The Rev. Juan McFarland has been the center of national attention since September, when he confessed from the pulpit to having sex with members of the church — in the church — using illegal drugs and mishandling church funds. For good measure, he said he has been HIV-positive since 2003. He later said he has AIDS. And it’s not clear whether he disclosed that to some of his sexual partners.
Earlier this month, the deacons of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., reached a near-unanimous vote: termination. But McFarland refused to stand down. Tuesday, attorneys for the church’s board filed suit against him and a supporter, Marc Anthoni Peacock, who they say made veiled threats against any elder who tried to attend church. He cited “castle law,” which gives property owners the right to use deadly force, if necessary, to stop an intruder.
The deacons’ attorney, Julian McPhillips, told AL.com the self-defense statement was a not-so-veiled threat to “shoot” the deacons.
For some reason, McFarland started spilling his secrets Sept. 14. On the next two Sundays, he disclosed more details about his pastoral sins. He said he had sex on the church property but never in the sanctuary. He said he took church funds intended for business trips and sometimes didn’t travel. He later confirmed his misbehavior to WSFA-TV. Church leaders initially decided to give McFarland, pastor of the church since 1990, time off because of his illness.
“As Christian people, we wanted him to get well,” Nathan Williams Jr., 80, former chairman of the board of deacons, told AL.com. “I thought of him as one of my sons.”
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However, his new sermons convinced the deacons to remove him from leadership. In Alabama, infecting an unsuspecting partner with HIV is a misdemeanor.
On Oct. 5, the board, with about 125 members of the congregation present, voted to terminate McFarland, according to the lawsuit. Peacock allegedly told the deacons not to return and threatened them. Police were called, but no report was filed.
The next day, McFarland allegedly changed the locks and the names on the church’s bank account. Williams said he also fired an assistant pastor and a church musician.
“He’s trying to exercise dictatorial powers,” McPhillips told AL.com. “He’s living in a dream world.”
According to the lawsuit, McFarland attempted to push through a church constitution last year to prevent the church from ousting him if he was exposed for “debauchery, sinfulness, hedonism, sexual misconduct, dishonesty, thievery and rejection of the Ten Commandments.” McPhillips said that constitution was not passed.
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McFarland returned to the pulpit Sunday to a much smaller congregation of about 50 at the church, which averages about 160 attendees each Sunday.
Share this articleShare“The vast majority of the members of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church are afraid to go to church for the fear of violence,” according to the lawsuit.
But those who attended Sunday heard McFarland read from the Bible about a leper who was healed.
“Sometimes the worst times in our lives is when we have a midnight situation, and we are in a midnight situation,” he told churchgoers. “When you pray, you’ve got to forgive. You can’t go down on your knees hating somebody, or wishing something bad will happen to somebody.”
He read a passage about a sick woman who clawed through a crowd, touched Jesus’s garment and was healed.
“Press your way through the crowd. Pass your way through the naysayers,” he told the congregation.
The Montgomery Advertiser reported Sunday’s attendees seemed supportive of McFarland. One shouted “Preach it, reverend!” during the sermon. Another said: “He’s a man of God, but he’s a human being.”
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“It’s not that we condone what our pastor has done, but we need to have compassion,” said Annette Russell, the church’s missionary president. “We’re not supposed to assassinate our brothers and sisters. We’re not supposed to judge. We do our business at Shiloh. It didn’t have to be expressed in the papers or on television.”
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday to request the court’s help in terminating McFarland. The deacons also want to end the threats, remove the new locks and regain control of the church’s bank accounts. And they don’t want McFarland to have access to the church’s Mercedes Benz, AL.com reported.
But for now, McFarland still has control of the dwindling congregation.
“He is a bit of a strong-willed guy,” McPhillips told the Montgomery Advertiser. “He’s refusing to face the reality of what the congregation has voted.”
McFarland and Peacock did not immediately respond to e-mails from The Washington Post seeking comment.
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