Pastor Mark Ostgarden is hating life right now. It is not so much that he was caught with his pants down. It is more that he was caught in an affaire with a wholly unattractive stripper. A stripper who is ugly enough that I might pay you to watch her act instead of subjecting my eyes to the spectacle. What the hell was he thinking?
A solemn Ostgarden, 52, who resigned last month as an associate pastor at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Valley City, said he is working to save his marriage after an affair that started three years ago when he responded to a classified ad for an exotic dancer.
“My wife and I are staying together and we're getting help with a counselor,” Ostgarden said. “We have been married 32 years and we are committed to staying together and seeing this through together.”
I would say that what Ostgarden is doing takes guts, but I would be lying, or at least completely mischaracterizing what he is going through. Ostgarden’s hand was forced by event outside of his control. When he was caught, and only when he was caught, he resigned and sought help.
Here is the short story. Ostgarden met an exotic dance via an ad in a local paper. He paid $100 for a nude dance party, then later started paying her $200 a visit for sex. This continued for several years. Ostgarden did not use a condom. The exotic dancer turned hooker, Bunny Bylington, told Ostgarden he no longer had to pay her as the relationship was now a affair. Apparently he thought this was good thing. A few months later she started extorting money from Ostgarden, who eventually paid $7k to keep the affair quiet. It would have been cheaper to simply pay for sex.
It did not end there. Bylington continued to press for more money. She eventually went to Ostgarden’s church and demanded $18K to keep the affair quiet. Fortunately, she ran into somebody with integrity.
“Basically, what we've learned over the years is that secrecy did not serve the church very well. It's far better to be open and transparent.”
Ostgarden was confronted, confessed, and resigned. Bylington was arrested for extortion.
Oh my… He got caught after trying to hide an affair with a hideous predatory hooker. Now he hopes to rebuild his relationship with his wife and church.
“I hope someday I get to preach that sermon, but only time will tell,” the pastor said Wednesday. “In the meantime, I intend to get the help I need and seek counseling and find some work.”
This is the heart of the reason why I detest these hypocrites. The man is horrible, yet one day he will be back in front of a Lutheran church near you preaching about his affair with all the moral authority he can muster. No thanks!
