Publicly disavowing Russell Moore at this point in time is not about one man. It is about fidelity, even if it means saying hard things about one we once counted as “one of us”. It is speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) to warn the beloved bride of Christ of a present danger. Far better to have a temporary turmoil now, clearly resolved, than a slow-burning confusion for years to come.

There was a time when many conservative evangelical leaders respected Russell Moore as a gifted theologian and champion of biblical values. But that time has long passed. In recent years, a growing number of those same leaders who once platformed Moore have begun privately voicing grave concerns about Moore’s trajectory. The dissonance between private criticism and public silence is untenable—and worse, it is harmful to the church.

As I conducted research for a recent article about the ERLC, published at Christ Over All, I was struck by how often those I spoke with—ERLC supporters and critics alike—expressed grave concern about Russell Moore’s trajectory and continued influence. Yet it seems that too many of those who travel in more respectable circles are willing to express their concerns in private but are hesitant to bring these concerns out into the open.

However, it seemed something shifted this Easter Sunday. Christianity Today, under Moore’s editorial leadership, published yet another theologically subversive article. While Christianity Today’s publication of something unorthodox or even heretical is, sadly, nothing new, what was different this time is that an unlikely coalition of evangelicals who seldom agree on anything finally agreed on something: Christianity Today, under Russell Moore, has completely lost its way.

It is my prayer that this incident serves as a wake-up call. The time has come for evangelical leaders to publicly disavow Russell Moore for the sake of doctrinal integrity and the health of our churches.

Moore’s Early Reputation as a Trusted Theologian

In his early career, Russell Moore built an impressive reputation among Southern Baptists. A rising star at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Moore earned respect as a scholar with a seemingly deep commitment to conservative theology. He was lauded as a man who held to the total truthfulness and trustworthiness of God’s Word. Many conservative Baptists (myself included) had high hopes for Moore to represent the next generation of conservative Southern Baptist leadership.

As he rose to prominence, Moore appeared to champion core Baptist convictions in the public square. He spoke unequivocally about hot-button topics, such as biblical manhood and womanhood. In the wake of the Supreme Court forcing gay “marriage” upon a country that had rejected it in countless democratic elections, Moore asserted that evangelicals have “no option to capitulate” on the biblical definition of marriage. Such statements led conservatives to believe that Moore would not waver on orthodoxy or moral truth.

Moore’s theological writings further bolstered our trust in him. His early book The Kingdom of Christ presupposed biblical inerrancy and Christ’s lordship. His 2009 work, Adopted for Life, merged anti-abortion convictions with a biblical vision for orphan care. Moore’s public commentary was engaging yet appeared to be uncompromising. By the time he assumed the ERLC presidency in 2013, many conservative Southern Baptists saw Moore as “one of us”, a trusted voice to engage culture without yielding truth.

A Troubling Trajectory

Despite these promising beginnings, Moore’s trajectory over the next decade began to trouble even some of his most vocal supporters. There began to be signs that Moore’s philosophy of cultural engagement was radically different than the Southern Baptist churches he was charged with serving.

Moore advocated a posture of prophetic minority within a post-Christian society. He provocatively declared that, “The Bible Belt is collapsing. Good riddance.” He argued that Christians losing cultural influence is “an act of God’s grace.” Many progressives applauded Moore’s retreat from the culture wars, but most conservative Baptists heard undertones of abandoning our obligation to “make the will of Christ supreme in human society” (Baptist Faith and Message 2000 Chapter XV).

Moore’s willingness to take shots at the political right while refusing to criticize the political left was viewed by many as a troubling pattern. Even Religion News Service (no friend of conservative Southern Baptists) noted that Moore’s views on immigration and critical theory put him out of step with the SBC. Moore’s convictions seemed to be liberalizing, and his priorities and alliances shifted in ways that many Southern Baptists found alienating.

Moore’s misalignment with the churches he was supposed to be representing became highly public during the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. Moore took a hard “never Trump” stance, denouncing candidate Donald Trump and those who would vote for him in forceful terms. In a 2015 op-ed, Moore accused evangelicals of repudiating everything that they believe, using language that many ordinary Southern Baptists (including those who were no fans of Trump) found jarring. Moore’s blistering New York Times column “A White Church No More”, which castigated white evangelicals, left some readers feeling slandered. Others observed that Moore was more interested in convincing Southern Baptists of the values held by the New York Times than vice versa. Even long-time Moore admirers noted that he had gone too far in his rhetoric.

The clash escalated when Donald Trump retaliated on Twitter, calling Moore a “nasty guy with no heart.” SBC company men rushed to defend Moore, but Trump was expressing what a sizeable faction of the SBC were starting to realize—Moore did not speak for the SBC in his message and/or his tone. This episode marked a shift: Moore had become “a source of significant distraction,” as an official SBC task force later diplomatically attempted to convey.

Tensions crescendoed as there was a growing sense within the Southern Baptist Convention that Moore was fomenting unnecessary public drama and aligning himself with progressive critics of the convention. By 2020, Moore was openly clashing with SBC leadership, accusing them of moral failings. Conservative ERLC staffers left the entity while churches began withholding Cooperative Program funds in protest of ERLC’s progressive drift. Moore saw this as a personal attack against him and his family. When Moore resigned from the ERLC in May 2021, it was the culmination of a long-brewing conflict in which Moore saw himself as a principled prophet dishonored in his hometown, whereas the convention that he served saw him as a needlessly divisive figure pursuing his own progressive agenda.

Moore’s Parting Shot at the SBC

By the time Moore landed a new role at Christianity Today, even many who once publicly championed him began to quietly distance themselves. Yet out of a desire to avoid further division, few said anything critical about Moore publicly. The result has been a confused silence. Meanwhile, Moore’s platform expanded beyond the SBC, and his critiques of his former brethren became increasingly pointed from his new editorial perch.

As a parting shot, Moore wrote a bombshell letter that was (very conveniently) leaked to the press that accused his critics of being party to a widespread sexual abuse crisis. Moore alleged that top Southern Baptist leaders were complicit in a conspiracy to cover up widespread sexual abuse, calling it “the Southern Baptist Apocalypse” and accusing SBC leadership of a criminal conspiracy.

For a time, Moore’s dire warnings gained significant traction. The SBC messengers in 2021 and 2022 took unprecedented actions, galvanized partly by Moore’s emotionally charged accusations. Moore’s harsh portrayal of the SBC as a whole left many faithful pastors and members feeling unjustly maligned. Still, the allegations were so severe that all awaited the outcome of a Federal investigation launched by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Biden administration. If Moore’s “criminal conspiracy” accusations were accurate, one would expect the DOJ to find evidence of prosecutable crimes beyond the already-known cases involving a few individuals.

In March 2025, the DOJ investigation concluded with a clear answer: no further action, no charges. The Department informed SBC attorneys that the inquiry had “officially concluded” and “resolved without any charges” against the SBC Executive Committee or any other Baptist entity. After an exhaustive probe that primarily took place under an administration that was openly hostile to conservative evangelicals, not a single person was indicted for an abuse conspiracy in the SBC. One former seminary professor was charged with lying to investigators (and received house arrest), but no widespread conspiracy was uncovered. In plain terms, the federal government did not find the institutional, systemic criminal cover-up that Moore repeatedly insinuated was at hand.

For many Southern Baptists, this was a moment of both relief and righteous anger. We rejoiced that our convention was not the den of iniquity that Moore and others had alleged, but we also realized the toll that years of sensational allegations had taken. The reputations of godly leaders were tarnished by unproven accusations. Millions of dollars in Cooperative Program funds, including over $2 million in legal fees, were spent responding to inquiries from the DOJ and other agencies.

Pastor Willy Rice captured the sentiment of many Southern Baptists, writing that the alleged crisis was nothing more than a ruse to gain power. ERLC trustee Jon Whitehead likewise wrote, “We’ve weathered the storm of false witness.” Pastor Jack Graham argued that those who were proponents of this disaster (presumably, including Russell Moore) should be held accountable. Former SBC Executive Committee member Rod Martin called the episode one of the most shameful in SBC history, and Pastor Tom Buck quipped, “If only we could’ve known that Russell Moore was a political operative and his claim of a criminal conspiracy to cover up sex abuse was a lie!”  SBC Professor Denny Burk summarized the incident well, writing, “The problem here is not with the good intentions of Southern Baptist messengers who were doing their level best to address a problem that was presented to them. The problem is with the misinformation they were given about a ‘crisis’ that in the end no one can find any evidence for.”

These assessments may sound harsh, but they capture the frustration felt by many: Moore’s attack on his political rivals had inflicted severe wounds to the SBC, local churches, and most importantly, the reputation of Christ. And at the end of the day, Moore’s allegations of a grand conspiracy have all the marks of a Ninth Commandment violation.

Let us be clear: any instance of abuse is one too many. No one denies this, including those whom Moore had falsely accused of wrongdoing. Yet what Moore alleged was that the whole denomination was complicit in an evil conspiracy. The DOJ findings (or lack thereof) strongly dispute this narrative. Moore, for his part, has shown no indication of repentance.

After the After Party

Since leaving the Southern Baptist Convention, Russell Moore has continued on his same path. And sadly, he continues to be in a position to influence Southern Baptist church members because few SBC leaders have been willing to publicly disavow Moore and warn against listening to his teaching.

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