John MacArthur, the California-based Bible teacher, pastor and author known for his polarizing theological stances and defiance of Covid-19 lockdowns, has died at 86.
Grace to You, the teaching ministry of MacArthur, confirmed in an X post on Monday evening that MacArthur had passed away not long after being hospitalized with pneumonia.
"Our hearts are heavy, yet rejoicing, as we share the news that our beloved pastor and teacher John MacArthur has entered into the presence of the Savior. This evening, his faith became sight," the ministry shared on its social media platforms.
MacArthur is survived by Patricia, his wife of more than 60 years, as well as four children, 15 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
"Rest in peace, lion of faith," tweeted theologian and author Owen Strachan in response to the news. "It is already strange to live in a world without MacArthur's steady convictional presence. Pray for his family, his church, and the many who mourn him."
Background and ministry
Distantly related to famed five-star World War II United States General Douglas MacArthur, John Fullerton MacArthur Jr. was born on June 19, 1939, in Los Angeles, California.
MacArthur earned a Bachelor of Science degree from what was then called Los Angeles Pacific College and is now Azusa Pacific University, and a Master of Divinity degree from Biola University’s Talbot Theological Seminary.
In 1969, three years after graduating from Talbot, MacArthur became the pastor-teacher for Grace Community Church of Sun Valley, California, where he would serve for over 50 years.
“Under John’s leadership, Grace Community Church’s two morning worship services fill the three-thousand-seat auditorium to capacity,” noted The Master's Seminary, a private Christian school that MacArthur led.
“Several thousand members participate every week in dozens of fellowship groups and training programs, most led by lay leaders and each dedicated to equipping members for ministry on local, national, and international levels.”
A prolific author and speaker, it is estimated that MacArthur has preached at least 3,300 sermons and written more than 400 books and biblical study guides.
In addition to his many books and sermons, MacArthur also hosted a long-running radio programme and local television broadcast centred on his Bible studies and preaching.
MacArthur helped to found The Master's University and Seminary in 1986 and served as its president until 2018, when he stepped down amid problems over the school’s accreditation.
Strange Fire, ‘Go Home’
MacArthur has garnered controversy over the years because of some of his theological views, including on issues like the Pentecostal movement and female preaching.
In 2013, MacArthur held a conference and published a critique of Charismatic churches titled Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship.
“The charismatic movement has always been a breeding-ground for scandal, greed, bad doctrine, and all kinds of spiritual chicanery. As a movement, it is clearly headed the wrong direction. And it is growing at an unprecedented rate,” read the book’s Amazon description.
Many Christian leaders, including the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Pentecostal minister and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, denounced the work.
“With great due deference to a Christian leader many of us admire, his conclusions regarding the largest and fastest growing of global Christendom, the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement, speaks to a man ignorant of the community's unbridled commitment to biblical orthodoxy,” said Rodriguez in a statement provided to The Christian Post in 2013.
“Mr. MacArthur should be focusing on the fact that while many in the church continue to abandon our Christian faith, the Pentecostal/Charismatic community continues to offer the church a legitimate growth mechanism.”
In October 2019, McArthur garnered widespread criticism when he expressed opposition to having Bible teacher Beth Moore and televangelist Paula White preach.
“Go home,” he said of Moore. “There is no case that can be made biblically for a woman preacher. Period. Paragraph. End of discussion.”
He went on to say that he found the idea of female preachers “profoundly troubling,” adding that “when the leaders of evangelicalism roll over for women preachers, the feminists have really won the battle.”
Among the critics of the comments was pastor and bestselling author Max Lucado, who stated that he was “grieved” over MacArthur’s “derisive” remarks.
“Are we, white, male, aged leaders of the church, listening? Are we heeding the message of our sisters in Christ?” stated Lucado at the time.
“Listening to our astute and capable female Bible teachers? Listening to their longing to minister from a feminine perspective? Listening to their willingness to lend their intellect, energy and passion to the cause of Christ? What wealth of wisdom they bring!”
In an apparent response to MacArthur on X at the time, Moore said that she “did not surrender to a calling of man when I was 18 years old. I surrendered to a calling of God,” tweeted Moore.
Covid-19 lockdown resistance
When California enacted lockdown rules shutting down worship gatherings in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, MacArthur and his church initially followed the gathering restrictions. However, as lockdowns persisted for several months, the church decided to gather for in-person worship.
In response, MacArthur and Grace Community Church engaged in a lengthy legal battle with Los Angeles and state officials over his refusal to adhere to the public health orders.
“We are a friend to this society, to every level of this society,” said MacArthur in a 2020 interview with Fox News. “But never before has the government invaded the territory that belongs only to the Lord Jesus Christ and told us we can't meet, we can't worship, we can't sing.”
Jonathan Leeman of 9Marks wrote a blog post at the time expressing scepticism over whether churches should follow the example of Grace Community Church and reopen in-person services.
“Churches in coastal cities during World War Two accommodated evening black-out requirements in case enemy planes hit the coasts. Those churches didn’t insist the government had no right to ‘restrict our worship,’” wrote Leeman.
“In other words, just because you think God will ultimately vindicate your decision to disobey the government on the last day doesn’t mean it’s wise. You might have other options that avoid undue attention.”
In late August 2021, state and local officials reached a settlement with MacArthur, which resulted in the government paying $800,000 in legal fees to end the litigation.
“It has been a hard-fought battle to preserve religious liberty and we hope that this result will encourage Californians, and all Americans, to continue to stand firm that church is essential,” said the Thomas More Society, which represented MacArthur, in a statement at the time.
Church abuse controversies
While pastor at Grace, MacArthur’s church faced multiple accusations that its leadership was mistreating female members who had credible accusations of abuse against their ex-husbands.
In February 2023, a former GCC elder named Hohn Cho shared concerns that leaders at MacArthur’s church had “awful patterns” of siding with abusers against their victims.
A prominent example of this was when GCC excommunicated Eileen Gray for refusing to take back her child-abusing husband, David Gray, in 2002. According to The Roys Report, even after David was convicted of child abuse and molestation in 2005, the church continued to support him over Eileen.
In response to the concerns Cho shared, GCC released a statement explaining that “Grace Church’s elders do not publicly discuss details arising from counselling and discipline cases — especially on social media.
“Nor do we litigate disputes about such matters in online forums. Grace Church deals with accusations personally and privately in accordance with biblical principles. We do not respond to attacks, lies, misrepresentations, and anonymous accusations,” read the statement from February 2023.
“Our church’s history and congregation are the testimony. Myriads of Grace Church members who have sought counsel at our church will testify that the counsel they receive is biblical, charitable, supportive, and liberating.”
Hospitalizations
On New Year’s Day 2023, which fell on a Sunday, the then 83-year-old MacArthur was hospitalized, preventing him from preaching at the second service at his church, and had to be treated for a blockage in his arteries.
Although GCC provided an update the following day saying that MacArthur was "doing well" after the emergency, the prominent pastor continued to have health issues and was away from his pulpit from July 2024 until last November when he preached at a Thanksgiving service.
"I'm still here, and thankful to the Lord for that," MacArthur said at the service. "God has purposes that we would've never been able to fulfill if we weren't put into some kind of stress."
In January, GCC Elder Tom Patton said in an update that the 85-year-old MacArthur had "suffered a series of health issues that kept him out of the pulpit and required three surgeries in the second half of 2024."
"His recovery has been slower than expected, with occasional setbacks affecting his heart, lungs, and kidneys," Patton told the congregation. "The doctors have not yet discovered any single root cause for these diverse troubles."
Earlier this year, MacArthur addressed attendees of the Shepherds Conference, which was held at his church, via video message, telling them that “I realize I’m on the last lap.”
“That takes on a new meaning when you know you’re on the short end of the candle,” he said. “I am all thanks and praise to God for everything He’s allowed me to be a part of and everything He’s accomplished by His Word in these years of ministry.”
