The conservative Reformed Baptist ministry G3 has announced the cancellation of its 2025 biennial conference following the revelation that its founder and president, Josh Buice, allegedly operated multiple anonymous online accounts used to post critical remarks about fellow Christian leaders. The news, which broke on Monday, has sent ripples through Reformed circles, prompting reactions ranging from grief and calls for prayer to reflections on the dangers of online platforms and “preacher worship.”
Pray’s Mill Baptist Church in Georgia, where Buice served as pastor for 15 years and as an elder, released a statement on Monday detailing the discovery of “irrefutable evidence” linking Buice to at least four anonymous social media profiles, two anonymous email addresses, and two Substack accounts. According to the church, these accounts were used over the past three years to “publicly and anonymously speak negatively of numerous Christian leaders, including faithful pastors (some of whom have spoken at G3 conferences), several PMBC elders, and others.” The elders described Buice’s actions as “not only sinful in nature but deeply divisive, causing unnecessary suspicion and strife within the body of Christ.”
G3 Ministries also released a statement on Monday, mirroring much of the church’s account and announcing Buice’s resignation as president, which occurred on May 8. The G3 board stated that no other employee or board member was aware of Buice’s activities. In a subsequent email update on May 13th, G3 announced a reversal of their initial decision and stated they would be removing all of Josh Buice’s content from every platform, citing the “public and egregious nature of the sin” and the belief that his content no longer served their mission.
The cancellation of the 2025 G3 Conference, slated for September in the Atlanta area and featuring prominent speakers, was attributed by the board primarily to the fact that several scheduled speakers had been “sinfully targeted by him through anonymous accounts.” G3 explained they did not want to place these individuals in the difficult position of participating in an event so closely associated with someone who had maligned them.
The revelations followed a period of denial by Buice. Both Pray’s Mill Baptist Church and G3 Ministries reported that Buice had repeatedly denied any connection to the anonymous accounts over the past two years. According to these statements, it was only on Sunday evening, May 4, after being presented with “clear and comprehensive evidence,” that Buice confessed to his actions. The church reported that Buice has since acknowledged his sin, expressed sorrow, and asked for forgiveness, desiring to personally seek forgiveness from those he spoke negatively of and lied to. While acknowledging his present disqualification as an elder, the church did not believe his sin was necessarily permanently disqualifying and placed him on indefinite leave for biblical counseling and discipline.
The unfolding situation has elicited a range of reactions within Christian circles. Ryan Denton, an open-air preacher and evangelist, expressed hope that this would be “the last nail in the coffin for preacher worship,” while also urging prayer for Buice and his family. Ben Zeisloft, an editor at The Sentinel, shared a personal anecdote of Buice extending forgiveness to him in the past, stating his grief over the news and his intention to pray for Buice’s repentance and be ready to offer the same forgiveness. He also reflected on the need for careful stewardship of social media platforms. Chris Hohnholz, host of the Voice of Reason Radio podcast, shared a more introspective response, questioning the wisdom of online ministry in general, given the repeated falls of respected leaders. He expressed being “shaken” by the news and announced a temporary break from online activity.
Jeremy Brown, host of the Emissaries of the Gospel YouTube show, commented on Facebook: “Slander is severe. The names of those slandered and the nature of the false allegations against them with a clear refutation should be offered as well as the names of his anonymous accounts. This would protect people from future deception and division. In the context of bringing charges, leaders should be making all accusations/charges immediately known, all witness and from whom, and all evidence BEFORE asking for a confession or defense from the accused. This is straightforward, righteous and biblical. My prayer is that his repentance will be true and that he can ultimately be restored.”
The actions taken by both Pray’s Mill Baptist Church and G3 Ministries included accepting Buice’s resignation and the subsequent cancellation of the 2025 G3 Conference, for which all registrants, exhibitors, and publishers will receive a full refund of registration fees. Pray’s Mill Baptist Church has also placed Buice on an indefinite leave as they begin a process of biblical counseling and discipline
