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BTK suspect's pastor will stand by him, 'whatever the outcome'

WICHITA, Kan. - The Rev. Michael Clark thought he knew Dennis Rader pretty well. Rader was the guy who lit the candles, fixed the sound system and seemed to spend almost as much time at church as the pastor did.

So it was almost too much for Clark when police said Rader is the BTK killer.

"I was dumbfounded, I was bewildered, I was shocked," the pastor said. "It's not possible. Not the Dennis that I know."

Clark now finds himself confronted with a task he was never trained for: How do you minister to the soul of a man you thought was a pillar of the community but now stands accused of 10 deaths?

Since Rader's arrest Feb. 25, Clark has been virtually the only person defending a man accused of the indefensible. The 400 members of his congregation, he said, face a critical juncture: They will either grow closer or divide over the horrific allegations.

Clark, 61, came to Wichita four years ago to lead Christ Lutheran Church and fast became familiar with Rader, a hard worker, husband, father of two, devoted volunteer. Rader had been active on the church council, elected by his peers to serve, and ascended to the board's presidency in January.

"I could always call on Dennis if I needed some help," Clark said.

And so the news from detectives was unbelievable.

The experience has been so wrenching that Clark wept when he met with his therapist three days after the arrest. "We're in a dark valley right now," he said.

Over the past week, he has given numerous interviews, ministered to his flock, including Rader's shocked wife, and prayed with a shackled Rader in jail.

"I do not have the privilege of assuming that he's guilty," Clark said. "I have to stand there with him and help him through this, whatever the outcome."

The pastor said he does not feel betrayed or deceived or hurt by Rader. As for the sins he is accused of, he said, "We all walk in sin."

As Clark tried to scrawl a sermon last weekend, he found his Bible turned to Matthew 28:20: "I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

"If Dennis has done what they've alleged he did, then he must pay the price. It still does not have any effect on how I minister to him," Clark said. "I still will love him."

[Last modified March 5, 2005, 00:42:15]