The suit is pending despite the announced vote outcome. Church members are asked for their opinions on things like what color to paint the womens bathroom, he said; why not ask their opinion on more substantive matters such as CRT or joining the SBC? By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. A year later, Platt and African American McLean pastor Mike Kelsey participated in a Christian march following the death of George Floyd, which was construed by some as support for the Black Lives Matter organization. Some say it is now a running joke that McLean refugees are showing up in other area churches looking for the truth and the Gospel instead of racial identity politics. The Reason David Platt Wants to Resign From the IMB - ChurchLeaders Some church members who had been attending online, rather than in person, claimed their ballots had been disqualified. Platt plans to hold a called special business meeting to affirm the elders on July 18 during morning worship services, he told the church. On Friday, a Fairfax County . Platt and his family are members of the Washington, D.C., area church, where Platt also serves as elder. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Frazer said the confusion over McLean's relationship with the SBC and the election controversy reflect a bigger problem with the church. The group has also reportedly filed other complaints . 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. Strange events are afoot at McLean Bible Church, a multisite megachurch in Washington D.C. pastored by David Platt. degree in Hebrew and Old Testament (1975, summa cum laude) from Capital Bible . Thousands have fled the church since it was taken over by David Platt. Longtime member Bill Frazer, 69, believes Sundays election violated the churchs constitution, which states that any member who misses services eight weeks in a row can be designated as inactive. 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. A Pastor With Power And a Drive To Convert - The Washington Post 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. Many of its members come from the top ranks of government, media, and business. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 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. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Tensions over direction of McLean Bible Church lead to lawsuit | Church This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. What Should We Think about Pastor Platt? SBC Voices Sarah Merkle, an attorney and professional parliamentarian, said the incident highlights the importance in any church of establishing and following sound voting procedures. 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. Michael Kelsey rebuked people offended that some were upset at praying for the President of the United States. ROACH: On June the 30, McLean Bible Church was to have an election to elect three new elders. He earlier served as the senior priest at the Brook Hills Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and got the recognition of being the youngest pastor of any megachurch in the US. So here I am, piecing together a years-long scandal for you. Former President Trump even . Lon Solomon - Wikipedia We're glad you're here! Viewarticle. INSKEEP: Is that part of what seemed to get him in trouble with at least a portion of the congregation? 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. 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. David Platt's Dreams for McLean Bible Church Sour as Members File See more. McLean Bible Church refuses to conduct meeting according to any established rules of order. So, in May 2020 just before Platts hard social justice push, McLean Bible Church reported attendance averaged 12,154. Solomon signed the Dallas Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel. (RNS) A yearlong legal battle over a contested election at a prominent Washington, D.C.-area church appears to be over for now. David Platt and McLean Bible Church Elders Sued After - ChurchLeaders These leaders were also worried about Mike Kelseys promotion of the Black Lives Matter movement on social media. CBN-backed candidate Mike Stone received 48 percent of the vote in last months SBC presidential election, finishing second to Alabama pastor Ed Litton. But threatening McLean now is a group that has spread all kinds of rumors, Platt said. Christians must reclaim Jesus from his church. I think were going to work through this, he said. Lon Solomon is American evangelical Christian pastor and the founder of Lon Solomon Ministries, a non-profit ministry.. Some of the older guard think that that's soft-pedaling some biblical truth. David Platt (pastor) - Wikipedia Platt said the dissident group claimed it was using the elder vote as part of a constitutional process to retake control of the church. But then you have some of the younger evangelicals who say, look. RELATED: David Platt interview: A summons to lose your life. Many of its members come from the top ranks of government, media, and business. That speaks volumes about the problems in the McLean leadership team and specifically David Platt. 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. Sign up for our newsletter: Lewis famously said, "Christianity, if . The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Further, much CRT terminology continues to be used at MBC, the concerned leaders told Platt. 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. McClean Bible Church Pastor David Platt addresses his congregation on July 4, 2021. 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. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Pastor David Platt preaches at McLean Bible Church, July 11, 2021, in Vienna, Virginia. 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. Lon Solomon was born and raised in a Jewish home in Portsmouth, Virginia.. Solomon earned a B.S. McLean Bible Church is one of the largest and most influential churches in the nation. INSKEEP: Given that, what makes this story feel like it has a larger significance in your mind? Platt chose to ignore those entreaties and promote divisive teachers and divisive concepts like Critical Race Theory. David Platt is so desperate to cling to powerthat he will portray a diverse group of conservative McLean Bible Church members as racists. It sits in what can only be described as one of Americas Elite areas. And the candidate backed by the Conservative Baptist Network at the most recent SBC annual meeting got 48% percent of the vote. 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. Accuracy and availability may vary. The suburban DC megachurchs recent scuffle over race and politics is symptomatic of a broader evangelical rift. Yet, even before this course, some noticed David Platts trajectory away from the Bible and into the Woke error. And the church has not regularly tracked individual attendance for years, he added. Platt made further allegations that people came from places as far away as Florida and Maine to vote. The weeks between the two votes were tumultuous. The church in question is a prominent one, McLean Bible Church, where many Washington Republicans worship. What happened? 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. NO VIDEOS! The best examples are the woke church movement, and the takeover of many seminaries by critical race theory. 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. 'At the end . These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. McLean Bible Church's Apparent Theological Shift We just want to give believers freedom to disagree on things that aren't essentials. All six elders on the ballot received at least 86% approval. Lon Solomon the legendary pastor of McLean Bible Church has not set foot in McLean for a worship service since becoming pastor emeritus. 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. A password reset link will be e-mailed to you. David Platt, pastor at McLean Bible Church in Virginia, speaks at the Pastor's Conference at the Southern Baptist Convention on Monday in Birmingham. 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. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. 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. It is a mega church in the DC area with 5 locations and claims an attendance of 13,000 each weekend. Under the "woke" new pastor who succeeded the legendary Lon Solomon, however, it may soon not even rank as the biggest church in McLean. Dr. James White dissected David Platts errors in a podcast examining that T4G sermon. 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 course lasted about 15 hours of direct discipleship teaching. 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. Controversy at McLean Bible Church boils over as members file lawsuit David Platt's Megachurch Names New Elders Despite Controversy Platts teaching in his McLean Bible Church Course The Gospel, The Church, Justice and Race (GCJR) highlights a Hegelian-inspired dialectical synthesis between Christianity and Woke Social Justice. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Platt, the author of Radical, is known for his passionate call to evangelism, missions, and Scripture. A follow-up election held this past Sunday was held under new rules. They have several campuses. Despite its elite membership, McLean has long been a conservative theological church populated by politically conservative evangelicals. It's great to be with you. And rather than try to adjudicate the provisional ballots, they decided the best thing to do would be just to have another vote. Platt came to McLean in 2017, while he was still president of the Southern Baptist Conventions International Mission Board. 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. Fired for Opposing Pride? Apparently, amid the controversy with Calvinism that Lon and the elders initially rejected, they added that position statement on Calvinism. The largely conservative northern Virginia church across the Potomac from Washington had . The key problem here is a lack of transparency. 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. Copyright 2021 NPR. 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. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. 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.