Matt Queen, a former interim provost at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has resigned as pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, three weeks after pleading guilty to a charge of making false statements to federal investigators.
During his time at Southwestern, the seminary was part of a broader investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct involving the Southern Baptist Convention and its entities. The investigation included Southwestern’s handling of a report of an alleged sexual assault by a student. Investigators said Queen provided false information to them in the form of written notes in a notebook during the investigation.
Friendly Avenue Baptist announced his resignation Nov. 8 in a press release that stated:
“Dr. Matthew Queen is stepping down from his role as lead pastor at Friendly Avenue Baptist Church, effective immediately. While this has been a challenging season, we continue to trust in God’s sovereignty and remain focused on our mission. As we move forward, we encourage our congregation and the wider community to stay focused on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Chad Austin and originally published by North Carolina’s Biblical Recorder. Read previous coverage regarding the investigation from The Baptist Paper here.
