Just 12 hours after the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) announced the removal of Brent Leatherwood as president, the organization retracted its statement Tuesday morning.
Leatherwood remains in his role, but the chair of the executive committee has resigned, the ERLC’s Board of Trustees said in a press release. ERLC Chairman Kevin Smith acted alone in firing President Brent Leatherwood yesterday, the trustees said. The firing reportedly came in response to Leatherwood’s post on X, expressing appreciation for President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race.
“There was not an authorized meeting, vote, or action taken by the Executive Committee. Kevin Smith has resigned as Chair of the Executive Committee,” the press release said. “Brent Leatherwood remains the President of the ERLC and has our support moving forward.”
In a now-deleted social media statement on X, Smith apologized early Tuesday.
“The trustees of the (Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission) steward the entity on behalf of Southern Baptists. In leading them, I made a consequential procedural mistake,” Smith said. “The (executive committee) and other trustees are Christ-honoring volunteers, who give much. The mistake was mine; I apologize.”
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Smith has served on the ERLC board since 2018 and was elected chair last fall. He currently pastors Family Church Village in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to Smith for comment but did not hear back prior to publication.
Leatherwood, who was named ERLC president in September 2022, shared his appreciation for everyone who has reached out to him during the controversary.
“I deeply appreciate everyone who has reached out,” he posted on X. “Especially our trustees who were absolutely bewildered at what took place yesterday and jumped in to set the record straight.”
He added that there is still more to come on this story.
I deeply appreciate everyone who has reached out, especially our trustees who were absolutely bewildered at what took place yesterday and jumped in to set the record straight.
More to come. https://t.co/QfJpbFAtkM
— Brent Leatherwood (@LeatherwoodERLC) July 23, 2024
The ERLC announced Leatherwood’s supposed removal Monday evening.
“In accordance with our bylaws, the executive committee has removed Brent Leatherwood as president,” a statement from the executive committee said. “Further details, as well as plans for the transition, will be provided at our September board meeting.”
The news came less than 24 hours after Leatherwood told The Baptist Press that President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race was a “selfless act.”
“We should all express our appreciation that President Biden has put the needs of the nation above his personal ambition,” Leatherwood said. “Despite what some partisans will say, to walk away from power is a selfless act – the kind that has become all too rare in our culture.”
In a separate column for the publication, he said Biden made the “correct” decision.
While he applauded Biden’s decision in his column, Leatherwood emphasized the need for both parties to embrace pro-life and pro-traditional marriage views. He warned that Vice President Kamala Harris’ record and presidential run are “cause for considerable concern among pro-life advocates and those who hold to a biblical definition of marriage.”
Despite this, critics online decried Leatherwood’s remarks for being left leaning.
Reporter Megan Basham wrote a piece for Clear Truth Media arguing this. She said that Leatherwood “offered the same talking points as the left-wing media and Democrat Party.”
“The question for Southern Baptists is why Leatherwood chose to so closely mirror the talking points of the dishonest media and Democrat party,” Basham added. “The ERLC is representing someone’s interests in the public sphere. And once again, it does not appear to be those of Southern Baptists.”
In response to the ERLC sharing Leatherwood’s remarks on X, one social media called the post “unbelievable.”
“Thank you for posting this now. Our church has a Business Meeting next week. I will be making a Motion to exclude the ERLC from our Cooperative Program contributions,” the user wrote.
Tom Ascol, long-time critic of Leatherwood and pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida, called Leatherwood’s remarks “ridiculous.”
After Leatherwood’s removal was announced, Ascol praised the action in a post on X.
“Not only is this a historic decision, it is the right decision for our convention,” Ascol said. “Despite what some will say, for the trustees to remove Brent from this position of power is a righteous act — the kind that has become all too rare among trustees in our recent SBC culture.”
Not only is this a historic decision, it is the right decision for our convention. Despite what some will say, for the trustees to remove Brent from this position of power is a righteous act—the kind that has become all too rare among trustees in our recent SBC culture. https://t.co/XhxV0M1vMZ
— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@tomascol) July 23, 2024
In June, Ascol made a motionat the SBC’s annual meeting to abolish the ERLC. His motion failed.
That attempt followed another failed effort from others to eliminate the ERLC in 2022 after Leatherwood expressed opposition to criminalizing abortion, a position held by so-called “abolitionist.”
Ascol has now called the ERLC’s retraction of Leatherwood’s removal an “embarrassment” for the SBC.
The retraction has caused some pastors to further vie for the defunding ERLC.
If we didn’t have an ERLC, or this ERLC, this wouldn’t be happening,” David Schrock, pastor at Occoquan Bible Church in Woodbridge, Virginia, posted on X. “The SBC should #defundtheERLC until further notice.”
Others, though, are commending Leatherwood’s for still being president.
“Brent deserves countless apologies for this error and all the assumptions that came with it,” Oklahoma pastor Eric Costanzo, an ERLC trustee, said in a social post. “He has proven to be a faithful leader and man of integrity time and again.”
I am a trustee at @ERLC. Our president @LeatherwoodERLC was NOT fired yesterday. See this press release. Brent deserves countless apologies for this error and all the assumptions that came with it. He has proven to be a faithful leader and man of integrity time and again. pic.twitter.com/bUd0w3SbER
— Eric Costanzo (@eric_costanzo) July 23, 2024
Leatherwood succeeded Russell Moore, who led the ERLC until his resignation in 2021. Moore was an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, which made him unpopular with some power brokers in the Southern Baptist Convention.
The SBC’s Executive Committee investigated the ERLC in 2020 for allegedly being divisive and causing a shortfall in denominational donations. A 2021 report from the investigation called the ERLC “a significant distraction.”
In 2017, several prominent megachurches withheld funding from the ERLC after Moore’s critical remarks about Trump.
Freelance journalist Liz Lykins writes for WORLD Magazine, Christianity Today, Ministry Watch, and other publications.
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13 Responses
Slightly bewildered British person here, with a question: would it ever be a resigning/dismissal matter if a person in Leatherwood’s position were to express support for the democrats?
Some of the comments on Leatherwood’s statement seem to imply that even praising a democrat (or, say, aligning oneself with a democrat, or endorsing a democrat) is itself an error of judgement.
I didn’t realise the SBC was so closely aligned with the Republicans that *any* praise for the opposing side would automatically be an issue for someone in Leatherwood’s role. Presumably it is?
Leatherwood’s predecessor, Russell Moore, was forced out for refusing to back Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. The SBC in practice is the Republican Party at prayer, which is one reason I could not be a member in good conscience of the SBC.
For many in the SBC, yes it would be a cause for dismissal. It’s not so much that they love the Republican Party, it’s that they reflexively hate the Democratic Party and everything they stand for.
To them, liberals and progressives are the enemy of United States of America. Their love affair with Trump has escalated the rhetoric to new heights (or new lows, I guess), but the Religious Right has been cultivating this hatred since the 1980s, when the Moral Majority declared there could be no compromising with their left.
Then, in the 1990s the Republican Party, under Newt Gingrich and Tom Delay, ended all semblance of comity and cooperation between the parties, even in policy areas where there was significant agreement, and that was extremely popular with the Republican base. No quarter given.
It’s been clear for a while on the right that it’s party first, country second — scorched earth all the way while in opposition, and if Trump wins in November, it will continue into government for the next four years.
For most American evangelical Christians any alignment with the Democratic Party is equated with heresy and promotion of the vilest sin. Nonprofits could lose their nonprofit status for outright support of a candidate, but expressing support for a particular political cause is okay. Many churches use this loophole to make it clear that Christians should only vote Republican.
Tom, it looks like you’re getting a glimpse of how bad it is here… It really is as bad as you imply. You don’t even have to mention Democrats… if you disagree with a Republican or Trumpian idea, you’ll have someone asking you if you’ve become a “Democrat”, with the implication that you’ve just committed the unpardonable sin of switching sides… So yes, if you specifically be nice or praise any Democrat, anytime, many will immediately assume you’re now the enemy, a heretic or anti-christian.
And for many, if you are Not always nasty, unkind, belligerent, slandering, mocking, even lying about or towards Democrats, then it’s assumed you’ve switched sides and have left the “christian” team. (That’s why you’ll see some commentators drifting through stories on this site berating Julie for not putting up enough hit pieces bashing Dems or the “Leftists”… because in their worldview that’s what one must do to be a good christian or to be on a christian media platform…)
I saw this come into sharp focus and saw it become the rule for the religious right during the Obama years. It didn’t matter how benign the subject, you were not allowed to be polite, nice, kind or loving to him, his wife or family, ever!
More than 80% of America’s white evangelicals voted for Trump, and that includes the SBC. The reality is that much of the church here, and certainly most southern baptists, are completely in line with right wing politics, and this is not the first case of someone being forced out for expressing even the mildest support or admiration for a democrat or democratic leaning policies.
This is what happens to the church when it marries itself to worldly power.
I reading between the lines and I’m convinced that this organisation has nothing whatsoever to do with the cause of Christ. There is no connection to Christianity. This is a political organisation using the name of Christianity to hide its real goal… political power!!
Make no mistake, a bunch of people at the SBC and elsewhere want Leatherwood out.
Given the tragic history of the SBC with its support of slavery, the Confederacy, Jim Crow, Segregation, The Lost Cause etc. One would think the SBC would be more circumspect on how they handle ethics within their own denomination.
I guess the SBC did not get the memo that the Republican party has moved away from a Pro-Life position and from marriage being between a man and a woman. (The DNC in Milwaukee confirmed it!)
All I can say is that the SBC is unethical…….
“The Left wants the Kingdom but does not want the King. The right wants the King but does not want the Kingdom” ~NT Wright.
Consider this. Jesus ran crosswise with the Sadducees (the ‘mainline’ religious liberals), the Pharisees and ‘rulers’ (the Conservative, religious and socio-political leaders) and the Herodians (the progressive political elite) of His day. At times, these groups even set aside their ideological and religious differences in order to to go after Jesus.
Moral of the story? Give everyone a fair hearing… we may be surprised who it is that actually holds closer to Jesus and New Covenant ideals. Let’s not conflate ideology with theology.
“Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ said that His Kingdom was not of this world, yet His followers have been trying to prove Him wrong ever since.” ~Coleman Luck
what boggles my mind is the whole ‘biblical defnition of marriage’ thing. To me, a wise church / polity would recognize that the government should be out of the ‘marriage’ business and advocate for civil unions at the civic level, and move to make the term ‘marriage’ purely religious – and then anyone can do what they want and it’s no problem. The church can then (rightly) have their views on what a ‘marriage’ is and act accordingly, and the tax, property, etc…laws can deal with the civil side.
But alas, the SBC \ GOP doesn’t realize (or maybe they do and that’s even worse) how much more closely they align with the Taliban vs the founding fathers in regard to how tightly coupled they want religion and government to be.
President Biden was more or less “forced to resign” as major donors were withholding funds. On the other hand, many others congratulated the President for “doing the right thing.” If a Christian leader cannot say a kind word to “our” President, without recriminations, we certainly have a problem. We are coming to an inflection point and we as a nation are more divided and vitriolic than at any time in my life. The ideology that this Administration adheres to is opposed to free speech and has weaponized the courts, CIA, FBI, and the Justice Department. The former Secret Service chief does not seem to be bothered that the former President was shot on her watch (or maybe she is secretly morning). This is why so many people have issues with this regime. Agitators should have read the twitter post, with an open mind, instead of jumping to conclusions. It seems an open wound is festering here. Thank goodness that we have freedom of speech, or do we?
This is no different that Nixon was “forced to resign” and he was applauded for “doing the right thing.”
And I would argue that Trump is just as opposed to free speech and will do the same with courts and Executive Branch. But then Trump is your guy. But then I am sure you believe that it was the so-called “Deep State” tried to kill Trump (as Ben Carson and others said at the RNC convention recently).
This is such an embarrassment for the SBC. Those comments were so benign. So many people just looking for a reason to get upset. Sad.