Everyone is under the law. That’s the conclusion of the Virginia Court of Appeals in its decision keeping a lawsuit against McLean Bible Church alive. McLean Bible Church, where the embattled David Platt pastors, argued the actions of its elders could not be reviewed by a court—in fact even discovery would be an intrusion into religious liberty. The court disagreed, offering this important warning:

“We embrace the perhaps subtle—but meaningful— distinction between a religious institution being ‘above the law’ and being subject to the law while still wielding significant privileges and protections.”

In other words, the court rejected the idea that church leaders can invoke religious liberty to avoid scrutiny. When a congregation adopts a constitution, it cannot later claim that enforcing it is an intrusion on faith. It’s a reminder that religious liberty protects belief and worship—not the unchecked power of institutional actors. Courts may not referee doctrine, but they can (at least in theory) enforce the promises churches make to their own members.

The plaintiffs argued that courts were actually defending the religious liberty of the congregation by preventing abuses like took place at McLean Bible Church.

The ruling goes further than simply reviving the case. As attorney Rick Boyer, who represents the former members challenging the church’s actions, noted, the Court of Appeals adopted the plaintiffs’ arguments almost wholesale.

“Crucially, they ruled that in the case of a congregational church, courts do have jurisdiction to determine whether the church followed its own rules, so it can be determined the actual ‘majority ruled’ according to those rules. This is huge for the plaintiffs,” Boyer said.

Again, this is important because it protects members of the church from abuses by those who would subvert a congregational church’s constitution.

The judges held that determining whether members missed eight consecutive meetings is a neutral principle of law, not a theological question, writing that “courts in Virginia are surely able to count to eight without entering a ‘religious thicket.’” They warned that allowing churches to block even preliminary inquiry “could swallow the neutral‑principles doctrine and present a great potential for abuse.”

Boyer pointed out how the tone of the opinion also shifted sharply from earlier hearings before the court. Where earlier rulings hinted that the dissenters might simply be agitators, this panel quoted the complaint’s allegation that the Board “sought to steal the election,” signaling a new willingness to take the claims seriously.

The ruling also stands in sharp contrast to the Fifth Circuit’s approach in McRaney v. NAMB, where the court treated nearly any internal church dispute as categorically off‑limits to civil review. That decision effectively allowed religious organizations to invoke “ecclesiastical abstention” as a blanket shield, even when the dispute involved no doctrine at all.

The Virginia Court of Appeals rejected that approach. Instead of deferring reflexively, it insisted on a factual inquiry, a balancing test, and the application of neutral principles before any First Amendment bar can apply—something the plaintiffs requested. In doing so, the court avoided the Fifth Circuit’s mistake: collapsing church autonomy into church immunity.

That difference matters. The Fifth Circuit’s sweeping deference in McRaney insulated religious organizations from any accountability, even when the dispute involved no doctrine and no theological judgment.

In contradistinction, the Virginia Court of Appeals recognized that the First Amendment protects belief—not procedural manipulation, not election‑rigging, and not the blatant disenfranchisement of dissenting members. Its approach preserves genuine church autonomy while preventing it from mutating into unreviewable power.

“We are grateful to the Court of Appeals for a ruling we believe was legally correct, and praise God for this outcome,” Boyer told the Capstone Report. “Back to Fairfax we go to debate the associational privilege issue.”

Bottom line: religious liberty belongs to the people, not the institution.

A new trailer for the video exposing David Platt’s incompetence and the troubles at McLean Bible Church was released this evening on The Real David Platt website. The trailer teased a release date for the full documentary, 10-20-2024. The video contained extensive clips with the former church treasurer and 25-year church elder who detailed that he had no knowledge of many financial transactions revealed through discovery. This is a shocking admission and details how McLean Bible Church was funneling money and keeping its duly constituted financial officers uninformed.

In the video the longtime elder and treasurer details how large transactions were made without his knowledge and without the knowledge of most of the elders–something that appears to violate the corporation’s legal requirements. Further, the treasurer explains how this “Dark Money” was funneled through the church to the Southern Baptist Convention and back and also somehow involved David Platt’s Radical organization.

These financial documents were made public by discovery in a lawsuit filed in Virginia court. Otherwise, people would not have any knowledge of these shady transactions.

Elections have another effect as through the exercise of the vote, legitimacy is conferred from the general body politic to the specific persons chosen to govern. Thus, winning an election provides not only a validation of the candidate but of the candidate’s platform. While candidates often lie and have lied since at least Athens experimented with democracy, the act of voting confers on the chosen representative the power to act and the expectation to act in accordance with what he told the people.

For the Christian who is a citizen, this gives him great responsibility both to his country and God. The country is obvious because the citizen has a responsibility to do what is right for his fellow citizens. For his fellow citizens are his children, his parents, his friends and his neighbors; however, you might ask, Why God? That is because God repeatedly tells us, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48). Thus, the Christian will have to answer, like any servant trusted with responsibility, how he performed his duties.

The Christian Duty to Vote

There are some Christians who say that there is no Christian duty to vote. This is false. While there is no commandment saying, Thou shall vote, there is the overwhelming number of Christian teachings that explain that “God holds us responsible for how we use the powers, privileges, and opportunities He grants us, not just in our personal lives but also in the public square, where the echoes of our choices resonate in the halls of justice and the corridors of community life.”

The argument for the Christian duty to vote is as follows.

1. Politics inherently involves moral decisions that shape the welfare of society, and these decisions are influenced by the collective voice and vote of the citizens.
2. Christians, as part of their civic engagement, possess the unique opportunity to express and implement their moral values through political participation.
3. Christian doctrine emphasizes stewardship and responsibility; the parable of the talents, for instance, teaches that we are accountable for the resources and opportunities entrusted to us (Luke 19:12-28).
4. Voting is a tangible expression of this stewardship, where Christians can contribute to the moral direction of governance.
5. Therefore, it is not only a right but a duty for Christians to vote, aligning their actions with their faith and fulfilling their role as responsible stewards in society.

It seems important to note in the Parable of the Talents that the wicked servant desired to preserve rather than risk anything. As the Word commentary notes, “Burying has always been a favored method in the preservation of wealth.”[1] Augustine said of this evil servant, “The fault of that servant who was reproved and severely punished was this and only this: that he would not put to use what he had received. He preserved it intact, but his master was looking for a profit from it.”[2]

For the Christian who refuses to vote because everyone is bad, he is alike to this wicked servant who attempts to preserve rather than to risk. In other words, the Christian who does not vote prefers to virtue signal rather than act as moral creatures challenged by living in a world of sin. The Bible is filled with examples of virtue signalers. Spoiler: They are the Pharisees. They are the villains in the story too.

There is another issue to not voting. It is that not voting is to become politically silent. This is against nature, since as Aristotle explained man is separated by speech from the rest of the world of animals and that man is a political animal. Thus, to become politically silent is to war against what God created. Further, silence carries with it its own moral statement.

Silence implies consent. And not voting is to become politically silent. That is unless the not voting is accompanied by a strong showing that one has withdrawn their consent from the political order. However, if one is not in open political disobedience and is instead enjoying the benefits of civil society, then it is impossible for that person to have truly withdrawn their political consent. Thus, we can say that failure to vote is a consent to whatever outcome happens—it is the same as saying no preference. Thus, moral responsibility is attached to the action despite the person’s wishes.

The law since antiquity has held that silence implies consent: “Qui tacet consentire videtur.” This maxim teaches that silence can and typically is legally interpreted as tacit approval or acceptance, especially in situations where one is expected to speak out if they dissent. In the context of Christian duty and political participation, this means that abstaining from voicing one’s opinion or refraining from voting is an endorsement of the status quo or the decisions made by others.

Conclusion: Voting is a civil and spiritual duty

The Christian duty to vote is not merely a civic responsibility, but a spiritual one. It is an act of stewardship, a manifestation of our moral values, and a tangible way to influence the welfare of society.

The act of voting is a powerful tool given to us. As Christians, we are called to use this tool wisely and responsibly. To abstain from voting is not a neutral act; it is a tacit endorsement of the status quo and a relinquishment of our God-given duty to be active participants in our society. As Christians, we are called to be the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14), and one of the ways we can fulfill this calling is by participating in the political process.

Would you hide that light? Not voting is doing just that. It is to abandon what God has given us in preference to acting better than those around us. Such hypocrisy will have its reward.

[1] John Nolland, Luke 18:35–24:53, vol. 35C, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1993), 915.

[2] Arthur A. Just, ed., Luke, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 295.

“The Republican party means to do nothing, can do nothing, for the abolition of slavery in the slave states. The Republican party stands on a level with the Fugitive Slave Law.” –William Lloyd Garrison, Abolitionist’s 4^th of July Speech

“And there is need in this office of abler people than are needed in the office of preaching, so that it is necessary to keep the best boy for this work; for in the preaching office Christ does the whole thing, by His Spirit, but in worldly government one must use reason, — from which the laws have come, — for God has subjected temporal rule and bodily things to reason (Genesis ii), and has not sent the Holy Spirit from heaven for this purpose. Therefore, governing is harder, because it cannot be ruling over things that are certain, and must act, so to speak, in the dark.” –Martin Luther, A Sermon on Keeping Children in School.

Today a group of Christians are promising to stand for God and abstain from voting for the candidate and the party responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade. This is stupid. It is dangerous.

Democrats want to reinstitute Roe v. Wade and expand it—by using tax dollars to fund abortions up to the moment of birth (and some Democrats want it even post-birth.) Wouldn’t the right thing to do be to vote in a way to keep Democrats out of office?

Of course, stopping Democrats is the moral decision; however, that is what someone not blinded by passion or ideology would do. Yet, in 2024 just as in 2016 there are Russell Moore type Christians out there looking to help Democrats win the election.

Some other types of Christians are out there too pouting that Donald Trump modified the GOP’s platform on important Culture War issues like the definition of marriage and abortion. It is understandable to be upset by these changes. Yet, what is the right way to respond to it?

Christians could work to change the Republican National Committee representatives. Also, perhaps evangelicals should primary liberals and RINOs to get better representatives in Congress and state legislatures?

What Christians should not do is shoot themselves in the foot—metaphorically—by helping (or not doing all in their power to prevent) the accession to power of those political opponents determined to overthrow Western Civilization and Christianity itself.

While the Gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church, America and Christians here have no such guarantee. Thus, we must be vigilant and wise.

What does that wisdom look like? We must put aside childish things. What childish things? The inclination that politicians should act like pastors. That is not their calling, and it is not their job.

I thought we had finally rid ourselves of Russell Moore; however, a new group of virtue signaling losers have arrived to take his place. And yes, I meant losers because adopting this philosophy is guaranteed to lose elections. It is as myopic as virtue signaling abolitionists rejecting Abraham Lincoln because he valued the union and wanted to preserve it while battling slavery.

Fortunately, most abolitionists realized Lincoln was a good candidate and voted for him. The result was overthrowing slavery faster than they could’ve imagined.

Evangelicals must not make the perfect the enemy of the good.

The world is fallen; it is sinful. And just like Martin Luther said, most of these decisions in politics are made in the dark. When abolitionists voted for Lincoln, they could not know the Civil War and the eradication of slavery was at hand.

Likewise, when most evangelicals voted for Trump, the most they hoped for was preventing the progressive takeover of the Supreme Court for at least a generation. It was defensive to keep things from getting worse. God had other plans. More was won and the fruits of 2016 continue to be savored by conservatives.

We cannot know all that is before us. We are in the dark. We must as Luther said use reason to navigate the contradictions that the sinful world and its politics present to us. So, how should we do this?

A Basic Theology of the Christian and Government

Christians must grow up and stop applying preschool theology to political calculations. As I’ve argued elsewhere, the Christian is bound to vote according to God’s commandments. However, often these commandments in a fallen world might come into conflict. Thus, we should adopt Dr. Norman Geisler’s Graded Absolutism to guide us. (This applies to all moral decisions.)

As I pointed out in 2019, Some evangelicals appear to have a virtue-signaling death wish. Why is this? Because they are naïve. Let me quote something Christian philosopher William Lane Craig said about the 2016 election,

“I think there is a kind of immaturity among some people about moral decision-making where they think that moral decision-making is a matter of choosing between the good alternative and the bad alternative. That is a very naïve, almost childish, view of moral decision-making. We are frequently confronted with moral choices in which we have no good alternatives or, alternatively, we have two good alternatives to choose from and you have to then choose between two goods. But sometimes you have to choose between two bads.

“Intro courses in philosophy or ethics major on this point by presenting moral dilemmas to clarify students’ values. For example, a textbook illustration is the runaway streetcar example where if you do not throw the switch the streetcar will hit and kill a man working on the tracks. But if you do throw the switch then the streetcar will kill five people who are on the tracks. So which choice do you make? You don’t have a good choice in a case like that. There are two bad outcomes and you have to choose the lesser of two evils.

“I think the most poignant illustration of this point is Sophie’s Choice where the young mother is presented by the Nazi soldiers with a choice as to which of her children will be sent to the death camp and which one she can keep alive. If she refuses to choose one of her two children then both will be sent to the death camps. In a case like this, this poor mother had no good choice. She had to choose the lesser of two evils and pick one of her two children to be exterminated. It is just horrible.

“Similarly, in a case like this, we didn’t have two good candidates to choose from. Both were flawed in multiple ways, and the outcomes were flawed in multiple ways. Yet, that doesn’t exempt you from having to make a decision in a case like this. You choose the lesser of two evils – which outcome would be better for the United States of America than the other? I think, as you already indicated, the implications for the Supreme Court are just huge in this case. We were choosing which President would be appointing not only the replacement for the late Antonin Scalia but perhaps for other justices as well. That could radically affect the direction of the Supreme Court for a generation to come.”

Another thing a Christian philosopher said about Donald Trump is helpful too. Dr. Norman Geisler wrote, “For reluctant conservatives who were looking for someone more to the right of center, we must remember that conservatism does not equal Christianity. Likewise, neither does liberalism equal Christianity. But when I am sick, I choose the most competent doctor who may or may not be the most Christian doctor. Likewise, the most competent political leader may not be the most Christian one.”

Biblical lessons for politics

What would a Christian that is today complaining about the GOP’s Pro-Life platform do in the place of Shiphrah and Puah? (Exodus 1:15). You may remember Pharaoh wanted male Hebrew babies murdered. These midwives didn’t comply and then when asked by Pharaoh, what did they do? They lied about it. And yet we find in that same chapter, “So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very numerous. Since the midwives feared God, He gave them families” (Exodus 1:20-21).

And lest the lesson be lost on us, God rewarded another liar—Rahab (Joshua 2). And not only did Rahab escape the slaughter, but she was also included in the lineage of Jesus.

“Perhaps the best we can say here is that if it is justifiable in some exceptionally rare circumstances not to tell the truth, those circumstances would entail the protection of innocent lives in contexts such as ‘war, murder, or criminal activities,’” as Dr. R.C. Sproul writes regarding Rahab’s actions in his book Now That’s a Good Question!”

So, what I’m telling you is nothing new. Sometimes things that seem absolute like not telling lies are not so absolute when higher issues are at stake. It wasn’t a compromise of the Never Lie directive to deceive a power attempting to murder children.

But there are further lessons that Bible teaches about interactions with political power.

The problem of divorce

“He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matthew 19:8)

God hates divorce. Yet, in the theocracy He established, divorce was permitted.

Why? Jesus explains why—the hardness of the public’s hearts.

If you are going to legislate according to the Bible, then how do we decide the correct approach to divorce? Was Moses wrong? Was God wrong in telling Moses to allow it? Of course not. What we should take from the Logia on divorce is that we may not know as much as we think we do about what God wants government to do in a specific situation. As I’ve said before, the Bible is not a handbook to government. It does not tell us the correct amount of dollars to spend on healthcare or defense. What it does is give us principles.

What does God want government to do? He tells us that it is to create order. New Testament scholar C.E.B. Cranfield explains, “The ruler helps the Christian toward ‘the good’ which God has in store for him, toward salvation (we take it that it is salvation to which, mainly at any rate, τὸ ἀγαθόν in this verse refers), if he is a just ruler, by providing him with encouragement to do good and discouragement from doing evil (which even the Christian needs in so far as he is still also an unbeliever), and by curbing the worst excesses of other men’s sinfulness and providing them with selfish reasons for acting justly.”

The point of these incentives is to create an ordered society so that other institutions like the family and church can do their jobs.

According to Cranfield, the purpose of the state is to provide the conditions for evangelism by keeping chaos under control: “It is implied that God wills the state as a means to promoting peace and quiet among human beings, and that God desires such peace and quiet because they are in some way conducive to human beings’ salvation. It is God’s purpose that the state should, by restraining chaotic tendencies of human beings’ self-assertion, maintain those outward conditions under which the gospel may be preached to all and sundry without hindrance.”

This is worth stressing again: the function of the state is different than the function of the church. So, while divorce may be banned for Christians except in rare cases, it does not also follow that divorce must be banned by the state if such a ban were to lead to political disorders.

Why? Because the end of the state is order, and the end of the church is different. Also, the end of the state is different than the purpose for individuals. While the individual should glorify God, the state must honor God’s mandate to create order for its citizens. The biggest problem in evangelical political theology is this confusion of ends.

None of this means that Christians should cease pushing moral policies. Rather, it requires the manner of pushing these policies (means) should relate to the purpose of government (ends). It is probably wise here to refer the reader to the earlier linked article on Graded Absolutism so that you may understand this is a deontological system and not consequentialist.

It isn’t compromising God’s truth to vote for a lesser evil. In fact, it is the God-given moral duty to do so. We also have a moral duty to be wise in how we vote. There is a true threat to your liberty and to life. Failure to vote to stop that is a moral failing and a sign of defective theology.

NAMB presents A Case for Church-Based Schools online seminar on July 16 featuring Trevin Wax, ACSI President Larry Taylor and The First Academy of Orlando Head of School Steve Whitaker. All are Woke. Here is what you need to know.

The First Academy of Orlando, Florida is a ministry of First Baptist Church of Orlando. Danny de Armas is Senior Associate Pastor of FBC Orlando. The head of school is a speaker at the NAMB conference. In 2022, de Armas praised how his church included the entirety of the rainbow with FBC Orland including transgender, LGBTQ, straight, single and so much more!

“We have transgender, LGBTQ, straight, single, married, divorced and cohabiting people,” de Armas said. “These same people attend, listen, serve, grow and give…We have Democrats, Republicans, independents, and non-registered people…We have documented and undocumented people…We have pro-life and pro-choice people.”

And to further establish FBC Orlando’s Woke bona fides, de Armas participated in the Woke flagellation over George Floyd.

And lest you think de Armas’s comments on diversity were just lip service, the Disntr reported, “FBC Orlando’s Danny DeArmas Baptized Openly Gay, ‘Married’ Man-to-Man Homosexual.” Yikes.

So naturally, this is the ministry organization NAMB brings in to tell conservative Christians how to start a church school.

First Academy and FBC Orlando face lawsuit over sexual abuse of a female student by a female teacher

The First Academy and First Baptist Church of Orlando were subjects of a lawsuit filed in 2023 where a former student claims the school allowed Harriet Sugg to groom the girl.

The lawsuit contains explosive allegations that the school was warned about the relationship, was concerned about it, and even fired the teacher; however, the lawsuit alleges “school officials did not report the relationship to law enforcement or the victim’s parents.”

ACSI promotes Woke Diversity program led by Critical Race Theory promoter

Another speaker at the NAMB online seminar is the head of ACSI. In 2021, ACSI began a partnership with Watler Strickland who teaches Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Strickland admitted to the New York Times that he teaches to unsuspecting pastors the theology of James Cone—the founder of Black Liberation Theology.

Regarding Dr. Walter Strickland, according to the First Academy website he has been a feature speaker on diversity at the school. Promoting what? Diversity! Was Dr. Cone’s Black Liberation Theology taught to unsuspecting people at First Academy? It appears based on the website that Strickland was talking about Diversity initiatives at First Academy at least as early as 2017.

Strickland attacked traditional evangelicals as having something less than the Gospel. “During a panel discussion on race and justice in the wake of the civil unrest following George Floyd’s death, Strickland claimed that American Christians, to justify slavery, constructed and passed down a ‘half gospel.’”

First Academy embraced ‘racial reconciliation’ after Shaun King attempted to shame the school

In 2016, First Academy gained attention when a student’s Instagram post went viral as it featured a few First Academy students debating how to use the N-word. According to the Post, “The public Instagram exchange went viral last week after New York Daily News reporter Shaun King shared it on Facebook and Twitter, overshadowing the start of school at the First Academy, where officials say many of the teens involved in the debate are enrolled.”

It appears after this time that Dr. Whittaker launched a racial diversity program at the school including bringing in Woke speakers like Dr. Walter Strickland. As noted above, Strickland was speaking at the school not long after the Washington Post and other national outlets reported on the controversy.

Whittaker pledged at the time that First Academy had “taken and are taking, deliberate steps to address this issue. As we reflect on this situation, we have realized there is much work to do in the area of racial reconciliation that we must take ownership of. Have we done enough? The answer is no. However, we will continue to learn from this experience and are committed to do the necessary and important work to grow as a school community in this area of racial reconciliation.”

Racial Reconciliation. There you go. The performative code word for DEI implementation.

Trevin Wax promoted resolution that declared Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality to be ‘Analytical Tools’

And there is the other featured name on the program—Trevin Wax. Trevin Wax served on the SBC Resolutions Committee in 2019 and defended the resolution the committee offered declaring Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality to be useful “analytical tools.”

Trevin Wax is part of the in-crowd of SBC Elites and used his position to speak against the Law Amendment. The amendment that clarified the SBC would not cooperate with churches that had women pastors.

Conclusion: Christians Schools are going woke as secular schools ban DEI

So, why now? Why do we see Christian schools facing the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) promotion even while DEI is facing new bans in secular public schools? Even hedge fund manager Bill Ackman calls DEI “reverse racism.”

Once again, Evangelicalism is ten years behind the culture. This heinous reverse racism will infect Christian K-12 schools just as Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Intersectionality were problems in our seminaries. It all filters down from seminaries and universities.

This is the bitter fruit of about a decade of people like Walter Strickland, Matthew Hall, David Platt, J.D. Greear and other SBC Elites pushing these divisive doctrines. There is a generation of new preachers, teachers, and missionaries corrupted by the Woke mind virus. That is what your Cooperative Program (CP) dollars paid for over the last decade.

And now that the CP is facing the realities of incompetence thanks to the likes of Jared Wellman and the Woke Executive Committee—where they spend money like drunken sailors and hand out immunity to consultants who get sued for libel—the SBC Elites just may have killed the goose that laid the golden egg. That means the SBC needs to find new sources of revenue. Christian Schools just might be the answer. Why? Vouchers.

Money. Follow the money. One blog post written in 2023 from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) argues that the expansion of vouchers will help churches launch schools.

According to the post, “Since the advent of North Carolina’s voucher program a decade ago, numerous churches across the state started schools while others expanded existing schools. Private school enrollment has surged and significantly outpaced the percentage growth in traditional public schools.”

What will no doubt concern liberals is that the money in places like North Carolina are being redirected from secular schools to religious schools.

According to the SEBTS article, “Most of the scholarship money already goes to religious schools. Statewide, more than two-thirds of private school students are now attending religious schools.”

Money. Always follow the money in SBC life.

Matthew T. Martens, a partner with the most liberal of the 20 largest law firms in the country, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter): “Bunch of people trying to convince Christians to still vote Trump: ‘You have the liberty to choose between the lesser evil.’” 

He added a reference to Romans 3:8 (“you may not ‘do evil that good may come of it'”) and a quote by Charles Spurgeon (‘”Of two evils, choose neither.'”), to argue that Christians cannot vote for Trump. 

However, four years earlier in a Facebook post, Martens appeared to expose his own choice between two supposed evils, admitting, “I’m voting Biden *because* I’m pro-life.” 

When recently confronted about the obvious hypocrisy, Martens backpedaled, saying in April 2024 that the August 2020 statement was made “when I was thinking through how I should vote to best end abortion. I ultimately changed my mind from what I said in that post, said as much on FB, and did not vote Biden.” 

Martens law firm is Wilmer-Cutler-Pickering-Hale and Dorr, which was cited as the “most-liberal among the nation’s largest law firms” by law360.com.

The attorney group also was named “Visionary National Legal Partner” of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

He has ties to the scandal-prone The Gospel Coalition, a Reformed network of churches, and to the embattled Russell Moore, who stepped down in 2021 as head of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission after investigations into his divisiveness, including his bashing of Trump voters. 

When I started agitating for regime change in Tuscaloosa back in 2006, it seemed impossible that Alabama would so quickly turn from the Malaise of Mike Shula to the excellence of Nick Saban. Landing a coach of Saban’s potential seemed beyond Alabama’s capability. But through some luck, the brutal talk of Paul Finebaum’s radio show, and the guts of Mal Moore, Alabama began a legendary run when Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa.

Think back to those dark days before Saban. Those days of Mike Dubose, Mike Price, and Mike Shula.

The problem with the Mikes was not their football knowledge, schemes; the problem with the three Mikes boiled down to self-control and leadership.

None of those Mikes were capable of managing a major college program. That’s OK. Some people are great assistants and others are great head coaches at small programs on the periphery. Only a few can handle the big stage of the SEC, and fewer still can achieve excellence on a big stage. And none could achieve that excellence for as long as Nick Saban did at Alabama.

What more can be said about Nick Saban? He is the Greatest Football Coach of All Time. The chattering heads on ESPN and talk radio are offering their hagiographies of Saban. In fact, I’ve toyed with the idea of a biography with the title of A Greater Than The Bear: A Biography of Nick Saban. Yet, even that seems to fail in capturing Saban’s greatness. Perhaps more time is needed to truly appreciate Nick Saban’s legacy.

What we can do is think back to those dark days before Saban. The indiscipline within both the UA administration, the Athletic Department, and the football teams consistently hindered success.

Alabama was dysfunctional; however, that doesn’t even capture it. The politics within the Athletic Department were Byzantine. Who can forget secret sources leaking damaging info to Phil Fulmer in an attempt to get even with rivals in Tuscaloosa?

Even with Mal Moore as athletic director, the chaos remained in Tuscaloosa. Moore worked hard to overcome the factions . Yet, even after Moore decided to fire Mike Shula, there was chaos to come. Remember the coaching search?

Were it not for Paul Finebaum mocking Rita Rodriguez’s hair, Alabama likely would’ve hired Rodriguez instead of waiting for Nick Saban to finish his season.

Do you remember that?

Do you remember the low point of the coaching search, when it seemed imminent that Rodriguez would accept the Alabama job and then rejected it? Paul Finebaum’s show likely had a great deal to do with that stroke of luck.

When news broke Rodriguez would not take the Alabama job, things looked bleak. I remember at the time I was sitting in the press box of all places Legion Field watching the state high school football championships. Nobody knew what would happen next. It looked like the coaching search had already failed.

“Malfunction” Moore had done it again. Yet, Moore didn’t give up. After that fiasco, Moore settled down and waited on Saban. And the rest is history.

The Lessons of Nick Saban and Alabama’s history Post-Bryant

The entire saga of Alabama post-Bryant shows the importance of leadership.

It also illustrates the dangers of arrogance. Alabama’s run in with the NCAA began because of the arrogance within the Athletic Department and within the football program led by Gene Stallings.

Alabama paid dearly for that arrogance not once but twice. It was hammered by the NCAA. However, the real damage was done when fans demanded Alabama hire Mike Dubose as its next head coach. The Dubose regime was a disaster. It led to even more NCAA troubles.

The Mike Price insanity embarrassed the university in front of the nation. It had little choice but to fire the amorous coach. Mike Shula took the job and the burden of managing Alabama in the midst of NCAA troubles, the PR nightmare, and a short time to prepare. He tired hard and ultimately failed. He still won 10 games one season including the Cotton Bowl.

The fact that mediocre coaches like Mike Shula, Mike Dubose and even buffoons like Bill Curry could win 10+ games at Alabama showed it had enormous untapped potential for a competent coach. Nick Saban proved that.

Some things to keep in mind for the Post-Saban Coaching Search

The Alabama program today is a hot job. Yet, not every coach who wants it is right for it and more than a few successful coaches would not want the headache of following Nick Saban. This makes for a few challenges. However, any coaching search post-Saban is almost guaranteed to be better than the prior post-Bryant coaching searches.

It is unlikely, Alabama would hire a coach as inept as Bill Curry. The Curry hire was an obvious attempt by the university president at the time to diminish the football program. Something that ignores the PR benefit of a good athletic department.

It is also unlikely that fans would undertake a fax campaign (does anyone still use fax machines?) to influence the coaching search as was done when Mike Dubose was hired. Even if fans tried to flood the office with emails and a faxes, it is unlikely the current leadership would be swayed. That’s a good thing.

Leaders should not ignore fans, but public opinion is not a good way to govern Leaders must have convictions and hold to them. A leader must be willing to pay the price for being wrong. If you have a leader who picks a coach based on an opinion poll, you will too often wind up with troubles.

The Saban Era closed with perhaps Nick Saban’s finest coaching job. This team overachieved and was close to making it to the championship game. What a way to close out a career.

Thanks Coach Nick Saban for the memories. There are so many. I enjoyed sitting in Atlanta more than once to watch Alabama win the SEC. Then there was getting to sit in the stands and watch Alabama win back-to-back national titles when Alabama defeated Notre Dame in Miami. There are more. Many more. So, thanks Coach Saban and thanks Paul Finebaum for being a brutal radio host that was once fired because of Ray Perkins.

Thabiti Anyabwile famously blamed all white Americans for the assassination of Martin Luther King in a column published by The Gospel Coalition where he blamed white people, saying they were culpable for the political assassination of Martin Luther King. 

Just so you know exactly what Thabiti Anyabwile said in 2018, “My white neighbors and Christian brethren can start by at least saying their parents and grandparents and this country are complicit in murdering a man who only preached love and justice.”

That is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.  He also blamed white heterosexual men for oppression of women and LGBTQ people and even called on foreign governments to “hack” the 2020 Election to stop Donald Trump. And of course, Thabiti Anyabwile joined the lies and race-baiting about conservative Southern Baptists. 

Naturally, this is someone David Platt was drawn to.  In the summer of 2020, Thabiti’s Anacostia River Church sponsored the Faith + Works Prayer Rally in support of the BLM movement.  Faith + Works DC was started by “sisters” from Anacostia River Church. Thabiti introduced David Platt, and it was Platt who delivered the opening prayer for the rally while his church was closed. You might remember that Platt kept McLean Bible Church closed while other churches in the DC area were opened. There is also a picture of Mike Kelsey, recently confirmed as MBC’s Lead Pastor, and his son holding a sign at the event that says “Black Lives Matter to God”.  The ERLC even reported that the march was organized by Faith + Works and Mclean Bible Church.

But, of course,  let’s not forget about the financial support that Platt donated, using tithes from conservative Christians at McLean Bible Church, to Thabiti Anyabwile’s church. Based on an internal document disclosed in the recent litigation (spreadsheet below), we know that in 2020, McLean Bible Church gave $125,000 to Anacostia River Church. Some of these documents were uncovered during discovery of a lawsuit that Platt and McLean Bible Church. The church fought the lawsuit and then fought in court to prevent these documents from being made public. 

According to an internal document (see at bottom of post), in 2017 Mclean Bible Church had previously sent $125,000 and his leadership understood that this support was to continue and even discussed moving it around in the budget among various line items.  Assuming that was the case, and the same amount was sent each year between 2017-2020, conservative McLean Bible Church potentially funded woke, leftist race-baiter, Thabiti Anyabwile’s church to the tune of at least $500,000. Did this funding continue beyond 2020?  Why was Platt sending money from this conservative church to Anacostia River Church? 

This is a particularly important question as the McLean Bible Church/Thabiti Anyabwile association was raised in a document sent in February 2021 by former elders and ministry leaders over serious accountability and theological problems at the church under David Platt’s leadership.

In that 17-page letter, Platt and elders are taken to task for allowing Thabiti Anyabwile access to MBC as a ministry partner. According to those former elders and ministry leaders, 

• Thabiti Anyabwile, despite promoting progressive talking points at the expense of Christian truth, dividing the body of Christ across racial lines, and promoting the political agenda of Black Liberation Theology, has been used to train the MBC staff and played a prominent role within MBC church life.
• Despite having been compelled to ask forgiveness for his writings and actions in 2019, he was still a featured speaker at the New City Network Gala.   
• Sadly, his conduct has only proved more contentious and controversial at times, including recent endorsement of the clearly problematic, unbiblical appointment of a transgender man as Assistant Secretary of Health.  
• By partnering with him and maintaining ties with him, the elders have affirmed his unbiblical views? (2 John 10-11)
• It is our opinion that Thabiti Anyabwile should not be given access to MBC staff nor our pulpit, and ties should be severed with him. (II Cor. 5:18)

The all-important question(s) remain.  Why would David Platt grant Thabiti access to MBC, a conservative evangelical church, to train their staff, organize and march in a rally supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and donate large sums of money to his church given his theological stance and race-baiting views of white Christians? Perhaps the answer lies in his relationship with Mclean Bible Church’s newly confirmed lead pastor, Mike Kelsey.  According to a recent article from Christianity Today,  Kelsey was the first to welcome Thabiti to DC in 2015.  Of course, Thabiti praises the pastor who publicly admitted that he has urges to torch all white people (especially white Evangelicals) as someone who is a “peacemaker” and who has a love for Christ’s people.

Did Platt weigh the concerns that were expressed and were these former elders and ministry leaders aware that church leadership potentially sent $500K of church tithes to Thabiti and Anacostia River Church? Was the congregation aware? Based on everything that has come to light recently, the answer is probably no. 

This is from a confidential letter to the McLean Board of Elders dated June 16, 2021, from Mark Gottlieb. Gottlieb was an elder serving 1996-2020:

7 Things to Consider Before you Vote
Not much later–David had the bright idea that he needs to help us seasoned Washingtonians learn how to vote. So, a few months before the election he gave the elders a draft copy of the book. At least 3 elders (Tom, Craig and me) were shocked at the book and told David to absolutely NOT publish the book. The booked was titled ‘7 Things to Consider Before you Vote’. It became known as ‘7 Ways to Vote Democratic and Not Feel Guilty’. Again, David ignored the stern advice of more than half his board–and went ahead and distributed his book all around the church and to the congregation. That started the next mass exodus. One of my friends felt so strongly against the book–she burned it. And the elders did nothing. (Ok–you made him pay for the copies himself–but the damage was done).

Let’s look at the key points we can verify and that you need to know to understand what went wrong at McLean Bible Church.

The elders identified by Gottlieb are Tom McMahon and Craig Proulx. Gottlieb asserts that a majority of the board was opposed to David publishing the book; however, once again Platt ignored the advice of his elders. What does this say about megachurch government and the ability to hold rogue pastors accountable?

One interesting point here is that the elders forced Platt to pay for the books. We know that Platt attempted to bill the church for the books given away to members. Is Gottlieb talking about these books, or did Platt attempt to have the church cover the entire publishing expense? These and more questions about how much money the church gave to Radical (and what that money was used for) are important items to examine both when looking at the discovery documents as they are released and for any future action to hold Platt accountable for the fiasco at McLean Bible Church. Discovery showed that about $650,000 was given by McLean Bible Church to David’s Radical,[1] which prompts us to ask, does David Platt exist to serve the church or does McLean Bible Church exist to fund David Platt’s Lifestyle of the Rich & Radical?

7 Things to Consider before you Vote or 7 Ways to Vote Democratic and Not Feel Guilty

A key charge made by the longtime McLean Bible Church elder Mark Gottlieb was that Platt’s book amounted to an apology for Christians voting Democrat. This is, of course, accurate. The entire point of Platt’s book 7 Things to Consider Before You Vote is to justify Christian liberty in making political choices. This would be fine if there were no clear biblical command; however, on topics like abortion, there is a clear biblical teaching and Christians must approach politics with that in mind. Platt prioritizes unity in his book over truth as we pointed out in our September 30, 2020, analysis of the book.

Platt knows that abortion is going to be a tough issue to explain away, but he tries.

Platt writes, “Yes, abortion is abhorrent. That’s clear in the Bible (which we’ll see in a moment). But is that the only issue at stake in an election? What about the scores of Christians, including overwhelming percentages of African-American Christians, who consistently vote for Democrats because of the party’s record on other issues that they also deem biblically important? Can you really conclude that they lack faith in Jesus and are on a road that leads to everlasting suffering because of how they weigh those other issues? Will you really exclude them from the church because they voted for a Democrat?”

Would David Platt exclude slaveholders or those who vote in favor of slavery? Of course, he would. Why not those who vote for abortion?

Why not? Because that wouldn’t advance David Platt’s Woke agenda.

And that Woke agenda combined with this obvious theological junk used to justify the sin of voting for the pro-unrestricted abortion party, accelerated the exodus of conservative evangelicals from McLean Bible Church.

Why? Because as we said, Donald Trump’s visit didn’t cause division; it exposed the bitter fruit of Wokeness growing in Evangelical churches.

[1] This was a number for 2021 revealed in an internal email found in discovery. It is hard to tell exactly how much as Radical in total. We do know that Radical received $200,000 in 2020 alone.

MBC Elders urged Platt not to send apology after praying for President Trump.

Discovery shows David Platt’s mishandling of Donald Trump prayer sparked exodus from McLean Bible Church.

On June 2, 2019, President Donald Trump arrived at McLean Bible Church asking that David Platt and the church pray for him. Platt’s performance on stage as was President Trump’s was respectful and the prayer appropriate. However, that was not the end of the story. Platt immediately wanted to send an explanatory letter to the congregation. As Platt was considering sending the letter, Woke church leaders like Mike Kelsey were sharing anti-Trump, anti-Christian rants on Facebook. Of course, Platt published his apology for praying for President Trump. However, the matter did not end there. This sparked the first exodus from the church, according to documents uncovered during discovery.

This is from a confidential letter to the McLean Board of Elders dated June 16, 2021, from Mark Gottlieb. Gottlieb was an elder serving 1996-2020. Here is what Gottlieb said about David and the Trump prayer:

David’s prayer for Donald Trump
Then came David’s prayer for Donald Trump. Personally, I think David and President Trump both did well–David gave a good prayer–and the president said nothing other than ‘thank you’ before walking off stage. David felt such remorse the next day for praying for the most powerful man on the planet–that he felt compelled to apologized to everyone publicly. When we elders saw a draft–several of us told him NOT to send it out. I said, ‘You never need to apologize for praying for your country’s leaders’. David ignored us and sent it out anyway showing his lack of maturity and understanding of the make-up of MBC–and completely ignoring the elders. As elders we did nothing. And a small group of people left the church. The first small wave.”

Analysis

Let’s break this down.

David Platt showed a draft apology to the elders. The elders urged him not to send, and Platt sent it anyway.

According to Gottlieb, “David ignored us and sent it out anyway showing his lack of maturity and understanding of the make-up of MBC–and completely ignoring the elders.”

What is the point of having elders if David Platt is too good to listen to them? It raises several questions about how megachurch pastors can be held accountable. In large churches, it is almost impossible for the congregation to hold the pastor accountable. There is too much of cult of personality at play (this is true for small, medium, and large churches sometimes too.) But, if megachurch pastors feel free to ignore what they are told by elders, what does that mean for any non-hierarchical church polity?

Gottlieb also nails the point about Platt’s lack of maturity. He was the toast of the T4G crowd and got away with promoting absurd theology in Radical. Why? All because he was part of the Albert Mohler crew.

You’ll note that every Woke leader in the SBC has ties to Mohler. Mohler promoted lifelong Democrat Russell Moore and was responsible for his rise in the SBC. While not critical to understanding what happened at McLean Bible Church, one should remember that Mohler’s network of cronies including T4G and for years The Gospel Coalition is why David Platt gained a celebrity status so quickly.

Back to Gottlieb’s letter.

This is another very important point—the Trump fiasco with David Plat refusing to listen to his fellow elders sparked the decline of church attendance.

Gottlieb said, “And a small group of people left the church. The first small wave.”

Why did some people leave McLean Bible Church over Platt’s apology after praying for President Trump? Take a closer look at Platt’s apology.

In a now removed apology letter, Platt said, “I wanted to share all of this with you in part because I know that some within our church, for a variety of valid reasons, are hurt that I made this decision. This weighs heavy on my heart. I love every member of this church, and I only want to lead us with God’s Word in a way that transcends political party and position, heals the hurts of racial division and injustice, and honors every man and woman made in the image of God. So while I am thankful that we had an opportunity to obey 1 Timothy 2 in a unique way today, I don’t want to purposely ever do anything that undermines the unity we have in Christ.”  (You can read the entire deleted letter here.)

Platt shouldn’t say the concerns were valid. They were not. The Bible commands the church to pray for leaders.

But there was more happening here than only Platt’s apology.

Mike Kelsey, someone Platt elevated to major leadership in McLean Bible Church and is now Lead Pastor at McLean Bible Church thanks to David Platt, ranted on social media against conservative Christians outraged at Platt’s Woke apology.

Kelsey said on Facebook, “To those of you (esp. 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. If you *really* care about ‘gospel unity’, ‘racial reconciliation’, and ‘the least of these’, do better.”   

Kelsey would famously be exposed as a racist who wanted to “torch white people” several months later.

Where was David Platt’s apology for that?

As Christians in the West safely celebrate Christmas, Christians in other parts of the world are recovering from a deadly Christmas Eve attack that killed 130 and left many homeless. In a story that needs more attention, over 100 Christian villagers are dead after a Christmas Eve attack on their villages in Plateau State of Nigeria. The story reported by award-winning conflict reporter Masara Kim for Truth Nigeria details how even on Christmas Day as weather worsens, thousands of women, children, and elderly are evacuating as scattered gunfire is heard around the area of attack.

That area of attack appears to be in the eastern part of Bokkos county. Attacks began December 23 and appear to have escalated on Christmas Eve with the hardest-hit villages on Christmas Eve include Makabat, Mbar, Tahore, Sanyang, Daress Mandar, Hurum, Danbukur, Maiyanga, NTV and Tudun Mazat. In these villages, numerous houses were burned, and residents were displaced,” according to the story posted by Masara Kim. Kim is senior editor for Truth Nigeria.

More details from other Truth Nigeria reporters include this: “The attacks continuing to the morning of December 25 forced residents, including children, to flee on foot amid worsening weather. A TruthNigeria reporter, native to the area, shared that his mother slept in a dry stream, while his siblings joined 20 civilian volunteers to defend their village. By the morning of December 25, at least 20 people were confirmed killed, five in the reporter’s village Butura Kampani, with others still missing.”

This is a story that needs much more attention. Be sure to share it and let people know what is happening to Christians this holiday season. You can follow at this link: the latest information on the Christmas Eve terror attacks in Nigeria.

(Photo: Christian Villagers Flee the Christmas Eve Terror Attack in Nigeria as scattered gunfire is heard around the village. Photo by Truth Nigeria.)

McLean Bible Church member: ‘David Platt is weak. David Platt is a coward.’

MBC members: ‘We were lied to from the pulpit.’

MBC members: ‘David Platt is a great actor.’

A new video released tonight interviews a diverse group of McLean Bible Church members attacked by David Platt for raising questions about finances and the independent church’s association with the Southern Baptist Convention–an association banned by the church constitution. The video published on Facebook and associated with the website The Real David Platt contains important information about the entire Platt fiasco. Also, the website teases a longer form documentary coming in 2024.

The highlight of the video is how the diverse members of McLean Bible Church talk about how David Platt infected with the heresy of Critical Race Theory (CRT). As we pointed out before, McLean Bible Church was a flourishing and diverse church long before David Platt new anything about it; however, Platt was determined to divide the church by the promotion of racial identity politics.

One of the best moments in the video is when David Platt runs away from some of the members wanting to talk to him. So much for Matthew 18 Conflict Resolution. But hey, who are the little people to confront Big Eva rock stars like David Platt?

In fact, Platt’s running away from questions is the theme of his entire time at McLean. As the video details, people were kicked out of the church for asking financial questions. Also, as the discovery documents reviewed by the Capstone Report reveal, Platt and others in church leaders made a decision not to talk about how much money was being funneled by McLean Bible Church to the Southern Baptist Convention because it might cause outrage among the congregation.

Follow the money

Appearing in the trailer for the forthcoming documentary is lawyer Chap Petersen. Petersen represented some of the McLean Bible Church members seeking financial disclosure about the relationship between Platt, McLean Bible Church and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Another interesting point raised in the video, is just how much money was being sent from McLean Bible Church to David Platt’s own Radical ministry.

Just as the corrupt SBC Elites influenced the disaster at First Baptist Church of Naples, Florida, this new documentary details the corrupt way the Southern Baptist Convention was involved with David Platt’s “hostile takeover” of McLean Bible Church.

According to today’s filing, “It is apparent that NAMB’s Executive Vice President of Public Relations, Mike Ebert, said the quiet part out loud when admitting in emails that NAMB’s claim it is a ‘supporting organization’ of BCMD was conjured up for this matter alone, stating that defense is ‘limited to the facts of this specific case. . .’”

You might remember Ebert’s name because Ebert attempted to intimidate a female Southern Baptist journalist (and a sex abuse survivor) reporting on sex abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention.

Today’s brief does a great job explaining why NAMB’s case is a tissue of fabrications. Much like everything else involving Big Eva. For example, we’ve been reporting on discovery documents released this week involving McLean Bible Church pastor David Platt. Interested in seeing more of the seemy underbelly of Big Eva, then check out our coverage. Anyway, read today’s filing below:

How petty was David Platt when he took over McLean Bible Church? He made sure to never invite Lon Solomon, Pastor Emeritus, back to preach.  Ever. We know this via an explosive 2021 letter sent to elders from recently retired elder Mark Gottlieb. Gottlieb made it clear that Lon Solomon wanted to return to the pulpit to preach at McLean Bible Church occasionally, but that David Platt was blocking it.  (To understand how the lawsuit came about and what was uncovered see this summary of the case against McLean Bible Church.)  

According to the former elder’s letter to Platt and the elder board in 2021, (Gottlieb rotated off the elder board in 2020) rumors were swirling that Lon Solomon had sinned and that was why McLean Bible Church had never invited him to return to preach.  

What did Platt do about those rumors? Nothing. He persisted in refusing to have Lon Solomon back to speak to his beloved church. 

According to the letter written by Mark Gottlieb and uncovered by subpoena, “If you remember, Lon promised to be back and preach occasionally. Yet David never invited Lon back to preach. At least 3 times over the next year–I would bring this up at an elder meeting. David’s excuse being he wanted Lon back to be recognized, and that Lon didn’t want to be recognized–he wanted to preach–as he promised. Two years ago–Lon confirmed with me when I saw him at some event that he has never been invited back to preach. I brought up the fact to the elders that this is not about what David or Lon wants–it’s about what’s right. And about helping Lon ‘finish well’ as he always hoped. David didn’t want him back–and the elders did nothing.”  (emphasis added) 

The fact that Lon Solomon was never invited back to speak to the congregation raised all sorts of uncomfortable questions.  

According to Gottlieb’s letter, “So, the rumor mill continued over the years about what sin Lon must have committed since MBC wouldn’t invite him back. I as an elder felt embarrassed. We should all be embarrassed for not helping Lon finish well.” 

There was no reason for Lon Solomon not to return other than David Platt. So, was it because David knew Lon would have prevented his liberal agenda from moving forward at MBC? Maybe if Solomon was present, his conviction that MBC “preach the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible” would be incompatible with David’s Woke theology?  Was it because Lon Solomon was Jewish?

This was not the only insult to the former beloved pastor from David Platt. Other demands under Platt’s toxic leadership included the removal of all of Lon Solomon’s sermons from the church website and the removal of many of his sermons and books from the church bookstore.  

One member described it as David’s attempt to erase Lon Solmon from McLean Bible Church. “Every trace of Lon Solomon was removed from the church,” a longtime church member and attender said. “And they did a good job of it.” 

Platt belittled Lon’s legacy 

While David Platt spoke publicly to praise Lon Solomon and embellished a relationship that was non-existent (like in this clip at the 11:52 mark), behind the scenes he was determined to overhaul McLean Bible Church’s operations, hierarchy structure and overall management and culture. Previously, we reported on a leaked document where Platt wanted the elders to relinquish more control over the church to himself and his handpicked leadership team. Platt even asked for the power to expel church members without oversight from the rest of the elders.

Platt also attempted to change the culture of McLean Bible Church from a largely conservative evangelical church to something nebulously defined as diverse. However, long before Platt arrived, MBC was a diverse church; one could argue, it is actually less diverse now.

According to a former member, “I can’t count how many ethnic ministries were at MBC i.e. Filipino Fellowship, Korean, Arab, and Chinese. You name it. MBC had it. It was extremely beautiful to see all those nationalities worship Jesus. It was a highlight during the members’ meetings and end of the year giving. Way before it was the Woke thing to do, Lon Solomon was reaching all peoples because he focused on preaching the simple gospel and outreach to neighboring communities.” 

Yet, Platt attacked the church and conservative members as racist during a 2021 rant. And some of the very people he attacked were diverse and involved in various community outreach groups.  

Another change that Platt wanted was to continue downsizing the workforce in the church—something he did at IMB to change the culture of the missionary force into something more acceptable to his theological biases.  

In a never reported slide from a 2019 Elder Board meeting, Platt and his cronies wanted more control over finances. To achieve this, they cited David Platt’s brand. According to the slide that you can see on this page, “Leverage David Platt’s brand (faithfulness, zeal, character, expertise).”  

Platt wanted to shrink the staff that was hired by Lon Solomon and at the same time increase giving by 200%.  Seriously, you read that right. In 2019, Platt wanted the church to increase its giving by 200%, when in fact his leadership would see giving continue to freefall.  

Apparently, doing church David’s way isn’t a recipe for success and David’s brand isn’t as reliable as he thought.  All the while keeping everything a secret from his congregation, just like he kept the millions of dollars that went to the SBC a secret, truly giving rise to a whole new definition of “secret” church.

A Virginia lawsuit reveals David Platt lied as documents become public highlighting Platt’s deception.

David Platt’s denial that McLean Bible Church was a member of the Southern Baptist Convention was clear. “We are a not a member of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Platt told the congregation during a racially charged rant on July 4, 2021. However, David Platt knew that was a lie and he intentionally deceived his congregation for years. In fact, McLean Bible Church sent messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting, the Capstone Report can reveal. This affiliation with a denomination happened despite the MBC Constitution forbidding such an affiliation.

According to a summary of the legal findings a lawyer representing the current and former members of McLean Bible Church said, “Throughout the litigation, the affiliation, which the church referred to as a ‘partnership,’ has been colored as a ‘church planting’ operation by Church leadership and that the SBC relationship only amounted to joint contributions to MBC’s New City Network Program. This is not the case.”

And there is more. Much more.

But now let’s focus on the violation of the constitution.

According to the lawyers, “We discovered, through a subpoena of the SBC’s Virginia convention, that MBC transferred over $2 million in ‘gifts’ to the SBC. (A portion of this was from annual offerings which were unrestricted in nature and a portion was passed through by the New City Network). In return, the Church was given its own SBC ID number and was eligible to send delegates to the SBC’s ‘Annual Meeting’ to vote on binding SBC policy. This disclosure was confirmed by the Church’s own financial records and admitted under oath by Church leaders. In effect, an affiliation was formed with SBC, and we found that it was much more comprehensive than first believed.”

This lawsuit was filed on behalf of Jeremiah Burke, Laura Burke, Caroline Hiban, Michael Hiban, Salvador Cordova, and Judith M. Strother. J. Chapman Petersen of Chap Petersen & Associates served as lead counsel for the plaintiffs. Petersen served for 16 years as a state senator in Virginia and has a long and distinguished legal career. Without the legal work from Petersen and the perseverance of Jeremiah Burke, Laura Burke, Caroline Hiban, Michael Hiban, Salvador Cordova, and Judith M. Strother this would never have been uncovered.

Platt and his team relied on weasel words throughout to dodge his blatant violation of the Church constitution.

The Southern Baptist Convention is confusing to those outside its Byzantine political structure. Platt exploited this. The SBC is a body of churches that cooperate in funding seminaries and missions. The entire structure is governed by the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. This Annual Meeting is restricted to churches who certify they are affiliated with the SBC. There are strict criteria governing which churches can send messengers and how many messengers these churches are entitled to send.

There is no greater indication that a church is involved in the Southern Baptist Convention than sending messengers to the SBC Annual Meeting. And in fact, according to documents uncovered during discovery and reviewed by the Capstone Report, McLean Bible Church in fact elected at least two messengers to an SBC Annual Meeting. The two messengers elected by McLean Bible Church were David Platt and his wife Heather Platt.

According to the official registration for the SBC Annual Meeting obtained by the Capstone Report, MBC elected at least two messengers, “The McLean Bible Church located at 8925 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22182 has elected David Platt a messenger to the SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION. This appointment is made on the basis of and in agreement with the Convention’s constitutional requirement, as follows: (This church has $168,668.00 of undesignated receipts and gave $10,000.00 to convention causes during the preceding year and is entitled to 7 messengers.)”

According to another document in discovery, Platt’s wife was the second messenger elected by McLean Bible Church.

Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting participate in the political life of the SBC. For example, messengers elect the SBC President, other SBC officers, the trustees for SBC entities and set the budget for the SBC.

The document cited by the lawyer and published by the Capstone Report is critical to understanding how David Platt lied in 2021. Platt graduated from the SBC’s New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) with not one but three degrees including a Ph.D. Platt was also head of the SBC’s International Mission Board (IMB). Platt would know what being a messenger entails and according to the documents produced, Platt’s church elected both him and his wife as a messengers.

Bluntly, David Platt lied, and he knew he lied when he stood on stage and denied MBC was a member of the Southern Baptist Convention.

For a synopsis of the lawsuit’s timeline and other relevant information of the findings, reproduced below is the entire letter from J. Chapman Petersen regarding the case of Jeremiah Burke, et al. v. McLean Bible Church, CL-2022-12576.

Below you can find a summary of the case that explains the how and why of the lawsuit that resulted in these important findings. Below that you will find both documents showing that David and Heather Platt were elected by McLean Bible Church to serve as messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention. Tomorrow our series continues as we plan to post details about how David Platt undermined Lon Solomon.