DALLAS (BP) – In the latest attempt to abolish or defund the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, nearly 57 percent of messengers voted to keep the entity.
A total of 6,563 ballots were cast, with 3,744 (56.89 percent) supporting the ERLC and 2,819 (42.84 percent) voting to abolish it. Eighteen votes (.27 percent) were disallowed. Two successive majority votes are necessary to abolish an SBC entity.
“We thank the messengers for affirming the need for a Southern Baptist entity that advocates for our policy priorities before our nation’s leaders in ways that are rooted in Scripture, reflective of the Baptist Faith & Message, and responsive to the actions of our messengers,” said ERLC President Brent Leatherwood. “We are committed to continually listening to Southern Baptists on ways to better serve our Convention in the public square.”
The motion to abolish was brought by Willy Rice, senior pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Fla., and followed similar ones in recent years.
Messengers overwhelmingly rejected a motion in 2018, the last time Southern Baptists met in Dallas, and did so again in 2022 in Anaheim. A 2023 motion to reallocate the ERLC’s funding to the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force was ruled out of order. A motion last year in Indianapolis grew to about a quarter of messengers voting in favor.
In making his motion, Rice said that requiring two successive conventions to abolish an entity brings the opportunity for a wake-up call.
“It gives that entity time to hear the concerns of the churches, pursue meaningful reform and return with a renewed mission. And that’s what we hope for,” he said. “For too long, the ERLC has caused division and confusion among our churches. What was designed to be a prophetic voice in the public square has too often become a conduit for the culture to speak back to us.”
Rice’s comments were countered by Steven Willis, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., who spoke in favor of retaining the ERLC.
“My wife’s [pregnancy] counseling center could not afford to purchase these lifesaving sonogram machines on their own. They were given to them via the ERLC’s Psalm 139 program in partnership with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
“Additionally, in cooperation with Tennessee’s governor, Bill Lee, and other pro-life leaders across our nation, more than two dozen other pregnancy centers have been resourced with sonogram machines by the ERLC. [The ERLC] continues to represent Christ in the public sector when it comes to defunding Planned Parenthood, keeping our tax dollars from financing the abortion industry.”
Richard Land speaks at the microphone during the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting. (Screenshot)
Another messenger from Tennessee, Richard Land, former 25-year ERLC president representing Clearview Baptist Church in Franklin, offered comments in support of the ERLC, citing the importance of the entity’s presence in representing Southern Baptists on the national stage.
“We have more opportunity right now to influence public policy in our nation’s capital than we have had in my lifetime,” said Land. “What a tragedy it would be at this particular moment to send an uncertain [message to our culture] about our commitment to these [important] issues.”
ERLC Board Chair Scott Foshie said the concerns of Southern Baptists have been heard.
“We would like to thank the messengers for their careful consideration of the work of the ERLC,” he said. “We are committed to listening well to pastors and lay leaders, both those who support and those who question, as we work together to best serve Southern Baptists and advocate for their priorities in the public square.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Zoë Watkins of The Baptist and Reflector contributed to the reporting of this article.
