Nashville, Tenn. | Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore and his entity’s executive board released a statement March 20 seeking unity amid recent debate in the Southern Baptist Convention.
Moore, who has served as the ERLC’s president since 2013, has drawn criticism for comments he made during the 2016 presidential campaign and for his support of a New Jersey Islamic group’s efforts to build a mosque.
In the statement, the ERLC’s executive board (comprised of six of the entity’s 34 trustees) expressed their support for Moore and how he has followed up on tension caused by his campaign comments opposing then-candidate Donald Trump.
“We realize that divisions do not heal overnight, and as needs arise our board will be happy to address them,” the statement read. “But in terms of leadership and support, Dr. Moore is the man to whom it has been entrusted to lead this entity—speaking prophetically both to our culture and to our Convention. He will continue doing so with the confidence of our support.”
Curt Starner, a member of the ERLC’s larger trustee board, echoed those sentiments in comments to the Illinois Baptist.
“Although I am not a member of the executive board of the ERLC, I believe that this statement was issued because the board believes that it is important for people to see that even when we disagree, we can be unified in purpose,” said Starner, pastor of Erven Avenue Baptist Church in Streator. “We may not always agree on the best way or ways to accomplish that purpose, but we can still work together to accomplish that purpose.
“People also need to know that the board supports Dr. Moore because we still believe he is the right man for the job.”
After the executive board’s introduction, the rest of the statement is from Moore, who apologized for seeming to direct criticism toward all Christians who supported Trump.
“I was asked often during the election about evangelicalism as it related to moral issues and character, and in so doing I spoke, often quite sharply, about those Christians who said or implied that such concerns don’t matter or shouldn’t be talked about,” Moore said. “I was not, in so doing, intending to talk about Southern Baptists and others—and there were many—who were open about all of these issues but believed in supporting candidates, however flawed, who would appoint good people and carry out good policies on some issues. Again, I understand that, and find it reasonable and defensible, even when my own conscience differs.”
The ERLC’s statement was met with praise from SBC President Steve Gaines and Jack Graham, whose church, Prestonwood Baptist in Plano, Texas, announced earlier this year it would escrow $1 million in funds given through the Cooperative Program because of positions taken by the ERLC.
Graham tweeted a link to the ERLC’s unity statement, calling it “gracious and unifying.”
Much of Moore’s statement focused on working together despite differences of opinion. Starner agreed it is possible.
“My wife and I have four sons. Leading up to the primary, we were pulling for several different candidates,” Starner said. “Now, we all have the same president and we are all still part of the same family, living together in harmony. As Southern Baptists, we all live in the same house, so to speak.
“If we want to make an impact on this hell-bound world, we better learn how to love one another and work together to further the Kingdom of God. That means that we have to be able to set aside many of our differences and desires for the sake of the Kingdom.”
– Meredith Flynn, with info from Baptist Press