Did Trinity Bible Church Misrepresent Steve Lawson As An Elder?

The latest bombshell development arising out of the Steve Lawson adultery scandal has been the scrutinizing of his role in the church. Trinity Bible Church of Dallas was swift to remove Steve Lawson upon learning about his illicit relationship. Trinity Bible Church has since addressed the scandal urging patience, eisegeting Scripture to justify their discretionary ecclesiastical actions. However, Trinity Bible Church has not made any more public statements on the matter. And the reason why is now becoming clear.

Steve Lawson was never an elder or a pastor at Trinity Bible Church. Rather he was their “Lead Preacher.” The With All Wisdom podcast did a report on Lawson revealing that an employee of the church confirmed that Lawson was never a pastor or an elder there.

“He was not a pastor. He was not an elder at Trinity Bible Church, which we said. He was not the pastor or lead pastor of that church. He was not a member of that church.

How do I know all this? Because..I’ve been trying to get a hold of Trinity Bible Church in Texas for several weeks, and I finally got a hold of somebody that was willing to talk to me, who actually worked at the church, and they verified everything that we said.

 They were reluctant to tell me that, but they agreed; he was not an elder, he was not a pastor. He was not the lead pastor. They kind of waffled when I said, “was he a member?”

 

They didn’t want to tell me, but it was pretty obvious he wasn’t.

And they also agreed and acknowledged that as far as they know, the elders at their church are not the ones managing the Matthew 18 process with him of discipline because they can’t.”  [transcribed by Protestia]

Naturally, many people feel lied to about Steve Lawson’s arrangement at Trinity Bible Church as a mere Sunday morning performer. But if the elders of Trinity Bible Church have not explicitly made Lawson’s figurehead status clear, they certainly hid the details of the arrangement in plain sight.

The archive of their website listed Lawson as a “Lead Preacher” with no phone number or email address provided. In contrast, the elders are listed as such with contact information.

The initial statement the elders gave also did not specify that Lawson was a fellow elder or even a pastor.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas regretfully announce that effective immediately, Steven J. Lawson has been removed indefinitely from all ministry activities at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas.  Several days ago, the elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas were informed by Steve Lawson of an inappropriate relationship that he has had with a woman. The elders have met with Steve and will continue to come alongside him and pray for him with the ultimate goal of his personal repentance. Steve will no longer be compensated by Trinity Bible Church of Dallas.

In light of this, may we be reminded that we are ALL sinners, and Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners – and Christ remains Head of His Church, which is bigger than any fallen man.  In fact, Jesus Christ will continue to lead His Church, including Trinity Bible Church here in Dallas, just like He has from the start of this work on January 5, 2018.  Since that time, the elders have focused on the primacy of biblical exposition knit together by various men filling the pulpit each week.  The Lord was building Trinity Bible Church of Dallas well before Steve became our Lead Preacher, and He will continue to build this church long after Steve Lawson, or any other man for that matter.  We would ask for your prayers for the elders, for our Body, and for Steve and his family.  Let us always be mindful of the words of 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

Steve Lawson was removed from “ministry activities” rather than terminated. The wording of this statement is akin to a 1099 contractor rather than an employee, let alone a pastor.

But the nature of this arrangement is abhorrent to Christians and thus gaining major headlines. The idea that a Reformed church would hire a preacher to put butts in seats with zero other responsibilities to the congregation is shocking. Surely there are a number of churches where the pastor is a hireling distinguished from the elders. However, none of this is biblical. Sermons are not meant to be performances and regular preachers should be elders in the church. The irony is that Steve Lawson is huge in ecclesiocentric circles, in that they view elders as having more authority than is found in Scripture.

Moreover, the lack of meaningful oversight on Steve Lawson was not an accident but a deliberate agreement between Lawson and the church elders. They enabled Lawson who reputationally traveled frequently and without his wife. It also reveals that Lawson had little personal interest in his own church.

“What we know now is Steve Lawson didn’t want to be a pastor. He was a pastor at two previous churches that didn’t go well. There was division, there were church splits. It’s kind of an ugly history. And then he got to a point and said, I don’t want to be a pastor. And they honored his wishes, and he just was a teacher. He was a guest teacher at all these places, guest teacher at Ligonier and Trinity Church.”

There is no indication that Steve Lawson is repentant. Moreover, Protestia reports that he is living in Tennessee and estranged from his wife.