Former ERLC Lobbyist Endorses Democrat Joe Biden for President

I don’t like to get political on this blog. I think doing so can distract from the mission. I want people to focus on Jesus and his church. This is a polemics blog and I don’t use it to polemicize political candidates on either side. Frankly, I think many Christians are more focused on the government down here than the Kingdom of Heaven. One of the only political articles I’ve ever written here is about how I didn’t vote from Trump in 2016.

I certainly didn’t vote for Clinton then and I certainly won’t vote for Joe Biden in 2020. The Democrats are the party of baby murder. It’s simply unacceptable for a Christian to vote for one. I’d like to think that all Southern Baptists would agree with me on that but I know it’s not true.

For years I’ve been writing here about how awful the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC) is. I’ve tried to tell other Southern Baptists how the ERLC is run by a progressive man who once wished for a wife like Hilary Clinton, a man who once worked as a Democratic Campaign staffer. I’ve tried to warn people that that man, Russell Moore, was getting paid Southern Baptist Convention money to lobby in Washington, DC.

In addition to warning about Moore, Pulpit & Pen has warned about the activities of the ERLC itself, most notably the MLK50 Conference. Yet person after person and pastor after pastor has just plain ignored the problem. Many have outright discounted anything written at Pulpit & Pen and even accused this publication of slander. The ERLC couldn’t be as bad as Pulpit & Pen said. The SBC couldn’t be as woke as this website reported.

Well, Steven Harris just joined up with a group called “Evangelicals for Biden” to endorse the Democratic candidate for President. I bet you’ve never heard of Steven Harris. Well, if you’re a Southern Baptist whose church gives to the Cooperative Program, you’ve been paying his salary. He’s the man Russell Moore hired to be an ERLC’ director in Washington, DC. Here’s the blurb about him from the ERLC website:

“Steven Harris serves as a Policy Director, with a particular focus on the U.S. Senate. In this role, he works with government leaders in the legislative and executive branches to advocate for the ERLC’s position on important issues, while also analyzing legislation and producing content for ERLC outlets. He holds a B.S. in Religion from Vanderbilt University, an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, an M.A. in Religion from Yale University, and is currently a PhD student in the Study of Religion at Harvard University. Steven lives in the D.C. metro area with his bride, Sunni, and son, Jude.”

For some reason, the ERLC and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is attracting and hiring liberal, Democrat Ivy-Leaguers. Seriously, does anything about Vanderbilt, Yale, and Harvard scream “conservative Bible-believing Baptist” to you? Harris did, of course, come recommended by Ron Burns (the SBC pastor who was born in North Carolina and changed his name to Thabiti Anyabwile when he converted to Islam and then kept it that way after he converted to Christianity). “Anyabwile” said of Harris:

“I’m thrilled about this appointment. Steven Harris combines a keen mind with a generous heart. A dedicated student of our changing cultural times, Steven is also an ardent defender of Christian truth. He’s the kind of guy you long for when you need a son of Issachar to help lead God’s people.”

Ron Burns’ “ardent defender of Christian truth” just joined with Jim Wallis to endorse the party of gay-marriage and abortion. At least he left the ERLC first. Open your eyes. Close your wallet. These are the words Democrats are using to solicit the evangelical vote at their webiste:

“Join Sojourners founder Rev. Jim Wallis, Lisa Sharon Harper of Freedom Road LLC, author and social worker Jerushah Duford (granddaughter of Billy Graham), former Ambassador to the UN World Food Programme Tony Hall, Evangelicals for Social Action founder Dr. Ron Sider, Asian American Christian Collaborative Vice President Michelle Ami Reyes, former Bread for the World CEO David Beckmann, Dr. Jim Ball, former CNCS Board Member Hyepin Im, former Southern Baptist Convention ERLC staffer Steven Harris, and more for this special event! RSVP now and we’ll send the Zoom link closer to the date.”

They are using Harris’ position with the ERLC to give them Christian credibility. I get that Christians can disagree on economic policy, and big government (Democrats) vs. small government (Republicans) but we really can’t disagree on abortion (baby-murder). The Democratic Party hates God. Harris and Burns recommend people vote for them.

If you are a Southern Baptist then you paid for this man to lobby the Senate in God’s name…and you deserve him. You were warned about the direction of the ERLC years ago. You deserve him and you deserve the company man SBC pastor at your local church, who would rather die before he quit buying prestige in the denomination with your Cooperative Program money. I’m tempted the recommend a fix for you, such as eliminating the type of SBC entity that attracts people like Harris (for example, the ERLC and the Kingdom Diversity Department of SEBTS), but I’ll just say this. Enjoy your Democrat lobbyists, Southern Baptists. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. They certainly are enjoying your money.

G. Seth. Dunn

*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church at which I am a member, any church which I attend, or the educational institution at which I am enrolled. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair use.