Church members are left reeling after their pastor shot himself to death in a Columbia hospital, killing himself after being charged with molesting a family member under the age of 12 over a two-year period. The Columbia Daily Herald reports:
“Just a day after Columbia Pastor David Baker, Sr. was charged with aggravated sexual battery by Maury County Sheriff’s Office, he has died of apparent suicide, according to Columbia Police Chief Jeremy Alsup.
Baker served as lead pastor of Family Baptist Church in Columbia and ran as a candidate for Maury County mayor in the 2022 election.
According to Alsup, Baker “walked into the ER at Maury Regional Medical Center, went straight to the bathroom and was soon found deceased in the bathroom.” Bond was posted at $200,000 early Wednesday after his arrest Tuesday. A court date was previously set for Oct. 9.”
A thread on Reddit purporting to be from a church member who knew Baker (who is/was married with eleven children) and who says he led them to the Lord expressed pain and confusion over the incident, asking how they can ever trust a church or a pastor again:
My husband and I need some advice. We are both very new Christian’s. I was raised in the faith but left and he was not raised at all. About 2 years ago a pastor came to our door and invited us to church. This man helped my husband come to believe in God, baptized us, and married us. This man taught us how to deal with spiritual warfare that my husband has dealt with since being a kid. Well, on the 10th, he was arrested for aggravated sexual assault (likely involving a minor). He posted bond, walked into the hospital and shot himself twice in the chest.
Now I’m a victim of a pedophile too so I know how it makes you feel. After doing some searching I’ve realized a majority of the people in the church have some type of child offense or violent s*xual offense.
These are people I considered a friend. My husband considered a friend. What do we do from here? We are good friends with pastors kids, but I can’t go back to the church. I have a lot of complex feelings because he did the unthinkable, but he taught us so much. (I’m not excusing his behavior. I just need to know what would you do? How would you go forward?) we’re still new to the faith and I’m not upset with God, we still want to attended church but how can I trust another pastor? How can I trust another church?
