NASHVILLE (BP) — Brent Leatherwood remains president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) after an earlier announcement from the organization said he had been removed from his position.
ERLC executive board members say board Chairman Kevin Smith acted alone in an announcement of Leatherwood’s removal on July 22 and violated the entity’s bylaws.
An early morning release from the ERLC executive committee says:
“As members of the ERLC’s Executive Committee, we formally retract the press release which was sent yesterday.
“There was not an authorized meeting, vote, or action taken by the Executive Committee. Kevin Smith has resigned as Chair of the Executive Committee.”
The release says that Leatherwood has full support from the executive committee moving forward.
Leatherwood has served as president of the SBC’s public policy entity since September 2022.
In a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning, July 23, Leatherwood wrote: “I 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. More to come.”
The ERLC’s officers are:
• Kevin Smith, chairman; West Palm Beach, Fla.;
• Tony Beam, vice chairman; Greer, S.C.;
• Amy Pettway, secretary; Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.;
• Michael Guyer, chair of the communications committee; Ypsilanti, Mich.;
• Anthony Cox, chair of the research & public policy committee; Phoenix, Ariz.; and
• Nathan Lugbill, chair of the administrative & finance committee, Indianapolis, Ind.
Smith is a pastor at Family Church in West Palm Beach, Florida. He previously served as director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware and has been on the ERLC board since 2018.
Vice Chairman Tony Beam is senior director for church and community engagement at North Greenville University and director of the office of public policy for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
The ERLC trustees are scheduled to meet Sept. 10-11 in Nashville, Tenn.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Brandon Porter serves as associate vice president for convention news at the SBC Executive Committee. This article has been updated with a statement from Leatherwood posted on social media.)
