Steve Gaines during an impassioned speech this morning from the pulpit of Bellevue Baptist Church said that God told him and his wife, Donna, 41 years ago that he would some day be an itinerant preacher, and that he and his wife now agree that this is the time.

In November 2023, he publicly announced that he had been diagnosed with kidney cancer. Shortly after, he revealed that the cancer had spread to his lungs, complicating his health situation. Gaines, who served as the senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church and a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has been receiving treatment.

Gaines told his church that this decision had nothing to do with his diagnosis, and assured them that he’d recently received positive news on his health from his doctor.

Gaines, who narrowly defeated JD Greear for the role of Southern Baptist Convention president in 2016, took the role at the height of the SBC’s deep dive into racial and identity politics. Gaines was no exception as he, too, embraced Critical Race Theory and identity politics both in the pulpit, and as leader of the denomination.

Gaines, like the vast majority of Southern Baptist Convention megachurch preachers, is a false teacher. Gaines holds to and teaches the charismatic Word of Faith “name it and claim it” heresy and has even held “healing”services in his church.

“The Lord Jesus Christ clearly called our family to Bellevue and to Memphis 19 years ago,” Gaines said. “Bellevue, you’ve been our family. You’ve prayed for us, cared for us, and loved us well. Since 1903, the Lord has had His hand on our church.”

“Can you imagine that? 121 years. It’s amazing. And we are so grateful for the opportunity to be part of what the Lord is currently doing. We can never put into words how grateful we are for Bellevue Baptist Church.”

“It’s been a great honor to serve as a pastor in four churches over the past 41 years. But many years ago, the Lord spoke to my heart,” he said, “that He would one day want me to… serve as an itinerant preacher.”

“That simply means that I would travel and minister at different churches instead of serving as the pastor of one church. The Bible says there’s an appointed time for everything, and there’s a time for every event under heaven.”