2022: A Year’s End Summary of the Fight to Expose the Abuse and Enablement of “Pastor” Robert Hahn at Chesapeake Church

Merry Christmas!

What a year! I’d like to “wrap things up” before January. That doesn’t mean I’m going away. The blog will stay up. It continues to get new visitors every day. It will stay up so people can see the facts and make up their own mind about whether or not to attend/support Chesapeake Church.

One thing I do want to address:

I know many are disappointed that Hahn remains in a leadership position. I am too. But just to be clear…

A trial would not have ended in the removal of Hahn from the church. The result rendered via the plaintiffs’ dropping the case is the exact same result we would have received had we prevailed at the end of a trial. Only the church can remove an elder.  The church’s Book of Order outlines how to do so; unfortunately, the elders don’t seem to pay any attention to their own rules. (As someone pointed out to me, Warren Jeffs still runs the FLDS from prison.)

In spite of the disappointments, it’s important to reflect on the progress we have made. The reputation of Chesapeake Church has taken a hit within the community. Robert Hahn is no longer lead pastor (though I’m sure he still wields his influence), and I believe that is a direct result early of the information we exposed. He would surely have remained the remote figurehead who ruled from his luxury penthouse in Honduras while the “teaching” pastor took over the majority of the work. He would have continued to receive the same large salary. Who’d want to give up that cushy gig?

I have no idea what salary he might still be receiving or what retirement package he has been bestowed.

Removing Hahn from the elder board and from the church-related nonprofits would be a task.

The majority of pastors involved in just one of the many scenarios I detailed in the blog would have resigned and apologized. I believe Robert Hahn is incapable of doing that. I also believe that through God all things are possible; therein lies the conundrum.

Here’s a summary of what I learned through my investigation:

Excessive Drinking and Bouts of Rage

Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 1 Timothy 3:2-3

Robert Hahn has rage issues and drinks excessively. He admitted to drinking so heavily that, one Sunday, his son-in-law had to sneak him out of the church building and drive him home. Many others have witnessed Hahn inebriated in other’s homes and in public locations.

In 2012, when a close relative was arrested for driving while intoxicated, Robert Hahn called a former congregant for help. That former congregant informed me that it was clear Hahn was also intoxicated and guilty of driving under the influence. (He and the relative drove home from the same party in separate cars.)

Robert Hahn has blackmailed and harassed staff members, congregants, and at least one official within the community. Many testify to having witnessed him exhibit extreme bouts of rage, often on church campus. 

Blackmail, Theft, and Cover Ups

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. Romans 16:17-1

Nearly two years ago, Hahn covered up an instance of domestic abuse between two staff members and asked a social worker to lie about what she had seen if she were ever called as a witness in court. Later that same year, Hahn stole a private journal and then used the contents of that journal to blackmail the two parties involved.

Hahn’s story about how he obtained the journal kept changing. It turns out he went through his guest’s bag, found and removed the journal, took pictures of its contents, and then placed it back in the bag. All of this is legally suspect.

Hahn also used the contents of the journal to illegally evict the female staff member involved- the very same domestic abuse survivor the elders failed to help for over seven years. This young mother, who rented a house owned by the church, was given only hours to gather her two children and as many items as she could pack. Two other church members, each on church staff today, assisted him in blackmailing and evicting her.

(The domestic abuser, I am told, is back on the church’s payroll.)

Via email, Hahn exposed the affair to over 40 individuals, including the daughter of the male employee in question, in a calculated act of revenge. He preached a sermon in which he revealed that the teaching pastor had been fired from his position due to “serious moral and ethical transgressions which could not be tolerated.” He also said, “As your senior pastor it is my responsibility to ensure that our teachers have integrity, honesty, and a commitment to put the needs of the church ahead of their own personal desires. And in that effort I have failed you, and I am sorry.”

Multiple Extramarital Affairs

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Ephesians 5:3

Hahn delivered the aforementioned sermon in spite of that fact that, during his 30-year tenure as senior pastor, he has engaged in multiple extramarital affairs, including one with a fellow staff member, one with a former congregant, and with women in the community.

The most recent affair occurred within the last two years.

Recently, the pastor of a large evangelical church stepped down for having an “inappropriate” (albeit non-sexual relationship) with a woman who was not his wife. He publicly repented and was “restored” three months later.

It is my understanding that the elders had Hahn take a leave after his first affair; however, his extramarital activities have been ongoing.

Theres’s a famous quotation that says, “a mistake that keeps being repeated is not a mistake. It’s a choice.”

The two elders who are most aware of these affairs conveniently “retired” from their positions after the blog was published. 

Questionable Ethics Within Hahn’s Nonprofits

When in Honduras, Hahn resides in a luxury Caribbean beach home purchased through donor funds. This home is listed as the “headquarters” of a nonprofit organization located hours away.

Hahn has founded a ridiculous number of nonprofits (a practice known as overboarding) and stacked the boards with his close friends and family members. Two of “his” nonprofits submitted 990s that contained false statements regarding potential conflicts of interest. His latest nonprofit, Friends of ROA, remains “not in good standing” for having failed to submit an annual report. 

Evoke Purpose, another new nonprofit with which Hahn is involved, contains Hahn’s name under the “mailing address” within its corporate charter approval sheet. I am not aware of Hahn’s “official” connection with the Evoke Purpose (and whether or not he gets their mail); however, the organization was established in 2020 and has yet to submit an annual report. It is also “not in good standing.”

Fake Degrees

Hahn has lied about his education on numerous occasions. He misled the Presbytery, assuring them he was attending classes at a local seminary. When confronted, Hahn declared “he should be the one teaching those classes!” Chesapeake Church left the PCA and became an independent evangelical church. Since then, Hahn lists different seminaries on various social media platforms.  In front of the church, he claimed to hold an M.Div from a university. It turned out to be a fake degree from a diploma mill.

Suing His Own Child

For years, Robert Hahn’s daughter and son-in-law have remained silent as Hahn fabricated stories about why they left Chesapeake Church and the state of Maryland. Hahn has opined about his lack of access to his grandchildren and has used them as sermon fodder, often referring to them and their parents when preaching about “The Prodigal Son.” (The same parable on which he preached after exposing the aforementioned affair.) When his daughter was given the opportunity to, after five years, tell her side of the story, Hahn sued her husband (whose story she relayed when I spoke with her).

Robert Hahn ultimately sacrificed a relationship with his eldest daughter and his grandchildren to maintain his stronghold over the church. He was more than willing to put them at great financial risk to try and keep them from talking.

Hahn’s daughter relayed that her father once told her he believed her husband and her son (the son just a small child) exhibited sociopathic tendencies.

This past June, Robert Hahn threatened my sister’s children, her career, and even her life.

In spite of all of this, he remains an elder at Chesapeake Church.

All of the information above, including supporting documents, witnesses, and written testimonies, were turned in to the plaintiffs as part of the discovery they requested.

There were additional stories submitted as evidence that were not published in the blog: stories of sexual harassment, blackmail, instances of extreme rage by Hahn, and allegations of other questionable behavior.

After mediation fell through, the defendants demanded plaintiffs’ discovery as soon as possible. (The plaintiffs had already asked for an extension.)

They dropped the lawsuit the following Monday. 

I don’t know why the elders, who spout out scripture like they actually believe it, have not accepted any responsibility for the terrible things that occurred under their watch. One can only speculate why they continue to defer to this wolf in sheep’s clothing.

If, after knowing all of these things, people are still willing to place themselves under a corrupt and amoral leadership, I’m not sure what else any of us can do.

I'll try one last thing. It’s a long shot. I offer this to the members and leadership at Chesapeake Church:

If the leadership at Chesapeake removes Robert Hahn from all positions related to the church and takes responsibility and apologizes for what has occurred under their watch, I’ll happily remove the blog and this Facebook page.

(I’m not holding my breath.)

I’m proud of the work I’ve done here. I’m glad I helped expose the truth. But any personal pride is far eclipsed by how humbled I am that so many of you trusted me with your stories. You were brave. You stood up for yourself and for others and people took notice; other churches in the area took notice. They implemented plans for accountability. They began to look into what it means to be a transparent church. “You show me your paycheck and I'll show you mine,” will not be the attitude of the pastors at these churches.

Some of you were willing to stand up in court and relay what happened to you. You were willing to face hard questions and relive some of the most difficult moments of your life. Man, you fought the good fight.

I am proud of you.

I am proud of us.

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail.

If not in this life then the next.

God bless.