Religion · Myrtle Beach, SC Metro · October 8, 2026
SC Church, Academy Seek Dismissal of Suit Over Sex Offender Volunteer
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 lever in this story is the gap between a Christian school's implicit promise that children are safe on its campus and the allegation that a registered sex offender was allowed to volunteer there — and the church's answer, filed Oct. 1, asks a civil judge to stand aside under ecclesiastical abstention while conspiracy and obstruction charges are pending against church-connected people. Nothing is more damaging to a church's witness than asking for a religious-liberty protection in the same breath as an allegation that it concealed a danger to children; the doctrine is sound, but here it is being invoked on facts that make it look like a shield rather than a boundary.
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.
Close the gap at your own church before anyone comes looking. This month: get the written child-protection policy in hand, confirm in writing that every volunteer with access to minors is background-checked and re-checked on a stated interval, and confirm that the state sex offender registry is actually searched. Ask the board to put in the minutes that a report to DSS or law enforcement is never delayed for an internal inquiry.
Rule 11
“If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside.”
The facts here are serious enough to be reported accurately and damaging enough to be exaggerated. WPDE's account does not detail the underlying abuse allegations or the full civil complaint, and the named individuals are charged, not convicted — yet the story is already being carried as proof of what churches as a class do. One overstatement repeated by a Christian reader at a public meeting hands the other side the only weapon that works permanently.
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.
Say "charged" and not "guilty" every time you discuss this, and name the date and source of anything you repeat. Refuse to minimize in the other direction too: do not say "one bad volunteer" when multiple suits and multiple charges are on the record. If asked something you cannot source, say you will find out and come back with the docket number.
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
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