McLean Bible Church was once the biggest in Virginia.
Under the "woke" new pastor who succeeded the legendary Lon Solomon, however, it may soon not even rank as the biggest church in McLean.
Thousands have fled the church since it was taken over by David Platt. The budget has been cut to $4 million less than in 2019. Conservatives have fled to nearby churches. One of Platt's biggest mistakes came in 2019 – when President Donald Trump had the misfortune of stopping there for prayer.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," Platt said during the prayer, quoting the book of Proverbs with his arm around Trump's back. "Fools despise wisdom and instruction. God give him wisdom."
After receiving some flak for praying with the president, one of Platt's pastors posted an accusation against his own flock.
Michael Kelsey had this to say: "To those of you (esp. in our church) who have criticized [Platt] 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."
Despite the poor grammar and writing style, Kelsey is now "Pastor of Culture" at McLean.
The church teachings were theologically conservative under its previous leadership – with a growing church, bigger budgets, less controversy.
It was then that David Platt was named "Teaching Pastor." The church leadership was forced to embrace the "Woke Social Justice" rhetoric.
First Platt turned a blind eye to his staff marching in a Black Lives Matter event in Washington, D.C. It took repeated requests from a few conservative elders to take down Facebook photos of staff holding BLM signs.
Conservatively, attendance was at least 16,000 when Solomon was the pastor. In May 2020, just before Platt's big justice push, McLean Bible Church reported attendance averaged 12,154. In May 2021, following the release of Platt's book on politics, reported average attendance was about 7,300 – a drop of 39%.
While the church is slashing spending on a variety of things, including missions, discipleship, outreach and church plants, one area of increased spending in 2021 is in senior-management salaries – up $291,719 for a total of $1,121,967.
Besides illustrating the impact of a church's leadership going "woke," this story actually has the ring of a rigged election – and a potential coup.
The dispute at McLean is now heading to court. In a complaint filed July 15, five McLean members allege that Platt and other leaders illegally barred them from voting at a recent congregational meeting to approve new church elders. The plaintiffs also claim a follow-up election at the church violated the church's constitution.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
"I want you to listen closely to the words I am about to say," he said in his sermon the following Sunday. "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."
It was actually an attempt the ensure that Platt didn't become a dictator. Sound familiar?
A follow-up election held Aug. 1 was held under new rules. Church members were required to show identification, and ballots were labeled with members' names. Any church member on McLean's inactive list was given a provisional ballot.
Three new elders were approved by about 80% of active member votes. There were not enough provisional ballots to change the outcome, according to an email from church leaders.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit say the church violated McLean's constitution. "The heart of the complaint really comes down to truth, transparency, and a free, open, and uncoerced process," said plaintiff attorney Rick Boyer.
Boyer said courts are often reluctant to get involved in church disputes. But he argued that Virginia law does require churches to follow rules outlined in their constitutions. Plaintiffs hope a court will declare the second election void and require the church to hold a new election.
It's a long shot. The people who have left the church have spoken.
It leaves one wondering, what does Lon Solomon think about all this turmoil within a church he started?
He can't speak about it. He signed a separation agreement and would reportedly forfeit his retirement package if he spoke out about the problems.
To add insult to injury to Solomon, in 2019 Platt once recounted the church's glory days, asking, "What if our best days as a church are ahead of us, not behind us?"
I don't think so. In fact, I think it has a snowball's chance in hell.
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