Former Illinois Megachurch Pastor ‘Likely’ Covered up Son’s Misconduct, Investigation Finds
Mike Baker’s son Caleb was formerly an associate pastor at the church.
An independent investigation has concluded that former Illinois megachurch leader Mike Baker likely misused his position as senior pastor to cover up sexual misconduct allegations against his son Caleb, a former associate pastor at the church.
The investigation found that Mike Baker “more likely than not” withheld information about a sexual relationship between Caleb and another staff member from other staff and church elders at Eastview Christian Church, which has two campuses, in Normal and Bloomington, Illinois. The report also found that Mike Baker did not fully disclose information about the allegations against his son with the Arizona church that hired him after he was fired from Eastview.
In February, Caleb Baker was fired from the Arizona church, Central Christian Church, where he had been lead student pastor and associate preaching pastor, for having an extramarital affair.
Mike Baker resigned from ECC shortly thereafter amid allegations that he had improperly handled the 2016 allegations against his son and had inappropriately overseen the church’s investigation into the matter.
Eastview leaders in March contracted third-party organization Wagenmaker and Oberly to investigate how the allegations against Caleb Baker were handled. The church had fired Caleb in 2016 for having an affair with another employee, but several women from Eastview later came forward accusing him of using his influential position to initiate inappropriate sexual relationships with them as well.
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Former Eastview staff member Christine Lee publicly shared a 16-page letter with church leaders in July 2022 saying Caleb Baker sexually harassed her in 2013 and 2014 and alleging cover-up attempts by church leaders, including Mike Baker.
Another staff member, Brooke Yarbrough, said she and the rest of the church thought Caleb Baker’s departure in 2016 was about him embracing a new role elsewhere, and that she only found out later about the allegations against him and “that this ‘send-off’ was a termination for sexual misconduct.”
Caleb Baker acknowledged in a statement that was part of the investigative report that he was not “as healthy of a person as I could’ve or should’ve been” during his three-year tenure at Eastview and that he is now “committed to pursuing health in all aspects of my life moving forward.”
According to an elder update on the church’s website, Eastview will host an all-church meeting June 7 where Kellye Story, the lead investigator, will discuss the report’s findings with the church and outline next steps in the restoration process.
“We will continue to lean into the Holy Spirit to grow our posture of repentance and humility, and we will continue to pray for healing and restoration,” the statement said.
Since leaving Eastview, Mike Baker has launched an online teaching ministry called Song and Sword. He also has a YouTube channel.
Main photo: Mike Baker / YouTube Screenshot via Song and Sword
