Evan Lenow named candidate for ERLC presidency
Evan Lenow, an associate professor and author, has been nominated as the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
The ERLC announced Monday that its presidential search committee nominated Lenow, 47, as its candidate, with a vote by the board of trustees scheduled for next month.
Lenow serves as director of the Institute for Christian Leadership at Mississippi College and chair of the college's Christian Studies Department. He is also director of the Clinton Extension of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary on the Mississippi College campus.
He previously served as an associate professor of ethics and director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
Mitch Kimbrell, chair of the search committee, expressed confidence in Lenow, who has served as a research fellow in Christian ethics for the ERLC since 2012.
“I know that when he represents Southern Baptists in the public square, he’ll do so as one of us,” said Kimbrell.
“Evan is exceptionally qualified and has time-tested experience, but what I’m most encouraged by is how much he loves Southern Baptists and how eager he is to serve by helping us apply the Scriptures and the Baptist Faith and Message to the most important ethical questions of our day.”
Dr. Richard Land, executive editor for The Christian Post and former ERLC president, told CP on Monday that he “could not be more pleased with the nomination.”
“I cannot think of anyone more qualified and prepared by background, training, experience, and conviction to lead the ERLC in assisting Southern Baptists and other faithful Christians in being the Gospel ‘salt and light’ in America that our Heavenly Father has called us all to be,” he said.
According to his official biography, Lenow is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Mississippi College, a Master of Divinity in advanced biblical studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in theological studies with a concentration in Christian ethics, also from SEBTS.
Lenow authored Biblically Sound: Embracing Doctrine for Life and Biblically Correct: Engaging Culture with Truth and co-authored with Mark Liederbach Ethics as Worship: The Pursuit of Moral Discipleship.
In July 2025, former ERLC President Brent Leatherwood resigned from office, saying in a statement at the time that he believed it was "time to close this chapter of my life."
"It has been an honor to guide this Baptist organization in a way that has honored the Lord, served the churches of our Convention, and made this fallen world a little better," Leatherwood said.
"I believe gratitude is at the heart of conservatism. That means I will always be thankful for the opportunity provided to me by our churches — for the support they have offered and the resources they have sacrificially given to this entity."
Upon Leatherwood's resignation, ERLC Vice President and Chief of Staff Miles Mullin was appointed acting president. Later in September, trustees voted to make Gary Hollingsworth interim president effective Oct. 1.
