Ed Young Sr, Ed Young Jr, and Ben Young: An SBC Oligarchy in Action. Is It a King Saul Rerun?

Posted on by May 27, 2025avatar

Photo by Mike Bird at Pexels.com

“Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who … has risen from poverty to wealth, from obscurity to a high position” Jerome

Last evening I watched the first episode of The House of David on Amazon Prime. It was surprisingly engaging. Here is what Wikipedia says about that episode. The bold highlights are mine.

Five hundred years after Moses splits the Red Sea, the Seer Samuel (Stephen Lang) anoints Saul (Ali Suliman) from the Tribe of Benjamin as the first king of the Kingdom of Israel for 25 years, yet King Saul gradually becomes prideful of his victories. At the Valley of Elah, 1000 BC, the shepherd David (Michael Iskander) prepares to fight the Philistine giant Goliath (Martyn Ford). One year earlier, David rescues his sheep from a lion in Bethlehem. In Havilah, King Saul and the Israelites defeat King Agag (Jeremy Xido) and the Amalekites while the Philistines attack Baal-Hazor. In Gilgal, King Saul sets up a monument to sacrifice and celebrate with spoils of war but spares King Agag, defying the Lord God‘s command to destroy Amalek. Samuel receives a prophecy in Ramah and confronts King Saul with a rebuke for disobeying the Lord God, who leaves and rejects Saul as the king by choosing someone better to replace him. King Saul loses his sanity after tearing Samuel’s robe while Samuel slays King Agag. As David kills the lion in a cave, Samuel searches for the next king.

I almost took Memoria Day off but I was so taken with the story and how it relates to the following that I had to write. I will return to my series on “Words” on Wednesday barring breaking news.

Ed Young and me.

I was thinking of this post by Baptist News: How to steal a Baptist church. As I begin this post, I want. to remind readers that SBC churches are autonomous and the SBC has brought this blight on themselves. Also, I attended Ed Young Jr.’s Fellowship Church for a couple of years when I first arrived in Raleigh Dallas. At that time it was located in Las Colinas (Irving, TX)  before the move to the main church in Grapevine. I have written about many experiences that I had while there. At that time, Ed was “slumming” in Hackberry Creek in Irving, Texas. Our daughters were friends with their daughter. Ed and his wife used to live large as evidenced by their upward mobility from an average gated community to fabulous digs in the lower rich range.

I want to make something clear. The Youngs are most pleasant and charismatic. I liked them on a social level and they were kind to us. But, they were controlling. My husband and I helped out in an adult Sunday School class. They would not allow any questions in the class. As readers might suspect, I ask lots of questions. One day I asked the two of them to allow for questions in the class. I was told, quite curtly,

If you allow questions, you don’t know what questions they will ask.

I have never forgotten this.  I said something to the effect:

Don’t you believe that the Holy Spirit might help in the answering of those questions?

The conversation was over. At that point, we began to look for another church. It was plainly evident to me that they were bound for much bigger things which would involve lots of control, money, and success. That has continued as evidenced by the Baptist News post.

How to steal a church by changing the bylaws to become King.

Notice the image of all involved. Their faces are remarkably devoid of wrinkles, as they dress in what appear to be bespoke suits with fabulous shoes. Ed Junior has been known to comment on his footwear.

With his father and brother in the news for taking control of a Houston megachurch, Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Dallas is now hawking a downloadable Church Bylaws Kit for other pastors who desire to become Controlling Executive Officers.

Ed Young of Dallas is a son of H. Edwin Young, longtime pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston. A group of members recently formed a corporation to sue their church’s leaders for what they consider an illegal change in bylaws that gave the elder Young the power to name another of his sons, Ben Young, his successor without a search committee or congregational vote.

Some of the ideas embodied in the controversial new bylaws at Second Baptist Houston are found also in the 37-page Church Bylaws Kit.

What’s happening at Second Baptist Houston.

If I wrote about everything the Youngs are up to, this post would take hours to read The Trinity Foundations post:  A Story of Power, Deceit, and Betrayal at Second Baptist Church: Members File Court Petition, Try to Save Church’s Legacy.

On Monday, April 15th, 2025, Jeremiah Counsel Corporation (also “Jeremiah” in this article), a non profit formed by a group of concerned members and past members of Second Baptist Church, filed an unusual court petitionin Judge Latosha Lewis Paynes’s District Court 55 against the current leadership of Second Baptist Church Houston requesting church governance reforms and restoration of members’ voting rights taken away in secret.

… At a sparsely attended May 31, 2023 church business meeting, members in attendance either “unknowingly or unwittingly” rubber-stamped the church’s new regulations (its bylaws) without having the opportunity to inspect or read what they were being asked to approve, according to two letters signed by dozens of concerned members and sent directly to Pastor Ben Young months before the filing of this petition.

To quote Ed Jr.”It’s all about the Benjamins.”

How Might Unchecked Control Affect Second Baptist?

Church members have a number of major concerns: The possible sale of assets, such as the closure and even sale of one of their campuses, intellectual property and mailing lists; increased secrecy concerning church finances; and a possible merger which would include a takeover of assets and name change of Second Baptist into Ed Young Jr.’s Fellowship Church in Grapevine as happened with several other churches (one example here).

Other concerns include the humongous housing allowances doled out by Fellowship Church, the potential for Ed Young Jr.’s jet-set lifestyle rubbing off on his younger brothers Pastor Ben and Cliff; and the ease of stealing money as happened in Ed Young Jr.’s church.

The sale of assets: According to The Roys Report, surprised members of Ed Young Jr.’s and Fellowship Church’s Miami campus attended a Sunday service in 2021, only to learn that it would be the last Sunday they could ever attend in person—its building was being sold. Yet these same members had been encouraged only a month earlier to fulfill their tithes and pledges.

Ed Junior: Buy his kit to learn how to become a quasi-King Saul of your church.

Have you ever wanted to be in charge of your church and gain positive cash flow into your coffers? Ed has a kit for you! Church Bylaws Kit for $70!

Bylaws don’t matter until they matter – but one day, they will matter. After hundreds and hundreds of hours of study, after paying tens of thousands of dollars to lawyers who are experts in the 501C3 world, Fellowship Church came up with bylaws that are in concert with the New Testament and, also, in concert with our culture and our context. This bylaws kit allows leaders the opportunity to lead with great accountability and make decisions rapidly with tremendous protection.

And just in case the Bejamins are down, one can purchase Year-End Giving Kit for $55.00.

One of the key roles of any pastor is that of “chief fundraiser,” and to help you plan for the season of generosity, we’ve combined helpful tools from Fellowship Church’s most impactful year-end giving campaigns. You can add your church name, address, logo, and website to each of the following resources using Adobe Creative Suite.

One of the key roles of any pastor is that of “chief fundraiser,” and to help you plan for the season of generosity, we’ve combined helpful tools from Fellowship Church’s most impactful year-end giving campaigns. You can add your church name, address, logo, and website to each of the following resources using Adobe Creative Suite.

  • Year-End Giving Strategy – Use the strategy as a general timeline for emailing newsletters and mailing letters relating to donor development.
  • iPartner Envelope – Communicate excellence with the small details like offering envelopes. Make the graphic design process easy by starting with the iPartner envelope and adding your church’s information.
  • Annual Pledge Card – Encourage members to make an annual commitment..
  • Media Screen Slide – Cast a meaningful message on the side screens when taking the offering – “Extending the reach, Building the Church.”
  • Automatic Withdrawal Form – Offer the convenience of automatic withdrawal with the fully customizable automatic withdrawal form.
  • Large Collection Boxes – In the digital era, donating one’s hard earned resources by clicking a button can feel unceremonious. Create an environment that makes the experience of giving an over-and-above offering more significant by placing large collection boxes at the front of your worship center or in strategic areas around the church. Customize this graphic and send it to http://www.ChurchSignShop.com for unbeatable printing rates. *They will ship anywhere in the U.S.
  • Vision/Thank You Letters – Update your donors with the highlights of the year and cast vision about upcoming events.

How do I put a row of “laughing so much I’m crying” emojis here? 😯

The Calvinistas are experts at this form of control.

I have written about the Calvinist takeover of churches. The SBC admires the machinations of Andy Davis Jr’s tome on how to do it. In my post Andy Davis and First Baptist Durham: I Wonder If Wormwood Grinned? you can read the baloney in Andy David Jr.’s The Reform of First Baptist Church of Durham. Read this at your leisure but make sure you have something to sedate you.

Final Words:

It is quite simple. The Youngs are about control and money. They have found a system to get both. If it is one person in control it is an autocracy. When it is a few people in control it is an oligarchy. I’m leaning towards oligarchy since they have a few people backing them.

One thing is certain. The Youngs seek the admiration and money of their followers. Their churches center around the idolization of the lead pastor. Sure they mention Jesus. He’s important to their brand and tithing is big in these circles.

Tell me how the Youngs differ from King Saul. Also, remember that King Saul’s son did not become king. In the end, things did not go well for him. I wonder when a foul will be called in this game.

 

Comments

Ed Young Sr, Ed Young Jr, and Ben Young: An SBC Oligarchy in Action. Is It a King Saul Rerun? — 50 Comments

  2. I find the story of the families of Saul and David quite depressing; nearly the entire arc of the story of the kings of the united tribes and then the divided kingdoms is a story of failure.

    I think that a lesson for us today in this is that “human leaders often disappoint.”

    I have an uneasy sense that “something is not right.” The Church has been at this for nearly 2000 years, and we are still having difficulty with things like “love of lucre” among leaders.

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  3. “…are about control and money.”

    And entertainment.

    And belonging. Most people seeking God want to belong in the Body of Christ somewhere in their community.

    Reading through the New Testament about Jesus, the disciples, and the first churches, it’s obvious that these enterprises, falsely claiming to be churches, are a scam.

    At times, commenters here struggle with misuse of the Bible. It’s true. The Bible is used for all sorts of nefarious purposes by evil individuals. Satan quoted the Bible to Jesus.

    That being said, reading the entire Bible for oneself is iron clad armour against religious schemes, with prayer and attention to Holy Spirit guidance.

    Some have said that reading 5 Psalms and 1 chapter of Proverbs each day is beneficial for mental health purposes. A lift.

    Personally, I do the Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz. He does a daily podcast, a video on YouTube, and there’s a study plan to read it for oneself.

    At my church, we meet in Bible study groups each week to discuss and pray, on schedule with the Bible in a Year plan. There is no charge, no money involved at all. This is all free. No attendance is taken and there are no points for participation. If you arrive late from work, you are welcomed. It’s really that friendly, straightforward, and simple.

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  4. Ava Aaronson: Some have said that reading 5 Psalms and 1 chapter of Proverbs each day is beneficial for mental health purposes. A lift.

    The idea is that this 5 Psalms and 1 chapter of Proverbs a day takes a reader through the month. It’s supposed to be a positive monthly habit. 150 Psalms ÷ 30 = 5/day and then there are 31 chapters of Proverbs spread out across each month.

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  5. Samuel Conner,

    Yes, I find their lives somewhat dysfunctional and sad but hang on to the fact that despite his blind spots and out and out sin against a godly and faithful person like Uriah. David was still a person who had authentic faith in the one true God, was genuinely and spiritually remorseful, and was far from being a willful sinner – hence practical atheists – as was the case with many of his fellow hebrews as is also the case with many people today despite their religious or civic title, skills set or popularity.
    Somewhat of a simplistic analogy, but people, and specifically human nature, are like Icebergs with the ‘underneath’ ‘hidden and underestimated mass, that can do the most damage.
    Each and every day we contend with hidden positive and negative self talk, underneath inorderly love for this or that, and wrestle with underneath inappropriate thinking that if not intentionally pushed back,
    will bring about inappropriate and damaging behaviour. Have always valued the genuine calling of men and women to mission and ministry and have always endeavoured to support such callings to Christian service in whatever way possible.
    Nonetheless, always mindful and have reminded others, “not to put trust in princes, nor mere mortal men, who cannot save”

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  8. “I attended Ed Young Jr.’s Fellowship Church for a couple of years when I first arrived in Raleigh. At that time it was located in Las Colinas (Irving, TX) before the move to the main church in Grapevine.”

    I’m confused by “when I first arrived in Raleigh” but attended a church in Las Colinas. Is there a step in the narrative that was left out? Not that it matters … it’s just being an editor.

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  9. “Their churches center around the idolization of the lead pastor.”

    Which is a personality cult, not a Body of Christ. When the pew idolizes their pastor, Jesus exits.

    Every organization eventually takes on the personality of its leader. If you want to keep the same personality in a church over time, you pass the mantle to your son, who passes it to his son, etc. Meanwhile, the “Son” can’t wiggle in edgewise. There is no anointing that rests on this sort of mantle maneuvering, no hearing from God directly, no fresh word from Heaven. When you make church a family enterprise, tacking on Jesus’ name to make it look official, God moves on.

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  10. If you allow questions, you don’t know what questions they will ask.

    This morning, I was listening to last Sunday’s sermon from a local (Wake Forest, NC) PCA church. Serendipitously, one of the lines in the sermon was that in John 7 there are 20 questions that are either asked of Jesus or by Jesus. The speaker (the associate pastor) made the statement: This kind of curiosity, asking questions, it’s a great thing, a good thing. Those of us who teach like questions. Asking questions, after all, is how we learn..

    This raises the question (pardon the pun): if asking questions is how we learn, did Ed Young, Jr and his wife care if the members of the Sunday School learned anything? If they cared whether the people learned, did they care what they learned? Do they care now? It doesn’t take a Magic 8-Ball to realize that all signs point to no.

    Unfortunately, they are far from alone among American church leadership in this respect.

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  11. Our dilemma in the American church is that too many church folks mistake a touch of charisma and gift of gab for God’s anointing. This is a big mistake that has allowed flesh to take over pulpits, rather than the Spirit. It’s the stuff that megamania is made of. It never turns out well in the end.

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  13. One thing is certain. The Youngs seek the admiration and money of their followers. Their churches center around the idolization of the lead pastor. Sure they mention Jesus. He’s important to their brand and tithing is big in these circles.

    Unrelated to my previous comment except in the common subject, to me, this fact seems as clear as an example as can be had of what Paul warned Timothy about in 1 Timothy 6:3-10, “…These men regard godliness as a means of gain…Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love on money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (vv 5, 9-10).

    The best possible advice to give anyone who is considering attending a church like Fellowship is to avoid it at all costs.

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  15. Every time I read these stories about money-grubbing pastors, and struggles for control of churches, it makes me happy that the hobby/activity organizations that I’m a part of don’t bring in enough money to make anyone rich (nor do they ask for much money from the people who participate). We pay our $10-$15 per week, pay our musicians and callers (less than they deserve), pay for the hall, and go our merry way.

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  16. The more I read about Christian ministry family dynasties, the more I think about the HBO comedy “The Righteous Gemstones”. And the more I watch “The Righteous Gemstones”, the less I think of the show as being over-the-top and the more I think the show smartly hits the nail on the head.

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  18. Cynthia W.:
    “I attended Ed Young Jr.’s Fellowship Church for a couple of years when I first arrived in Raleigh. At that time it was located in Las Colinas (Irving, TX)before the move to the main church in Grapevine.”

    I’m confused by “when I first arrived in Raleigh” but attended a church in Las Colinas.Is there a step in the narrative that was left out?Not that it matters … it’s just being an editor.

    Thank you for letting me know I wrote Raleigh, where I now happily reside, and Dallas where I used to live. I am sorry for the error as well as confusing you.

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  23. Just wanted to let you all know, I haven’t disappeared. I’ve just been very busy. My husband and I bought my mother’s house and we’re getting renovations done on it. Otherwise, life is good! Except for seeing that some churches are still up to no darn good.

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  24. Old Young, Young Young et al have missed a trick in not launching reasonably priced T shirts, front reads “Total Depravity”, slogan on back “Limited Atonement”, as perfectly serious mainstream catechetical tool.

    (In my own “young” day we used to call these points “assurance”, and “particular redemption”, respectively.)

    Muslin, fka Dee Holmes,

    You are one of my top TWW heroes!

    Burwell Stark: signs point to no.

    Prof Dallas Willard (philosophy professor) and Dr Michael L Brown (linguist) (both of whom entered those professions from out of the blue) maintain that the people most in need of Christian Knowledge are the Christians.

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  25. Burwell Stark: This raises the question (pardon the pun): if asking questions is how we learn, did Ed Young, Jr and his wife care if the members of the Sunday School learned anything? If they cared whether the people learned, did they care what they learned? Do they care now? It doesn’t take a Magic 8-Ball to realize that all signs point to no.

    The only thing they ‘care’ about is that all them Yankee greenbacks keep on rollin’ in.

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  27. Muff Potter: What really astonishes me is that otherwise intelligent and rational adults will fork over their hard-earned moohlah to these grifters.

    It’s increasingly obvious that intelligence and rationality are hung on a nail by the door when folks enter such churches. Unfortunately, the problem with deception is that you don’t know you are deceived because you are deceived.

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  31. Max:
    Our dilemma in the American church is that too many church folks mistake a touch of charisma and gift of gab for God’s anointing.This is a big mistake that has allowed flesh to take over pulpits, rather than the Spirit.It’s the stuff that megamania is made of.It never turns out well in the end.

    So very true! That is the stuff sheep is wolves clothing is made of. It is also one of the reasons my tithe is so small to the local church. I give to people and organizations that I have checked out. I just have such a hard time believing I am getting all the financial info from my local church.

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  32. Max: It’s increasingly obvious that intelligence and rationality are hung on a nail by the door when folks enter such churches.

    It’s more generic than that.
    Remember all the Magick Healing Crystals and Essential Oils and Trance-Channeling pods of Spiritually-Evolved dplphins back in the Eighties and Nineties?

    People will check in their brains at the door to anybody promising them an inside track to the Spiritual Realm and rearrurance in wild and crazy times, especially when an Afterlife is part of the deal.

    (Speaking of pop-culture Afterlife promises, the Pop Reincarnation celebrities and other fluffbunnies (“We Never Die, Our Souls Recycle”) have really not thought it through. What they teach is actually “Your Soul-Stuff recycles, YOU DON’T”. No memories, none of the life experience that made you who you are. Your ectoplasm/psychoplasm/spirit matter/whatever keeps living on, a new blank slate in a new body, but YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL ARE DEAD. Why anyone would choose reincarnation under that ruleset is beyond me.)

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  35. Arlo,

    Internal and external messages, promotions and any other aspect of marketing makes people ‘feel’ that they are ‘share holders’ in the church, the organisation, the enterprise, while its only the owners and senior management who truly run things and receive the perks.
    Also, decade after decade after decade of 24/7 psychologically researched marketing has conditioned people through all of life stages that they not only have become (identity) in thinking and behaviour, customers & consumers of products & services, they now also ‘feel’ that meaning to life (purpose) can only be attained through the purchase and consumption of products and services. Wants now overshadow genuine needs and inorderly desire for money to attain meaning & purpose has become a rationised virtue and norm.
    This has permeated every aspect of US society with the result that ‘church’ is just one of many within the market place, temple.
    And to think that “socialism” is often labeled the bogeyman to spiritual health.
    As we know, faith in Christ, discipleship and sanctification are the only ways to break free and stand apart from such an overwhelming mindset & culture.
    Thought about this once while walking the ruins of ancient Corinth.

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  36. Ian Docker: people ‘feel’ that they are ‘shareholders’ in the church, the organisation, the enterprise … life (purpose) can only be attained through the purchase and consumption of products and services … ‘church’ is just one of many within the market place

    When the pulpit becomes a business and the pew become consumers, together they cease being ‘the’ Church.

    “Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks’ wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church’s inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

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  37. Ian Docker,

    My own observations and experience within the church led me to conclusions that many would be quite uncomfortable with. Most people aren’t ready (and I don’t know if they’ll ever be) to have the sort of discussions that take a long hard look at what is really going on all around us. Blatant malfeasance, whether from the pew or the pulpit, is met with a shrug and largely ignored or excused. I find it increasingly difficult to have any sort of meaningful fellowship with believers who are more than happy to bury their heads in the sand. There’s next to no discipleship in a lot of churches and spiritual growth isn’t catered towards at all. Church has deviated so far from what it’s meant to be that it scarcely deserves that name any more.

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  41. Arlo: I find it increasingly difficult to have any sort of meaningful fellowship with believers who are more than happy to bury their heads in the sand.

    As an old guy who came to Christ nearly a century ago, this has been the most painful thing to watch as the “church” moves farther from God. Genuine spiritual fellowship with other believers has become a rare experience.

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