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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pastor of Seattle church quits due to controversy

Associated Press

SEATTLE – The senior pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church, a congregation prominent in the civil rights movement in Seattle, has resigned, nullifying a planned vote to replace him.

The Rev. Leslie Braxton told churchgoers of his decision at Sunday’s morning service. A congregational vote to remove him as senior pastor had been scheduled later in the day. Braxton said he believed he would have survived the balloting, but added, “If I stayed, the congregational dynamics would not change … the fighting, the division, the besmirching of the name of the church would continue.”

“Sometimes you just can’t unscramble an egg. It’s time to move forward,” he told the Seattle Times.

Braxton’s resignation followed months of conflict within the church, which culminated early last month when some congregants sent other church members a letter calling for Braxton’s removal.

The letter was signed by two groups, not by individual churchgoers. The writers objected to Braxton’s handling of several issues, including church finances and personnel, church programs, and sermons.

Some critics also opposed Braxton’s “vision plan” for redirecting the church, saying he was trying to take too much control over the church.

In mid-June, five church members signed a letter formally calling for Braxton’s removal. Under church rules, any five members can make a written request for a pastor’s removal.

John Capps, a member of the deacon board and spokesman for a group of Braxton’s critics, said the pastor’s resignation showed that “God’s will has been done.”

“The church will now have an opportunity to heal. We’re going to stop focusing on a man and his personality and do what we were called to do as Christians,” Capps told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Braxton’s resignation surprised some supporters, including Robert Nellams, chairman of the church’s board of trustees. Nellams said membership and tithing had increased during Braxton’s five-year tenure.

“He resigned because he felt, for the greater good of the body of Mount Zion, it’s better for him to move on and for the church to start a healing process,” Nellams said.