Rev. Juan D. McFarland : “I Have AIDS and I Had Sex With Congregants”

A Montgomery, Ala. pastor blew his congregation back when he admitted that he had sex with multiple female church members while knowing that he had HIV and then AIDS — for years.

The Rev. Juan D. McFarland made the admission from the pulpit during a Sunday service this past September, said Deacon Nathan Williams Jr., a 71-year member of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.

“He made it public. He shared it, and I’m just saying what he said,” Williams said, adding that McFarland said the sex did not occur in the church sanctuary.

Williams said McFarland also admitted to drug use and misusing church funds.

“He was on marijuana, cocaine and all the drugs you can think of,” Williams said. “Those are his words.”

Williams said that McFarland also acknowledged that he had used money given to him for conventions on having “a good time.”

McFarland answered a phone call Thursday morning but said he was not interested in talking to members of the news media. Other church leaders could not immediately be reached for comment.

There was a black Mercedes Benz parked outside the church Thursday, but no sign of anyone inside. There was no response to knocks on two of the church’s outside doors.

A nonprofit organization that helps HIV and AIDS patients issued a press release Thursday in response to the pastor’s admission.

“Medical AIDS Outreach of Alabama would like to extend our compassion to those who may have been affected by the recent announcement made by a local church pastor,” the release reads.

“We are always saddened to hear of new incidences of HIV, and our hearts go out to all of those living with the virus.”

MAO offers free and confidential HIV and AIDS tests Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at its Montgomery location, 2900 McGehee Road. To make an appointment, call 280-3349.

Church leaders knew that McFarland was HIV positive for about five weeks before the pastor made the announcement, Williams said. The plan, he said, was to have someone talk to congregants about the disease when the announced it.

McFarland’s subsequent confession during church blindsided church leaders, Williams said.

McFarland said that he was diagnosed HIV positive in 2003 and then was tested again in 2008, which was when he was diagnosed with AIDS, Williams said.

Williams said he did not know how many women McFarland might have slept with.

Church leaders initiated a vote to have McFarland removed as pastor, Williams said. The vote was 80 to two in favor of removal, he said.

McFarland since has changed the locks on the church and changed the church’s bank account, leaving other church leaders without access, Williams said. The church leaders now are consulting with lawyers and the bank in question to figure out a solution, he said.

“If it calls for a lawsuit, it calls for a lawsuit. We’re going through the process,” Williams said, adding that no church leaders have filed criminal charges “as of yet.”

McFarland remains the leader of the Alabama Middle District Missionary Baptist Association. Other leaders with the association could not immediately be reached for comment.

Williams said he had been close with McFarland and that the pastor was like a son to him at one time.

“I was surprised. Really, I was hurt,” Williams said. “But it is not about me, it is about the church. We’re going to get the church back.”

Agencies/Canadajournal