The President of the Ethics and Religious Freedom Commission is dismissed

VaselineJuly 23, 2024

0 3 minutes read

The President of the Ethics and Religious Freedom Commission is dismissed

Brent Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy division, has been fired from his position.

Late Monday, the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission issued a brief statement on behalf of its board’s executive committee, confirming Leatherwood’s removal but offering few details about what led to the removal.

The sudden removal came less than 24 hours after Leatherwood praised President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race, publishing a column calling it the “right” decision for the country. Leatherwood also issued a separate statement to The Baptist Press, calling Biden’s decision “selfless.”

“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, stepping down is an altruistic act — the kind that has become too rare in our culture.”

Although Leatherwood praised Biden’s decision in the column, he also criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ record and potential run for the presidency, writing that she would be “a cause for considerable concern among pro-lifers and those who support a definition biblical view of marriage. “

The column and comments, published by The Baptist Press and shared by the ERLC’s own social media accounts, immediately sparked backlash from far-right factions within the conservative evangelical denomination.

Leatherwood has in recent years emerged as the target of a conservative opposition faction seeking to push the SBC further to the right in an ongoing denominational tug-of-war over cultural and political issues.

Leatherwood and his predecessor, Russell Moore, represented more conservative positions as the opposition faction sought to tilt the ERLC, already a deeply conservative body, to the right.

In June, leaders of the faction, notably Florida pastor Tom Ascol, sought to disband the public policy arm of the SBC at the denomination’s annual meeting. The attempt followed another failed effort to disband the ERLC in 2022 after Leatherwood and others voiced opposition to criminalizing women for abortion, a position anti-abortion activists within the denomination call “abolitionist.”

“It’s not just a historic decision, it’s the right decision for our convention,” Ascol said on social media about Leatherwood’s removal, mocking the former ERLC president’s statement about Biden. “Despite what some will say, for the trustees to remove Brent from this position of power is the right thing to do – the kind that has become all too rare among trustees in our recent SBC culture.”

Moore, meanwhile, called Leatherwood’s removal “disgraceful and disgraceful.”

“Southern Baptists, how much more will you leave? You can’t pretend you don’t see what’s happening in your name,” Moore said in a statement on social media, calling Leatherwood “a great Christian man.”

Moore himself clashed with opposition factions during his ERLC presidency over his criticism of President Donald Trump dating back to the 2016 campaign. He resigned in 2021 to lead Christianity Today magazine as editor-in-chief.

Other leading Southern Baptists have asked for prayers for Leatherwood and his family following his ouster.

“As Southern Baptists, we should all care about our entities and their welfare,” Southern Baptist Convention President Clint Pressley wrote on social media. “Let us pray for Brent, for the ERLC, its employees and their administrators.”

Phillip Bethancourt, a Texas pastor who served at the ERLC with Moore, said he was “sad to see this development” and asked people to pray. He said on social media that the ERLC “still has a critical role to play in the midst of this hostile cultural moment.”

Leatherwood was first appointed chairman in September 2022, having previously served as interim chairman following Moore’s resignation. He is a former executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party.

In the statement, the ERLC executive committee said it has removed Leatherwood from his position and will provide more details and plans for a transition at the board’s Sept. 10-11 meeting in Nashville.

“Until then, the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors will assume directional responsibility for the performance of ministry duties for the ERLC,” the statement said.

Leatherwood could not immediately be reached for comment.

VaselineJuly 23, 2024

0 3 minutes read

Vaseline

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