Myers Park Baptist Church board in Charlotte, North Carolina, asks pastor to step down amid attendance drop and complaints over racial justice focus

Pastor Ben Boswell, senior minister of Myers Park Baptist Church, a liberal congregation in Charlotte, North Carolina, preached a sermon on the Sunday after Donald Trump won a second term. In it, Boswell likened the moment to what he called the “gathering dark of Hitler’s rule.” He also said Trump’s election 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 said. “The fight is not over, it’s just beginning.” The congregation, including the board of deacons, the church’s governing body, gave him a standing ovation.

Several weeks later, the board met on Zoom and voted 17-3 to ask Boswell to step down. NPR obtained the audio of the meeting. Marcy McClanahan, then head of the board, said the first reason Boswell needed to go was plunging attendance. Average weekly attendance had fallen from about 350 when Boswell arrived in 2016 to about 150 the previous year. “Ben has been given every chance to change his words and actions to appeal to a broader audience,” McClanahan said, “but has not been successful in doing so.”

A board member named Dulin, who spoke at the meeting, said he personally loved what he called Boswell’s “powerful prophetic preaching.” He said the problem was that too many other parishioners did not. Dulin said many people who had left the church in recent years had complained about the 44-year-old pastor’s heavy focus on social and racial justice. He paraphrased what he said he had heard repeatedly from those who had left: “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.”

Carol Pearsall, 73, a longtime member, said she heard the same complaints from departing parishioners and understood what they meant. “I was ready for less guilt-trip and more love,” said Pearsall, who added that she remains a fan of Boswell’s and never considered leaving. Asked whether the pastor’s removal was an attempt to save Myers Park, she responded: “Absolutely.” Dulin’s comments show the board weighing the church’s public voice against its finances and membership, a tension that calls for honest accounting and fair hearing (Proverbs 18:17).

Boswell says the conflict at Myers Park is part of a broader national trend to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion programs. He believes the country is at a pivotal moment, when “that work is coming with a cost, and people are getting tired and backing off.”

Nicholas Rhyne, 30, who grew up in the church and supports Boswell, said the divisions at Myers Park reflect those in the Democratic Party more broadly. He said people in his generation came of age during the global financial crisis, climate anxiety and the polarized politics of the past decade, and were excited and inspired by Boswell to make change. Some older members of the congregation, he said, prefer a slower and more measured approach.

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