Our churches and denominations are at a crossroads. We must decide if we will stand on sound doctrine and biblical belief and practice or entertain those who would subvert, undermine, and destroy.

In October, I published an article titled Sons of Charlatanry. This came on the heels of the announcement that Peter Bell was launching Sons of Patriarchy, a podcast ostensibly dedicated to exposing abuse surrounding Doug Wilson and his denomination, the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC). Prior to that I and others had investigated Bell in a matter concerning potentially falsified ecclesiastical credentials. On a prior podcast, Guilt Grace Gratitude, Bell was for over a year presented as a pastor, at times affiliated with particular churches and planting efforts in the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). Last June, Bell informed me that he was “leaving the ministry” (he never formally entered the ministry, as he never obtained a proper ordination credential) due to personal reasons unrelated to our investigation (he also left GGG then). However, it was only a few months later that he returned with SOP, and Bell’s unwillingness to address the concerns that prompted that investigation prompted me to publish the investigation’s findings.

Many new developments have arisen since October. At the time of my first article, SOP had not yet released any content, only some trailers and promotional materials. Since then, the show has now published several episodes, roughly divided between theoretical discussions with “experts” in ministry, abuse, and trauma and stories of abuse within churches. Initially, the focus was on claims of abuse surrounding Wilson and the CREC. However, it was not long before the focus shifted to abuse claims from the OPC and the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). It would be an understatement to say that my initial concerns about this project and Bell’s involvement within it have been entirely vindicated, and in fact, if anything, they were not sharp and pronounced enough.

While the matters surrounding Bell and SOP are vast and complex (I myself having investigated them for nearly a year), there are a few that I particularly want to draw public attention to. At the outset, I want to be clear that I have (even after my initial article) continued to try to exhaust every possible channel to obtain a valid ecclesiastical resolution to this matter that would spare the reputations of as many parties as possible. However, it has become clear to me that Bell has deliberately positioned himself outside of the realm where such a thing can occur. Therefore, in the interest of protecting the truth and the flock of God, it becomes necessary to make a further report (Acts 20:28).

A thread that runs throughout this story is hypocrisy. It is more than a little ironic that a project that claims to exist in the pursuit of justice resists and dismisses accountability and shields its proprietors from potential justice for their own sins. This is abuse being perpetuated in the name of anti-abuse, unaccountability in the name of accountability, lack of transparency in the name of transparency, lawlessness in the name of law, gracelessness in the name of grace, and evil in the name of good.

Continued Pastoral and Ecclesiastical Misrepresentation

My initial investigation into Bell concerned claims on GGG that he was a pastor when he had never been ordained. When confronted with this, Bell pivoted (without any retraction or apology) to claiming that he was a licentiate, even though he no longer had valid licensure by 2024.

Shortly after launch, SOP released a bonus episode of a conversation between Bell and Sara Bader, a professing atheist and social media manager for SOP. The interview was enlightening for several reasons (including Bader’s casual use of profanity), but of particular interest to me was that twice during that episode (at roughly the 3:30 mark and again at the 46:25 mark) she referred to Bell as a pastor. Given that Bader is an atheist and thus would not likely know or care about the inner workings of church polity, it would seem to me that the only reason she would ever say that Bell is a pastor is if Bell or someone close to him had told her that. Furthermore, when she says this (in an interview that almost certainly occurred after my and Shawn Mathis’ investigation) Bell never denies this or offers correction.

It seems that perhaps Bell still wants to be thought of and regarded as a pastor, or at least someone who could have been a pastor under slightly different circumstances that were within his control. Consider the following exchange [here and here]¹

Bell claimed in this thread that it was only his choice that hindered him from becoming a pastor. However, as I pointed out in my reply (and as was pointed out in our prior investigation) Bell failed to sustain a candidacy examination in Classis Southwest of the United Reformed Churches (the same examination and body I myself took and sustained in the spring of 2022). For those not familiar with the inside-baseball of Reformed polity, had he sustained that exam, he would have been eligible for a pastoral call. Had that call been within the same classis (a regional body similar to a presbytery), he likely would have been ordained without further examination. Not only did Peter not become a pastor, at least one body found that he lacked the requisite gifts and knowledge.

Sadly, this lack of truthfulness and transparency extends beyond ministerial credentials to Bell’s own church membership. He has repeatedly publicly claimed to be Presbyterian and Reformed. In an interview with Current magazine prior to SOP’s debut, he claimed to be part of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. However, despite making inquiries with several OPC ministers and congregations (including ones Bell himself claimed affiliation with at various times) I have not found any current or former membership of Bell’s in the OPC. The last membership I found for him was in a different denomination but was “dropped” according to my contact at that church. More recently, a fellow OPC presbyter of mine directly contacted Bell for church membership information, but Bell refused to provide it. It may be that Bell holds membership in a church somewhere, but I have not, despite many months of investigation, been able to locate it. This is particularly problematic as parties close to SOP have claimed at times that Bell is a “member in good standing” and used this to deflect criticism (and perhaps even subtly threaten those who would criticize Bell in the open). Being a member in good standing means being willing to subject oneself to church courts and any potential disciplinary action that may arise from public or private sins. At a minimum, Bell is deliberately concealing that information from those who could lawfully bring such charges (ministers in the denomination he has claimed affiliation with), and it is possible he lacks valid membership altogether.²

It seems that Bell wants the credibility of the church (be that of a minister or member) without any of the oversight and responsibility that comes with it. This is a dangerous formula, especially given the difficult and sensitive matters SOP deals with.

Ecclesiastical Anarchy and Slander

Not only does Bell continue to deal treacherously regarding his standing in the church, but he and the SOP team deal treacherously with the church in the content they produce. Lest I be accused (as Bell and his fans are quick to do) of neglecting the horrors of the alleged abuse and the power of the stories, I do want to touch on them briefly. I will refrain from most details as I do not wish to further scandalize what has already been scandalized or incite any harassment. But there are a few items concerning SOP’s approach that are quite contemptuous, unbiblical, anti-Christian, and potentially illegal.³

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