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. 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. And so I think I simply put into words what many people were already sensing.. A follow-up election held this past Sunday was held under new rules. A group of five former leaders at McLean including a former elder, former staff member and lay leadership warned David Platt in a letter dated February 3, 2021, about numerous moves by Platt and his elders to divide the church along racial lines. After my seminary and doctoral work, I fully . Many Christians look at the Bible and then look at the picture of American Christianity around them and think, This doesnt add up. 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. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Often times with disgraced megachurch pastors, there were several warning signs. Rick Boyer, attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said his clients plan to appeal. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. The Evangelical Church Is Breaking Apart. David Platt's very strong on the issues that evangelicals traditionally have cared about. And even though people who take the Bible seriously and as the inherent word of God should think certain things about certain issues, then they might prioritize those differently when they go into the voting booth. We are zealous in the present not to prolong or replicate in any way racial injustice from the past. Join us to see why God's family is no ordinary family. We hope you'll consider joining us on Sunday for a worship gathering. The heart of the complaint really comes down to truth, transparency, and a free, open, and uncoerced process, said plaintiffs attorney Rick Boyer. All rights reserved. degree in Hebrew and Old Testament (1975, summa cum laude) from Capital Bible . At the congregational meeting on 12/9/20, David strongly disavowed Critical Race Theory. We have to address conflict intentionally and face to face, Hannaford said. David Platt is a famous US author and preacher. Online posts on blogs, Facebook, and email charged Platt with pushing critical race theory, revising biblical teaching on sexuality, and aligning with the SBC despite McLeans constitutional prohibition of affiliating with any denomination. A lawsuit brought by McLean Bible Church dissidents on Friday to reverse the results of an election for church leaders (elders) was dismissed by a court in Fairfax County, Virginia. Platt is a polarizing figure. 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.. And all three nominees got at least 78% on that day and were elected as elders. We want to move forward in unity and we do not believe any appellate court would restrict us from doing that., RELATED: Woke war: How social justice and CRT became heresy for evangelicals, Pastor David Platt preaches at McLean Bible Church, July 18, 2021, in Vienna, Virginia. The church was rocked by controversy in 2019 when President Donald Trump stopped by the service for prayer . Church leaders and advocates in Illinois and beyond see this case as a chance for the 12-year-old denomination to establish better practices for preventing abuse and to care well for survivors. Christians must reclaim Jesus from his church. And then there was some question as to who is eligible to vote as a McLean member and who is not. Once the first vote for the elders failed, Frazer believes that Platt and leaders should have stopped and listened to the congregations concerns. All rights reserved. I want you to listen closely to the words I am about to say, he said in his sermon the following Sunday. He became pastor-teacher at McLean Bible . These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Platt came to McLean in 2017, while he was still president of the Southern Baptist Conventions International Mission Board. In fact, Platt's sloppy moral reasoning was one point of controversy in a letter to leadership from five long-standing members of . What opponents claim as being Platts liberal or woke politics, supporters see as the 42-year-old preachers commitment to Christ above all. 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. 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. Save McLean Bible Church. But to others, Platts message represented a fault line. The largely conservative northern Virginia church across the Potomac from Washington had . OK, so a local megachurch is having a catfight. : Democrats. The group has also reportedly filed other complaints . 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 . He ranted, To those of you (esp. Many former elders have left McLean Bible Church since David Platts takeover of the church. McLean Bible Church was once the biggest in Virginia. The dispute at McLean may now end up in court. NO POPUPS. 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. Who knew two nonverbal rocks had so much to say? 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). Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. 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. It never goes away on its own.. David Platts dreams for McLean Bible Church sour as members file lawsuit over elder vote, Woke war: How social justice and CRT became heresy for evangelicals. 12,882 were here. Church doubles down on support for female pastors Further he made the absolute statement that nobody on MBC staff supports Black Lives Matter. 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 in question is a prominent one, McLean Bible Church, where many Washington Republicans worship. There were some who expressed the thought that David Platt and the other leaders were soft on issues like abortion and sexuality. There has been a lot of confusion and misinformation about the whole process, and there many who are troubled by this development. They organized a new election for elders in mid-June 2022, using secret ballots. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Six people are part of the lawsuit, including both members and former members. Platt said the dissident group claimed it was using the elder vote as part of a constitutional process to retake control of the church. 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. Platt took a shot at blogs and social media. 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 authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Welcome to the Arlington location of McLean Bible Church. The flashpoint in the last year included a special course on Social Justice called The Gospel, The Church, Justice and Race. Last Updated: February 2023. The church leadership was forced to embrace the Woke Social Justice rhetoric. Platt is now the pastor of McLean Bible Church, a flagship evangelical church in the Washington D.C. area. We will not apologize for our increasing diversity or our commitment to humbly address racial issues from Gods Word as we unite together on a glorious mission to proclaim this good Word and our great God in a city where five million-plus men, women, boys, and girls are on a road that leads to an eternal hell and need the good news of Gods love for them, he said. McLean Bible Church, originally nondenominational, is a recent member of the Southern Baptist Convention. What happened? with Max McLean: C.S. 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. Why is McLean Bible Church Imploding with Wokeness & Division? The GCJR will be the focus going forward and all staff will be required to fall inline. And rather than try to adjudicate the provisional ballots, they decided the best thing to do would be just to have another vote. 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. Devil is in the details, when covering battles inside the powerful Welcome to McLean Bible Church in the final rundown to Sunday's surprisingly contentious vote on new elders. Specifically, Platts course reveals his assumption that disparity is proof of racist systems. 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.. 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. RELATED: David Platts dreams for McLean Bible Church sour as members file lawsuit over elder vote. Dr. Voddie Baucham specifically highlighted David Platts 2018 sermon at the T4G Conference as Woke. I saw one email from one of the main leaders in this group using race to say that MBC is no longer McLean Bible Church that it is now Melanin Bible Church, Platt said. The constitution of the church requires a 75% threshold. But conspiracy theories and arguments over wokeness divided the congregation. Critics say the churchs leadership has become woke and has substituted critical race theory and social justice for biblical teaching. McLean Bible Church is one of the most influential churches in the United States. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. Lon Solomon Ministries 8116 Arlington Blvd. I think were going to work through this, he said. I don't think that it was about the specific elders so much as the direction of the church. 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 . With many active members participating in services online, especially those, like Frazer, who are not vaccinated, there is no way to tell who is attending. McLean Bible Church faces a lawsuit over a recent vote for elders from members unhappy with pastor David Platt, who succeeded long-time former pastor Lon Solomon. If people were motivated to drive from Maine and Florida to McLean Bible Church in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., to vote against David Platts Woke agenda, maybe the problem is not with the dissidents but with David Platt? 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. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Fired for Opposing Pride? (RNS) David Platt had a dream for the future of McLean Bible Church. The heart of the complaint really comes down to truth, transparency, and a free, open, and uncoerced process, plaintiffs attorney Rick Boyer told RNS. (He recently preached one funeral in the building.) People who were actively serving at other churches.. He claimed people were upset by efforts at racial reconciliation. 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 used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". ROACH: It was a tumultuous time. We glorify God by making disciples and multiplying churches among all nations beginning in greater. Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. It quickly became one of the 50 largest churches in the country, with over 12,000 . Who is Steven Furtick, and are his teachings biblical? One former McLean Bible Church member pointed out that Platts preaching is mostly informed by sociological approaches to race through works that Platt read and promoted like Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. MBC History - Restore McLean - to Biblical Leadership The entire Sunday, July 4, 2021, sermon was filled with David Platts performative outrage. And he said that there was a group that was trying to take over the church. Services at Tennessee Megachurch Disrupted by Pastor Feud - The Roys Report 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. The plaintiffs also claim a follow-up election at the church this weekend violated the churchs constitution. 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. The election came amid simmering unrest at the church, where political polarization in the wider culture seeped into the congregation the larger woke war in the evangelical world. ''differentattitude.' ''''Now,'friends,'that's'true'of'you'and'me'as'well.''Itdoesn'thave'to' ''be'this'way'for'us.'