WASHINGTON, D.C., July 31, 2025 — The Board of Trustees of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) today accepted the resignation of Brent Leatherwood as president and thanked him for his leadership, dedication, and service to the SBC. Beginning today, Vice President and Chief of Staff Miles Mullin will be leading the ERLC as acting president.
Leatherwood made the following comments on his departure from the ERLC.
“After nearly four years leading this institution, it is time to close this chapter of my life. It has been an honor to guide this Baptist organization in a way that has honored the Lord, served the churches of our Convention, and made this fallen world a little better. I believe gratitude is at the heart of conservatism. That means I will always be thankful for the opportunity provided to me by our churches—for the support they have offered and the resources they have sacrificially given to this entity.
“Our remarkable team at the ERLC has excelled at bringing forth the principles of our faith to the public square and has diligently worked to fashion policies that reflect what our Convention has itself articulated as priorities. Whether it was leading the effort to defund Planned Parenthood, supporting concrete steps to try to bring an end to the plague of mass shootings and gun violence, placing a record number of life-saving ultrasound machines in pregnancy care clinics, or advocating for immigration reforms that both secure our nation’s borders and offer refuge for those fleeing persecution, it has been this Commission that has never wavered in serving as a light on Capitol Hill, before the courts, and in the culture.
“In all of our advocacy work, we have sought to strike a balance of conviction and kindness, one that is rooted in Scripture and reflective of our Baptist beliefs. That has meant standing for truth, without equivocation, yet never failing to honor the God-given dignity of each person we engage. By conducting ourselves in accordance with what is articulated in 1 Peter 3:15-16, our ministry has helped the world clearly understand that Jesus Christ reveals a better way to live rather than the angry, self-absorbed, and cruel model that is so often served up by our modern culture, and, more importantly, He freely offers the gift of eternal salvation—selflessly purchased with His own blood. That hope has powered our work these last several years, and has shaped my own conscience. It will continue to do so as I move forward to render service where the Lord is calling me next.”
Leatherwood was elected as president of the ERLC in 2022, after a year of leading the organization as acting president. Previously, he served as chief of staff at the ERLC, as well as the entity’s director of strategic partnerships. He brings an expertise in public policy to his work, having been the executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party, the director of communications and policy strategy in the Tennessee General Assembly, and working for several years on Capitol Hill as a senior congressional aide in Washington, D.C.
“I am grateful for the leadership of Brent Leatherwood and for his service to Southern Baptists,” said Scott Foshie, chairman of the ERLC Board of Trustees. “Brent has led the commission well and demonstrated loving courage in the face of a divisive and increasingly polarizing culture in America. While biblical values have been under attack, Brent has been a consistent and faithful missionary to the public square. We are thankful for his commitment to the Lord and to this commission.”
“Brent’s legacy is one of fighting vigorously and victoriously for life as evidenced by the defunding of Planned Parenthood and the placement of ultrasound machines in states across the country,” stated Mitch Kimbrell, member of the Executive Committee of the ERLC Board of Trustees. “Under Brent, the ERLC made big advances in listening to and being shaped by Southern Baptists. He indeed leaves the ERLC better than he found it.”
Under Leatherwood’s presidency, the ERLC’s Psalm 139 Project placed 40 ultrasound machines to pregnancy resource centers across the country.
Other year-to-year highlights of Leatherwood’s tenure include:
2025
- Presented a petition to defund Planned Parenthood with tens of thousands of signatures to Congress. For the first time in federal law, Planned Parenthood was defunded as part of the federal reconciliation law.
- Led the ERLC to file amicus briefs in multiple cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including landmark cases such as U.S. v. Skrmetti, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, and Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.
- Submitted a resolution, ultimately adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention, calling for the banning of pornography.
- Successfully advocated to include pro-life and pro-family policy provisions in the budget reconciliation bill.
- Led multiple SBC pastor trips to D.C. to partner with the ERLC in their policy and advocacy work on Capitol Hill.
- Delivered a letter to the Trump transition team with policy priorities for President Trump’s first 100 days, several of which were enacted.
2024
- Hosted Vice President Mike Pence at an ERLC lunch event at the SBC 2024 annual meeting.
- Paved the way in highlighting the ethical concerns of IVF from a biblical and distinctly Southern Baptist worldview, developing policy recommendations and robust ethical and theological resources.
- Sent letters to the United Nations, President Biden, and Congressional leadership in support of Israel.
- Released the ERLC’s first comprehensive State Policy Agenda as a resource to Baptist state leaders and policymakers.
- Provided a leading voice urging Congress to maintain vital American support for Ukraine in its fight for survival against Russia’s illegal invasion.
- Authored several original amicus briefs before the Supreme Court in cases that resulted in wins for the protection of children from “gender transition” procedures and from online pornography.
2023
- Sponsored the Evangelical Statement in Support of Israel following the deadly terrorist attacks of October 7th.
- Relaunched state ethics leaders meetings to facilitate opportunities for Baptist cooperation in the public square.
- Developed a state policy review in conjunction with the leaders of Baptist state conventions around the country.
- Launched the Resourcing the Church Initiative, a project of the ERLC Research Institute that produces theological and practical church guides.
- Filed comments in the rulemaking process to counter the Biden administration’s aggressive efforts to expand abortion, the LGBTQ+ agenda, and curtail religious liberty through the federal bureaucracy.
2022
- Named President of the ERLC by a unanimous vote of the ERLC Board of Trustees in September, after serving as Acting President for a year.
