Key points: Russell Moore’s ERLC filed a false amicus brief, the ERLC misled Southern Baptists through a false statement in a Baptist Press report and so far has not apologized to McRaney for the personal harm done to him.
Will McRaney blasted his former evangelism student Russell Moore in a powerful letter. McRaney taught Moore in a personal evangelism class at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. McRaney condemned the falsehoods Russell Moore’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) filed in its amicus brief in support of the North American Mission Board. McRaney sued NAMB and its head Kevin Ezell for a host of alleged unethical conduct on the part of Ezell. In evidence McRaney made public on his website, Kevin Ezell is a liar—the emails prove it. Further, Ezell is the focus of a serious rebellion as state conventions are fed up with his autocratic approach to cooperation.
Below is the text of the email to Russell Moore:
Russ,
I am going to get right to the point. I don’t know who authored the numerous false statements and lies filed by Mr. Crampton with the 5th Circuit Court, but you are responsible either with blatant intentional deception or inexcusable incompetence. Take your pick or take both. You violated trust and damaged the ERLC, the SBC, me and the name of Christ. Your excuses about “confusion” in Baptist Press was seen by all paying attention as just more deception by you. You demonstrated no sorrow for the damage you did to me, my wife Sandy, truth and the SBC, who is the sole member of NAMB and the ERLC. You have not had the humility or courage to call to seek my forgiveness or acknowledge how your actions negatively impacted me. Your dishonorable behavior should cause you to resign from your position.
What your friend and former pastor Kevin Ezell did to deceive the courts with false claims of a similar nature to your deception is also disgusting. You and Ezell filed damaging lies with the courts that could be disastrous to the cooperative mission and integrity of the SBC cooperative partnerships with churches, Associations and State Conventions. You claimed to speak for the SBC on “moral concerns” and “public policy” before the government and the courts. You hold the highest ethics position in the SBC. Yet, truth escaped you in deceiving the second highest court in the US. You defrauded the courts under the guise of helping to promote truth and justice. As your former professor at NOBTS, I would expect better from you.
Your actions, and whatever role Mr. Crampton played, is an embarrassment to yourselves and to Christians. Others have acknowledged the damage you did to Christians who in the future will have real First Amendment issues. What you did with your false statements was ask the government to actually establish religion between two separate, fully autonomous religious organizations. The Thomas More Society by their neglect or your deception damaged their reputation. TMS would have better used their good name and energies in protecting my First Amendment rights. Either you fooled them and/or they were foolish and neglectful on their own by presenting a deceptive document to the 17 appellate justices. Similar is true for the State Attorney Generals of TX, LA and MS, who obviously were misinformed and/or misled as well.
In your and Mr. Crampton’s amicus brief I documented 20 areas of concerns or false statements. Many more than Mr. Crampton included in his acknowledgement filing to the 5th Circuit I attached below. In addition to your false statements that outraged some SBC leaders and partners, here are just a few others. (1) The SBC is NOT a denomination. (2) I was NOT a pastor. (3) I did NOT request my work records as Mr. Crampton’s brief stated. NAMB filed a subpoena for my work records and then I subsequently submitted an affidavit giving my permission to release all my work records. (4) The SPA (Strategic Partnership Agreement) is NOT a governance document, but terms or contract of partnership. (5) NAMB is NOT a church and neither is the SBC nor BCMD and none of these have EVER made a claim to be a church or a denomination. In fact, you know the SBC Executive Committee routinely states that in courts virtually every time they file with the courts. In case Mr. Crampton does not know and wants to know, he can review the Feb. 11, 2020 filing of the SBC Executive Committee CFO Bill Townes in a court case which I am attaching.
Kevin Ezell, NAMB CFO/VP Carlos Ferrer, BCMD Tom Stolle, and the NAMB attorneys intentionally deceived the courts. Shamefully, you did too. I encourage you to biblically repent, make restitution and remove yourself from leadership.
Will McRaney
Attachments: Townes affidavit and ERLC Letter.