Rising star pastor accused by fellow ministers of ‘secretly practicing polygamy’ | EUROtoday

The newest headlines from our reporters throughout the US despatched straight to your inbox every weekday

Your briefing on the newest headlines from throughout the US

Your briefing on the newest headlines from throughout the US

A outstanding evangelical pastor in St. Louis resides a secret double life as a polygamist, arguing that having a number of wives is a solution to “avoid sexual temptation,” in keeping with a pair of whistleblowing ministers.

Dr. Vince Bantu, who leads the nondenominational Beloved Community Church and is an assistant professor of Black church research on the Fuller Theological Seminary, revealed the information to the 2 over breakfast earlier this yr, in keeping with a bombshell report revealed Thursday in Christianity Today. It says Bantu made a scriptural case for polygamy, arguing that the observe merely required a “non-Westernized” studying of the Bible.

In January, Bantu, 42, instructed fellow pastors Thurman Williams and Darren Young — who shaped a so-called accountability group 5 years in the past with Bantu to assist preserve each other godly — that he had taken a second spouse and was contemplating including two extra, the piece alleges. The girl, who has not been publicly recognized, had reportedly been a parishioner and a pupil of Bantu’s.

“I never saw it coming,” Young instructed the outlet. “I just never would have thought that. He said he married himself and her ‘unto the Lord.’ That was the phrase he used, ‘unto the Lord.’”

Williams, who heads up the homiletics division on the Covenant Theological Seminary, stated, “I should have just [told him]‘Man this is crazy.’ But I tried to argue with him about it.”

Paulea Mooney-McCoy, who till she resigned earlier this yr oversaw compliance at Beloved Community Church and was accountable for wanting into the polygamy claims, reportedly instructed Williams and Young that Bantu’s facet of the story “fail[ed] to make logical sense” to her. (Mooney-McCoy didn’t reply to Christianity Today’s or The Independent’s requests for remark.)

But in a press release to Christianity TodayBantu accused Williams and Young of concocting the story out of entire material.

“My brothers in Christ have fallen into the snare of jealousy and have made false allegations about me,” he stated. “I cannot fully comprehend the motivation for these accusations.”

Bantu’s alleged second spouse denied outright she had married him in any respect, telling Christianity Today in an e-mail that she is “friends with the Bantus,” and “would never do something like that.”

Bantu didn’t reply on Thursday to a request for added remark.

In a press release on Friday to The IndependentYoung stated, “Our mission as an accountability group and Vince’s brother in Christ, has always been clear: to encourage Vince toward repentance, expose the ongoing issues within his leadership, and seek healing for the victims, the Church, and for Vince himself. We diligently followed the appropriate steps, confronting Vince directly and reaching out to board members, elders, and faculty responsible for his oversight — well before the publication of the [Christianity Today] article. When we received no responses, faced resistance, and encountered legal threats, we felt a profound responsibility, as believers, to take further action and bring this situation into the light. The evidence reveals a troubling pattern of behavior, bolstered by substantial witness testimony. We mourn the pain inflicted upon victims and the deep sense of loss felt within our Church community.”

Reached by e-mail, Williams declined to remark additional on the allegations.

Pete Singer, a licensed scientific social employee and the chief director of GRACEa Virginia-based nonprofit that conducts impartial investigations on behalf of church buildings coping with allegations of abuse, instructed The Independent that it’s essential to view accusations involving clergy by way of the lens of the precise energy dynamic at play.

“One of the things that’s really important to remember in this type of a situation, where there are allegations of sexual misconduct, is that the person with more power in the relationship has the responsibility for maintaining the boundaries in the relationship,” stated Singer, who shouldn’t be concerned with the Bantu case and emphasised that he was discussing the topic usually phrases. “I am a therapist. It’s not my client’s responsibility to maintain the boundaries in our relationship. It’s my responsibility, as the therapist, because I’m the one that has more power.”

It is unclear precisely when Bantu and the lady allegedly married. Bantu first expressed curiosity in polygamy in December 2023; in January 2024, he instructed Williams and Young he now had two wives, in keeping with Christianity Today.

Bantu, born Vince Campbell, was raised in St. Louis “and got saved when he was in elementary school,” his official church bio reads. “From the jump, Pastor Vince had a heart for sharing the Gospel in his school and on the block. Pastah V received the call to pastor when he was in high school and left St. Louis to study the Bible. Pastah V met his wife Diana in Bible college and they had their two daughters Taina and Naniki while he was finishing his doctorate. They came back to the Lou to share the Gospel and partner with the community to testify to the shalom of Jesus in the hood.”

Bantu used his place as a trainer and a giant draw on the faith-based talking circuit to hook up with girls, in keeping with Christianity Todaywhich cited a pastor at Bantu’s earlier congregation who decried a near-total lack of accountability to date for what he stated had grow to be a “clear pattern” of disturbing habits.

When Williams, Young, and a 3rd native pastor instructed Bantu that he wanted to come back clear about his supposed second spouse, Bantu threatened to sue them for defamation in the event that they uncovered his doings, in keeping with Christianity Today. The chair of the board on the Meachum School of Haymanot, a Black-focused seminary Bantu based and the place he serves as “ohene,” the Ghanaian phrase for “king,” additionally cautioned the group they’d be sued for defamation in the event that they pushed their claims any additional, the CT article stated. (Bantu’s alleged second spouse is reportedly a pupil at Meachum.)

At a crossroads, the three went public with their story.

On Friday, Meachum’s homepage greeted guests with a message: “As many of you have become aware of the recent article by Christianity Today, there are significant allegations regarding Ohene Vince Bantu. We take these allegations seriously. We are meeting as a board over the next few days and will discuss next steps. We ask for your prayers for the Bantu family and the tamaharis and mamhers of Meachum.”

Fuller Seminary can be now probing the allegations, and has employed an outdoor agency to conduct an impartial investigation, Christianity Today reported.

Bantu has reportedly confronted accusations of sexual improprieties earlier than. In 2018, he was pushed out of a church and a seminary over an alleged affair with a pupil, in keeping with Christianity Today. A yr or two later, Bantu confessed to having had an affair with one in every of his spouse’s shut buddies, Williams and Young stated.

As for polygamy, Williams and Young stated Bantu insisted it was not particularly proscribed within the Bible, it was a solution to stop being seduced and that it was a long-accepted observe in African Christianity — an assertion African Christian students denied to Christianity Today.

When Young and Williams final noticed Bantu in April, they pressed him to confess wrongdoing, repent, resign from the ministry, and divorce his second spouse, to which Bantu responded by strolling out of the room, in keeping with Christianity Today.

“He’s trying to avoid accountability, and he’s using his position and his fame,” Young instructed the outlet. “I committed to him that I would hold him accountable.”