#adamsroad #exmormon #churchtoo #churchabuse #micahwilder #churchscandal #exmormonministry #christiancults
A shocking scandal has forced the closure of the popular ex-Mormon ministry, Adam's Road, but there's more to the story that you need to know.
Warning: This article contains accounts of both predatory and consensual sexual activities that may be disturbing to some readers. Please read and share with discretion.
Adam’s Road was a popular Ex-Mormon Christian ministry led by former LDS missionary Micah Wilder. After leaving the LDS Church in 2006, Micah’s story of conversion from Mormonism to Protestant Christianity captivated the Christian Church nationwide, especially the ex-Mormon Christian community in Utah.
After some changes in membership in their early years, Micah and his bandmates, including his brother Matt Wilder, his brother-in-law Joseph Warren, and a young woman named Lila LeBaron toured the nation, visiting hundreds of Christian churches to share their story of leaving Mormonism and discovering the biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ.
What Happened
After 18 years of ministry, Adam’s Road came to an abrupt halt in early May 2024, closing its doors and all of Micah’s social media pages without explanation and nothing more than a brief statement on their now defunct website:
One month later, this short statement was changed to a long and cryptic, but shocking confession of sexual immorality by Micah Wilder, “...the severity of which cannot be overstated.”
Read the original confession here:
Micah's confession, while melodramatic and blatantly manipulative, didn’t provide an account of what happened. After a few weeks, some of the wording was changed and significant sentences were removed. This, I would argue, may have been to downplay and distance Micah from the reality and severity of his behavior. Shortly after making these revisions, however, the confession was taken down, and so was the entire Adam’s Road Ministry website.
Read the second version of Micah's confession here:
Despite Micah’s ambiguous, revised, and now retracted confession, we can find the shocking details of what happened within Adam’s Road to cause its closure from multiple sources.
The first source that explained a few crucial details of what happened is a statement by Main Street Church of Brigham City, Utah, which is displayed below and on their website here.
Joseph Warren, a former member of Adam’s Road and brother-in-law of Micah Wilder, has also provided a public apology which you can read below and on Joseph’s webpage here.
On Tuesday, July 30th, 2024, after months of silence in the Utah Christian community following the closure of Adam’s Road, Shawn McCraney exposed the corruption of Adam’s Road and publicly confronted Micah Wilder’s confession on his show, Heart of the Matter.
In a powerful monologue, McCraney exposed everything that led up to the closing of Adam’s Road and Micah Wilder’s shocking plans for the future. This open rebuke included details Main Street Church of Brigham City and Micah Wilder didn’t include in their statements, including Micah’s plan to return to a life of polygamy.
Some sources say McCraney was wrong about a few things, but they won't specify what he said that was false. I’ve asked primary sources to correct anything McCraney said that is false and will update this article appropriately if I ever receive a correction.
McCraney is the Yeshuan ex-Mormon ministry leader of The Great News Network in Salt Lake City, Utah who has been ostracized by the Utah Christian community over the years for his divergent views on Scripture and the local church. Many leaders of the Ex-Mormon Christian community in Utah are now criticizing McCraney for his vulgar language and aggressive demeanor in his video on Adam’s Road, but this brutally honest and open rebuke of Micah Wilder’s behavior was sorely needed in the wake of yet another Christian ministry scandal.
Many of the most prominent Mormon outreach ministries in Utah have kept this tragedy in the dark for months, only publicly disavowing Adam’s Road after McCraney exposed it. He has done a great service to the Body of Christ by blowing the lid off this insanity.
As more of these ministry scandals are exposed, so are the blatantly cult-like tactics that leaders use to keep them in the dark. These tactics have been on full display in the aftermath of the Adam’s Road catastrophe, but just as the corruption of Adam’s Road needed to be exposed, so do the tactics that enable it to continue, including everything we’re not being told about this sickening scandal.
Exposing Cult-Like Deception & Manipulation
Micah Wilder’s Confession
McCraney’s public confrontation of Micah Wilder shows how severe and devastating the sexual degeneracy in Adam’s Road was. More importantly, it also shows how manipulative, dishonest, and narcissistic Micah was in his confession.
As McCraney reads Micah Wilder’s retracted confession word-for-word and dismantles the tactics behind it, he exposes how a wolf in sheep’s clothing operates under the guise of the Gospel to exploit the Christian Church. In fact, his walkthrough of Micah Wilder’s Confession is so pertinent to our ministry that I’m working on a video that highlights McCraney’s observations. From it, we can learn how to check our own churches and ministries for red flags of manipulation, deception, and abuse.
The Christian Church’s Response
As I previously mentioned, the response from the Church community of Utah, specifically those within Ex-Mormon and Mormon outreach, has been strangely quiet. They also appear to be omitting important information about the people involved. They are either doing this intentionally as a means of information control, or unintentionally out of ignorance. Either way, the information I’ve found regarding Adam’s Road reveals truths that haven’t been exposed or addressed yet, and they need to be.
Main Street Church’s statement on Adam’s Road can only be seen through their website since, as far as I know, they haven’t shared it anywhere else. In their statement, they claim they held a public meeting announcing the closure of Adam’s Road and the details of why. However, as far as I know, this meeting wasn’t announced publicly, wasn’t recorded, and only included those within certain ministries in Utah. Call me crazy, but this doesn’t sound like a very “public” announcement.
I’ve reached out to Pastor Jim Catlin of Main Street Church, but haven’t received a response.
Another pastor I’ve reached out to for comment is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Winter Garden, Florida, Tim Grosshans. According to a Farewell Letter published by the church’s school, Foundation Academy, Micah Wilder’s family and Stefan Dennis’ family were both affiliated with this church, at least regarding where their children attended school. This is also the church where Micah and Alicia were married and is the church home of Matt Wilder.
After I emailed Pastor Tim Grosshans regarding Adam’s Road, the Farewell Letter was taken down. Instead of receiving a response from Mr. Grosshans, I received an email from former Communications Director of Adam’s Road Ministry, Stefan Dennis, asking me to “... leave the church alone…”
According to Stefan Dennis and Matt Wilder, although Stefan’s and Micah’s children attended Foundation Academy, Adam’s Road Ministry wasn’t affiliated with First Baptist Church in any other way:
“...Just wanted to let you know that none of the Adam’s Road members involved in those sinful activities were ever members of First Baptist Church of Winter Garden. Micah Wilder’s kids and Stefan Dennis’ kids attended Foundation Academy. That’s it…
… I was the only member of Adam’s Road who is also a member at First Baptist Church of Winter Garden. They are my home church. They had nothing to do with the Adam’s Road sexual immorality scandal. And I was not aware of or ever personally involved in those sinful activities while a member of Adam’s Road…”
- Matt Wilder, Former Member & Brother of Micah Wilder
“...I am contacting you to officially put into writing that Adam's Road was in no way affiliated with First Baptist Church of Winter Garden or Foundation Academy. The Wilder children only attended the school, along with over a thousand other children, but there was no affiliation in any official capacity whatsoever. Also, First Baptist Church of Winter Garden was not the home church of Micah Wilder or any guilty party associated with Adam's Road…”
- Stefan Dennis, Former Communications Director of Adam’s Road Ministry
Regardless of whether Micah and his family attended or were members of First Baptist, the fact remains that they were at one point affiliated with the church according to the Farewell Letter. Of course, this doesn’t mean the church was involved in or responsible for the practices of Adam’s Road, and I’m not suggesting they are.
However, the stonewalling from Pastor Tim Grosshans, the subsequent email response from Stefan Dennis, and the retraction of the Farewell Letter by Foundation Academy all give the same impression. Rather than openly announcing their former affiliation and disassociation with Adam’s Road, the church is trying to hide their former affiliation entirely.
We can see the same sort of information control and deceptive behavior from prominent Mormon outreach leaders in Utah as well. While McCraney’s monologue about Adam’s Road is by far the most informative, thorough, and transparent account of this tragedy, his video has been censored by some and borderline misrepresented by others.
Main Street Church’s statement claims the leaders of Adam’s Road didn’t have a church home and the reason Matt Wilder was “spared” from its evil was because he was grounded in a local church community. It’s possible Main Street Church didn’t know what I’ve discovered in my due diligence research, but this isn’t true.
According to a primary source and now multiple deleted Facebook posts, the members of Adam’s Road did have a church home and were discipled by its pastor in regular Bible studies for years of the ministry’s existence. The church was West Orange Baptist Church in Oakland, Florida with Southern Baptist pastor David Pruett.
But Main Street Church isn’t the only one either ignorant of this information or intentionally hiding it. Mormon Research Ministry recently published a Timeline surrounding the history and closure of Adam’s Road. This includes portions of an email thread entitled “Accountability” between Micah Wilder and a few of the leaders of Mormon Research Ministry, including Eric Johnson and Bill McKeever. This thread appears to be an effort to understand the governance model of Adam’s Road and who in the local church was overseeing the ministry.
Much of this email thread is omitted from Mormon Research’s Timeline. What they’ve shared, however, shows Micah assuring these ministry leaders that Adam’s Road was affiliated with several other local churches and ministries and had a plethora of oversight, both from within Adam’s Road, and from multiple local church leaders in the community. And they did.
I’ve reached out to Mormon Research Ministry to ask about the full discussion between Micah Wilder and these local ministry leaders, but they haven’t responded.
The problem with this partially omitted email thread is it may have included names of pastors in the Florida church community who were closely involved in Adam’s Road, such as pastor David Pruett, who was on the board of directors for Adam’s Road’s HQ, Book of Life Fellowship, in 2023 and 2024. He was also friends with multiple former members of Adam’s Road on Facebook before deleting his page last month. Following the exposure of the scandal in Adam’s Road, however, Pruett was removed as a board member for Book of Life Fellowship.
According to a primary source, as soon as he learned of the sexual immorality within Adam’s Road, David Pruett cut ties with the ministry and left their property in Kentucky.
Another problem that no one is addressing is Stefan Dennis and his potential involvement in the corruption of Adam’s Road and its polygamy. Mormon Research Ministry’s Timeline states on August 2nd: “Stefan confirms Micah’s return to polygamy/adultery but distances himself from it.” Originally, this line read: “Stefan confirms Micah’s return to polygamy/adultery but expresses disagreement with it.”
This revision is curious and leads me to wonder if the writer of this timeline caught on to something they’re not sharing with the rest of the class. In fact, according to this timeline, Lila’s former church, Calvary Chapel LeBaron, posted a statement called the End of Adam’s Road on July 22nd, 2024.
In this statement, an important claim about the Dennis family by Lila LeBaron is made:
"... I have the full support of the Wilder family, the Dennis family, my own family, and those living in Kentucky. I know that this is God's will for my life. As the angel of the Lord said to Hagar, so God has commanded me: return and submit. And I will…"
Pastor Mike Abbate follows this statement with a big concern:
“... Her reference to Hagar, I believe, implies that Lila will live in polygamy...."
If this means what I think it means, Stefan Dennis and his family not only refuse to cut ties with Micah, Alicia, and Lila, (and perhaps even Max), but they support Micah Wilder’s polygamy as well.
I contacted Calvary Chapel LeBaron's pastor, Mike Abbate, to ask questions about his statement and will make changes to the report if necessary. So far, I haven’t received answers from him either.
I’ve also contacted Stefan Dennis to ask him about the Facebook post he removed addressing the Adam’s Road scandal (posted near the end of this article). I asked him about Lila’s claim that the Dennis family supported her decision to return to Micah Wilder, too. He hasn’t responded to my questions and has since deleted his Facebook account. When I emailed him a copy of this report for comment or correction, this was his response:
“Looks good to me. God bless, sister.”
Shortly after receiving this email, Stefan deleted his Instagram account.
Something else of note is how similar the statement published by Main Street Church and Calvary Chapel LeBaron are in multiple paragraphs. In some places, they are word-for-word identical.
Who are Edward Blanchard and John Kennedy?
There are more facts about Adam’s Road and its “church” Book of Life Fellowship that have yet to be addressed as well.
Although Mormon Research Ministry’s timeline includes the Articles of Incorporation for Book of Life Fellowship in their timeline, including the annual reports from 2012 to 2013 showing that Max Blanchard was removed from the board, they don’t mention Edward Blanchard, who is a member of the board on the most recent annual report.
Edward Blanchard is probably a relative of Max Blanchard, but unlike Max, he has a Facebook page. He even lists Book of Life Fellowship as his employer and puts a short description of his work on the 380 acre “retreat”.
The business filings for Book of Life Fellowship also show someone named John Kennedy as a member of the board. According to a primary source, this is Max Blanchard’s best friend.
The True Cause of Ministry Corruption
Putting these significant details aside, the question of how this tragedy began has been answered, and it has nothing to do with proper church oversight. In fact, I believe it was the authoritarian ideology of both the LDS Church and the Christian Church which created the environment that attracted Micah Wilder and Max Blanchard.
According to Shawn McCraney’s report, Main Street Church, and a primary source, Adam’s Road was spiritually fraudulent from its foundation, borne out of the predatory sexual advances of their former bus driver and co-owner of the Edgewater Hotel in Winter Garden, Florida, Max Blanchard:
“... Apparently, this lowly bus driver [Max] fancied himself behind closed doors as something of a prophet…”
At about 13 minutes into his video confrontation, McCraney describes how Max manipulated Joseph, Micah, and who knows how many others, into engaging in oral sex under the guise of aiding him with his so-called “testosterone deficiency”. It was Max's alleged sexual exploitation of Micah, and then Joseph, that led to polyamorous relationships in Adam's Road (with the exception of Matt Wilder), and now the polygamy that Micah allegedly believes is a biblical practice.
While many are focused on the immorality and exploitation practiced by Micah and other members of Adam’s Road, few are paying any attention to Max or the others affiliated with the ministry who haven’t been named as innocent, unaware, or uninvolved in this debauchery. According to multiple sources, Max, in a clearly deceptive, exploitative, and abusive manner, took advantage of at least one Mormon missionary and then multiple ex-Mormon missionaries for his own sexual gratification under the pretense of being a prophet of God.
Based on everything we now know about Max Blanchard, I have some questions.
When did Max Blanchard join the LDS Church and how long was he a member before he was given access to vulnerable young missionaries while they were isolated from their families and friends for two years? (Note: According to a primary source, the former Mission President at the time in Orlando, Florida was Kent W. Farnsworth, who may have more information on Max Blanchard; so far, I’ve been unable to contact him.)
How many others have been sexually exploited by Max, and are any of them minors?
Although Max has been removed from Book of Life Fellowship’s business filings, Lila LeBaron confirmed in a text that she was returning to the Edgewater Hotel in Winter Garden, FL to be with Micah. Does this mean Max is still involved? To me, it indicates that he is, despite being removed from the Book of Life Fellowship’s business filings.
Despite what many ministry leaders in Utah suggest, Matt Wilder wasn’t “spared” from this wickedness because of his involvement in a local church. We know the members of Adam’s Road were attending West Orange Baptist Church in Oakland, Florida and that pastor David Pruett was so involved and invested in their ministry that he was listed on their Articles of Incorporation as their Pastor and an Elder at one point.
Matt has also repeatedly stated that he was not aware of the sexual immorality being practiced by the other members of Adam’s Road. That means he was never presented with the opportunity to participate. The church oversight he had was irrelevant. So was the church oversight practiced by West Orange Baptist and pastor David Pruett, because they apparently didn’t know what was going on either.
The systems of accountability in the institution of the Christian Church work more in favor of abusers than the abused, and they don’t stop abuse. They only allow those in authority to hide, lie, minimize, and justify their corruption with a false image of accountability and oversight. The layers upon layers of leadership, authority, and oversight do nothing to stop psychopathic and narcissistic leaders from doing what they want to do, and they give the men responsible for holding them accountable plausible deniability.
Within this system, the wolf is caught after causing irreversible damage to countless people, and then released to go victimize sheep in another pasture while the so-called “leaders” who remain take no responsibility for their failure to protect the sheep. Then, they demand we continue to give them the responsibility of being our leaders and spiritual authorities.
Recall the email thread between Micah and the ministry leaders wanting “accountability” for Adam’s Road. Micah gave them exactly what they wanted. He set up a system identical to the systems every other church of “accountability” uses. A board of men who appear to enforce oversight, a local church community, and even a Baptist Pastor.
Micah has been under the authority of men his entire life. Max was able to prey on him and Joseph because of the spiritual authority he held over them as a “prophet”. Micah was not only under the authoritative leadership and accountability of men as a part of the LDS Church when this behavior began, but he continued to be under the authoritative leadership and accountability of men as it continued in the Evangelical Christian Church - under Max Blanchard, himself, the other members of Adam’s Road, David Pruett, and anyone else he surrounded himself with in the Body of Christ. It did nothing to stop him and he successfully hid it for 18 years.
While Utah’s church leaders cry foul because they didn’t properly vet Adam’s Road before discovering this immorality (even though they did, and Mormon Research Ministry documented it), corruption, abuse, and cult-like control have overwhelmed the Christian Church. Scandals like this aren’t rare or exclusive to para-church ministries, lacking in “accountability.” They are a feature of all religious institutions, whether it’s the Roman Catholic Church, the LDS Church, or the Protestant Christian Church.
Wolves in sheep’s clothing are proficient at hiding their darkness, even for decades at a time. It’s the Holy Spirit of God that convicts believers of their sin, and a lack of that Spirit that leads to the corruption and abuse we’re seeing in so many Christian churches and ministries today. If we want to prevent church abuse, corruption, and tragedies like this, we have to stop squelching and rejecting the Holy Spirit as the true teacher, guide, and conviction of our sin.
It isn’t a lack of man's authority over ministry leaders that causes corruption and scandal within their ministries, but a lack of the Spirit within men.
The Tragic Beginning of A Polygamous Cult
With Adam’s Road now closed, the website shut down, and Micah, Lila, and Stefan Dennis’ social media pages deleted, you might think the Christian Church has been spared further damage from this twisted deception. Even though Micah has allegedly stepped out of “public ministry,” according to Stefan Dennis, he’s walking right back into polygamy. Book of Life Fellowship is still an active non-profit organization according to the Florida Secretary of State, and the end of Adam’s Road may only be the beginning of a polygamous cult in Florida, and then Kentucky.
Unlike former Adam’s Road member Joseph Warren, who confessed his part in the corruption of Adam’s Road and left of his own accord, Micah and others have been caught red-handed and, in response, doubled down. Instead of facing the consequences of this destructive and abusive behavior, Micah has found a way, as all narcissistic Christian “authorities” do, to justify it with the Bible.
Some people, like Stefan Dennis, appear to be supporting him. And despite Dennis' claims to have "dismantled" everything related to Adam's Road, the alleged plans for Micah, Alicia, and Lila to move onto the Kentucky property appears to be moving forward without a hitch.
In the meantime, we will continue to ask questions and look for answers, if not to help Lila, Alicia, and the kids subjected to this insanity, at least to learn the full truth about what’s happened to protect the Body of Christ. My heart breaks for everyone who was exploited, abused, and deceived by Micah Wilder and Adam’s Road. Except for those who were unaware and uninvolved, Adam’s Road has deceived and exploited millions of Christians. While Matt Wilder and others were invested in Adam’s Road for the desire to spread the Gospel and glorify God, the question of whether the ministry’s leaders and foundation were authentic at any level remains.
After 18 years of deception, corruption, and exploitation, Micah’s estranged family and the rest of the Christian Church are left to grieve and suffer the destruction left in the wake of this scandal. Meanwhile, he and those who support him simply wish to “...live quiet lives and heal…” But it isn’t Micah and those who support him who need to rebuild their lives and heal. They are not the victims.
If we want the massacre of God’s sheep to end, we need to examine everything, including the structures, incentives, and hierarchies we’ve built over the centuries which attract and feed wolves in sheep’s clothing. Control, money, power, and fame attract and feed those who exploit, bite, and devour the Body of Christ.
To deter these wolves, all we need to do is stop feeding them.
I've contacted Micah Wilder and Max Blanchard for comment or correction. So far, I haven't received a response.