Steve Lawson Was Not a Pastor, Elder or Even a Member at Trinity Bible Church? An Update
Six weeks have passed since Trinity Bible Church revealed that Steve Lawson was disqualified from “ministry activities” for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman who was not his wife, and a new report offers insight into why this whole situation has been so strange and murky.
According to pastors Derek Brown and Cliff McManis of Creekside Bible Church in Cupertino, California, on an episode of their podcast With All Wisdom, using information that has been “verified by the testimony of two or three witnesses,” Steve Lawson, though he previously served as a pastor of previous churches, was neither a pastor, nor an elder, nor even a member at Trinity Bible Church.
“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.”
Notably, the original announcement from Trinity reads, “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.”
Notice that while he was removed indefinitely from all ministry activities, he wasn’t removed from a position. He was removed from all ministry activities, but he wasn’t removed from being an elder or pastor.
So what was Lawson if he wasn’t their pastor or elder?
He was the regular guest preacher, otherwise known as the “Lead Preacher,” receiving a dispensation from the elders to preach the sermon and then depart once the message was done.
“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.”
The revelation tracks with what several members of Trinity Bible Church have reported to us, saying that Lawson’s scandalous affair opened their eyes to how problematic and challenging some of his behavior was, which was never really questioned or considered but now is glaring in light of this new exposure.
Members report that he would show up on Sundays, head straight to the back, preach the sermon, and then leave almost immediately after, rarely sticking around to shake hands or spend time talking to congregants because he had to “guard his time.”
Some exemptions were made for some of the young adult groups, but by and large, he was rarely around and was functionally inaccessible to the congregants- just like one might expect a guest preacher to be. They have speculated that this distance from the flock has played a role in him feeling he wasn’t accountable to them because they never really knew him, nor him them, and therefore was able to live a double life.
Because he’s not a member, elder, or pastor, the hosts suggest the church has no ability to hold him accountable in ways they would if he were, pointing out how this changes the conversation from groups that initially chastised others.
“But this is important because you go back to the very beginning when we were being lectured by all kinds of people, including G3 Ministries (who) made a statement early on and said we need to let the local elders at Trinity Bible Church handle this and the discipline process and the restoration process, and the rest of us need to just be hands off, be quiet, don’t ask questions. Literally. Leave it to the local church. And then Tim Challies in his panel said the same thing. It’s kind of a rebuke. ‘You Christians out there, quit trying to micromanage this. This is the local church elders’ responsibility. Trust them. They’re godly men.’ They’re saying that in ignorance. And so now Trinity Church admits, ‘we can’t do anything. So who’s holding him accountable?”
Brown and McManis explain why accountability is so important in a previous episode on the same topic:
“Steve Lawson needs to be held accountable because of James 3:1, and yet that’s the responsibility of the local church elders, and he’s a Bible teacher, but he’s not even a member of that church. So the local elders of Trinity can’t hold him accountable- he’s not cooperating. You say he has to be held accountable, and the question is, how? Yeah. I mean, how do you… He has no (unintelligible) place of accountability. He’s just been serving in all these areas of ministry, different ministries.
He’s a guest preacher at Trinity Bible Church. He’s at the D.Min program at the Masters Seminary, how are they going to hold them accountable, first and foremost? It’s not their responsibility; he’s not a member of Grace Church. And the seminary there is not a church. Ligonier is not a church, and he’s on the board there and the teaching fellow there. So do they hold them accountable? One Passion Ministries, that’s his ministry. He’s the man. He runs the thing. He’s the founder, CEO, and president. Who’s going to hold him accountable there? And how do you hold him accountable for a parachurch ministry?
So there’s really no ultimate accountability for not a member of a local church.
Those parachurch ministries don’t have a structure of church discipline like the church does, and Jesus handing the keys over to the church saying, ‘that’s our responsibility’ to hold someone like him accountable. And so no one has the instrument by which to hold him accountable, it seems, which is remarkable.”
Ultimately, the model of building the local church on the backs of guest preachers demonstrates a compromised ecclesiology that is so intrinsically and fundamentally flawed that it betrays a foundational problem. This whole notion of “I’ll preach at your church all the time but I won’t be your pastor” suggests Trinity Bible Church’s faulty ecclesiology is at least partially, if not significantly, to blame in this kind of situation, and explains why they are so reticent to speak up now.
As far as where Lawson is in this whole process, he has ghosted everybody and has been exceedingly uncooperative.
With most cases of the revelation of disqualifying sin, the guilty pastor fesses up and spills his guts, admits his faults, comes clean, repents, and the process of restoration back into the body begins. With Lawson, this has yet to happen, presenting a unique situation.
Reportedly, he presently resides in Tennessee, and his wife and daughter, the latter of whom just had a baby, his grandchild, remain in Dallas.
Editor’s note. An earlier version of this article accidentally omitted a question mark in the title.
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Nobody will ever escape accountability. As it is written, “The Lord will repay” …
” 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” – Heb. 10:26-31
Verse 28 is also key. It is the law that makes mercy merciful. To reject it is to reject the need for forgiveness. And it references Duet. 19. What does Duet. 19 tell us to do? It tells us to “purge the evil from among you”. As does 1 Cor. 5. The only church discipline necessary is to kick them out. Church discipline is not a matter of punishment or control. It’s a matter of discipleship, where the one undergoing the discipline is a willing participant. If he is not willing, then the only application of Matt. 18 would be that he is as a “gentile or tax collector”.
If scripture specifies the individual be kicked out, and tells us not to associate with them, then it is wrongful to try to reconcile according to Matt. 18, because their opportunity (as the three opportunities to repent specified in Matt. 18) has already expired. I would submit this is true even if the individual is repentant.
So don’t worry about it. Whether or not he is held accountable in this life is not our concern. We know that he will be. As 1 Cor. 5 also says, it is not our place to judge the world. And once kicked out, as he has rightfully been, he is of the world. His eternal fate is between him and the Lord. And per the scripture, such as that referenced above, he’s in big trouble with the Lord.
Could be wrong, but this is how I see it according to my understanding of scripture …
The verses immediately preceding that passage in Heb 10, give the reason for gathering in the first place. It is to encourage one another to righteousness. And that is the nature of what church discipline is supposed to be. It is supposed to be an encouraging matter of discipleship in which the participant is willing.
Most understand the scope is the true church universal. Not any individual congregations, which may or may not be a part of it. (fewer and fewer are these days). But for those who don’t understand, this clarification is necessary.
Here’s the one question that many Calvinists seem to refuse answering: Is Steven Lawson, in the five-point Calvinist view still saved (one saved-always saved) or was he never saved to begin with. If it’s the former, then you are saying that one who is unrepentant can be saved and repentance is unnecessary. If it is the latter, then you’re saying that a man who was a pastor for 40 years, wrote dozens of books, was a professor of preaching, lecturer, tour guide, etc., was always false (because the Calvinist doesn’t believe in falling away). And IF he was never saved and always false, what makes you think that we can trust others in the limelight?
No idea. Don’t trust others in the limelight. Limelight is no guarantee of faithfulness or godly living. The opposite may be more likely. Pray for those in the limelight.
If he remains unrepentant then he was never saved to begin with.
As many fervent Calvinists would admit, we don’t know whether one is saved or not. Only God knows… Therefore, we prayerfully, humbly and lovingly preach the Gospel, teach, admonish and encourage, fully trusting Romans 8:29-30.
“29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
God’s irresistible and sovereign grace will enable His chosen to persevere until the end, for His own pleasure and glory! 🙏
Not only that… if he is not saved (e.g. if he does not repent), but he, apparently, had good works (notice the thousands of people who praised his good teaching), then there goes the “T” in tulip. Either way, the T is decimated by Scripture, of course, and Cornelius being just one example.
Good point M. Very true. Scripture does indeed decimate the total depravity doctrine, to a significant extent. One example being Romans 1:19-20.
From the Canons of Dort, Chapter 5 on Perseverance of the Saints:
“Article 4: The Danger of True Believers’ Falling into Serious Sins
The power of God strengthening and preserving true believers in grace is more than a match for the flesh. Yet those converted are not always so activated and motivated by God that in certain specific actions they cannot by their own fault depart from the leading of grace, be led astray by the desires of the flesh, and give in to them. For this reason they must constantly watch and pray that they may not be led into temptations. When they fail to do this, not only can they be carried away by the flesh, the world, and Satan into sins, even serious and outrageous ones, but also by God’s just permission they sometimes are so carried away—witness the sad cases, described in Scripture, of David, Peter, and other saints falling into sins.
Article 5: The Effects of Such Serious Sins
Article 5: The Effects of Such Serious Sins
By such monstrous sins, however, they greatly offend God, deserve the sentence of death, grieve the Holy Spirit, suspend the exercise of faith, severely wound the conscience, and sometimes lose the awareness of grace for a time—until, after they have returned to the right way by genuine repentance, God’s fatherly face again shines upon them.”
If Lawson is truly saved, God will bring him back to repentance. Persistent, unrepentant sin, however, would suggest his faith was never genuine:
“Such as truly repent, turn to God with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.” (WCF 15.3)
The confessions also warn that even prominent leaders can be false professors:
“Not all who are called by the gospel, and profess faith, are truly elect.” (Canons of Dort 5.8)
Thus, we cannot judge Lawson’s heart. Our assurance should rest on God’s promises, not the reputation of any individual:
“This infallible assurance does not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties.” (WCF 18.3)
Regarding trust in prominent Christian figures, the WCF (18.3) emphasizes that assurance is based not on a person’s ministry or reputation but on the inward evidence of saving faith and the promises of God:
“This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long, and conflict with many difficulties, before he be partaker of it.”
In other words, our confidence should not rest in the external appearance of spirituality but in the work of the Holy Spirit, who alone knows and reveals the true state of a person’s heart.
Conclusion: Was Lawson Saved or Not?
We can’t make a definitive judgment on Lawson’s state of salvation because only God knows the heart. If he was truly saved, then God will bring him to repentance, even if he temporarily strays. If he was never saved, then his ministry, despite its external fruit, was ultimately a case of false profession.
So a free agent pinch hitter in a word of franchise churches?
Think Joel Osteen will agree to a salary cap?
People are not off the hook if they aren’t a member of a church… Trinity Church has an obligation to discipline Steve Lawson.
He was affiliated with them, attended, preached, sent out… That message they are sending/teaching people is “if you don’t become a member our hands are tied; So don’t become a member and you’ll never be disciplined out.” Absolutely untrue.
That’s why I added the clarification on the scope. It is technically the obligation of the entire church universal, not just Trinity Church. By 1 Cor. 5, he should be barred from any and every congregation of believers, and none should associate with him.
What makes it difficult is, in my opinion, similar to the difference between criminal and civil law. By God’s law, he has committed egregious crimes. By man’s law, it is a civil matter. (and that’s probably the way it should be unless we want the world to start invading and controlling the church)
So if you do apply Matt. 18, as if it were a civil matter between brothers, and you consider that he has not properly repented, then he is as a “gentile or tax collector”, which means he is no longer considered a brother, then a lawsuit becomes acceptable recourse. If you’re going to discipline him further than disassociation, then a secular lawsuit is your only option. In my opinion, that is not the correct course of action, because it is a 1 Cor. 5 situation involving “criminal” acts against the Lord and His church, and not a Matt. 18 situation involving a “civil” disagreement between brothers.
If there is a question, then we should leave it up to the Lord, knowing that He will repay …
But I’m just an anonymous poster with an opinion, right. And I could be wrong. It’s up to the elders of the church. As I see it, the only recourse would be a secular lawsuit, which would be acceptable by Biblical standards only if the three opportunities to repent Jesus outlined in Matt. 18, have expired. At that point, a lawsuit would be acceptable.
The fact that lawsuits are addressed in the very next chapter, 1 Cor. 6, and plopped right into the middle of a condemnation of sexual immorality in the church, would indicate to me that the early church faced very similar problems. By the consequences outlined in Mosaic law, Larson would’ve been put to death, as would the willing adulteress. It wouldn’t be a difficult matter, in terms of knowing how to handle it. But just as the ceremonial aspects of the law are fulfilled in Jesus, so are the penalties. Which means we now often have to leave the consequences up to the Lord, which is partly what 1 Cor. 5 and 6 are about, in my opinion. The church saying, “how do we deal with this, now that they’re not being put to death by the law of Moses?”, and the Apostle’s instruction, by leading of the Holy Spirit, as to what to do.
Remember, nobody is ever off the hook. If the Lord says He will repay, then you’d better believe He absolutely will repay. As Heb 10 reiterates
As to how He will repay, and the theological questions on how it all works, whether or not Lawson was never saved or lost his salvation, who are the elect, how does that jive with the great commission, and so on, I don’t have much of a clue. All I know is that God is just, and that if He says that He will repay, then He absolutely will. Scripture such as that in Heb. 10 indicates that nobody will ever get away with anything. And I trust that it is true, even though I may not fully understand
I believe one good way to determine which is which, whether something is a matter of trespass between brothers, or is a matter of sin against the Lord, is to consider whether or not it is something that we have the authority to forgive. Since Lawson’s sins, and those of the adulteress, are an egregious sins against the Lord, and against the entire church universal, only God has the authority to forgive trespasses against Himself. We cannot do that. Even the elders of Trinity Church do not have the authority to forgive Lawson for what he has done. Considering that fact, it’s clear that the scope is much larger than one church.
Sometimes we just have to leave things to the Lord. As scripture says, his punishment will be far more severe. His kingdom is not of this world, and we cannot create heaven on earth.
A scripture that goes along with that is Matt 5:38-42, where Jesus tells us not to resist the evil person.”
It’s a tough one to make sense of. But if you think about it, and the fact that the Lord will repay, and that we live in a fallen world, that we are all imperfect human beings, it begins to make sense. (not that I fully understand it myself)
That’s what some of the Christian Nationalist boys call “loser theology”, because it can look like we’re just giving up and quitting.
No, it is a matter of giving up in that we are giving it up to the Lord, but it is not a matter of quitting. Just the opposite.
The overall gist of what Jesus is telling us in Matt 5 is not that God’s law as conveyed through Moses is incomplete or insufficient, but that the practice, administration, and enforcement of it is inherently imperfect, as mankind is imperfect. So He’s saying, if we err, as imperfect humans must, then we err on the side of righteousness.
It is the same with this situation with Lawson. The church is not going to be able to perfectly enforce God’s standards in this case.
A good example is the law on adultery. God’s law is that it is sinful, and that it is a death penalty offense. But if you look at scripture related to the administration and enforcement of that law, such as the latter half of Duet. 22, you can see that though God’s law is perfect and complete, mankind’s ability to administer and enforce it is anything but. If a man and woman are involved in the country, where her cries could not be heard, then he is considered to basically have committed rape, and she is essentially deemed to be innocent. Why? Because that’s the best imperfect human beings can do, having no way of knowing exactly what actually happened. So we follow the principles of how it should be administered and enforced, knowing perfect justice is not humanly possible. It’s not the law that is imperfect. It’s we human beings who are imperfect. And that, I believe, is most of the gist of what Jesus is telling us. Not that the law is wrong. But that we are wrong.
And that means there will be times when we have to just leave things up to the Lord, knowing He is just and that He will repay …
Rejoicing today that my wife and I left the 501c3 USA church movement. You all can debate if Steve is saved, not saved, or just unrepentant. He did give all the people at Trinity Church/Masters Cemetary their weekly fix of Calvinism. Sort of like a drug dealer. At least they still have Steve’s writings and CDs to continue their Calvinistic addictions. Perhaps Trinity Church/Masters Cemetary could use some counseling.
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I’m still trying to figure out why people only seem interested in Lawson. What about the woman? Is she not guilty? Has she been repentant? Was she been disciplined by her home congregation? Also, how is it that Phil Johnson seemed to have so much more information than any outlet like Protestia or Roys Report? Did he talk to the elders at Trinity as the news broke? Did he know about it in advance because, quite frankly, he seemed to know plenty of details about the woman before anyone else reported anything? I will say this, Cancel Culture has nothing on Evangelicals … I mean, c’mon, I can still find plenty of Kevin Spacey movies.
I think any and all of them can hold him accountable. 1 Cor 5 applues not Matt 18. Saying Matt 18 applies is just something they all came up with to dodge their responsibility.
Steve Lawson was there at the founding of Trinity Bible Church of Dallas along with Kent Stainback, Mark Becker and Matt Heidelbaugh. He advertised the new church extensively at the Mens Bible Study he held in Herb’s House (owned by Kent Stainbeck) in November and December 2017 (we were watching the study). Prior to the starting of Trinity Bible Church of Dallas, Steve Lawson, Kent Stainback, Mark Becker and Matt Heidelbaugh were at Believers Chapel in Dallas. Kent was an elder there and he and Matt Heidelbaugh were teaching bible classes. According to a Believers Chapel Facebook post on 16 January 2017, Steve Lawson had been appointed preacher at large, on the recommendation of the elders and preached regularly. They say “Steve will serve Believers Chapel through occasional preaching from the pulpit, lead a week-day morning Businessmen’s Bible Study, teaching at the Men’s Retreat, and conducting Friday/Saturday Bible conferences at the church. Steve has a long association with Believers Chapel, dating back to his early years of study at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS).” There appears to have been a rift develop during that year, which led to the formation of Trinity. There are no sermons from any of these men now listed on the Believer’s Chapel website, despite them being listed in the international audio ministry in earlier years. There has been a very close personal and spiritual relationship between these men and Steve Lawson for a number of years. As elders charged with protecting the flock (Acts 20:28-31), they have failed the congregation and need to deeply examine themselves. This also applies to other organisations/churches including The Masters Seminary and Grace Community Church. The problem is not just Steve Lawson, but those around him and elders who have actively promoted his ministry and appointed him to key teaching positions. They were not on their guard and failed as under-shepherds protecting the flock.