Lenow tells Georgia Baptists ERLC is taking ‘church-first’ approach

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Evan Lenow told Georgia Baptists Tuesday that the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is entering a new season with a renewed emphasis on serving local churches.

Lenow, president of the ERLC, spoke during the 204th annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention at Second Baptist Church in Warner Robins.

“It’s a new season at the ERLC,” Lenow said. “These are new days at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. And I want you to know, we’re taking a church-first approach to everything that we do.”

That approach, he said, extends to the commission’s resources, partnerships, and public policy work.

Lenow used the ERLC’s series of church guides as one example. He said the free resources are designed to give pastors and churches both the theological and ethical foundations for issues they face and practical guidance for addressing situations in their congregations.

The ERLC has produced eight guides, he said, including a recently released resource on marriage and family.

Lenow said some of the situations pastors face today were not commonly discussed when many ministers took ethics courses in seminary.

“Those aren’t the issues I was teaching on when I first started teaching 20 years ago,” he said, “but now those are the issues that we’re facing.”

Lenow also highlighted the ERLC’s involvement in Grand v. City of University Heights, a religious liberty case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case involves an Ohio man who, Lenow said, was required by local officials to obtain a permit to host a weekly prayer gathering with friends in his home.

“If they can tell somebody in University Heights, Ohio, that he can’t have friends over to his house and pray, they can tell your church that you can’t have a life group meeting in a home,” Lenow said. “They can tell your church planter that you can’t start your church around your kitchen table.”

Lenow said the case illustrates why the ERLC’s public policy and legal advocacy matters to local congregations.

“We are fighting for you on church-first issues,” he said. “You’re on the front lines addressing these issues every day in your communities.”

“So know that we’re here for you,” Lenow said. “We want to serve you, and we want to help you.”