STATEMENT REGARDING DR. MARK HARTMAN'S APRIL 17, 2023 SERMON
SUGAR LAND, TX - Sugar Creek Baptist Church is aware of a brief video clip circulating on social media from Dr. Mark Hartman's April 17, 2023 sermon on identity in Christ. The isolated clip has been shared without the context of the entire message, leading to misinterpretation of Dr. Hartman's message.
On April 17, 2023, Dr. Mark Hartman preached a sermon on knowing “who we are in Christ.” Everyone is in the process of discovering her or himself and Ephesians 1 is a unique chapter to help Christ followers do that very thing. In the first message of the series, everything was about us being chosen by God to be His children. Pastor Mark used an example that his wife chose him for marriage. He was trying to be self-deprecating and comment on how lucky he was to be married to his wife when he made a joke about how young he and his wife were when they married (20 years old), implying that maybe if his wife was older and wiser she may not have fallen in love with him. It was meant only as a tongue-in-cheek joke.
Dr. Hartman deeply regrets using the example and he most assuredly apologizes for his comments. Most importantly, this is not an accurate reflection of who our pastor is nor our church. Dr. Hartman and Sugar Creek Baptist Church believe in upholding the sanctity, value and honor of women and girls. We believe that God created us in His image to worship Him and give Him glory. This is true of both men and women, who are equal and partners in God's mission. It has always been what Dr. Hartman has always held to be true. You can read more about our beliefs here.
To safeguard our beliefs, we also have a very stringent staff moral policy that Dr. Hartman introduced to the staff more than 22 years ago. Each staff member is required to sign it. The policy clearly communicates how we are to create a healthy culture, and one that is honoring of women in our workplace and church.
"I hope you will take the time to hear the whole message in its context. It is about the God who chooses you! I have spent my entire ministry upholding the sanctity, value and honor of women and girls and now with even more fervor that I have three granddaughters. For those offended by my poor attempt at humor, I’m sorry. If you would like to know who I actually am and who the amazing Sugar Creek Baptist Church people are, I invite you to visit us." - Dr. Mark Hartman
We are inserting the YouTube sermon video below, so you can hear the context of the entire message. At Sugar Creek Baptist Church we value transparency and welcome anyone into a conversation to talk more about the clip and the message as a whole. For more information, please contact our Digital Ministries Pastor, Ben Coleman. For media inquiries, please contact our communications team at sugar-creek-baptist@guardian.agency.