Josh Buice recants claim that Voddie Baucham's $1.4M heart surgery campaign was ‘deceitful’
Former G3 Ministries president Josh Buice, who was forced to resign after confessing to using multiple social media and email accounts to “publicly and anonymously slander numerous Christian leaders,” says he made an “unsubstantiated” claim that Baptist preacher Voddie Baucham was “deceitful” in a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $1.4 million for his heart surgery.
“In a past critique of Voddie Baucham and Founders Ministries, I made unsubstantiated and sinful remarks, including leading questions that lacked evidence and called into question the good reputation of my brother, Voddie Baucham,” Buice said in a statement released by G3 Ministries Friday night.
“I was deceived by the deceitfulness of sin and allowed myself to be led down a path that dishonored God and unjustly maligned faithful men and ministries through an unrighteous, critical spirit cloaked in anonymity. The details originally shared with me were without merit. The accusations proved to be unfounded — false claims that should never have been used to criticize Voddie Baucham, Tom Ascol, or Founders Ministries,” he continued.
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Buice further noted that he met personally with Baucham and asked for his forgiveness and plans to do the same with other Christian leaders he maligned as well.
“I also humbly ask for your forgiveness, recognizing that my actions have caused confusion and division,” he said.
The Roys Report revealed Thursday that a message sent to the publication from the email address tomsmith5959ga@gmail.com, and confirmed to be one of the two anonymous emails used by Buice, questioned the use of the more than $1.4 million raised on GoFundMe for Baucham’s emergency heart surgery in 2021. It was also suggested that large sections of Baucham’s 2021 bestselling book, Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism's Looming Catastrophe, were written by a ghostwriter who “sourced his material from” noted conservative author James Lindsay.
“Voddie Baucham is preparing to return to the US where he will reside in Florida and join Tom Ascol's church. A couple of things that remain unanswered. 1. Fault Lines: I have compelling evidence from sources informing me that major sections of his book were written by a ghost writer. It's also believed that the ghost writer sourced his material from James Lindsay which is why Baucham was accused of plagiarism,” the December 2024 email attributed to Buice and sent to Roys as “simply a little tip” says in part.
Elders at Pray’s Mill Baptist Church in Douglasville, Georgia, where Buice was placed on “indefinite leave” from his roles there as pastor and elder, confirmed that tomsmith5959ga@gmail.com was one of the two emails used by Buice in his criticism of pastors.
Although some Christian publishers had turned down, Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism's Looming Catastrophe, Baucham found a home for it at Salem Books, and it became one of the most talked-about works in evangelicalism.
The book rose to No. 1 in several Christian categories on Amazon and was listed among the top 100 bestselling books on the e-commerce website, where 95% of those who reviewed it gave it a five-star rating.
The email attributed to Buice also suggested that both Baucham and Founders Ministries President Tom Ascol, who organized the GoFundMe campaign for Baucham’s 2021 medical emergency, were “deceitful” to the public in their appropriation of the money that was raised.
“Voddie Baucham experienced a major health crisis where he needed heart surgery to repair the problems. A GoFundMe was started by Tom Ascol for Baucham's health needs. The fund raised $1.4 million dollars. The operation, by a cash patient would have been no more than $300,000,” the email argued.
“The real question remains. Where is the $1.1 million dollars? Now, Voddie is headed home, and guess where he will be living? In Florida, partnering with Tom Ascol. People should know where the money is if they gave it for an emergency operation and it's being used for something else. That's deceitful.”
Baucham did not respond to questions from The Christian Post on Friday when asked for his response to allegations in the email attributed to Buice.
In a statement shared on X Friday night about Buice’s apology, Tom Buck, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas, who also serves as a board member of G3 Ministries, said he was not appeased by Buice’s statement.
“I don’t speak for the G3 board, but as a board member, I think Josh Buice’s statement is not a true and accurate representation of what actually transpired. When Josh met with Voddie, the email … was not yet discovered. So, Josh has not yet repented to Voddie for going to Roys to get her to investigate him. In fact, he never told Voddie that he had done this wicked act,” Buck said.
“Furthermore, I believe this to be more of the ongoing minimization by Josh of his sin. He lied about Voddie misappropriating funds and lied in his accusation of plagiarism. He claimed to have evidence for his lies. It is quite clear that Josh’s actions were purely vindictive. Josh didn’t merely ‘criticize’ Voddie, he vindictively lied about him and slandered his name,” Buck insisted. “I’m personally grieved by Josh’s lack of true repentance…. I can’t approve of the misrepresentation by Josh in his apology.”
In a recent statement published on its website, Founders Ministries confirmed that Buice had attacked Ascol in his emails and had been disqualified from spiritual leadership as a result.
“A large percentage of his wicked words and actions were directed at Founders Ministries, our President, Tom Ascol, and his family. Many who are aware have reached out to express their concern and support, for which we are grateful,” the ministry said.
“Like all who know and love Josh and appreciate the testimony of Pray’s Mill Baptist Church and the work of G3, we grieve at what he has done and are praying for the Lord to grant him true repentance and humility to submit himself fully to his church and elders as he begins to learn how to make amends where he can and to live by simple, sincere faith in our Lord Jesus.”
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