It was a pleasure to have MacArthur headline “an evening of fellowship and preaching ahead of the SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim,” according to the CBN, which was founded to “offer constructive, biblical solutions” to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

According to ChurchLeaders.com, the move is a rallying point for conservative Baptists who believe that wokeness and Critical Race Theory have tainted the SBC.

In recent years, MacArthur has been a divisive figure because he is not a Southern Baptist. He disobeyed California’s COVID-19 limitations by keeping his church open during the pandemic’s peak in 2020, resulting in a successful court struggle against the state.

During a word association game at the 2019 Truth Matters Conference at Grace Community Church, he was also chastised for ordering Beth Moore, who was once affiliated with the SBC, to “go home.”

MacArthur also chastised the SBC for voting in favor of Resolution 9 at their annual convention in 2019. Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality are covered in Resolution 9.

He argued that the Convention was going away from the “clear teaching of Scripture to empower people who want power.”

While some evangelicals have criticized MacArthur, he remains a popular and influential preacher to Christians today. Last month, he reached his 53rd year of ministry at Grace Community Church.

The announcement comes amid news that Dr. Voddie Baucham, also part of the CBN, was asked to accept a nomination for president of the SBC. Current president Ed Litton will not seek a second term. As Christian Headlines previously reported, Baucham shared that while he was asked to accept the nomination, he is unsure if he is eligible for the position.

Christians on Twitter expressed excitement over MacArthur headlining CBN’s event in June.

“@johnmacarthur saw the bat signal for Voddie! It is about to be the Justice League of Conservative Christian leaders,” one user wrote. “I guess JMac is Superman.”

“Major W,” another person said, “The SBC dropped the ball not getting MacArthur to preach at our pastor’s conference. Thankful for @BaptistNetwork getting this together! Signing up now.”