Here we go, church checkers. Our second Red Flag Report. And it's kind of a big deal.
Micahn Carter is a former pastor that was forced to step down from Together Church in Yakima, Washington a few years ago for reasons that weren't disclosed to the church. There were rumors of sexual misconduct, but no one in the ARC (the church planting organization overseeing Carter's church) or the church's leadership would explain what happened.
We covered this in our Church Check of Champions Centre, the church that absorbed Together Church once Micahn was forced to step down. Check it out to get caught up on the context of this issue.
A few months after stepping down from Together Church, Carter was preaching at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama amidst allegations of sexual misconduct. ARC and COTH are well known for supporting pastors accused and/or guilty of sexual misconduct and abuse. They call it "restoration", but once Mary Jones, the woman Micahn Carter supposedly had an "affair" with came out and publicly accused him of rape, he was subsequently removed from COTH's staff and their affiliation with him was severed.
This should be the end of the story. A pastor accused of rape should either clear his name if he's innocent, or face the consequences of his crime, if he's guilty. Period. If he's ever going to preach again as a man guilty of rape, it should be from behind bars, and anyone listening to him should probably question every single thing that comes out of his mouth. Yet here we are.
On July 24th, Micahn Carter preached at a church in Los Angeles called The Father's House Orange County. The sermon's title, ironically, is "Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People".
Somehow I don't think he's remorseful, and if he isn't guilty, why hasn't he said a peep about the allegations against him? Or done anything to clear his name? I know I would.
I've reached out to the pastors of The Fathers House of OC to ask some questions. Besides the basics, like do they know Micahn's history and the allegations against him, I have a few others for them as well:
Reach out to the church yourself, church checkers. Tell anyone you know that attends this church the truth about Micahn Carter's history. Protect the flock, because apparently, we do that ourselves now.