—– Baptist Pastor Accused Of Setting Fire To Own Church (Bob Allen/The Associated Baptist Press; March 10)

BELTON, South Carolina: A Southern Baptist pastor in South Carolina is facing arson charges after allegedly setting fire to his own church building March 8.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division announced March 9 the arrest of Christopher Daniels, 41, of Belton, S.C., on a charge of second-degree arson. A press release said Daniels “willfully and maliciously” set fire to Blue Ridge Baptist Church in Belton.

Chris Daniels, pastor of Triangle Baptist Church in Belton, S.C., is accused of setting fire to the church March 8.

On March 9 the Greenville News reported the church’s pastor discovered a fire while unlocking the building for Sunday worship.

The next day the paper quoted Anderson County Fire Chief Billy Gibson as saying officials found evidence early on that the fire was intentionally set. After further investigation, they concluded that Daniels was the suspect.

Roger Orman, associate executive director of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, said the congregation — until recently known as Triangle Baptist Church — is on a roster of churches that cooperate with the state convention. A searchable database of Southern Baptist churches says the congregation was formed in 1900 and has 107 members.

The local newspaper said about half of the congregation’s active membership — about 25 members, mostly elderly women — stopped attending after a series of attacks by vandals who spray-painted what appeared to be gang symbols on walls of the sanctuary.

In January the Anderson, S.C., Independent-Mail quoted Daniels as saying the church was vandalized about five times within a two-month period.

If convicted Daniels could receive up to 25 years in prison. He was held on $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court April 24.

Daniels reportedly became a Southern Baptist pastor about a year ago, and Triangle Baptist Church was his first preaching job.

The March 10 story by Ron Barnett in The Greenville News (mentioned above) included these additional details: “Anderson County Fire Chief Billy Gibson said Daniels was the church’s pastor. He wouldn’t say what made authorities suspicious of Daniels…. He said they have ‘no idea’ what the motive could have been. Daniels reported the fire at 9:20 a.m., before anyone else had arrived at the church, Gibson said…. [Deacon Bill Davenport] said he was surprised and disappointed that his pastor was arrested. ‘What little I knew about him, he was a good preacher,’ Davenport said. ‘He was getting better every service.’… Daniels also was a teacher at a Christian school, Davenport said. ‘What dealings I had with him, I liked him,’ he said. Daniels has a wife and two teen-aged children, Davenport said…. The century-old rural church sustained significant smoke damage but only moderate fire damage, Gibson said.”