Everyone is a Sinner

That’s the first thing you see when you click on the "How To Be Saved" link on the website for the Woodland Hills Baptist Church located at 3400 Old Jacksonville Rd. in Tyler, Texas. So what’s the big deal, you ask? The head of this church, Dr. Wiley Benett thinks that Hurricane Katrina was sent by God to destroy New Orleans. Don’t believe us? Well check out the sign for yourself. No PhotoShop was used on this picture. Thinking that the sign is in bad taste considering how many innocent people lost their lives, we decided to see if we could contact Pastor Bennett to ask him a few questions. After a quick search on Google, we got two phone numbers for the church. We called (903) 581-7928 and was surprised to hear someone pick up the phone. We asked if we could have a second of Pastor Bennett’s time, but the lady on the phone said he was unavailable. She then asked if she could help us out. We explained to her that we wanted to ask the good pastor if he really thinks that God sent Hurricane Katrina to destroy New Orleans.

Click. Click. Dialtone.

After waiting five minutes and doing our best to sound like a different person, we called the phone number again. This time, "Mabel", as we will call her, got a little touchy. She informed us that Pastor Bennett is not talking to the media right now and that no, she will not take down the sign per our request.

Click. Click. Dialtone.

Mabel would not answer the phone after that, so we tried another number. The alternate number, (903) 581-2333, goes straight to an answering machine, so we decided to leave a message. We’ll let you know if someone calls us back, but we aren’t holding our breath.

If you would like to reach Pastor Bennett, but don’t feel like dealing with Mabel, please send them an e-mail at whbc@gower.net.