Progressive church boots woke pastor after parishioners complained they were lectured on ‘whiteness,’ LGBT causes, immigrants

A progressive pastor in North Carolina was recently removed from his very liberal church after parishioners complained that they were being lectured about “whiteness,” LGBT causes, and illegal immigrants.

Ben Boswell had been a pastor at Myers Park Baptist Church, a progressive church in Charlotte. The church is located in the affluent neighborhood of Myers Park, which has a median household income of $193,672, and where nearly 91% of the population is white.

‘I am tired of being indicted because I am white.’

The Myers Park Baptist Church is “opposed to all forms of injustice and oppression, and we are unafraid to plainly say who and what we are.”

The church’s website states that it has a mission to “welcome and affirm all persons without regard to race, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or attraction, biological sex, age, economic status, physical or mental capacity.”

The Sunday after Donald Trump won the 2024 election, Boswell delivered a sermon warning of the doom and gloom of Trump being elected.

According to NPR, Boswell likened the election of Trump to a “gathering dark of Hitler’s rule.”He claimed that Trump being president would lead to the “crucifixion” of immigrant families as well as transgender and nonbinary people.

“But our faith also teaches us … that every crucifixion needs a witness,” Boswell told the congregation. “The fight is not over; it’s just beginning.”

However, Boswell was booted from the progressive church a few weeks later. The board of the Myers Park Baptist Church voted 17-3 to ask Boswell to resign.

During the board meeting, then-Deacon Allen Davis warned that removing Boswell would make it difficult to portray a progressive agenda.

“What will come out is that we’ve snatched the keys from the … minister who had been pushing us to confront whiteness, to challenge racial justice in our community,” Davis said.

Davis and two other deacons resigned in protest of Boswell’s removal.

Marcy McClanahan — then head of the church’s board — said the main reason why Boswell needed to be removed was plunging attendance. Myers Park Baptist Church went from an average weekly attendance of around 350 when Boswell arrived in 2016 to about 150 last year.

McClanahan said, “Ben has been given every chance to change his words and actions to appeal to a broader audience but has not been successful in doing so.”

Fellow DeaconRobert Dulin added, “We have got to put more butts in the seats, butts in the seats.”

Some parishioners at the church complained that Boswell was always lecturing them about racial justice, transgender issues, and other progressive causes.

Dulin paraphrased what he had heard from those who quit the parish: “I am tired of being indicted because I am white. I am tired of being banged over the head every week about immigrants and LGBTQ, and I just want to come to church and be encouraged.”

Church members compared Boswell’s sermons to a “guilt trip.”

Boswell admits that he pushed his congregation to confront its “whiteness.” During an anti-racism seminar, the pastor called for a “whiteness audit” to “decolonize” the church’s interior space. Boswell said the congregants demanded that he take down the Black Lives Matter signs at the church, but he refused.

One parishioner felt “betrayed” by the church over Boswell’s dismissal. Bob Thomason, a former chairman of the board of deacons, noted that most, if not all, of the congregation supports social justice.

“But for some people, being able to focus on social justice … would be a welcome luxury because they have alcoholic spouses,” Thomason said.“They have children that are addicted. They have cancer. They have these personal needs.”

NPR reported, “Boswell says the conflict at Myers Park is part of a much bigger national trend to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.”

Boswell proclaimed, “My feeling is that as a progressive congregation, as a progressive pastor, our job right now is not to back away, but to double down.”

When asked if the church will continue to advance racial and social justice, McClanahan asserted, “One person’s leaving does not change that path at all.”

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