There is SO MUCH to unpack in this lengthy Post and Courier article. Thank you for sharing,
@SteveP !
Myrtle Beach SC Solid Rock at Market Common pastor John-Paul Miller had abuse, harassment accusations before Mica Miller died in North Carolina state park.
www.postandcourier.com
Of note…
The Post and Courier spoke with a dozen people connected to the Miller family, the church and the bar that Miller co-owned until recently. Reporters also reviewed sermons, text messages, property records, police reports and court filings.
Together, they illuminate the secret life of a religious leader accused in court records of sexually molesting underage girls and abusive behavior toward women, including both of his former wives. They paint a portrait of a pastor who didn't practice what he preached.
*
He was also minority owner of a dueling piano bar, Crocodile Rocks, located next to the Hard Rock Cafe in the sprawling tourist destination Broadway at the Beach. It sells 42-ounce "big-*advertiser censored* drinks" to customers who can request tunes by the two pianists on stage.
Two people who worked at the bar told The Post and Courier they were shocked when they learned Miller was a married pastor.
*
During one of the couple's separations last year, J.P. went on dates with the adult daughter of a family in the church. The family would soon confront J.P. and the elders about his behavior during those dates, according to five people connected to the church. The Post and Courier also reviewed text messages in which
J.P. Miller apologized for what he called "ungodly actions" and blamed it on bipolar episodes stemming from the stress of his marriage disintegrating.
*
The church was unwilling or unable to hold him accountable, including after
Miller confessed to the congregation that he had engaged in drug use during a trip to Disney World in recent years, according to four people who attended the church.
*
The couple's marriage had been steeped in odd acts and secrecy from the very beginning. They had
married covertly before staging a public ceremony at the church in 2017, her divorce lawyer, Regina Ward, said. J.P. convinced Mica that it was the best way for him to be her caretaker after she underwent breast augmentation surgery at his urging, Ward said.
Her family didn't learn about the marriage until the after-effects of the anesthesia triggered bizarre behaviors that landed Mica in a mental hospital, Ward said. They showed up to the hospital, and J.P. refused to let them see her, she said. It was the first step in a pattern of trying to isolate Mica from her family, Mica's sister said.
*
Ward said J.P. used the church as a weapon against Mica, including using church letterhead to write letters that disparaged and demeaned her. She said he has made similar complaints about Mica's behavior.
"He's a projector," she said. "Whatever he's doing to other people, he's saying that's what they're doing to him."
*
The day after Mica died, J.P. texted her family.
"This is what happens when you try to encourage someone to divorce the person they love and tell them they don't need medicine and that they're not ill when they are," J.P. Miller allegedly wrote, according to text messages her family has shared online.
"Good job Francis family."
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!!!
*
It took three sermons earlier this year for Chasity Abuadas to decide Solid Rock wasn't for her. She heard some of the rumors about Miller, but something she can't quite pinpoint about his sermons made her uncomfortable. She remembers telling a friend,
"He's a good speaker. But so is the devil."
AMEN!
