What's happening? I just realized I was reading 17 yr old info

MM12thMan said:

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Anybody keeping track on what's happening at Second Baptist currently?
It's definitely not pretty

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Seems like you are the only one in the know. Go ahead and share

I went to second Baptist as a kid. Both the church and school. But moved to Kingwood in elementary school. There was no second Baptist in Kingwood, so we we t to forest cove Baptist.

I enjoyed it well enough until 8th grade and became more aware of how lacking the youth group was.

Switched to Kingwood United Methodist church for the rest of school. Then went to a&m.

I missed all the merger and new construction of forest cove into second north.

When we moved back to the area, we tried a few smaller churches, but they all seemed fake friendly.

We kinda liked the woodlands church satellite in atascocita but just couldn't get into the broadcasted in pastor each week.

About 10-12 year ago now we decided to give second North a try and it was a great fit for us. Pastor Craig Reynolds does a great job and keeps you engaged.

I always liked ed young and how he was not afraid to say controversial but true things. I had several friends leave the church a few years ago when he basically called out the left wing crazies. I loved it because it was true to the Bible. Truth hurts but I'm glad he wasn't afraid to say it, unlike the olsteens of the world.

I have no problem with ed young enjoying his life. He has earned it. Do you expect him to live in 2 bedroom house in a random neighborhood or not vacation in secluded more exclusive areas? Have you seen the crazy people out there that would love to pester him constantly? No matter what side a public figure is on, they are targets to someone. Even the former youth pastor at second north was harassed at gas station for just buying some beer once. The horror! It's on YouTube somewhere, but he didn't deserve that and that's just a nobody youth pastor.

My kids attend all the retreats we can afford. Yes they aren't always cheap, but how much would you pay for a week at a condo on the beach in Florida with food, games, transportation, and events? They love it and we have no regrets. The focus always is on god and Jesus and okay they can have fun doing it with like minded kids too.

Sorry I was offline with family for a few days....

We've been at Second Baptist since 1983. Kept our membership while we were in CS at Grace Bible Church and "rejoined" when we moved back to Houston in 2012. I have taught Sunday School, started as an associate deacon then was ordained as a deacon in 1992. I've served on the Finance Committee, was head of Second Baptist School Foundation, and did the financing of the campus expansion to Katy when I was a banker. Our kids attended Second Baptist School until we moved to College Station. All of our best friends have been made through Second Baptist relationships. We have traveled to Israel with Dr. Young. My wife was on staff for 7 years. Of the 90,000+ members, we are in the group of 300-400 who actually show up for church-wide meetings to vote on issues.

We were in attendance on May 31, 2023 when the church by-laws were changed. While we had been told that "wokeness" was the issue, that quickly dissolved to be a cover for the real purpose of the meeting. While many seemed to not understand what was happening, we did and we were shocked. Each amendment passed without any discussion. As we went forward after the meeting to ask questions, we were repeatedly told that if we didn't like the new set up, "we could vote with our feet" and leave the church. We heard that from three different church leaders. We left the meeting in shock. After several sleepless nights, we made the gut-wrenching decision to find another church home. We went back to our beloved Sunday School class one last time and then left Second.

That decision was our personal decision and we have not tried to influence any others to follow. I am confident that there are many people who will thrive in a "national church" that has no members involved in leadership / governance. Personally that is not what we prefer which led to our decision to leave our friends and join another church.

Many of our friends (who were not there for the meeting) thought we had over-reacted, but now 12-18 months later, they are stunned over what transpired and the way it was done. I have been asked to sign the numerous letters of concern that have been sent to Sr. church leadership (as a concerned and long-time invested former member) but I have chosen not to do that. We made our decision not to be part of the fray. However, I think knowing information is important and members should know what happened. Transparency is always good and light shining in darkness is Biblical. We received yet another letter this weekend that I believe accurately describes the events of May 31, 2023. It was not signed, but I understand it was put together by a group of concerned members. As an attendee at the meeting, I believe it to be an accurate representation of the events. I'm sharing that information without bias, just so you might know what has transpired.

Governance Update
December 12, 2024

Introduction
Many members of Second Baptist Church have voiced concerns about the bylaw changes implemented
on May 31, 2023. The change in the bylaws have prompted several developments, including the
elimination of independent oversight of the governance process. Additionally, there has been no
substantive effort to inform or involve the congregation in critical matters such as bylaw changes or
addressing the concerns raised by members.

History
On May 19, 2023, at 5:01 pm CDT, the church sent out its regular weekly automated newsletter to
members. This email which was as a routine update titled "This Weekend at Second May
20/21", contained a subtle yet profound notice about an upcoming event. Among the announcements
about Bible study and summer activities, a brief one-line sentence revealed that a Church Business
Meeting was scheduled for May 31, 2023, at the Woodway campus, to "update the bylaws to protect
our ability to continue operating as a biblical church".

The notice did not provide any specifics about the significance, or the changes being proposed or other
information about why they were necessary. By placing this notice between lighthearted updates about
summer activities and general encouragement for weekend worship, the meeting date and the
significance of the bylaw changes could easily be overlooked. The outcome of the "notice" to the church
membership was that only a fraction of non-staff church members attended - approximately 0.5%, or
one-half of one percent, based on the estimated church membership of 94,500.

The Meeting - During the meeting, there was a presentation of the proposed changes made by
various church leaders, along with our senior pastor Dr. H. Edwin Young. All framed the need to
update our bylaws as necessary because "they were outdated" and to "keep woke ideology out
of the church."
Lack of Transparency - The existing bylaws were not made available for members to review, inspect in advance, or read during the meeting. The proposed new by-laws were read once from the podium with immediate move for a vote to accept.
Lack of Informed Consent Though those few members were not given anything in writing, but were asked to vote to approve the updated bylaws. Key details of what they were asked to approve were rushed through and not clearly explained, such as forever removing our member's right to vote on anything, the elimination of any future pastoral search committee, and granting total governing and financial authority to the senior pastor including the appointment of his successor. Notably, the effect was the immediate disbanding of the church's Board of Trustees and removal of independent guard rails and governance, putting the church's financial and real property assets under the control of one individual, the senior pastor.

Pastoral Transition
In June 2024, almost exactly one year later, H. Edwin Young, after 46 years as senior pastor of Second Baptist Church, announced in a Sunday sermon, his decision to transition as "stepping up, not stepping down" as senior pastor, underscoring his desire to focus more on personal evangelism and special projects at Second Baptist Church, albeit in a different capacity. He also announced that his successor would be his 61-year-old
son Ben Young, an ordained pastor with preaching experience and a Ph.D. in theology. The transition in senior pastors from H. Edwin Young to Ben Young, took place without a formal pastor search committee, no congregational input, and no independent oversight of the process. Many church members questioned whether the bylaw changes that occurred in 2023, had been orchestrated to ensure and facilitate the transition of the senior pastor from the father to the son.

The Bylaw Changes
In the summer of 2024, a group of members became aware of the change to the by-laws and began to
educate themselves about the implications of the 2023 bylaw changes. Those changes included:
Loss of Voting Rights: The few members who voted in favor to pass the new bylaws either
"unknowingly or unwittingly" approved the elimination of all future congregational voting rights for 90,000+ members.

Said another way, voting "Yes" for the bylaw change in 2023, was the last vote any member of
Second Baptist Church would ever cast for any issue.

Pastoral Succession: The process for selecting a new senior pastor was eliminated. The
pastor search committee previously responsible for vetting candidates was removed entirely.
The authority to choose the next senior pastor now rests solely with the current senior pastor.
Unlimited Pastoral Authority: The new bylaws grant the senior pastor unchecked authority
over the church, effectively removing independent oversight mechanisms. There is a Ministry
Leadership Team ("MLT"), one could point to as having some oversight, but this group is
appointed by the senior pastor and serves at his discretion. Importantly, the members of the
"MLT", include the senior pastor, his younger brother, his older brother's lawyer, his cousin, and
a senior staff member that reports directly to the senior pastor.
Lack of Independent Oversight: Centralizing power in the hands of a single individual,
specifically the senior pastor, combined with the Ministry Leadership Team comprised of family,
friends, and staff, is far from independent oversight.

The previously mentioned group of concerned members initial objectives were as follows:
1) Gather Comprehensive Information: The concerned members sought first to understand
exactly how and what changes were adopted in the May 31, 2023, business meeting.
2) Assess acceptability: Determine whether the new bylaws aligned with our church's values and
governing principles that have been in place since Second Baptist Church's founding in 1927,
almost 100 years ago.
3) Explore further action: If the process of making changes to the bylaws, or the changes
themselves, raise concerns, then identify appropriate steps to address the issues.
The group determined that the most logical next step would be to engage in a conversation directly with
the new senior pastor.
To initiate the dialogue, the group selected one of the church's most respected members to meet with
the senior pastor one-on-one. The group's delegate was Jack Little, the long-standing chairman of the
Pastor's Prayer Team, known to and respected by so many church members.
During their 45-minute discussion, Jack used the example of the collapse and failure of a major public
energy company in Houston, attributing its failure to a lack of proper oversight and governance. He
drew a parallel to the potential risks to our church under the new bylaws, which eliminated independent
oversight. Ben Young listened respectfully, took detailed notes, and appeared engaged as Jack
presented a thoughtful case for reinstating the original bylaws to restore independent governance and
safeguards.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Jack emphasized that there was no need for an immediate decision.
He encouraged the senior pastor to take the necessary time to consider the concerns and revisit the
discussion in the coming weeks. However, the senior pastor responded unreservedly, stating that he
did not need additional time to reflect and had no intention of amending the bylaws. The meeting ended
on that note.
After being told of the senior pastor's stance that he would not take any action to change the bylaws, it
was decided the next step should be to draft a letter to Ben Young, outlining in detail the concern
regarding the lack of an independent governing board for our church.

It must be understood that the objective of the lay leaders was not an objection to Ben Young serving
as senior pastor. The entire concern was and is, the lack of an independent board to provide oversight
of the administration of the church, its finances, and its future.
Letter to Pastor Ben Young
The letter described above dated September 4, 2024 was hand-delivered to the
senior pastor, along with separate copies for his executive leadership team and the ministry leadership
team. However, our understanding is those copies were never distributed by our senior pastor to the
other intended recipients.
It is worth noting that the letter dated September 4, 2024, would not have been necessary, had the
senior pastor shown some willingness to review the situation, consult his leadership team, and pray
about the concern, regardless of whether he truly intended to make any changes. This letter
emphasized the need to revisit the changes to the bylaws stressing the importance of transparency,
accountability, and independent oversight, as the bare minimums for proper church governance. Initially
signed by 35 members, the letter now has over 150 signatures of both men and women members.
The response from the senior church staff has been disappointing. Many individuals and groups of
deacons have requested meetings with staff or have met with our church administrator to discuss their
concerns and the issues. The staff response has ranged from full denial of the concerns raised,
trivializing member concerns and even characterizing those troubled by what is taking place as merely
"disgruntled older members" that are either resistant to change, dissatisfied with the new pastor, or
unhappy with other aspects such as the worship service format or music program.
Staff members have gone as far to suggest, that the members asking the questions "might do better by
finding another place to worship." The issue is not merely age-related concerns, it is fundamental to
ensuring that our church has the appropriate financial guardrails and is governed in a way that honors
The Lord and reflects His Will in all aspects of our mission, leadership and decision making.

The Fallout
Disregarding the concerns of long-serving members who have provided decades of prayer, faithful
service, and substantial financial support, while implying they should find another church if they are not
happy with the current situation, has left otherwise long-time faithful members deeply troubled by the
change in attitude exhibited by the staff, church administrator and the lack of response from the senior
pastor.
The long-term implications of centralized authority in any one person without independent oversight,
creates an environment that is neither sustainable nor aligned with the principles of accountability and
shared governance that define a God-centered organization.

Lack of Access
The adoption of the new bylaws has understandably caused significant concern among deacons and
members, many of which have requested copies of both the old and new bylaws to better understand
what has changed. However, the senior church administrator has imposed restrictions allowing church
members to view the bylaws, only under supervision in the church office and has prohibited members
from taking copies. These restrictions are problematic in that members and deacons cannot easily
review the "how, what and why" of the modifications that were made to our church's bylaws.
The lack of access approach is in stark contrast to the practices of other churches. For example,
Houston's First Baptist Church publishes its bylaws along with the redlined versions showing
modifications openly on their website. Such transparency fosters trust and accountability.

Summary
The primary purpose of this overview is to provide a brief update of the significant changes that have
taken place in our church over the past 18 months. We deeply appreciate your love of our church and your heartfelt commitment to standing up for what honors The Lord. We encourage you to share your thoughts directly with our senior pastor, senior church staff, deacons,
Bible study teachers, and lay leadership.

Written with love and faithfulness,
Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Sounds like the Young family is trying to protect their cash cow by ensuring a family member is always in charge. Little Ben can't stand on his own merit so they've removed any oversight. It's not surprising at all. They've always run the church like a business. They're just not as blatant about it as the Osteens.

Is this not shocking at all to anyone else?

Ed Young Jr is a goofy looking fool

I am surprised. I am not a member at Second but have a child in the school. We have enjoyed the school but there have been some questionable decisions since we've been going.

How does a church do this and not lose any affiliation with Baptist associations and conventions?

drumboy said:

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What is woke/wokeism

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If you have to ask at this point, it's not worth trying to explain.