Late yesterday, Richard Land announced he is retiring as president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission in October 2013. In his letter, Land says that he is stepping down to taking a more prominent role in the culture war.
I will do my best to continue to serve my Savior and His church wherever and however He leads. When God called me into the ministry a half century ago, the burden He placed on my heart was for America. That call and that burning burden are still there. I believe the "culture war" is a titanic spiritual struggle for our nation's soul and as a minister of Christ's Gospel, I have no right to retire from that struggle.
I am looking forward. My denominational service, while always close to my heart, has to some degree inevitably limited my participation in the culture war's political debates. I have had numerous inquiries over the years about other places and means of service including public policy and media opportunities as well and ministry and academic pursuits. Until now, I have not felt freedom to consider such opportunities. God has now given me that freedom.
However, People for the American Way
suspects the real reason is that in the wake of him being slammed for his disgusting--and plagiarized--rant about Trayvon Martin, Land's position has become untenable. Based on the timing, it's hard not to agree--after all, the Southern Baptists just elected a black president for the first time ever.
For those who missed it, back in March Land suggested on his radio show, Richard Land Live, that the White House was using Trayvon's shooting to "gin up the black vote" for November. He was roundly criticized for this, especially by black Southern Baptist pastors. Two weeks after issuing a non-apology apology, Land was faced with a new problem. Baptist blogger Aaron Weaver discovered that Land's rant was lifted almost verbatim from a Jeffrey Kuhner column that had run in the March 29 Washington Times--and also found it wasn't the first time he'd plagiarized someone else's words either.
The ERLC's executive committee responded by deleting all archived Richard Land Live broadcasts and launching an internal investigation. In June, the committee reprimanded Land, apologized to the Martin family and canceled Richard Land Live.
I have to admit, I'm surprised it took this long. This was one of the most blatant cases of plagiarism I've ever seen. Journalists have been fired and book contracts canceled for far less than this. I suspect the only reason Land wasn't fired altogether is that the ERLC's internal probe found no evidence of plagiarism in his writing. I also suspect Land may have just gotten off with a reprimand, but with the SBC's first black president having just taken office, enough people must have realized having one of its more prominent leaders blowing a dog whistle into a megaphone wasn't exactly the best image.
I've said before and I say it again--seeing Land taken down for plagiarism is like Al Capone being sent to prison for tax evasion.