Controversial Megachurch Founder Carlton Pearson Dies At 70

Bishop Carlton Pearson, the controversial founder of an Oklahoma megachurch, has died at 70 from cancer. Pearson was known for his staunch ideological shifts during his ministry.

The preacher founded the Tusla-based High Dimensions Family Church in 1981, rising to popularity for his Pentecostal teachings televised on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, one of two African American pastors at the time to do so. According to NBC News, the church was later renamed New Dimensions, and in 2008, Pearson shifted his sermons to focus on the “gospel of inclusion.” The universalist preachings rejected the notion of hell and also supported gay rights, two beliefs that were not held by his former congregation.

His theological stance led to advocacy, as clergy members who followed him encouraged Congress to pass anti-hate legislation. Due to his unorthodox beliefs, Pearson was labeled a heretic, ostracized by evangelicals, and lost the base of his church members. Becoming a United Church of Christ member, his last sermon at his former megachurch was in September 2008.

His newfound beliefs were displayed in his many books, such as “The Gospel of Inclusion: Reaching Beyond Religious Fundamentalism to the True Love of God,” with his additional feature in the “Heretics” episode of Chicago Public Radio’s “This American Life” in 2005. His polarizing story was dramatized in the 2018 Netflix film Come Sunday. Chiwetel Ejiofor played the infamous preacher whose journey led him from conservative Christianity to excommunication.

His public accounts announced his passing on Nov. 20, stating that Pearson “sacrificed everything for a message of unconditional love and acceptance by God.” Pearson, who battled cancer that had returned after 20 years, died surrounded by his family as he continued to spread his message of inclusivity until his final days.

“Carlton’s message and example of unconditional love, though it gained him the moniker of “heretic” by some in the Christian church, had a whole new world opened to him as a result,” explained the post announcing the news. “Non-Christians, as well as Christians who had left the church as a result of church hurts, abuse, hypocrisy, etc., loved the new message of love, healing, and restoration. He leaves a legacy of love through the multiplied thousands of lives he touched during his time on earth and the impartation of grace and mercy he preached and exhibited to everyone he encountered.”