NAMB’s errors in the Will McRaney case prompted a 90-minute meeting where NAMB presented its side of the case to Ambassadors.  

The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board (NAMB) met with NAMB’s paid ambassadors in a 90-minute session briefing them on the Will McRaney case. The meeting took place the week of August 5, 2021, during NAMB’s Home Week. The move to talk with its paid public relations ambassadors highlights how the yearlong debacle is harming how rank-and-file Southern Baptists feel about Kevin Ezell, NAMB and SBC Elites.  

After months of silence, NAMB is starting to talk about the Will McRaney case. And that talking means something. It means that NAMB is faced with a backlash against its lies and lies told on its behalf by the ERLC.  

The meeting with ambassadors—people paid by NAMB to promote it to donor churches—is the second time NAMB spoke about the case since the failure at the Supreme Court. The first comment following the humiliation at SCOTUS came in a statement published on the NAMB website that might have revealed confidential information about the case and private attempts to resolve the lawsuit.  

This follows months and years of mostly silence involving the litigation. 

Kevin Ezell dodged questions from Southern Baptists about the Will McRaney lawsuit. In a February meeting with the Executive Committee, Ezell said he could not answer questions about the case because of pending litigation. However, now NAMB is talking.  

NAMB Ambassadors 

Did you know NAMB has Ambassadors that represent its interests in each of the states?  

According to the Western Recorder, “In an effort to do this with greater excellence, we have asked a pastor from each state to be NAMB ambassador,” Ezell said.  

And from the same article, the purpose of the NAMB Ambassador is public relations. According to the report, “Part of the ambassador’s role is to relay the gratitude NAMB missionaries have toward churches that give sacrificially to the Cooperative Program and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.” 

NAMB pays its Ambassadors. How much? The Capstone Report was provided two different numbers by persons within SBC leadership—which highlights the uncertainty around NAMB’s finances. So, what exactly is NAMB doing with your tithes and offerings?  

NAMB is utilizing leaders in every state to maximize its messaging and minimize damaging stories. Stories like how Kevin Ezell refused to meet with Will McRaney to biblically settle the dispute or how SBC entities lied to federal courts.

What Southern Baptists should be demanding, is a full list of names of NAMB Ambassadors and a full accounting of how much money NAMB spends on the Ambassador program and each Ambassador. 

As one longtime SBC leader said, “Who isn’t on the NAMB payroll?”

It is time Southern Baptists know just how much money NAMB throws around to pay people to spread its talking points to the masses.

Takeaway: Bad publicity puts pressure on Kevin Ezell & NAMB trustees 

The North American Mission Board (NAMB) is reeling after months of errors and lies culminated in its failed appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. NAMB and the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) lied repeatedly in filings to federal courts in a bid to have Will McRaney’s lawsuit against NAMB tossed. However, all of that failed. Now, the months of bad publicity are like chickens coming home to roost.