NEW YORK (BP) — A document submitted by the attorney of Matt Queen contains excerpts from 59 letters of support for the former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) professor alongside pleas for leniency from Queen himself as his sentencing date approaches for lying to federal investigators.

Queen, 50, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Southern New York on Oct. 16 to a charge of making a false statement related to a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and some of its entities. He resigned his pastorate at Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., three weeks later.

Sentencing for Queen is set for March 5.

His attorney, Sam Schmidt, wrote in a Presentence Report that his client does not deny he falsified the date on notes provided to federal investigators, though the contents were accurate. 

“Dr. Queen acknowledged [it] … shortly after he lied about it,” Schmidt wrote. “He admitted it to counsel. He admitted it in his motion to dismiss. He admitted it when he pled guilty.”

“Severe consequences” and financial loss for his actions have already been felt, including losing his pastorate as well as speaking engagements and publication opportunities. Queen has been “repeatedly denigrated in the secular and Christian press,” Schmidt added, and “a number of ‘friends’ have distanced themselves from him.”

Those are in addition to the emotional and psychological punishment.

Queen explained through his attorney how a “tumultuous five-year period (2018-2023)” that ended with his time as interim provost and vice president for academic administration at Southwestern led to being “anxious and overwhelmed” as the DOJ investigation unfolded.

Isolation exacerbated the “self-doubt, fear, confusion and uncertainty … within me, and I felt lost. I lost about forty pounds and was eating and sleeping very little,” he said.

A letter from Queen’s wife, Hope, told of the “downward spiral in his mental health which was fueled by the dysfunctional atmosphere at the seminary.”

Fears of dismissal and orders to not speak to anyone also prompted her husband not to seek help from a counselor or attorney.

“Matt’s anxiety grew. On a regular basis, I walked into our bedroom and found him on our bed with his chest heaving and limbs shaking. I watched with concern but felt trapped without a way for him to get help due to the instruction not to tell anyone about the investigation,” she said.

The stress led Queen to contemplate suicide, according to his wife, who persuaded him to seek help at a hospital.

“The government was also concerned about Dr. Queen’s mental health as a result of its indictment,” Schmidt said. “It insisted that one of the conditions of his release on bail was for him to obtain the services of a therapist. He did and continues to see his therapist.”

Schmit posited that “There is no identifiable purpose for imposing a period of incarceration” on Queen, urging Judge Lewis A Kaplan to accept a United States Department of Probation recommendation that Queen be sentenced to one year of probation and a $2,000 fine.

Statements from Queen accompany the document.

“While I have repented of my sin before God, made it right with the government by correcting my false statement to them, and have pled guilty before this Court, I will forever live with the knowledge that I lied, an action contrary to my faith, my character and my morals,” he said. “I am daily reminded that my lie has disappointed my God, my wife, my daughters, my parents, my brothers, my church, my friends, and my students.

“… I commit to you, your Honor, to apply the lessons I have learned from my mistake for the remainder of my life and ministry. I sincerely request your mercy, your Honor, as you decide my sentence.”

The letters of support testify to Queen’s character, Schmidt said, and “recognize that this man is not characterized solely by his error.”

Nickie Buckner, a friend of Queen’s since the sixth grade who considered himself a nonbeliever, recognized Queen’s “unshakeable belief in God” and said “[Queen] genuinely wants to help people regardless of who they are or what they believe.”

Former Southwestern professor John Massey explained the Queen gave not only his time, but his money to students in need and “has been among the most popular professors in denominational life because of his love for students and accessibility to them at any time.”

Former student and friend Matt Henslee said he leaned on Queen during his own tough emotional and psychological times.

“Dr. Queen was a phone call away to pray for me, encourage me and offer me wisdom or practical steps to deal with what was going on,” he said.

Ryan Stokes, a former SWBTS professor, said Queen “holds himself to the highest conceivable moral standards, has an unusually sensitive conscience and exhibits an overriding concern that he deal with others fairly, compassionately and honestly.

“… If it is possible to be pathologically good, that is what Matt is.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Scott Barkley is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press. This story has been updated to reflect the charge to which Matt Queen pleaded guilty.)