This news may come as a surprise to some, but to those who are intricately aware of how the Southern Baptist Convention operates, this is really old news. Southern Baptist pastor, HB Charles of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville and Orange Park, Florida has announced his intention to nominate Al Mohler at the next convention meeting in Orlando in June 2020.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) entity circuit works like this: you scratch my back and I will scratch yours. The same people have continuously rotated around through different entity leadership positions and speaking circuits in exchange for nominations, votes, and notoriety.

Mohler, however, does not need notoriety as he is arguably already the most influential Southern Baptist today. Currently, Mohler serves as president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he was instated as part of the “conservative resurgence” decades ago.

This may come as a shock to some, but Mohler is no conservative. To be fair, he isn’t a liberal either. He is a moderate — at least on the political spectrum. Theologically speaking, he tends to be on his game when it comes to the essential issues of doctrine and faith. However, Mohler has continually supported, promoted, and platformed both theological and political liberals under his watch.

At Southern Seminary, Mohler employs several leftist propagandists, including Jarvis Williams, who teach and promote such theological aberrations as Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, and identity politics. He is also responsible for the employment of the most radicalized liberal the denomination has seen in recent decades in leadership, the former Democratic staffer, Russell Moore.

Predictably, however, Mohler will be seen as the man who builds bridges. Mohler notoriously leads from behind — that is, he waits until an issue blows up out of control to weigh in on it. I suspect he will continue to do the same. Mohler is a staunch advocate of the SBC’s 11th commandment — thou shalt not speak out against other Southern Baptists.

Mohler tends to eventually land slightly on the right side of issues personally, however, he is not known to address these issues within his own camp. He will be readily accepted by his colleagues, lauded as a mediator between the conservatives and progressives, and, for sure, absolutely nothing will be accomplished.

Par for the course for the Southern Baptist Convention