Richard Land's recent comments regarding the killing of Trayvon Martin have given the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) a PR headache months before likely electing its first African American president. Now the denomination's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) has formed an ad hoc committee to investigate accusations that Land plagiarized his controversial comments.

Land, the president of the ERLC, accused black political leaders, including President Obama, of trying to "gin up the black vote" on his radio show on March 31.

"Instead of letting the legal process take its independent course, race mongers are anointing themselves judge, jury, and executioners," Land said. "The rule of law is being assaulted by racial demagogues, and it's disgusting, and it should stop."

Land also stated a black man is "statistically more likely to do you harm than a white man."

The comments raised concerns that the SBC's efforts to improve its diversity would suffer setbacks. Maxie Miller, a church-planting ...

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