After firing head of Baptist ERLC over Biden comment, board chairman resigns

The Chairman of the Board of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has resigned just 24 hours after forcing the removal of ERLC president Brent Leatherwood. Smith’s resignation comes on the heels of a contentious 24 hours for the Southern Baptist public policy entity that made headlines on CNN and the New York Times.

Chairman Kevin Smith told the Baptist Press in a statement that,  “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. 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.”

It comes after the ERLC  announced  July 22, that the board’s executive committee had removed President Brent Leatherwood “in accordance with our bylaws.” However, that decision was rescinded early this morning.

Leatherwood was apparently let go Monday weighing in on President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid.

“In accordance with our bylaws, the executive committee has removed Brent Leatherwood as president,” the executive committee of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission said. “Further details, as well as plans for the transition, will be provided at our September board meeting.”

No further details were given about why Leatherwood, who was named commission president in September 2022, was removed from his position. It is not clear whether the full board of trustees was asked to review the decision before it was made or why Leatherwood was fired. Leatherwood did not respond to a request for comment.

Smith went on to note: “At this time, the Executive Committee does not wish to move forward with my course of action.”

In a story about Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, Baptist Press, an official SBC publication, quoted Leatherwood saying Biden had done the right thing in ending his campaign. “We should all express our appreciation that President Biden has put the needs of the nation above his personal ambition,” Leatherwood said. “Despite what some partisans will say, to walk away from power is a selfless act — the kind that has become all too rare in our culture.”

The two-sentence quote, posted on X by the official account of the commission, led to an online dust-up in which Leatherwood’s critics, who included Tom Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Fla., called Leatherwood to account for a number of his recent positions.

–Alan Goforth