Racial hypocrisy not bad theology got James Merritt in trouble with SBC Elites

James Merritt will not be a visiting professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS). It was announced on social media that the scandal plagued Merritt would decline the job.

SEBTS President Danny Akin made it official on Twitter. He said, “Today my dear friend @drjamesmerritt asked me to allow him to decline serving as a visiting professor @SEBTS, not wanting to be a distraction to the school. I have honored his request. His integrity, character & love for the gospel is a model for us all. A great man & friend!”

Key elements of the statement show the PR-related nature of the move. Specifically, “not wanting to be a distraction to the school.”

What would cause a distraction?

Last week, James Merritt praised the preaching of his publicly gay son. This received theological pushback from conservatives. Of course, Merritt then blamed Donald Trump supporters. Then, video surfaced of James Merritt pushing what was later described by the Federal Trade Commission as a pyramid scheme. Finally, news broke that a former associate pastor who worked at James Merritt’s church made specific allegations that Merritt told racist jokes and engaged in other questionable behavior.

It is worth noting the announcement comes not after the theological pushback but following other scandalous information that surfaced about James Merritt.

Were it not for the whistleblower video making the allegations public that Merritt told racially insensitive jokes, would he have “been a distraction” to SEBTS?

Probably not.

SEBTS is ground zero for the Social Justice heresy in the SBC. No theological pushback has challenged the Woke SEBTS administration to reform.

Instead, the embarrassment of Merritt’s racial hypocrisy did the job. Proving once again that SBC Elites care far more about having the right look to please the WaPo and NY Times crowd than theological faithfulness.

So, conservatives let this be a lesson to you. Do not fear unleashing the truth about the racial hypocrisy of SBC Elites. If that is the only weapon they fear—then use it—and from what we hear, there is more than enough hypocrisy among SBC Elites to keep us all busy for a very  long time.