Southern Baptist Leader Resigns Over Faked Resume

The Associated Press reports:

Tennessee pastor Willie McLaurin, who leads the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, resigned Thursday from his position as interim president and chief executive after it came to light that he presented false information about his educational qualifications on his resume. The Executive Committee’s hiring team was considering McLaurin as a candidate to permanently replace former chief executive Ronnie Floyd who resigned in 2021.

On a resume he submitted for the job, McLaurin falsely listed that he had earned degrees from North Carolina Central University, Duke University Divinity School and Hood Theological Seminary, according to the Baptist Press, an official SBC news outlet. In a statement, Executive Committee Chairman Philip Robertson shared an excerpt from McLaurin’s resignation letter: “In a recent resume that I submitted, it included schools that I did not attend or complete the course of study.”

Read the full article.

Southern Baptist leader resigns from top administrative post for lying on his resume about his education. https://t.co/QvJlExFjVS

— David Crary (@CraryAP) August 17, 2023

Willie McLaurin: “Please forgive me for the harm or hurt that this has caused.”

Biblical Christianity offers you one and only one response to that plea, fellow Southern Baptists. Yes, Willie, I forgive you.

— Bart Barber (@bartbarber) August 17, 2023