A South Carolina pastor and former trustee chairman for the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission says Baptists will be well served by the election of Russell Moore as ERLC president.
Hal Lane, pastor of West Side Baptist Church in Greenwood, said Moore is “an engaging intellectual with a commitment to biblical inerrancy and passion for upholding biblical morality.”
“I believe he will do an excellent job speaking to and for Southern Baptists at this critical time in American history,” said Lane, who served as an ERLC trustee for three terms and was chairman of the board in 1993, 2008 and 2009.
MooreThe ERLC’s board of trustees approved Moore, currently dean of the school of theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in a called meeting March 26.
Lane, who chairs the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Christian Life & Public Affairs Committee, said Moore will face an increasingly secular culture when he takes the reins at ERLC in June.
“The top issues before him will be standing for the right to life of the unborn, defending traditional marriage, and issues related to illegal immigration,” Lane said. “I hope all Southern Baptists will join me in praying for Dr. Moore as he assumes leadership at this pivotal time.”
Moore, 41, a native of Biloxi, Miss., will be the eighth president of the entity charged by Southern Baptists with addressing moral and religious-freedom issues. With a background in government, the pastorate and seminary training, he already is well known as a commentator from a Southern Baptist and evangelical Christian perspective on ethics, theology and the culture.
Moore’s election means he will be only the second ERLC president in the last quarter of a century. He will succeed Richard Land, who will retire upon the completion of 25 years leading the entity. Lane served on the search committee that brought Land to the agency.
“Dr. Moore is a godly Christian minister, a devoted husband and father, and a convictional, committed Baptist,” said Land. “His excellent academic preparation, combined with his keen mind and his tender heart for God and His people, make him a person uniquely suited to serve our Savior and Southern Baptists in this crucial role at such a critical moment in our nation’s history.”
The ERLC trustees’ seven-person presidential search committee recommended Moore to the full board after a seven-month process.
Moore has served since 2004 as dean of the school of theology and senior vice president for academic administration at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He joined the faculty in 2001 as professor of Christian theology and ethics and continues in that role.
He was preaching pastor at a campus of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville from 2008-12. While a student at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Moore was associate pastor at Bay Vista Baptist Church in Biloxi, Miss.
Before attending seminary, Moore served for four years as an aide to pro-life Democratic Congressman Gene Taylor of Mississippi.
Moore and his wife, Maria, are the parents of five sons.
Moore is a leading voice in the growing pro-adoption movement among evangelicals. His 2009 book, “Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches,” has played a significant role in that cause, and he is a frequent speaker at adoption conferences.
On his blog, in written commentaries, in speeches and in news media interviews, Moore comments frequently on a range of issues and the Christian gospel’s impact on them. These include abortion and other sanctity of life matters, race relations, marriage, pornography, politics and popular culture.
In addition to his book on adoption, Moore has written two other books, “Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ” and “The Kingdom of Christ: The New Evangelical Perspective.” He has three other books scheduled to be published, including one on marriage and one on abortion. Moore also has edited and contributed to other books.
Land, who was 41 when he became head of the entity in 1988, led the transformation of the ERLC during the convention’s theological resurgence, moving the commission in a more conservative direction on such issues as abortion. He announced his retirement as ERLC president in July 2012.
In addition to its Nashville office, the ERLC has an office in Washington, D.C.
– Compiled by Butch Blume, managing editor, with reporting from Tom Strode, Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press.