Top SBC committee documents former CEO's 'professional fraud' but won't pursue legal action

Liam Adams, Nashville Tennessean
·3 min read

Following revelations that a former Southern Baptist Convention executive falsified academic credentials, it’s still unclear whether that executive lied about other parts of his background and for how long.

During a meeting Tuesday, SBC Executive Committee leaders addressed the findings of an investigation into the committee’s former interim president and CEO, Willie McLaurin. Also, executive committee leaders said the committee agreed to a confidential separation agreement with McLaurin and that it doesn’t plan to take legal action against McLaurin.

“It is clear that Willie McLaurin engaged in both academic and professional fraud during his tenure with the Executive Committee,” said executive committee chair Philip Robertson in a meeting on Tuesday, reading from a prepared statement.

Willie McLaurin, former president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, who resigned in August 2023 following revelations McLaurin falsified academic credentials.
Willie McLaurin, former president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, who resigned in August 2023 following revelations McLaurin falsified academic credentials.

The executive committee manages business for the Nashville-based denomination outside the two-day SBC annual meeting. The committee — comprised of an 86-member board of elected representatives and about 20 staff — met in Nashville on Monday and Tuesday.

McLaurin, a former Tennessee pastor, resigned last month from his role as the committee’s highest-ranking staff member. The resignation followed a discovery by a presidential search team that McLaurin lied on his resumé about receiving degrees from North Carolina Central University, Duke University Divinity School and Hood Theological Seminary.

The presidential search team — comprised of executive committee members — looked into McLaurin’s credentials because it was considering McLaurin for the permanent role.

The revelations about McLaurin’s educational background raised additional questions, including McLaurin’s descriptions of his past service in the military. The recent investigation into McLaurin was unable to discern the truthfulness of those statements.

In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Robertson declined to provide additional details about the executive committee’s process to investigating McLaurin and the extent of its findings.

For example, when the executive committee initially hired McLaurin as a vice president in 2019, McLaurin cited the same academic credentials he would later admit to falsifying.

McLaurin started at the executive committee after working for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, which is the organization that manages business for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Randy Davis, executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, said McLaurin didn’t mention his falsified Duke degree in his application to the state mission board in 2005, according to Baptist & Reflector.

The recent executive committee investigation into McLaurin didn’t find evidence of “financial wrongdoing,” Robertson said, reading from the committee’s prepared statement.

“While the Executive Committee acknowledges the collateral, reputational harm and indirect financial impact resulting from McLaurin’s misrepresentations, the Executive Committee does not plan to proceed with taking any legal action against McLaurin at this time,” Robertson said.

The executive committee discussed the investigation into McLaurin during an executive session on Tuesday and after, publicized the prepared statement that Robertson read.

Willie McLaurin, former interim president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, speaking to executive committee members at meetin on Feb. 20, 2023. The executive committee addressed the findings of an investigation into McLaurin, who falsified academic credentials, at a meeting on Sept. 19, 2023.
Willie McLaurin, former interim president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, speaking to executive committee members at meetin on Feb. 20, 2023. The executive committee addressed the findings of an investigation into McLaurin, who falsified academic credentials, at a meeting on Sept. 19, 2023.

When McLaurin was interim president and CEO for the executive committee, he testified under oath in a deposition as part of a civil lawsuit against the SBC and SBC Executive Committee, according to court records. In that deposition, McLaurin discussed his false academic credentials.

McLaurin stepped in as the executive committee’s interim head following the resignation of former president & CEO Ronnie Floyd in October 2021. The executive committee then created a presidential search team, which ultimately recommended the appointment of Texas pastor Jared Wellman in May. Executive committee members rejected the recommendation for Wellman, causing the recruitment process to restart.

During this second recruitment round, the presidential search team considered McLaurin for the permanent role until it discovered his falsified academic credentials. The discovery reverted the process to square one and the search team is accepting nominations for new candidates.

Robertson said in a news conference on Tuesday the executive committee will no longer consider candidates who are simultaneously serving as interim president & CEO. Currently, Jonathan Howe is serving as that interim position.

In the news conference, Robertson also declined to provide details of the committee’s separation agreement with McLaurin, including whether the committee paid McLaurin.

Other executive committee news: Oklahoma church ousted from SBC for racism after pastor wears blackface

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Southern Baptists: Top SBC panel documents former CEO's 'fraud'