Southern Baptist public policy arm survives challenge to its conservative credentials
The votes came just before the adjournment of the two-day annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination.
Church 'messengers' voted 3,744-2,819 to retain their public policy agency, rejecting calls for its abolition from those who allege the entity is tainted by liberal affiliations on immigration issues and who want it to be even more conservative than it already is.
The bid to enshrine a ban on churches with women pastors in the SBC constitution received a 3,421-2,191 vote, but that 61% majority fell short of the two-thirds support needed to initiate a constitutional ban.
The measures reflect debate only on the degree of conservatism in the SBC. It comes just a day after messengers overwhelmingly endorsed a call to overturn the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing same-sex marriage, and any other court and legislative actions with similar results. And it comes in a denomination that officially opposes women pastors, and where the debate is over whether that applies to women in subordinate pastoral roles.
The action affirming the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission amounted to a vote of confidence in the public advocacy voice of the nation's largest evangelical body, coming at a time when Christian conservatives have unprecedented influence in Washington.
Willy Rice, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, Florida, said he filed the motion to abolish the ERLC with the aim of making it heed member criticisms. Had the measure passed, he argued, it would have given the agency time to enact changes by next year's annual meeting, when its fate would have come up for a final vote.
'But make no mistake, this motion is a wake-up call,' he said.
But Richard Land, a former longtime president of the commission, said it would be 'tragic' to silence Baptists' voice in Washington.
'We have more opportunity right now to influence public policy in our nation's capital than we have had in my lifetime,' Land said. 'We have a president who is more sympathetic. … We have more congressmen and senators who are sympathetic to what we as Southern Baptists are trying to do, and to turn back the barbarians at the gate in our culture.'
President Donald Trump has created at least three religion-focused entities with a strong evangelical Christian influence, reflecting the overwhelming support he's received from that demographic.
Brent Leatherwood, president of the ERLC, presented a slideshow in defense of the organization. It included a photo of him with House Speaker Mike Johnson, a fellow Southern Baptist. A day before the vote, an ERLC event championed a Tennessee ban on certain medical treatments for transgender minors that faces a Supreme Court challenge.
Abolishing the organization 'means the public square would be abandoned by the SBC, losing a powerful voice for the truth of the Gospel and in effect, rewarding secular efforts to push religion out,' Leatherwood said.
What does the ERLC do?
While not a lobbying organization, the ERLC has advocated against abortion and transgender rights. It has promoted a strongly pro-Israel stance, a longtime evangelical priority. The commission has also provided ultrasound machines for organizations that seek to dissuade women from having abortions.
Leatherwood credited the ERLC with advocating for the repeal of Roe v. Wade, which was realized in a 2022 Supreme Court decision ending the nationwide right to an abortion. That was followed by abortion bans in several states. Leatherwood also touted ERLC advocacy for a pending congressional move to defund Planned Parenthood.
But some criticism focused on the ERLC's opposition to criminal penalties for women who seek abortions.
'Time after time, they've opposed righteous pro-life legislation that seeks equal justice for the unborn, arguing that those who choose abortion should face no legal consequences,' Ethan Jago, pastor of Five Bridges Church in Panama City, Florida, said in calling for the vote to abolish the commission.
Rice contended that 'outside progressive advocacy organizations have financially supported' the commission. But Leatherwood said more than 98% of commission funding comes from the SBC, with the remaining coming Baptist state conventions and individuals.
While the ERLC has been criticized for its advocacy on immigration reform, the commission says it has promoted only stances in keeping with official SBC resolutions calling for both the rule of law and respect for human dignity.
Women in pastoral roles debated
The proposal on women pastors was a rerun of recent years' meetings. A similar proposal received two-thirds of votes in 2023, but fell just short of the necessary supermajority in 2024.
Wednesday's vote sought to restart the process.
The denomination's official statement of belief, the Baptist Faith and Message, reserves the role of pastor to men.
Southern Baptist churches are self-governing. But the convention can kick them out if deemed not in 'friendly cooperation,' based in part on how closely they adhere to the Baptist Faith and Message on issues such as women pastors.
But there remain disagreements over whether the faith statement applies only to women as a senior pastor or similar role, or whether it applies to ministry assistants with the title of pastor.
In recent years, the convention began purging churches that either had women as lead pastors or asserted that they could serve that role. That included one of its largest congregations, California's Saddleback Church.
But when an SBC committee this year retained a South Carolina megachurch with a woman on its pastoral staff, some argued this proved the need for a constitutional amendment. The church later quit the denomination of its own accord.
Other ERLC-related controversies
Criticism has long dogged the ERLC. After Leatherwood last year commended former President Joe Biden — who is deeply unpopular among religious conservatives — for withdrawing his reelection bid, the then-chairman of the commission announced his firing. However, the commission retracted that announcement and the chairman resigned when it became clear that its board's executive committee hadn't agreed to that. Instead, the board gave Leatherwood a strong vote of confidence along with a warning against stirring unnecessary controversy.
A previous commission president drew fire for his harsh criticisms of pro-Trump pastors in 2016.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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