This is part 1 of a multipart series on the pastoral career of Stevie Flockhart of 901 Church in Memphis, Tennessee.
A few months ago, Pulpit & Pen was contacted by disaffected members of 901 Church in Memphis, Tennessee. These members made a number of disturbing allegations about 901’s founding pastor, Stevie Flockhart. Given what I already knew about Stevie’s background, I was inclined to believe them. Thus, I began the process of contacting sources to verify that the allegations I was receiving were indeed credible. Before I could finish my investigation, Stevie was arrested on charges of “identity theft and theft of merchandize between $2,500 and $10,000.” This arrest effectively put an end to my investigative work. Between the arrest and its publication, doing further investigative work on Stevie Flockhart no longer seemed necessary. Given that Stevie is already on probation for forgery in Georgia and has now been arrested for Identify Theft in Tennessee, it doesn’t seem worth my time to further verify the accounts of rental property damage, disappearing church property, and unaccounted for church spending in Florida. If some people still can’t see exactly who and what Stevie Flockhart is by now, I can’t help them. There are still people who still believe in Stevie at 901 church and I’m afraid there will still be people to follow after Stevie at his next church. Frankly, when I consider the long story of Stevie Flockhart, it seems like many (though certainly not all) of the people who got Stevie Flockhart got exactly what they deserved. There’s a certain type of person who fills a certain type of church. Those churches are the types of churches planted by men like Stevie Flockhart.
So let me tell you the story of Stevie Flockhart, the son of a well-connected Baptist pastor, the failed music show-contestant, the charismatic man who decided to enter the family business of starting churches, despite being utterly unqualified for Christian ministry. While you read along consider also the stories of the countless people who went along with Stevie for the ride and thought having him for a pastor was just fine, the people who thought it was a good idea to take their wives and children to sit under his teaching Sunday after Sunday. Men like Stevie Flockhart don’t make themselves, they are helped along by professed Christians who are all-to-willing to ignore what the Bible says in order to have their ears tickled by the likes of Stevie Flockhart and his church-faced henchman. They are happy to present a juvenile man with two-inches of product in his hair next to a wife with her leather skirt six inches off her knee and proudly proclaim “our pastor”.
Steve and Stevie: From the 910 to the 901
Stevie Flockhart’s story begins not in the 901 but in the 910. 910 is the area code of Wilmington, North Carolina. It was there that Stevie’s father, Steve Flockhart, was baptized by Johnny Hunt at Longleaf Baptist Church. According to the elder Flockhart, he “was a 20-year-old mess who had been into drugs, alcohol and in jail when he went to hear evangelist Freddie Gage preach at a revival sponsored by Longleaf Baptist Church in Wilmington, N.C.” Flockart to decided to get saved. A week later he was baptized. Five months later he was made Longleaf’s “associate pastor of evangelism”. This kind of radical poolroom-to-pulpit conversion story seems encouraging on its face but, really, Steve Flockhart’s path to the pastorate defied biblical convention. The Apostle Paul warned Timothy that a pastor must not be a “new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.” (1 Timothy 3:6) Paul’s warning didn’t stop Johnny Hunt and Longleaf Baptist from making a pastor out of the newly converted Steve Flockhart.
The elder Flockhart’s pastoral career started wrongfully and it has been downright shameful from there. Between tax liens, being sued by a former church for theft, and even lying about his educational credentials in the course of obtaining a megachurch job, Steve Flockhart has made a mockery of the pastoral office. His path of spiritual shame runs from Tenneesee to Florida to Georgia, where he currently resides and works as the pastor of New Season Church, a congregation of his own founding. With regard to his son, Stevie, the rotten apple has not fallen far from the tree. Stevie Flockhart has left his own trail of shame across those very same states.
Forging His Way from Mosaic Church
Stevie Flockhart did not originally set out to be pastor. According to a personal testimony video posted by West Ridge Church, a young Stevie Flockhart intended make a career as a musician in a boy band being put together by the Christian band Newsong, another Christian enterprise famously entangled with Johnny Hunt. Flockart was talented enough to appear on American Idol and The Voice, however, his musical career ultimately did not pan out. Claiming a divine calling, Flockhart decided he wanted to plant churches.
Many potential pastors choose to pursue a theological education through bible colleges and seminaries. Earning accredited degrees through such institutions can take upwards of 8 years and requires hard work, long hours of study, and significant financial investment. This is not the path Flockhart chose. It is important to note that there are no formal qualifications required to plant and pastor church in the United States. In a religiously free society like ours, anyone can do it without any credentials or accredited training. Stevie Flockhart chose to seek guidance from Mac Lake, a church-planting guru in the employ of West Ridge Church (in Paulding County, GA) and its Launch Network. Whereas seminary training involves the study of Greek, Hebrew, Theology, and Church history, the type of training Flockhart received at West Ridge was more focused on vision-casting and the practical matters of finding a worship space, decorating it with Christmas lights, setting up a coffee table, and filling the church with attendees and volunteers week after week.
After his training with Mac Lake was complete, Flockhart planted Mosaic Church in Cherokee County, GA. When that church had trouble paying its rent, Flockhart reworked its lease with its landlord. In an effort to be helpful to a church, the landlord was willing to work a new deal. He would suffer for his kindness to Flockhart. Unbeknownst to the landlord, Flockhart forged the names of other church leaders on the new lease. Flockhart’s malfeasance was eventually discovered and after Mosaic went out of business, Stevie Flockhart ended up on probation in Cherokee County and in debt to the church’s former landlord for over $12,000. I spoke to this landlord on the phone shortly before Flockhart’s arrest in Memphis for identity theft. He wanted to warn 901’s congregation about Stevie so bad that he was planning to fly to Memphis to warn the congregation himself. Health problems, however, prevented him from doing so.
He did manage to warn the congregation of SonCoast Church in Florida. That was Stevie’s next pastorate after leaving Mosaic and Georgia behind. Unfortunately, the leaders at SunCoast failed to properly heed that warning…
Part 2 is forthcoming…
*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church at which I am a member, any church which I attend, or the educational institution at which I am enrolled. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair use.
