When I read of the news that Brent Leatherwood had been removed as president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the denomination I have been a member for my entire life, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), I was shocked as most of you were. After years of trying to best understand the role that the ERLC plays in denominational life, I could not believe what I was reading. There have been multiple calls for reform, leadership change, accountability and even motions to defund and abolish the ERLC, seemingly culminating in Tom Ascol’s motion at the SBC annual meeting this year in Indianapolis to abolish the ERLC. Although the motion failed, great questions remained.
Each entity of the SBC exists by direct action of the convention. They are sustained by the convention in existence and most financially. They exist for varying purposes and reasons, but they only exist in so much as the convention and the messengers who vote continue to fund and authorize their existence. The ERLC is no different. It exists to meet a need within our convention of churches, to be the public policy arm and voice of our united group of churches speaking for those churches in accordance with the wishes as expressed in our organizing documents such as the constitution, bylaws, Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (BFM2000), as well as in line with direct action taken by messengers in their requests as well as ensuring the messenger’s votes on resolutions are upheld as well. They must respond to the wishes of the messengers and act in those ways. That is why the ERLC exists. It is why today I find it so important to convey my thoughts on the seeming removal and then retraction of that removal of Brent Leatherwood by the executive board of the ERLC trustees.
As a convention of churches, we delegate day to day responsibilities of the broader convention to the Executive Committee of the entire SBC. Additionally, each entity is directed by their trustees, who are elected by the messengers at the annual meeting. We as churches and members of such churches have direct input to that process. That is why I believe it is so important to ensure that the ERLC continues to uphold the wishes of the messengers and its churches.
The ERLC must continue to advocate for religious liberty for all as Article 17 of the BFM2000 says. The ERLC must continue to advocate for life from conception to natural death in line with Article 15 of the BFM2000 and be willing to work with people and groups in any good cause whether Southern Baptist or not in so much as we can without violating Article 15 of the BFM2000 that says we can as long as we can “without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.” The ERLC should also oppose any political party platforms and statements from any party which does not advocate for protection of the unborn. The ERLC must continue to advocate for ethics among leadership in the country, as several resolutions over the years have spoken too. The ERLC must continue to work to advance the causes of the SBC and the issues within the churches.
They must also remain steadfastly neutral on issues that are not issues to which they have been tasked to directly address unless they directly impact an area in which they are to be our advocates. I happen to be a low tax, fiscal conservative, but tax rates are not an issue for the ERLC, the use of taxpayer money for funding abortion is. I happen to be in favor of lowering regulations for companies to expand economic opportunities, but this is not an issue for the ERLC, giving tax breaks to companies who discriminate against religious people and groups is. I happened to be in favor of a lot of things and opposed to many others. That is my right as an American citizen, but I call on the ERLC to reject calls from the radical right and left to address issues that they are not tasked to speak for or against. The ERLC is our SBC public policy advocate and we as a convention of churches happen to be a convention of churches, not a conservative or liberal think tank. We are made up of Christians working to fulfill The Great Commission in accordance with Scripture. We must resist the demands of some within our ranks who demand that every issue before the government is an issue worthy of our public policy arm defending our personal convictions on. The fact is every issue is not worthy of that.
I plan to continue my steadfast support of the ERLC and the crucial role that it plays in the life of the SBC. I urge the messengers and churches of our convention to reject calls to defund or abolish the SBC. I urge the continued support of the ERLC and to reject calls for its demise as I remind us that each, and every time, votes to defund, reallocate funds, or completely abolish are considered the messengers soundly reject them. I urge the ERLC to continue fighting for Southern Baptists across the country and to continue to implement the will of the messengers as they so faithfully have for so many years.
Jonathan Raffini serves as the Minister of Discipleship and Administration at First Baptist Church in Big Spring Texas. He has served in that role for five years after serving as Youth Minister for eight years before that, also at FBC Big Spring. Prior to that, Jonathan and his wife Rebekah were NAMB appointed church planting missionaries in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada. Jonathan is a graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, has been married to Rebekah for 17 years and they have two daughters.