It’s rare for anything to be truly surprising at this stage.
Sergio Guardia, who was formerly a pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, has been convicted of none other than stalking a former church member.
As the Daily Mail noted, 49-year-old Guardia was convicted for burglary and stalking Marie Columna, who was a member of the church, originally founded by Jerry Falwell.
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Back in 2016, Columna reported Guardia’s strange behavior, which she says began following her separation and divorce.
“At times, I would pull up to my house, and he was already on my steps. It felt like there was no way of getting from him,” Columna says.
While years had gone by without direct contact between the two, Guardia did the unthinkable. Columna says Guardia’s intrusion on her life finally escalated when he broke into her home in 2023 while she was gone, which she discovered from her home’s security camera footage.
“I was out of state with my children visiting a friend, and I got a notification on my phone that a person was in my house…every light was off, and he was using the flashlight on his phone. It was very clear that he knew exactly where he was,” Columna says.
This disturbing incident is a sobering reminder of the need for vigilance and discernment within the body of Christ. The tragic betrayal of trust reveals how easily we can be deceive if we are not spiritually alert. Yet, even in the face of such failures, we must not lose heart. Instead, let this be a call to genuine faith—a faith that pursues holiness, accountability and unwavering devotion to the true Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
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Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
