Ahead of the Southern Baptist Convention's Annual Meeting next month, there are murmurings that The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) has run its course.
The last seven years have seen three efforts to defund or outright abolish the commission. They were all easily defeated, and Dr. Richard Land, who currently serves as executive editor of The Christian Post, wants to head off any renewed efforts.
The ERLC's mission is "to assist the churches by helping them understand the moral demands of the gospel, apply Christian principles to moral and social problems and questions of public policy, and to promote religious liberty in cooperation with the churches and other Southern Baptist entities."
He calls that assignment to help Southern Baptists provide their often uniquely biblical perspective on complex issues like religious liberty and the sanctity of all human life a "divine" one and argues that America will not get the issues balanced correctly without Southern Baptist input.
"It would be particularly tragic to defund the ERLC at this time, when we have an opportunity for more influence than, perhaps, we have ever had in Washington," he tells AFN.
He believes much of the discontent has to do with previous and present leaders, particularly one who was out of sync with Southern Baptists on a number of issues.
"This is mostly continued fallout from Russell Moore's tenure," Dr. Land submits. "He offended a lot of folks, a lot of Southern Baptists, but I think that that upset is misplaced."
He also disagrees with the thinking that the ERLC is not as important as it used to be, especially now that Roe v. Wade has been kicked to the curb.
"We desperately need organizations like the ERLC, and I happen to think, as a Baptist, that that we have a unique and important perspective to bring to bear on the public policy issues of the day," Dr. Land concludes.
At last year's meeting, the convention elected a new president, clarified its stance about women in ministry, and passed a resolution discouraging in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The 2025 annual meeting and pastors' conference will be held in Dallas June 8-11. There is no indication that a vote to abolish the ERLC is definitively scheduled, but such a motion could be introduced.
