Unhappy Members of Second Baptist Church Speak Out
In a May 6 Chron.com article, several high-profile members of Second Baptist explained why they joined the Jeremiah Counsel lawsuit. They expressed love for the church, saying they don’t necessarily want Ben Young to step down. But they said they want a truly independent board, plus the restoration of the previous bylaws and their voting privileges.
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Archie Dunham, former chairman of Conoco, has served as a Second Baptist deacon and was the prayer partner of Pastor Ed Young Sr., a longtime friend. Dunham expressed disappointment in what he called Ed’s “lapse of judgment” in arranging son Ben’s succession, with no oversight.
In the corporate world, Dunham learned “it’s critical that you have independent oversight.” Although he said he hopes to remain at the church, he expressed frustration in having “no say whatsoever” as a member—including in financial matters.
Businessman Rob Hungate, the Bible study director at Second Baptist, told Chron.com that he and other concerned church members “exhausted everything that’s reasonably possible” while voicing their concerns. “We have followed Matthew 18 to the letter,” he said of biblical conflict-resolution guidelines, “and we were ignored.”
That’s when the members formed Jeremiah Counsel, filing a lawsuit before the two-year statute of limitations expired. “You’ve got to inform people what they’re voting on,” Hungate said about the controversial 2023 meeting. Second Baptist is a “great body of Christ,” he emphasized. “We just need to get this fixed so we can all move on.”
About the lawsuit goals, Hungate said:
We want the ability to control who our senior pastor is, following the current senior pastor, whoever that is, and restoring voting privileges that our church members have earned by being members and contributing their tithes and offerings. We want the bylaws restored, and we want a true and independent board, not a board made up of a family and staff that we don’t believe will always have the best interest of our church membership in mind.
Some members who are expressing concerns have requested anonymity, according to religion reporter Eric Killelea. Some have children who attend the church’s school and fear possible retaliation.
“I feel like there has been a hostile takeover of my church, moving it from a member-led democracy-type governance to a dictatorship accomplished through misinformation, half-truths, and deceit,” said one such parent. “It is a tragedy that it took a lawsuit to try to save the church and get it back on track.”
ChurchLeaders has reached out to Second Baptist Church and Attorney Jay Sekulow for comment and will update this article in the event of a reply.
