Pastor and Dean of the Master Seminary Steve Lawson fired for “inappropriate relationship”

Steve Lawson, senior minister at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas and dean of the D.Min. program at John MacArthur’s The Master’s Seminary, has been excommunicated from his church because of an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman, Trinity announced today.

“Steven J. Lawson has been relieved of all ministry duties at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas for an indefinite period,” Trinity announced on its website around noon Central Time today. Shortly before the announcement, the church also sent its congregation an email notification.

“A few days ago, the elders of Trinity Bible Church of Dallas were informed by Steve Lawson of an inappropriate relationship with a woman,” the elders’ announcement continued. “The elders have met with Steve and will continue to support and pray for him, with the ultimate goal of his personal repentance. Steve will no longer receive any compensation from Trinity Bible Church of Dallas.”

The announcement also reminded readers that “we are ALL sinners” and that Christ’s Church is “greater than any fallen man.”

“The Lord built Trinity Bible Church of Dallas long before Steve came to be our senior minister, and He will continue to build this church long after Steve Lawson or any other person,” the elders said.

The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to Trinity for further comment and clarification on whether the woman associated with Lawson was a member of the congregation or Trinity employee. The church did not respond by press time.

Lawson was scheduled to deliver the sermon last night at the opening session of the Men of the Word conference hosted by The Master’s Seminary (TMS), but was replaced by HB Charles. A pinned post on TMS’s X account, Lawson is still listed as a speaker at the event.

TRR reached out to TMS for comment, where Lawson also sits on the board, but did not immediately receive a response. Lawson is still listed as dean on TMS’s website.

Lawson is the founder and president of OnePassion Ministries “and has dedicated his life to helping Bible commentators bring about a new reformation in the church,” the ministry’s website states.

The website also states that Lawson is the author of 33 books and is an adjunct professor and board member at Ligonier Ministries.

The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to Ligonier for comment but did not immediately hear back. Lawson’s page on Ligonier’s website, however, has been removed.

Trinity Church has also removed Lawson from its website.

Lawson’s controversial story

Before coming to Trinity Church, Lawson pastored churches in Arkansas and Alabama for more than three decades.

According to The Alabama Baptist, Lawson began pastoring Dauphin Way Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama in 1995.

But in 2003, Lawson and “the entire full-time parish staff, including their assistants, as well as the organist and the pianist (sic) resigned.” The reason given for the mass resignations was “differences in theological views on predestination between the pastor and some church members.”

An employee at another Baptist church in the city told The Alabama Baptist that Lawson and some of his congregants had been at odds for years. But Lawson decided to resign after more than 300 people signed a petition calling for his resignation.

Bill Whitfield, a part-time pastor at Dauphin Way Baptist Church, told the newspaper that Lawson was a “five-point Calvinist who believed in double predestination” – the doctrine that God chooses some people for salvation and others for damnation.

Whitfield added that Lawson lacked a “compassionate spirit” and that he believed that anyone who contradicted his beliefs “could not understand the gospel.”

Lawson then founded another church in Mobile, the Christ Fellowship Baptist Church, with his followers from Dauphin Way.

After about a decade, Lawson left Christ Fellowship Baptist Church and moved to Dallas, where he eventually became a pastor and taught at Trinity Bible Church, founded in 2018.

Close friendship with John MacArthur

For decades, Lawson was not only a colleague but also a close friend of the author and pastor John MacArthur, who is also known for his dogmatic beliefs.

When MacArthur withdrew from the Ligonier Conference in March 2022, about 10 days after TRR reported that MacArthur protected a child abuser and exposed his wife, Lawson posted a picture of himself golfing with MacArthur on Instagram.

Lawson called MacArthur “the greatest influence on my preaching” and also referred to him as “greatest explainer of our time.”

At a TMS conference in 2020, Lawson was even more effusive: “It seems that in every generation there is one man who is in a unique position to have the dominant voice in the church. … I truly believe in the 21^st century that it is John MacArthur who has been raised up by God in an unprecedented way.”

Lawson holds a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary and a DMin from Reformed Theological Seminary.

According to his website, Lawson is married and has three sons and a daughter.

Julie Roys is a veteran investigative reporter and founder of The Roys Report. She also previously hosted a national talk show on the Moody Radio Network called Up for Debate and worked as a television reporter for a CBS affiliate. Her articles have been published in numerous magazines.