Current Theme | March 2025
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Conundrum
What is the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission? What role does it play in the Southern Baptist Convention? And what can the ERLC do to regain the trust of Southern Baptists? These were some of the questions that came out of the SBC’s 2024 annual meeting. Seeking answers to those questions, Christ Over All will offer biblical, historical, and practical reflections on how Christians, and specifically Baptists, have and should engage the public square. We hope this month initiates a serious discussion about the ERLC and its ministry in the SBC and beyond. While this month focuses on our convention, all are welcome to think practically with us about our public ethics and political engagement.
Table of Contents
Longform
What Do We Do with the ERLC? An Open Letter to Southern Baptists
By David Schrock • Longform Essay • March 3
The Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission of the SBC needs to provide clear answers to the pressing questions their convention is asking.
Podcast
4.10 David Schrock • Reading • “What Do We Do with the ERLC? An Open Letter to Southern Baptists”
By David Schrock • Longform Reading • March 3
The Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission of the SBC needs to provide clear answers to the pressing questions their convention is asking.
Concise
February Intermission: From the Doctrine of Sin to the ERLC
By David Schrock • Concise Article • March 5
Join us in March as we turn from February's discussion of the doctrine of sin and focus our attention on the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission.
Concise
Whither the ERLC (or ePP*C*)?
By Mark Coppenger • Concise Article • March 7
They are called the Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission. But is that what they do?
Longform
A Century-long Look at the Southern Baptist Commissions on Ethics (Part 1)
By Tom J. Nettles • Longform Essay • March 10
Before the ERLC was named the ERLC, what were the major cultural issues that it addressed from the early 1900s to the 1960s?
Podcast
4.11 Tom J. Nettles, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview • “A Century-long Look at the Southern Baptist Commissions on Ethics”
By Tom J. Nettles, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview • March 10
Listen in as David Shrock and Stephen Wellum interview Tom J. Nettles on his Christ Over All essay: “A Century-long Look at the Southern Baptist Commissions on Ethics"
Concise
The Gospel’s Irreducibly Political Message
By Levi Secord • Concise Article • March 14
Christians must reject the so-called "secular/sacred" divide, embracing Christ's—the King of kings—authority over all of life.
Podcast
4.12 Tom J. Nettles • Reading • “A Century-long Look at the Southern Baptist Commissions on Ethics”
By Tom J. Nettles • Longform Reading • March 17
Listen to a combined reading of parts 1 and 2 of Tom J. Nettles' longform essay on the antecedents and history of the ERLC.
Longform
A Century-long Look at the Southern Baptist Commissions on Ethics (Part 2)
By Tom J. Nettles • Longform Essay • March 17
This essay chronicles the last fifty plus years of the ERLC from the 1970s onward, with a particular focus on the leadership of Richard Land, Russell Moore, and Brent Leatherwood.
Concise
Transparency, Trust, and the Great Commission: It’s Time to Open the Books of the ERLC (and SBC)
By Rhett Burns • Concise Article • March 18
If the ERLC and other executives and entities report to SBC churches and not vise-versa, why can't the convention fully access the financials?
Concise
Will the ERLC Divide Southern Baptists for Evermore?
By Jon Whitehead • Concise Article • March 19
It is clear that the rift between the ERLC and its convention continues to grow as messengers lose confidence—where does all the frustration come from?
Concise
Specialized Politics: What Should a Christian Advocacy Organization Do?
By Jared Bridges • Concise Article • March 20
Public policy can be a messy, delicate world, but it is one that Christians must engage. How can they do it well?
Concise
Evangelism, Islam, Border Security, and National Identity: Moving Past the ERLC’s Mosque-Building Mood
By Alex Kocman • Concise Article • March 21
With ditches to avoid on the left and the right, Christians need to exercise a faithful missiology and wise political theology with regard to migration.
Longform
A Roadmap for Reforming the ERLC
By David Mitzenmacher • Longform Essay • March 24
"I take no pleasure in proposing this last reform. . . . I love Brent Leatherwood as a brother in Christ. And with love, if the ERLC is to be saved, it will take a different leader to save it."
Podcast
4.13 David Mitzenmacher • Reading • “A Roadmap for Reforming the ERLC”
By David Mitzenmacher • Longform Reading • March 24
"I take no pleasure in proposing this last reform. . . . I love Brent Leatherwood as a brother in Christ. And with love, if the ERLC is to be saved, it will take a different leader to save it."
Concise
Missing the Mark: A Pastor’s Loss of Trust in the ERLC
By John Michael LaRue • Concise Article • March 26
Why is there such disconnect between the work of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and the average Southern Baptist church?
Longform
“Too Busy with Woke Stuff”: The All Too (In)Visible and Inconsequential ERLC
By Megan Basham • Longform Essay • March 27
Photo ops and PR campaigns do not effect policy change; meaningful interaction and work with policy makers does. The word on Capitol Hill is that the ERLC is doing the one and not the other, to the detriment of Southern Baptists nationwide.
Concise
Back to Backus: Baptists and the Pursuit of a Sweet Harmony Between the Church and State
By Michael Carlino • Concise Article • March 28
Many know Baptists by the phrase "free church in a free state." But sound Baptist theology—and history—bear out better conceptions of that relationship that we ought to heed.
Podcast
4.14 David Mitzenmacher, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview • “A Roadmap for Reforming the ERLC”
By David Mitzenmacher, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview • March 10
Listen in as David Shrock and Stephen Wellum interview David Mitzenmacher on his Christ Over All essay: “A Roadmap for Reforming the ERLC"
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