#IStandWithMoore Against SBC Hypocrisy

#IStandWithMoore is a hashtag for those who support Dr. Russell Moore. I am proud to be one of them. Dr. Moore has recently come under fire because of statements he made about Donald Trump during the election. Dr. Moore has correctly criticized the religious right for supporting a man who does not support the values of the religious right. He has been a prophetic voice during the 2016 election season and I applaud him for it. The fact is that the religious right in the Southern Baptist Convention is losing its influence. So instead of choosing to agree to disagree with Dr. Moore, people like Dr. Jack Graham (pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church who was on Trump’s advisory team during the election) have criticized him.

I find it strange that when Dr. Richard Land was President of the ERLC, SBC leaders supported him when he stood up to President Bill Clinton during his sexual scandals. However, now that Donald J. Trump becomes President, some in the SBC are not as interested in speaking with that same prophetic tone. I didn’t vote for Trump, nor Clinton. I know many people who had a hard time choosing their candidate because other good candidates didn’t win the nomination.

The problem here is that as a denomination, we risk losing our prophetic voice at a time when we need it most. Younger generations who are leaving the church are doing so because our leaders are putting Caesar over Christ. As Dwight McKissic (pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas) put it, we risk becoming the Trump Baptist Convention. I personally believe that we should spend more time promoting Christ above Caesar. We should place more priority of the gospel over partisan politics.

People tend to know the SBC more for what we are against than we stand for. Dr. Russell Moore has a proven track record being a positive voice in our denomination. For example, he has spoken out against abortion and at the same time for adoption. Like me, he has proven his convictions by adopting children. I applaud Dr. Moore as he has been a voice of conviction and reason during this divisive election season.

I support Dr. Russell Moore and I am thankful that he has chosen to continue to speak out. He has apologized to people who may have misinterpreted what he said. So I think we need to let this issue rest. The SBC should spend more time sharing the Gospel and reaching out to a lost and dying world for Christ. We don’t have time to argue about political differences with people whom we may disagree. If we don’t choose to unite behind Dr. Moore, we will lose a prophetic voice that is so needed. We may also miss an opportunity to reach out to the very people who need Christ the most by this division. They will see our hypocrisy and decide it is not worth choosing Christ.

Photo courtesy of Theology147, Russell D. Moore Preaching, CC BY-SA 3.0