Let Mt. Zion Rejoice without Braxton…Vacate the Pulpit Now!!!

Recently five members of Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Seattle exercised their rights under the church constitution calling for a special business meeting on June 30, 2005 for a vacate the pulpit vote via secret ballot at Mt. Zion. The five members stated they “…seek to unify the divided church family and prevent further damage to our spiritual growth, constitutional rights and financial resources.” Mt. Zion was a spiritual pillar of community strength in the community’s quest for freedom in economic, educational, social, civil and spiritual growth under the forty years of shepherd and stewardship of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Berry McKinney. The sorry deteriorating state of conditions at Mt. Zion is inconceivable under the current Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Leslie David Braxton. If one could describe this an example of a bad terrible marriage, MT. Zion and Dr. Braxton, that would be an under statement with very little hope of reconciling the spiritual structure of this badly divided and spilt now dysfunctional church. A lot of information has been presented both pro and con in the media and from the pulpit of the church and unfortunately an awful lot of information has been with held by church leadership and Senior Pastor Dr. Leslie David Braxton. Information had it not been alleged covered up by the Deacon Board and Rev. Braxton, Braxton would and NEVER should have been called to pastor Mt. Zion, an opinion many believe Mt. Zion congregation would have affirmed and embraced.The apparent moral and ethical value and conduct information surfaced in a confidential meeting between Rev. Braxton, his wife and the entire deacon board, according to Rev. Braxton’s testimonial in King County Superior Court case number 00-2-20353-5 SEA and some deacon that attend that ill advice sworned secretive confidential meeting full of alleged promises from the Senior Pastor. In criminal proceeding this activity of the ‘deacons and deaconesses’ would fall into the criminal classfication of obstruction. One can not be certian if this was indeed criminal obstruction. However, in hindsight, with what has happened to Mt. Zion recently it was and is morally and spiritual destructed and for the first time in nearly a half century Mt. Zion’s leadership and Senior Pastor lost the institutional control of the spiritual infrastructual and moral fabric of this community icon.That destructed path of the leadership and Senior Pastor are steering Mt. Zion into even deeper uncharthed water, the courts, with the filing Monday, June 27, 2005 for an injuction in King County Court of Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Seattle, Washington VS. Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Seattle, Washington. Interesting to say the least. Dr. Braxton came to Mt. Zion on surface as a beacon of contiunced spiritual prospertisy, the full package, local young man do good come back home, great educational skills, outstanding orator skills, outstanding vocal skills, mentoring, counseling and spiritual tranformation. Like a beacon, they sometime leave shadow, the credidential of a bright and shining beacon of the Rev. Dr. Leslie David Braxton, apparently, left a shadow in Buffalo, N.Y. that, unfortunately, followed him to Mt. Zion. A debt free institution with fully paid real estate, according to finanical records nearly $1 million dollars in resevrse in the bank and revenue over a million dollars annually, senior housing, education programs and schools, huge membership with heavyly titlist support, a credit union, a 20 plus radio ministry and most of all an institution with tremendous credibility and respect through the state, uptown and downtown. All Dr. Braxton had to do was simple nuture and manage the resources place in his lap, unfortunately he hasn’t.We all like the sometime personal, sometime charming Braxton, unfortunately, Mt. Zion is bigger than our like or dislike, and there are many, for one person-Braxton. We respect social spiritual bonds of some member supporters, which apparently remind one of the old in denial additive, “of a mother love for a bad child…” Right don’t wrong nothing…This is more than person spiritual acceptance, mother love, tough love and even Jim Jonesism, This is about as the five spiritual brave members so equelogent stated in their vacate the pulpit notice, ” unify the divided church family and prevent futher damage to our spiritual growth, constitution rights and financial resources.” We agree! Return Mt. Zion to the spiritual pilar of community strength in its’ quest for freedoms in ecomonic, educational, social, civil and spiritual growth. Enough is enough. Let Mt. Zion Rejoice without Senior Pastor Leslie David Braxton…Vacate Mt. Zion Baptist Church pulpit NOW!!!