Buying cocaine, preaching Jesus: How the 'Undercover Pastor' kept faith in Christ despite darkness, temptation
For over 20 years, Dale Sutherland ministered to youth in Washington, D.C., while leading a double life that led to various brushes with death.
As an undercover narcotics officer during the height of the crack cocaine wars in the 1980s and early '90s, he would sometimes pose as a pimp, a drug buyer or someone involved in plotting murder.
"It was crazy in the sense that I would be telling kids what not to do while at church, and then in the evening, I would be out there in these clubs," Sutherland told The Christian Post.
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"I didn't always work at clubs, but sometimes we did, and there was always alcohol around. And certainly, I also worked a lot of prostitution. I even worked undercover as a pimp for a while."
Having since retired from the police force, Sutherland now serves as a pastor at the CityLight Church in Falls Church, Virginia. He is also dedicated to trying to ease the tensions between police and civilians through his nonprofit, Code 3 Association. He recently launched a new partnership with God Behind Bars to provide hundreds of thousands of prisoners access to his ministry through iPads.
While not many youth pastors are also narcotics officers, Sutherland felt the job was something he needed to do.
While attending Washington Bible College in Maryland, Sutherland felt called to minister to urban youth in the nation's capital, not because of a similar background but because of a genuine desire to serve. His original plan was to work as a police officer for two years to learn more about life on the street, thinking this would better equip him to minister to urban youth.
"The calling thing is always a funny thing," Sutherland said. "I can't say that I ever had, you know, a dream or a moment or something like that where I said, 'This is what I have to do.'"
"But I tried to follow the Lord closely, ask for his direction, and follow what the Lord wanted me to do. But I would say the clarity was around the idea that I really thought I was needed working in the city."
Once he joined the D.C. Police, Sutherland loved the job. He spent 20 years as an officer before retiring in 2013. In 2001, Sutherland began his career as a youth pastor with McLean Bible Church in Virginia, later assuming the role of lead pastor and director of outreach.
"I always did multiple jobs at the same time," he said, laughing.
Four months into his police job, Sutherland was transferred into the vice unit to assist. He did his first undercover buy in August 1988. He recalled the extent of his training for conducting a drug bust consisted of a senior officer instructing him, "Walk in and buy drugs."
While the pastor maintained his faith in God despite crossing into such a sinful world, Sutherland said the work was sometimes spiritually challenging because he witnessed many horrifying things during undercover cases.
During one undercover operation, Sutherland once pretended he was looking to hire a hitman. While planning the murder with two other people, a man and a woman who didn't know Sutherland was a cop suggested cutting off the head of the intended victim.
Sutherland had many close calls where he almost lost his life. In 1992, the officer grew close with a young informant who approached law enforcement after some criminals killed his uncle. Sutherland became friends with the young man, who was only in his 20s, building a relationship by talking and praying with him.
The plan was for the informant to introduce Sutherland to the criminals as a buyer, but the situation took a tragic turn.
"We were supposed to buy two ounces of crack, but we were late; otherwise, they would have been there waiting for us," the former officer explained. "Had we been on time, they would have killed both of us."
After arriving 45 minutes late, the informant stepped out of the car he arrived in with Sutherland to meet with the criminals in another vehicle. The men in the opposite car shot the informant dead.
"And it was tough that day because, you know, you're with the guy, and then I'm up at the hospital looking at his body, and I can remember bullet holes from his neck down to his ankles," Sutherland said.
But despite the darkness, Sutherland never lost faith in God.
"I realized how final this life is," he continued, "and Christ really is the only answer because we have no guarantees of what's going to happen tomorrow or even later today."
Confronted with violence and death, the pastor stated that the Lord was still gracious, even when he became immersed in a world that did not adhere to Christian values. If anything, Sutherland's faith was strengthened, and he meditated on God's word daily during this period of his life.
"Walking with the Lord, talking to him along the way, and keeping Godly counsel by going to church, you know, all those things really kept me focused on God," Sutherland said. "But it was challenging. Definitely. And I'm just as rotten as anybody else, so I certainly was tempted by the things of the world."
In February, the pastor started a podcast titled "Cops, Criminals, and Christ" to highlight the power of faith in the world of law enforcement and crime.
Through his other ministry, The Undercover Pastor, Sutherland produces podcasts, weekly blog posts and other content intended to bring people closer to the Lord.
He has also partnered with God Behind Bars to help prison inmates access the ministry. While the partnership between the two organizations is new, Sutherland said they have seen at least 300 inmates come into the faith within the first month.
"In my police career, I used to lock people up, but now, in my ministry career, we're setting people free," the pastor said.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
