Steven Lawson restored to ministry by Nashville church after Trinity Bible Church removal: report

Just over a year after prominent Reformed Christian pastor Steven J. Lawson was removed from leadership at Trinity Bible Church in Dallas over an adulterous relationship, elders at Stephens Valley Church in Nashville, Tennessee, reportedly endorsed him for ministry opportunities.

An official at Stephens Valley Church told The Christian Post on Wednesday that they could not immediately confirm the report from conservative polemics and theological discernment website Protestia. Citing documents it obtained, the website reported Wednesday that Stephens Valley elders endorsed Lawson as fit for ministry in a private letter dated Nov. 25, 2025.

“We, the Elders of Stephens Valley Church, a biblical and Reformed congregation, have observed the life of Dr. Steven Lawson for the last 15 months. Several of us have met with him individually on a weekly basis. He has also attended our weekly Elder’s prayer meetings,” the reported letter states in part.

“Together we grieve his past sin, as he has, and the consequences he has brought upon himself and others. Now, however, we rejoice in his present repentance and God’s work of grace in his life. In particular we applaud his pursuit of and patience toward his loving wife, Anne,” it continued.

“In light of Steve’s ‘broken and contrite heart’ and all we have observed these past months we deem him spiritually fit for ministry opportunities that the Lord may open to him.”

Citing unnamed sources, Protestia reports that the Stephens Valley elders have declined to make the Lawson restoration letter public "even though doing so would help Lawson and allow him greater freedom to be publicly promoted and reintegrated into ministry with prospective churches and conferences."

Trinity Bible Church told CP it had no comment on the report Wednesday. In a September 2024 announcement on its website, the Dallas church said it had removed its former lead preacher “indefinitely from all ministry activities” due to adultery.

“Several days ago, the elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas were informed by Steve Lawson of an inappropriate relationship that he has had with a woman. The elders have met with Steve and will continue to come alongside him and pray for him with the ultimate goal of his personal repentance. Steve will no longer be compensated by Trinity Bible Church of Dallas,” the church said.

Lawson, an author who also worked as a professor and dean at John MacArthur’s The Master’s Seminary in California, also made a public confession in a statement on X in March 2025.

“I alone am responsible for my sin. I have confessed my sin to the Lord, to my wife, and my family, and have repented of it," he wrote.

"I have spent the past months searching my heart to discover the roots of my sin and mortifying them by the grace of God. I hate my sin, weep over my sin, and have turned from it. My sin carries enormous consequences, and I will be living with those for the rest of my life. Over the years, many have looked to me for spiritual guidance, and I have failed you. I beg for your forgiveness."

In January 2025, Pastor Clint Archer of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, who described himself as Lawson’s friend, said Lawson was aware that “he is permanently disqualified from ministry."

“He is back in Nashville for the time being,” Archer wrote in a blog post on The Cripplegate.

"Lawson is fully aware that he is permanently disqualified from ministry and is not under any illusion that he could ever be restored to a teaching position or ministry capacity that requires the qualifications of an elder. He returned cash advances for book contracts he will no longer publish. He is considering avenues for secular employment."