dashed out and headed down the stairs.  All the while he was screaming at the top of his lungs, "If you don't get back here you will be sorry.  I am the head of this household and you will do as I tell you..."  I grabbed my purse and flew out the door, terrified.  I drove to my daughter Alyssa's apartment and arrived about 4:00am.

I remember Dan coming home from a ministry appointment the end of March.  (He said I was too full of sin to go minister with him.)  I had flowers and a letter waiting for him.  The letter pleaded with him for us to just start over and drop all the accusations.  Sunday morning I made him his favorite waffle breakfast.  Then the tirade started again.  He was NOT going to drop anything because I was guilty, he said.  He added that I needed to confess publically on 3ABN of my sin, and that this relationship that "I was trying to hide" (according to Dan) needed to be exposed.  He then said he had not wanted to bring in the Board of Directors but now he was going to call Dr. Walter Thompson (the Chairman of the Board of 3 ABN).   He then picked up the phone and proceeded to call Dr. Walt.  I took my two dogs for a long walk.  When I returned he was still on the phone with Dr. Walt.  When he hung up he held out his arms to me and said "Awwww, come here honey, you have no idea of what is coming down the pike at you."  It was demonic.  I called Dr. Walt the next day.  His voice was shaking.  I told him Dan was not telling the truth.  Dr. Walt  said he could not come down on Monday, but he would be there on Tuesday to meet with us.

On Tuesday I went to my office.  Dan said that Dr. Walt had already met with Brenda, John Lomacang  and himself.  He said that Dr. Walt said both Dan and myself needed to step down from our positions until we resolved the problem.  He also said he was so glad that he was not making the decision but that it was someone other than himself, apparently meaning that he would leave the decision with Dan.  I met with Dr. Walt in Dan's office.  I told him my side of the story.  Dr. Walt and I then went into my office where Dan was waiting.  Dr. Walt said, "I think business can go on as usual.  This is not a Jim and Tammy Baker situation here.  I do not see any problem."  Dan then launched into a tirade that lasted five hours in my office.  He said, "Well if you feel that way she must not have told you the truth..."  Most of the five hours consisted of complaints that, "Linda won't even let my own daughter travel with us...  She doesn't let the grandkids sleep over enough"  - accusations that were irrelevant and untrue.  I felt helpless during his tirade and said very little.  At one point John Lomacang entered the office and joined the meeting.  At the conclusion of the meeting Dr. Walt threw up his hands and said "The President (Dan) will have to decide what to do here."
The next day when I went into my office Dr. Walt asked me to join John Lomacang and Dan in Dan's office for an anointing service.  I was happy about this.  They both read scripture and then we kneeled on the floor for prayer.  Dan very "limply" held my hand.  When they left the office John said, "Now you two can talk together, pray together and just spend some time together."  I was touched by the little service.  When they left I looked at Dan and said, "What do you think?"  He started in again with, "I think that you are an adulterous woman who has given her heart to another man..."  I got up and went to the bathroom.  When I came out Dan told me he was going to have Dee Hilderbrand (my assistant) and Mollie Steenson (his secretary) come in and he was going to tell them "everything" and from that point on I was suspended from my job at 3ABN.  I went home, packed my things and drove to Alyssa's again.  I returned a couple days later to "try again".  This became a regular habit during the months of April and May.  During this time, Dan had repeatedly accused me of "Spiritual adultery" with the Norwegian doctor - a new term that I had never heard of before - NEVER physical adultery.  I had denied it every time, because my only association with this doctor had to do with my son's treatment.  Any mother would be interested in her son's progress in overcoming a severe addiction to drugs. 

I was staying in Alyssa's bedroom in her apartment in April and May of 2004.  I was suspended from my job.  When I went to church people noticeably treated me differently, like I had a disease.  No one was calling me, no one was visiting me.  I thought it was very strange.  I discovered later from a 3ABN worker that Dan was telling those who worked for me that I was a pathological liar and to stay away from me.   Meetings at 3ABN were taking place where I was publically humiliated to the employees and they were warned about being pulled into a lawsuit if they had any contact with me.  Dr. Thompson called me early in April and told me not to go to my office or the premises of 3ABN without first obtaining permission.  He said I would have to be supervised when I was there.  Dan forcibly broke into Alyssa's bathroom while I was taking a shower and took away my keys to 3ABN which I was carrying in my pocket at all times. 

Dr. Thompson said I needed to cut off all contact with Dr. Abrahamsen.  I did.  After two weeks of absolutely no contact with him Dan said, "The marriage is over.  We are not getting back together so it doesn't matter who you talk to.  So go ahead and call the Dr., email him, it doesn't matter anymore."  I called Dr. Abrahamsen.  He was horrified over what was happening and felt very bad that he had been spotlighted as the "cause" of everything when all he was trying to do was help my son.  Dan asked me later if I had called him.  I said I did.  He immediately was on the phone to Dr. Walt saying "Linda LIED!  She said she wasn't going to call the Dr. and she did..."  (Another 10 day period of no contact commenced at Dr. Walt's request and occurred until Dan repeated the same instructions.)  Dan often was misrepresenting me to others on the phone and he was not in the least bit inhibited about doing it in front of me.  Dan often came home from work when I was suspended and he taunted me with "Guess who I talked to today?  He would name them and say, "I thought I should let them know what you've been up to."  I could see my cherished ministry crumbling before my eyes.  Dan was destroying my reputation every chance he got.  I could see that my husband had become my worst enemy.

One day in early April Dan came into Alyssa's bedroom and surprised me with breakfast in bed.  I thought perhaps the Lord had answered my prayers and he had a change of heart.  One thing led to another and it appeared to me that my marriage was on the road to recovery.  As soon as the moment of intimacy was over, Dan said, "When we split up this will have to happen..."  I looked at him with shock and disbelief.  He was using me and still planning a divorce?  I made up my mind not to be used again.  Weeks later his tirade changed to, "Until the ink is dry on our divorce papers  I have every right to have you."  Rape occurred three times.  I knew a separation was  necessary.  I asked him at one point why he was acting this way?  He replied, "Because I want you out of my house."

We flew to Kansas City to see marriage counselors on April 15. I spoke with them alone first and told them how I was being treated in my home.  Then Dan came in and spent much time trashing me to them.  At one point the man said, "Mr. Shelton, do you realize that most of what is coming out of your mouth is a put-down to your wife?"  Still Dan talked on and on.  Finally towards the end of the meeting the woman asked me fifty questions pertaining to Dr. Abrahamsen.  She asked "Did you ever hold his hand?  Did you ever hug him?  Did you ever kiss him?"  All of my responses were "No, no no..."  Then she turned to Dan and said "And isn't that good enough?"  He said "No."  She said "Why not?"  He said, "Because the evidence is stacked against her."  Yet NO "evidence" was ever produced.

Dr. Walt was wanting to get the 3ABN Board involved.  I told him this was a bad idea.  He said he would give Dan and myself two weeks to pull our relationship together.  One evening I returned home and went upstairs to the bedroom.  Dan was outside in the darkness talking on the phone.  I could clearly hear every word.  He was telling whoever it was that he had decided that the marriage was over.  He was going to get the Board involved and get rid of me.  He said, "She is sick over this man, she wants to have sex with this man..."  He lied and lied some more.  He had nothing good to say about me.  He then came into the house.  I confronted him and told him I heard every word.  He laughed and said, "So?"  I then left for Alyssa's apartment.

Towards the end of April I remember Dan saying, "The 3ABN audience will be mad when you are gone but we feel it's more important to get sin out of the camp."  He said, "Like Nebuchadnezzar you need to go eat grass for awhile."  I discovered later that by May 1, 2004, an announcement had been made to the production crew that the "3ABN Presents" program which Dan and I co-hosted, was canceled.  It was their goal to have my face off the network by June 1, 2004, and my name removed from every program I had ever produced, which numbered in the hundreds.  There would be no trace of me left anywhere at 3ABN.  Production and plans for the new "3ABN Today" program then began.  No Board member ever called me about these decisions.

During the first week of May I was sent a contract from Dr. Walt.  The contract essentially said that 3ABN wanted me to submit to counseling for 30 days by counselors of their choice and if I did not submit to this my employment with 3ABN was at risk.  I spoke to Dr. Walt.  His attitude was hard.  There were threats, a 24 hour time limit, a statement that I was fired.  I pleaded for a chance for my attorney to see the contract.  There were no attempts to try to restore me to my position.  I saw no Christian compassion or concern.  All I saw was a man who was standing up for another man whose behavior demonstrated everything that 3ABN preached against.

In April and May Dan stated several things to me.  He said I was going to be fired and that I had no rights whatsoever.  I could not collect unemployment.  I could not fight for my job since in Illinois one could be fired for no cause.  He said there was a small committee looking into our marriage situation.  The committee consisted of Dr. Walt, Bill Hulsey, Nick Miller (3ABN's attorney who Dan was regularly getting advice from on how to completely take advantage of me)  and Kay Kuzma.  I was never invited to speak to the committee.  My side of the situation was never heard.  But I was aware that Dan was in constant contact with all four of them.  I had one phone call with Kay Kuzma that lasted no more than 20 to 30 minutes.  I told her how Dan was acting in the home.  Her response was, "The Board is not interested in the problems between you and Dan.  They are only interested in the fact that the President (Dan) no longer wants his Vice-president" (me).  I said,, "So you are saying my job at 3ABN is over?"  She said, "Yes." 

I rarely heard from Dr. Walt during April and May.  There was one day where I met with Bill Hulsey and Dr. Walt in May.  I told them how Dan was acting.  I told them that I was not willing to be a martyr for 3ABN.  Dr. Walt said, "How else are we going to save 3ABN?"  They asked me to try to save the marriage.  I told them I had been trying and that Dan was not interested in saving the marriage.  Later in the day, Dr. Walt, Bill, Dan and I met together.  The meeting consisted of more tirades from Dan, with me often interrupting with, "That's not true."  I felt that surely Dan's attitude had to be coming through to them loud and clear.  But everything seemed to be focused on "saving 3ABN" at my expense - the expense of my reputation and at the expense of the truth..  I was to be "thrown overboard" to save the sinking ship.

Meanwhile, Dan was offering me larger and larger sums of money to go to Las Vegas (where my mother lived) to establish residency (six weeks) to obtain a quickie divorce.  I did not want this.  In the middle of May, Dan walked into the house stating that he had closed our joint checking account. 

May 19 was Dan's birthday.  I remember him walking into the house with an armload of gifts.  He said he had been at a birthday party (for him) at his daughter, Melody's, house.  Many of his family members were there.  I had not been invited.  I discovered later that my "Best Friend" Brenda had hosted the birthday party and that her attire and actions towards Dan were more than questionable.  Part of the harassment I was getting from Dan in those last weeks consisted of hearing portions of things that I know that Dan had to have heard from Brenda.  They would come back at me in a twisted form.  One day, before the 3ABN Campmeeting, Dan asked me to go with him to the 3ABN Worship Center.  I was shocked to discover that the green carpeting on the stage (which I had selected only one year previously) was being removed, and it was being replaced with red carpeting - of Brenda's choice.  Brenda had been urging me to make this change for many months but I had refused.  It was not necessary or cost effective.  This demonstrated to me again the close connection between Dan and Brenda.  (During the trip to Branson he had in a sane moment confessed that while working with Brenda on the Worship Center in the spring of 2003 that he had become emotionally involved with Brenda and felt he needed to back away from her.  From what I had observed from the spring of 2003 until the spring of 2004, he had not backed away from her at all.)

I remember a day in May when I drove to West Frankfort while speaking on my cell phone to Dr. Arild Abrahamsen.  He and Johann were planning to come from Norway to the 3ABN Campmeeting to try to speak with Board members about the truth over what was going on.  Dr. Abrahmsen wanted to clear my name as well as his own, as we both had been falsely accused of immorality, without any grounds whatsoever.  Dr. Arild asked me about where a good computer store was located.  I told him there was a good one in New York City.  Throughout the crisis Dr. Arild had been encouraging me to fight for my marriage and ministry, but after hearing about the latest developments and the physical abuse he encouraged me to consider going to Las Vegas to develop residency to obtain a divorce.  This was discussed.  Later when I returned home I was sitting in the living room when I called Nathan on my cell phone.  I asked him if he could come over to the house to be my body guard for awhile since Dan had been acting so crazy and out of control.  A few minutes later Dan burst into the house yelling, "How dare you tell Nathan you need a body guard..."  He then proceeded to laugh and say now he had the "proof" (of his previous wild accusations) because he had recorded my conversation with the Doctor that day.  I thought back to the conversation and could not, even with a stretch of my imagination, discern how he could think that there was "proof" to his accusations in that phone call.  It's my understanding from speaking to others about this, that Dan has made a "revised" transcript of this conversation and he has circulated it as his "proof."  Apparently no one has ever heard the actual tape recordings.  They have only been shown a transcript of the tapes, written by Dan, claiming his version of what he has decided the tapes reveal.  I have asked for him to make the actual tapes public, and to allow them to be forensically examined for their authenticity and accuracy.  He refuses to do so.

I phoned  a Vice-President in the Seventh Day Adventist Church.  His secretary asked me why I was calling and I told him I was concerned about the rumors my husband was spreading about me.  He stated that the rumors about my adultery were all over the General Conference.  I discovered later that Dan had been making many phone calls to key individuals and leaders in the Church  to "set the record straight."  I told the Vice-President about what had been happening the last few months.  In so many words, he said he could do nothing. 

At some point in May, Dan said, "You really deserve to leave without a dime...but I have talked to some Board members to try to get you some money to help you get started again.  But if you at any time talk to an attorney about it, you will leave with NOTHING!"  I was an emotional basket case by this time.  I contacted Barbara Kerr's husband, Bill (who was a noted businessman), and asked him to be involved with this decision.  Bill was in communication with Nick Miller.  One day Bill called and said, "Linda, you have to get to Dan's attorney's office today to sign a contract which will get you $240,000.  If you don't do this, the same offer will not be available tomorrow. GO!!"   So I went.  I had never seen the final version of this contract until I was sitting in Mike Riva's (Dan's attorney) office.  I had no attorney present as Dan had told me that if I contacted an attorney, I would get NO money at all to live on.  I was a desperate, hurting, emotionally destroyed, wrongfully humiliated,  individual who could think of nothing else but getting away from Dan Shelton.  The money would allow me to do just that.  Dan had another contract which dealt with me selling my half of the house to Dan.  I called my attorney, Brian Drew, and spoke with him on the phone about this second contract only.  Mike Riva and his secretary acted in quite a rush to leave, since it was after business hours, so I received no copies even of what I had signed.  I made several calls trying to obtain copies of these contracts later.  Mike Riva's office replied that I was to contact Nick Miller.  But I had no better results with Nick.

Around June 10, 2004, Dan told me he had found a website where we could get a divorce.  He approached me some days later with divorce papers and asked me to sign them.  I was now living alone in a small mobile home fifty miles away from 3ABN and stripped of everything I had had, after being a wife and a prominent leader of a worldwide network for 19 years.  I was emotionally crushed and unable to think clearly to make such a momentous decision at that point in my life.  But I signed the papers.  The divorce became effective on June 23, 2004.

The months that followed left me feeling numb to what was happening around me.  I heard that many viewers who had appreciated my ministry were writing to me at 3ABN. These letters were returned to the sender.  They were not forwarded to me.   People who worked in the Call Center were given prepared statements to read when people called to ask about me.  Prayer counselors, who happened to be mostly men, shared their support of Danny Shelton, without knowing any of the facts.  (Supporting 3ABN and supporting Danny Shelton became one in the same.  It meant a paycheck to all who were answering the phones.)  I thought the Board members would make attempts to contact me.  They did not.  The leaders at 3ABN did much to slander my name repeatedly...leaders who never even heard my side of the story, leaders who did not even ask.  A mailing was prepared shortly after I signed a "silence agreement" which literally uprooted my reputation and ministry.  I was depicted as a woman who would not listen to counsel, a woman who stubbornly chose to purposely walk down a wicked road rather than choosing the Christian path.  Later when Dan allowed me to pack my things in my office (because his brother, Tommy, wanted the space) I discovered my file cabinets and desk had been ravaged.  Many things were missing including personal photos, books, all contact information, and my personal notes.  My computer hard drive had been confiscated.  I was treated as a criminal, as a reject, rather than as a co-founder of 3ABN, a woman who had dedicated the best part of her life to the success of the ministry she loved.

Linda Shelton