The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Matthew “Denny” Patterson, pastor of Nolensville Road Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, has been indicted on eight counts of aggravated sexual battery. Most of the victims were young boys. Patterson was known in the area for his anti-LGBTQ crusading. With rapture-like speed, church leaders have scrubbed Patterson’s name from the Nolensville Road Baptist website. One news report states Patterson resigned from Nolensville Road Baptist last September and moved to Pennsylvania. He was arrested in Pennsylvania on March 8, 2018 and has since been extradited to Tennessee.
Adam Tamburin, a reporter for The Tennessean, writes:
Metro police have arrested a pastor accused of molesting several children across two decades while he was leader of a South Nashville congregation.
Matthew Dennis Patterson, known as Denny, served as pastor of Nolensville Road Baptist Church for more than 20 years. He resigned on Sept. 24.
Days later, members of the congregation came to the police precinct on Harding Place with complaints about his requests to “engage in strange activities” with children, authorities said.
Children at the church told adult members that Patterson had asked them to sit on his face and stomach, sometimes in their underwear, according to a police statement.
Detectives John Thomas and Jacob Masteller from the department’s Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Unit led the six-month investigation into the complaints.
After interviewing multiple church and staff members, police said the detectives identified multiple victims, most of them boys, who were molested from 1998-2017. Police did not say how old the children were at the time of the alleged abuse.
Patterson has been indicted on eight counts of aggravated sexual battery. Each count is linked to a different child, according to police.
Police said more charges relating to additional victims “are anticipated” as the investigation continues.
Nashville police arrested Patterson in Pennsylvania on March 8 — he refused to talk to investigators. Patterson was extradited to Nashville on Friday, and his bond was set at $100,000.
Leaders at Nolensville Road Baptist have been “fully cooperative” with the investigation, according to police.
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The church appeared to be growing — they bought a second house on an adjoining lot in March 2017 for $150,000, property records show. Patterson touted the purchase as a long-held dream on his Twitter account.
It is an Independent Fundamental Baptist church. In the church’s statement of faith, it cites the Bible as the only authority for faith and practice, belief in the sinful nature of man, biblical family roles and local church autonomy.
Patterson was a vocal opponent of anti-discrimination bills considered by the Metro Council in 2003. The measures were designed to protect jobs and housing for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
“We want to make sure we keep the pressure on, let them know that anytime they bring this up, we’ll be down here to oppose it,” Patterson told The Tennessean in an article published Feb. 5, 2003.
Mention of Patterson was scrubbed from the church’s website after he left the church last year. But an archived version of nolensvilleroadbaptist.com includes a message from the former pastor welcoming visitors to Sunday and Wednesday services.
In the message, Patterson describes the church as “warm” and “friendly” and tells visitors to expect “soul-stirring music and Bible preaching.”
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The church’s website describes the church this way:
Thank you for visiting our website. We have tried to make this site as simple and friendly as possible. It is our desire to provide you with information about our church, as well as material that will be a blessing to you spiritually. We are an independent, fundamental, Baptist church. We use soul-stirring traditional music and the focal point in our services is the preaching of God’s Word. We use only the King James Version.
The church’s website has a message for visitors from Patterson (via The Wayback Machine):
As Pastor I want to take this opportunity to invite you to our church. We have a warm, friendly church, and you will feel more than welcome. We are always excited to see guests in our services.
We are a church that believes God is alive and Christ can still save those who turn to Him for salvation. At our church, Christ is the answer for every one of the problems of man [including molesting young boys?]. God stands with His hand stretched out to all people, and so does our church.
You will find soul-stirring music and Bible preaching in each of our services. On behalf of all our people, please accept my invitation to attend our services. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Pastor Denny Patterson
Psalm 19:14
The church’s about page states:
STILL CHURCH
Timeless or trendy? Malls are trendy. Church should feel timeless. With the forceful current of constant change sweeping over every part of our lives, people have the need to connect with something enduring and firm. We believe Christ designed the church to fulfill that need by representing an eternal kingdom and ageless truth with no need to imitate the culture. We want you to know there’s still a church that feels like church. It won’t feel like a rock concert, comedy club, or motivational seminar. It’s not old-fashioned as in 50 years ago. It’s timeless, as in 2000 years ago.
STILL PREACHING
Dynamic, passionate preaching straight from the Bible still brings more lasting change than comedy routines, drama, or motivational talks. Come discover the benefit of Biblical preaching.
STILL HYMNS
Most church music amounts to dumbing down the lyrics and cranking up the volume to build more interest. The hymns we sing still generate an attitude toward God that is anything but lifeless and boring.
STILL REVERENT
Casual is all the rage in American institutions, but God deserves better. While you won’t find a judgmental spirit here, you will find a place that still believes reverence is right for the presence of God.
STILL FAMILY
Our culture’s experiments with the family have left the American home in a mess. We still teach the biblical roles for the family as the best answer and our only hope for stable, unfulfilled homes.
STILL EXCITING
God doesn’t need the Top 40 or the latest fads to be exciting. We still enjoy several timeless practices that stir the soul in a way that strobe lights and dancing in the aisles can never manufacture.
Nolensville Road Baptist Church is an Independent, Fundamental, Baptist church located in Nashville, TN. Our church is easily accessible from anywhere in the greater Nashville area. Our church facilities are located on the South side of Nashville, and we are close to I-24, I-65, and I-40.
And yet for all these “still” statements, the church “still” had a predatory child molester in its midst.
A Channel 5 news report adds:
The indictments stated one of the victims was abused over a six year period.
Another indictment said that between April 6, 2007 and April 6, 2013, Patterson “did intentionally engage in unlawful sexual contact with N.B. (d.o.b. 04-06-2002).”
Officials with the Metro Nashville Police Department said he molested at least eight children over the course of more than 20 years as pastor of Nolensville Road Baptist Church in south Nashville.
Patterson reportedly resigned on September 24, 2017 and moved to Pennsylvania.
Church members learned of the allegations the following day, according to a statement, and reported it to police after speaking with Patterson and obtaining his cell phone and laptop to give to detectives.
A mother of three, who had attended the church on and off for two years, said she did not suspect Patterson of being an alleged molester.
“I didn’t at first but when I look back at it, it kind of makes sense after watching some of the behavior and movements toward certain people now,” said the mother who chose not to reveal her identity.
She added that Patterson event attended her three-year-old daughter’s birthday once, although she does not believe she was abused.
“I can’t really talk to a three-year-old about it because they don’t understand what’s going on. You get scared wondering if it was your child,” she said.
Church members came to the South Precinct to report that children were saying Patterson had them engage in strange activities with him, including sitting on his face and stomach, sometimes in their underwear.
The church spokesperson said in a statement, “Nolensville Road Baptist Church want to let our community know that the sinful actions of one man does not reflect upon church as a whole. We remain committed to truth, transparency in all our operations, and for the care and support for the victims and family who have been victimized by alleged perpetrator.”
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An April 5, 2018 Times Free Press story states:
A former Tennessee pastor accused of molesting several children while he was a Nashville church leader has pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance.
The Tennessean reports a public defender accepted the case against Matthew Dennis Patterson and entered a not guilty plea on his behalf Wednesday.
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Police say investigators identified at least eight victims, most of them boys, who were molested from 1998 to 2017.
Patterson has been indicted on eight counts of aggravated sexual battery. More charges related to additional victims are expected.
