Dr. Ben Young (born 1964) is an American pastor and author who became senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, in May 2024, succeeding his father, Ed Young Sr., after 46 years at the helm.
A longtime associate pastor, author of seven books on relationships and faith, and former chaplain for the Houston Astros.
Ben Young now leads one of the largest churches in America, a role that has placed him at the center of a high-profile lawsuit over church governance and roughly $1 billion in assets.
Dr. Ben Young at a Glance
| Personal | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ben Young |
| Born | 1964, the Carolinas, USA |
| Age | Approximately 61 to 62 (as of 2026) |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Krissie Young |
| Children | Six children, two grandchildren |
| Parents | Homer Edwin “Ed” Young Sr. (father); Jo Beth Young (mother, d. 2017) |
| Siblings | Ed Young Jr., Cliff Young |
| Education | |
| Undergraduate | Baylor University |
| Graduate | Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Doctor of Ministry, Bethel University, San Diego |
| Ministry | |
| Title | Senior Pastor |
| Church | Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas |
| On staff since | 1989 |
| Became senior pastor | May 26, 2024 |
| Denomination | Southern Baptist |
| Other roles | Adjunct professor, Houston Theological Seminary; former chaplain, Houston Astros |
| Career | |
| Books | Room for Doubt, The Ten Commandments of Dating, Devotions for Dating Couples, Survive the Day, and others |
| Net worth | Not publicly disclosed |
Early Life and Background
Ben Young was born in 1964 and raised in the Carolinas, the middle of three sons born to Ed Young Sr. and Jo Beth Young.
His father pastored churches in North Carolina and South Carolina during Ben’s early childhood, then moved the family to Houston in 1978 to take over Second Baptist Church, then a congregation of about 2,000 members.
Growing up as one of three sons of a rising Southern Baptist pastor meant church was a constant presence.
Both of his brothers also built careers connected to ministry: Ed Young Jr. went on to found Fellowship Church, a Dallas-area megachurch, and Cliff Young became a founding member of the Christian folk-rock group Caedmon’s Call and now directs Second Films, Second Baptist’s media arm.
Education
Young attended Baylor University before continuing his theological training at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He later earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Bethel University in San Diego, with a dissertation focused on doubt inside the evangelical tradition, examining why some Christians who go through a season of doubt stay in the faith while others leave it behind.
Ministry Career at Second Baptist Church
Young joined the staff of Second Baptist Church in 1989 and spent the next 35 years as an associate pastor under his father’s leadership, long before anyone discussed succession.
Over that period, he built a public profile well beyond the church’s own campuses, serving as chaplain for the Houston Astros, hosting a nationally syndicated radio talk show, and leading relationship seminars across the country.
He also became an adjunct professor at Houston Theological Seminary, a satellite campus of Houston Christian University’s seminary housed at Second Baptist, teaching homiletics, apologetics, and practical theology.
Becoming Senior Pastor
On May 26, 2024, Ed Young Sr., then 87, announced his retirement at the end of a Sunday service at the Woodway campus and named Ben, then 60, as his successor on the spot.
Southern Baptist churches typically call pastors through a lengthy search committee process and a full congregational vote, but that process did not happen at Second Baptist. Ed Young Sr. had overseen a set of bylaw changes the year before, in May 2023, that gave the senior pastor significantly more authority over succession and church governance.
Young preached regularly at Second Baptist for roughly a decade before taking the top role, but the manner of his appointment, without a full church-wide vote, became the seed of a legal battle that would define the first years of his tenure.
Rise to Prominence
Before becoming senior pastor, Young had already built a national audience as an author and speaker, writing extensively on dating, relationships, and doubt.
His book Room for Doubt drew on his doctoral research to address a topic many pastors avoid directly, offering a more honest, less triumphalist take on faith than much of the megachurch genre typically produces.
His profile grew substantially once he stepped into the senior pastor role at one of the largest churches in the country, a congregation Outreach Magazine has measured at roughly 18,000 in weekly attendance, with the church’s own materials citing more than 82,000 total members across six campuses.
Books and Publications
Young has written seven books, four of them co-authored with clinical psychologist Sam Adams. His work focuses heavily on relationships, dating, and honest faith. Notable titles include:
- Room for Doubt, drawn from his doctoral research on doubt in the evangelical tradition
- The Ten Commandments of Dating
- Devotions for Dating Couples
- Survive the Day, drawing on personal experience to help readers get through difficult seasons
- Additional co-authored works with Sam Adams on relationships and personal growth
Personal Life
Ben Young is married to Krissie Young, and the couple has six children and two grandchildren.
Outside of ministry, Young has said he enjoys surfing and practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, hobbies he mentions often enough in interviews that they have become something of a personal trademark alongside his pastoral work.
Theology and Ministry Philosophy
Young operates within the Southern Baptist tradition his father helped shape as a two-term president of the Southern Baptist Convention, but his own teaching leans more toward practical, relationship-focused application than his father’s broadcast-driven style. His academic work on doubt reflects a willingness to address uncertainty in faith directly, rather than treating it as something to be preached away.
Young has also taught a seminary course on what he calls “the rise of neo-Marxism,” reflecting the more politically engaged posture that has become associated with Second Baptist’s leadership in recent years, following a pattern set by his father’s final years in the pulpit.
Influence and Legacy
Young now leads one of the largest churches in the United States, a congregation with an estimated $1 billion in assets and an annual budget in the tens of millions of dollars.
His succession marked one of the rare instances of a Southern Baptist pastor directly handing his pulpit to his son, a pattern with few precedents in denominational history outside of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville’s Homer Lindsay Jr. and Sr.
Whether that legacy solidifies into a stable, multi-generational transition or becomes a cautionary tale about pastoral succession without congregational input is still being decided, quite literally, in a Texas courtroom.
Criticism and Controversies: The Jeremiah Counsel Lawsuit
Young’s tenure as senior pastor has been defined almost entirely by an ongoing legal battle over how he got the job.
In April 2025, a group of current and former Second Baptist members organized as a nonprofit called Jeremiah Counsel and filed a lawsuit against Young, his father, associate pastor Lee Maxcy, and attorney Dennis Brewer Jr., collectively referred to in the complaint as “the Young Group.”
The lawsuit centers on a May 31, 2023 special meeting where roughly 200 members present, out of a congregation the church says totals more than 90,000, voted 315 to 2 to approve sweeping changes to Second Baptist’s bylaws.
Jeremiah Counsel alleges those changes stripped the broader congregation’s voting rights, eliminated regular church-wide business meetings, ended the sharing of annual budgets with donors, and consolidated what the complaint calls “nearly dictatorial authority” in the senior pastor’s hands, clearing the way for Ed Young Sr. to name Ben Young his successor without a congregational vote.
The complaint further alleges that immediately after his appointment, Young removed his father from ongoing involvement in the church and dismissed several top staff members.
Young addressed the allegations directly in an April 27, 2025 sermon, telling the congregation that “the allegations concerning me and my family are simply not true,” and that the church’s leadership structure includes pastors, lawyers, and financial leaders along with an independent annual audit.
Second Baptist retained high-profile attorney Jay Sekulow, who has represented Donald Trump, to assist with its legal response.
All named defendants, including Young, have denied any wrongdoing. The case was moved to the Business Court of Texas, Eleventh Division, and after court-ordered mediation failed in April 2026, it is now scheduled for a jury trial beginning July 27, 2026.
No court has yet ruled on the merits of Jeremiah Counsel’s claims, and the allegations remain unproven in court as of this writing.
The dispute has also drawn national attention through an independent documentary series and podcast appearances discussing the case, coverage the church has characterized as a one-sided smear campaign.
Net Worth and Salary
Ben Young’s personal net worth and salary as senior pastor have not been publicly disclosed by Second Baptist Church.
That lack of transparency is itself part of the Jeremiah Counsel lawsuit, which raises direct questions about whether Young received a significant compensation increase after becoming senior pastor and whether the church’s financial records remain accessible to its members.
Flicxa does not publish speculative net worth or salary figures for Young given the absence of any verified public disclosure.
Interesting Facts About Dr. Ben Young
- He served as chaplain for the Houston Astros for a number of years, blending pastoral work with his love of sports
- He holds a black belt level of dedication to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a hobby he practices alongside surfing
- His doctoral dissertation studied why some Christians stay in the faith after a season of doubt while others walk away
- He is the middle of three sons who all built careers tied to ministry, an unusually complete family succession within Southern Baptist life
- He became senior pastor of a congregation his father’s official materials list at over 82,000 members, even though independent survey data puts actual weekly attendance closer to 18,000
Timeline of Key Events
- 1964: Born in the Carolinas
- 1978: Family relocates to Houston as his father becomes pastor of Second Baptist Church
- 1989: Joins the staff of Second Baptist Church as an associate pastor
- May 31, 2023: Second Baptist members vote 315 to 2 to approve new bylaws later challenged in court
- May 26, 2024: Named senior pastor of Second Baptist Church, succeeding his father
- April 15, 2025: Jeremiah Counsel Corporation files suit against Young, his father, and other church leaders
- April 27, 2025: Young addresses the lawsuit directly from the pulpit, denying the allegations
- April 2026: Court-ordered mediation between the parties fails
- July 27, 2026: Jury trial scheduled to begin in the Business Court of Texas
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Dr. Ben Young?
Ben Young is the senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, having succeeded his father, Ed Young Sr., in May 2024 after 35 years on the church’s staff.
Is Dr. Ben Young married?
Yes. Young is married to Krissie Young, and the couple has six children and two grandchildren together.
How old is Dr. Ben Young?
Young was reported to be 60 years old at the time of his May 2024 appointment as senior pastor, which places his birth year around 1964, making him approximately 61 or 62 as of 2026.
What are the allegations against Ben Young?
A group of church members called Jeremiah Counsel has alleged in a lawsuit that Young and other church leaders used a 2023 bylaws vote to strip Second Baptist’s roughly 94,000 members of their voting rights and consolidate control over the church’s estimated $1 billion in assets, clearing the way for Young’s appointment without a congregational vote. Young has denied all the allegations, and the case has not yet gone to trial or been ruled on.
How much is Ben Young worth?
Second Baptist Church has not publicly disclosed Young’s salary or net worth. Questions about his compensation since becoming senior pastor are part of what the Jeremiah Counsel lawsuit is asking the court to examine.
Where does Ben Young live now?
Young continues to live in the Houston, Texas area, where he leads Second Baptist Church’s six campuses.
Final Word
Ben Young spent 35 years building a career as an author, radio host, and associate pastor before stepping into his father’s pulpit, but the way that transition happened has become the defining story of his tenure so far. Whatever a Houston jury decides in July 2026, the case has already reshaped how one of Southern Baptist life’s most unusual father-to-son successions will be remembered.
Read Also
- Ed Young Jr.: Biography, Age, Wife, Children, Books & Fellowship Church Ministry
- Chris Tomlin Biography
- Matt Redman Biography
- Craig Groeschel Biography
- John Piper Biography
- Francis Chan Biography
