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Baptist Church Pleads: “We’re Not the Pastor’s Wife Church”

Baptist Church Pleads: “We’re Not the Pastor’s Wife Church”

Last updated on: September 9, 2026 at 8:32 am by Shawn Paul Wood

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Baptist Church Pleads: “We’re Not the Pastor’s Wife Church” 2026-09-08T15:54:52-05:00 Shawn Paul Wood

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Netflix has another ratings juggernaut documentary on its hands: “Death of the Pastor’s Wife.”

It’s a gripping and heart-wrenching tale about Mica Miller, who fell in love with her pastor (15 years her senior) as she worshipped God at the top of her glorious lungs. Then, it devolves into a story of addiction, stalking and murder (no spoilers here). The three-part documentary debuted at No. 1 on the Netflix TV charts, pulling in 19 million views and racking up 43 million hours of binging.

She died in 2024 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. At the time of her death, her husband and pastor was John-Paul Miller. Following unrelenting stories of coercive control, abuse and punishment, searchers found Mica dead at Lumber River State Park, across the state line in North Carolina. Although officials have ruled her death a suicide, millions believe Miller did everything but pull the trigger.

As goes the story, the world gets involved, and now everyone rides the “We hate John-Paul Miller bandwagon.” (Yes, he’s out of jail, pending future litigation. Watch the documentary.)

Unfortunately for one innocent church in Conway, South Carolina, half the world is hating on the wrong church. No, really. This is how you know people follow a crowd instead of digging for proof.

BUT FIRST: Headlines hit the Body of Christ every week, and somebody has to dissect them with a real understanding of faith, instead of only spewing a hot take from a news talk show. Subscribe to our free newsletter for a straight biblical answer to why each story actually matters to your faith. That’s what hits close to home!

Mercy Baptist Church is Not That Mercy Church

At the risk of giving out any spoilers for this depressing and demanding series, Mica Miller is the only person who died. Her ex-husband, John-Paul Miller, is alive and well. Probably more appalling is that this dude still runs a church in South Carolina called Mercy Church.

WPDE-TV (ABC 15) reports that another church has landed in the crosshairs of the Netflix viewing audience of “Death of a Pastor’s Wife.” You see? Mercy Baptist Church is taking in a substantial amount of hate mail and death threats. And they’ve had about as much as they can stand of people not doing a 5-second Google search.

Once “Death of a Pastor’s Wife” aired on Netflix, everyone rose up in arms about the yet-to-be-sealed fate of JP Miller. The other church, which operates a child care ministry, has fielded countless abrasive and threatening calls, emails and a few packages the old-fashioned way. Now, the other church is getting active.

“We just want everybody to know that Mercy Baptist Church in Conway, South Carolina, has no affiliation with any of that,” said Kenny Lee, a council member at Mercy Baptist Church. “We’re not in the Netflix stuff with the Mercy Ministries or any of that. We’re strictly Mercy Baptist Church in Conway. Everybody is welcome here. But we don’t want the derogatory negativity. I mean, we have a hard enough time, you know, dealing with stuff without somebody else’s drama to it.”

It’s an easy mistake that a single browser search could have fixed, but hey, they call us “sheep” for a reason. That led its pastor, Lloyd Phipps, to release a statement addressing the unfortunate confusion.

Meanwhile, back at Mercy (not Baptist) Church, there have been numerous protests, picket signs and allegations against John-Paul Miller. The indictment alleges that beginning in November 2022, Miller sent unwanted and harassing communications to Mica Miller until her death.

Alleged behavior outlined in the indictment includes:

Posting a nude photo of Mica online without her consent
Placing tracking devices on her vehicle
Contacting her more than 50 times in a single day
Interfering with her finances and daily activities
Damaging her vehicle’s tires

There’s so much more to this documentary and the disastrous life John-Paul Miller created for his wife. Mica’s tragic death was two years ago, yet the dolt is still awaiting trial.

The indictment says Miller’s heinous conduct was carried out with an “intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate” her, or to place her under surveillance for the same purposes; it names her as Victim 1. He is currently awaiting criminal litigation for federal counts of cyberstalking and lying to investigators. And, all the while, leading a congregation of Christ followers because pastors do that, too. I guess.

If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services.

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About Shawn Paul Wood

Shawn Paul Wood, Th.D., is an award-winning copywriter, contributor, and content strategist, and ghostwriter of several faith-based articles, speeches, columns, and books who has worked for some of the most admirable brands in their respective industries for over 20 years. As Founder of Woodworks Communications, he leads teams of content strategists and marketing professionals to expand the brands of corporate leaders, serial entrepreneurs, and respected ministers of the Gospel. He aims to help others develop self-discovery through stories and the written word to proclaim the Word to the world. For more information about his portfolio or help telling your story, visit WoodworksCommunications.com. You can read more about the author here.

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