Clarence Sexton
American religious leader (1948–2023)
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Clarence Sexton (1948 - 2023) was an American Independent Baptist pastor and prominent figure in Republican politics in Tennessee, alongside being the founder and president of Crown College in Tennessee.[1][2][3][4]
Life
Sexton was born in the state of Alabama, however, he spent his childhood in Blount County, Tennessee. Sexton later became a pastor at the Temple Baptist Church in Powell, Tennessee and founded the Independent Baptist Crown College in 1991, whose graduates started around 500 churches in the world.[5][6]
In 1970, when Sexton was only 22 years old, he met Billy Graham, stating that he viewed him very positively.[7] Sexton has worked with the Independent Baptist preacher Lee Roberson and served as an assistant pastor at Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[8]
Sexton had two sons, six children, and two great-grandchildren. He died in 2023 after being sick for a long time.[1][6] His wife, who co-founded Crown College with him, died a year later in 2024.[9]
Sexton often tried to seek unity within the Independent Baptist movement, creating the Independent Baptist Friends International in 2010.[10]
In 2017, the Temple Baptist Church was involved in a lawsuit, after a truck injured a woman. The lawsuit also named the Temple Baptist Church, claiming ownership of the equipment. However, Sexton denied the ownership of the truck by the church and any involvement.[11]
Ruckmanism
Clarence Sexton was a King James Only Fundamentalist, however he rejected more extreme views of King James Onlyism. In 2005, Sexton invited William P. Grady, a radical proponent of KJV-onlyism, to speak at Temple Baptist Church. During his sermon, Grady called for a revival of Ruckmanism and argued for a break from broader fundamentalism, claiming it did not go far enough. Sexton responded to Grady's remarks by canceling a subsequent speaking engagement for him at the church. In 2010, Grady published a book called "Given by Inspiration" criticizing KJV-only advocates who promote the KJV in public while accepting the Textus Receptus as the higher authority in private.[12]
Racism allegations
Sexton has been the subject of controversy over racism, especially on the issue of the inclusion of a statue of the confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, and Sexton's opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement, to which allegations the college stated that they had been misrepresented.[13][14]