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Protestant/Evangelical Christianity was in some ways a response to the legalism of the Roman Catholic church nearly 500 years ago when in 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the doors of a church in Germany. More importantly, it came against this notion that particular sacraments (a form of Godliness) brought the forgiveness of sin.

This was a time when men could do horrible things in the name of God and so long as they completed their sacramental, ritual practices, their crimes were dissolved and mattered not. Men could continue killing, raping, controlling and harming others without punishment, both in the eyes of man and God. They idolized legalism and stopped revering the God behind the pages.

Coming out of a severely legalistic church, I have experienced this first hand. There is a vast difference between second chances, grace and forgiveness, and gross negligence and hiding/covering up sins by leadership because the individual in question is following along with the ‘standards.’

For instance, I know of a situation in which a young man was being used in a local church, was placed into the Sunday school buses, teaching in the Sunday School classes. He was doing everything he was supposed to – wore the suit and tie, was demonstrative in his worship, ‘spoke in tongues‘ which is the Holy Grail of a Oneness Pentecostal church. With glossolalia being observed, the boy was surely walking in the Spirit. That was all that was needed – he fulfilled the patterns and standards of legalism and thus, no questions asked – he was All God wanted in a person (as if it worked that way…).

Then, one day, with no warning, his face was on the front cover of the local newspaper.

Local man arrested, wanted by police for over a year was the headline. Same face, different name. I immediately read the article. He had been fugitive for over a year in another state. The article said he had changed his name, sold all his belongings, was on the run and in hiding, wanted for the crimes of molesting a small child.

I took a picture of the newspaper and texted it to another young person in the church who I knew would know him and said, “Is this Dominic? [Name changed for privacy]” It was, and the shock was real. How many children had the church put him into private positions with – no background checks, no questions asked. Just so long as you obey the church standards, nothing else matters.

There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of more stories of things being covered up in my old church alone, for sake of purity of doctrine and what I call the idolatry of legalism.

What is Legalism?

Legalism at its core is the belief that we can perform certain rituals and behave in certain fashions in order to please God and to warrant his favor. That man is so depraved, that without certain hard lines drawn in the sand that we must obey, administered by a local pastor, we have no hope of obtaining the grace of Jesus Christ.

In my old church, it was taught often,

‘You want God to bless you on the job? Be at outreach more often!’

‘You want God to work in your marriage? Shave that beard! Be at prayer more than 30 minutes every day.’

‘Do you think God can bless you over you (women) wearing pants?”

‘If you aren’t paying your tithes God isn’t going to answer your prayers!’

They truly believed that they had to dress certain ways in order to please God – such as no short sleeve shirts, no shorts on men or women, women were being like harlots to wear makeup, earrings, to dye their hair or to tan their skin. It’s a long litany of Thou Shalt Nots, above and beyond any scriptural example. Yet they honestly believe (or have been brainwashed to believe)  that if they do any of those things – God will be dishonored, and worse, his wrath was to come.

But how is legalism idolatry?

It is idolatry when ‘playing the part’ is more important and overrides the grace of Jesus Christ!  When legal matters are brushed aside for the purity of the doctrine. It is idolatry when instead of worshiping God for Calvary and what the cross did for us, we obey the pastors every whim, believing that is what pleases God.

Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 2:2

for I made the decision to know nothing [that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while] among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection]. – Amplified Bible

Legalism turns inconsequential things into matters of doctrine and makes them sacraments for the atonement of sin, just like the Roman Catholic Church of 500+ years ago. If you want to be saved, pray in tongues every day. If you hope to have God’s blessing, pay more money. If you think God is going to help your family, stop wearing short sleeve shirts and shave your beard.

It is important to know, that God and God alone washes (atones) our sins. Not by any works of righteousness (Titus 3:5) which we think we can do. James rightly said faith without any works is dead (James 2:20) but our works are an outward effect of our faith, our faith is not predicated or made whole, or made better by works, or as legalists call them, standards.

The fruit of God’s spirit is not legalism – it is not a dress standard, it is not ritual, it is not sacraments, it is not blind obedience to a pastor, and it is most certainly not judging others salvation based upon their outward appearance, which is what every legalist will do.

But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22

The result of having the Spirit of Christ WILL produce THESE works. All other demands upon Christians is a false and phony doctrine. Paul went on to say;

Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love].

The end of legalism is life in Christ and fulfilling the law of Christ, which is purely and simply, living our Galatians 5:22 – loving and caring for others in the way Jesus Christ gave himself for us. While we deserved nothing, he gave us everything!

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Part nine of a series of articles.

(Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by a survivor. There have been no convictions as the case mentioned here was not reported to the police and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has 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 W. Grant, of Calvary Gospel United Pentecostal Church in Madison, Wisconsin. You will need to read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 for additional details.

For the purpose of ministerial membership in the United Pentecostal Church International or for ministering in a United Pentecostal Church International church, immoral conduct shall be defined as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, incest, and/or any other sexual acts determined by the District Board to be perverted or immoral (Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9; I Corinthians 6:9; Romans 1:24-28). – UPCI Manual

In my previous article, I asked four questions that cannot be ignored, tip-toed around or rationalized away and which need to be addressed by the Wisconsin District of the UPCI. I also shared that, “for years United Pentecostal ministers and pastors have been speaking for Steven Dahl at the Pentecostal Lighthouse Church in Oconto.” Before giving the names of various UPCI ministers who have spoken there, let’s take a closer look at Steven J. Dahl. Some has been shared in earlier articles.

Steven Dahl was born February 10, 1952 and grew up in Cambridge, WI. His grandparents came to America from Norway. His mother was Catholic and his father was Lutheran, which is how he was raised and baptized as a baby. He worked at a Pontiac garage in his teens, followed later by Ford and Chevy garages. He also worked for many years as a marketing representative selling church directories for Olan Mills and then as a consultant for Lifetouch Church Directories (they purchased Mills).  When he was just 14, his father died at age 51 in 1967, with his mom being 81 at her death in the late 1990s.

Prior to his involvement with the United Pentecostal Church, he “was married, divorced, and went bankrupt by age 22.”  Claiming an angel appeared to him the night before, on a Friday night in mid March 1981 at 11:30 pm he spoke in tongues for 45 minutes at his home in Madison, in front of two friends. On March 17th he was baptized at Calvary Gospel Church in Madison, Wisconsin. John W. Grant was the pastor, an ordained minister of the United Pentecostal Church. Steve claims to have been delivered of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs when he spoke in tongues on March 14.

He soon married Debra, seven years younger than him, in July 1981. The same year, or possibly in the spring of 1982, Debbie alleges that Steven Dahl started repeatedly sexually molesting her when she was eleven years old. Debbie reported this to pastor John W. Grant when she was 12, either in 1982 or 1983. Around the same time, Steve was caught in bed with Alice, his wife’s 15 year old sister. It appears that Grant may have sent Steve out of state for an unknown period of time, though in 1984 he was living in Appleton. None of this was reported to the police.

On March 26, 1985 Debra filed for divorce and on April 17, 1986, at age 34, Steve and Alice Marie eloped in Las Vegas, Nevada, just a few months after Alice turned 18. Steve and Alice have remained married and have four grown children. As a child, Debbie and Alice had been friends and pen pals, but this started changing when Alice moved in with Steve and his ex-wife back in the early 80s.

According to Dahl, these “mistakes” cost him his chance at being licensed in the UPCI. In December 2013 [screenshot] he wrote, “But that did not stop the call of God in my life from being fulfilled. I have had a lot of men disappoint me, and try to stop me from being a preacher, but God kept setting me up to minister.” Prior to him attending the Neenah church, he preached in nursing homes and while at the Neenah church he preached in three different prisons (being told not to return to two) for six years. He was asked to preach at a Methodist camp where he was almost thrown out when they realized he was Oneness Pentecostal. By 1986 or 1987 he started attending Christian Life Center in Neenah, a UPCI church. He occasionally preached there “when no one else was available.”

While a member of the Neenah church, for four years starting in April 1995 [screenshot], Dahl would make the 70 mile drive to Oconto, a city he hated and claims has a “bad spirit over it.” Starting in February 1998, meetings were being held rent free in the former VFW Hall at 821 Superior Ave in Oconto, Wisconsin. Around 1999, he purchased a home about four miles from the church. At some point the church had a split. In the time from 1995 to 2013, Steve claims to have baptized over 60 people, using a cow tank in the beginning. On June 6, 2014, the company that owned the building gave it to the church, after first putting on a new roof and adding a steeple and a cross. It is not a 501(c)(3) church.

The Pentecostal Lighthouse Church was a daughter work of Christian Life Center (now CrossPoint Church & then later Hope City Church), when John J. Bridges was pastor. Though unsure if it was such from its inception, we know that Bridges was supportive of it and advised Dahl. It was also listed in at least three years of directories that the Wisconsin District issued from 2006-2008, naming Steven Dahl as the pastor, even though Dahl did not hold license, was never eligible to hold license, and according to UPCI rules, should not have been ministering in their churches. (Screenshots of these are found in Part 1.)

In December 2013 Dahl shared that he was glad the church had become independent, that he had changed a lot of the ways he used to believe and did not wish to place “grievous burdens” on people. It appears it may have been over the UPCI standards teachings. As far back as November 4, 2012, Dahl stated that the church was not UPCI. It ceased to be listed as the daughter work of Christian Life Center in 2014 and probably prior. (I have not seen the issues from 2009-2013.)

[Video: Rachael Denhollander describing credible allegations of sexual abuse coverup in the network of Sovereign Grace Churches, and in the Evangelical community at large.]

Besides it being incredulous that John J. Bridges and the Wisconsin District allowed Steven J. Dahl to pastor a daughter work of the Neenah church, numerous United Pentecostal Church ministers and pastors have spoken at the Pentecostal Lighthouse Church. Even more socialize with him on Facebook and in person. UPC minister Mark Willhoite, who Dahl considers a mentor, believes that Dahl is a good man and preaches as well as Lee Stoneking, because he considers him anointed.

Below are the names of fourteen known ministers who have spoken for Dahl, as well as two who have allowed him to speak at their UPCI church. How could so many either have not known of his past or ignored it? When an ex-UPCI minister in Michigan can be shunned and spoken vehemently against by his former pastor, because he left and no longer believed all the standards, how can so many ministers embrace someone who has committed adultery more than once and is an alleged pedophile?

This is little Debbie, at the age in which she alleges that Steven J. Dahl started repeatedly molesting her. How do you think this appears to her when she sees how these men have welcomed Dahl with open arms, when she was treated by some at Calvary Gospel Church as if she had done something wrong? This is not a “mistake” and it is not just a matter of “adultery.” It is not normal for someone unhappy in their marriage to turn to young children and sexually molest them.

Besides having spoken at the Neenah church, Dahl has preached at the Pentecostal Apostolic Church of Peshtigo where Dale Welch was pastor (January 2012 screenshot) and at Apostolic Worship Center in Antigo/Bryant/Elton, where Ward Rehbein (another mentor to Dahl) is pastor (March 2011). (Welch passed away on July 20, 2019.)

The following ministers are those known to have spoken at the Pentecostal Lighthouse Church. It should be evident that the inclusion of these names is by no means an indication that they were aware of the accusations against Dahl at the time. Mark Crowley (July 2010; March 2011; December 2014), Lee Endris (October 2017), George Hurt (January 2011), Mark Harris (May 2012; April 2014; December 2014; January 2017, May 2018), Joe Martinez (July 2010), Jimmy Ogle (December 2009), Phil Bridges (October 2010), Felix Crowder (January 2011; January 2013), Michael Papp (May 2014), Ward Rehbein (July 2012; October 2013, April 2019), Mark Showalter (March 2013), Dale Welch (December 2010), Ellery Campsall (August & September 2014, December 2018), Timothy Duffy (May 2018), and Robert Childress (May 2011; December 2016, January 2017). (Campsall was not UPC licensed at the time of this post, but was campus pastor at Life Point Church in Hortonville, an extension of Apostolic Truth Church in Appleton, an affiliated UPCI church. He did later become licensed and now is pastor of the Wauwatosa Tabernacle of Praise.)

As Christians who preach the inherent worth of people made in God’s image, we must take credible claims of abuse and mishandling seriously and require an independent investigation of the organization before supporting. If these claims are true and we have supported something that damages God’s children so much, that is grievous beyond what I can express, and we are responsible for that support and the damage that ensues thereafter, both to the victims we harm by failing to hear their cries, and to the victims that follow.
And if these claims are proven false, will we not all rejoice that God’s truth came out through humility and accountability, exactly as we teach it will?
And if you were leading an organization with such widespread claims of mishandling sexual and domestic violence, would not your love for God, and those under your care, motivate you to seek the truth yourself, to find out if errors have been made? Would not LOVE require this? – Rachael Denhollander

There are voices crying out, saying there is something very wrong here.

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 10, 2024 Note: Screenshots and some pictures have been added to this post, links have been checked, and some revisions were made.

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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Part eight of a series of articles.

(Some statements in this article are what have been alleged by a survivor. There have been no convictions as the case mentioned here was not reported to the police and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has 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 W. Grant, of Calvary Gospel United Pentecostal Church in Madison, Wisconsin. You will need to read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 for additional details.

A preacher may fall into sin, be forgiven by God, be restored to the church, and even be restored to many areas of service, but this does not automatically entitle him to his former position of leadership. He must once again meet the qualifications of being blameless, having a good report, and so on. This takes much time, and in some cases total restoration may never be possible. …Moreover, some sins-such as child molestation, incest, and rape-may indicate deep personality problems that would permanently disqualify someone from many leadership positions. – David Bernard, January-March 1988 Forward

In a previous article, I shared about the relationship between the United Pentecostal Church and the Pentecostal Lighthouse Church in Oconto, Wisconsin, a Oneness Pentecostal church where Steven J. Dahl is the founder and pastor. It is something I stumbled across while doing research for my articles. The relationship between Dahl and the UPCI should never have occurred according to their Manual. It causes us to ask questions that cannot be ignored, tip-toed around or rationalized away. (The two screen shots below are from the 2018 UPCI Manual. The rules mentioned were also in place in the 1990s.)

In the United Pentecostal Church, if a minister is guilty of an immoral sexual act, they must forfeit their license and one who has committed such is not to minister in a UPC church. How then did an adulterer, who is an alleged pedophile, pastor the daughter work of a United Pentecostal church in Neenah, Wisconsin? John J. Bridges was pastor of Christian Life Center (now CrossPoint Church– then later Hope City Church), the parent church. [screenshot from a 2006 Wisconsin District directory]

In the United Pentecostal Church, new churches are only to be started with the written consent of the District Board. How then was the daughter work of Christian Life Center approved by the Wisconsin District when Steven Dahl, not licensed by the UPCI, was to be the pastor? Since the District included his name and home address in their directories, it wasn’t like Bridges bypassed this requirement and secretly had a daughter work. [screenshot from a 2007 Wisconsin District directory]

If the Oconto church started in 1995 [screenshot] when Dahl has stated, John W. Grant was serving as the Wisconsin District Superintendent. How then did the District approve the daughter work of Christian Life Center when Grant allegedly had direct knowledge of instances of child sexual abuse? He was the pastor at Calvary Gospel United Pentecostal Church in Madison, where Steven Dahl had been a member during the time when the alleged abuse took place. [screenshot from a 2008 Wisconsin District directory] If it started in 1995 but somehow didn’t become a daughter work of the Neenah church until the 2000s, John Putnam would have been the District Superintendent. Considering the seriousness of the allegations, it would be a dereliction of duty for John W. Grant to not have shared about Dahl with John Putnam or John Bridges. Since Steven Dahl’s name was included in at least three years of Wisconsin District Directories, District officials, as well as any other Wisconsin licensed minister, had to know that he was being used as a pastor. [Note: James Booker became the new District Superintendent in March 2018.]

Not only did Steven J. Dahl get to pastor the United Pentecostal daughter work in Oconto, but an eyewitness has shared with me that he was seen attending the Wisconsin District Conference meeting held at the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, where these have been held for years. [screenshot] This was at the minister meetings and happened around 2005-2007. He was present in at least one of these, possibly more. John Putnam was the District Superintendent then (and still was as of 2018). Why was Steven Dahl allowed to attend meetings for UPCI licensed ministers when he neither held license, nor was he ever going to be eligible to obtain one?

If the above isn’t enough to cause astonishment, for years United Pentecostal ministers and pastors have been speaking for Steven Dahl at the Pentecostal Lighthouse Church in Oconto. Dahl has spoken in at least one of their churches. A list of some of these men will be covered in Part 2. It is very clear to me that, year after year, the Wisconsin District of the UPCI and many of its ministers have embraced Steven Dahl as one of their own, something they would have been prohibited from doing according to the UPCI Manual had his alleged sexual sins occurred while holding license. I shared in a previous article, “When their ministers will shun former members because they left the organization or no longer hold to their teachings on standards, I find this disturbing and perplexing.”

So how does the above look to many of us who have left UPCI churches? It reeks like the stench of rotting fish. Many of us were suddenly shunned once we exited their buildings and we had not committed adultery, nor acts of child sexual abuse. I asked Debbie, who alleges that Steven Dahl repeatedly molested her while a member of Calvary Gospel Church, to write about how this has affected her.

Just like when I was a child they prefer the child abuser over the abused child. As I and others have tried to speak out and tell our stories we are scoffed at and declared to be liars by some who don’t even know us or the details of our stories. The church has gone out of its way to be friendly with Steve. They are friends with him on social media and they visit one another’s churches. Just like when the abuse happened he seems to be accepted and I am denied. They did not report his actions at the time and he was taken in by another UPC church. He was eventually put in charge of a daughter work and now it is like nothing ever happened. He does not hold a UPCI license but that doesn’t seem to matter much to them. Meanwhile, when I speak my truth they do not want to hear it. My story is automatically met with denial, disbelief, and scorn. There is no willingness to even entertain the idea that I might be telling the truth. Steve is enjoying a fair amount of support on his page. People are offering him prayers and verbal encouragement as he goes through this difficult trial. Not one person who is still in the church has reached out to me. …Watching how well Steve has been received and how much the church wants to deny all of this has hurt me. When I see people I used to respect, like former Sunday School teachers being friends with Steve online that is pretty hard to witness. – Debbie, former member of Calvary Gospel Church

Will any answers to these questions be forthcoming? Time will tell. I plan to continue writing. Meanwhile, a growing number of people find this to be very upsetting and inexcusable. If you presently are part of the Wisconsin District of the United Pentecostal Church, you should hold these people accountable and press for an investigation.

For those who wish to hear him, this is a video interview with car enthusiast Steven Dahl, who has owned over 175 cars in his lifetime. [The video has since been made private.] Here’s one he made on September 16, 2023 and another from the same day, that he streamed live on his The Rev Oconto Car Facebook Group he operates. You can find several more of his live videos there. He’s very active in old car shows, such as the Cars N Tunes events which have been held several times a year at Shake A Burger in Oconto (he plays the tunes there and at the annual Oconto Fly-In, Car & Tractor Show, where he has served as emcee and DJ at the event for thirteen years). He used to have some YouTube videos of his preaching, but they have been removed.

March 12, 2024 Note: Some pictures have been added to this post, links have been checked, and some revisions were made.

You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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Remember how happy you were when you first started attending your unhealthy group? Were you afraid of hell, either before or after your conversion? I mean, not just because you were saved, but all surrounding that time, both before and after your conversion?

When I first attended a Pentecostal church, I was happy. I was happy that I’d found a place to belong, people to talk about God with, and a church to worship with. I was not for one second afraid of hell. It didn’t figure into my attending and it didn’t figure into my conversion at all. For months after joining I had no thought of going to hell. I didn’t start going to church to avoid hell, and I didn’t stay to keep from going there. Hell was actually pretty far off my radar when I started attending church. I went to get closer to God, not to avoid hell. And so I wasn’t afraid of hell at first. The fear crept in slowly.

For me, I think the fear may have started with end times discussions. “Be careful, or you’ll be left behind!” That and prayers for “lost loved ones.” Then some friends that had started going with me suddenly stopped going. I still wasn’t afraid they’d go to hell, but I was VERY concerned that I’d ‘lose out,’ that I’d ‘backslide‘ and stop attending church. I loved it so much, I was terrified of leaving. The thought of leaving made me very insecure. The church, I thought, was there to protect me, to help me, to lead me. And in my mind at that time, these things were good. I had a group of people I could identify and trust, whether I knew them specifically or not. They were Pentecostal. They had the Holy Ghost. So they were good. And I wanted that safety desperately as a young adult on her own for the first time. Still, at that moment, nine months after I’d started attending, I don’t remember being afraid I’d go to hell.

In time, I was exposed more and more to teachings on hell, and my fear of hell grew as I heard those. I moved to a different church when I was in my late 20s. The church I started attending was a very different kind of church than what I’d been in for the first seven years. In the new church, there were not only sermons about hell, but people seemed to enjoy giving graphic descriptions of what hell might be like (and the rapture, and leaving, and many, many other things). The sermons there left me with less and less hope. They sapped my joy. And while I thought at the time that I was getting closer to God by being driven to stay through fear, I had never been in danger of leaving even without the fear. And so the fear sapped my joy and my faith. Over time of hearing these things repeatedly, I began to see God as judge rather than Father. I no longer wanted to pray or study. I felt I had to, but I didn’t want to. Fear ended up pushing me away from God, even though I trusted the pastor who told me it would drive me closer to him.

I don’t believe teachings on hell are used very well in Pentecost. After all, as we grow in God, should we have more and more faith, peace, love and joy… or more fear? I ended up with more fear. How about you?

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Back in 2011, my CelticAnglican’s Ramblings/Hanging by a Thread blog saw an interesting comments discussion that I thought I’d like to share. There’s a little bit of context-related explanation coming, so please bear with me.

I posted about what individual congregations can do to help make visitors coming from spiritually abusive backgrounds feel more at ease in a setting that was probably very different for them. One long-time member who no longer attended services shared that she felt that certain changes to how the Sunday service was done and no longer using the older type of service were abusive.

This gave me a bit of a pause because here I was addressing the struggles of Christians coming from cultic backgrounds and a visitor had a vastly different understanding of spiritual abuse. I did encourage her to discuss her concerns in another thread and hope that she felt that having a chance to talk about what had bothered her was at least therapeutic.

However, I did make a judgment call to treat this visitor’s church issues as something different from the spiritual abuse I’d written the post about. Undergoing the public humiliation, shame or harassment that so many others on this site have detailed over the years is a very different thing, IMO, from not wanting to attend services because of the music style, using You/Your instead of Thee/Thou  in prayers or passing the peace.

I seriously doubt this lady had been called an apostate or told she was going to hell for disagreeing with liturgical changes. Striking that careful balance between understanding the needs of spiritual abuse survivors and understanding the needs of those not attending church for other reasons is important, I think.

Church members are far from perfect, and there are enough among the walking wounded to serve as proof of that. There are some people who are simply not going to be happy with anything new or different – several groups that have split off from other denominations are perfect proof.

However, this doesn’t mean that people who stop attending because of change need to be written off. If the Church as a whole is to be one of Christ’s instruments of reconciliation in the larger world, maybe we need to remember those a little closer to home, too.

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