Texas church apologizes after Anna Duggar's father quotes 2 Chronicles 7:14 in slavery sermon
Media outlets call sermon 'racist'
A Baptist church in Texas is apologizing for comments about slavery made by a relative of the scandal-plagued Duggar family during a guest sermon in which he quoted a Bible verse about repentance.
Mike Keller, father of Anna Duggar of reality TV’s Duggar family, made the controversial comments during a June 25 Sunday School lesson at Fairpark Baptist Church in Fort Worth.
A clip of the sermon — which has since gone viral — showed Keller comparing the political protests of the current era with slavery.
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As part of a message on 2 Chronicles 7, in which God promises to forgive Israel if they turn from their sin, Keller commented on how he believes the Church can “change America.”
"A hundred-fifty years ago, or two hundred years ago when the blacks were slaves, did they ever go to Washington, D.C., and have a rally 200 years ago to protest against slavery?” Keller asked. “No. What did they do?
“Well, a lot of good people in the plantations would say, ‘Hey, it's winter time, let us help build a church for you dear folks,’ and they loved them and taught them how to read so they can read the Bible,” he added.
He then went on to paraphrase 2 Chronicles 7:14 in the context of slavery and his view of how God responded to prayer.
“Here's what the blacks did about 150 years ago. They humbled themselves, they prayed, they sought God's face, and they turned from their wicked ways and God made slavery illegal through several white presidents, right?” Keller continued. “It worked, didn't it? They didn't protest.”
Following a backlash on social media, Fairpark Baptist Church shared a public apology with The Christian Post, which read in part: “The comments were hurtful and reflected a misrepresentation of racial and historical issues and we completely disagree with the statements that were made. Fairpark Baptist Church affirms that racism and slavery are wrong, sinful and violate the Scriptures.
“As a part of our faith we would never condone slavery, or tolerate any kind of prejudice against people of color. We seek to follow God's words found in Romans 12:9: ‘Let love be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.’"
Keller, the father-in-law of Josh Duggar, known for his role in the TLC series "19 Kids and Counting,” who was convicted in 2021 on charges of child pornography, is also the father of Priscilla Waller, who is married to David Waller, the pastor of Fairpark Baptist.
The couple’s personal website includes a photo of Keller with Priscilla and other family members.
Fairview Baptist describes itself as a “Christ centered, Biblically based Independent Baptist church” which works to “promote family integrated activities and desire to aid fathers in being the spiritual leaders of their homes.”
After a video of the sermon was posted to the church’s YouTube page, several local and national media outlets covered the message, including the Daily Beast, which falsely suggested that in his “bonkers racist sermon,” Keller used the phrase “turned from their wicked ways” specifically in reference to black people, rather than as direct quote from the Bible.
The story written by “race and identity” reporter Brooke Leigh Howard also used the phrase “wicked ways” as its subtitle without any context for its biblical origin.
As part of its fact-checking effort, The Daily Beast did not mention the phrase “wicked ways” is found verbatim in 2 Chronicles 7 in reference to Israel, and instead, the report criticized what the outlet called a “bastardized historical account of enslavement.”
The report also appeared to mock Keller’s description of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as “God-fearing” and his reference to “satanic strongholds.”
The Daily Beast, which has been accused of assailing the private beliefs of churches in the past and has previously called Christianity “a religion built on a patriarchal structure that leads to abuse against its women,” did not respond to a request for comment as of Thursday.
In reporting the sermon, a host for The Damage Report, a YouTube channel affiliated with the online news show The Young Turks, called Keller a “wacko” and said she had the desire to physically assault him.
“What a wacko,” said host Sharon Reed, who is black. “I don’t believe in violence, and I don’t want anyone to have to endure it, but as you play that segment, I had an out-of-body experience in which I ran up and punched him right in the face, ‘OK, to shut him up.”
While theologians have long wrestled over whether the passage in 2 Chronicles 7 applies exclusively to Israel or to the Church as a whole, the context of the passage, according to pastor and CP guest contributor Shane Idleman, is about God’s response to the prayers of His people.
“When Martin Luther prayed, the church was reformed. When John Knox prayed, Scotland was revived. When John Wesley prayed, America was restored. When George Whitefield prayed, nations were changed. When D.L. Moody prayed, America fell to her knees. When Amy Carmichael prayed, India received the Gospel. And on and on it goes,” Idleman wrote.
“When you pray you move the hand of God. The dry, dead lethargic condition of the Church simply reflects an impotent prayer life.”
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children's book for grownups. He can be reached at: [email protected].
