Dr. Russell Moore, Dr. Jack Graham, and IMB Trustees resigning

Dr. Russell Moore is the President of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. This Commission is charged with representing SBC interests, primarily in regards to “religious liberty and human flourishing” (taken from their website). Dr. Moore was very outspoken in many public arenas about whether a Christian can or should support Donald Trump’s candidacy by voting for him in the general election. It should be pointed out that this was a very divisive topic and there were theologians like Dr. Wayne Grudem, who wrote the systematic theology work that is standard in our SBC seminaries, who wrote that “Why voting for Donald Trump is a Morally Good Choice.”

Recently some churches like Prestonwood Baptist Church in the Dallas, Texas area as well as First Baptist Church Morristown, Tn. Have decided to escrow Co-Operative Program dollars until they can study further how positions taken by the leaders of the International Mission Board and ERLC are leading their respective organizations. I am primarily writing here about Dr. Moore and the ERLC. Many are writing that the only reason Dr. Graham would lead Prestonwood to escrow funds is because of Dr. Moore’s stance against voting for Donald Trump. I think it’s not one single instance where Dr. Moore said something that many SBC pastors disagreed with but rather a multitude of instances where he says things, that at times are degrading or rude, only to then apologize for the “way his remarks were received.” At some point enough is enough!

Here’s a sampling of the issues that I, and others take issue with Dr. Moore regarding.

1. He has taken umbrage with conservatives for being politically active – It should be noted he met with President Obama regarding prison reform and amnesty for illegals. I think it would be fair to ask if he also spoke to the President about Planned Parenthood, right to life issues, the homosexual agenda, the genocide of Christians in the Middle East and African Peninsula, and other issues that are much more pressing to the average Southern Baptist.
2. During the General Election campaign he repeatedly criticized Donald Trump publicly with a certain sarcasm that many found offensive – While Donald Trump was speaking at Liberty University, Dr. Moore posted many times on Twitter with what many considered a “mean spirit.” Here’s a sampling of what he tweeted: “Trading in the gospel of Jesus Christ for political power is not liberty but slavery … This would be hilarious if it weren’t so counter to the mission of the gospel of Jesus Christ … Evangelicals can love a golden calf as long as Aaron promises to make Mexico pay for it.” When Donald Trump responded by calling Dr. Moore a “nasty guy”, Dr. Moore posted a YouTube link to Janet Jackson’s song “Nasty”. It is worth noting that 3 months before Mr. Trump spoke at Liberty University, Bernie Sanders an avowed socialist who consistently voted in support of abortion on demand, and is a staunch supporter of gay marriage, when he spoke there Dr. Moore was strangely silent.
3. While regularly criticizing Donald Trump Dr. Moore was strangely silent for the most part regarding Hillary Clinton – When asked by the New York Times whether his positions would more closely identify with Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, he said he thought it would “vary from issue to issue.” This was a ‘softball’ question where he could have taken the opportunity to speak out against Clinton’s stance on radical feminism, her foreign policy, her support of abortions up until just before birth (a comment in one of the debates), her LGBTQ activism, or any other number of issues that most Southern Baptists, and I assume Dr. Moore also, would be opposed to; when he had the chance to openly oppose policies of the ‘other’ candidate for President, he chose to remain strangely silent.
4. Both he and David Platt, President of the IMB signed on to an amicus brief in support of a mosque to be built in New Jersey – while it can be argued that this was simply a ‘religious liberty’ issue, it must be noted that CP dollars had to have been used to pay for the services of our legal teams who filed the brief. Dr. Dean Haun who resigned from the IMB Trustees over this issue rightly pointed out, “If we defend the rights of people to construct places of false worship are we not helping them speed down the highway to hell? I want no part in supporting a false religion even if it is in the name of religious freedom. By all means, let’s stand for religious liberty in America. But first and foremost let us stand on our firm convictions that our alliance with God is paramount, that He will accomplish His ends without the necessity of evil alliances.” Two of our Baptist institutions’ names will be on this brief setting legal precedence and supporting the right of mosques to be built all over our nation for years to come.
5. Dr. Moore has often used inflammatory verbiage to discredit religious conservatives that he disagrees with – Dr. Moore during the 2016 Republican primaries said, “I would say that Ted Cruz is leading in the ‘Jerry Falwell’ wing, Marco Rubio is leading the ‘Billy Graham’ wing and Trump is leading the ‘Jimmy Swaggart’ wing.” Really? Is this kind of talk necessary or does it align with Ephesians 4:29 which states believers should let “no unwholesome word proceed out of their mouths, except that which gives grace to the hearer.”
6. He has publicly spoken out about his disbelief in reparative or conversion therapy for those struggling with sexual sin – “Reparative or Conversion Therapy” is defined as “psychological treatment or spiritual counseling designed to change a person's sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual.” In regards to this type of therapy Dr. Moore stated, “The utopian idea that if you come to Christ and if you go through our program you’re going to be immediately set free from attraction or anything you’re struggling with, I don’t think that is a Christian idea.” Would Dr. Moore disagree with Jesus in John 8:32; 36 when the Lord said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free… Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” I 1 Corinthians 6:8-11 the Apostle Paul makes reference that some in the Corinth Church “were” (past tense) among other things “homosexuals and sodomites” but they had now been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus.
7.  The SBC time and again has passed resolutions in support of Israel - At its annual meetings the SBC has repeatedly expressed its support of Israel. Yet when the United Nations passed a very anti-Israel resolution, with the U.S. abstaining, the ERLC and Dr. Moore had nothing to say. If one goes to the ERLC website and types “UNSC Resolution 2334” into the search box, the webpage states “0 results for UNSC Resolution 2334.”

These are some of the reasons I and other Southern Baptists take issue with Dr. Moore. I think Dr. Moore at best is a good and godly man who at times has difficulty phrasing what he means, and at worst is mean-spirited at times. This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Dr. Moore is reformed in his theology and I am not. Rather it has everything to do with an entity head of one of our SBC agencies, speaking out in ways he should not; ways that many Southern Baptists find offensive. It is one thing to disagree about whether a Christian can vote with good conscience for Donald Trump. But if you disagree with my supporting now President Trump’s candidacy, lets at least speak about our differences in terms that do not leave the lost world wondering “If Christian brothers will say this about one another, what are they saying about us?”