Over the past two years, Bishop Dwight Reed has been under attack after marrying his bride, Jordan Goodlett at 19.
Recently, a resurfaced clip from 2022 of the pastor threatening from the pulpit those who are against his union has gone viral, leaving many people outraged and claiming that the pastor of the Christ Apostolic Temple and onetime dean of the Des Moines, Iowa, church’s associated JW Reed Academy is a groomer.
Reed, who is now 65, is heard saying that he and those positioned as his armor bearers are “packing,” implying they are carrying guns.
“I wish some of y’all would mess with my wife Jordan,” he said from the lectern. “Talk about what you going to do if you see her. Well, you will see me on the news, let me just tell you that right now. [Talking about] what you going to do if you see her. … You better walk by and say, ‘Praise the Lord.’ That’s what you better do.”
The bishop then pronounced, “That’s my wife. She grown. She didn’t need nobody to sign no paperwork for her. Now, if this was not in the streets. I’ll be saying she made a come-up … but you a hypocrite.”
After referencing scripture and saying that the two of them sleep well at night, he claimed that he was not “worrying about all these crooks” because he is prepared to go to war for Jordan’s honor.
“I’m telling you now, don’t let the devil fool you because I ain’t the one to play [with]. When I get on the other side [of] here … [I] wish you would.”
The clip ends with him saying, “Please don’t come over here, because everybody in here packing over here. Please don’t come over here showing out. I’m asking you nicely as I know how.”
The legal of consent in the state of Des Moines is 16. But The Neighborhood Talk posted the clip for its followers to view on May 24, and shortly after thousands flooded their comment section, mostly blasting the pastor for taking such a young wife.
“Marriage is honorable but this is grooming! Sir, you are old enough to be her grandfather! This isn’t partnership this is parenting!” one comment read.
A second commentator wrote, “I wish they stop saying 18 is grown anything with TEEN behind it is not grown.”
Another observer in the comment section pondered, “Now pastor how long you been watching this baby?”
Pastor Dwight Reed, 63, defends his marriage to his 19-year-old wife.
— Evoclique (@Evoclique_) May 25, 2024
He went on to quote scripture praising the value of marriage while insisting he and his wife have no problem with their actions.
“And we sleep well at night! Ain’t nobody up all night worried about these… pic.twitter.com/VHNHAtlsI7
The comment section under the Church’s Instagram page have since been limited to the outrage online.
According a Change.org petition by Safehouse #Unmuzzled, “Upon information and belief Beginning in 2017 Reed returned to take over as pastor of Christ Apostolic Temple and as dean of it’s school. The girl would have been 15-16 years old at this time. Upon information and belief it is through his role as pastor, school dean, and counselor that he gained an in road to Jordan and began grooming her to later be brought into his service and control.”
The organization alleges that Reed was the pastor of a church in Shreveport, Louisiana, and was accused of having “unethical relationships with young girls” in his sphere of influence. Safehouse would later say that Reed had “inappropriate sexualized contact and communication” with a child between 12-15, but also notes that this was “unsubstantiated.”
Reed has fought back against those he says are slandering him, specifically another pastor named Demetrius Sinegal, the CEO and senior pastor for The Kingdom Church and the Safehouse #UnMuzzled not-for-profit in Missouri City, Texas.
In a civil lawsuit, filed in the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Reed and his 43-year younger wife allege that after they were married in November 2021. Sinegal began spearheading an effort to smear Bishop Reed, his young wife and the Temple over the purported inappropriate nature of Bishop Reed and Mrs. Reed’s marriage.”
The Texas preacher is also accused of claiming the temple is a “cult,” and that Reed is a “shepard (sic) that has starved his flock to feed himself,” and says at one time Sinegal compared Reed to the convicted sex offender R. Kelly.
The clergyman says Sinegal used “Facebook posts, YouTube programs, podcasts, and a social media hosting site called Clubhouse” to spread lies about his marriage.
It also said the organization alleged Jordan was raised in the church with her parents and that alleges that they have benefitted from her relationship to the pastor, including the financing her family’s GG’s Chicken and Waffles in exchange for the teen’s hand in marriage.
After being served the lawsuit, Sinegal and his organization also published a detailed report, citing 13 witnesses that claimed that Reed had an inappropriate relationship with Jordan before the two were married.
On Dec. 28, 2022, the courts ruled in favor of Christ Apostolic Temple Inc., Dwight Reed, and Jordan Reed and moved the defamation case against Safehouse #Unmuzzled, The Kingdom Church, and Demetrius Sinegal from federal court to state court. By February 2023 Sinegal would file a defamation countersuit against Reed, alleging the bishop committed “tortious interference with prospective economic advantages,” and falsely accused Sinegal of being gay and an adulterer.
Before marrying Jordan, Reed had married and divorced three other women. They celebrated their second anniversary last November and welcomed a son, Jeremiah Reed ll, who appears to be 1.
