What Is the Center for Baptist Leadership?
The Center for Baptist Leadership (CBL) is a conservative advocacy outfit that arrived on the Southern Baptist scene in early 2024. Founded and led by William E. Wolfe, a former Trump administration official and longtime Southern Baptist, the organization presents itself as a kind of in-house think tank for the Southern Baptist Convention. Its stated goal is to cultivate what it calls “courageous and uncompromising Baptist leadership for the 21st century” and to push the denomination back toward what it views as firm conservative ground.
When Was the Center for Baptist Leadership Founded?
The Center for Baptist Leadership officially launched in March 2024. On March 8, 2024, Wolfe announced the new project on social media, describing it as a “change-oriented think tank for the SBC.” Since then, CBL has framed its work as part political project, part theological corrective, aimed squarely at the internal life of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Center for Baptist Leadership Mission and Goals
According to its website and public statements, the Center for Baptist Leadership sets out several key goals:
- Revitalize the Southern Baptist Convention from within
- Promote Baptist leadership that it describes as courageous and rooted in Scripture
- Equip churches on questions of Southern Baptist theology, polity, and denominational life
- Resist what it labels “liberal drift” inside SBC institutions
- Present what it calls “a better Baptist voice in the public square”
The organization says that faithful leadership must be grounded in Scripture, “creation order,” and historic Baptist commitments, and embodied in what it describes as “antifragile” Baptist churches and institutions. That vision, in the group’s words, should be voiced with a “prophetic and attractive” tone to both church insiders and the broader culture.
For search purposes, anyone looking up the Center for Baptist Leadership’s mission will find a familiar pattern: conservative Southern Baptist identity, strong suspicion of perceived doctrinal compromise, and an emphasis on shaping public ethics from a specific theological framework.
Center for Baptist Leadership Advisory Board
CBL’s advisory board gathers a network of pastors, academics, and attorneys who already have a profile in conservative Baptist circles. Among them:
Tom Ascol
President of Founders Ministries and The Institute of Public Theology and longtime pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida. He holds a Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has been a central figure in efforts to pull the SBC in a more confessional and conservative direction.
Mark Coppenger
A retired Professor of Christian Philosophy and Ethics who taught at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary until 2019. His teaching career has included stints at Vanderbilt, Wheaton, and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dusty Deevers
A pastor and Oklahoma State Senator who has drawn attention for his work on abortion-related legislation. He represents an overlap between ecclesial leadership and state-level conservative politics.
Steve Gentry
A pastor involved in CBL’s leadership work and public advocacy around Baptist life and Southern Baptist Convention issues.
Craig Mitchell
A Christian ethicist, economist, and engineer who has taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Criswell College. He has worked with think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the Acton Institute and previously served as a U.S. Air Force officer, reaching the rank of major.
Lewis Richerson
Senior Pastor of Woodlawn Baptist Church since 2012 and a preacher with a Ph.D. in Preaching. He previously served at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Sam Webb
A partner at Webb Strahan, PLLC and an elder at University Park Baptist Church. Webb has been engaged in Southern Baptist life for decades and brings legal experience to CBL’s advisory group.
Jon Whitehead
An attorney who serves on the advisory board and participates in broader conservative Baptist advocacy and legal efforts.
For readers searching “Center for Baptist Leadership advisory board,” this line-up signals the space CBL occupies: a coalition of familiar conservative Baptist pastors, ethicists, and lawyers who are already active in debates over the Southern Baptist Convention’s future.
What Does the Center for Baptist Leadership Do?
The Center for Baptist Leadership operates through a mix of media, events, and internal SBC advocacy. Its main activities include:
CBL Podcast
Hosted by William Wolfe, the Center for Baptist Leadership podcast features Southern Baptist pastors, activists, and commentators. Episodes focus on theology, culture, and politics, with a heavy emphasis on what CBL describes as threats to conservative doctrine and Baptist identity.
Published Content
CBL publishes articles, essays, and commentary on its website. The topics range from SBC disputes and denominational governance to broader evangelical and political questions. The content is framed as analysis and instruction for pastors, lay leaders, and engaged church members who share CBL’s concerns.
Conference Participation
Leaders and allies of the Center for Baptist Leadership attend and speak at conferences tied to Baptist life and conservative Christian activism. These events extend CBL’s profile beyond its own platforms and into existing networks of pastors and activists.
Advocacy Within the SBC
The group also engages in direct advocacy around Southern Baptist Convention governance, resolutions, and theological statements. Its messaging makes clear that it intends to influence the SBC from the outside-in, shaping votes, priorities, and leadership contests through its content and organizing.
For searches like “Center for Baptist Leadership podcast,” “CBL activities,” or “what does CBL do,” these are the core buckets of activity.
Why Was the Center for Baptist Leadership Founded?
In its public communications, the Center for Baptist Leadership describes itself as a response to specific perceived problems inside the Southern Baptist Convention. Wolfe and his allies argue that SBC institutions have absorbed ideas they associate with critical race theory, diversity and equity programs, and feminism.
In announcing CBL, Wolfe said that “we have strayed from our conservative theological commitments and traded biblical beliefs for worldly values” and that “the SBC is suffering” as a result. The organization’s answer is a return to what it calls conservative theological and cultural commitments and a more confrontational approach to what it sees as ideological drift.
Readers who search “why was the Center for Baptist Leadership started” or “CBL critical race theory feminism” will find that these themes sit at the center of its branding and messaging.
Is the Center for Baptist Leadership an SBC Organization?
The Center for Baptist Leadership operates as an independent entity. It is not an official Southern Baptist Convention agency or board. Instead, it positions itself as a movement on the edge of the formal structure, working to “revitalize” the denomination from within while remaining organizationally separate.
This allows CBL to speak freely about SBC leaders and institutions while still appealing to pastors and churches that want to remain inside the convention. For anyone wondering “is CBL part of the Southern Baptist Convention,” the answer is that it works alongside the SBC ecosystem while standing outside its formal governance.
Why the Center for Baptist Leadership Matters
The Center for Baptist Leadership is one of the louder voices in the current wave of internal Southern Baptist conflict. Its advisory board, podcast, and stream of articles form a hub for conservative pastors and activists who believe the denomination should move in a harder-edged direction on theology, culture, and politics.
For observers trying to understand debates over the Southern Baptist Convention’s future, the Center for Baptist Leadership offers a window into one influential faction. For supporters, CBL represents a necessary course correction. For critics, it represents a sharpening of culture war politics inside the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
Either way, anyone searching for information on the Center for Baptist Leadership, William Wolfe, or SBC conservative activism will find CBL standing at the crossroads of Baptist identity, denominational reform, and American political life.
Leave a Reply