Over the past few years, Birmingham has been set on fire by Matt Pitt, a young youth pastor who’s experienced runaway success with his high octane, teen-oriented outreach, The Basement. Though not yet a household name, the Basement may be America’s most popular youth group, outgrowing every venue Pitt could find to accommodate it. Most recently, the Basement has been held in massive civic venues in downtown Birmingham.
But the fate of the Basement hangs in the balance following Pitt’s second arrest for impersonating a police officer. The details of the case are a little murky and very strange, but it involves Pitt pretending to be a cop, fleeing the police when they actually showed up, giving a lengthy and bizarre interview to local television stations and then fleeing arrest again, this time by jumping off a 45-foot cliff. He survived the fall, but police caught up with him, and he’s currently being held without bond. Thankfully, the Basement intends to continue on while the state sorts things out with Pitt (Basement staff are accusing Birmingham police of foul play) and the story is ongoing …
