Pastor Suspended from Teaching at Seminary after Pastoral Abuse Claims

By Jennifer Babich
Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle
November 7, 2019

https://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/2019/11/07/pastoral-abuse-claims-wes-feltner-suspended-teaching-seminary/2513264001/

Wes Feltner, the top candidate for lead pastor at First Baptist Clarksville, is feeling the fallout of the pastoral abuse charges leveled against him.

In a statement released late Wednesday, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary announced they've suspended the teaching responsibilities of Feltner, who served as an adjunct professor.

The statement by seminary President Albert Mohler Jr. said that knowledge of the allegations first came to him Monday via social media. It went on to say: "Immediately, I sent the information received to our response team, and within an hour it was determined that credible accusations of misconduct had been presented. Accordingly, all teaching responsibilities for this individual were suspended and classes reassigned to other instructors."

Wes Feltner in 2002. (Photo: Contributed/Megan Frey)

The statement went on to say they'd reviewed Feltner's dissertation, titled "Pastoral Influence Tactics," and determined it was acceptable for continued public circulation.

Feltner, who is lead pastor of preaching and vision at Berean Baptist in Burnsville, Minnesota, has been accused by two women of manipulating them into secret relationships — one of them sexual — while he was their youth pastor 17 years ago at First Southern Baptist Church in Evansville, Indiana.

Megan Frey and JoAnna Hendrickson told The Leaf-Chronicle in separate interviews that the abuse started when the girls were 18 years old and still members of Feltner's youth group. Feltner was 24 at the time.

Megan Frey, then 18, with Wes Feltner in Las Vegas on Aug. 19, 2002. (Photo: Contributed/Megan Frey)

Both women say when the truth came out at a youth retreat, they were told by the lead pastor afterwards to keep quiet for the good of the church and their own reputations. They say Feltner was allowed to quietly leave the church and move on to another church — complete with severance pay and paid vacation time.

They say they received that same message — to keep quiet — again recently, when they shared their stories with the head of the FBC pastoral search committee, who had reached out to them as part of the hiring process.

Wes Feltner with JoAnna Hendrickson at her parents' house in Christmas 2002. (Photo: Contributed/JoAnna Hendrickson)

It's not yet known how First Baptist Clarksville intends to manage the charges against Feltner. Church officials have not responded to requests for comment by The Leaf-Chronicle.

Berean issued a statement Wednesday, saying in part, "We understand the nature of these claims and we take them very seriously ... We are performing due diligence, and this will take some time. The due diligence is an element of due process and it does include fact finding; it will be complete and it will be prompt but it will not be hasty.

"We have engaged outside, neutral and experienced professionals to perform this due diligence. When this is complete, we will access the implications and potential remedies and decide together as elders what is appropriate," the statement said.

"Please do not take silence as anything other than 'there is a due diligence process underway' and that it is not finished."