Frank gives an insightful answer to this question and analyzes the recent controversy that started when members of a gym said a special workout in support of "Pride Week" was canceled by gym owners that led to an executive at CrossFit was fired for a tweet on his personal account. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The dispute at the church came to a head on June 30 at a congregational meeting held to approve three new elders to the small group that wields most of the authority at the church. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. He became pastor in 2018 after resigning from the IMB, where his tenure had been disappointing and included the loss of almost 1,000 missionaries to resignations and early retirement. You've read 0 of 5 of todays most popular posts. Church leaders say the current round of conflict predates Platts pastorate. Lon Solomon Ministries 8116 Arlington Blvd. A series of controversies and the countrys growing political polarization have caused a rift at McLean Bible Church, where former International Mission Board president and author David Platt is pastor. In fact, Platt's sloppy moral reasoning was one point of controversy in a letter to leadership from five long-standing members of . It's little outside of Washington, D.C., in Virginia. 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.. The Evangelical Church Is Breaking Apart. 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. Plaintiffs hope that a court will declare Sundays election void and require the church to hold a new election. 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.. It couldnt be that David Platts Woke rhetoric has driven about 40% of church members to attend church in other non-Woke evangelical churches in that part of Virginia! In that election, the elders were approved, which led dissident members to file a suit. I want you to listen closely to the words I am about to say, he said in his sermon the following Sunday. 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. T he election of the elders of an evangelical church is usually an uncontroversial, even unifying event . 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 . He presently works as a pastor-teacher at McLean Bible Church. Current McLean leaders have denied that the church is a member of the SBC and posted a letter from the SBCs Executive Committee to support that claim. Save McLean Bible Church. Often times with disgraced megachurch pastors, there were several warning signs. Bart Barber, a Texas Baptist pastor who is writing a book on congregational forms of church governance, said that church voting is aimed at finding consensus about what God wants the congregation to do. McLean Bible Church, originally nondenominational, is a recent member of the Southern Baptist Convention. . You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Saddleback Church doubles down on support for female pastors, Mormonisms slow shift away from demonizing working mothers, Faith leaders urge Biden to sign executive order for reparations study by Juneteenth, For many congregations, wiping out medical debt has become a popular calling, Woke Wars infiltrate Christian colleges, prof under fire for racial justice unit, Professor Joeckel on why his contract, teachings on racial justice are under review, Hamline University retracts Islamophobia charge as instructor sues, Vineyard USA founders widow, board members sue breakaway Anaheim pastors, alleging fraud. 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. The largely conservative northern Virginia church across the Potomac from Washington had . The best examples are the woke church movement, and the takeover of many seminaries by critical race theory. The dispute at McLean centered around a failed June 30, 2021, election. One of the churchs pastors expressed outrage over it. 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. The key problem here is a lack of transparency. The stated purpose of the church is "that people far from God will be raised to life in Christ . If you *really* care about gospel unity, racial reconciliation, and the least of these, do better.. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Solomon would forfeit his retirement package if he spoke out about the problems. degree in chemistry (1971) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Th.M. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The heart of the complaint really comes down to truth, transparency, and a free, open, and uncoerced process, plaintiffs attorney Rick Boyer told RNS. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. He also warned against letting tensions swell. In fact, in a sermon around the time of the November 2020 Presidential Election, Platt dared conservatives to leave the church over his welcoming of those supporting pro-abortion candidates, i.e. Copyright 2021 NPR. 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. Further he made the absolute statement that nobody on MBC staff supports Black Lives Matter. 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. Yet, even before this course, some noticed David Platts trajectory away from the Bible and into the Woke error. Opponents of McLeans current leadership wrote in a blog posted by the right-wing Capstone Report that Plattwho became pastor of the DC church full time in 2018was attempting to purge conservative members., Platt also described one email circulating that claimed MBC is no longer McLean Bible Church, that its now Melanin Bible Church., I know its so ugly and painful to even hear, but I want to point out the approach thats being used by people giving leadership to this group in these meetings, he told the congregation, calling the claims made about him and the incoming elders unquestionably untrue and in many cases completely unreasonable.. 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. Pastor David Platt preaches at McLean Bible Church, July 11, 2021, in Vienna, Virginia. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. (RNS) David Platt had a dream for the future of McLean Bible Church. Its first service was held on Easter Sunday at Chesterbook Elementary School in McLean with Pastor J. Albert Ford. David Platt is a famous US author and preacher. The church in question is a prominent one, McLean Bible Church, where many Washington Republicans worship. The churchs constitution describes it as an independent church that shall not, and cannot, be affiliated with any denomination. But in 2016, under Solomon, the church began to give money to SBC church planting programs and it has donated about $100,000 a year as a cooperating church. The church approved a 2021 budget slashing $2.5 million from what it budgeted in 2020. In a rant against causing division in the church, David Plattthe man responsible for dividing McLean Bible Church by teaching Critical Race Theoryclaimed a group of dissident conservatives were using disinformation to divide McLean Bible Church. 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. For instance, that they would sell the Tysons location and use it to build a mosque. It sits in what can only be described as one of America's Elite areas. Steven Furtick is the lead pastor of Elevation Church, based near Charlotte, North Carolina. Sign up for our newsletter: Doing that in a large church is difficult, Barber said, as McLean is discovering. David Platt asked the remaining Elders to approve the GCJR course curriculum as the main theological underpinning of all other teaching and worship activities at McLean Bible Church. Sal Cordova (church member &. 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. It took repeated requests from a few conservative Elders to take down Facebook photos of staff holding BLM signs. Pastor David Platt of McLean Bible Church said many of those within his congregation were 'hurt' with his decision to pray for President Donald Trump on stage during Sunday's service. Because of the mass exodus McLean cut spending. 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. 2-minute video satire of the present McLean Bible leadership through animating the graph above. 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. We are zealous in the present not to prolong or replicate in any way racial injustice from the past. Some reports indicate it is, while others indicate it isn't. . 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. [ This article is also available in Frazer said the confusion over McLean's relationship with the SBC and the election controversy reflect a bigger problem with the church. Once the first vote for the elders failed, Frazer believes that Platt and leaders should have stopped and listened to the congregations concerns. Members of David Platt's McLean Bible Church have filed a lawsuit against the church, claiming that leadership violated the church's constitution and used church dollars for controversial financial purchases. Let us know how we can help, and we'll direct your inquiry to the right person. We heard about people driving in from Florida to Maine. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. On Friday, a Fairfax County . 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.. On Friday, a Fairfax County, Virginia, judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by dissident members of McLean Bible Church who sought to overturn the results of an election for church leaders, known as elders. The suit is pending despite the announced vote outcome. (He recently preached one funeral in the building.) We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Copyright 2020, Religion News Service. The church has now grown to a weekly attendance over 27,000 (as of 2019). The plaintiffs in the lawsuit objected, saying anyone who joined the church after the June 2021 election should not be allowed to vote. By. July 20, 2021. 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 . 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. Platt, the author of Radical, is known for his passionate call to evangelism, missions, and Scripture. Attendance began to decrease significantly after the first class as attendees realized the Woke content. We see throughout Scripture that individuals affect structures and structures affect individuals, so we emphasize both personal and corporate responsibility in matters of justice., And, We do grieve over the existence and effects of racism, and to the extent that we are part of a larger group of people guilty of racism, we appropriately confess corporate sins of racism and take appropriate steps of repentance, much as we do when the Holy Spirit convicts us of any corporate sin. All rights reserved. NO POPUPS. The post David Platt's McLean Bible Church Teaches "Jesus Had Body Dysphoria" Revoice Nonsense appeared first on Reformation Charlotte. He - I've heard him preach on abortion and religious liberty and traditional marriage. The church was rocked by controversy in 2019 when President Donald Trump stopped by the service for prayer . In a sobering, emotional and occasionally shocking address from the pulpit on July 4, Platt alleged a conspiratorial attempt on behalf of a "small group" of church members to sow misinformation among the congregation with the goal of taking control of the church. Church members were required to show identification, and ballots were labeled with members names. However, this is a lie. . So here I am, piecing together a years-long scandal for you. And that leadership is not listening, he said. In its Q&A, McLean states that it is not Southern Baptist and links to an undated letter from SBC Executive Committee employee Ashley Clayton stating, The SBC Executive Committee recognizes that McLean Bible Church is an independent, nondenominational Bible church, and they are not affiliated denominationally with the SBC., However, Baptist Press, the SBCs news service, stated in a July 21 article, McLean Bible Church is a cooperating church with the Southern Baptist Convention, yet like all Southern Baptist churches, remains independent and autonomous in its functionality and governance.. THE EARLY YEARS McLean Bible Church was founded in 1961 by five families in Northern Virginia. According to sources close to McLean Bible Church, Platt was told about this many times and seemed unconcerned about it, but finally complied with the demand to remove the divisive political photograph. 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. It was an exercise in eisegesis (p. 121). 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. This internal document was a response to Platts promotion of The Gospel, the Church, Justice and Racism whitepaper. Wait. March 18th, 2018. Which enabled a small group, just to put it in perspective, less than seven percent of our current membership on Wednesday night, including some people who we know are not actually members, less than seven percent kept elders from being overwhelmingly affirmed by our church family for the first time in our history.. | 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 . Despite its elite membership, McLean has long been a conservative theological church populated by politically conservative evangelicals. So they scheduled that vote for Sunday, July the 18. And rather than try to adjudicate the provisional ballots, they decided the best thing to do would be just to have another vote. And the candidate backed by the Conservative Baptist Network at the most recent SBC annual meeting got 48% percent of the vote. It sits in what can only be described as one of Americas Elite areas. Platt doubles down on his Woke Social Justice agenda. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. From 2014 to 2017, Platt was president of the International Mission Board. However, that is not the only vote of no confidence in David Platts Social Justice Gospel. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to journalist and pastor David Roach about an ideological rift at a Washington, D.C.-area church that highlights similar divisions in evangelical groups across the U.S. We have a story now of divisions within a single church that suggest wider divisions in many churches. All six elders on the ballot received at least 86% approval. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin). Saddleback Church doubles down on support for female pastors, Mormonisms slow shift away from demonizing working mothers, Faith leaders urge Biden to sign executive order for reparations study by Juneteenth, For many congregations, wiping out medical debt has become a popular calling, Woke Wars infiltrate Christian colleges, prof under fire for racial justice unit, Southern Baptists oust Rick Warrens Saddleback Church for naming a female pastor, Professor Joeckel on why his contract, teachings on racial justice are under review, Copyright 2020, Religion News Service. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". It is no secret that David Platt promotes Social Justice causes. [Picture was posted on Facebook, but was removed after a couple months]. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Critics say the Virginia church's leadership has . In a complaint filed Thursday (July 15), five McLean members allege that Platt and other leaders illegally barred them from voting at a recent congregational meeting to approve new church leaders. Platt taught the course to about 1,000 church members. Lewis famously said, "Christianity, if . Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. So, in May 2020 just before Platts hard social justice push, McLean Bible Church reported attendance averaged 12,154. A beloved Bible teacher and speaker, Platt inspired younger Christians to pursue missions work or other ministries. It does not store any personal data. Platt, the senior pastor of McLean Bible Church in Northern Virginia, is now caught in the middle of a scandal that is reminiscent of events that took place in 2019 at a large Southern Baptist Church in Naples, FL. 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. #302 Falls Church, VA 22042 866-788-7770 After graduating from the University of Georgia with two bachelor's degrees, he earned an MDiv, a ThM, and a PhD from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; he completed his education in his early 20s, becoming one of the youngest students, if not the youngest student, to ever earn a terminal degree at NOBTS. Why does church leadership refuse to answer question. If youre the Red Cross, thats problematic. But threatening McLean now is a group that has spread all kinds of rumors, Platt said. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Both moves raised questions for some members. You've read 0 of 5 of todays most popular posts. Over the last several years, weve watched David take the churchthe church we built, the church we love, the church weve poured are hearts and souls and lives intoand turned it into a political, stripped-down version of what it used to be, wrote former elder Mark Gottlieb, who is encouraging members of a group called Save McLean Bible Church to admit defeat and walk away after the July 18 vote. In response, Platt accused his critics in a sermon of spreading disinformation and stuffing the ballot box with votes from former members and inactive church members. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. While the church building was locked down and most of its ministries ceased amid Covid-19 fears, David Platt turned a blind eye to his staff marching in a Black Lives Matter (BLM) event in Washington, DC. Platt was presented with multiple documents from many respected past and present McLean Bible Church members over the last two years that connected concerns about racial identity politics with proper biblical application. I know that many churches across America have faced and are facing similar challenges during these days, and it is vitally important that we move past division and live out John 13:35, demonstrating love for one another and love for a world in need of Jesus, Platt said in a statement Monday. Thousands have fled the church since it was taken over by David Platt. The group has also reportedly filed other complaints . We're teaching everything that the Bible teaches. This letter urged Platt and the current elders to reject the Woke path. This is pretty shocking, even if you have been reading our warnings (here, here, and here - to start) about the apparent in-coming embrace of LGBTQ+ among Southern Baptist Elites.Eric Saunders, Pastor of McLean Bible Church of Arlington, MD, has released a video in which he claims Jesus experienced a kind of body dysphoria like that experienced by transgender claimants. Platt and other leaders, they say, have abused their power by violating the churchs constitution. INSKEEP: I was astonished by some of the conspiracy theories that you described that surfaced during that election campaign. That is not acceptable for the Body of Jesus Christ. Christians must reclaim Jesus from his church. The church was rocked by controversy in 2019 when President Donald Trump stopped by the service for prayer. I don't think that it was about the specific elders so much as the direction of the church. Platts 2020 book Before You Vote also drew criticism from some church members as being soft on traditional evangelical issues like abortion and sexuality. That follows the 2020 budget being about $1.5 million below the 2019 budget, according to a member of McLean Bible Church. He became a teaching pastor in 2017 and left the presidency of the SBCs International Mission Board to dedicate his ministry to McLean the following year. The truth is that in June Mike Kelsey, his newly appointed Lead Pastor for Preaching and Culture, posted a picture on Facebook of himself at a BLM rally in DC, holding a BLM sign. Read More FILE - Stacie Wood and her husband, Andy Wood, stand for a portrait on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Stacie Wood, the woman pastor at the center of . Lon Solomon began serving as MBC's fourth pastor in 1980. . It was then that David Platt was named Teaching Pastor. There has been a lot of confusion and misinformation about the whole process, and there many who are troubled by this development. Your daily news briefing from the editors of CT. Evangelical Seminary Explains Why It Enrolled First Muslim Student, I Was the Proverbial, Drug-Fueled Rock and Roller, Everything Everywhere All at Once and the Beautiful Mystery of Gods Silence. At a June 30 meeting, nominees Chuck Hollingsworth, Jim Burris, and Ken Tucker had failed to receive a clear 75 percent majority, the margin required for elder election. 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. Putting it off is only going to make it worse. Every time this lawsuit has been filed or amended or refiled, it has resulted in a dismissal, he said. David Platt's very strong on the issues that evangelicals traditionally have cared about. Michael Kelsey rebuked people offended that some were upset at praying for the President of the United States. People who were actively serving at other churches.. But its pastor says a group . The total was either just above or just below 75 percent, depending on whether provisional ballots were counted, so a second vote was held July 18, at which all three nominees received at least 78 percent of the vote. And the elder vote was the occasion to speak that. 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. Are the budget cuts and declining attendance a message that Platts Social Justice Theology is unpopular with churchgoers? 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. 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. The letter describes McLean as a partner with the SBC but not affiliated denominationally with the SBC.. The entire Sunday, July 4, 2021, sermon was filled with David Platts performative outrage. The church in question is a prominent one, McLean Bible Church, where many Washington Republicans worship. Similar to Naples, McLean Bible Church recently held a vote to confirm three elders the first vote failed. McLean Bible Church is one of the most influential churches in the United States. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. According to the church constitution, elders must be approved by a three-quarters majority, but that day the vote failed, a first in McLean history, according to a church email. According to the letter sent to Platt in February, t the congregational meeting on 12/9/20, in response to a question, David strongly disavowed Black Lives Matter. Three new elders were approved by about 80% of active member votes. But David Platt has emphasized that everybody, regardless of their political views or their ethnicity or anything else, should be welcome to hear the gospel and be a part of the church. Critics say the churchs leadership has become woke and has substituted critical race theory and social justice for biblical teaching. His emphasis on incorrect definitions of justice caused widespread criticism among McLean members. Some of you may remember him as the guy Jerry Falwell Jr. told to "grow a pair." Platt is now in the middle of a controversy over "wokeness" at the church. Some of the older guard think that that's soft-pedaling some biblical truth. CRN offers a lifeline to conservative people of faith. Platt said the dissident group claimed it was using the elder vote as part of a constitutional process to retake control of the church. When longtime leaders and perhaps thousands of members are abandoning the church, what is the lesson David Platt draws? Boyer said courts are often reluctant to get involved in church disputes. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Some may wonder what Lon Solomon thinks about the heretical social justice teachings. It's little outside of Washington, D.C., in Virginia. We hope you'll consider joining us on Sunday for a worship gathering. Dr. James White dissected David Platts errors in a podcast examining that T4G sermon. It must be an unprecedented group of divisive liars and racists! That church in the past has been called a hub for Republican senators and Bush aides. David Joseph Platt is an American evangelical Baptist pastor. Platt begged church members who support the Woke regime to adjust vacation plans to be at the special meeting.
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