Homestead Heritage certainly has its quirks, Olson says. What originally drew your parents in to joining? End result: Homestead Heritage became a scapegoat for ex-members. He and the rest of the elders recently tried to get even more money by taking all the members' private businesses and making them part of the church so they would get a tax break but that's when the county stepped in and said no. Was there any special criteria involved with working at the cafe or the various buildings during public hours? BTW: Joseph Ratliff, who "was convicted of five counts of sexual abuse, sexual assault, and indecency with an 8-year-old boy" has been released from prison and is back at Homestead Heritage, working at Brazos Walking Sticks. He told me tonights broadcast is explosive stuff.. It is the same group. But stranger things have happened, he says. It turns out Arnn was wrong, an error he attributes to the letters bombastic tone, which he says several people told him sounded like Adams. He described the food served in the caf as heavenly., I was given a copy of a letter sent to Christianity Today in response to Olsons piece by ex- member Bob Beechner, Katherines husband, of which the magazine chose to publish a very small extract. Homestead Heritage Info: WFAA Investigates Homestead Heritage - Blogger Every accusation so far has been false, he says. I remember sitting on my bed and realizing I was going to have to change what I thought was reality and in my head it felt impossible. When he was 12, he said a then-member of the church beat him for breaking the door of a trailer. You didn't date. More. This follows Februarys Texas Observer story, Heritage of Abuse in which I exposed accusations of child abuse, beatings and cover-ups leveled at the group. Wow, my husband is a chef and he buys grits from there. That's why I wish they knew that there are other options that are so much better.