New details have come out since Steven Lawson was removed from his position as the pastor of Trinity Bible Church of Dallas.
Phil Johnson, the executive director of Grace to You, who is also an elder of John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church, gave the details of the “inappropriate relationship” which resulted in Lawson’s dismissal from the ministry.
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“Inappropriate is too ambiguous – as if someone merely caught them holding hands,” Johnson wrote in a since-deleted X post which ChurchLeaders captured with a screenshot. “This was a 5-year relationship with strong romantic overtones. Both parties insist no literal fornication was involved, but their tie to one another was adulterous in spirit, if not in fact.”
Johnson also claimed that the woman in question was decades younger than Lawson and did not live in the same state.
He is 73. She is in her late 20s. She is not a member of his church. In fact, she lives in a different state nowhere close to any of the ministries Steve served. I don’t believe any good end would be served by exposing her identity to the public.
Johnson further claimed Lawson told the elders of the church only after the woman’s father addressed him.
Steve informed the elders, but only after the girl’s father had confronted Steve and threatened exposure. This was not a noble confession of sin.
Johnson has since discussed why he deleted these posts.
In deference to the elders of Trinity Bible Church of Dallas, I removed the comments I posted this morning regarding the Steven Lawson scandal. Those elders shepherd the local church Lawson belonged to, so their pastoral duty takes precedence over mine.
These are godly men, committed to the truth of Scripture, and I’m fully confident they will do the right thing. They have every right to set their own pace.
If anyone thought I was being critical of Trinity’s elders, please forgive me for allowing such an ambiguity. My trust and respect for them could not be any higher.
Johnson asked people on X to further bring their questions to Trinity’s elders or Steven Lawson himself. He also pointed out that God’s movement in the church “is infinitely more important than any scandal that would seek to tear it asunder.”
During the last church service at Trinity Bible, elder Mark Becker noted that it had been a “difficult week” for the church, but he did not call Lawson by name.
The Christian Post also reported on Albert Mohler’s response to the situation, saying that he did “not see this coming.”
As we’ve seen more ministries and pastors riddled with scandal this year, we as the body of Christ need to be praying for our leaders so that they may walk with integrity and continue to seek God and His wisdom in every area of life.
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Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
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