Bishop Joseph Walker III of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn, stands accused of abusing his pastoral power by sexually exploiting four women. The case is a civil suit, so I’m on the fence regarding culpability. This could simply be a run at some cash on the part of the plaintiffs. One plaintiff, Valencia Batson, claims she’s not in it for the money…
She emphasized she does not care for the money that might potentially result from the lawsuit, but about the safety of any woman who is in the church now or who "can't move forward with her life." Batson reportedly declined to comment about specifics like times and dates of the alleged assaults or the nature of the evidence against the church.
Mt. Zion qualifies as a mega church with over 25,000 members. Walker is the churches charismatic and popular leader. So far, the response as been typical. the church claims the women are in it for the money. Of course, the next few weeks will bring for other victims (if any exist), so the story will get much more interesting. For now, the woman are suing for 5 million dollars.
My take on this – show us the evidence.
