An Ohio pastor has been arrested for assaulting his daughter and his wife. His family has claimed has a mental health condition. Previously, Josh Lough has blamed husbands when their wives are cranky and combative. He served as the senior pastor of Grace Bible Church, a non-denominational church in Canal Winchester. On Dec. 8 he allegedly assaulted his wife of 20 years and one of his daughters in an incident at his home.
Since the incident, the embattled senior pastor has been removed from the church’s website. Grace Bible Church has not responded to calls for a comment. At around 1 p.m. local time on Dec. 8, Police reportedly responded to a domestic violence call at the pastor’s residence. Officers “heard screaming inside the house.” The officer who entered the home reported that he witnessed Lough “running down the stairs.”
When the authorities asked him to step out of his home and explain what was going on, Josh Lough revealed to police that he argued with his wife. He insisted that she struggles with her mental health. Deputy Martin wrote out a description of the event in an affidavit of probable cause. “Joshua stated that his wife has a mental issue and that’s why they were arguing,” he said.
“[The Officer] asked Joshua if anything physical happened tonight during the incident. Joshua said that he didn’t hit anyone, they just grabbed each other,” according to Deputy Martin. The Loughs have two daughters and a son, according to the church’s website. One of the daughters, who is identified as TL, told police that she was the one who called for help.
She reported that she didn’t witness how the fight between her parents started because she was in the basement of the home. However, she said, “she heard a loud bang on the ground upstairs.” TL explained how when she went to investigate what was happening and saw her father grabbing her mother. The pastor’s daughter said she slapped him so he would release his wife.
TL said when her father slapped her back, she phoned the police. According to police, the Pastor’s wife alleges that he hit her, Visible marks were left on the bodies of both the wife and daughter. Josh Lough was released on his recognizance after being booked. He is scheduled to appear in court in early 2025. Last year, Lough preached on marriage.
In a sermon delivered on Mother’s Day, the Moody Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary graduate explained that preached that husbands are often responsible when their wives aren’t behaving the way they would like. “Oftentimes, husbands complain, ‘You know, my wife, she’s critical. She’s cranky, always pointing out my faults, always upset about something, rarely reads the Word.‘ Well, whose fault is that?” he questioned.
“When we criticize our wives and say, ‘I don’t like the way that she is, her spiritual condition is not good,‘ we’re criticizing ourselves,” Lough stated. “Because we are responsible for the spiritual condition of our wives in the same way that parents are responsible for the spiritual condition of their children, and in the same way that the pastors and elders are responsible for the spiritual condition of their church. So, men are responsible for the spiritual condition of their wives.”