Pastor Steven Smith says he’s willing to step down over handling of abuse case
The pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, Steven Smith, told his congregation Sunday that he is willing to step down for failing to inform them that a former church official charged with guiding children had been credibly accused of abusing minors at the church.
"If at any point now [or] in the future, this church believes God's anointing or call upon my service at Immanuel has been lifted, I will not resist the will of the church," Smith, with his wife, Ashley, by his side, told congregants at the end of the 9 a.m. service in a statement that was not broadcast online by the church, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “Until then, we want to continue to press on in our mission to advance the kingdom."
Smith told the congregation that a former member of the church staff, Patrick Stephen Miller, who served as the assistant director of children's ministry until he left the job in January 2016, was accused of child abuse hours after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an article about the previously undisclosed allegations.
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Miller, now 37, and whose father-in-law is a deacon at Immanuel, was accused of taking a child into a dark closet in 2015 and abusing her. He allegedly sat her on his lap, placed his hands down her pants and beneath her shirt, and sexually assaulted her, the Democrat-Gazette reported. He was not arrested until December 2018. In January 2019 he was charged with second-degree sexual assault, a felony, but he only pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment in January 2022, which happens when a defendant "strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise touches a person, subjects that person to offensive physical contact or attempts or threatens to do so."
While Miller resigned a year before Smith became pastor of the Southern Baptist congregation which boasts some 2,386 members, Immanuel leaders were made aware of the allegations against Miller in March 2016. In 2018, the child also provided additional details of the allegations to church leaders and a police investigation was started.
"I wish we would have told you about these crimes sooner," Smith told congregants a week ago after it was reported by the Democrat-Gazette.
"We recognize the importance of treating abuse behavior seriously. We intend to honor Christ in the way we care for anyone who's experienced past abuse. If you have knowledge of any inappropriate behavior with children at Immanuel or anywhere else, please call the abuse hotline of the Little Rock Police Department,” he said.
In his comments on Sunday, Smith said Immanuel "has been diminished by recent public attention" but he insisted that he had been called by God to lead the church.
"I realize emotions run high on this subject and for very good reason. I also realize that some within our church family may feel I should no longer be the pastor. I want you to know I'm not offended by such sentiments should they exist. I might feel the same way if I were sitting where you are and only recently learning about these events,” he said. "I will do better; we will do better, and we will be safe."
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