Baptisms prove to be not so spontaneous
A Southern Baptist megachurch pastor in North Carolina, already under fire for buying a $1.6 million house, is in the spotlight for “spontaneous baptisms” that turned out to be not nearly so spontaneous.
Steven Furtick, 34, routinely draws about 14,000 worshipers to several campuses of Elevation Church in and around Charlotte. The church, launched in 2006, has been listed by Outreach magazine as one of the 100 fastest-growing churches in the country.
Part of that growth has been attributed to Elevation’s flashy baptism ceremonies, particularly as the Southern Baptist Convention grows increasingly concerned about declining baptism rates as a key measure of evangelism and church vitality.
