In under 48 hours, the head of the staunchly conservative public-policy arm of the rankled fellow Baptists by applauding President Joe Biden's 鈥渟elfless act鈥� of withdrawing his candidacy for re-election. Then, his agency reported he was fired 鈥� and now they have reaffirmed his leadership.
The head-spinning series of events started Sunday, but by Tuesday morning, the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission announced that no, leader Brent Leatherwood wasn't fired. Rather, he has the full support of his top board members 鈥� though its chairman resigned and apologized for the erroneous announcement.
On Monday, the commission issued a statement that the ERLC's executive committee had removed Leatherwood in accordance with its bylaws.
But on Tuesday, it said, 鈥淭here was not an authorized meeting, vote, or action taken by the Executive Committee. Kevin Smith has resigned as Chair of the Executive Committee.鈥�
Leatherwood 鈥渉as our support moving forward,鈥� the executive committee statement said.
Smith, a Florida pastor, resigned both as chairman and as a board member, and he apologized Tuesday, according to a statement on Baptist Press, the denomination's official news agency.
鈥淎fter 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,鈥� Smith's statement said. 鈥淚t 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. At this time, the Executive Committee does not wish to move forward with my course of action.鈥�
The previous ERLC vice chairman, Tony Beam, is now chairman.
Leatherwood posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Tuesday morning: 鈥淚 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.鈥�
Leatherwood had led the embattled agency through three years as the policy spokesman for the nation's largest Protestant denomination, but he had not joined in the increasingly public support among many 小蓝视频ern Baptists for former President Donald Trump.
After Biden's announcement Sunday that he would not seek re-election, Leatherwood called it a 鈥渟elfless act.鈥�
鈥淲e should all express our appreciation that President Biden has put the needs of the nation above his personal ambition," Leatherwood said.
Leatherwood's statement prompted fierce blowback on social media from some within the denomination who had already targeted his agency for criticism amid a larger battle to pull the already-conservative denomination even further to the right.
Clint Pressley, the SBC's newly elected president, joined in belittling the idea that Biden acted on principle.
鈥淪ounds right,鈥� Pressley posted on X in response to a post by a 小蓝视频ern Baptist professor. That professor, Andrew Walker, said Biden's withdrawal was not an 鈥渁ct of valor鈥� but rather a case of 鈥渦ltra-powerful鈥� Democrats forcing him out.
In a follow-up statement Tuesday evening, the ERLC executive committee acknowledged the events had been 鈥渄estabilizing鈥� and that it would need to rebuild trust in the agency among 小蓝视频ern Baptists.
It said Smith acted unilaterally and that no vote was ever taken to remove Leatherwood.
Staff members had issued Monday's announcement of Leatherwood鈥檚 firing, believing 鈥渢hey were acting under the appropriate authority of the board,鈥� the statement said 鈥� but committee members themselves were taken by surprise and ensured the statement was retracted.
鈥淭o be clear, this retraction was about following the procedures laid out in the bylaws of the ERLC, not about responding to pressure from outside organizations,鈥� the statement added.
The committee 鈥渞ecognizes a wide range of opinions on the work of the ERLC,鈥� as evidenced by an unsuccessful attempt to defund the agency at last month鈥檚 SBC annual meeting.
But such discontent does not rise 鈥渢o the level of a dismissible offense,鈥� it said. 鈥淲e find Brent Leatherwood to be a man of utmost moral and ethical integrity."
While Leatherwood has been a target of pro-Trump advocates within the SBC, Smith doesn鈥檛 fit that description. Smith, elected in 2023, was the first Black chairman of the ERLC, according to the agency. He roiled a panel discussion at a sideline event during the 2022 SBC annual meeting when he said some 小蓝视频ern Baptists 鈥渓ost their minds鈥� over the election of a Black president in Barack Obama and that some of them became 鈥減olitical whores with this whole Trump stuff.鈥�
Leatherwood came to his job three years ago with conservative credentials. He was a former executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party. He was also a director of communications and policy strategy in the Tennessee General Assembly and worked for several years on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Leatherwood is the father of three children who were at the in Nashville, last year when it was attacked by a gun-wielding assailant who killed three adults and three other children. Leatherwood joined some other Covenant parents in an unsuccessful effort to advocate for legislation that would keep firearms away from people who could harm themselves or others.
Leatherwood also denounced the publication in some news media of documents attributed to the killer, saying that it only worsened the trauma to families of the schoolchildren. He was the driving force behind a group of Covenant parents who went to court to keep the shooter鈥檚 writings from 小蓝视频 released to media and other groups that had filed public records requests. A judge recently blocked the release of the writings.
Leatherwood and his agency had advocated staunchly conservative stances in areas such as opposing abortion, in keeping with official SBC stances, though he resisted calls to advocate legal penalties for women who seek abortions.
At this year's annual meeting of the SBC, hundreds attended an unofficial event featuring a video-recorded address by Trump.
But Leatherwood hosted a separate event, also attended by hundreds, in which he another staunch conservative who received the wrath of Trump and many of the former president's followers after he refused to block certification of Biden's 2020 election victory.
That latter event underscored how the commission has continued to occupy a narrow niche 鈥� advocating for deeply conservative policies without aligning itself with Trump-oriented politics.
While Leatherwood maintained his position in office, the effort to oust him reflects 鈥渢he MAGA-ness of the SBC in much of its leadership,鈥� said Baptist historian Bill Leonard, referring to Trump's Make America Great Again slogan.
Leonard said that although 小蓝视频ern Baptists have touted biblical 鈥渋nerrancy鈥� as essential, they have made compromises 鈥渋n their support for Trump and Christian nationalism.鈥�
鈥淚t appears that as their numbers decline evangelistically, they are looking to government to undergird their kind of Christianity,鈥� said Leonard, author of 鈥淕od鈥檚 Last & Only Hope: The Fragmentation of the 小蓝视频ern Baptist Convention." 鈥淭he history of the church, to me at least, reveals that that鈥檚 always been a historically doomed practice.鈥�
The ERLC has long been a magnet of controversy. While it doesn't endorse candidates, it's the official policy arm for the country's largest evangelical Protestant body 鈥� one whose members have been reliable foot soldiers in the conservative Christian political movement that has strongly aligned with Republican causes.
In 2021, after eight years heading the ERLC. Moore was targeted for harshly criticizing and said he also faced a backlash over the agency鈥檚 attempts to address sexual abuse and racism in the largely white denomination.
On Monday, Moore called the report of Leatherwood's removal 鈥渟hameful and disgraceful鈥� in a post on X. He called Leatherwood a 鈥済reat Christian man who lived through his children barely surviving a school shooting. 小蓝视频ern Baptists, how much more of this are you going to let go on? You cannot pretend not to see what is happening in your name.鈥�
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AP reporter Travis Loller contributed to this report.
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Peter Smith, The Associated Press
