On Friday, Jan. 24, Pastor Clint Archer of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, provided details regarding the situation surrounding Dr. Steven Lawson after a publication, which Archer referred to as a “gossip rag,” released sensitive information.
Lawson, who was the lead preacher at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas, professor of preaching and dean of D.Min. studies The Master’s Seminary, and the president and founder of OnePassion Ministries, was immediately and permanently removed from all of his duties in September 2024 after he confessed to “an inappropriate relationship that he has had with a woman.”
Lawson’s has yet to release a public statement. Only the elders of Trinity Bible Church, the OnePassion Ministries’ board, and associates of The Master’s Seminary have provided updates regarding Lawson’s repentance, reconciliation, and restoration process.
In audio ChurchLeaders obtained from an church fellowship meeting on December 2024, the elders of Trinity Bible Church told the congregation that when Lawson’s “sin was found out, Steve was compelled by the young girl’s family to come forward to the elders and confess his sin, that if he didn’t confess his sin, they were going to make the story public.”
So on Sept. 18, 2024, Lawson confessed to the elders that “he had an inappropriate relationship with a woman who was not his wife,” which “disqualified [him] from the ministry.” The elders told the congregation that they “immediately” removed Lawson from “all of his duties” and stopped all “financial compensation.”
The elders said that Lawson “is in self exile in Tennessee and has chosen to remain silent on what has happened.”
“I can tell you this,” one of the elders said. “There is no accountability program as legalistic as you could make it that would have ever have prevented Steve from this dual life of sin that he was living. He was living a lie.”
“He wasn’t practicing what he was preaching, and he lied to everyone in his life. He kept this a secret, and so the Lord revealed it,” the elder added.
The elders shared that they have remained “in some contact” with Lawson and asked the congregation to “pray for Steve’s repentance [and] restoration to his family.”
“We want him to have a life that is characterized by repentance and faith. That’s what he’s going to have to prove to his family. We want restoration,” they said, “and we want repentance for Steve.”
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