The Southern Baptist Convention has been holding their annual meeting this past week. Dr. Russ Moore heads the SBC’s lobbying firm in Washington called the Ethics and Religious Life Committee and yesterday a messenger questioned Moore publicly, asking why his ERLC was promoting Revoice’s queer advocacy.
Moore responded, “I do not know about the Revoice conference.”
I know Russ and I’m certain the guy knows about the Revoice conference.
After claiming ignorance, Moore went on to assure messengers he and his employees were absolutely stellar at evangelizing the lost and completely committed to inerrancy. Then he made the shocking announcement that his wonderful female employee who endorsed Revoice’s queer agenda had just been hit by a bus. She had been hovering between life and death and people should be praying for her.
Now of course, it is good and right to pray for someone’s recovery from a life-threatening accident, and normally such a request for prayer would be good and proper. But preceded by nothing but equivocation and evasion, this description of the accident and request for prayer had the effect of rebuking the messenger for being so insensitive to a woman’s pain and suffering. I’ve watched the boys from Louisville use someone’s pain and suffering as a way of shutting down sincere questions before and it was manipulative then, also.
Sensing the house was ready for a “great is Artemis of the Ephesians” chant, a man called on his fellow messengers to thank God for Russ’s wonderful work. Suitable applause. The man then went on to condemn the recent criticism Russ has suffered and Russ responded by humbly allowing that being made the SBC’s chief lobbyist in Washington D.C. was the greatest privilege of his life—other than being born again.
Russ and Al are political animals. Until God’s people learn to recognize this about rich and famous religious leaders, they’ll continue to be putty in their hands and send them money thinking they are building the Kingdom of God.
Why did Russ say “I don’t know about Revoice?”
If the messenger who asked Russ why his ERLC was promoting Revoice’s queer agenda had been allowed a follow-up question, he might have asked:
Dr. Moore, you said you don’t know about Revoice. Do you deny that you have received and written emails about Revoice?
I’m guessing Russ would then have turned Pharisaical, claiming what he actually said was not “I know nothing about the Revoice Conference” but merely “I don’t know about the Revoice Conference.”
In other words, Russ would pull in his horns, clarifying what he’d said by pointing out he’d only meant that he didn’t know enough to make judgments about Revoice—not that he’d never heard of them.
When Al Mohler got the SBC to hire Russ to run the ERLC, no one involved thought it was Mr. Smith they were sending to Washington.
