“I want you to notice that as Jesus had compassion upon [the people], and, by the way, He had compassion as one would have upon sheep with no shepherd,” Patterson went on to say. “Jesus is moved as a shepherd would be for sheep who had no helper.”
Notably, Patterson is not the first controversial guest speaker to appear in Jeffress’ pulpit in recent times. In December 2021, First Baptist Dallas was host to former president Donald Trump, who delivered a special “Christmas greeting.” In that service, Jeffress referred to Trump as a great friend “to Christians everywhere.”
Following Trump’s address, which consisted of a mixture of prepared remarks and ad libbed criticisms of President Joe Biden, Trump received a standing ovation accompanied by chants of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”
In a statement to ChurchLeaders, First Baptist Dallas expressed that Paige Patterson and his wife Dorothy are members of the church and that Patterson teaches Sunday School classes. While the couple had moved away from the church for a period of years, they have since returned to the area and rejoined the church.
Though Patterson was once on staff at First Baptist Dallas, he currently only serves in a volunteer capacity.
“It is important to note that the report released this week regarding the Southern Baptist Convention does not accuse Dr. Patterson of assault or abuse of any kind,” the statement said.
“The Pattersons have a long history at First Baptist Dallas. They first became members of the church in 1975, when Dr. Paige Patterson became an associate pastor at the church and president of the Criswell College,” the statement went on to say. “The Pattersons were faithful members of First Baptist Dallas for almost 20 years before moving away.”
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This article has been updated to include First Baptist Dallas’ comments.
