Dear Church Family,

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We write to you with clarity and conviction in light of a statement made by our former senior pastor, claiming that the recent legal action taken regarding our church bylaws is unbiblical because it violates 1 Corinthians 6. While we understand the weight of Scripture and the seriousness of legal conflict among believers, this accusation misrepresents both the context and the intent of Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 6.

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Let us be clear: 1 Corinthians 6 is about personal civil disputes between individual believers, primarily over material or financial issues, being taken into secular courts. Paul rebukes the Corinthians and urges them to resolve such personal matters internally with wisdom and humility. The core of Paul's instruction is that Christians should not be suing one another over personal grievances for selfish gain or retaliation, especially when they have godly leadership capable of settling disputes within the church.

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The current Second Baptist lawsuit is not this!

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The lawsuit in question does not stem from personal offense, greed, or vengeance. It is a response to stripping the congregation of its vote through secretive by-law changes that consolidated power and transferred control to one man. The changes did not comply with the Texas non-profit statute, were made without transparency, and attempted to saddle our church with a reckless governance structure.

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This is not a matter about personal gain. This is a matter of spiritual protection, ethical accountability, and the preservation of responsible church governance. Only after every internal attempt to rectify the situation was exhausted, following the very process Jesus outlines in Matthew 18:15–17, and leadership still refusing to repent or correct the wrong, was a decision unavoidable.

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It became clear that the Young Group was unwilling to engage in any discussions to resolve the matter within the church, and their takeover strategy was to stiff-arm any discussions until after the two-year statute of limitations expired in May, which would make any protective measures impossible. That meant that the only option forced upon those who had been trying to protect the church’s legacy, and its ~$1 billion balance sheet, was to seek intervention in court.

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Below are the direct commands from Jesus.  Therefore, when someone follows Matthew 18 to confront unrepented sin in the church, especially by leadership, they are walking in obedience to Christ Himself.

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JESUS said in Matthew 18:

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault... But if he does not listen, take one or two others... If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church... and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." (Matthew 18:15–17)

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Numerous long-time faithful lay leaders, including former chairmen and vice-chairmen of the Deacons, creators and leaders of the Pastor’s Prayer Team, members of the finance committee, Bible study teachers, and Angels of Light leadership followed this command. Repeated private appeals were made, first by individuals and then by small groups, to the current Senior Pastor, Dr. Ben Young, but they were openly refused.

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Additionally, numerous senior lay leaders of the church, many of whom were long-time personal friends of the former Senior Pastor, Dr. Ed Young, went privately to ask him to intercede to get his son to agree to reconcile the issue within the church. Even though Dr. Ed Young told several people that he knew he made a mistake, their requests were still repeatedly denied because he did not want to endanger the relationship with his son, the Senior Pastor he appointed. Other excuses were given, including stating that he would not get involved because he was in the process of negotiating the transfer of The Winning Walk Ministries from the church balance sheet to his personal ownership and control.

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Therefore, the only way to be obedient to the instructions given by Christ in Matthew 18 was to take the issue to the church, which was done via multiple letters to members and the Deacon body during the summer of 2024. Even still, refusal to correct the wrongdoing persisted. The concerns raised by members were dismissed, and many were told by pastors that if they did not like what happened they, “should just go find another church.”

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Once all the Matthew 18 steps were followed, precisely as instructed by Jesus Christ, the only other path to protect the church, before the statute of limitations ran out, was to seek relief from a court that can enforce the Texas non-profit statutes. If no action was taken by the end of May, there would have been no further path to overturn the takeover of the church governance from the membership. 

 

Furthermore, Galatians 2:11–14, specifically shows Paul publicly rebuking the Apostle Peter, because his actions were leading people astray. Paul did not do this privately, but “before them all,” because when public error misleads others, public correction is justified.

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To claim that a lawsuit to protect the body from unbiblical deception violates 1 Corinthians 6 is to misapply Scripture in order to silence truth. The real violation is not the lawsuit, it is the manipulation of power to deceive the members of the church, the concealment of absolute authority, and the refusal to repent. Even now, the church rejects the request of thousands of members to provide transparency to the alleged governance documents or to tell the membership who is on the MLT/Board!

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The deception continues even with the statement from the former Senior Pastor, Dr. Ed Young, when he said that the MLT/Board voted to approve Dr. Ben Young as the new senior pastor. Yes, a vote likely did occur, but what was not disclosed by Dr. Ed Young in his comments is that he personally appointed all the members of the MLT/Board, and that it was controlled by members of the Young family and people who were paid by the church. Of course, they are going to vote for whoever Dr. Ed. Young wanted…

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Nowhere in Scripture does Jesus or the apostles condemn people for exposing sin. In fact, they warn against those who use spiritual authority to silence correction.

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Senior leaders have tried to label those seeking truth as false teachers or following satan. If confronting deception makes someone a ‘false teacher,’ then what does the Bible say about those who reshape the church in secret, eliminate accountability, and then claim anyone who questions their authority is destined for hell? That isn’t biblical correction. That’s spiritual intimidation—and it has no place in the house of God.

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Eternity is not threatened by questions—it is clarified by truth.

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James 4:17 says, "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."  This verse makes it very clear that those who know the truth must stand up for the current and future members of Second Baptist who have been put at risk by the actions of the former and current senior pastors.

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God does not ask us to sit quietly when His church is restructured through deceit. He asks us to stand for righteousness, even when it is uncomfortable, even when it is personally costly.

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All those who read this letter will know the irrefutable truth:  

• Dr. Ed Young has, on several occasions over the last two years, admitted he was wrong, saying “I made the biggest mistake of my life,” in May of 2023 (There are multiple witnesses he said this to firsthand that are prepared to testify, under oath, to this fact).

• At the May of 2023 meeting, copies of the proposed by laws were not given to members to read before taking a vote.

• Verbal summaries of the proposed by laws during the meeting did not inform members they were voting to give up all future voting rights, or that voting in favor would consolidate power into the hands of one person.

• As of this writing, no one has called for Dr. Ben Young to resign. He has been pleaded with to right a wrong and correct a mistake that has put the future of Second Baptist in danger, yet he has refused.

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You now know the facts. The question is, what will you do with this information?

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Let us be people who value the whole counsel of Scripture, not just the verses that preserve power or avoid conflict. As followers of Christ, we are called to uphold the truth, particularly when it protects the future generations from the damage of unaccountable leadership. Will you answer that call?

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In Christ,