Pastor Refuses To Leave Church After Being Voted Out Because “God Placed Me Here”

Members of Mount Olive Baptist Church in Knoxville, TN, said their pastor was voted out of their church back in May. However, the pastor, Pastor Rev. Dr. Valentino McNeal, said it wasn’t an official vote. Here we go….

In accordance with Mount Olive Baptist Church constitution, the church only needs 12 signatures to have a meeting to discontinue the service of their pastor. Theotis Robinson Junior, a 23 year member of the church said members voted 86-5 to discontinue Pastor McNeal.

Robinson said that the police are called during Sunday services. He also said accountability of funds for the church is a huge problem.

“He’s dictatorial, on his own he decided to remove four members of the deacon board, because he didn’t feel they were loyal enough to him,” said Robinson. “He’s removed people from the trustee board and fired employees without cause.”

Rev. Dr. McNeal said that is not the case. “There’s not one person in this church that we had to dismiss from a particular role that adhered to those leadership requirements,” said McNeal.

McNeal said he is shocked by the actions of certain people at Mount Olive Baptist Church. “They’ve made church a country club. They think because they put a dollar in the plate they can do everything they want to in the church without discipline,” he said. “Our religion becomes radicalized when it gets to this magnitude where we have no respect for God.”

“God placed me here as their pastor, and I’m going to serve them,” said Rev. Valentino McNeal of Mount Olive Baptist Church in an ABC 6 report.