An influential Calvinist pastor who quit the Southern Baptist Convention after claiming it was too woke and liberal has been suspended by his church for causing controversy online, running fake social media accounts that criticized his church’s elders and other pastors from a conference he ran.
Josh Buice, founder of the G3 Conference and pastor of Pray’s Mill Baptist Church (PMBC) in Douglasville, Georgia, was placed on indefinite leave last week after church leaders “uncovered irrefutable evidence that Dr. Buice has, for the past three years, operated at least four anonymous social media accounts, two anonymous email addresses, and two Substack platforms.”
“These accounts were used to publicly and anonymously slander numerous Christian leaders, including faithful pastors (some of whom have spoken at G3 conferences), several PMBC elders, and others,” according to a statement from the church.
“These actions were not only sinful in nature but deeply divisive, causing unnecessary suspicion and strife within the body of Christ, and particularly within the eldership of PMBC.”
Buice has also resigned as president of G3, which was founded in 2019 and brought in $2.3 million in revenue for the 2023 calendar year, de acuerdo a its public IRS financial disclosures.
Your tax-deductible gift supports our mission of reporting the truth and restoring the church. Donate $50 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you can elect to receive one of Leslie Vernick’s books “The Emotionally Destructive Marriage” or “The Emotionally Destructive Relationship”, haga clic aquí.
The group grew out of a conference started by Buice in 2013 — the name G3 stands for “Gospel, Grace, Glory.” The group claimed its annual conference drew 6,500 people in 2021, according to the G3 website.
The board of G3 has canceled the group’s annual conference, which had been planned for September, and promised full refunds. Organizers of the conference had previously apologized for charging nearly $1,000 for a Legacy Pass to the conference, which would have allowed attendees to eat a meal with speakers and have special access.
Buice was an outspoken leader among the so-called “theobros” — a set of oft-bearded Calvinist preachers and speakers known for their conservative beliefs, especially about the role of women in the church, and their criticism of other evangelicals whose faith is less strict.
He was one of the organizers de the 2018 “Statement on Social Justice,” which warned that liberal ideas about race — in particular, critical race theory — and women’s leadership had infiltrated evangelical churches. The statement was issued a few months after a number of high-profile evangelical leaders had gathered in Memphis to commemorate the 50el anniversary of the death of civil rights leader and pastor Martin Luther King Jr. and to denounce racism in the modern church.
Buice especially criticized former Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore and Bible teacher Beth Moore (not related) for allegedly promoting liberal ideas in the church, as well as former SBC President Ed Litton for presunto sermon plagiarism.
He has also apparently been running anonymous social media accounts that criticized other pastors from his own movement and elders at Pray’s Mill Church, according to the statement from the church. The church did not give any details about those accounts in their statement.
Buice had previously criticized such anonymous accounts.
“Dr. Buice had been asked on multiple occasions over the past two years whether he had any connection to these anonymous accounts. In each case, he denied any knowledge of them,” the church said in their statement.
Buice also initially denied, at a meeting on May 4, having anything to do with the anonymous accounts, according to the church statement, but then admitted his involvement.
“Since then, Josh has acknowledged his sin, expressed sorrow, and asked for forgiveness,” according to the church’s statement. “His desire is to personally ask forgiveness of every person he has slandered or lied to.”
Leaders of G3 said the ministry would continue to publish material on its website.
“As we look to the ministry’s future, we will prioritize the publication of helpful biblical content that strengthens the church and avoids the dangerous celebrity culture that has unfortunately come to characterize so much of modern evangelicalism.”
Bob Smietana es reportero nacional de Religion News Service.
Spanish 
English 
26 Responses
Nothing surprises me anymore. Wonder who coined the moniker “theobros”?
Most sources indicate if was used by a scholar to describe the movement that Buice and others are part of (A form of Christian Nationalism)
If they use the term ‘bro’ to describe themselves its most likely done with the intention to attract the predominantly younger, white male demographic they are trying to reach.
Hanging out with John MacArthur – how surprising… same evil, ego-centric, self-aggrandizing, condescending spirit.
“oft-bearded.” Yes, that is accurate! LOL
In a few months, he’ll claim to be “rehabilitated” and demand people forgive him. Never mind that Calvinist theobros would rip someone not in their camp to shreds for doing the same thing.
There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.
Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,
The poison of asps is under their lips;
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;
Their feet are swift to shed blood,
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
And the path of peace have they not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.
ROMANS 3:10
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
JAMES 3:1
Even Pastor John MacArthur was unable to discern Dr. Buice’s pain, confusion, and possible unbelief. Actual believers know that we reap what we sow. Bob Marley knew this, as do we all. We Christian believers must walk like Christ when he confronted the scribes and pharisees, openly speaking the truth about them in love.
Even John MacArthur couldn’t discern? John Mac is a Calvinist. Calvinism has a doctrine of Divine determinism, and that means that God determines everything we do, both good and evil. John Mac’s answer MUST be; according to the doctrine he follows: God made him do it. John Calvin got his doctrines from the Greek Philosopher Plato who taught Divine determinism. And Calvin also attended a Philosophy university course in Geneva further enforcing his following of Plato. Calvinist pastors will never mention these problems because they are very bad for the cash flow.
Paul Ryan
Charging $1000 for legacy passes and a pastor from Georgia hosting conferences in metro Dallas is the embodiment of the celebrity culture that the G3 supposedly opposes. The very fact that they had to cancel the conference because their celebrity pastor wouldn’t be there is further proof.
P A T H E T I C.
Was all this predestined – or just some of it?
Oh ya. Fully ordained.
Very sad and avoidable. But it is the end of days so not surprised.
He slanders and maligns his own fellow Christians. He lies repeatedly to his fellow Christians about his behavior, and hypocritically condemns behavior in others that he secretly is doing himself. How did this man get so far up the ladder of evangelical leadership without demonstrating scrupulous honesty, remarkable humility and a deep love and compassion for others? Turns out, it’s pretty easy in EvangelicaLand! Just say the “right” things, believe the “right” things and ingratiate yourself into the Evangelical Crony network, and those pesky “fruits of the Spirit” don’t matter much at all! In fact they get in the way of being a really effective Evangelical Leader, especially of the Calvinist flavor.
Why do so many corrupt and unredeemed people get elevated into Evangelical Leadership? When will Christians wake up and fix this?
Sadly for some in the church the end justifies the means even if that ‘means’ is just plain wrong.
It’s true that wokeism and liberalism has crept into the churches. I’d of been onboard with this guy until he admittedly lied about social media accounts and then the pic. with McArthur. :-)
Attacking others through a fake online persona was something Mark Driscoll used to do.
AKA “William Wallace II”.
Apparently he never realized “Braveheart” was HEAVILY fictionalized.
How very true. The name William Wallace, the fact he was from Scotland, and the Scots did win the Battle of Bannockburn were some of the few things not fiction about “Braveheart”.
Again, another unbelievable story about a Christian ‘pastor.” What kind of church people put up with a man like that? Oh, but he’s sorry. Got to keep the cash flow coming in. Sheesh, no wonder the world is skeptical of the church.
Something is seriously wrong if your stance needs your own props to stand.
Be wary of following anyone who’s revealed to be un-transformed. The Gospel is supposed to make us more like Jesus, it’s not just about believing the “correct doctrines”.
This guy, and many many like him, have been showing fruit of arrogance, judgement, and exclusion publicly for quite some time, in the name of “sound doctrine”. Is it any surprise that they’re vile in secret?
There is so much concern about “wokeism” infecting the church, but I say CHURCH WAKE UP! you are following vipers that lead no where near Christlikenesss. They are the white washed tombs we were warned about.
If whomever you’re following doesn’t result in them and you looking more like the self sacrificing servant who calls out injustices and calls in His followers- it’s NOT of Christ, walk away.
I seldom agree with most of what you say, but have to enthusiastically give you support here. Well said indeed.
He sure knew how to create a money machine: $2.3 million in revenue in 2023, in post-Covid world, in other words. Is it possible to pull down that kind of money without becoming a bit cutthroat? I’ll never think it is.
Not a fan of the “Calvin bros” movement, but that being said, if these other pastors deserved criticism (and it appears they did), so be it. The body of Christ must not fall into the trap of having untouchable sacred cows.
Our brothers and sisters who were martyred in the Reformation, such as Wycliffe and Hus, died so that we could be free of this idolatry.
Buice should have had the guts to call them out directly under his own name, though–and not lied about it.
If you have criticism of someone, say it with your own name, and to them directly.
If you cannot have criticism of someone, or can only do it through a false identity, the culture you are in is unsafe and un-Christlike. If you are the person responsible for that culture- it’s your own fault it’s that way.
I don’t think the problem here is untouchable sacred cows (which the reformed community definitely does), but using fake identities to sin and slander, rather than the Matthew 13 process they demand of everyone else.
OK, why haven’t you responded to your challenge?
jen manlief says:
May 8, 2025 at 1:41 pm
Where? Where does the Bible say that “a preacher’s job is to preach the gospel and teach to their congregations”. chapter and verse please?
(also, please note anywhere you have found the office or title of “preacher” in the Bible)
Ecclesiastes 1:12
I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
2 Timothy 1:11
Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
Ecclesiastes 12:8
Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 1:1
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Ecclesiastes 7:27
Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:
Ecclesiastes 12:10
The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
1 Timothy 2:7
Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
Ecclesiastes 12:9
And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
2 Peter 2:5
And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
Ecclesiastes 1:2
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
Romans 10:14
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
It’s a good article, but I don’t think it’s correct to describe those who disagree with the Theobros as “less strict.” I am against complementarianism because it’s unbiblical. I believe claiming Christ wants men to have authority over women is a carnal distortion of the scriptures.