The Washington-area megachurch led by best-selling author David Platt has affirmed three new eldersbut only after a public tussle over politics, race, and alleged liberal drift, plus a lawsuit filed by dissenters. Sal Cordova (church member &. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Church members were required to show identification, and ballots were labeled with members names. (RNS) A yearlong legal battle over a contested election at a prominent Washington, D.C.-area church appears to be over for now. McLean Bible Church refuses to conduct meeting according to any established rules of order. Those dissident members argued that church leaders, including senior pastor David Platt, a best-selling author, had violated the churchs constitution. in our church) who have criticized him for acknowledging the hurt his decision caused, and who have even had the calloused audacity to malign those who are hurt, your brash insensitivity is the reason why so many minority and marginalized people struggle to be a part of Evangelical churches. Attendance began to decrease significantly after the first class as attendees realized the Woke content. RELATED: Southern Baptist mission board to cut 800 positions, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, Platt said during the prayer, quoting the biblical Book of Proverbs with his arm around Trumps back. You've read 0 of 5 of todays most popular posts. We're teaching everything that the Bible teaches. McClean Bible Church is or . The stated purpose of the church is "that people far from God will be raised to life in Christ . Further, much CRT terminology continues to be used at MBC, the concerned leaders told Platt. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. . Some older evangelicals see it as sort of a coup.. They have several campuses. Life of Christ dramatization The Thorn comes to big screens March 67, New book outlines importance of every Christian knowing theology, Southcrest Baptist in Bessemer hosting Holy Destiny on March 3, Start a new subscription at the group rate. Frazer said the confusion over McLeans relationship with the SBC and the election controversy reflect a bigger problem with the church. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. The document says that Platt says one thing about Critical Race Theory but clearly does another. Platt, a bestselling author and speaker, recounted the churchs history in a sermon in the summer of 2019, about a year after he succeeded Solomon as pastor, in whichhe asked: What if our best days as a church are ahead of us, not behind us?. NO POPUPS. Of course, not. Church leaders say the current round of conflict predates Platts pastorate. In that election, the elders were approved, which led dissident members to file a suit. INSKEEP: Is that part of what seemed to get him in trouble with at least a portion of the congregation? To some observers, McLeans conflict seems like a replay of other recent episodes from American evangelicalism, where leaders who appeal to Scripture to address social issues are accused of theological liberalism or secular influence even if they continue to hold traditional Christian views. Following the first failed election, a second election was held in early July 2021, this one where members had to sign their ballots which critics said violated the church practice of using secret ballots. This year, the church had an election of three church elders, which would normally be a sleepy affair. Dr. James White dissected David Platts errors in a podcast examining that T4G sermon. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. This fact was pointed out to the current McLean Elders in a document that warned against the syncretism currently shaping Platts approach to social justice. If youre the Red Cross, thats problematic. Frazer, who is not a plaintiff, said the lawsuit and controversy at the church were unfortunate and that he hated to see the churchs dirty laundry aired in public. The Saturday evening service fills one of the smaller sanctuaries at McLean Bible Church's new $90 million complex, which officially opens this weekend on 52 acres near Tysons Corner.At a Sunday . Solomon pastored the church from 1980 until becoming pastor emeritus in September 2017. Join us to see why God's family is no ordinary family. McLean Bible Church, the multisite megachurch in McLean, Virginia near Washington, D.C. where David Platt pastors, confirmed three new elders Sunday in a revote where members labeled their ballots with their names. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Because of its proximity to Washington, D.C., many government officials, Capitol Hill staffers, and thought leaders are members. When qualified elders do not oversee the hiring of pastoral staff, we endanger the flock to the possibility of those who bring wrong assumptions/beliefs on critical issues to our congregation and pulpit, the five leaders warned. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. And the elder vote was the occasion to speak that. Platts teaching explains that some people (no doubt an oppressed racial group) can better see sin than those people part of a larger group of people guilty of racism.. A follow-up election held this past Sunday was held under new rules. From 1980-2017, I had the honor of serving as the Senior Pastor of McLean Bible Church (MBC) in McLean, VA., in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Kelsey is now Pastor of Culture at McLean. Video screengrab via MBC. Solomon signed the Dallas Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel. College Park Church in Indianapolis was accused in a blog post this spring of caving to ever-increasing social justice infiltration. Dallas pastor Matt Chandler and former SBC president J. D. Greear both have been accused of being woke, and the SBCs emerging Conservative Baptist Network (CBN) has charged some convention leaders with advocating critical race theory and downplaying the Bibles sufficiency. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The podcast is two hours on the use of Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality at the MLK50 Conference and the T4G Conference sermon by David Platt. The letter describes McLean as a partner with the SBC but not affiliated denominationally with the SBC.. Back at McLean, Platt and his fellow elders are urging the church in that direction. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. He is pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Saraland, Ala., and he also writes for Christianity Today, which is how he came to report on McLean Bible Church. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin). Greear and Texas megachurch pastor Matt Chandler, have been outspoken about racism and social justice issues, saying that the Bible teaches them to address those issues. Also, Sadly, within evangelicalism, and the MBC pulpit, we see the following principle at work: the presence of preaching/teaching based on the wrong assumptions, resulting in wrong conclusions, thereby leading to the wrong solutions. degree in chemistry (1971) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Th.M. According to Dr. Baucham in his book Fault Lines, David Platt, then head of the Southern Baptist Conventions International Mission Board, delivered a message from Amos 5, then repented in tears for his white privilege, silence, and inaction. We heard about people driving in from Florida to Maine. A dispute over critical race theory which describes how systemic racism affects society was one of the major topics of discussion at the recent SBC annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. Doing that in a large church is difficult, Barber said, as McLean is discovering. We urge you to sign upto receive our FREE need to read articles. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. From 2014 to 2017, Platt was president of the International Mission Board. That language has no place whatsoever here. Specifically, Platts course reveals his assumption that disparity is proof of racist systems. Plaintiffs hope that a court will declare Sundays election void and require the church to hold a new election. Lon Solomon is American evangelical Christian pastor and the founder of Lon Solomon Ministries, a non-profit ministry.. CBN-backed candidate Mike Stone received 48 percent of the vote in last months SBC presidential election, finishing second to Alabama pastor Ed Litton. RELATED: David Platt interview: A summons to lose your life. RELATED: David Platts dreams for McLean Bible Church sour as members file lawsuit over elder vote. Controversy at McLean Bible Church boils over as members file lawsuit over elder vote. The bullseye of the controversy is pastor and best-selling author David Platt, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board. David Roach has been following this. Frazer also believes church leaders disqualified people who they thought would vote the wrong way. Since the ballots included church member names, he said, leaders would know how church staff and other members voted, opening them up to retaliation. The conflict at McLean Bible Church is significant not only because of the congregations size and influencewith several thousand attendees and a prominent place in the DC church landscapebut also because the incident marks the latest salvo in an ongoing clash within American evangelicalism. with Max McLean: C.S. According to former members and staff, these former elders have left MBC for what reasons, no one will say: Jim Battle, Mark Gotlieb, Craig Proulx, Jimmy Mitchell, John Baber, and Lon Solomon. The July 18 vote has been surrounded by controversy, with some decrying what they saw as creeping liberalism within the church's . The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Platt taught the course to about 1,000 church members. The Evangelical Church Is Breaking Apart. The entire Sunday, July 4, 2021, sermon was filled with David Platts performative outrage. We want MBC to be a place where people with all kinds of convictions on matters of conscience can thrive, the Q&A stated. Less than 25 percent of members were part of the vote Wednesday night, Platt said. (He recently preached one funeral in the building.) The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Under Solomon, the congregation had been known as a holy destination for GOP senators and Bush aides. Tensions ramped up the past two years amid political turmoil in the DC area and nationwide. In recent years, Platt, like other high-profile evangelical pastors, including former SBC President J.D. ROACH: Thank you, Steve. Hannaford advises pastors not to make changes too quickly and recommends cooperation from both sides, allowing believers to differ on secondary doctrinal and ethical issues. Those inclined toward CSJ found it inspiring. But there were some who were concerned about the direction of the church, and they made that elder election an occasion to speak out against the leadership and direction generally. COVID-19 also played a role. We have to address conflict intentionally and face to face, Hannaford said. Attendance is down about 40-percent year-over-year. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. However, the church continues to promote and use secular sociology books that promote CRT. So here I am, piecing together a years-long scandal for you. There has been a lot of confusion and misinformation about the whole process, and there many who are troubled by this development. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. Critics say the Virginia church's leadership has . There is some resistance from what some would consider the old guard in evangelical circles to younger guys accused of being soft on doctrine in an effort to reach a more diverse audience, Hannaford said. Platt later posted a letter on the churchs website, since removed, and on social media, saying that his decision to pray for the president had angered some church members. The constitution of the church requires a 75% threshold. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Nope. Because of the nature of a lawsuit, unfortunately, we cannot provide any further comment at this time, the elders said in a statement. Thanks so much. The conservative voice and Christian content are being silenced more and more. But a series of controversies and the countrys growing political polarization have turned Platts dream into a nightmare. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Thus, McLean is spending about $4 million less in 2021 than in 2019. Many former elders have left McLean Bible Church since David Platts takeover of the church. Rick Boyer, attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said his clients plan to appeal. Platt and his family are members of the Washington, D.C., area church, where Platt also serves as elder. INSKEEP: Given that, what makes this story feel like it has a larger significance in your mind? In fact, Platt's sloppy moral reasoning was one point of controversy in a letter to leadership from five long-standing members of . Is this David Platts Stop the Steal moment? Explanation Videos. So wherever possible, we want to work together to move forward together on mission even with our different perspectives.. If you *really* care about gospel unity, racial reconciliation, and the least of these, do better.. On June 30, 2021, McLean Bible Church (MBC) in Vienna, Virginia, held a members meeting to affirm three new elders via vote.MBC is pastored by former Southern Baptist's International Mission Board (IMB) president and bestselling author David Platt. THE EARLY YEARS McLean Bible Church was founded in 1961 by five families in Northern Virginia. Until a chance encounter with my moms old Bible opened my eyes. That follows the 2020 budget being about $1.5 million below the 2019 budget, according to a member of McLean Bible Church. This past spring, hoping to resolve the dispute, McLean leaders decided to discard the results of the July 2021 elder election. Lon Solomon made one statement in opposition to the Social Justice heresy. For instance, that they would sell the Tysons location and use it to build a mosque. For Ravi Zacharias, it was the fact that he was having a sexting affair.For Mark Driscoll's latest shenanigans, it was Mars Hill, and before that falling out there were several ignored reports about his leadership.James MacDonald is remarkably similar to Mark Driscoll, with his fall from Harvest Bible Church in . Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Thousands have fled the church since it was taken over by David Platt. McLean Bible Church (MBC) was started in the Metro Washington, DC area in 1961 as a non-denominational church. Assume this is true for a moment, wouldnt that make someone pause and ask what is going on here? Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Just like the Democrats blame racists, so too David Platt. Who knew two nonverbal rocks had so much to say? I want you to listen closely to the words I am about to say, he said in his sermon the following Sunday. There were not enough provisional ballots to change the outcome, according to an email from church leaders. Similar to Naples, McLean Bible Church recently held a vote to confirm three elders the first vote failed. Chuck Hannaford, a Memphis clinical psychologist who has helped churches mediate conflicts for 30 years, said McLeans troubles are the latest iteration of a broader conflict between younger Reformed Christians and older generations of white evangelicals. Further he made the absolute statement that nobody on MBC staff supports Black Lives Matter. What opponents claim as being Platts liberal or woke politics, supporters see as the 42-year-old preachers commitment to Christ above all. It was an exercise in eisegesis (p. 121). And rather than try to adjudicate the provisional ballots, they decided the best thing to do would be just to have another vote. Attendance at the church was steady for most of the early period of the COVID pandemic; however, following the racism class and David Platts book on the voting, attendance began a precipitous decline. ROACH: On June the 30, McLean Bible Church was to have an election to elect three new elders. On Friday, a Fairfax County . Some may wonder what Lon Solomon thinks about the heretical social justice teachings. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. | YouTube/McLean Bible Church Growing tensions between disgruntled longtime members of McLean Bible Church in Virginia and the "liberal" direction they allege their Lead Pastor David Platt has been taking the congregation erupted in a lawsuit over a recently held controversial election of new elders some fear . We're glad you're here! Almost all of the questions we have heard are less about Gods Word and more about what this blog or that Facebook post says, Platt said. Both moves raised questions for some members. Wade Burnett, a pastor on McLeans leadership team, said the congregation decided to move forward together in a difficult time. I hesitated to share it because I know it is so ugly and painful to hear but I want to point out the approach being used by people giving leadership to this group in these meetings.. (RNS) A yearlong legal battle over a contested election at a prominent Washington, D.C.-area church appears to be over for now. NO VIDEOS! They gave out some provisional ballots. David Platt, pastor of McLean Bible Church near Washington, D.C., and founder of Radical, a resource ministry that serves churches, preaches during the second session of the two-day 2019 Pastors' Conference held June 9-10 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. INSKEEP: David Roach is pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Saraland, Ala., and also writes for Christianity Today. Strange events are afoot at McLean Bible Church, a multisite megachurch in Washington D.C. pastored by David Platt. Any church member on McLeans inactive list was given a provisional ballot. But its pastor says a group . Often times with disgraced megachurch pastors, there were several warning signs. We have walked through tumultuous days over the last year in the world, surfacing many challenges in our lives, families, our country, the world, and the church, Platt told CT. We all need Gods grace to love one another well and to live for the spread of his love in a world that desperately needs what only he can give. God give him wisdom.. A beloved Bible teacher and speaker, Platt inspired younger Christians to pursue missions work or other ministries. Are the budget cuts and declining attendance a message that Platts Social Justice Theology is unpopular with churchgoers? 12,882 were here. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit echo Frazers concerns, saying that the ballots used by the church violated McLeans constitution. We glorify God by making disciples and multiplying churches among all nations beginning in greater. It's great to be with you. It's little outside of Washington, D.C., in Virginia. . Earlier this year, McLean Bible Church released a draft for a discipleship resource designed for church members and leaders which is basically a baptized version of Critical Race Theory which obfuscates the issues of racism and individual sin.. McLean Bible which is seen as a conservative evangelical congregation and once had more than 16,000 attendees has long been an important church in Washington with four locations near the city. Why does church leadership refuse to answer question. He - I've heard him preach on abortion and religious liberty and traditional marriage. View article . However, Solomon cannot state his opinions publicly because of a separation agreement he signed with the church. A small group of people, inside and outside this church, coordinated a divisive effort to use disinformation in order to persuade others to vote these men down as part of a broader effort to take control of this church., Pastor David Platt preaches at McLean Bible Church, July 18, 2021, in Vienna, Virginia. It took repeated requests from a few conservative Elders to take down Facebook photos of staff holding BLM signs. [ This article is also available in It never goes away on its own.. Barber pointed out that voting is usually donein a public way, by voice vote or raising hands, so theres no historic expectation of privacy, but using a ballot with a church members name on it, especially for a leadership role, would be unprecedented, in his experience. All rights reserved. The Washington-area megachurch led by best-selling author David Platt has affirmed three new eldersbut only after a public tussle over politics, race, and alleged liberal drift, plus a lawsuit . No Celebrities Except Jesus: How Asbury Protected the Revival, After Pushing for UMC Unity, Former Bishop Joins New Denomination, The Kings College Faces Threat of Closure, Southern Baptist Convention Disfellowships Saddleback Church, left the presidency of the SBCs International Mission Board, With Gossip of the Gospel, the Church Grows in Nepal. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. It is a mega church in the DC area with 5 locations and claims an attendance of 13,000 each weekend. According to the McLean Bible Church budget for 2021, $291,719 more is slated for Senior Managementmaking that line item in the budget total $1,121,967. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. McLean Bible, seen as a conservative evangelical congregation that once had more than 16,000 attendees, has long been an important church in the Washington, D.C., area. Sign up for our newsletter: Welcome to the Arlington location of McLean Bible Church. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. This internal document was a response to Platts promotion of The Gospel, the Church, Justice and Racism whitepaper. That is not acceptable for the Body of Jesus Christ. While Platt raised concerns that the opposing group deceived members at the Tysons location into voting against the new elders, a lawsuit filed July 15 alleges that church leaders at McLean illegally barred some of their opponents from voting in the follow-up elder election. That comes with attendance issues and budget cuts. Yet, even before this course, some noticed David Platts trajectory away from the Bible and into the Woke error. These leaders were also worried about Mike Kelseys promotion of the Black Lives Matter movement on social media. McLean stated in a Q&A on its website that Kelseys son held a poster that read, Black Lives Matter to God.. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. The church in question is a prominent one, McLean Bible Church, where many Washington Republicans worship. Accuracy and availability may vary. Frazer said the confusion over McLean's relationship with the SBC and the election controversy reflect a bigger problem with the church. He was senior pastor at the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, from 2006 to 2014. Wait. He ranted, To those of you (esp. The letter warned, Thabiti Anyabwile, despite promoting progressive talking points at the expense of Christian truth, dividing the body of Christ across racial lines, and promoting the political agenda of Black Liberation Theology, has been used to train the MBC staff and played a prominent role within MBC church life.. Platt took a shot at blogs and social media. But at the same time, he wants to say that there is not one voting requirement for being a follower of Jesus Christ. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. espaol. Yes, the typical political ploy used by Democrats in every election cycle has now entered Evangelical megachurches. At that time, the vote was too close to confirm the new elders because the Church's constitution states it must have at least a 75-percent . The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". And the candidate backed by the Conservative Baptist Network at the most recent SBC annual meeting got 48% percent of the vote. According to course documents provided to the Capstone Report, Injustice like we see in Scripture is evident in and around us today. However, Platts course provides no proof of this assertion but launches into the typical CRT-inspired list of supposed American wrongs including things like discrimination, persecution, prejudicial creation and execution of laws, crises of excessive crime and incarceration, corruption in leaders, suppression of the marginalized, and oppression of the poor.. And so I think I simply put into words what many people were already sensing.. David Platt, who has been aligning himself and his church closer and closer to the Revoice "gay Christianity" movement over the last year or so, has been making headlines as he continues to partner . She added that she is not familiar with the specific policies and procedures at McLean. In June 2019, then-President Donald Trump showed up at a worship service and Platt prayed for him from the stage, an action that drew criticism from some in the church. Lewis famously said, "Christianity, if . This is a breach of contract action seeking to remedy Defendants illegal actions to deny Plaintiffs their rights to cast a free and fair vote, to have those votes lawfully counted, and to enjoy their right to a secret ballot, according to the complaint. A series of controversies and the country's growing political polarization have caused a rift at McLean Bible Church, where former International Mission Board president and author David Platt is pastor. The group has also reportedly filed other complaints . ''differentattitude.' ''''Now,'friends,'that's'true'of'you'and'me'as'well.''Itdoesn'thave'to' ''be'this'way'for'us.' And it would appear that the vast majority of the church sided with Platt and the other leaders by their support of those elders. Platt said in his July 4 sermon that people told voting members, in person and by email, that the elders up for nomination would have sold the churchs Tysons location to build a mosque, with proceeds going to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. July 20, 2021. June 27, 2022. Platt doubles down on his Woke Social Justice agenda. But a spokesman for the SBC, while saying "McLean Bible Church, like all Southern Baptist churches, is an independent and autonomous local church," confirmed that McLean is considered an SBC church. Platt, the author of Radical, is known for his passionate call to evangelism, missions, and Scripture. Some church members who had been attending online, rather than in person, claimed their ballots had been disqualified.