A prominent complementarian pastor married a child molester to a young congregant

Evidence

It turns out Wilson had some experience with the court system. In 2011, he had performed the marriage of Steven Sitler to a young woman in his congregation. Sitler had been convicted in 2005 of child molestation, and at the time Wilson had advocated for leniency in sentencing. (Sitler had been a student at Wilson’s New Saint Andrews College and had attended Wilson’s church.) Sitler received a life sentence, but was released on probation after only twenty months; three years later, an elder at Wilson’s church arranged a meeting with the young woman who would soon become his wife. The couple eventually had a son, but in 2015 the court ordered that Sitler be restricted to chaperoned visits due to inappropriate sexual contact with his own child. When Wilson’s wisdom in marrying Sitler to a young woman in his church was questioned, Wilson hit back: the Sitler case was just “an easy way for enemies of our ministry to attack us.” He denied that his church was “protecting, covering, or advocating molestation of children.” The church existed to minister to broken people. Yet Wilson rejoiced in the “slander”; he and his wife celebrated with a bottle of single-malt scotch, and he used the attention to promote his latest book—which took up the subject of justice. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 641

Categorization

• QUESTION: The juxtaposition — celebrating ‘slander’ with scotch and promoting a book on justice — invites reflection on how evangelical leaders convert scandal into brand-building.
• SEED: A potential essay on how religious-institution leaders weaponize ‘the church exists to minister to broken people’ as cover for abetting abuse.