Crosswalk Headlines Formerly ChristianHeadlines
Topics:

ERLC Fires and Reinstates President Brent Leatherwood in Chaotic 12-Hour Span

  • Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
  • Published Jul 23, 2024
ERLC Fires and Reinstates President Brent Leatherwood in Chaotic 12-Hour Span

The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention announced the firing and then retention of its president Monday night and Tuesday morning in a flurry of events that left even long-time observers of the denomination bewildered. The back-and-forth began Monday evening when the ERLC announced the dismissal of its president, Brent Leatherwood, in a statement that did not provide a reason. This announcement ignited a heated debate on social media, with critics and supporters alike weighing in—some of whom said the controversy surrounding his service was far from over.

Then, Tuesday morning and about 12 hours later, the ERLC reversed course, releasing a new statement saying Leatherwood was being retained. 

The ERLC is the public policy arm of the SBC and addresses issues such as life, religious liberty, marriage, and human dignity in Washington, D.C.

“As members of the ERLC’s Executive Committee, we formally retract the press release which was sent yesterday,” the Tuesday statement said. “There was not an authorized meeting, vote, or action taken by the Executive Committee. Kevin Smith has resigned as Chair of the Executive Committee.”

Baptist Press, the news service of the SBC, said, “Board Chairman Kevin Smith acted alone” in dismissing Smith. 

Moments after the ERLC announced Leatherwood was being retained, Smith announced his resignation from the board. Smith is a pastor at Family Church in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“After multiple conversations with Executive Committee members of the ERLC, I was convinced in my mind that we had a consensus to remove Brent Leatherwood as the president of the ERLC,” Smith said, according to Baptist Press. “It is a delicate matter, and in an effort to deal with it expeditiously, I acted in good faith but without a formal vote of the Executive Committee. This was an error on my part, and I accept full responsibility.”

Leatherwood addressed the tumult on social media. 

“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,” Leatherwood said on X, formerly Twitter.

The chaotic events came just over a month after Leatherwood, and the ERLC survived a defunding vote at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. By a show of ballots, a motion that would have defunded the ERLC failed by estimated margins of 3-to-1 to 4-to-1. It would have required approval at two straight meetings. 

The motion was supported by messengers who said the ERLC had drifted Left. Leatherwood rejected the accusation, telling messengers the entity “strives to be faithful to Scripture, faithful to what the Lord calls us to do, faithful to serve our churches.”

Leatherwood’s initial dismissal came hours after he released a statement applauding President Biden for stepping down, saying the president had “put the needs of the nation above his personal ambition.” To “walk away from power is a selfless act -- the kind that has become all too rare in our culture,” Leatherwood said.

Leatherwood’s statement also warned about the dangers of Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic nominee. 

“Should delegates to the Democratic National Convention confirm her as the nominee, it will be cause for considerable concern among pro-life advocates and those who hold to a biblical definition of marriage,” Leatherwood said. “For example, she touted the Reproductive FACT Act, which required pregnancy resource centers to offer information to pregnant mothers about where they could obtain an abortion (which was thankfully ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the NIFLA case), and she refused to defend a state constitutional amendment passed by California voters declaring only marriages between a man and woman as valid. This record does not indicate a willingness to engage mainstream conservative Americans.”

A document on the ERLC website echoes Leatherwood’s statement, saying Harris has “has protected abortion access and the destruction of preborn lives, undermined biblical marriage and sexuality, and weakened religious liberty protections.”

The original statement from the ERLC read, “In accordance with our bylaws, the executive committee [of the ERLC] has removed Brent Leatherwood as president. Further details and plans for the transition will be provided at our September board meeting. Until then, the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees will assume directional responsibility for carrying out the ministry assignments for the ERLC.” 

Photo Credit: ©ERLC

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.