The Southern Baptist Convention and American Reformer’s Ludicrous ‘Reformation’ Rebrand

It’s not often that the ridiculous antics of American Reformer’s legally assumed name, The Center for Baptist Leadership, make me laugh in disbelief. Usually, my reaction to whatever newly demented hot take AmRef, or its CBL executive director William Wolfe, try to conjure up in any given week is righteous anger, grief or an extended yawn.

Not this week. Not when I saw that this Woke Right Christian Nationalist cabal apparently has launched what I view as a frantic, last-ditch rebranding strategy in advance of the Southern Baptist Convention’s 2026 Annual Meeting on June 7-10 in Orlando.

This year more than ever, AmRef’s leaders have to make sure they have an actual “win” they can trumpet, following their last few years of totally humiliating drubbings. But their latest stunt really is just laughable.

Farcically, the men of CBL are now trying what could really only be called an impersonation strategy, positioning themselves on their website as “the Reformers” who are just seeking “reformation” in the SBC. Here is what CBL has posted on its website:

And in his latest CBL article, advisory board member Michael Clary -- writing under a subhed of “The Reformers are on the cusp of victory in the SBC. We just need the Absentees to show up and the Normies to join us!” – actually tries to paint as “Reformers” the same crowd of men who have produced nothing but rotten fruit since they first flung themselves into an unsolicited “Stand Back, Because We’re in Charge Now!” Offensive a few years ago.

Many of these so-called “Reformers” whom Clary hails have openly endorsed using deceit for political aims; called for a “Protestant Franco” and/or “Baptist Pinochet;” simultaneously misrepresent their legal status as a “national nonprofit,” a “subsidiary” and also an “independent center;” do business with a Nazi pornographer, got conned into printing a subtly recast Communist Manifesto and defended doing it, back the ideology of a prominent Nazi jurist, work with and/or back and/or attend the churches of some of the most vile white supremacists the church is currently producing and ignorantly slammed a direct quote from the Baptist Faith & Message by saying: “This isn’t Baptist, let alone Christian.” I insert below a small handful of these infamous AmRef moments for the faithful Christian’s review. And I would ask those who doubt my synopsis to read this and this and this for much more background.

I’ve said all of this before, of course, many times. But there are a few new twists with this latest nutty claim from AmRef that it is really just about “reformation.”

First of all, AmRef’s men have demonstrated over and over again that they couldn’t care less about the Bible, because all this SBC brouhaha that they churn up every year is solely a political game for them. Follow them on X (or watch them from behind a block, as I do), and you’ll see it. At best, they cite the Bible as a tactic to get unsuspecting Christians to trust them as so-called “Reformers,” which is such a blatant swindle if you’ve ever watched, for even a short while, what these guys actually believe, say and do.

AmRef is also in a very precarious position this year, in that it’s coming into the annual meeting with a record of very embarrassing defeats, while also lacking any real pressing issue to “fight” for this year in the SBC. And having failed to garner any broad or meaningful support from the ranks of the SBC “Normies” in the past, AmRef/CBL also has no track record of success or achievements to publicize to bring the unaware on board this time around, nor does it have any remaining argument for even justifying its continuing existence. 

Ask yourself: Is there some identifiable Far Left crisis afoot in the SBC? A Leftist juggernaut running the convention, or a large cadre of theological or political liberals trying to gain control of it? Is liberal theology running rampant through the convention at this juncture, requiring AmRef’s “bold” leadership? Not at all. As X would have it, here’s CBL’s Wolfe casually enjoying some dudebro time with SBC president Clint Pressley not very long ago, a circumstance that makes it more than a little difficult for AmRef to claim that everything in the convention is askew:

And more to the point: Clary even admits that there’s no real theological crisis in the SBC: 

“Two Southern Baptist churches a mile apart may both eagerly subscribe to the Baptist Faith & Message, including a stated complementarian position on women pastors. So on the surface, they appear nearly identical. But there is actually a massive difference between them: One church will appease and accommodate feminism and similar DEI initiatives in order to appear winsome to the world and avoid conflict. The other church will boldly oppose such things, even risking a negative reputation in town for doing so. Both churches hold the exact same doctrinal commitments, but only one will fight for them.”

So basically, AmRef is openly admitting that there is no liberal crisis in the SBC for which it needs AmRef’s leadership, because the two main SBC camps pretty much have “the exact same doctrinal commitments” across the board. But by golly, put AmRef in charge because these guys “fight?” No, it’s now more than that, as AmRef’s CBL states: “the Southern Baptist Convention needs reformation. Your support will allow us to continue leading the charge in the fight to retake our institutions.”

If both sides “hold the exact same doctrinal commitments,” then exactly what is AmRef “reforming?” Because whatever AmRef means by “reformation,” it is decidedly not anything like the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. It is definitely not about the churchwide recovery of the gospel, the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. In fact, the group spells out exactly what it means by reformation: allowing AmRef “to continue leading the charge in the fight to retake our institutions.” Does this seem like a major red flag to anyone in the Southern Baptist Convention? It is. “Retaking institutions,” lest it’s not already obvious, is not “reformation!”

To AmRef, “reformation” just means “please, please, please give us more power so we can control the Southern Baptist Convention once and for all!” (And don’t forget that three Presbyterians founded American Reformer, so why in the world would anyone in the SBC give this group the time of day, much less financially support it?)

For AmRef to state that its goal is “reformation,” when these men know that that is just a deceptive tactic for luring undiscerning Southern Baptists into its political web, is disgusting -- yet unsurprising. It kind of reminds me of what Machiavelli once said: "Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception."

The tragedy here is that there really is a crisis in the SBC, but that crisis is on the Right, via a dangerously unbiblical entity called American Reformer, aided and abetted at its assumed name, The Center for Baptist Leadership, by some well-known, power-hungry SBC “conservative” sellouts.

These men are not conservatives, and they don’t want biblical reformation. They just want power, meaning that’s the very last thing that Southern Baptists should ever give them.

In the spirit of real reformation, may the Word of God itself prevail against American Reformer. It’s time for these men to be ushered off the SBC scene for good.

“Though we be active in the battle, if we are not fighting where the battle is the hottest, we are traitors to the cause.” – Martin Luther