Part six of a series of articles.
‘This was never something I anticipated. This is not a platform that I ever wanted,’ she said. ‘I actively desired not to be a public figure on the issue of sexual abuse because it requires relinquishing so much privacy. I feel that in many ways, particularly leading up to this, I was given a job that I did not want to do.’ – Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to speak publicly and file a police report against pedophile Larry Nassar
(Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by survivors. There have been no convictions as the cases mentioned here were not reported to the police at the time and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrators have not admitted guilt.)
This article covers information about Steven Dahl and his alleged molestation of at least two children in the 1980s as well as allegations of failure to report instances of child sexual abuse by pastor John Wesley Grant, of Calvary Gospel United Pentecostal Church in Madison, Wisconsin. Please see Part 1 and Part 2 for background details.
Debbie was a member of Calvary Gospel Church (CGC) in Madison, Wisconsin from 1978-1986, when she was eight to sixteen years old. The church is a United Pentecostal Church and John Wesley Grant was the senior pastor when her sexual assaults occurred. He is presently considered the bishop, while his son, Roy Howard Grant, is now the senior pastor.
It wasn’t until last year at age 47 when Debbie started writing about her past and shared about her molestation from age eleven to twelve by Steven J. Dahl, the current pastor of the Pentecostal Lighthouse Church in Oconto, Wisconsin. What she could not foresee was that her blogs would be the catalyst that would give other women the strength to come forward with similar stories of sexual assault, as well as the failure of ministers to report such crimes. She has been “overwhelmed by the number of people who have come to me with their own stories or stories about things that have happened in their family.”
She didn’t desire to become a public figure or a hero to some as she does pay a price. Speaking out has caused her wounds to be reopened as present members of her former church have further victimized survivors by claiming this is a spiritual attack on them, saying they need to ask themselves what part they played in why this happened (as if young children play a role in their sexual molestation by much older adults), and have claimed that they always report these cases to the police and that parents didn’t want to report them when police were contacted. Roy Grant and John Grant’s wife, Darlene, have thanked such members for their support.
Even people who have not come forward as survivors have felt the wrath of current church members simply because they are related to those who were. A former member shared how there are people who haven’t been talking to relatives for the past couple weeks. They are elderly members of CGC. She shared, “They look straight ahead and ignore them as they pass by. These are people who for almost 30 years have been nice to them. One has not been invited to the men’s breakfast the past few weeks, either. This is a result of situation and reviews a group of us did on the church FB page in order to make people aware of sexual abuse situations, cover ups and other church issues. We think it’s beyond pathetic that the church would treat these sweet elderly people like this due to someone else’s (ours) FB reviews on their page. Total spiritual abuse. We have been shunned and now they are going to shun people who had nothing to do with the situation whatsoever. Can they sink any lower?”
Church leaders should have shown an immediate recognition of the severity and the truth of the sexual assault of a child under his care and how he misused his authority, Denhollander said.
‘You saw again the exact same dynamics that sexual assault victims always suffer from: minimizing the severity of the abuse, mitigating the damage that was done, and misusing principles of grace and forgiveness to keep a man in leadership who has done something that is very, very serious and disqualifying from leadership,’- Rachael Denhollander, regarding Andy Savage’s admission of a ‘sexual incident,’ where he received applause from his congregation after requesting forgiveness.
And then we have Oconto pastor Steven J. Dahl, who today made the following prayer request on Facebook :
I have a prayer request! Please pray for me personally! Thank you, I appreciate your prayers very much! Lord bless each of you! [then later added]…
Just to let you all know,,, I appreciate your prayers very much,,, I am not sick,,, it’s just a huge spiritual battle,,, “Avenge me of my adversaries”,, that is my prayer!! In Jesus name!! Thank you, with great love to you all!! – Steven J. Dahl on his Facebook profile, February 20, 2018 Edited to add: Then on February 21 he posted about spiritual attacks and the enemy. [screen shot as the post was later made private or removed]
Yes, Debbie (and probably others such as myself who have been covering the story) are adversaries. Debbie is not a victim, not a survivor of repeated child sexual abuse, she is relegated to an adversary and Steve Dahl is the one who needs to be avenged and vindicated. He needs a hedge of protection around him. People are commenting that they are with him in this and praying for him. There is absolutely no concern expressed or prayer requested for Debbie or others who have been sexually assaulted. There has been no apology from Steve and he has failed to reach out to her, even though she had posted on the church’s Facebook page (he removed it) and it would have been so very easy for him to do so. Instead, he banned her from commenting there and banned her from his profile. [There is an unofficial Facebook Page for Steve’s church. On February 21, 2018 Steve removed the church Facebook Page.]
Steve has been leaving messages on Facebook, made after some people started commenting about his past (he has since changed settings to disallow comments by non-friends), saying things like, “If damage has been done in the past, those of us who have been hurt, MUST forgive, and move on! Forgiveness is a natural healer! Love is a healing. And letting go of the things of the past, moving forward is conquering our deepest hurts! That is the beauty of our Lord Jesus Christ! We can be made free from our wounds and pains!” [January 29, 2018 – screenshot] Speaking on the topic of adultery, he wrote on January 30, “The accusers, all walked away, because they admitted, they also had sin in their lives! We all need God’s mercy! If there was no forgiveness, no one would have any hope!” [screenshot]
In other words, Debbie needs to simply walk away and must forgive Steven Dahl. She will be made free from her wounds and pains if she would just move on and admit she has sinned, too. Give it a rest, this is old news and should be left in the past. It would make Steve’s life so much easier.
Steve Dahl went on to write on January 31, “Some people have a soft and tender conscience. And some people have a hardened conscience! Again, here is more on the story of the woman taken in the act of adultery! The SELF RIGHTEOUS RELIGIOUS PEOPLE BROUGHT HER TO JESUS TO SHAME HER, AND HAVE HER KILLED! Notice what Jesus says to them,, and her; [he quotes John 8:7-11]…Did you notice verse 9, when it said, ‘being convicted by their own conscience’. This is how I view this. The person being attacked has their point of view, or opinion! The people making the accusations have theirs! But the Lord knows mercy, and truth! So, it is said this way,, There are 3 sides to every story, My side, your side, and the truth! Who in this world is really, fully, truthful! ONE DAY, WE ALL WILL STAND BEFORE GOD, AS HE TELLS THE TRUTH, AND MAKES THE FINAL JUDGMENT UPON EACH OF US!” [screenshot]
What a way in which to spin the story. Once again the person who brings up a problem, becomes the problem. Debbie is self-righteous, attempting to shame poor Steven Dahl, who is being attacked. She cannot be believed as no one is fully truthful in what they share, and besides, Steve has his own point of view regarding what happened between them.
Let’s hear from Debbie about how Steve Dahl allegedly acted toward her when she was a young child. “After he started molesting me I became very anxious. Always worried about people finding out, my own salvation, and then some level being worried about him. I was worried that he was unhappy and I was worried that he was always so upset. He would do things and then repent and then come back and a little while later repent. He would sometimes pick me up and tell me right off the bat that he wasn’t going to lay a finger on me while we were together and then by the end he would be trying to engage in sexual activities with me. Being a kid this was all very confusing and I did not really understand what was going on. He was just as sincere in his repentance as he was determined in his deviant behavior.”
Steven Dahl, you are not the victim here, this is not a spiritual attack or battle, and there is no avenging of your so-called adversaries on the horizon. Your alleged actions can be seen as nothing other than that of a pedophile.
Experts explain the distorted thinking of abusers always involve beliefs about their entitlement. They are entitled to feel what they feel, say what they say, and act how they act no matter what. With known offenders this can include expecting victims or betrayed loved ones to get over the injuries as quickly and quietly as possible. Offenders believe they are owed an infinite degree of loyalty and forgiveness….
If you are working with known abusers and you are attempting to discern if an abuser is authentically repentant, look for signs that they feel entitled to sympathy instead of accountability and restrictions, or to forgiveness and reconciliation from their victims and/or loved ones, or to being restored to a position of power. A truly repentant abuser will have relinquished their ‘right’ to control another. – Maureen Farrell Garcia
Known as ‘The Rev,’ Steve Dahl runs The Rev Oconto Car Club Facebook Group (started September 28, 2021). He organizes Car N Tunes events in Wisconsin and at the annual Oconto Fly-In Car & Tractor Show (he also runs or helps run that Facebook Page, which started February 16, 2018), where he has served as emcee and DJ at the event for thirteen years. The next Fly-In date is September 21, 2024.
March 13, 2024 Note: Pictures have been added to this post, links have been checked, and some minor revisions were made.
You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.
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