Best-selling author and full-time megachurch Pastor since 2018, David Platt, announced three new deacons in the Washington-based congregation of the McLean Bible Church (MBC). This was only after an alleged controversial church politics and lawsuit filed by the opposition.
Given the size and influence of McLean Bible Church, it was inevitable that a good number of people had heard about it. It also became the latest addition to an ongoing conflict within American evangelism.
Arising Church Politics
Platt said in one of his sermons in early July that a small group of people inside and outside the church misinformed others in the hopes of taking control of the church after the new elder nominees failed to be elected the first time in the church's history.
Chuck Hollingsworth, Jim Burris, and Ken Tucker had missed 75 percent of the voting majority during the June 30 election. A second vote was held on July 18, in which all three nominees received 78 percent of the vote.
A lot had happened during the three-week interval in between the voting schedules. In his sermon last July, Platt disclosed that the church members were told in person and through email that the nominees for church leadership had plans to sell the church property at Tysons to construct a mosque in which the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) will surely benefit financially.
Questioning Platt's Pastorship
Platt was also attacked, saying that he insisted on the critical race theory, changing biblical doctrines on sexuality, and conniving with the SBC, even when partnering with other denominations is contrary to the MBC constitution. These issues have been circulating the internet through blogs, Facebook, and email.
Platt was also accused of purging conservative members on a blog post by one of the dissenters of McLean's current church leadership. Another email circulated saying that MBC is no longer McLean Bible Church but now Melanin Bible Church.
In response to Platt's accusations, he vehemently denied each of the claims against him and the elders, saying they were undoubtedly untrue and completely unreasonable.
While his opponents see Platt as "liberal" and "woke," his supporters still consider him as a Christ-committed preacher since he has always been known for his passion for reaching the lost and preaching the gospel above all.
Despite the situation, Platt firmly stands on his commitment to addressing racial issues from the Scriptures while working together with the church towards the Christian mission of winning souls for God in a five million-populated city that is bound to eternal condemnation. Men, women, boys, and girls alike need the message of God's love for them.
Filing of Lawsuit
The church opposition took the conflict into court last July 15, claiming that Platt and other McLean church leaders did not allow some of their opponents to vote in the second election of elders. According to the plaintiff's lawyer, Rick Boyer, the complaint stems from a call for transparency and a free voting process.
While church politics has been an issue in Platt's megachurch, attorney and professional parliamentarian Sarah Merkle emphasized the importance of following sound voting rules.
"When you don't follow the rules, and it has an effect on a consequential vote, you have now created a huge distraction from your mission," she added.
