Russell Moore keeps his job after meeting with SBC's Frank Page

Southern Baptist leaders have dispelled reports that Russell Moore would be asked to resign from his post as the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC).

Moore met with Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee President Frank S. Page in Nashville on Monday to discuss the issue of congregations threatening to withhold donations to the SBC's Cooperative Program.

In a joint statement released on Monday, Page and Moore said that they "fully support" each other, and they are looking forward to working together in the future.

"We will collaborate on developing future steps to deepen connections with all Southern Baptists as we work together to advance the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ," the statement read, according to The Christian Post.

"We met as colleagues committed to the same priorities of proclaiming the Gospel to every man, woman, boy and girl while also addressing biblical and Gospel issues on a wide range of topics to a culture that seems to have lost its way — issues ranging from religious liberty and racial reconciliation to Kingdom diversity and the sanctity of human life from the womb to the grave," it continued.

The statement came after a report from the Washington Post suggested that Moore was in danger of losing his job because of the backlash caused by his criticisms of President Donald Trump and the religious leaders who supported the business mogul.

The ERLC also caused controversy when it signed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a New Jersey Islamic society's right to build a mosque.

Page declined to answer questions about the meeting, but he reportedly told Washington Post reporter Sarah Pulliam Bailey that he was prepared to ask Moore for a "change in his status" if the meeting does not go well.

According to a report from the Baptist Press, Page did not set up the meeting with Moore with the intent of dismissing him, but rather to seek "bridge-building strategies."

Page said that over 100 member churches have threatened to cut off financial support for the SBC.

While the churches represent less than one percent of the SBC's 46,000 congregations, they also represent the most complaints on any issue "in recent memory," according to SBC'S Executive Committee.

The committee recently launched an investigation to study why churches are either escrowing money or withholding funds to the Cooperative Program. A full report is expected to be released this September.