Brent Leatherwood is back as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

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Last night, Brent Leatherwood was fired as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). Or was he?

Today, Leatherwood is back.

The latest:

So what happened in the last 36 hours or so?

On Sunday, Brent Leatherwood said that Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race was an unselfish act. Conservative Southern Baptists and their political allies went nuts because they thought Leatherwood was echoing Democratic talking points. We covered this in detail here and here.

One of the ways Leatherwood weathered the storm of social media attacks against him was to tweet about his anti-Biden/Harris bona fides. Here is what he was tweeting yesterday, just hours before his firing:

Sadly, these seemed like the tweets of a guy trying to save his job. By going after Harris this way, Leatherwood, in his final hours as president of the ERLC, was desperately trying to convince his detractors that he is not a mouthpiece for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, or the Democratic Party.

Last night, the following statement was issued by the ERLC:

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 22, 2024Ā ā€”The executive committee of the board of trustees for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention has issued the following statement.Ā 

In accordance with our bylaws, the executive committee has removed Brent Leatherwood as president. Further details, as well as plans for the transition, will be provided at our September board meeting. Until then, the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees will assume directional responsibility for carrying out the ministry assignments for the ERLC.Ā 

Leatherwood was out. Here is how people responded:

Russell Moore was apoplectic:

Karen Swallow Prior:

Megan Basham:

Clint Pressley, president of the Southern Baptist Convention:

Tom Ascol thinks it was a “righteous act” to remove Leatherwood:

This guy already had a replacement lined-up:

One more:

And then, this morning, we learn this:

And this:

Leatherwood is back:

But the real question is this: What the heck is happening in the Southern Baptist Convention?

People have some thoughts:

What a mess!