Due to His Narcissism Bryan Loritts Over-Extended Himself with The Summit in Raleigh-Durham. And How Loritts Hiring is The Most Important Issue Inside the Southern Baptist Convention

Bryan Loritts being hired by The Summit in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina reveals many issues in the Southern Baptist Convention. While Bryan Loritts over extended himself due to his narcissism he also revealed much about the Convention. In one Sunday afternoon J.D. Greear brought Caring Well into doubt and undermined the initiative.  In the process the Fellowship Memphis scandal rocketed to the top of the Southern Baptists and this blog believes that due to the high profile of J.D. Greear that national media like the New York Times or the Washington Post will get involved in reporting this issue.  Its just a matter of time. 

“Friends, you understand that the problem of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention did not begin in February with the publication of an article in a newspaper.

Survivors and advocates have been calling our attention to this for years. And many, like Megan [Lively] just now, have shown great courage in doing so. Honestly, [it’s] courage they should not have needed to show.

Believing this myth has caused us as a convention to miscategorize the words of people like Christa Brown and Tiffany Thigpen and Mary DeMuth and Anne Marie Miller and Dave Pittman and Jules Woodson and Megan Lively and so many other victims as attacks from adversaries instead of warnings from friends.

It is wrong to characterize someone as “just bitter” because they raised their voice when their warnings were not heeded. Anger is an appropriate response, a biblical response, in that circumstance.”

J.D. Greear at Caring Well in October of 2019. 

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 18:6 ESV

Bryan Loritts

Sunday afternoon a bombshell dropped in my lap. It was stunning and I am still processing the news. It was alarming and disturbing and it happened through an anonymous email as I was logging off. In interacting with more people over the day including those who were involved in Fellowship Memphis many are angry. The  Summit hiring of Bryan Loritts – a pastor who allegedly was involved in the cover-up of his brother-in-law’s voyeurism and manufacturing of child pornography is stunning. To read The Summit’s email about hiring Bryan Loritts you can find that in, “Bryan Loritts is Joining J.D. Greear’s The Summit Church on June 1, 2020. So Much For Caring About Sexual Misconduct and Sex Abuse Inside the Southern Baptist Convention.” To learn more about the Fellowship Memphis scandal you can read the following posts. “The Sordid Tale of Rick Trotter, Bryan Loritts, John Bryson and Acts 29 Fellowship Memphis and Downtown Presbyterian Church” and “Of all the Scandals Written About at The Wondering Eagle, Bryan Loritts Was The Most Disturbing. Here’s Why.”  Let’s go through the issues and explain the implications of Bryan Loritts hiring for the Southern Baptist Convention. 

 

Bryan Loritts Displays His Narcissism And What He Left Behind in Mountain View, California 

The first issue deals with Bryan Loritts. Bryan Loritts is a narcissist. Would he be diagnosed with a narcissistic personality disorder? This blog believes that could happen if he was willing to be tested. But that will never happen. Those who interacted with Bryan Loritts at Fellowship Memphis described him as a self centered person who plays the victim. Poor Bryan, he suffers so much! He talks about how hard it is to be a black man in the white evangelical world and he wants you to shed a tear. However this blog would say that Bryan Loritts sheds crocodile tears.  And yet the situation with The Summit Church is staggering. 

Among other issues what this hiring process with The Summit Church does is show how much of a fool Bryan Loritts is. Bryan is a pastor on the run. He was involved in an alleged cover-up of criminal misconduct at Fellowship Memphis. Loritts knew what his brother-in-law was doing with voyeurism. Bryan was so consumed with celebrity pastor stardom that even when one of his own children  was illicitly and illegally recorded he didn’t contact the police. He was more concerned with his image and publishing and being famous. Bryan was lucky to end up at Abundant Life Christian Fellowship (ALCF) in Mountain View, California. He was in California where people didn’t know about what happened at Fellowship Memphis. ALCF is an extremely affluent area. People who come to that church have deep pockets and come from some of the most successful companies in the United States. Mountain View  in the Bay Area of California is home to such companies as Google, Symantec, Linkedin, Legato Software, Pure Storage and eHealth just to name a few.  Bryan Loritts could have kicked up his shoes as senior pastor and laid low and collected a lot of money and in about twenty years he could retire as a satisfied pastor. And that would not be too bad for a pastor who allegedly covered up his brother-in-law’s criminal behavior in Tennessee, But no, he got greedy and he walked away to come to The Summit. What is Bryan Loritts personal goal? This blog would like to raise the question, is Lorttis planning on becoming a Southern Baptist Convention President one day? To follow in the shoes of Fred Luter and carry on the concern about racial issues? To stand before the SBC and say, “You have no idea what its like to be a black man in a white room.” And guilt people and manipulate their emotion. Is that what Bryan Loritts eventually wants to do?  Because up until now I would not have stated that the criteria of becoming Southern Baptist President is covering up voyeurism and child pornography production in your church. But Loritts hiring at J.D. Greear’s church is a game changer. 

 

Video used in the SBC with J.D. Greear pushing Caring Well. 

How this Brings Caring Well Into Doubt 

Here is another reason why this hiring of Bryan Loritts is so damning. The issue of sexual abuse is a major concern today within the Southern Baptists. Its one that consumed the Southern Baptist Convention in Birmingham. Its one that Rachael Denhollander has been talking about and drawing attention to. The issue of sex abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention was the creation of Caring Well. The Caring Well Initiative from my understanding is supposed to provide a way ahead in dealing and addressing sex abuse inside the Southern Baptist Convention. The Caring Well Challenge was encouraged among SBC churches. Now as president of the Southern Baptists J.D. Greear has stated this this is a priority. At the ERLC segment at the Birmingham meeting Greear talks about how sex abuse is a “Gospel Issue.” But don’t take my words watch the above video and listen to J.D. Greear say that at segment 14:22.  Greear did a video that was shown in Southern Baptist Churches as Caring Well kicked off on August 25, 2019.  At the Caring Well Conference in October of 2019 J.D. Greear explained misperceptions about abuse that exist in Baptist churches. He also explained how the Southern Baptist Convention has failed to listen to those who have been abused in Baptist Churches. 

And then after beating this drum and talking about this issue of sex abuse, what does J.D. Greear do? He hires someone – Bryan Loritts- who allegedly covered up voyeurism and and his borther-in-law’s manufacture of child pornography in a church. In a matter of minutes on a Sunday afternoon J.D. Greear as the President of the Southern Baptists erased all the progress that had been made under Caring Well and actually called the entire program into doubt. Anyone can be incompetent, but to mess up to this degree takes skill. Skill that J.D. Greear has. Did Greear stop and think of the consequences of what he was doing? This blog has its doubts. 

 

Why This is the Most Important Issue in the Southern Baptist Convention and Why National Media Will Get Involved 

The hiring of Bryan Loritts by The Summit Church has become the current most single important issue inside the Southern Baptist Convention today. Here’s why: 

1. In 24 hours J.D. Greear showed that the Southern Baptists are not serious about sex abuse and sexual misconduct. In one day by announcing the hiring of Bryan Loritts this issue rocked the Southern Baptists and this shot up to the top of the Convention. 
2. In one day the Southern Baptists justified all the concerns that Christa Brown, Anne Marie Miller and more had about Caring Well and efforts at fighting abuse. In the end Greear justified their skepticism and validated it. 
3. In one day the Southern Baptists revealed why covering up sex crimes is modus operandi and how its business. It will never change especially when Southern Baptist Presidents have a habit of covering up sex crimes, enabling them or looking the other way.  There should be a class at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary or Southeast Baptist Theological Seminary called “Covering Up Sex Crimes in a Baptist Church 101” Its time for the Southern Baptists to be honest and say, yes we do this and no we are not going to change. 
4. In one day J.D Greear showed how many pastors have feelings of entitlement to be a pastor no what what they do criminally. Bryan Loritts should not be in a pulpit. For once in his life he should work the drive through at McDonalds asking, “Do you want fries with that ma em?” That would probably be the first real job he has had in his life. 
5. In one day J.D. Greear showed that the Southern Baptists are a business. Its about money. And a black man who can give near flawless expository sermons is far more important than the crimes he allegedly covered up. Being a Southern Baptist is about making money and this action showed how it is rotten to the core. 

Overnight this issue shot up to the top issue in the Southern Baptists because of the harm J.D. Greear caused. It cast doubt upon Caring Well and drew attention to the leadership failures of Greear. In the process it put the Fellowship Memphis scandal high on the radar of the Convention. And the thing that blows my mind is how Bryan Loritts who this blog considers to be one of the most incompetent boobs that I have written about could have over extended himself and been this greedy. Narcissists  destroy themselves and that is what we are seeing here. In this scandal this is the end of the beginning as it enters a new phase. What this blog predicts is due to the high profile nature of J.D. Greear this is going to draw the attention of the national media who will proceed to write about it. Can you imagine the New York Times or the Washington Post digging into the Fellowship Memphis scandal and writing about how the President of the SBC will hire individuals who allegedly cover-up voyeurism and the making of child pornography? This is going to get a lot of attention in due time.  In reflection the only smart person in the Fellowship Memphis scandal is John Bryson. Bryson shut down his Twitter account, laid low and and has been the most modest one of this corrupt church called Fellowship Memphis. 

This blog is calling for the firing of Bryan Loritts from The Summit. He has no business being there or any church. He wants to employ his oratorical skills fine, join HR at Google in Mountain View and give motivational talks to employees on company events and retreats.  But don’t you dare get in the pulpit again.