We urge you to sign upto receive our FREE need to read articles. MBC History - Restore McLean - to Biblical Leadership Steven Furtick is the lead pastor of Elevation Church, based near Charlotte, North Carolina. Strange events are afoot at McLean Bible Church, a multisite megachurch in Washington D.C. pastored by David Platt. For instance, that they would sell the Tysons location and use it to build a mosque. Saddleback Church doubles down on support for female pastors 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. Of course, not. Wait. The Local Church Wins Out in David Platt's Decision. She added that she is not familiar with the specific policies and procedures at McLean. McLean Bible Church | Vienna VA - Facebook 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. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. 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. Platt was forced to defend himself in 2019, when then-President Donald Trump showed up on a Sunday morning at McLean Bible with little notice and asked Platt to pray for him. I think were going to work through this, he said. They organized a new election for elders in mid-June 2022, using secret ballots. After my seminary and doctoral work, I fully . Church leaders say the current round of conflict predates Platts pastorate. Platt doubles down on his Woke Social Justice agenda. Why is that? 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 . All rights reserved. And so I think I simply put into words what many people were already sensing.. Less than 25 percent of members were part of the vote Wednesday night, Platt said. 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. We recognize the need to examine each of our hearts humbly and continually with the help of the Holy Spirit and the encouragement of brothers and sisters who enable us to see sin in us and sins effects around us in ways that we might not see ourselves., Notice the racial Gnosticism contained within this paragraph. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. David Platt May Be Many Things But He Will Not Be a Pastor to the INSKEEP: I was astonished by some of the conspiracy theories that you described that surfaced during that election campaign. David Platt explodes at McLean Bible Church, plays the race card That follows the 2020 budget being about $1.5 million below the 2019 budget, according to a member of McLean Bible Church. Thats led to accusations that Platt and others have become woke and liberal. If youre the church of Jesus Christ, thats really problematic.. David Platt (pastor) - Wikipedia The budget has been cut to $4 million less than in 2019. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Platt and his family are members of the Washington, D.C., area church, where Platt also serves as elder. So, in May 2020 just before Platts hard social justice push, McLean Bible Church reported attendance averaged 12,154. 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. No. 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. 12,882 were here. They have several campuses. Lon Solomon the legendary pastor of McLean Bible Church has not set foot in McLean for a worship service since becoming pastor emeritus. 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. (RNS) David Platt had a dream for the future of McLean Bible Church. It took repeated requests from a few conservative Elders to take down Facebook photos of staff holding BLM signs. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. In response, Platt has claimed that the church is trying to fight off a hostile takeover and that Satan is trying to divide the church. 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 . It must be an unprecedented group of divisive liars and racists! 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. David Platt is so desperate to cling to powerthat he will portray a diverse group of conservative McLean Bible Church members as racists. Video screen grab via MBC. After new elder nominees failed to be elected for the first time in the churchs history, Platt told the congregation in a sermon in early July that 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.. 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. And the candidate backed by the Conservative Baptist Network at the most recent SBC annual meeting got 48% percent of the vote. The Capstone Report can reveal the photograph was only removed after repeated demands by members of the elder board. Platt also accused the dissident group of being racist. But a series of controversies and the countrys growing political polarization have turned Platts dream into a nightmare. Christians must reclaim Jesus from his church. And rather than try to adjudicate the provisional ballots, they decided the best thing to do would be just to have another vote. From 2014 to 2017, Platt was president of the International Mission Board. The weeks between the two votes were tumultuous. Accusations Surround Elder Selection at 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. However, Solomon cannot state his opinions publicly because of a separation agreement he signed with the church. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 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. 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. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Elevation Church was founded by Furtick in 2006 with just fourteen members. Lon Solomon - Wikipedia But to others, Platts message represented a fault line. INSKEEP: David Roach is pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Saraland, Ala., and also writes for Christianity Today. 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. July 20, 2021. RELATED: David Platts dreams for McLean Bible Church sour as members file lawsuit over elder vote. The flashpoint in the last year included a special course on Social Justice called The Gospel, The Church, Justice and Race. 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. It was an exercise in eisegesis (p. 121). However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. Megachurch pastor warns of false rumors, takeover attempt at his church Their pastor, David Platt, is very well-known among evangelicals. Welcome to McLean Bible Church in the final rundown to Sunday's surprisingly contentious vote on new elders. Frazer said the confusion over McLean's relationship with the SBC and the election controversy reflect a bigger problem with the church. Platt went on to call the church to give up everything for the glory of God, echoing the message of his 2010 book, Radical, a bestseller that called Christians to give up the American dream in order to serve Jesus and transform the world. The Bible speaks of individual responsibility and personal motivation and the Bible speaks to unjust systems and discrimination. The heart of the complaint really comes down to truth, transparency, and a free, open, and uncoerced process, said plaintiffs attorney Rick Boyer. NO POPUPS. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". 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. Even before Dr. Bauchams book, other Christians were critiquing the David Platts Social Justice sermon. ROACH: You can pick out churches across the country where there has been this conflict between people that are sort of an old guard type of evangelical and then a younger type of evangelical that wants to reach a broader, more diverse audience with the Gospel. Platt made further allegations that people came from places as far away as Florida and Maine to vote. I want you to listen closely to the words I am about to say, he said in his sermon the following Sunday. A password reset link will be e-mailed to you. Bob Smietana. David Roach has been following this. David Platt's Church is in Serious Trouble Due to His Ungodly Obsession (RNS) A yearlong legal battle over a contested election at a prominent Washington, D.C.-area church appears to be over for now. Southern Baptists approve measure to remove churches over clergy - CNN 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. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. There are other internal documents providing similar extensive theological arguments. Another Man's Done Gone: David Platt and Beth Moore - Pulpit & Pen News . 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. Why is McLean Bible Church Imploding with Wokeness & Division? David Platt's Megachurch Names New Elders Despite Controversy 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. Critics say the Virginia churchs leadership has become woke and has substituted critical race theory and social justice for biblical teaching. 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. We're glad to hear from you. That comes with attendance issues and budget cuts. The letter warned, "Thabiti Anyabwile, despite promoting progressive talking points at the . Platt mishandled the aftermath of the prayer. This is extremely important, Platt said with the sound of desperation. Platt and other church leaders declined to respond to specific questions about the lawsuit and disputed church election. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. A Pastor With Power And a Drive To Convert - The Washington Post 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. 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. This past spring, hoping to resolve the dispute, McLean leaders decided to discard the results of the July 2021 elder election. Trump Is Tearing Apart the Evangelical Church - The Atlantic We are zealous in the present not to prolong or replicate in any way racial injustice from the past. But then you have some of the younger evangelicals who say, look. Instead of defending President Trumps visit, Platt seemed to apologize for publicly praying with Donald Trump. No matter what you've been through or where you've come from, you are welcome here. The suburban DC megachurchs recent scuffle over race and politics is symptomatic of a broader evangelical rift. And as we walk faithfully with God during these days, keeping our eyes fixed on him, I trust that he will work all these things together for our good and ultimately his glory.. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". You Should Watch This Video of David Platt Addressing - RELEVANT 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. It is a mega church in the DC area with 5 locations and claims an attendance of 13,000 each weekend. Platt is now the pastor of McLean Bible Church, a flagship evangelical church in the Washington D.C. area. But conspiracy theories and arguments over wokeness divided the congregation. 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. But threatening McLean now is a group that has spread all kinds of rumors, Platt said. This is a lie. 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. McClean Bible Church Pastor David Platt addresses his congregation on July 4, 2021. Platt begged church members who support the Woke regime to adjust vacation plans to be at the special meeting. (UPDATED) Unusual decision draws scrutiny at one of largest Southern Baptist schools. 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. David Platt, the President of our International Mission Board, recently became the preaching pastor at the Mclean Bible Church, a megachurch in the DC area. 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. He was senior pastor at the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, from 2006 to 2014. 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. 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. McLean Bible Church was once the biggest in Virginia. If you *really* care about gospel unity, racial reconciliation, and the least of these, do better.. David Platt's McLean Bible Church Teaches "Jesus Had Body - BTWN