SBC ethics committee elects new president

The trustees of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, or ERLC, on Monday unanimously elected Evan Lenow as the commission’s next president, the commission told WORLD in an email. The ERLC is the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. Lenow’s selection ended a roughly seven-month search that began after former president Brent Leatherwood resigned in July 2025.

Lenow will step into full-time leadership of the commission on June 1, succeeding interim president Gary Hollingsworth, who has filled the position since October. Lenow previously worked as the director of the Institute for Christian Leadership and chairman of the Christian Studies department at Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss., according to the ERLC. He also previously taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and served as a research fellow specializing in Christian ethics for the ERLC. Many Southern Baptist seminaries use his resources on Christian ethics, according to the ERLC.

How did Lenow react? He was humbled, and believed that the Lord had used his career to prepare him for the commission’s work, he said in a statement. He also looked forward to equipping Southern Baptists to address essential ethical and moral questions with confidence and Biblical fidelity, he said.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report on the commission’s announcement of Lenow’s candidacy.