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A thread hoping to cut through some of the fog regarding @drmoore, the @SBCExecComm, and the Task Force formed to study the @ERLC:
First, though the @SBCExecComm's self-creation of the task force does appear to be permissible per the SBC bylaws, it is unprecedented.
First, though the @SBCExecComm's self-creation of the task force does appear to be permissible per the SBC bylaws, it is unprecedented.
Generally task forces in the SBC have been appointed by SBC Presidents or recommended by SBC Messengers at the annual meeting. This creation w/o recommendation skirts the process that has long be utilized throughout SBC history and eliminates the voice of the messengers.
What makes the @SBCExecComm's self-created & appointed task force problematic, though potentially permissible by the SBC's governing documents, is that the EC handles the business of the SBC throughout the year whenever the annual meeting is not in session.
In effect, this non-appointed and non-recommended task force is acting as if it has the backing of the SBC messengers and their churches, when formally, it does not.
Perhaps this is what Jared Wellman refers to as exploitation of the bylaws by the EC: https://twitter.com/jaredcwellman/status/1273393564874088448?s=21
Perhaps this is what Jared Wellman refers to as exploitation of the bylaws by the EC: https://twitter.com/jaredcwellman/status/1273393564874088448?s=21
That said, rightly formed or not, the task force, led by the CBN's (a fringe, politically far-right leaning SBC group) own @PastorMikeStone, did some digging into the @ERLC. Here are links to the report & its appendices:
…https://3c9inr29cnbxopwsm4bdy491-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Final-Report-of-the-ERLC-Study-Task-Force.pdf
…https://3c9inr29cnbxopwsm4bdy491-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Final-Appendices-ERLC-Study-Task-Force.pdf
…https://3c9inr29cnbxopwsm4bdy491-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Final-Report-of-the-ERLC-Study-Task-Force.pdf
…https://3c9inr29cnbxopwsm4bdy491-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Final-Appendices-ERLC-Study-Task-Force.pdf
Let's begin by looking at some of the accusations against the @ERLC, starting with their defense of religious liberty *for all* peoples.
The @SBCExecComm task force gave credibility to accusations against @drmoore & the @ERLC for passionately defending the religious liberty of Muslims in the US while simultaneously accusing them of being silent on other religious liberty matters, which they were not.
I attended the 2016 SBC annual meeting in STL to serve as a page, and witnessed the valuableness of religious liberty come into question. For those unaware, this is the situation I am referencing:
As the president of the @ERLC (literally the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC) this sort of a response to a challenge to religious liberty in the US should seem, well, warranted. While @drmoore's response was passionate, it can hardly be labeled "disrespectful."
Some even think @drmoore was even a bit too restrained in his response to John Wofford of Armorel Baptist Church: https://twitter.com/bartbarber/status/1356368999932686338?s=20
What's curious about all of this is that the accusations seem to suggest that the @ERLC should NOT have advocated for the religious freedom of other religions and that they should rather focus more intensely on perceived Christian persecution in America, namely the lockdowns.
First, religious liberty advocacy is a Baptist distinctive. Despite what @johnmacarthur might've said, it is profoundly anti-Baptist to reject religious liberty.
Second, @drmoore has advocated that churches are essential and should gather when safe.
https://erlc.com/resource-library/press-interviews/russell-moore-on-the-safety-of-church-reopening/
https://erlc.com/resource-library/press-interviews/russell-moore-on-the-safety-of-church-reopening/
Outside of this, the other accusations range from conspiracy-esque claims about the @ERLC profiting from dark, Soros-laden money & frustrations about *former* staff's political allegiances to @drmoore's approval of dining with sinners & and the @ERLC criticizing the GOP.
The EC claims they formed this task force because its their fiscal responsibility to keep the @ERLC in check. Yet, as @mthawk notes, the financial dip the @ERLC is experiencing is not as bad as the one they faced in 2008-09 when @rdland was the president. https://twitter.com/mthawk/status/1357043448176664577?s=20
The @ERLC was not studied by an EC self-appointed task force then, so why now? Its likely the culmination of a lot of Evango-GOP frustration that @drmoore opposed Donald Trump and publicly highlighted Trump's unfitness for public office.
. @drmoore held to the same conviction in 2020 that @albertmohler & @johnmacarthur held leading up to the 2016 election cycle. But Moore was steadfast in this belief where Mohler & JM flip flopped and sacrificed much credibility on the altar of GOP politics.
If anything, January 6 should have vindicated @drmoore's position. But here we are with an SBC EC task force giving oxygen to a lot of caricatures of Moore & his role within the SBC as president of the @ERLC. Unfortunately, some want to see Moore removed from his position.
I encourage you to read the report and the recommendations, and see how little a task force formed with an axe to grind was able to bring against the @ERLC. You'll find straws grasped after, but not much else.
Also, donate to the @ERLC and show your support for @drmoore and his team: https://erlc.com/about/donate/
