Matt Redman Releases Documentary Outlining His Abuse By Disgraced Pastor +Wrestling Sessions After Sexual Abuse Counseling
Famed worship artist Matt Redman has released a new documentary Let There be Light,” opening up about the abuse bestowed upon him by UK Pastor Mike Pilavachi, the once-respected but now disgraced founder of Soul Survivor, a summer camp/massive outreach event of worship, evangelism, and charismatic focus that drew tens of thousands of teens and youth each year.
Pilavachi recently stepped down as Associate Pastor of Soul Survivor after being suspended by the organization in the wake of dozens of allegations of abuse and physical and sexual impropriety. The Daily Telegraph reported “A number (of victims) also claim that they were encouraged to receive full-body oil massages in their underwear while being straddled by Rev Canon Pilavachi in his bedroom, as well as vigorous wrestling matches that could last as long as 20 minutes at a time – sometimes in church.”
Redman, an influential figure in the Christian music world for his songs Blessed Be Your Name, Our God, 10,000 Reasons, among others, first encountered Pilavachi as a teenager and began leading worship at Soul Survivor at the young age of 20.
Redman explains that in his early teens, he was being sexually abused by another man and revealed it to Pilavachi, a youth leader he came to trust. Pilavachi came to spend more time with Redman as he counseled him about his sexual abuse and helped him report him to the authorities, resulting in Redman developing an “undying loyalty” to him. Despite this loyalty, he felt strange about Pilavachi:
You know I was telling him the deepest darkest things and he was asking me for the details of what happened. The real problematic thing to me about that is he would often wrestle me afterwards. Wrestling was definitely his thing. I know a lot of people who were physically wrestled by Mike and honestly it was quite often in a hidden room in the church or it would be around his house away from everyone and looking back I don’t feel great about that.
It didn’t feel good at the time; I didn’t really like physical touch that much because of what happened to me. I thought maybe this is a youth leader trying to break the tension, that’s what youth leaders do. Sometimes it could go on for 20 minutes, it was like, full on wrestling. But obviously this is a youth leader, this is an adult, this is hidden away from everyone.
Looking back I really don’t feel good about it and especially as sometimes it happened straight after we’ve been talking about the details of the sexual abuse that I’d suffered
Redman outlines various other dysfunctions with Pilavachi, painting the picture of a hypocritical and abusive man who would use silent treatment and praise to bully and control, showing extreme jealousy and petty childishness over Matt’s relationship and engagement to his wife, Beth, and having no oversight or accountability for decades.
The Redmans say they tried telling leadership about the concerns but were dismissed and ignored, eventually choosing to leave themselves. Years later, they were approached by an intern who told them about Pilavachi giving him creepy oil massages in his bed, which was soon corroborated by nearly a dozen others with similar experiences, prompting Matt and Beth to tell someone in the church but outside of Soul Survivor.
“We approached a senior leader from a church in London. It was a very emotional conversation, and said about these massages, and said, you know, ‘Who could we talk to? What can be done?’ And this person, not dismissively or unkindly, just matter-of-factly said: ‘That’s just Mike. Nothing will be done.’”
Eventually, however, after 30 years, the stories mounted and he was eventually exposed and removed from his position, but has not faced secular prosecution.
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Not even the headlines are proofread. I guess the budget went to balding Morrill’s green screen.