Kevin Ezell announces NAMB scuttles plan to work with He Gets Us after conservative backlash over Woke Jesus portrayed by He $100 million ad Campaign. Also, organization behind He Gets Us gave over $700,000 in one year to SBC entities including the leftist ERLC during Russell Moore’s leadership.
The Woke organization behind the misguided $100 million He Gets Us Campaign gave over $700,000 to SBC entities including a $701,000 grant the entity formerly led by Russell Moore, according to federal tax records filed by the organization The Servant Foundation and doing business as The Signatry.
The tax documents for 2020 show a $701,000 grant to the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and another $7,000 grant to the North American Mission Board (NAMB).
You can see the ERLC’s $701,000 grant on page 269 of the tax filing.
Tom Buck posted screenshots of the tax filings—and these might be easier than digging through the entire tax return—though that actively might prove useful at uncovering other interesting grants.
The ERLC now must answer serious questions about this money. Why was it given? Who gave the money? This is an important question since the Signatry appears to be a Donor Advised Fund—who was the donor who advised this? What was the money used for by the ERLC? Where did the grant originate—was the ERLC approached or did it do something to apply for the grant?
The SBC needs to know. Will the ERLC provide a full accounting?
NAMB cancels plan to work with He Gets Us after conservatives pounce
The He Gets Us Campaign sparked a conservative outcry over its Woke depiction of Jesus and certain theological issues sparked by the desire to paint Jesus as relatable to modern leftists.
In fact, NAMB President Kevin Ezell announced NAMB decided against pursuing the partnership with He Gets Us.
“Knowing that these ads will be seen by millions of people, we hoped to help Southern Baptists engage the opportunity from the conversations these ads will create,” Ezell said in a public letter. “However, upon further consideration, the effort is too broad for us to directly connect with the campaign. In my desire to help our churches, I did less diligence than I should have. That’s on me and I apologize.”
Of course, while this looks good—Southern Baptists have learned to carefully examine what SBC entity leaders say. In this case, there are some additional questions.
Jon Whitehead asks, “1. Is @kevezell leaving room for an indirect connection? Perhaps via @sendrelief or @SendInstitute? If so, the open letter is misleading, and appropriate action must be taken. 2. Is NAMB recommending it to SBC churches, or supporting its use? 3. Trustees should ask: what was the vetting process and how did it fail? I am glad that @Kevezell takes responsibility, but it would be a failure if he originated or approved the idea without internal review. The opaque priorities, relationships, and finances at NAMB are still not healthy.”