Words from a former Basement/Pitt follower.

There is always hope. This is the response when I asked this person why they left The Basement.

1) When Pitt first got into legal trouble of May 2012 for the Peace Officer impersonation. There was nothing said about it at all or addressed. The Basement continued as there was nothing that had happened. The first service after he was arrested, he spoke as well as every other leader of the Basement. There was NO word said about Jesus in the service. All was said about how The Basement did this and it did that. Talked about how Matt Pitt was this and how Matt Pitt was that. The Basement story video was played over and over throughout the service. All we were told was the Basement and Matt Pitt were being attacked by the enemy. Some reason, I took that and ran with it, exploding and ranting in a non loving way on various social media sites and the news site, al.com.

2)I was NOT on staff but in my eyes I was basically an intern. I found myself at The Basement office and warehouse for long hours making t-shirts which “benefitted” the ministry and reaching the lost. I would show up at 10 a.m and literally stay there until midnight or later. Editing videos, making shirts and calling people to invite them to The Basement. I found myself rather promoting the Basement than Jesus, I found myself living off of an emotional high rather than truly encountering God’s presence. It was more of a hype show and look what Matt Pitt has done.

3)During the summer of 2012, I got really involved and sometimes got to sit in on staff meetings and be backstage during the major events. Pitt was highly praised and he let that get to his head. Just there for the show and his praise. He would literally show up with security and a driver. Walk on stage, grab a mic, give the crowd an emotional high and leave after. Toward late months of the summer I began to see how I was praising the Basement and Pitt rather than Jesus.

4) I began to see that people were thinking Pitt was this great person and worshipping him. If Pitt was not there, there was little if any attention given to the speaker. Pitt became who these kids and even some adults worship, it blew my mind. I began to dive into other people’s views and thoughts of Matt Pitt and The Basement and how they attempted to shine the truth and light on the ministry but was ALWAYS told that it was the enemy and nothing could stop this movement.

5) My last event and breaking point. I attended the Basement conference in Myrtle Beach, SC and I unfortunately stayed the whole time because I drove others. If it were up to me, I would have left after the first night. Pitt went literally spoke for two hours the first night about the Basement story and what he has done and how he hoped to work with Tim Tebow in the future as well as a reality show with MTV. I became furious and felt God tug at my heart and tell me that this wasn’t of Him and that I needed to leave, that was my last major Basement event.

A portion was left out here to protect this person from the attacks I have received over the years.

I attended one Basement event in the spring of this year to see had anything had change for better and it honestly gotten worse. Pitt rambling on stage, I honestly thought he was on some type of drugs or under the influence of something. Something was just not right….

Under the radar, The Basement and UnAshamed split this year. Rumors from various sources and people that the Basement leaders besides Ike are not who they are. I’ve heard alot that many of the leaders indulge in excessive alcohol beverages during their conferences as well. That is the reason why they split.

UnAshamed has moved in a positive direction I must admit.

I am completely appalled at how The Basement leaders have violently responded to Pitt’s new legal actions and have shown no love to people who disagree. I believe that more will come out and I don’t believe Pitt will be the only one getting in trouble.

The t-shirt business and the news website that they made to cover up Pitt is honestly disturbing. It hurts to see because there are still a lot of followers , who happen to be youth, that are being deceived and misled. I just wonder how they respond to their “Pastor” and other mentors getting in trouble..