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On May 5, 2024, two separate memorial services were held for 30-year old Mica Miller – the beautiful South Carolina pastor’s wife whose suicide the previous weekend sparked a flood of grief, suspicion and speculation. One service was held by her family and friends at the beach – her favorite place – while the other was held at the church run by her estranged husband, pastor John-Paul Miller.
The dueling services were held just days before the Robeson County, N.C. sheriff’s office released its investigatory findings – which concluded Miller’s death was the result of a suicide. Mica’s body was found at 4:23 p.m. EST on April 27, 2024 at North Carolina’s Lumber River State Park – a sprawling 14,000-acre wilderness straddling this scenic blackwater river. Given the bizarre manner in which her husband announced her passing to their congregation – and subsequent allegations of abuse raised by Mica Miller’s family and friends – suspicions of foul play have run rampant.
Mica’s family has said her body was “placed” where it was found by police – and that her suicide was “staged.” They have also posted messages to social media in which John-Paul Miller appeared to threaten his estranged wife.
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On Saturday, May 11, 2024, the memorial service held by Miller at Solid Rock at Market Common was posted to the church’s now-infamous YouTube channel. It vanished almost quickly as it had appeared, though – but not before the video made its way to social media.
The contents of the service were every bit as bizarre as the pastor’s announcement of his wife’s death at the end of a sermon on April 28, 2024.
In this message, Miller spoke of “laying with” his wife’s dead body – and attempting to raise her from the dead.
“I got to lay next to her body and spend time with her body about four times this week and each time, it still didn’t hit me,” Miller said during his ceremony. “I thought she was gonna wake up. I even tried to raise her from the dead one time this week.”
According to Miller, he thought he had succeeded in bringing Mica back to life when he saw a woman at a local mall who had a tattoo similar to one she had. However, when the woman turned around in response to him calling out his late wife’s name, Miller realized it was one of her sisters.
(Click to view)
How did the video of John-Paul Miller’s bizarre services find its way onto the inter webs?
Earlier this week, Myrtle Beach videographer Nathan Brewer – who until recently worked for Solid Rock and worshipped at the church – addressed that question.
“I have been quiet, but I’m ready to speak,” Brewer wrote. “I’ve seen and watched as more and more details come to light each day. I have not been involved in sharing content on my Facebook page, nor have I been involved in pointing fingers at anyone because I’m still trying to wrap my brain around all of this. To be honest, it’s making me sick to my stomach how Christians act towards one another. I have so much to say, so much to spill, I don’t know if I can fit everything I want to say in this message.
According to Brewer, he spent months in the background observing the actions of church leaders both before – and after – Mica’s death.
“Over the years, I have observed a lot of things that made my eyebrows rise, and I went home scratching my head, confused,” he wrote. “To be honest, I got to the point where I felt mentally drained, and it took a toll on me for some time, but I kept letting things roll off my shoulders and kept showing up, even though I felt a tug telling me I need to leave. I didn’t know if it was God or the enemy trying to knock me off track. It was a very hard place to be in, but I kept showing up.”
When he was approached to film the celebration of Mica’s life at the church he agreed – despite feeling unwell.
“I knew I had a duty to capture the event,” he wrote.
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RELATED | MICA MILLER: SCRUTINIZING THE PRESUMPTION
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According to his post, the filming of the service – and the editing process – made him sick to his stomach. After completing the edits to the video and uploading the files to his computer, Brewer wrote that he received a text from John-Paul Miller with instructions not to upload the video to YouTube until further notice.
Brewer waited for days to receive the okay from Miller to upload the footage. Eventually, he decided to load it without Miller’s consent.
“I didn’t want to withhold the information any longer,” he wrote. “I wanted to pass the footage to those who needed it, so I uploaded it.”
Church officials removed it almost as soon as it had been uploaded.
Like many who attended Solid Rock, Brewer felt the world needed to see the behavior of John-Paul Miller first hand – behavior many congregants have been questioning for some time now. Brewer said he believes, “many Christians use Bible scriptures to cover up the truth.”
“When I see Christians accusing others of being ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing,’ it makes me realize that sometimes the real wolf in sheep’s clothing is the pastor, and people are acting as if nothing is wrong,” he added.
Count on FITSNews to continue following every viable lead in pursuit of answers to the many questions circulating around this story. Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to our investigative team at research@fitsnews.com.
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THE FACEBOOK POST …
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jenn Wood is FITSNews’ incomparable research director. She’s also the producer of the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts and leading expert on all things Murdaugh/ South Carolina justice. A former private investigator with a criminal justice degree, evildoers beware, Jenn Wood is far from your average journalist! A deep dive researcher with a passion for truth and a heart for victims, this mom of two is pretty much a superhero in FITSNews country. Did we mention she’s married to a rocket scientist? (Lucky guy!) Got a story idea or a tip for Jenn? Email her at jenn@fitsnews.com.
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5 comments
Its strange after so many thing he says “I hated it” “I didnt want to do it” like so many she enjoyed and loved doing it was stuff he says he disliked. May she rest in peace. I pray whatever happened is fully investigate.
Amazing that anyone would still be attending his church. Is clear that Mica’s death was a suicide but all of the salacious details which appear to be fact based would be enough to kill many churches, particularly “cult of personality” churches like “(not so) Solid Rock”. Like many of the churches, (not so) Solid Rock is non-denominational. Miller’s Father was ordained Methodist but it appears he chose to move to non-denominational to get out from under the scrutiny of the conference bishop. Dad would best be described as an evangelical, not a “Baptist” as Mandy Matney has claimed. The elder Miller used the name “Cathedral Baptist Church” for his original organization in Myrtle Beach (’95ish) but it was not affiliated with the SBC in any way. J.P. Miller fits in the same mold.
These types of churches often establish “elders councils” within the church in an effort to establish accountability (or at least the appearance of it). That also appears to have happened in the elder Miller’s organization with the same non effects. To see the level of (non) accountability, check out one of the former associate pastors, Bernard Kenerson. Mr. Kenerson is a registered sex offender and was listed as a pastor/leader until then spot light focused on the (not so) Solid Rock Church.
Mica killed herself, J.P.Miller has culpability as the DiQ, but Mica killed herself.
He is a phony beyond comparison. Sickeningly slick and completely smarmy.
Another example of good people falling under the spell of a leader with a tilted moral compass and a questionable past.
Whether he is criminally liable in anything or not this guy is a complete and total scumbag. Guys like him do untold damage to the Christian community the longer they stay relevant.