Chandra Levy

I left the DL forum to get away from obnoxious, parochial, provincial and chauvinistic posters. This will the the LAST time I respond to any questions, concerns about my education, credentials, etc.

B.S. in Social Science, Delta State University, Cleveland,
Misssissippi

Regionally accredited; excellent academics

Th.M. in Pastoral Counseling, Bethany Theological Seminary, Dothan, Alabama

Not regionally accredited but NOT a degree mill

Ph.D. in Pastoral Counseling, Bethany Theological Seminary,
Dothan, Alabama

Ditto

Psy.D. Summit University, New Orleans, Louisiana

Not regionally accredited; chose school after searching for an external program to increase my knowledge of psychology; chose based on the fact the following held degrees from there: Natalie Roger, PhD, daughter of well-known psychologist Carl Rogers; Lucia Capacchione, PhD, whose Summit PhD dissertation became a nationally acclaimed best seller and has received kudos in the psychotherapeutic community; Alfonso Acompora, M.A., nationally recognized expert in addictions; Wesley Shankland, PhD, dentist and a nationally recognized expert on addictions; Ethan Nebelkopf, PhD, has (and may still) serve(d) on the faculties of regionally accredited universities; Mel Suhd, one of the creators of the Goddard (Vermont College) external program was involved with Summit; would I do it all over again? I probably wouldn't.

D.S.W. School for Christian Ministry, Saint Paul, Indiana

Not accredited; have been involved with school since its inception about six or seven years' ago; the Southern Conference of the UMC has Board Members on SCM; St. Paul UMC allows school to use building for class instruction; school has small admin bldg. and is in process of purchasing brick bldg. in St. Paul

He has claimed the following ordinations:

Unitarian-Universalist Association

Still have credentials; too liberal, however; was hoping the UU Christian Fellowship would be more influential; it has not

National Association of Congregational Christian Churches

Still credentialed

Reformed Presbyterian Church

Surrendered credentials; was hoping they would change position on female ordinations; they haven't

General Conference of Evangelical Protestant Churches (of which he was General Overseer)

Taken over by fundamentalists; recently received Board of Chaplains (DOD) approval

The Evangelical Christian Church (of which he is National Pastor)

Good work

...in addition to having been asked to serve on the Board of Trustees of the National body of the Christian Church

Didn't accept


He has also claimed the following affiliations:


Clinical Member of American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists

Didn't renew due to their pro gay, pro choice, ultra liberal agenda

Nationally Certified Clinical Psychologist by the National Association of Registered Psychologists, Inc.

Defunct; modeled after NAMP; couldn't afford to challenge states' rulings on "licensure" vs. "certification"

Qualified, eligible and approved to take National
Psychologist Exam of the American Psychological Association

Would have in a few states when I wrote this; I believe the states were Colorado and Arizona, and, maybe Alaska. Porbably would not qualify today

Certified Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, National Board of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists

No longer a member; did not renew after the Indiana Judicial Center decided to choose the Indiana Counselors Association on Alcohol and Drug Abuse as the certification body for state certification

Certified Addictions Specialist

Ditto

Member, American Psychological Society

Too expensive; no longer a member; good alternative to American Psychological Association that believes in junk psychology such as repressed memory

Member, International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology

Still a member; excellent organization

Association for Authentic Social Work (of which he is Founder and Executive Director)

Good work; most of us in the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology have similar web sites

Diplomate of the American Psychotherapy Association

Became member in 1998; at time APA was new and I met the educational, experience, etc., criteria for grandfathering; would not qualify today

But as he has stated emphatically in another thread,

I DO NOT present myself as a psychologist but a minister and pastoral counselor as the PhD from Bethany was in pastoral counseling.

DO NOT is present tense

Additionally I took the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor's Exam and passed. Sixty per cent of those who take this exam fail on their first try; I didn't. Therefore, my Bethany degree in counseling paid off in this respect.

Now, PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

Considering that I'm the only moderator listed in the DL forum, I was a bit surprised to read the above and I do apologize for our apparent lack of speed.

Since you wish to have your account canceled, I will certainly take care of it.


Thank you for bringing this to our attention.


Tom Nixon

 

This is interesting.

The UUA has educational requirements for its ministry. One of them is possession of an M.Div. or the equivalent. Presumably a Th.M. and a Ph.D. in pastoral counseling would meet that requirement.

But the UUA also specifies that divinity schools that are not accredited by the ATS must be approved by their committee:

Students electing to attend theological schools that are not accredited by the Association of Theological Schools must obtain permission from the Ministerial Fellowship Committee.

http://www.uua.org/ministry/preparation/requirements.html

Since Bethany is not even RA, it obviously falls within that category. So if Jimmy's claim to be a UUA minister is true, that fact says something interesting about Bethany.

 

<Since Bethany is not even RA, it obviously falls within that category. So if Jimmy's claim to be a UUA minister is true, that fact says something interesting about Bethany>

Bill,

I was ordained by First Universalist-Unitarian Church, Horton, Michigan, which at the time was a member in good standing with the UUA and in Michigan District #74. Recently the church pulled out of the UUA and joined the NACCA. The credentials, however, are still valid.

 

Oops! This <joined the NACCA> should have been NACCC. Also, I forgot to mention I did not seek Ministerial Fellowship in the UUA but having been ordained in a UUA church made (makes) me a Unitarian Universalist minister.

 

Jimmy:

I did not ask for a rehash of your degree mill credentials complete with rationalizations (you certainly are an incessant name dropper, aren’t you?). Even so, I noticed you conveniently left out the part about merging your own degree mill with the School of Christian Ministry (which is not unaccredited as you claim—they claim accreditation from a bogus accreditor), as well as whether you received your DSW from SCM before or after the merger and your acceptance of a position on the board of directors. As the Chair of the Department of Psychology/Social Sciences, did you simply award the degree to yourself? It would make sense, as no one else on the faculty appears to have the credentials to be able to grant you such a degree.

I also noticed that in your long-winded response you managed to avoid mentioning NAMP (remember, it was your post regarding NAMP that prompted mine). So, Jimmy, do you have a Master's degree from a regionally accredited university as required by NAMP and the APA? You inferred you did. A simple yes or no will suffice.

Moreover, as you also didn’t claim any degrees or credentials that we didn’t already know about, perhaps you should refrain from inferring that you have additional credentials or, (based on that inference) calling us fools.

Finally, I do not mind you expressing an opinion and calling me obnoxious, parochial, provincial and chauvinistic, however, because you present yourself as a mental health professional (you did pass the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor's Exam, right?), I do expect a retraction and apology for publicly, and unethically, stating that I am afflicted with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which, as you must know, is an actual clinical diagnosis. A simple statement such as, “I’m sorry; I don’t know what the heck I was talking about,” will do.

 

Can everyone see the assininity of all this? If I reply I am acussed of not having "veracity" because I do reply; if I don't I am acussed of "dodging." I am "darned if I do and darned" if I don't. My OCD comment was "tongue-in-cheek" and I do apologize. I did mention NAMP, go back and read again. It comes after NARP. I have answered all your questions. By the way, Dr. Tom Schwartz is Professor of Restoration History at the School of Christian Ministry. This is off his web site "I graduated from Phillips Theological Seminary in 1997, earning the M.Div. degree, magna cum laude. I was ordained to the ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in May 1997. I completed my D.Min. degree in Christian counseling at American Bible College and Seminary (now American Christian College and Seminary) in 2001, graduating with highest honors. I am presently completing the requirements for my Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies at Luther Rice Seminary and my Master of Counseling Psychology at Northwestern Oklahoma State University." So we do have someone qualified to grant degrees. I am now going into the options section of my profile and "ignoring" King's, AA44, or something like that, and your posts. You asked me if I really want you to contact the APA about my membership; GO FOR IT!

American Psychotherapy Association, Inc.
Association Headquarters
2750 East Sunshine
Springfield, MO 65804

Phone: 417-823-0173
Fax: 417-823-9959
E-Mail: [email protected]

 

Is that really how it works? The UUA says:

To serve in the professional, fellowshipped ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Association, it is necessary to have the required educational preparation and be granted Ministerial Fellowship by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee of the UUA.

In fact, the UUA has an whole involved procedure for training its ministers, set out in step-by-step detail here:

http://www.uua.org/ministry/preparation/prepstage.html

Is there some other kind of ministry in the UUA separate from this process? If not, how can you be a real UUA minister if the church itself doesn't recognize your ordination?

 

Bill,

I was ordained in 1988. The UUA, like the Disciples in 1968, has restructured and has become less congregational.

 

I guess Jimmy's tirade when being asked a simple question proves my point all along.

Kindly,
Steven King

 

Didn't all post?

For some reason all of my post on Dr. Schwartz didn't post. Here is the rest of it: Dr. Tom's Teaching
I am an adjunct faculty member of Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College in Moore, Oklahoma, where I teach (or have taught) American Federal Government, Biblical Concepts of Leadership, Economic History of the U.S., Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, Introduction to Sociology, Macroeconomics, and Microeconomics.

I am also the chancellor and a faculty member of the International College of Christian Therapy, a distance-learning educational institution affiliated with the American Association of Christian Therapists.

I was recently appointed Research Professor of Restoration History at Saint Paul Christian College, an independent, evangelical Bible college and seminary located in St. Paul, Indiana.

 

okay, call the dogs

Guys (and girls),

I think we all know all there is to know about Jimmy. Doing this will not stop him or anyone else from playing out of bounds. The point has been made quite well already. Unless you enjoy this type of thing you should think about chilling out and reading his posts as you would a semi-good pulp fiction novella. It's unchallenging and helps me get to sleep.

Tony

p.s. The guy is kinda fun to listen to.

 

Bye, Bye Jimmy

Jimmy,
Perhaps there is a reason you've labeled this exchange as ass-ininity, where the word you're looking for is asininity.

You can scoff, cough, and throw misdiagnoses all you like - the bottom line is this: you are a fraud and have been exposed again.

Only the future will indicate if you have scampered off to develop yet another Angelfire webpage for the purpose of self-aggrandizement.

Kindly,
Steven King

 

Godspeed, Brother Nixon, godspeed.

Steven King

 

Cliftonianism rehash

Howdy Jack,
Since I'm finishing my MBA this month...I'm hoping to post more frequently. I have tried to remain civil (well...as a tae kwon do practitioner - I kinda meant that part about punching him in the mouth) - or maybe I just said it tongue-in-cheek.

Or maybe, I'm just too OCD.


Steven King

 

Specifically to Tom Nixon, et. al.

<Since you wish to have your account canceled, I will certainly take care of it.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Tom Nixon>

Dear Tom, in spite of my private email to you asking you to hold off because things might change, go ahead and cancel my account, as things haven’t changed. I really enjoyed the Off Topics group but when the leeches followed it ruined everything. I am going to miss the overwhelming majority of you on here. You have been intellectually honest, good, kind and respectful, and I appreciate it. To all those who have determined Bethany is not a degree mill, thank you. You have remained above the fray.

To Gus Sainz I can say, while you have been at times somewhat condescending and insulting, I think you are a very sincere man who is honestly concerned about fakes, frauds and phonies and I applaud your efforts, I really do. Let me again apologize for the OCD remark. Although I said it “tongue-in-cheek” it was uncalled for and puerile. I am going to gather Sainz is Spanish and say to you, “A pesar de lo que usted puede pensar acerca de mí yo tengo la moralidad, las moralejas y los valores. Yo nunca he hecho nada dañar nadie, privadamente ni profesionalmente. Mi grado de Bethany no se puede acreditar lo es un schooland bueno me proporcionó una educación buena. Hizo hago algunos errores en el juicio y anuncio algunas observaciones estúpidas, por supuesto hice. Algunos debían irritar algunos otros cartel y algunos eran simplemente pueriles y fuera de desprecio y repugnan. Pueda a Dios continúa bendecirlo e ir con usted.”

To Steven King, well, let me say, and I speak not as a therapist but as a PRIVATE CITIZEN AND OBSERVER OF THE HUMAN EQUATION AND CONDITION, you have some very serious problems and deeply rooted issues. I was in the Army with people like you who are basically “nobodies and losers” in life and can’t do anything else so they join the Army. They have to join a group, obtain a group mentality and put on a uniform to feel important and worthwhile. They have to be led around like a dog on a leash. These are the same elements that join the Ku Klux Klan.

So, you want to “knock my teeth down my stupid throat,” do you? Did you clip a Yubiwaza ad out of Dell Comics and take Dim Mak’s correspondence course in the martial arts or something? I am not worried. You probably couldn’t find your way from Headquarters Command to Gate 5. You probably live in a trailer park in Grovetown and spend your weekends in downtown Augusta at Shirley’s with all the other intellectual lightweights. I wonder if the ECA knows they have such a barbarian as an ordained minister on their roles.

So, if anything ever happens to me, and you'd better pray to the ECA gods nothing does, your threat is a matter of public record, boy! I was going to send your threat to the Post Commander and/or the Provost Marshall and Dr. George Miller but have decided to allow you what semblance of respect you still have left.

I have wondered how you could spend so much time on the computer in these forums but now I know. The Army probably doesn’t feel safe having a loose cannon running around so they confine you to a desk performing a harmless, nothing job. Maybe you are in charge of latrine detail or something. Your posts have allowed me the pleasure of seeing someone go from the apex of decency to the nadir of indecency.

Anyway, goodbye all. I am going to join the externaldegrees at yahoogroups.com

 

The is the equivalent of taking one's ball and going home. The mean-spirited parting shots are disappointing. Mr. Clifton claimed many things that were brought under extreme scrutiny; he failed to support those claims. So now he leaves in a huff. Too bad.

 

The End of an Era

The only thing I am guilty of is exposing a known con artist. (Twice: as I posted the original thread which exposed Jimmy Clifton on AED a few years ago on another thread.) Jimmy Clifton is a danger to the academic community and the Christian church he represents.

Jimmy CAN accuse me of nearly finishing a RA MBA (mine will be finished May 31st!).

Jimmy, since you believe yourself to be a psychology expert, perhaps you suffer from a type of "degree envy." Without rehashing the freudian undertones, especially since I believe Freud to have been one sick puppy, do yourself a favor and obtain a regionally accredited master's degree. Once you do, you might have something legitimate to add.

Until then, I remain,
Steven King

 

Re: Specifically to Tom Nixon, et. al.

Certainly, Jimmy. I can well understand why you would wish to depart.

Readers will note that his old posts now say "guest." This will also disable his ability to post.



Tom Nixon