Free Republic

The more than 10,000-member Elevation Church in North Carolina, led by celebrity preacher Steven Furtick, has withdrawn its affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention after more than 20 years of cooperation with the nation's largest Protestant denomination.While Elevation Church did not appear to make the decision public, a copy of a letter published online dated June 26 shows that the church informed the SBC Executive Committee that its withdrawal from the denomination was "effective immediately.""This letter is to inform you that Elevation Church is withdrawing its affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention effective immediately. You will find that our Statement...

A pastor ousted by his megachurch in South Carolina over problems that included alcohol use has been a close friend of Elevation Church pastor Steven Furtick and has served on the board of overseers at the Charlotte church. As recently as 2014, Perry Noble – removed July 1 by the board at NewSpring Church in Anderson, S.C. – was described as the longest serving member of the Elevation board. Elevation officials did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment on whether he was still on the board. Elevation, started in 2006, is one of the fastest growing evangelical churches in...

A baptism manual produced by Pastor Steven Furtick's popular Elevation Church in North Carolina, which teaches people how to produce "spontaneous" baptisms among the repentant, is being criticized as "emotional manipulation." The manual, Spontaneous Baptism How-To Guide, was produced by Elevation Church in 2011 and received its first critique in November from James Duncan, a Christian blogger and associate professor of communication at Anderson University who lives in South Carolina. "As a church we pray Sun Stand Still prayers all the time. We are constantly asking God to do something that seems impossible and then believing that He is going...