Lon Solomon began serving as MBC's fourth pastor in 1980. . Net Worth in 2023: $2 million. Pastor David Platt preaches at McLean Bible Church, July 11, 2021, in Vienna, Virginia. Lon Solomon made one statement in opposition to the Social Justice heresy. 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. And the candidate backed by the Conservative Baptist Network at the most recent SBC annual meeting got 48% percent of the 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. But to others, Platts message represented a fault line. 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. 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. Critics say the churchs leadership has become woke and has substituted critical race theory and social justice for biblical teaching. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". 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. But threatening McLean now is a group that has spread all kinds of rumors, Platt said. Bob Smietana. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The dispute at McLean centered around a failed June 30, 2021, election. (RNS) A yearlong legal battle over a contested election at a prominent Washington, D.C.-area church appears to be over for now. In that election, the elders were approved, which led dissident members to file a suit. 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. 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.. 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. The largely conservative northern Virginia church across the Potomac from Washington had grown from a group of five families in the 1960s to a congregation of more than 10,000 spread across several campuses, attracting politicians and business leaders to the churchs evangelical message and values. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. He ranted, To those of you (esp. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. Disposition definition, the predominant or prevailing tendency of one's spirits; natural mental and emotional outlook or mood; characteristic attitude: I'd like to thank the general manager for his hospitality, kindness, and always cheerful disposition. March 18th, 2018. Last weekend a sermon by Evangelical pastor Francis Chan went viral, as in the sermon Chan shared about Communion and his discovery of the scriptural and historical basis for transubstantiation - that the bread and the wine become the literal Body and Blood of Christ. The church was rocked by controversy in 2019 when President Donald Trump stopped by the service for prayer. 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. The key problem here is a lack of transparency. On Friday, a Fairfax County . He became pastor-teacher at McLean Bible . The church was rocked by controversy in 2019 when President Donald Trump stopped by the service for prayer . 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 knows many McLean members including former church leaders opposed his teachings that appeared to be causing racial divisions by the promotion of Critical Race Theory. Frazer said the confusion over McLean's relationship with the SBC and the election controversy reflect a bigger problem with the church. 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! But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Platt, the author of Radical, is known for his passionate call to evangelism, missions, and Scripture. But conspiracy theories and arguments over wokeness divided the congregation. There were some who expressed the thought that David Platt and the other leaders were soft on issues like abortion and sexuality. Some older evangelicals see it as sort of a coup.. for less than $4.25/month. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. 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. That follows the 2020 budget being about $1.5 million below the 2019 budget, according to a member of McLean Bible Church. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Those inclined toward CSJ found it inspiring. INSKEEP: David Roach is pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Saraland, Ala., and also writes for Christianity Today. 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. Platt has angered other members for maintaining the churchs reputed ties with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was an exercise in eisegesis (p. 121). All rights reserved. 'At the end . 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. 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. Less than 25 percent of members were part of the vote Wednesday night, Platt said. That speaks volumes about the problems in the McLean leadership team and specifically David Platt. In the course, Platt fuses Christian teachings with the worldview assumptions of Critical Race Theory. 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. Platt took a shot at blogs and social media. They have several campuses. David Joseph Platt is an American evangelical Baptist pastor. Solomon would forfeit his retirement package if he spoke out about the problems. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit echo Frazers concerns, saying that the ballots used by the church violated McLeans constitution. 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.. 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.. Platt plans to hold a called special business meeting to affirm the elders on July 18 during morning worship services, he told the church. It never goes away on its own.. At the time he was the youngest megachurch pastor in the United States. 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. And then there was some question as to who is eligible to vote as a McLean member and who is not. The church teachings were theologically conservative under its previous leadership, the legendary Lon Solomon. Putting it off is only going to make it worse. Because of the nature of a lawsuit, unfortunately, we cannot provide any further comment at this time, the elders said in a statement. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. And it would appear that the vast majority of the church sided with Platt and the other leaders by their support of those elders. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". 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. Greear of plagiarism, SBC Elites defend credibly accused standard to ruin lives, Bart Barber flipflops on pledge to bring vote to ban Women Pastors in SBC, Evangelical Elites lied you to about the origins of Covid, Woke SBC Elites Delete History To Hide Their Schemes. McLean Bible Church (MBC) was started in the Metro Washington, DC area in 1961 as a non-denominational church. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". 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. People came here this night that were recruited by this group to vote that night who had moved away to other states, Platt alleged. The best examples are the woke church movement, and the takeover of many seminaries by critical race theory. When longtime leaders and perhaps thousands of members are abandoning the church, what is the lesson David Platt draws? 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. Are the budget cuts and declining attendance a message that Platts Social Justice Theology is unpopular with churchgoers? The churchs constitution requires that new elders receive 75% approval and for the first time in McLeans history, a new group of elders failed to reach that margin. Dr. Voddie Baucham specifically highlighted David Platts 2018 sermon at the T4G Conference as Woke. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. 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.