As of September 3, 2024 at 5:44 p.m., clarifications have been added to this story:
Perhaps the only brand of politics more polarizing than a presidential election is church politics. While Texas’ Gateway Megachurch strangely ran through several pastors in only two months, now a controversial election continues to divide members of one of Harlem’s historic Black churches.
Founded in 1808, Abyssinian Baptist Church remains one of the oldest Black Baptist churches in the nation with more than 215 years of history and impact in the New York community, according to the church’s website.
But everything changed when the church’s beloved pastor, Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III died in 2022, kickstarting a two-year long process to select his replacement. For some of the church’s oldest members, however, this election was nothing short of confusing and disheartening.
In the end, Rev. Kevin Johnson was elected as Rev. Butts III’s replacement this year, and longtime church members like Jasmine McFarlane-White, are calling the whole process “shocking” and “nasty.”
Timeline of the election process
According to Abyssinian’s Pastoral Search timeline, Rev. Butts III selected a Pastoral Search Committee five months before his October passing. Nearly a year after the reverend’s death, the committee began to fracture as deacons and other church leaders voiced their concerns about the “flawed” process.
White argued the committee rushed the election to replace Rev. Butts despite growing concerns from its members. “We never grieved,” White said. She continued suggesting church members were “so fatigued by not having a pastor,” so when it came time to vote for Butts’ replacement, “they were like ‘you know what? let’s just get a pastor in.’”
A formal election named Rev. Johnson as the new pastor in June 2024, but Dr. Kevin McGruder, a historian and member of Abyssinian since 1987, argued Johnson didn’t even get enough votes despite the church “pretending like he did.”
Several church members who talked to The Root claimed election ballots were even sent out to deceased church members, including Rev. Butts, which they claim furthers growing accusations of corruption against Abyssinian. However, The Root could not confirm this to be true.
“This is a church that taught one thing… but with their own institution they allowed this [corruption] to happen,” McGruder told The Root, adding the church’s bylaws require a pastor to earn majority of the votes from all members in good standing—totaling 2,655— marking the winning threshold at 1,328 votes.
Instead, Johnson only received 672 from the total 1,208 people who voted in the formal election. While McGruder argues this goes against the church’s bylaws, Abyssinian spokesperson, LaToya Evans, plainly said the majority won.
Could this all come down to an interpretation of the church’s bylaws? The bylaws say “The pastor shall be called by the majority vote of the Members in Good Standing who are eligible to vote.” McGruder and others believe the majority in good standing would equal a minimum amount of 1,328 votes. However, church officials argue the winning number is the majority that voted…period. This would mean a minimum 605 (of the total 1,208 votes casted).
The church’s response
In response to claims of corruption, Evans told The Root, “It’s not unusual for a voting minority to be vocal and combative of election results, which has been the case here.”
She continued, “accusations by this very small, isolated group who simply wanted a different electoral outcome hold no merit and have been repeatedly proved false in church meetings, memos and other communications both publicly and privately.”
Disagreers argue their concern is less about Rev. Johnson becoming the new pastor but more so about the election process, which McGruder said “blatantly ignore the rules of the church.”
The impact
In an email to church members, Gilda Squire, a member of the church, wrote “…We are left with more questions than answers, and it’s getting more difficult to trust a process that is obviously curated and programmed towards a particular outcome.”
More than two dozen new members joined the church since Rev. Johnson’s election, according to the church; however, several other members have left amid these controversies, including one family who told Squire they are now forced to rethink who will funeralize them after leaving Abyssinian after decades.
Just like any family, the church is grieving, and it’s clear everyone still mourns the loss of Rev. Butts III. Who knows what’s really right and wrong? Both sides vehemently argue the other side is dead wrong: Was two years too soon to elect a replacement for a pastor who served the church for five decades? Maybe. Is it time to move forward and find a new leader? Possibly.
In the case of Abyssinian Baptist Church, everyone is simply invested in the place they call their spiritual home. Still, church officials hold strong. The election will not be overturned. Dr. Rev. Johnson’s formal installation will take place in September.
