Dear Southern Baptists and Partners of the Commission,

Lately, I have detected a common thread in conversations: fear.

Outside the walls of our churches, it is rampant. It often comes out as fear of the unknown, fear of the results of an election, fear of what “they” may do to us. 

And it’s causing people, for the most part, to respond in one of two ways: by either being despondent and pulling back from the world or deploying the language of warfare or conquest. This kind of thinking is so prevalent, it may even be seeping into our churches.

Because what is most surprising is, the conversations I’ve sensed this in, have mainly been with pastors and ministers. I truly can empathize with this. After all, we live in a challenging and confusing moment.

But if you or a fellow believer you know is just responding to the myriad of crises unfolding all around us at a given moment, allow me to offer a gentle reminder of Paul’s words to Timothy that should reassure us as well, brothers and sisters: 

“We do not have a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.”

These are qualities that stand in complete opposition to the times we find ourselves in.
They are qualities we should exude at all times whether we are going on the field internationally, planting a church in a new context, or as we enter a chaotic public square.

And that last forum is where we, the team serving at your Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, operate on a daily basis. Many don’t realize it but this institution, the ERLC, has been doing so for well over a century.

Whether you open a newspaper or watch the evening news, it should be readily apparent there is work to be done—urgent work. Work that is not for the timid or for the fearful.

Instead, it is work that can be accomplished through Baptist cooperation. That spirit is central to our mission at the ERLC.

Because as we come alongside to assist you, your church, and your convention, it allows us to speak more adeptly from our churches into the public square––a chaotic, messy, noisy public square that is in desperate need of the hope and peace that can only come from hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

As you read this Annual Report,* I hope you can see how we have sought to speak from our churches this past year. It is an honor to serve our churches. May these pages show you just how much of a privilege it has been for our team to serve you.

*The 2022 Annual Report is a summation of the report given to trustees at our 2022 meeting in September. Some information will be from October-December 2021. 

Joyfully in Christ,