The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission stands at the beginning of a new era.
Currently, an ideology of extreme individualism, coupled with a wave of loneliness and despair, is coursing through our society. We see this in the breakdown of institutional life, the atomization of culture, and the reality that meaningful relationships are being tested and even failing to be formed.
In Baptist life, cooperation is being strained. Each day seems to bring new events, legal matters, and moments that are challenging us. However, as a Christ follower, I am never without hope. While our convention is being tested right now, my discussions with pastors lead me to believe we can get through this hour—and be the better for it. There is an appetite for association, a call for cooperation, and a renewed belief in the Baptist view of the world. And that is where this Commission has a unique role to play.
What our name means for our churches
There’s a theme communicated by the very name of this organization. While this entity is over 100 years old, that name is rather new. Given to us in 1997, every word is just as important now as it was then:
- Ethics applies the moral demands of the gospel to the cultural questions and challenges of the day.
- Religious liberty believes a “free church in a free state is the ideal;” this principle is essential for spreading the gospel because no one can be coerced into the Kingdom of God.
These twin priorities are robust and challenging. Yet, I am increasingly convinced the most important word in our name is “and.” And is the bridge that shows these two concepts are inextricably linked. We don’t sacrifice one for the other. I believe this framing is essential to the work carried out by our team:
- It means we operate at the intersection of faith and culture.
- It means we tell the state that it has a God-ordained responsibility to protect the most vulnerable from the abortionist’s knife and the drugmaker’s chemicals.
- It means we remind the Church she must be a refuge for the abused and marginalized, for those preyed upon by the sexual revolution in our culture, and those preyed upon within our walls.
- It means we remind the state of the proper limits of its authority when it tramples the consciences of citizens or seeks to overturn the fundamental and biological truths of what it means to be a man, woman, or, very soon now, a human.
- And it means we continue to walk alongside our churches as we pursue true racial unity. This convention has come so far, yet our work is far from finished.
In all this, I speak clearly because our churches have done so. The ERLC will always take care to listen to our churches and help them, which will ensure that this Commission continues to bring a deep, abiding, consistent, and thoroughly Baptist voice to the public square. And that is our foremost aim: Render assistance to our churches and, from that service, speak to a watching world.
As we do, we will build on the work of the past and meet the demands of the times; fulfill the assignment given by our churches; and do all we can to bring honor and glory to the name and saving grace of Jesus Christ in a dark public square.
