The embattled president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee resigned July 31.
Brent Leatherwood tendered his resignation with no apparent future employment lined up. He has been the lightning rod for criticism from the far right of the SBC, who claim the ERLC has become “woke” and experienced mission creep.
In June, the agency survived an attempt to abolish it during the SBC annual meeting in Dallas. One current trustee stood to question Leatherwood publicly about the entity’s support for Ukraine in the war begun by Russia.
In June, the agency survived an attempt to abolish it during the SBC annual meeting in Dallas.
Leatherwood responded that in 2022, the SBC adopted a resolution in support of Ukraine. But this exchange highlighted how much Republican and evangelical politics have changed in three years due to the influence of Donald Trump being back in the White House.
The motion to abolish the ERLC was made by Willy Rice, a Florida pastor who is aligned with the most conservative wing of the SBC.
“For too long, the ERLC has caused division and confusion among our churches,” Rice said. “What was designed to be a prophetic voice in the public square has too often become a conduit for the culture to speak back to us.”
A show-of-ballots vote was too close for the chair to call, so a ballot vote was ordered. The end result was 57% against closing the ERLC and 43% favoring disbanding.
While technically a victory for ERLC leadership, having 43% of messengers voting against you is not a strong endorsement. Amid the various criticisms, Leatherwood drew particular attention because of his role as a parent at the Covenant School shooting in 2023. Leatherwood’s children attend the Nashville private school.
Critics charge Leatherwood expanded the ERLC’s mission to address gun control without authorization. One year ago, the chairman of ERLC trustees unilaterally fired Leatherwood, who one day later was reinstated by the full board.
Southern Baptists are divided over what role, if any, the ERLC should play in the age of MAGA. Its significant anti-abortion efforts no longer are enough for some, who want the morality and First Amendment entity to more fully embrace the Trump agenda.
Russell Moore
Leatherwood’s predecessor, Russell Moore, also was run off from the Nashville-based agency in part because he supported the stories of sexual abuse survivors in the SBC and in part because he did not endorse Trump.
The current chairman of the ERLC board praised Leatherwood, who served in the role less than three years.
“Brent has led the commission well and demonstrated loving courage in the face of a divisive and increasingly polarizing culture in America,” Scott Foshie said. “While biblical values have been under attack, Brent has been a consistent and faithful missionary to the public square. We are thankful for his commitment to the Lord and to this commission.”
Leatherwood came to the role from within the ERLC staff after Moore’s resignation. Previously, he served as executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party.
Miles Mullin
Trustees named Miles Mullin, ERLC vice president and chief of staff, as acting president. He is a former ERLC trustee who previously served at the Missouri Baptist Convention, Hannibal-LaGrange University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Virginia, a master of divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and both a master of arts degree and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, where he studied American religious history.
In his most recent article for the Missouri Pathway publication, Mullin argues legalizing same-sex marriage was a slippery slope toward moral decline — a similar sentiment to what was expressed in an SBC resolution in June.
“Looking back, it is clear that the court’s decision effectively codified our cultural descent into a no-holds barred approach to sexuality, and, a bit later, gender,” he wrote.
He added: “Marriage is what God says it is in his revealed word. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime — for our good.”