A former youth group member at Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida reached out to me ready to share more information about Eddie Struble’s time at Idlewild while Eddie was employed there as a music minister. I have known about allegations of child sexual abuse by Eddie for a long time and have written several posts about him. I have posted police reports from Houston. In 2018, I posted about a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary professor that expressed concern that other kids are at risk for sexual abuse by Eddie.
This individual is brave to come forward and share this information in hopes that others who have been harmed by Eddie Struble will know they are not alone and hopefully other kids will be protected. Eddie is currently in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I believe he is a threat to kids. I hope those who Eddie has abused will come forward and make police reports. Eddie needs to be prosecuted.
Eddie Struble was hired by Ken Whitten to run the Student Choir. The student Choir model was copied directly from Bellevue. Often referred to as “the mothership”. Ron Upton was mentored by Jim Whitmire. All those guys, Reno Zunz, Ron Upton and Ken Whitten (who never graduated seminary because Dr. Adrian Rogers told him he needed him to work at Bellevue and to quit school.)The seminary, Mid America, was born from the conservative resurgence.
Eventually more than 70 percent of the pastors from Idlewild would’ve graduated from Mid-America. Getting their experience in Memphis and at Bellevue.
Eddie Struble came in the replace Kelly Meyers. He was the student choir guy before Eddie.
Kelly announced he was resigning to go off to another church. However, in the couple weeks after Kelly announced he was retiring, they brought him before the church where he confessed to being caught watching gay porn on his office computer and having affairs with multiple men. He apologized and cried during the service in front of everyone
This led him to a “restoration” process that eventually allowed Kelly to be hired again by Idlewild and lead the central campus music ministry. Even bringing the inner city central church choir back to have a large part in the Christmas production.
Eddie was a star at Bellevue. His mom was a staple in the music ministry there. Hope Struble was known as Mama Struble to people there. He was famous for singing “his song” Midnight Cry. He was a favorite of Adrian Rogers, and he’d sing for the church and TV audience whenever he was in town visiting his family. When Eddie Struble left Bellevue it was rumored he had to leave because he “liked little boys.”
Eddie came to Idlewild and was all about getting to know us. He would use very opportunity to hang out with us. He hosted a party at his house for all the guys in the choir; maybe 20 guys came. This was before Eddie and his wife had kids. Her parents had just died days after they moved from wherever they came from. I say this to say it wasn’t strange that she wasn’t at the house. This party was somewhere between 1998 and 1999.
At the time I wish I’d known there should’ve been multiple adults at a party. It was a sleepover. At one point we played twister. Eddie started some game he called dogpile where they’d dogpile the person he named. One guy was on the bottom a lot and all the other guys jumped on him.
Prank wars went on and led to people smashing eggs on people while they were trying to sleep. Eddie was leading all of this. Eventually everyone went to sleep. Some slept in a room with the door locked to avoid being pranked.
Some slept in Eddies bed with him. Not sure how many did. Slept in their boxers , when they woke up, apparently Eddie was the big spoon for one of the boys and the boy awoke to Eddie being fully erect.
The boy’s father confronted Ken Whitten about this and was brushed off. Ken Whitten’s 2 sons were in the choir and were at the party as well.
Eddie was also extremely narcissistic. He always had to have the spotlight. When we had high school plays he would often have a lead role. Taking one away from capable students. He loved being in makeup and performing alongside us. I guess he thought we were equal?
Once on a choir tour he cancelled one of the student performances during the service. He did this because he knew it was being televised. He sang Midnight Cry while the choir tour kids sat in the audience.
I heard that back in 2020 when Ken was reminded of the father coming to him, he denied it and said it never happened. He said that dad never talked to him and it wasn’t ever told to him. The dad went back and reiterated it, but Ken was convinced he would’ve remembered.
Other rumors persisted about Eddie. After he left we learned a rumor he kissed at least 2 other boys or advanced on them.
Eddie eventually left Idlewild with a high recommendation and sendoff parties on his way to Second Baptist Church in Houston.
When this article https://bekdargan.blogspot.com/2020/09/rape-culture-and-megachurch.html, dropped, there was a meeting about her accuser with all the pastoral staff and deacons and their wives. I heard that they were asking about Eddie. The rumor was addressed that Ken’s son who was now a deacon had been kissed by Eddie.
Supposedly Ken asked his son to address it, and they made it seem like it was an innocent kiss on his cheek. That would seem to confirm an unwanted advance on a minor boy. Ken was stupefied and angry that this article was written hurting his reputation and the church. He tried to insist if he’d known he wouldn’t have kept Jack or Eddie on staff. But Eddie kissed his son on a choir trip in Jamaica, and supposedly Ken didn’t know that either.
I appreciate this person reaching out to me. Eddie’s predatory behavior is eerily reminiscent of my former youth music minister at Prestonwood Baptist Church, John Langworthy, who preyed on boys and sexually abused them. He was convicted in 2013. This predatory behavior also reminds me of convicted child sex offender from Kanakuk Kamps, Pete Newman. Pete is in prison where he belongs. Langworthy died in 2019.
Ken Whitten, former Idlewild Baptist Church pastor, is now at the North American Mission Board as the national director of pastoral leadership.
