Blaming his congregation’s woes on people who are “struggling with change,” Ben Young, pastor at Second Baptist Church of Houston, said allegations in a bombshell lawsuit against him and his church “simply are not true.”
In a sermon last Sunday, Young fought back against the accusations that he and his family planned a takeover of the 94,000-member church and its $1 billion in assets.
Regarding that lawsuit, the pastor said that he can “guarantee you that we as a body of Christ will respond to this appropriately.”
Two weeks ago, current and former members of the church filed a complaint alleging that Ed Young, Ben’s father and the previous senior pastor at the church – along with several other church leaders – deceptively stripped church members of their voting rights and transferred “nearly dictatorial authority” to the senior pastor.
The leaders allegedly did this by updating the bylaws at a 2023 meeting that only 200 members from the megachurch attended, according to the lawsuit.
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Then less than a year later, the new bylaws allowed Ed Young to make his son his successor “without any need to be anxious about whether his son would be selected” through the traditional vote process, the complaint said.
Additionally, since the bylaws have been updated, church leaders have allegedly made it difficult for Second Baptist members to read them.
Ben Young argued Sunday that the updated bylaws “were prayed through and worked through biblically and legally.”
“The members who were trustees at that time unanimously approved and recommended them to the church. These bylaws were voted on by the church to a virtual unanimous decision,” he said. “Second is a unique multi-campus church and school that could not function without healthy clear and strong bylaws.”
Young claims church leadership has accountability
Young brought up the lawsuit to his congregation this past weekend by stating that the church always receives “push back” whenever changes are implemented.
“For about the past, I don’t know 11 months, our staff, our team has been dealing with people. . .struggling with change,” Young said. “In today’s world, you know, you can say things, do things, print things, you can file a lawsuit at any time. Someone has filed a lawsuit “(against us.)”
While Young said he can’t talk about the lawsuit, he noted that the church is receiving advice from attorney Jay Sekulow, who represented President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial. (Sekulow currently leads the American Center for Law and Justice in Washington, D.C.)
What he can say at this moment, Young continued, is that “the allegations that were made concerning me and my family simply are not true. They’re just not.”
The congregation then started to clap for Young.
Young urged church members that they have an “excellent” leadership team and structure that offers “great efficiency and accountability” at the church. He said the ministry leadership team is made up of pastors, lawyers and financial leaders.
He also argued that the church has a “major independent firm” that conduct annual audits, along with a financial team who manages the budget.
“Our staff is skilled, united and called to this church family as never before, as never before,” he added. “As a church family we’re not going backwards we’re moving forward with all that God has in store for us.”
He paused for applause and continued, “You can rest assured that our pastors, our financial leaders, our attorneys, (and) our lay people here that are in this service — and others who help lead and serve this church family — will continue to do so with deep care.”
Jeremiah Counsel retaliates against Young’s remarks
Jeremiah Counsel, the organization behind the lawsuit, contested Young’s words in a series of response questions posted on their website.
While Young argued that the church has transparent leadership, Jeremiah Counsel contended that the church has made the bylaws difficult to access and hasn’t shared who is on the ministry leadership team (MLT)
“Why can’t church members know who is on the MLT?” the organization posed. “The reason is that the MLT is handpicked by the Senior Pastor and only he can nominate someone for the MLT. They do not want you to know who is on the MLT.”
Jeremiah Counsel alleges that as of the last known makeup of the team, all but one of the members were either paid by the church or related to Young.
Jeremiah Counsel also noted that some of these trustees who voted on the amended bylaws have now joined the lawsuit against Second Baptist.
“They were deceived and not told that if they voted for the new bylaws, that every member would lose their right to vote,” the website stated. “No one told them they were giving virtually unchecked power to the Senior Pastor, with no oversight by an independent board elected by the membership.”
In response to Young’s remarks about the church’s annual audit, Jeremiah Counsel said this does not “oversee any activities of the senior pastor.”
Additionally, Jeremiah Counsel alleged that the finance committee, budget committee, and personnel committee are just “figureheads to provide the illusion of accountability.”
“All members of these committees serve at the sole discretion of the Senior Pastor and can be removed from their roles at any time, for any reason,” the organization claimed. “The Senior Pastor, through his control of the MLT, has nearly unchecked powers and can remove anyone that does not agree with him.”
All this is clearly laid out in the bylaws, the Counsel stated, urging anyone with questions to call the church to demand to see them.
Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.
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18 Responses
So here we go again! These people think ministry is a family business. Keep the gravy train going,just like TD Jakes. CHURCH GONE CEO!
The courts have held repeatedly that they have no authority over internal church administrative affairs. The lawsuit will go nowhere. It is best to vote with your checkbook and feet. Shake the dust off your feet and leave and convince others to do so if the offense is that sinister.
You are correct, it’s called the ecclesiastical doctrine.
Know how to turn OFF any automatic donations you may be making to the church, should you decide, you can no longer be a member in good conscience. Also, send a letter via certified mail (or any method which allows you to track receipt) terminating your membership. The leadership may “discipline” you and refuse to let you do so. that is an empty threat: the Free Exercise Clause allows you to stop being a member just as much as it lets a congregation decide who can be one.
Amen, Brother! The best thing to do is to select a pastor that you can trust to preach and teach the inerrant word of God. If a man will be true to his calling; you can trust him to tell you the truth.
All of these court issues and entanglements are totally worthless and shameful. The secular courts will not begin to interpret the scriptures for you.
I used to attend Fellowship controlled by Ed. Sure he has a list of advisors and controllers, but they are all cronies and bow to his demands. I’m sure 2nd Baptist is following in the same footsteps. Members are there just to give money and that’s it. Shame on them! I always felt that Fellowship trained members to go somewhere else. Their best consequence is for the members is to find another church to support.
The Ed Young in this story is the father, not the son who runs Fellowship (as a real estate racket – I also used to be a member there).
Same old song and dance. Nepotism keeps God’s money in the family. It’s sad how little respect mega church pastors have for the sheep they’re supposed to shepherd. Don’t just stop giving, stop serving too. Find a church that has servant leaders.
As a younger born again believer, I was led to believe that I could trust my senior pastor and his hand-picked board which I was on. I began to see the senior pastor manipulate the board for what HE wanted. I was taught that he knew best; but after being treated like I was demonic for kindly throwing up red flags, I began seeing the truth about this money and power sham. I praise God for setting me free from all of it! My husband and I love our house church life in California, yes crazy California! HALLELUJAH! I pray for all who are standing against evil in spite of being treated as evil for telling the truth.
Love to all in Jesus’ name,
Janelle
Great article but no mention of Ed, Jr., Ben’s older brother and lead pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX. Similar size mega church (24,000 weekly attendees) and another celebrity pastor living in the lap of luxury. Now that Ed, Sr. has been kicked to the curb, my guess is that eventually the Southern Kingdom (2nd Baptist) will merge with the Northern Kingdom (Fellowship) and the brothers will be co-dictators over their new super ultra mega church corporation. Heck, they may even declare it a sovereign nation.
You’re not wrong!! Ditto!
And then – in the pattern the younger Ed uses – they will start selling off campuses. Ask the Miami congregation (or the one in Oklahoma, or the other side of Florida) who got “merged” with them, then had the building sold out from under the congregation.
If Ben stays in power, there will be soon be more tumbleweeds in the 6 parking lots than cars.
I was an associate deacon there 38 years ago and taught Sunday School at the west campus until 2013. It is true that Dr. Young ruled with velvet covered iron fists, and the deacons board did what it was told to do, but 1 Corinthians 6 prohibits Christians suing other Christians in pagan courts. If Jeremiah Counsel wants to sue, take it to the Southern Baptist Convention if they can’t resolve it internally in SBC Houston. SBC Houston’s governance practices are not biblical in that there is no elder board of co-leadership that directs the deacons what to do, and one man should not have that much power. Nevertheless, I will say that Dr. Young ran a tight ship and was powerful in his commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture and excellent exegesis of it. He was visionary and was used by the Lord to bring many to Christ. As he used to say, “God makes straight licks with crooked sticks.” There are faults on both sides, and as Christians both sides should vigorously and rigorously pursue peace and unity without exposing the church to the ungodly masses. Both sides should meditate on Romans 2:24 and consider if there is some equivalency in this situation: “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you…”
Why would they take their concerns to the Southern Baptist Convention when:
1.) The Southern Baptist Convention knows about this travesty already and hasn’t done a single thing to rectify the situation.
2.) It is a known fact Second Baptist has plans to leave the Southern Baptist Convention.
Perhaps, the Convention is willing to take their 30 pieces of silver as long as they can.
Not a fan of the Youngs and their philosophy of ministry, but we live in a day and age where anyone can accuse someone else of anything they want with or without proof. The fact that there are always whiners in a church, particularly in a church of 94,000 (really … 94k? bologna) should be neither a suprise nor cause a surprise as to why the logistical change needed to be made. One that btw, has been common since the book of Acts and the Gnostic Gospel of 2nd Opinions.Why would anyone take a job as a pastor of a church where tens of thousands of people would call themselves voting members but not even bother to attend. That should be a no brainer as to why the by-laws needed to be changed.
I think it is important to underscore that this is a Baptist church and as such, is autonomous from any denominational overview or proscribed form of church gov’t. I’ve been a member of mostly Baptist churches as I have lived in multiple states. Some have had an active board, others a rubber-stamped board and some an almost invisible board, all with success and failure. I went to one church for 25+ years (was also on staff there) and could hardly say who the deacons or elders were except when they were involved in commissioning or ordaining a pastor. Yes, it is rife for error and abuse but so is every type of church governance. More typical of the Baptist churches I have been a member of you vote with your feet if there is scandal.
I’ve been blessed that every Baptist church I have been a member of (as an adult where I could choose) has been pretty scandal-free. Thank you God.
I’ve been attending Second for three years now, consistently attending a Sunday morning Bible Study and the 11:11 AM service in which Ben Young taught while his father Ed taught during the 9:30 AM service; Ben teaches in both now. What an honor it is to be in this church. How I’ve benefitted from Ben’s depth of insights into the Scriptures and by his authentic humility. In addition to the teachings, we are making great friends and building meaningful community.
The Word is taught consistently and truthfully, going through the books of the Bible in both the class and in the service. As Ben is teaching from Jude, he shies away from nothing. This week he taught on the reality of hell, that all the doctrines, e.g. salvation and resurrection, fall apart without the biblical teaching of a real hell. He went right on to read Jude 4- 7. This man cannot be bought. He will not be ruled by a Board that will guide him about what he cannot teach from the Word because it might push people away: he’s going to speak the truth, and he does so in love. On Easter, 60 people decided that day to be baptized, others keep coming for salvation. No law suit by power hungry former advisors will deter me for a moment; I won’t even blink. Second Baptist by God’s grace will go forward; Ben and Ed Sr. are clearly trusting in God for their honor even as they are being disparaged. It’s a trial by fire that will purify us all the more. Praying for unity and that God’s name will be honored and praised all the more.
Yes, appointing sons, sons-in-law, and others to lead the next generation of God’s church reflects poorly on the outside world. It creates the impression of a “family business.” Start a church, become a pastor in a different area, or serve in another ministry.