David Platt (pastor)

For other people named David Platt, see David Platt (disambiguation).

David Joseph Platt is an American evangelical Baptist pastor. He was senior pastor at the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, from 2006 to 2014. At the time he was the youngest megachurch pastor in the United States. From 2014 to 2017, Platt was president of the International Mission Board. He became pastor-teacher at McLean Bible Church in 2017. He is the author of the 2010 New York Times Best Seller Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream.

David Platt
Platt in 2010
Born	(1978-07-11) July 11, 1978 (age 46) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Pastor, religious writer, university teacher
Years active	2005–present
Notable work	Radical Radical Together Follow Me Counter Culture
Spouse	Heather
Children	6
Theological work
Era	Early 21st century
Tradition or movement	Southern Baptist and Social Gospel

Education

Platt studied at University of Georgia in journalism and earned a B.A.^[1] He also earned a M.Div, Th.M, and PhD from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.^[2][3]

Career

He served at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as Dean of Chapel and Assistant Professor of Expository Preaching and Apologetics. He was serving at Edgewater Baptist Church in New Orleans when the parsonage where he lived flooded during Hurricane Katrina.^[4]

In 2006, Platt was introduced as the new senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama.^[5] At age 27, he became the youngest megachurch pastor in the United States.^[2]

In 2014, Platt was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board.^[6] The International Mission Board is one of the largest missionary sending organizations in the world.^[7]

In February 2017, Platt began serving as interim teaching pastor at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia. During this time he continued in his primary role as president of the International Mission Board.^[8] In September of that year, Platt was introduced as pastor-teacher of McLean Bible Church. In February 2018, he announced his resignation from the IMB on the hiring of his successor.^[9] Also during Platt's tenure at McLean, in certain lawsuits, the church has been accused of not being transparent in specific areas, including its tithes and donations to the Southern Baptist Convention. ^[10]