More of that “Christian love” – The anti-gay pastor of an anti-gay Baptist church in Alabama has been arrested after confessing to his congregation that he sexually abused underage boys.

John Martin, the lead pastor of the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Florence, Alabama, was arrested on four counts of child sex abuse earlier this week.

Newsweek reports:

An anti-gay preacher has been arrested after confessing to his congregation that he had a sexual relationship with a young boy. John Thomas Martin, lead pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Florence, Alabama, broke down in the pulpit while telling stunned churchgoers about his “affair” with an underage male. He admitted to abusing the boy on multiple occasions, both at his home and on trips. Martin also reportedly said he sent explicit text messages.

The child abusing pedophile has been preaching about the evils of homosexuality since 2010. However, after his confession and arrest he resigned his position as the lead pastor of the Lighthouse Baptist Church.

Reports indicate members of Pastor Martin’s congregation called the police and informed the authorities about Martin’s nefarious activities. Newsweek reports:

A church representative contacted the Department of Human Resources and said that on June 23 Martin told the congregation he had “disgraced his family name because he had sex with two boys.”

According to local news station WAFF48, the 41-year-old pastor called the sexual abuse of a child an “affair.”

Before being arrested, Pastor Martin checked himself into a psychiatric unit and turned over two guns.

More on the story from The Daily News:

Pastor Martin abused at least one underage boy several times, at his home and on a road trip, and he also sent the boy explicit text messages, court records reveal. Angie Hamilton, an assistant district attorney in Lauderdale County, said more victims could be involved. “We have identified several potential victims,” she told AL.com. “We believe other charges are forthcoming.”

According to their website, the Lighthouse Baptist Church believes that marriage is “between a man and a woman” and that “intimate sexual activity” that happens outside of a marriage is a sin.

It goes on to say: “We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.”

In addition, the church believes that “God disapproves of and forbids divorce,” and maintains a radical anti-abortion position:

We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest…or the physical or mental well being of the mother are acceptable.

The following statement from a FAQ on the church website clearly states the church policy of intolerance, bigotry, and hatred:

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance.

Is it any surprise that a hypocrite and a pedophile like Pastor Martin would find a home surrounded by such hateful and deplorable people? One wonders, if the Pastor was sexually abusing underage girls, would the church members have reported the crime to the police?

Pastor Martin is currently being held in the Lauderdale County jail with $60,000 bail. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.

Bottom line: After confessing to sexually assaulting underage boys, anti-gay Alabama Pastor John Martin has been jailed on child sex abuse charges.

And so it goes.