Religion · Indianapolis, IN Metro · October 13, 2026
Bloomington Church Leaders Stand by Pastor Amid Misconduct Allegations
What Alinsky tactic is being used
2 of the thirteen rules are in play here — campaigns rarely run just one.
Rule 4
“Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”
The whole force of this story comes from a gap between a stated standard and actual practice: Wigington's public work was with a ministry opposing sexual exploitation, and Project Rescue — the partner organization — ended the relationship once allegations surfaced. A congregant who took concerns through proper channels says the church has not been transparent about how it handled them. A body that preaches accountability is now being measured against its own book of rules, and the outside partner applied that measure before the church did.
Counter-Rule 4 · Radical Integrity
Close the gap between stated values and actual practice before anyone else finds it. This tactic only works where the gap is real.
Do the closing yourself, locally and in writing: this month ask your elders for the actual misconduct policy and read it, and if there isn't one, ask the board in writing to adopt one before any allegation arrives. Where your church's practice does not match what it teaches about elder accountability, say so to leadership privately and ask for a dated plan to fix it. A policy adopted in calm, with its number and adoption date on record, is the only version of this that cannot be used against you later.
Rule 11
“If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside.”
This item is unusually easy to push past what the record supports in either direction — into 'he's been proven guilty' or into 'there's nothing here, it's one disgruntled man.' The reporting establishes that allegations were raised, that leaders have continued to back the pastor, and that a partner ministry ended its relationship; it does not establish the nature of the misconduct, what review took place, or guilt. Either overclaim hands the other side the one permanent weapon: a demonstrable exaggeration.
Counter-Rule 11 · Proportional Truth
Refuse to overclaim, even where it would help. One exaggeration hands the other side the only weapon that works permanently.
Write down, before you discuss this with anyone, the three things actually documented — allegations raised by a former congregant, leadership continuing to back the pastor, a partner ministry severing ties — and refuse to assert anything beyond that list, including in a small group or a text thread. When someone asks what the allegations are, say you don't know and that the report doesn't say. If you repeat a detail, be able to name the publication you read it in.
Chapter 3 sets out the rules; Chapter 15 answers each of them in turn. This is that pairing applied to this story.
Know where you stand
The free 4-minute assessment identifies your mountain and your institution’s capture phase — so alerts like this one arrive matched to where you actually stand.
Facing this yourself? Ask. Describe what is happening and get what the book, Scripture, and the law of your state say, with the exact words to use. Your first one is free.