HOUSTON — The longtime pastor of a prominent Houston church has been given a two-month paid leave of absence from the pulpit following allegations he sexually assaulted a 37-year-old man. The action to suspend Brentwood Baptist Church pastor Joe Ratliff was taken Oct. 27 during a regularly scheduled business meeting. Some 5,000 people attend the church every Sunday morning.
During the next two months Ratliff will continue his administrative duties while other staff members provide ministerial leadership, according to a statement the church provided to Baptist Press. He will return to the pulpit Dec. 31.
According to KHOU-TV in Houston, Ratliff allegedly forced the man, Arnold Blake, into a church office where he groped and kissed him. Blake also claimed that Ratliff offered to pay for sex, KPRC-TV in Houston reported. The man sued both Ratliff and the church, and the two sides have since settled out of court.
Blake’s attorney released an audiotape in September to Houston TV stations in which two men, allegedly Ratliff and Blake, can be heard engaging in a vulgarity-laced, sexually explicit discussion about homosexual desires.
Ratliff will undergo professional counseling, church spokesperson Jackie Preston told Baptist Press.
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