By Elizabeth Prata
It is publicly announced today on Trinity Bible Church of Dallas’ website that Steven Lawson confessed to his elders of an inappropriate relationship that he has had with a woman. The elders then removed Lawson from all ministries. He had been their lead preacher.
Their statement is below and also at the link.
Dr. Lawson has been a Teaching Fellow with Ligonier Ministries, Professor of Preaching and Dean of the Doctor of Ministry program at The Master’s Seminary, and Executive Editor for Expositor magazine. He is also on the board of The Master’s University and Seminary, Ligonier Ministries, and Reformation Bible College. In addition to Trinity Bible Church, Dr. Lawson has served as a pastor for over 40 years in Arkansas and Alabama. He is the author of 28 books. He and his wife Anne have four children. Lawson is 73 years old.
A minister is supposed to be above reproach, (1 Timothy 3:2) and maintain a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:7).
When he falls below reproach with some kind of disqualifying sin, it is devastating to all those around him, and to the global church. Not to mention bringing reproach onto Jesus.
Some went to Twitter to express their disappointment-
And I agree, it is entirely discouraging to hear of a solid pastor falling into disqualifying sin.
Other reactions,
Others displayed less grace when speaking of this sad situation,
The problem when a pastor falls into sin is that there are consequences for him, or course. Lawson has been removed rom his job as lead pastor. The link to his Teaching Fellow page at Ligonier Ministries no longer works. He will likely be removed from the roster at Shepherds Conference to occur in 2025. And so on.
But also, his church falls under a cloud. His fellow congregants are impacted. They may wonder if their conversion under his preaching is genuine, or perhaps regret lifting him up as an example to others.
But also his doctrines come into disrepute. The anti-Calvinists are having a field day over this sad news, and gloating about how ‘Calvinism’ is unwieldy and false. His eschatology is also coming under fire. So is ‘Lordship salvation’.
Any way satan can continue the mud slinging, he will do it. The rings of impact go out further and further, impacting many people, ministries, doctrines, and churches as the rings widen.
This is because we are ambassadors, ALL of us. We all are replicating Jesus message of Good News. We all are part of one body. When one falls, we all feel it. When one sins, we all bear that burden.
Remember to pray for your pastors and elders. Pray for each other. Pray for yourself so you do not fall into a snare of the devil. Pray for Lawson and his wife and children, who must be sorting through heaps of emotions right now, the least of which is betrayal.
Trinity Bible Church wrote at the end of their announcement,
We would ask for your prayers for the elders, for our Body, and for Steve and his family. Let us always be mindful of the words of 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”
the-end-time.org 
Thanks for sharing this Elizabeth, this was the first I heard of it. Quite honestly I sobbed. Now I know why I am so compelled to pray for my pastor and elders to resist all temptation. I am just devastated by this and will pray for him and his family.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I still greatly respect this dear brother! The fact of the matter is we are in a very intense war against the demonic, the blatant assaults from within and all around us. We are ALL still sinfully flawed! Praise God no condemnation for the true Christian, not a one of us!
ON another note, I honestly believe that Church leadership and deacons, should not broadcast to the world when one sins and falls! They should have kept this in their inner circle of accountability. Yes, and the consequences of one’s actions – such as stepping down.
Everyone of us has sinned, and I would hate for all of mine to be made a spectacle to this mocking world. Love covers a multitude of sins! Again, often times there are consequences.
We confess our sins and move on in this fight of faith. The direction of our lives is the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and not to camp out in our wretched falls!
Yes leadership is to live by exceptional standards, but this must be the aim of each of us.
The correct things was to remove brother Steve from leadership, and not broadcast is sin to the world!
I stand by this even if other saints disagree…
Yes I do remember other cases that stayed in the inner circle and then being made public after discoved. Saints must learn when to keep their month’s shut!
There is much more I could say, but I do much better speaking than writing.
God bless brother Steve as well as your Church Lord God…
Forgive us the Church Lord God of each of our sins. Strengthen us for the battle and your purposes and glory Lord God…
Brother Rick 🥸
Peachtree City area, Georgia USA 🇺🇸
LikeLiked by 2 people
Some people were wondering about whether it should have been handled internally or whether it was more transparent to make a public statement. I think in normal situations, church discipline should be handled internally and as privately as possible.
But others said that due to Lawson’s high visibility, to abruptly remove him from leadership would raise so many questions that some people surmised that they wanted to get the facts out there and control the narrative than catch up from behind with inevitable rumors and speculation that’d be MORE damaging to Trinity church and its people. He also has ministries with Ligonier and TMS and again, his disappearance would raise questions there as well.
I don’t know the right thing to do in that situation beyond what the Bible says (remove the man who fell under reproach). I just have to trust the Trinity Elders’ decisions. For myself, to refrain from speculation and online comment on it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Elizabeth thank you for your post. We respect and appreciate you. I just wanted to share maybe a different response than those that we posted. I was extremely hurt, shocked and confused at this news concerning Dr Lawson. Coming out of complex trauma from my younger years and learning about faith in Christ I began to heal and to trust reformed Christian teaching. I looked up to our teachers of the faith in admiration and respect. John MacArthur is my hero in the faith.
Another man of God I respected was Dr Lawson. I looked to him and his zeal, passion and pure teaching of the Word of God and felt encouraged to live a more studious and surrendered life for my Lord. This left me shaken and questioning. Trust issues with men resurfaced but thankfully I turned my trust and attention to our Lord. This was a sobering wake up call. Still feel heartbroken and in mild disbelief.
LikeLiked by 1 person