Illinois’s own Scott Foshie was elected board chair of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission in September. He was tapped after the previous chair, Kevin Smith, resigned. Smith had tried to dismiss ERLC President and CEO Brent Leatherwood. Smith had operated without board approval, and a clarifying announcement to that effect was issued the next day.
Foshie, well known to Illinois Baptists as genial, affable, and upbeat, steps in after a particularly bumpy period in the ERLC’s history that came at the end of Russell Moore’s tenure as the entity’s president.
And in June, there was a motion to abolish the ERLC. Supported by messengers upset by some previous ERLC positions. that vote in Indianapolis failed the required majority.
Foshie, who also leads the IBSA Health Team, asks Illinois Baptists for their prayerful support for the great challenges before the ERLC. And, in this interview, he approaches the task in his usual positive fashion.
Q: Think back to when you were pastor in Steeleville and were first asked to serve as an ERLC trustee. How has your understanding of its work changed?
A: As I joined the board in 2018, I knew that the ERLC had played important roles in helping churches navigate culture and representing Baptists in the area of public policy. I also knew that many Illinois leaders had concerns about the ERLC’s posture, perception, and direction. Since that time, I have witnessed a lot of transition.
I believe the ERLC is moving in a positive direction, even though there have been bumps in the road. My appreciation for the vitality of the ERLC’s work and its diligent team runs deep, as I witness them serve the Lord and Southern Baptists sacrificially in a complex, challenging task.
Q: How did your service as pastor help your service as an ERLC trustee?
A: I have tried to keep a pastoral perspective while on the board, working to ensure the ERLC operates from an anchor of biblical truth. I am also passionate about providing pastoral care to the staff as a trustee, and we emphasize praying for and encouraging our staff as a board.
Q: You helped lead changes in communication and transparency involving the leadership and trustees. What were they, and why were those changes needed?
A: My trustee service has bridged the Moore and Leatherwood eras at the ERLC. As the Moore era ended, I was an advocate for forward-facing improvements in the board’s relationship with its own Executive Committee and the staff.
As Brent began as acting president, he and chairperson Lori Bova were both deeply supportive of our efforts, opening communication among trustees and increasing meeting frequency, depth, and dialogue. I was part of a bylaws workgroup that spent a year seeking to discover and model best practices in how we govern and support the entity we’re entrusted to serve.
We adopted those changes in the fall of 2023 with the understanding that we would monitor their effectiveness with a desire for continual improvement. These bylaws and current trustee culture served us well in the recent leadership crisis, but we are mindful that we always need to be open to additional improvements.
Q: How would you characterize communication between the president, officers, and trustees today, compared to the time of Brent Leatherwood’s assumption of the Presidency?
A: Brent has opened up communication from day one as acting president. His improvements in communication and transparency during his year as acting president were one reason he was elected unanimously as president the following September. Brent continues to lead the ERLC team to keep an open line of communication with the board, and we will work to maintain that posture.
Q: Do you feel there is unified support on the ERLC Board that we should still have the ERLC, in light of the surprising number of messengers in Indy who voted to abolish the ERLC?
A: Yes. I believe the feeling of the board is that just because the ERLC needs revitalization (like every other Baptist entity and church), doesn’t mean we should “throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
Brent is not a perfect leader and the ERLC is not a perfect entity. But the board believes the ERLC is worth keeping and making better, and that Brent should continue to lead it.
Brent has stated himself that he and the staff take seriously the number of messengers who voted to abolish the ERLC in Indy. That is one reason the board adopted its Statement of Affirmation and Encouragement at our Fall trustee meeting. We want to respond to the concerns people have and show that we are committed to representing Southern Baptists in a way that is worthy of their confidence.
I think many Southern Baptists’ concerns about the ERLC are based on information that is either dated or incorrect, and we encourage every Southern Baptist to look on ERLC.com’s FAQ page for the right information. I also welcome anyone to contact me or another trustee, along with a member of the ERLC staff, if you have concerns.
Q: Do you understand why some churches feel distant from the ERLC and its positions?
A: I understand that some churches feel the ERLC and its positions aren’t in line with theirs, and I hope I understand why. I think that, even though the ERLC is working to exhibit a posture of speaking out of its service to the SBC’s churches, some churches still feel that the ERLC is exhibiting an overall posture of pointing its finger at the churches and speaking to them prophetically over things that are not consensus, biblical, Southern Baptist positions. I would ask those churches to reach out to us so we can show them why that’s not our posture today.
Brent wants to lead the ERLC to speak to the public square on those positions about which Southern Baptists agree through the Baptist Faith and Message and past resolutions. When the ERLC engages, Brent is working to do so in close coordination with SBC churches, local associations, and state conventions. This may feel like a new posture to churches that have concerns, and as we continue to demonstrate it, I hope that it will alleviate concerns that the ERLC is trying to pull the SBC in undesired directions.
Q: What do you wish more people in SBC churches understood about the ERLC’s work?
A: I wish more people knew how much the ERLC does to promote the sanctity of human life. The ERLC played an important role in the Supreme Court’s recent Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The ERLC’s Psalm 139 Project provides an amazing vehicle for Southern Baptists to place ultrasound machines and provide training to pregnancy centers throughout America, including here in Illinois.
I wish that more Southern Baptists would take advantage of the ERLC’s great resources for churches, like its gender resource, God’s Good Design, and Light magazine. Every Illinois Baptist messenger will have these two resources provided to them at this year’s annual meeting, or you can request them by going to ERLC.com.
I also wish that Southern Baptists knew how hard-working and diligent their ERLC staff is. They are faithful servants, and they deserve our sincere encouragement and prayer.
Q: Some people want the ERLC to stay out of politics altogether, or to limit itself to pro-life issues. Is that possible or desirable?
A: I don’t think it will ever be possible for the ERLC to stay out of the political realm as long as public policy is part of its ministry assignment.
I think the key to the ERLC’s success in the area of public policy is sticking to advocating for the post Conservative Resurgence consensus positions stated by Southern Baptists in the current Baptist Faith and Message and in our SBC-approved resolutions. I think we need the ERLC to be the uniquely Southern Baptist voice in the public square consulting with policymakers on these issues. That is a worthy use of a portion of our cooperative giving.
Q: Can the ERLC do its work without aligning with a political party, if one party’s platform is clearly more in line with SBC views?
A: When we engage the public square, the ERLC should do so in a way that advances a Biblical worldview as articulated by Southern Baptists without respect to political parties. When political parties demonstrate leadership that is in line with our positions they can be commended. When they don’t, that should be pointed out. If one political party ends up getting praised more than another, it should be because they’re advancing biblical principles that Southern Baptists support, not because the ERLC becomes subservient to any politician or party.
Q: Are there times when the ERLC must speak for Southern Baptists, but also to Southern Baptists, at the risk of alienating some Southern Baptists?
A: There are times when pastors must preach on biblical issues that might be controversial in their church because it points out inconsistencies between what people say they believe and how they are living.
If Southern Baptist leaders and laypeople are made uncomfortable by something the ERLC says and the ERLC is articulating sound, Biblical, Southern Baptist positions, it could be because their demonstrated behavior doesn’t match their stated Biblical convictions. When the ERLC (or any spiritual leader) knows that speaking to Southern Baptists might alienate some, we must be bathed in prayer, sure of Biblical truth, and do so with great love and a desire to win people, not arguments.
Q: Has your phone been ringing since you were elected trustee chair?
A: I have been humbled by the affirmation, encouragement, and prayers of those who have called, texted, or e-mailed in recent days. I’ve also been able to answer questions, and I look forward to answering any additional questions anyone may have as we work to demonstrate leadership you can trust at the ERLC. We are blessed to serve you.