SBC’s public policy arm overturns impeachment of president, president resigns

VaselineJuly 23, 2024

0 3 minutes read

SBC’s public policy arm overturns impeachment of president, president resigns

In a terse statement Monday night, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention announced a sudden and surprising personnel change.

Brent Leatherwood, chairman of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, has been “removed” from his position, a key firing that came less than 24 hours after he made statements applauding President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek re-election .

By Tuesday morning, everything had changed.

Leatherwood was going nowhere, the ERLC executive committee said, retracting its statement that the president had ever been fired. No “meeting, vote or authorized action” was taken in the now-invalidated Leatherwood annulment.

“Brent Leatherwood remains the president of the ERLC and has our support going forward,” the executive committee said in a statement this morning.

As the withdrawal became public, Kevin Smith resigned as chairman of the ERLC’s executive committee and from its board. In a since-deleted statement on social media, Smith apologized for making a “consequential procedural error.”

In a broader statement provided to The Baptist Press, Smith said multiple conversations with executive committee members convinced him there was a “consensus” to remove Leatherwood as president on Monday, although the board committee reiterated its commitment to Leatherwood a day later.

“This is a sensitive matter, and in an effort to resolve it quickly, we acted in good faith, but without a formal vote of the Executive Committee,” Smith said. “It was an error on my part and I take full responsibility.”

Leatherwood has not yet responded to a request from Tennessee for comment, but in his own statement on social media indicated that at least some ERLC administrators were blindsided by the news of his firing Monday night.

“I deeply appreciate everyone who reached out, especially our administrators who were absolutely baffled by what took place yesterday and stepped in to set the record straight,” Leatherwood said.

Initial statement: The leader of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention was removed after the Biden column

Column on Biden stirs controversy

The Southern Baptist Convention is the nation’s largest Protestant denomination and remains one of the most influential groups in American Christianity. The ERLC serves as the public policy arm, taking positions on key policies such as abortion and advocating for religious freedom.

It is unclear exactly what led to what now appears to be an unauthorized move to oust Leatherwood, who has led the ERLC since 2021. But the announcement of his removal as chairman came just hours after he made comments and published a column in the Baptist Press. applauding Biden.

Leatherwood praised Biden not for his liberal politics, which Leatherwood has consistently criticized, but for his decision not to seek re-election and effectively walk away from office. Leatherwood called it a “rare” and “selfless” act rarely seen in a political sphere full of personal ambitions.

In the column, Leatherwood also criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ record and potential run for the presidency, writing that it will be “a cause for considerable concern among pro-lifers and those who support a biblical definition of marriage.”

Tug of war among Southern Baptists for ERLC role

Leatherwood’s comments, however, were anathema to some in the SBC who have long targeted Leatherwood and the ERLC in an internal battle over the denomination’s political priorities.

SBC leaders such as Leatherwood and Russell Moore, his predecessor who drew intense opposition for his criticism of former President Donald Trump, represent more mainstream conservative positions that have been challenged by an opposition faction seeking to push the already deep-seated ERLC conservative, further right on cultural and political issues.

In June, leaders of the faction, notably Florida pastor Tom Ascol, tried to disband the public policy arm of the SBC at the denomination’s annual meeting in Indianapolis. 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 Monday 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.”

On Tuesday, Ascol called the withdrawal of the ERLC “a complete disgrace” to the SBC and urged administrators to “come clean with the churches that own the entity.”

“It’s time for transparency — which churches have been calling for for years,” Ascol said.

Meanwhile, other ERLC leaders apologized to Leatherwood for the whipping.

“Brent deserves countless apologies for this error and all the assumptions that came with it,” said Oklahoma Pastor Eric Costanzo, who is an ERLC trustee. “He has proven himself to be a faithful leader and a man of integrity time and time again.”

VaselineJuly 23, 2024

0 3 minutes read

Column on Biden stirs controversy

Tug of war among Southern Baptists for ERLC role

Vaseline

Related Articles

Gold Price in India: October 7 Rates

After a deadly weekend on the Colorado rivers, the rafting enthusiast emphasizes safety

Sterling finds support but struggles to recover

Oil prices are poised for a weekly gain as bullish sentiment builds