Turns out it’s not just sexual or spiritual clergy abuse that can bring down—or at least temporarily ground—high-flying religious-right leaders. Josh Buice, right-wing Baptist pastor, professor, and founder of G3 Ministries, was reportedly asked to resign as G3 president after being confronted with evidence that he had been running multiple anonymous social media accounts slandering other Christian leaders, including elders at his own church. According to a statement from G3’s board, Buice repeatedly lied about his actions when asked or confronted with evidence before admitting his guilt.
The elders of Buice’s church, Pray’s Mill Baptist Church outside Atlanta, Georgia, have asked him to take an “indefinite leave.”
From the statement released Monday by the board of G3 Ministries:
In recent weeks, the elders of PMBC uncovered irrefutable evidence that Dr. Buice has, for the past three years, operated at least four anonymous social media accounts, two anonymous email addresses, and two Substack platforms. These accounts were used to publicly and anonymously slander numerous Christian leaders, including faithful pastors (some of whom have spoken at G3 conferences), several PMBC elders, and others. These actions were not only sinful in nature but deeply divisive, causing unnecessary suspicion and strife within the body of Christ, and particularly within the eldership of PMBC.
Dr. Buice had been asked on multiple occasions over the past two years whether he had any connection to these anonymous accounts. In each case, he denied any knowledge of them. On Sunday evening, May 4, 2025, after clear and comprehensive evidence emerged linking the accounts directly to him, the elders of PMBC confronted Josh. For some time, he continued to deny his involvement. Only after further evidence was presented and much pleading with him to walk in the light did Josh finally confess to his actions.
Reflecting the fact that redemption and “restoration” of fallen leaders is a priority in religious-right circles, G3 leaders said that they do not believe Buice’s actions are “permanently disqualifying” and they have decided to leave his content accessible on the G3 website. The G3 board cancelled its upcoming conference and 2025 workshops.
Buice has been a vocal critic of social justice concepts being taught in evangelical churches. In January 2022, he wrote that his church had left the Southern Baptist Convention over the denomination’s supposed “leftward” shift and “acceptance of the social justice agenda.” Wrote Buice, “We refuse to be associated with a group of churches that elect and support leaders who will not be held accountable for sin.”
Given that Buice has now apparently admitted to trashing members of his own congregation, it is notable that he portrayed his walking away from the Southern Baptist Convention as a decision “made for the glory of God and the health of our local church,” saying that “I see my commitment to the local church as far superior to any organizational or denominational relationship.”
While Buice supports many Christian nationalist policy goals (anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ-equality, etc.), he has distanced himself from some of the more overtly theocratic aspects of Christian nationalist agendas promoted by people like Stephen Wolfe. Buice has raised concerns, for example, about the possibility of government officials deciding who would be sufficiently Christian to serve in office and what Wolfe’s vision would mean for First Amendment freedoms.
Buice has previously been associated with the Christian nationalist group Sovereign Nations, which has described itself as “preparing gladiators for the arena of ideas.” At a 2020 Sovereign Nations “Great Awokening” conference, Buice denounced what he called “the grievance gospel.”
At a Sovereign Nations-sponsored panel at the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference, Buice denounced “Marxist intersectionality code language” and claimed that “many evangelical churches are replacing Christianity with this new religion, this new social justice type of movement.” More from his CPAC comments:
But there's far more at stake than a voting bloc. It's not just about statues being removed. It's about souls being damned. It's not just about a voting bloc shifting to the left. It's about civilization as we know it being destroyed. The liberals want our great nation. The devil wants our souls and civilization as we know it is under intense attack. We're in serious trouble in our churches and our denominations. And in this great nation that we call America. So the question remains, what will you do about it? Don't just sit there and surf social media about social justice. Stand up, speak up and do something.
In 2023, Sovereign Nations leader Michael O’Fallon resigned from G3, “claiming he has been the victim of ‘lies, disinformation, political gamesmanship, false rumors and nonsense,’” Baptist News reported.
