Plano's Prestonwood Baptist Church says it will temporarily escrow money normally given to support the Southern Baptist Convention while it mulls its position on the organization's direction.

Louisiana's The Message reported the decision involves about $1 million contributed through the Cooperative Program, the SBC's main source of financing for state and national initiatives.

Prestonwood executive pastor Mike Buster said in a written statement to the publication that the 41,000-member megachurch made the move in response to stances taken by the leaders of the SBC's ethics arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, "that do not reflect the beliefs and values of many in the Southern Baptist Convention."

The action was temporary "until a decision can be made on current and future funding," the statement said.

Among the issues that have prompted concern from Southern Baptists: Ethics commission president Russell Moore's signing of a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the construction of a New Jersey mosque, as well as critical remarks Moore made about evangelicals who backed Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.

For example, in a column published in The Washington Post in February 2016, Moore wrote that "many of those who tell pollsters they are 'evangelical' may well be drunk right now, and haven't been into a church since someone invited them to Vacation Bible School sometime back when Seinfeld was in first-run episodes."

Jack Graham, Prestonwood's senior pastor and a former SBC president, told The Message that the church's issues with the SBC weren't limited to Moore, instead referring to an "uneasiness" among Prestonwood leaders with the "disconnect between some of our denominational leaders and our churches."

"I'm not angry at the SBC, and neither are our people," Graham said, "and I'm not working to start a movement to fire anyone. ... We're just concerned about the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention, and feel the need to make some changes in the way we give."

The church could not be reached for further comment by email or telephone Sunday.

Prestonwood's announcement drew an impassioned Twitter post from Texas pastor Bart Barber, a member of the ethics commission's leadership council who said that though he felt love and appreciation for Graham, he also supported religious liberty and SBC.

"I'm just heartbroken and conflicted," he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported in December that Moore's statements and actions had prompted congregations to consider escrowing funds normally given to the SBC. Last month, according to Baptist Press, First Baptist Church in Morristown, Tenn., announced its decision to do so.