DALLAS, TX --- A motion brought forward at the Southern Baptist Convention meeting this morning to "fully and completely defund" the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission failed by a wide margin.
When SBC President Steve Gaines asked for a vote, the overwhelming number of ballots raised voted in the negative on the amendment.
Several messengers addressed the amendment prior to the vote, ranging from an impassioned defense of the leadership of ERLC President Russell Moore to calls for the ERLC itself to not be defunded, but return to a more "conservative voice."
Former ERLC President Richard Land himself spoke to the motion, urging messengers to continue Southern Baptist support for the entity. Referring leadership that could be considered controversial by some, he alluded to his time as president in saying, "You're going to offend everybody sooner or later."