Scott Dawson responds to arrest of fellow evangelist

By Greg Garrison
AL.com
April 11, 2018

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2018/04/scott_dawson_responds_to_arres.html

Acton Bowen, founder of Acton Bowen Outreach, spoke at AtlantaFest, an event organized by Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association in 2014.

Evangelist Scott Dawson, a Republican candidate for governor, said that he did not know he was listed on the board of advisers for an Etowah County evangelist who was arrested for child sexual abuse.

Dawson said he knows Acton Bowen, and used him as a speaker in 2014 at one of his evangelistic events, AtlantaFest.

"I never noticed anything that caused concern - but I was not on his board," Dawson said in a text message to AL.com.

The web site for Bowen's ministry has now been taken down, but it previously listed Dawson on its board of advisers.

Bowen, the founder of Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries, was arrested in Hoover Tuesday on child sex charges.

Paul Edward Acton Bowen, 37, a Gadsden native who lives in Etowah County's Southside community, is charged with second-degree sodomy, enticing a child to enter a vehicle or house for immoral purposes, and second-degree sex abuse. The victim was a young male, but police did not release his age except to say he is over 12 and under 16.

Dawson said he sent out this message to his campaign team about Bowen's arrest:

"It is heartbreaking," Dawson said. "When I got the news it surprised me - then I had to decide how to respond. Preacher? Politician? Neither. We respond as a follower of Christ. When I heard that I was listed as an adviser to him, it was a total surprise, but again, I am the least impacted. Let's pray for Acton and his wife. Pray for the family. We don't know what has happened or the result that will take place. All we know is that every time this happens it causes the world to doubt. Let's commit ourselves to be found faithful."

Documents on file with the Secretary of State do not list Dawson on the board of directors or board of advisers for Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries.

The state legal documents of incorporation for the ministry were prepared by Gadsden attorney Trenton Garmon, who was listed as a member of the board of directors for Acton Bowen Outreach. Garmon also worked as an attorney for former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore of Etowah County during his failed campaign for U.S. senate last year. Garmon wrote a letter on Moore's behalf threatening legal action against AL.com for reporting on allegations of sexual misconduct by Moore.

Efforts to reach Garmon for comment on Bowen's arrest were unsuccessful.

Bowen wrote two books aimed at youth, including the 2007 publication "Escape the Noise: A Thirty-Day Devotional Journey for Students," that Dawson appears to have endorsed with a blurb.

"In Escape the Noise gifted speaker and author Acton Bowen shows clearly what God's Word says concerning life, joy, fulfillment, purpose and focus," Dawson wrote. "Reading these 30 devotionals will impact your life in a profound and irreversible way."

Dawson said he did not remember endorsing the book, but probably did. "I give endorsements to books all the time," Dawson said.

There was also an endorsement from Dawson about Bowen's speaking ministry on Bowen's web site. "Acton's voice rings out with a clarion call for each of us," Dawson wrote. "As a gifted author and powerful speaker Acton clearly communicates what God's Word says about life and purpose. Experiencing his ministry on stage or in print will impact your life in a profound and irreversible way."

Asked about the endorsments, Dawson said: "Sad. I've heard him speak and he was good. I've realized that God will always work through us when we speak His word. But it's my responsibility to live a life for Him to work in me."