Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

West Palm megachurch pastor resigns amid debt, résumé exposé

NewsABPnews  |  August 27, 2006

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (ABP) — Embattled pastor Steven Flockhart resigned from First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach, Fla. — less than three months after he was hired to lead the 10,000-member church — reportedly because he lied about his academic degrees.

Church leaders announced the resignation Aug. 27, according to The Palm Beach Post. Flockhart, 40, had been elected senior pastor in June. His resignation took effect immediately.

The announcement came the same day the Post ran a story about Flockhart's résumé, which said he graduated from Columbia International University and earned degrees from two other respected schools. In reality, he received bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees through correspondence classes from non-accredited Covington Theological School in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., the story said.

The Post and Associated Baptist Press previously reported that Flockhart left a Georgia church eight years ago with unauthorized debts from personal credit card use and personal checks totaling more than $162,500. Macedonia Baptist Church in Dawnville, Ga., filed a lawsuit after Flockhart left in 1989 for Crosspointe Baptist Church near Memphis, Tenn.

Flockhart repaid the debt last year, the Aug. 13 story said. Bruce Phillips, chairman of the elders at the 170-year-old church near Dalton, Ga., declined to comment for this story.

The résumé also said Flockhart was obtaining a second master's from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, although the Post reported that officials at the Wake Forest, N.C., school denied the claim.

According to the Post, Flockhart said in his resignation letter that he did not expect his deceptions to resurface.

“I ask your forgiveness for this situation,” Flockhart wrote to the church. “You embraced our family and loved us from the beginning. We immediately fell in love with First Baptist and this community. I will cherish the sweet memories that we shared in this brief time together.”

First Baptist's executive pastor Kevin Mahoney and associate pastor Bill Keith did not return phone calls for this story.

According to the Post, one part of Flockhart's résumé was true: his plans to begin working on a doctorate at Liberty Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, Va. The school was founded by Jerry Fallwell as part of Lynchburg Baptist College.

According to the Post, Liberty officials said Flockhart paid registration fees directly to seminary president Ergun Caner because Caner personally recruited him, said Ron Godwin, Liberty's executive vice president and CEO.

According to the Post, Godwin said Flockhart and Falwell are friends. Falwell is the school's chancellor.

The Post reported Flockhart was hired by the West Palm church on the strength of a recommendation from Johnny Hunt, a prominent Southern Baptist leader and pastor of a 14,000-member church in Woodstock, Ga.

-30-

Read more:

Palm Beach Post on Flockhart resignation

Pastoral perks can be unethical (8/22)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
Tags:Archives
More by
ABPnews
  • Through the eyes of Mary: Looking at Advent anew

    This is a four-part series written by Julia Goldie Day in which we seek to see anew the incarnation of Jesus through the eyes and body of a woman, Mary the mother of Jesus:

    The blood of Advent
    The pain of Advent

  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Interfaith leaders influenced MLK’s Christian outlook, biographer says

      News

    • National leader of Chi Alpha resigns as sex abuse scandal looms

      News

    • Alabama Supreme Court declines to stop Samford from taking house of former fraternity

      News

    • New study finds Americans agree on issues facing their families but differ greatly on marriage and family in general

      News


    Curated

    • Recordings show how the Mormon church protects itself from child sex abuse claims

      Recordings show how the Mormon church protects itself from child sex abuse claims

    • This Palestinian American professor leans on his Quaker faith during conflict

      This Palestinian American professor leans on his Quaker faith during conflict

    • The Episcopal Church reckons with tangled protocol on clergy abuse and accountability

      The Episcopal Church reckons with tangled protocol on clergy abuse and accountability

    • Nearly a quarter of young Brits open to banning the Bible

      Nearly a quarter of young Brits open to banning the Bible

    Read Next:

    Devouring beasts: Advent and the 2024 election

    OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Letter to the Editor: I was there when CBF was created, and I disagree with BNG analysis

      OpinionBill Bruster

    • Stop doing business with China, religious freedom watchdog group urges

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The Toxic Evangelical Variant

      OpinionMartin Thielen

    • SBC Executive Committee files amicus brief supporting NAMB against Will McRaney

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • ACE American Insurance Co. denies allegations in Kanakuk’s recent cross claim

      NewsMallory Challis

    • New study finds Americans agree on issues facing their families but differ greatly on marriage and family in general

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Thank you, Jack

      OpinionLayne Wallace

    • A call for immoderate mediators: David Gushee defends democracy from its Christian enemies  

      AnalysisAlan Bean

    • Interfaith leaders influenced MLK’s Christian outlook, biographer says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • National leader of Chi Alpha resigns as sex abuse scandal looms

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Alabama Supreme Court declines to stop Samford from taking house of former fraternity

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Devouring beasts: Advent and the 2024 election

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • New speaker of the House releases select January 6 footage to allow Christians and conservatives to change the narrative

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • If the Sinner’s Prayer is the only way to salvation, why isn’t it in the Bible?

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Journalist’s book explores ‘crack-up of the American evangelical church’

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • I asked for awe: The gift of awe and the path of radical amazement

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Still a high and holy calling      

      OpinionTony Cupit

    • In Botswana, a booming economy lures U.S.-educated pastors home

      NewsAudrey Simango

    • The pain of advent

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • ‘It was futile … nothing will change’

      OpinionChrista Brown

    • Supreme Court declines to reinstate Florida ban on drag shows

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Immigration advocates deplore House Republicans’ effort to tie Ukraine aid to severe border measures

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Big ideas at human size: An interview with Carrie Newcomer

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Even as Biden supports their interest in Israel, white evangelicals disapprove of his job performance

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Stop doing business with China, religious freedom watchdog group urges

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • ACE American Insurance Co. denies allegations in Kanakuk’s recent cross claim

      NewsMallory Challis

    • New study finds Americans agree on issues facing their families but differ greatly on marriage and family in general

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Interfaith leaders influenced MLK’s Christian outlook, biographer says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • National leader of Chi Alpha resigns as sex abuse scandal looms

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Alabama Supreme Court declines to stop Samford from taking house of former fraternity

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New speaker of the House releases select January 6 footage to allow Christians and conservatives to change the narrative

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Journalist’s book explores ‘crack-up of the American evangelical church’

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • In Botswana, a booming economy lures U.S.-educated pastors home

      NewsAudrey Simango

    • Supreme Court declines to reinstate Florida ban on drag shows

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Immigration advocates deplore House Republicans’ effort to tie Ukraine aid to severe border measures

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Even as Biden supports their interest in Israel, white evangelicals disapprove of his job performance

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • As SBC moves toward second vote on Law Amendment, debate continues on just what it means

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Hawks and Felton to lead CBF advocacy efforts

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • 30 years ago, RFRA passed with support from a broad coalition unimaginable today

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Even on January 6, family was important to Mike Pence

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Transitions for the week of 12-1-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • ‘Pastor Johnny’ wins a bid to unseal Guidepost documents

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Tougher border policies will not stop the flow of migrants, immigration experts say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Professors defend Thomas Jefferson from Christian nationalism

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Judge rules discovery may continue in Sillses’ lawsuit against SBC parties

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • She was the only Baptist and only woman fraternal delegate at a Vatican synod

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Darius Rucker dedicates this one to the faith of his mother

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Letter to the Editor: I was there when CBF was created, and I disagree with BNG analysis

      OpinionBill Bruster

    • The Toxic Evangelical Variant

      OpinionMartin Thielen

    • Thank you, Jack

      OpinionLayne Wallace

    • Devouring beasts: Advent and the 2024 election

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • If the Sinner’s Prayer is the only way to salvation, why isn’t it in the Bible?

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • I asked for awe: The gift of awe and the path of radical amazement

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Still a high and holy calling      

      OpinionTony Cupit

    • The pain of advent

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • ‘It was futile … nothing will change’

      OpinionChrista Brown

    • Big ideas at human size: An interview with Carrie Newcomer

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • What I learned teaching incarcerated white students about structural racism

      OpinionChris Caldwell

    • Jack Tales: Remembering Jack Causey

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • Are our churches prepared for Christian autocracy?

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Praying in a time of war

      OpinionMartin Thielen

    • The speaker and the Bible

      OpinionJim Harnish

    • Baptists were for separation of church and state before they were against it

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • What happens when the snow melts? Humanizing victims of the war in Gaza with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

      OpinionMallory Challis

    • Hamas’ ‘sexual pogrom’ in Israel

      OpinionJonathan Feldstein

    • ‘Useful idiots’ won’t end the Israel-Hamas war, and neither will a cease-fire

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • The blood of Advent

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • Five truths about church committees and their work

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Tell me about your Christian tattoo

      OpinionMadison Boboltz

    • A generational torch passes at Bubba-Doo’s

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • The desire for retaliation is a fool’s errand

      OpinionJohn Carter

    • Knowing what we see and remembering what we know

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Recordings show how the Mormon church protects itself from child sex abuse claims

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • This Palestinian American professor leans on his Quaker faith during conflict

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Episcopal Church reckons with tangled protocol on clergy abuse and accountability

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Nearly a quarter of young Brits open to banning the Bible

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Las Vegas man accused of threats against Jewish US senator and her family is indicted

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Israel’s mosaic of Jewish ethnic groups is key to understanding the country

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Influential Detroit pastor the Rev. Charles Gilchrist Adams dies at age 86

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ‘Jesus’ film producers plan release of new animated version in 2025

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Elon Musk expresses regret for endorsing antisemitic post but swears at advertisers boycotting X over it

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Search For God In A Faithless Nation: Inside One Man’s Journey

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope Francis asks theologians to ‘demasculinize’ the church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • An Indian official plotted to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in New York, US prosecutors say

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • AP Photos: Church that hosted Rosalynn Carter funeral played key role in her and her husband’s lives

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Stoicism and spirituality: A philosopher explains how more Americans’ search for meaning is turning them toward the classics

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How support for Trump is causing a rift in the evangelical church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • In the US, Hmong ‘new year’ recalls ancestral spirits while teaching traditions to new generations

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Argentina’s president-elect, Javier Milei, visits Lubavitcher rabbi’s grave to offer thanks for his surprise victory

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Canadian Evangelical Scholar Fired Following University Investigation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Top Diplomat Of Ecumenical Patriarchate Delves Into Catholic-Orthodox Relations

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Africa’s Wall Street Quiets Christian Worship

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Houston’s Hindu youth will soon have a summer campsite of their own

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The challenges of being a religious scientist

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Tens of thousands march against antisemitism in London including UK ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why George Santos’ lies are even worse than the usual political lies – a moral philosopher explains

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Democratic Republic Of The Congo Works To Improve Religious Freedom For Christians

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS