Brantley McDonald
Brantley Rider McDonald (born July 19, 1996) is an American Reformed Baptist who resides in the Charlotte, NC metropolitan area.
Biography
Childhood
In 1996, Brantley was born to David and Rebecca McDonald in Gastonia, NC. Brantley is the oldest of his two siblings and all of his first cousins. For the first few years of his life, his family attended at Parkwood Baptist Church. Eventually, Brantley and his family began attending First Baptist Church of Cramerton, since it was closer to their residence.
During his K-12 education, Brantley pursued instrumental music as a trumpet player in Middle and High School bands. His senior year, he served as Drum Major of the High School's marching band. Brantley would audition and get placed as a Trumpet player in the All County Band throughout the Middle and High School academic years.
Early Adulthood
In 2014, Brantley graduated from South Point High School and began attending Appalachian State University. In 2017, Brantley graduated with a Bachelors of Business Administration (majoring in Computer Information Systems and minoring in Supply Chain Management). While attending university, Brantley regularly attended First Baptist Church of Boone.
In 2017, following his college graduation, Brantley moved back home and began attending back at First Baptist Church of Cramerton, and became the volunteer IT Director. In August of that year, Brantley married his first spouse in Fort Mill, SC at Anne Springs Close Greenway. In October of that year, Brantley attended a worship service at Parkwood Baptist Church on the Sunday of the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation; which was the first Sunday the pastor/preacher was back (after returning from Sabbatical), and started a sermon series in the book of Galatians. Following that Sunday, Brantley began a theological shift towards Reformed theology and began attending both Parkwood Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Cramerton.
In 2018, Brantley began leading the Student Ministry at First Baptist Church of Cramerton for Middle and High School grade levels. Brantley and other student pastors/ministers area began meeting monthly to fellowship with each other, and to also work together to ensure that there were Bible Clubs in each of the Middle and High Schools in the area.
In 2019, Brantley's theological shift towards Reformed theology resulted in the biblical concern for his local church, and began working towards drafting a formal letter to be submitted to the Church's leadership board regarding serious issues within the church. The final draft of the letter contained three primary issues that were identified in the
In early 2020, Brantley began resigned from being the volunteer IT Director (and ceased being a contracted Student Ministry worker) at First Baptist Church of Cramerton and from that point onward began attending only at Parkwood Baptist Church (eventually moving membership to there also). Later that year, Brantley's first child and daughter was born in November. In 2021, Brantley and his first spouse entered into a Separation Agreement and legally divorced the following year.
In 2021, Brantley began attending at Exodus Church (Acts 29 Network), which was an outgrowth from Parkwood Baptist Church.
In 2023, Brantley became part of the team working to plant Coram Deo Reformed Baptist Church.
Involvements
1689 Reformed Baptist
In 2019, Brantley connected online with Walter Ortiz, an American Reformed Baptist residing in the Southern California region who operated the 1689.com website since 1998. Brantley began helping Walter build a newer version of the website, and expand to include email account offerings and also a social media presence.
In 2023, following Brantley becoming an administrator for the Facebook group Reformed Baptist Alliance (RBA), Brantley brought the group under the affiliation of a new page by the same name. Shortly after creating the RBA's new public-facing page, the RBA was then brought under 1689 Reformed Baptist's umbrella of projects by Brantley in July of 2023.
Theological/Doctrinal Websites
Brantley initiated a project to claim the domain registrations for theological/doctrinal terms n the .org domain space to create websites and content ministries to promote such theological and doctrinal terms.
Controversies
Paedobaptism (Infant Baptism) Rick Roll
As the domain registrant of the Paedobaptism.org and InfantBaptism.org domains, Brantley followed a suggestion from a Reformed Baptist Discord Server moderator to have the domains redirect visitors to Rick Astley's well-known music video Never Gonna Give You Up (which is commonly referred to as a "Rick Roll" or "Rick Rolling").
In the Summer of 2023, this prank first began to be popularized when Brantley shared and commented on an Infant Baptism meme that was shared by the well-known online content creator and podcast The Chorus In The Chaos. Brantley has commented on public forums indicated his intent to allow development on the domain, or the sale of the domain, to a reputable ministry organization that would use it to promote infant baptism.