Investigation: Pastor’s Behavior ‘Fell Short’ of Standards
Some former Life Church congregants said Pastor Nathan Peternel has been uncomfortably frank about his own sex life (such as the use of sex toys) and asks uncomfortable questions about theirs. According to reports, the pastor told youth group members that if they remained pure until marriage, they could later “film themselves” with their spouse.
One woman recalled Peternel allegedly asking her and her fiancé inappropriate questions during a premarital counseling session 10 years ago. The woman, who was then 17 and pregnant, shared a letter she wrote to Life Church leaders about the “perverted and obscene questions” from the pastor.
Sources indicate that two Life Church pastors and more than 100 members have recently left, reportedly due to the controversies.
Conservative talk-show host Rob Kendall, who said Pastor Peternel and Life Church have “done immense good in their communities,” has raised questions about what’s happening in the church. The day after Peternel announced he was stepping back for restoration, Kendall posted:
Nathan and church leadership still refuses to be the least bit transparent about some very key issues: 1 – Why was his pedophile son back in the church where children were present after the raid on his home? 2 – How did his pedophile son come into possession of his parents sex videos and was he able to access the numerous photos of the children at the church his wife had taken? 3 – Why did Nathan and Micah Beckwith try to quietly delete very select episodes of their podcast?
Pastor Micah Beckwith, Indiana’s lieutenant governor, leads a Life Church campus. He and Peternel have a podcast titled “Jesus, Sex and Politics.”
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ChurchLeaders reached out to Life Church and Nathan Peternel for comment and will update this article with any reply.
