Willie McLaurin, interim president of top SBC committee, resigns over false credentials

The interim president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee resigned Thursday over false academic credentials included on his resume.

Willie McLaurin, a former Tennessee pastor, stepped down from his role as the Nashville-based executive committee’s highest-ranking employee. The sudden and surprising news comes amid a search process for a permanent president and CEO in which McLaurin was a candidate.

Executive committee chair Philip Robertson confirmed McLaurin’s resignation in a statement Thursday. A presidential search team, in a review of McLaurin's application for the permanent position, "discovered disqualifying information during their process of vetting and due diligence,” Robertson said.

“McLaurin’s education credentials that he presented in his resume are false," Robertson said.

The executive committee, comprised of about 30 staff and an 86-member board of elected representatives, manages denomination business outside the convention’s two-day annual meeting. As chair, Robertson leads the group of 86 elected members.

McLaurin admitted to the charges against him in a resignation letter to executive committee members, according to Robertson’s statement. McLaurin’s resignation letter said his resume “included schools that I did not attend or complete the course of study.” Robertson’s statement did not include a copy of McLaurin’s full resignation letter.

McLaurin's resume falsely stated he received degrees from North Carolina Central University, Duke University Divinity School and Hood Theological Seminary, according to Baptist Press.

McLaurin stepped into the interim role last February after the last permanent president and CEO, Ronnie Floyd, resigned following controversy and division among the executive committee over a third-party abuse investigation.

Moving up from a vice president role in the organization, McLaurin’s interim appointment made him the first Black entity head. The Nashville-based SBC, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, has 12 entities, or convention-affiliated agencies, that oversee different ministry enterprises such as seminaries, missions, publishing and administration.

Prior to working at the executive committee, McLaurin worked for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, which serves as the state Southern Baptist convention, and was as a pastor in Clarksville.

The executive committee is currently undergoing a second search process for a permanent president and CEO after an initial attempt unexpectedly failed.

The first search process came to an end in May when the presidential search team — a subcommittee of executive committee members — recommended Texas pastor Jared Wellman as the next president and CEO. However, executive committee members voted 31-50 against Wellman’s hiring, thereby resetting the process.

The pushback surrounded Wellman’s position at the time as an executive committee member, meaning he was an elected trustee vying for a full-time staff position, and specifically the committee’s chair. When Wellman applied for the job and became a finalist, he stepped down as chair but remained a member.

Some executive committee members who ultimately voted against Wellman in May felt the presidential search team failed to communicate how it handled the delicate nature of Wellman’s candidacy.

During both the first presidential search process and now the second, McLaurin was a presumed candidate.

The leadership rollercoaster has caused additional instability for the executive committee at a critical moment. Coming off a historic third-party abuse investigation and subsequent abuse reform efforts, the executive committee is facing lawsuits related to abuse and a Department of Justice inquiry. Since the initial revelation last April, there hasn't been any public updates about the status of the DOJ investigation.

McLaurin said in a statement to Baptist Press on Thursday, "I am thankful for the trust that Southern Baptists placed in me to serve as Interim President & CEO. Now, I am trusting Southern Baptists to pray for me and my family as we navigate this part of the journey.”

Robertson's statement Thursday didn't outline the executive committee's next steps to fill the vacancy left by McLaurin. The committee is set to gather for one of its major yearly meetings in September.

Other recent SBC news: Suit against SBC mission agency dismissed in case highlighting church authority, First Amendment

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

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Southern Baptist Convention: Willie McLaurin resigns over credentials