Pastor Steve Lawson was recently fired from Trinity Bible Church in Dallas following allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a substantially younger woman. As the church continues to endure the fallout from the controversy, Trinity Bible Church elders have stressed the importance of discipline.
Elder Mark Becker addressed the congregation at Trinity Bible Church this past weekend noting the difficult time the church has faced. “It has been a difficult week for all of us. I know that it has been a very emotional week in many ways; it’s been sobering, and a lot has happened,” he said.
He continued, “There have been many questions, and I think there will continue to be many questions. Speaking to you as an elder right now, the questions we need to focus on are how this church, this local body, is going to move forward together. I think those are the important questions we should be considering.”
Becker outlined the goals the church was founded on, stating, “When this church was founded in January of 2018, we were charged with three things to be a New Testament church. The first was that we had to preach God’s word faithfully.” He added, “We’ve done that from the very beginning, preaching verse by verse to the best of our ability, with different men filling the pulpit week after week, including some of the elders. The Holy Spirit has woven these sermons together to bless all of us, and we will continue to do that as we move forward.”
In light of the allegations against Lawson, Becker emphasized that the institution will “practice church discipline.” He said, “God is a God of order and holiness, and if you have been called, your charge and my charge is to be holy.”
Becker noted that “just like parents discipline their children out of love and concern for their well-being, the Lord disciplines His children because He loves them and wants what is best for them,” explaining how acts of discipline prepare Christians to spend eternity with God.
“If you came this morning to see a man, I hope that man is the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the head of His church, and I could name all the elders and those who have preached, but ultimately, the Lord Jesus Christ is the head of this church,” Becker said, emphasizing that Jesus Christ in His perfection is the ultimate leader of the church.
The Christian Tribune previously reported on the controversy centered around Lawson, where details had come to light regarding the nature of the “inappropriate relationship.” Phil Johnson, the executive director of Grace to You, who also serves as an elder at John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church, recently came forward, claiming, “Inappropriate is too ambiguous – as if someone merely caught them holding hands. 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.”
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