Pastor John Paul Miller of South Carolina has been indicted on charges relating to harassment and stalking his estranged wife, who ultimately committed suicide. Prosecutors claim they have evidence tying Pastor Miller to harassment escalation in the vandalizing of her car. However, this isn’t the first time Pastor Miller has been accused of a crime. While many sites and podcasts have covered his alleged stalking of his own wife, I wanted to take a different angle and show the distortion of who he was, compared to who he appeared to be. I found a book authored by John Paul Miller (linked and discussed here), as well as repeated references to “God’s love.” At the same time I found the same familiar poison of American Christianity, quotes about “well no man is without sin,” to dismiss those wrongdoings away as though they are just a flash in the pan. So let’s dig in to the character, the persona of Pastor John Paul Miller.
Earlier Accusations of Sexual Assault
The alleged cyber stalking is not the first time John Paul Miller has crossed paths with the legal system. In the late 90’s he was accused of rape:
This would also not be the first time John Paul Miller faced allegations of wrongdoing. He was sued by a woman in Indiana, who accused him of raping her in 1998 when she was 15 years old and he was 19, working as a youth church leader, People reports. He denied the allegations in a counterclaim, ABC 4 reports.
https://www.aol.com/articles/pastor-charged-cyberstalking-estranged-wife-202256402.html
The sexual assault case came up a year before Mica Miller committed suicide. The lawsuit relates to an alleged sexual assault from the 90’s. The victim reported that the pastor used scripture to defend his actions, citing that “no man is without sin.” People magazine notes that the accusation also names Miller’s father, pastor at the time, as well as the Cathedral Baptist Church. [source]
“Behind their religious facade, John-Paul Miller and Reginald Wayne Miller engaged in sexual abuse and predatory conduct — often targeting minors,” reads the complaint. “They used their positions of power to manipulate and exploit vulnerable victims while concealing their actions from the public.” Ibid.
The Mind of John Paul Miller
After the allegations and suicide of his wife, Miller’s church collapsed. The property has since been sold off and the website taken down. Yet, the “Way Back Machine” archived snapshots of Miller’s church (Solid Rock at Market Common). Miller seemed to have a lot of outreach programs, including his own podcast and he authored a book called “Hell No.” The book is still linked on archive.org [link]
Going through the material we can see a system of belief that is pretty typical of a Baptist belief system. Constant references to sin. But also some really odd Q&A, like, “will we wear clothes in heaven?” and references to ideas that animals used to talk before sin was entered into the world. These are bizarre ideas considering language isn’t just a product of biology but also sociology.
On page 27 of his book, John Paul Miller writes:
“How difficult is it for us to understand that APART from Jesus Christ we are
pg. 27 from “Hell No” by John Paul Miller
wretched sinners who are vile and disgusting in our thought life? Without Jesus we are
filthy, dirty scumbags. Before Jesus saved me, I was the nastiest, most deceptive
fornicator and liar. Before God came into my life and saved my soul, I was continuously
evil and angry and jealous and insecure.”
Perhaps Pastor Miller is outing his own personal behavior here and I wonder if this will even come up in court. He writes that before Jesus he was the “nastiest, most deceptive fornicator and liar.” But look at his life after Jesus. Isn’t it the same?
This is a common disconnect Christian failures point out. They believe they are changed, and while they are crime free, they say, “Oh in the past I was really bad, but now that I met Jesus I’m a new person.” Huh. Then they commit another crime and they are given the choice to confront their problems. Instead of confronting their problems, they push them deeper claiming Jesus forgives them endlessly.
They will blame outside forces for their moral and criminal behaviors. Some will say, “the devil made me do it.” Or perhaps it’s a “liberal society with their sexuality waved everywhere.” It’s almost always a blame of outside forces for their misdeeds.
So many church leaders listed on this site claim they were “forgiven,” the church gives them another shot at leadership and they do the VERY SAME thing to a new generation of victims.
Reading a bit more we can see John Paul Miller’s view on sin, crime, error. On page 38 he talks about salvation. Clearly he says that if you accept Jesus in name only it isn’t enough. So he says there are two things that must be done:
The FIRST thing I did that started me on my path to salvation was I asked Jesus
Pg. 38
to be in charge. I told God how messed up I was. I explained in detail that I was an evil
man and every day that I spent in charge of my own life was a day wasted. I told Jesus
that I could not change myself no matter how hard I tried…. The SECOND thing I did was I allowed Jesus to change me at His pace, in His way, and in His timing. When He came into my heart He changed several things immediately; other things He has gradually changed me over the years. I also recognize
that some things may stay in my life forever as I limp like Jacob and must rely on God’s
sufficient grace like Paul.
Notice he takes no responsibility. He transfers all responsibility for his problems to “Jesus.”
Expounding his thoughts a bit more, he raises perhaps his own struggle on the question of salvation, and answers it with a confident idea that working in the church will prove your place in heaven:
Have you ever had the thought; “I know I got saved back in the year _, but
Pg. 39
I’m still scared that I could end up in Hell”? I Timothy 3:13 “those who serve in church well will gain great confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.” Did you see that? The way we GAIN CONFIDENCE that we are going to Heaven and are in a healthy relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ is by serving in church
WELL! My prayer for you is that you will KNOW you’re saved, allow GOD to change you
daily, and gain CONFIDENCE that you will one day be in Heaven with me!!!
Many Christians feel that works are not part of salvation… but Miller believes works are part of salvation, only it’s work within the church. Not helping others, but helping the pastor, helping the church succeed.
Every day we have opportunities to mess up, make mistakes, and to outright sin.
When this happens (and it does), we can either give up on our destiny, throw in the
towel, live guilty and condemned, or we can receive the Grace that will empower us to
continue forward in our purpose and give us strength to overcome the selfishness that
plagues our lives…
Miller is under the impression that one doesn’t overcome sin, but they live on a continual grace from God. If one is an abuser, they simply ask God to help them, keep doing the abuse, cycling the problem.
It may be a shock to some, but there are religions where one actually changes. Buddhism is about finding and overcoming one’s problems. Not because of Hell, but to no longer reincarnate in this world of suffering. It’s a great motivator to improve. The Christian, he scoffs at that. “Reincarnate?? No way man, I’m going straight to heaven,” and proceeds to just screw up and ask God for grace. Nice for them, not so great for their victims.
The Most Chilling Part
The most chilling part of the Miller’s book is his defense of bad, dare I say, even criminal behavior. The passage is on page 44 and it reads:
Let’s say there’s another businessman on a trip out of town. This businessman
Pg. 44
knows Jesus, attends church, and serves regularly. Unfortunately this Christian
businessman lost a lot of money at his meeting. He is in a very bad mood and quite
depressed as well. As he is walking back to his hotel he sees some kids playing on the
sidewalk with a soccer ball. Just to be a jerk he kicks the children’s ball far out into the
busy street.
On the very next block, he sees an old woman about to cross the road, and he
shoves her so hard that she falls in a puddle. Just as he gets back to his hotel, there’s a
homeless man out front begging for money. This Christian man, who is in a horrible
mood, not only does he NOT give the homeless man any money, but he kicks him and
screams, “Get a job, you bum!”
Do those UNRIGHTEOUS deeds that the righteous man did make him
UNRIGHTEOUS? Of course not! Then why do we live that way? Why do we live like
every time we make a mistake we lose our righteousness that comes from Jesus?
Only God’s grace can change us!
Miller clearly describes someone making evil, even criminal mistakes and errors. Then asks, “Do those unrighteous deeds that the righteous man did, make him un righteous?” His answer: “Of course not!”
This, right here is the problem. This website is filled with people who have committed some of the worst crimes imaginable, all while wearing the identity of a Church Leader. So many stories are not first time offenses. They are repeated offenses, and why is that? Because deep down Christians feel exactly like this.
The chilling part is his demand that “we” [Christians] shouldn’t live in such a way that committing an error, a harm to another, would causes us to lose our “righteousness.” This is how a “righteous” person can hate, how they can harm, how they can abuse.
If we extrapolate, this means that he feels a faithful church member who’s a criminal is still righteous. Elevating the deviance to spiritual royalty.
With All That In Mind
Let’s recap. We have a pastor who in 2023 was accused of sexual assault. The alleged victim claims he dismissed her claims citing the Bible as reference to his righteousness not tainted by a single act.
Later on his wife begins to have problems with Pastor Miller. She suffers anxiety. There are claims that his behavior added to her mental state and he allegedly stalked her and allegedly vandalized her property. Ultimately, she commits suicide.
Pastor Miller is now with another woman, the church is gone, but the traces remain. We find a book he authored and it tells his mental state. His beliefs. His ideas that a “righteous” person is still “righteous,” even after doing bad things.
This is typical. A faith that constantly justifies bad behavior.
