Baptist pastor under scrutiny

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Rev. Jerry Sutton, a prominent Southern Baptist pastor who lost a bid to become president of the denomination, is now facing an upheaval in the megachurch he leads, including complaints that he spent church money on his daughter‘s wedding.

But now, some Two Rivers members are accusing Sutton of failing to abide by church rules and punishing those who question his authority.

One of Sutton‘s former administrative assistants has also said Sutton looked at pornography on his church computer and had an affair with a church staff member — charges that the church denies. The church‘s executive pastor, Scott Hutchings, said human resource officials at the church investigated those charges and found no evidence that Sutton had looked at porn or had an affair.

About 600 members attended the July 28 meeting, which was organized by the church so that rumors and allegations could be addressed publicly. Sutton also attended, but did not respond to the allegations.

Hutchings defended the church budget and acknowledged that the church paid about $4,300 for a reception for Sutton‘s daughter that was open to all church members. He said Sutton personally paid for another separate reception outside the church.

Church trustee Frank Harris has been leading the campaign against Sutton. Two Rivers "appears to have been manipulated from a people-led church to a staff-run church," Harris said.

A majority of Two Rivers members voted July 8 to exclude Harris from the church because he was causing strife and division. But some members said leaders didn‘t follow church rules allowing for absentee votes and not all members at the service were able to cast ballots.

A key member of the SBC‘s conservative leadership, Sutton last year was nominated for president along with Ronnie Floyd of First Baptist Church in Springdale, Ark., and Frank Page of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C., but lost to Page.

Two Rivers is the home church for many Southern Baptist bureaucrats, and Sutton is the "pastor to the people who do the day-to-day decision-making of the Southern Baptist Convention," Key said.

Key said lay people in many Southern Baptist churches are starting to push back against the authority of pastors, who have gained more power since a conservative takeover of SBC leadership in the late 1970s.

"When there‘s a high level of trust in the leadership, there‘s less questioning," said Phill Martin, deputy CEO of the National Association of Church Business Administration. "When trust begins to be broken, and you begin to wonder what‘s going on with leadership, a lot of times what will surface first is a questioning of financial responsibility. So many times money becomes the lightning rod for the trust issue."