A planned elevation of Timothy D. Price III, the senior pastor of First Baptist Church City of St. Louis, in Missouri, to the role of Missouri State Overseer in the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, has been scuttled by International Presiding Bishop Joseph Warren Walker III, after outcry over his status as a registered sex offender.
Price was slated to be installed as the Missouri State Overseer of the Charismatic Baptist denomination affiliated with the National Baptist Convention, USA, on Sept. 16.
In a statement released over the weekend, Walker said the denomination was not previously aware that Price was convicted of the second-degree rape of a 12-year-old girl in 2008 and was a registered sex offender. Walker said as soon as he became aware of the details, he took immediate action. According to The Roys Report, Walker confronted Price at noon on Saturday, and the fellowship issued its public statement three hours later.
“This information was not known to us at the time of his appointment. The moment it came to my attention, I moved swiftly and personally to address it directly with Dr. Price; there was no delay, and there will be none in how we respond,” Walker wrote.
“Dr. Price tendered his resignation immediately, and the Fellowship has accepted that resignation, effective immediately, removing him from all leadership positions and responsibilities within our organization.”
While Price “will not be allowed to serve in any jurisdictional or auxiliary positions within the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship,” Walker said they had no power over Price’s role as senior pastor at First Baptist Church City of St. Louis because “each church is autonomous and free to make its own decisions regarding its leadership.”
First Baptist Church City of St. Louis, founded in 1817 by formerly enslaved John Berry Meachum and missionary John Mason Peck, is recognized as the oldest African American church west of the Mississippi River, according to The St. Louis American.
The church did not immediately respond to calls from The Christian Post on Labor Day, but previously defended its choice of pastor in a Facebook exchange with a Facebook page called “50 Years of Abuse at Willow Creek Community Church,” according to the Roys Report.
“We respect sincere concerns regarding safety. However, an online search does not determine whether someone has accepted responsibility or expressed remorse,” a church representative said in the Facebook exchange.
“Dr. Price does not hide his past, served his sentence, remains compliant, and has lived without reoffending,” the representative added.
Price pleaded guilty in May 2008 and was sentenced that August to seven years in prison for allegedly having sex three times with a 12-year-old between Dec. 1, 2007, and Jan. 15, 2008, according to the Baltimore Sun. He was 31 at the time and worked as music director at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Baltimore. The conviction was treated as an age-based crime because Price was not accused of using force or the threat of force in the rape.
Price is not featured on the website of First Baptist Church City of St. Louis, but as recently as a week ago, he continued his sermon series at the church on the “Strength of Grace.”
Walker, in his statement, insisted that “The safety of children and the integrity of pastoral leadership are sacred, non-negotiable priorities of this Fellowship.”
“When we fall short of that standard, as we did here, the responsibility rests with me as Presiding Bishop,” he said. “I do not shift that weight elsewhere, and I offer my sincere apology to our Fellowship, to the State of Missouri, and to every family who has trusted us with their leadership. This moment is a hard but necessary teacher.”
Walker further stated that the denomination is currently taking steps to improve the screening of leadership candidates.
“No organization, however faithful its mission or careful its intentions, is immune to human failure or the limits of imperfect process; this could happen within any fellowship, any denomination, anybody of believers who lead in good faith,” he said.
“We are strengthening our vetting and background screening process at every level of leadership, state, regional, and international, so that a gap of this kind is not repeated.”
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