Two Prominent Pastors Break With SBC After Critical Race Theory Statement
Charlie Dates and Ralph D. West spoke out in response to a controversial statement released by seminary presidents.
Kate Shellnutt| Image: bengrey / Flickr and MLK50 / BP
Ralph D. West and Charlie Dates
The leaders of two majority-black megachurches in major cities announced this week that they will no longer affiliate with the Southern Baptist Convention.
In op-eds announcing their decisions to leave, Charlie Dates of Chicago’s Progressive Baptist Church and Ralph D. West of Houston’s The Church Without Walls both criticized SBC seminary presidents’ declaration that critical race theory was “incompatible” with the denomination’s statement of faith.
Pastor Ralph West is founder and senior pastor of The Church Without Walls in Houston, Texas. | Facebook/The Church Without Walls
The Rev. Ralph West, founder and senior pastor of The Church Without Walls in Houston, Texas, says he is cutting ties with the Southern Baptist Convention over a recent statement from the denomination’s Council of Seminary Presidents denouncing critical race theory and intersectionality as incompatible with their beliefs.
West, who ministers to more than 24,000 families in three locations each week, made the announcement in an op-ed published in the Baptist Standard, which called on the seminary presidents to repent for bringing “division and confusion to the body of Christ” with their statement.
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Texas Baptist Minister, a Lifelong Republican, Loses License After Endorsing Biden
On 12/18/20 at 4:39 PM EST
A Southern Baptist minister was told his license to the gospel ministry would not be renewed at a Texas church following a Facebook post endorsing Joe Biden for president in September, according to the Baptist Standard.
David Bumgardner, a 21-year-old Fort Worth student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary s Scarborough College, completed a year-long pastoral internship at Faith Memorial Baptist Church in Archer City, Texas. The congregation, which is aligned with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, licensed Bumgardner to the gospel ministry on July 19, a private agreement between himself and the church pastor, Avery Sprey.
Young Southern Baptist minister endorsed Joe Biden, then lost his license
David Bumgardner, a 21-year-old Southern Baptist minister, is still learning the balancing act that comes with faith leaders diving into politics.
David Bumgardner on the campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas on Tuesday, December 15, 2020. (Lawrence Jenkins/Special Contributor)(Lawrence Jenkins / Special Contributor)
David Bumgardner, a 21-year-old from Arlington, is a Southern Baptist minister and lifelong Republican he also publicly endorsed President-elect Joe Biden on Facebook in September.
That decision ultimately played a role in the loss of his ministry license along with a wave of negative pushback, as