Miles Mullin, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission acting president, speaks to trustees during a meeting held Sept. 15-17 in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON (BP) — Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) trustees named an interim president, voted to form a task force to study biblical immigration and unveiled a new Psalm 139 initiative during their meeting Sept. 15-17.
Retired South Carolina Executive Director Gary Hollingsworth was unanimously voted to become the entity’s interim president starting Oct. 1.
“I do believe (Southern Baptists) desperately need the voice and the work of the ERLC,” Hollingsworth told Baptist Press. “If I can be just a very small part of that and get it ready for whoever God will bring next, I’m excited about that to see what He will do and how He’ll do it.”
Trustee Chairman Scott Foshie believes Hollingsworth’s longtime pastoral ministry will help guide the commission.
“Gary brings a unique combination of executive leadership, relational depth and pastoral heart that will serve Southern Baptists well as he leads the ERLC through this season of transition and opportunity,” Foshie said.
The portal for presidential applicants is now open at the ERLC website.
“On behalf of the rest of the ERLC presidential search committee, I am happy to announce that we have begun in earnest the search for the next president and CEO of the ERLC,” said Mitch Kimbrell, chairman of the ERLC presidential search committee.
The search committee presented the candidate characteristics that will guide them. The characteristics are:
• Spiritually mature.
• Convictionally Southern Baptist.
• Pastoral in heart.
• A proven unifier.
Pursuing a ‘biblical stance on immigration’
Acting President Miles Mullin told trustees that executive leadership decided to break ties with the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT) earlier this month.
“We feel we need to take a more independent posture on our immigration-related work,” Mullin told trustees.
Pointing to numerous immigration-related resolutions passed by Southern Baptists over the years, Mullin called the issue “a priority for the ERLC because immigration policy has been a priority for Southern Baptists.”
This means the commission will “no longer have any formal relationship with EIT,” Mullin told Baptist Press.
According to the ERLC website, the goal of the EIT is to “work toward an immigration policy strategy that secures our borders, upholds the rule of law, and respects the God-given dignity of every person.”
Former ERLC President Richard Land joined with other evangelical leaders to launch the EIT in 2012. The organization’s statement of principles was signed by Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) presidents Jack Graham, Ronnie Floyd, Bobby Welch, J.D. Greear and Bryant Wright, as well as many other SBC leaders, the website says.
In recent years, the EIT has been labeled as “Soros-backed” or “Soros-funded,” referring to billionaire George Soros, a well-known backer of liberal causes.
According to the FAQ at the ERLC website, “The ERLC has never taken any funding from George Soros or Soros-related entities. In addition, the ERLC has never received any money from the EIT or given money to the EIT. There are no financial ties whatsoever between the ERLC and EIT.”
To continue its work on the issue, trustees responded to a motion adopted by messengers at the 2025 SBC annual meeting in Dallas recommending that the ERLC “appoint a special task force to study the immigration situation currently affecting our country and to provide a Biblical stand on immigration.”
The response adopted by trustees Wednesday (Sept. 17) said trustees are “deeply concerned” about the issue and added that trustee chair will “commission a task force on this topic and bring a report and appropriate recommendations back to the ERLC trustees at the mid-year meeting in spring 2026.”
Connecting with Southern Baptists
Mullin also informed trustees about the staff’s efforts to strengthen relationships with state conventions and local associations.
ERLC staff will be connecting with 32 state conventions in some way this fall.
“Last year, we were able to attend the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders,” Mullin said, adding that then-President Brent Leatherwood was able to speak to around 250 associational leaders at the group’s spring meeting.
Staff members have been working to create issue-based guides each quarter to help Southern Baptists as they address issues such as gender, sports gambling and, this fall, artificial intelligence.
The guides have been “very well received” by local churches, Mullin said.
Across state lines
Deputy chief of staff and director of the Psalm 139 Project Rachel Wiles told trustees that 99 ultrasound machines have been placed in pregnancy support centers through the initiative, which is fully funded by donations.
She announced partnerships between state conventions and local churches to help get machines in clinics in smaller states and communities where funds are limited.
Next week, Alabama State Board of Missions Executive Director Rick Lance plans to travel with ERLC CFO Bobby Reed to join Alaska Baptist Convention Executive Director Randy Covington in presenting an ultrasound machine to a center in Alaska.
The move is a partnership between the two state conventions and the ERLC.
Other partnerships have already been established between the Baptist Churches of New England and the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
Other business
Trustees approved a 2025-2026 annual budget of $3,141,910.
They also elected officers to serve during the upcoming year. They were:
• Scott Foshie (Illinois), chairman.
• Matthew Morgan (Mississippi), vice chairman.
• Mitch Kimbrell (New England), secretary.
• Eric Costanzo (Oklahoma), admin. & finance chair.
• Jason Marlin (Missouri), research & public policy chair.
• Heather Sells (Virginia), communications chair.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Brandon Porter serves as vice president for communications at the SBC Executive Committee.)
