It was dealt with quickly, compassionately, and publicly. (Speaking generally, not on Loritts): You may not see the role race is playing in a persons argument, so I encourage you to ask why they brought it up or how it plays into their perspective and experience rather than dismissing it altogether because YOU dont see its relevance. Consequences and forgiveness are not the same thing. Do you agree with him that bloggers are like white churches: Suffering from the malady of being graceless? Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post. They told all the women that they had consulted an officer and attorney. I searched for an announcement online about Loritts departure but couldnt find one. . . It is in no way the bloggers fault. Loritts currently serves on the trustee board at Biola University. We should get away from calling these places Bible Believing Churches when there not even close to the NT model. Loritts and Bryson served as lead pastors at Fellowship Memphis. Tell them you cant believe how they labor and care and give. And its just heartbreaking, Loritts said. Opinion: What is Revivaland is it Happening at Asbury? It is our understanding that none of the victims at that time chose to press charges," it noted. He is pointing the finger and judging others that take issue with dirty old men treating Christ like their whore. Last week, Patrick died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but the church has not indicated whether his death was an accident or suicide. Well-known preacher Bryan Loritts will join the pastoral staff at The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham beginning June 1, the church announced during online worship services this weekend.. LeeBeth also served as a preacher at the Dallas church. Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Like, theres a whole industry out thereblogging, Christian mediathat that exists and thrives off of fallen leaders. He was initially taken to Citizens Medical Center in Victoria but was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Luke MacDonald is the son of James MacDonald, the disgraced former pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel. If you are not in ministry, know this, it is endlessly rough and deeply painful. Sadly, when I listen to people like Loritts, I sense that they feel entitled to their position of being a pastor. We should adopt a different title religious institution or whatever. We worship together each Sunday at 10:00 am. Specifically, a single incident of Trotter recording people in a bathroom was reported. When I heard that my friend died, my immediate thought was, Evangelicals were an accomplice to his death.. In fact, I was not part of the original investigation team and never personally saw any evidence. There should be zero entitlement. What do you think of Loritts injecting race into the matter? - Martin Luther King Jr. Wake up and do the right thing! Get new articles and breaking news delivered to your inbox. While I agree with much of your post, what I find unsettling is that it seems to position you as a voice of authority on when someone else can bring up race. Ill never walk away from or give up on Jesus and hope no one else does either. Yes, there is grace, forgiveness and restoration to the Church for any repentant sinner, but there is not necessarily restoration to ministry. But Ive heard two recent suicides described as devoted fathers and one as a loving husband. Pharisaical bull and worse. Seriously? Lets remember that when there is loss, it is very common for those who are grieving to look for someone or something to blame. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. We find this throughout the Bible- Noah, Moses, David, Jonah, Peter and others. From 2003 to 2015, Loritts was senior pastor at Fellowship Memphis Church, where his brother-in-law, Rick Trotter, served as worship director. As I tried to be respectful to you, please return the favor and give me credit for writing exactly what I mean and for having some basic intellectual understanding of the maladies of the white race and its institutions in American. This is not rocket science. The point of the post is that Lorrits is a dirty old man who consistently covers for other dirty old men. Now he approves of noted preacher snoop dog threatening people with physical violence, simply for telling the truth. The answers to those questions would shed a lot of light on both perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. In other words, no where am I telling Loritts (or you) to sit down and shut up. Life is hard. Anymore it seems that every time I see Acts 29 or Moody I wonder if theres been yet another scandal involving them or their surrogates and the answer is far too often yes. Yet they wonder why people are turning away from the church. People of all color can discuss race; if that is not possible, then no healing of racial inequality and prejudice can ever occur. Truth be told, we do not know what someone elses experience is. It was then that a victim told The Christian Post about Loritts involvement in the alleged coverup of Trotters crimes in 2010. Rick Trotter (inset) and the home of the Memphis Grizzlies inside the FedExForum arena located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. Whataboutism is not evidence. The Rev. Long died after a "gallant private fight with an . After being in a church where the pastor was a serial adulterer and all I kept hearing was he was such a good preacher, my current churchs approach has given me much more confidence in the leadership. Interestingly, Ulmer recently hired Luke MacDonald to serve as the associate pastor of preaching and outreach at Faithful Central Bible Church. For Father's Day, it was elected to set up a photo booth so families could take pictures with their dads. It should be common sense that in any large movement, whether religious or secular, there will be adherents who dont practice (or live up) to the goals and aspirations of that particular movement. On one hand, I can be accused of privilege, racism, or, God help us, white supremacy, or, on the other hand, of virtue-signaling, appropriation, or being holier-than-thou. Its 2020, people!! 1,755 were here. Luke. I guess, following that logic coming as it does from a man of color, his black churches are adundantly graceful? Application Process "Pastor Demola was a true giant and champion of the Christian . The elders and other pastors were complicit in the cover up. She was 67 years old. So was Patricks restoration. And he suggested that Christians should call out bloggers who mention the pasts of fallen pastors the same way that the rapper Snoop Dogg called out CBS host Gayle King after Kobe Bryants death. What about being qualified for ministry? Gwen Shamblin Lara started the Remnant Fellowship Church in 1999 as an extension of her popular book The Weigh Down Diet. Moody and Chris Brooks celebrating him and his writing? The Lear 36 Executive Jet had taken off from the Bahamian capital of Nassau and crashed about 5 p.m. local time Sunday, as it was coming in for a landing at Grand Bahama International Airport in . This is not The Church that the real Jesus is building. *The last two paragraphs were added after the initial posting of this article. Just five days ago, Loritts appeared on Moodys Radios Equipped with Chris Brooks. Back in the early 90s, when a couple of celebrity pastors fell from grace, Chuck Swindoll published an article answering the question if pastors caught in adultery could ever serve as pastors again. Loritts sat down with the Biblical Recorder on June 9 to discuss how he and other church leaders responded to the voyeurism incident. Ironically, in a blog, Loritts pleaded for mercy for MacDonald, despite MacDonalds egregious sins, the many he victimized, and MacDonalds complete absence of repentance or apology. Fellowship Memphis, Many of you have received the tragic news of the loss of several leaders of Harvest Church in a plane crash today. Stay and askseek to understand. No way, Im over Moody- might as well be a cult of money grabbers. (Our judicial system is actually based on this premise). There was a congregational meeting, the issue was presented, along with the restoration plan-but it was not restoration to ministry. Thirdly, having said that, many on social media, blogs, etc. Any church, regardless of racial composition, that takes a strong stand against predators in the pulpits, and that prioritizes victims over perpetrators, is suffering from no malady for doing so. Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. Lets not get dragged into the sinners game of deflect when confronted with our own sin. It is called sin. But when a Rick Trotter, Dr. Anthony Moore, Tullian Tchividjian, James McDonald and others are not stopped; they will continue their sinful behavior. Greear called Loritts "one of the most gifted pastors and preachers in the United States" during the announcement.. As one of the church's executive pastors, Loritts will oversee . Bryson remains the lead pastor at Fellowship Memphis. If there are few individuals like that, well, good. We will reassess campuses and services as things stabilize toward our new normal. Tell them you see them carrying the burdens of otherstell them you love them. They should be called out and the repentant will not run away from what they have done. Truth has no need to hide. A prominent Memphis pastor died this week after serving his congregation for more than 50 years. Phil Sanders. How about a pastors own wife? It was not out of pocket. And theres no indication anywhere, other than Lorittss speculation, that Patricks death had anything to do with bloggers or Christian media. It was marriage counseling paid for by the church, as well as a supervision plan while at church. Im grieved that Patrick took his own life, if that is indeed what he did. Just wow. . Sorry, no offense intended to actual clowns by lumping Loritts in with them. Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church? I do wish they were more openly invited to have a seat at the table. In spite of the fact that many believers attend, the church is not a building or an institution / business organization as is pervasive today. If an unbeliever told me that the church, as they see it, is a clown show, I would have to agree with them. Unfortunately, churches remain VERY segregated, so it is difficult to discuss the state of the church today and NOT discuss race. And news of Trotters crimes did not become public until six years later when Downton Church discovered that Trotter again had made indecent recordingsthis time of its members. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. But, some things are not about race. ", "It appears the facts and rumors surrounding Rick Trotter's termination from Fellowship have begun to blur," Bryson wrote in a statement to The Christian Post on Tuesday. Just a few days ago, the house where Loritts and his family were living in San Jose, CA, sold for $1.46 million. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. Garner joined Harvest Church in 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile. As a Pastor, author, speaker and FRIEND; did BL not see any signs of depression, keep in contact, counsel, pray and provide encouragement to DP? info@compel.church 662-893-1338 820 Church Road E Southaven , MS 38671 Next Steps Beginnings Baptism Discover Connect Groups School of Ministry Thrive Give Connect Kids Youth Missions Dream Center God Behind Bars Messages Live Stream Series Request Prayer Download Compel Church App Daily Devotionals Locations Online Southaven Olive Branch He was a resident of. Wouldnt that be a good place to start? Also, I never did get the hypocrisy of those who judge Christians for judging pastors who betray their flocks? Thirdly, if a pastor is struggling with a bad porn habit, where in Scripture does it convey the idea that a pastor must continue pastoring and shepherding while he struggles with his porn habit? He worked at Central Church as a student ministries director, was one of the founding pastors of Grace Evangelical and served as executive pastor of Fellowship Memphis before joining Downline Ministries in 2011. Act like you know Jesus is King and do what he says.. And even Loritts doesnt offer any evidence other than his own musings. I also emailed Pastor Anderson and the communications director at Abundant Life, but they did not respond. Maybe you would better understand whats really at stake if you took the time to research the facts and issues mentioned in this article. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. In a statement shared via social media, Pastor Young said LeeBeth, 34, died Sunday night. Do we let sinners repent and return to ministry? We know that BL failed as a Pastor, author, speaker and BROTHER-IN-LAW to Rick Trotter (RT) by protecting him rather than reprimand him; giving him a pass on his past. It plays out in many ways: the music (gospel vs hymns vs contemporary), the politics (in the black church to love God is to be a Democrat, in a white church to love God is to loathe Democrats), the role of women (if they can be elders/deacons), the attire of women (if pants are allowed), the response to sexual sins (both heterosexual and homosexual), and more are all SO different. Period. I know that the standard is high. My former pastor had the strangest Facebook post about this, too. Lets assume for a second that holding fallen pastors accountable and maintaining qualifications for ministry is a sin. Rev. The victims. Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! And over the past several years, Loritts has spoken at events sponsored by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Moody Theological Seminary, and the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Like we were to blame for the death of a pastor. Where a weakness has been exposed wisdom may suggest that in some circumstances relinquishing a particular service is needed to protect potential future victims and, for the sake of the larger body, to stay above the possibility of suspicion. But the church did not report Trotter to authorities. However, police confirmed to multiple media outlets when the story first broke that no one from Fellowship Memphis had reported Trotters alleged crimes in 2010. However, Bryan Loritts, son of nationally recognized pastor, Crawford Loritts, has a vested interest in keeping bloggers and Christian media silent. Secondly, public figures in these institutions should get public scrutiny when they are involved in serious sin that will not be dealt with by the institution. Danckerts, Cornelis (Dutch etcher and painter, before 1604-before 1656) Loritts knew this was patently false when he said it. I read what you wrote. Our membership process is simple and straightforward. We have two campuses located in East Memphis & Germantown. "The statement we provided on August 11lays out the facts that I am currently aware of. Though Patrick had been fired from an Acts 29 megachurch four years ago for patterns of sin, he had been hired by Seacoast Church 16 months later and restored to ministry. Lets not shoot the messenger. It also shouldnt take a whole army of people to make a claim for it to be considered. Join us online on Youtube. Doesnt mean I agree with or support Lorrits at all. Loritts stands accused of serious misconduct for which he has never offered a credible response. Some of the men killed or injured in a Texas plane crash Tuesday were involved for years in Christian ministries in Memphis. Regardless, is the state of white and black churches in America in any way relevant to Loritts justification for downplaying victimseven those in his own family!and advocating the graceful restoration of criminal perpetrators right back into the milieu out of which they chose their victims and perpetrated their crimes? Each year our church offers gifts on Mother's and Father's Day. But the last few decades have seen such a flowering of corruption in the evangelical world that it has left many of us with spiritual vertigo, embarrassed of our tribe, and no longer knowing what Christian radio station we can listen to, what church we can join, or what Christian institution we can attend that we are confident will not be run by a cabal of greedy men with little integrity. Wilson, who co-founded the mental health . According to numerous sources I interviewed during my extensive investigation of Harvest, Luke was very much an accomplice to his fathers bullying and massive . The Rev . If a man or woman is found guilty of sexual abuse, they need to be held accountable to the authorities and accept the penalty. "The individuals victimized, all adults, by this incident were notified of Trotter's misconduct, made aware that he had been terminated, and asked whether they wanted to press charges. Rather, it should be a humble calling. Return to homepage. Likewise, I wish they would stay at the table, even if they disagree or dont understand why or how race is playing a role in the topic at hand. Those who try to restore criminals are accomplices in their crimes and may be accomplices in their subsequent suicides. He was 30, according to Religion News Service. That is the issue. (Trotter) was fired from Fellowship Memphis and the church helped pay for him to go to rehab in his home town of Atlanta. Founded in 2003, Fellowship Memphis had a bold dream to see God build a Gospel-Centered, Disciple-Making, Multi-Ethnic church with a deep love for the city of Memphis and a heart for the nations. When you are accusing someone of something, the burden of proof is on you to have enough evidence. Megachurch pastor David T. Demola died Tuesday. It is my understanding of the unwritten rules governing the blog-commenting game that I, a white man, commenting on matters of race takes risks. One of the victims also accused Loritts of destroying evidence of Trotters crimes. I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism. I have not found one that fits the Christian community and shepherding model of the NT, and I havent found one that doesnt make me so uneasy that I can worship. @Brent that it was not intended to be. They had set up meetings with all the women to sit down individually with Rick Trotter and his wife, Heather, so he could apologize. governance failure at Harvest. This is not a church, it a business with mafia like undertones just under the surface. And in an expletive-laced video, Snoop Dog said: Gayle King, out of pocket for that st, way out of pocket . If any crime is committed, it needs to be reported to the police. Prior to his Downtown Church incident, when he was employed as a worship director by Fellowship from August 2005 to February of 2010, he was fired for similar behavior, according to the church.