Trustees approve fund-raising campaign goals

by Jason Hall

The trustees of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary today unanimously approved plans for the second phase of the school’s decade-long fund-raising campaign, with a stated goal of $17 million.

Projects to be funded through the campaign include renovations to the school’s library, scholarships for undergraduate students, endowed faculty chairs, and the school’s Lewis A. Drummond Center for Great Commission Studies, among others.

In other action, trustees approved a $21.3 million budget and elected three new members of Southeastern’s faculty.

School administrators, who have been working on plans in the so-called “silent phase” of the capital campaign for years, were pleased to have such enthusiastic approval from the board.

“Fundamentally, this campaign is not about money,” said Daniel Akin, Southeastern president. “It is about fulfilling the Great Commission by equipping students to serve the church and spread the fame of the Lord Jesus Christ by every Christ-honoring means possible. We never tire of dreaming about the advance of the gospel. We need and pray for godly men and women to catch this vision and support us generously in this endeavor.”

Southeastern undergraduate program highlighted with new majors, name change

by Jason Hall

Trustees of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary approved key changes to the school’s undergraduate program during their spring meeting here Tuesday, including new majors with an express focus on missions and pastoral ministry, as well as a new name for the school.

Changes approved by the trustees include a name change for the school’s flagship degree program, the Bachelor of Arts, and new majors within that program. The school will now offer a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies degree, as opposed to the former Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies.

Further, the school will now offer bachelor’s level studies concentrating in Pastoral Ministry and Missions.

Trustees also decided the undergraduate school will now be known as The College at Southeastern, a change which better reflects one of its biggest strengths – its status as an undergraduate school of a thriving Southern Baptist seminary. The college was previously known as Southeastern College at Wake Forest, a name which sometimes caused confusion with Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Cowen to begin new Bible institute and seminary in Central America

from staff reports

Dr. Gerald Cowen, senior professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and former dean of Southeastern’s undergraduate college, will begin a new Bible institute and master’s level school at Vida Nueva Baptist Church in San Salvador, El Salvador.

It is hoped that the school will open in the fall, and the plans are for a fully accredited program of study to be implemented in the near future. Cowen will serve as the school’s first president.

Southeastern professor makes e-book available as preaching resource

by Lauren Crane

Individuals and groups alike can easily obtain a resource to help them prepare biblically faithful messages, thanks to Southeastern professor Wayne McDill.

McDill, who began working at Southeastern in 1989, released a 20-chapter workbook as a resource for people who need assistance in developing solid sermons and messages. Preparing Bible Messages contains 20 lessons on teaching and preaching Biblically-faithful messages. The book is available, in its entirety, online for free download through McDill’s website, www.waynemcdill.net.

Lennox delivers call to use minds to engage culture, shows compatibility between science and faith

by Lauren Crane

The distance between science and faith is not as great as some atheists would have people believe, according to mathematician and philosopher John Lennox.

Speaking on the topic of “the new atheism,” Lennox, who is a world-renowned mathematician, scientist and philosopher, delivered an argument for compatibility between the existence of God, faith and science during Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Carver-Barnes Lecture Series, sponsored by the school’s L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture.

His addresses on the topics of science, philosophy and religion were held on March 11 and 12.

The so-called “new atheism,” Lennox said, is virtually the same as the old in content, albeit with a different tone and aggressiveness. The change in tone has come about recently, he said, in response to the events of September 11, 2001.

Southeastern student pens declaration on climate change

by Baptist Press and Southeastern Seminary staff

Jonathan Merritt, a 25-year-old Southeastern student, captured widespread media attention earlier this week in releasing a statement titled “A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change.”

The student’s project was signed by a number of high-profile Southern Baptist leaders including his father, James Merritt, pastor of Cross Pointe, the Church at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.; a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Southeastern president Daniel Akin. Frank Page, pastor of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C., and the current SBC president, and Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, and a past president of the SBC, also signed the document.

While the statement is supported by many Southern Baptists, the declaration has not been considered as an official position of the Southern Baptist Convention.

In a teleconference with media March 10, Merritt said the idea for the initiative came to him during a theology class.

“In the lecture,” he said, “my professor made the statement that when we destroy creation, which is God’s revelation, it is no different than tearing a page out of the Bible. At that moment, God began to work in my heart and call me to do something. [This document] is the product of that nudge from God that day.” Merritt has been identified as the project director of the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative, which is behind the document.

The comment came about during a systematic theology class taught by professor John Hammett, professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. As he was discussing the topic of universal revelation, that is, God being revealed in all things including nature, Hammett said he made the comparison which sparked Merritt’s declaration.

Preaching professor wins book award

A Southeastern preaching professor’s debut book has won a Book of the Year award from Christianity Today’s resource web site, PreachingToday.com.

Spirit-Led Preaching, written by Greg Heisler, assistant professor of preaching, won the coveted prize as the book that best nourishes the evangelical preacher’s soul. Heisler noted that while any first-time author hopes his work is well-received, the Book of the Year honor was unexpected.

“I am humbled by the award, and I continuously remind myself of how the Lord saw fit to bring it into print, and now how the Lord is the one to receive the glory.”

Southeastern rejoices in the life of Bush, mourns death of godly man

 

After a two-year battle with cancer, L. Russ Bush III, noted philosopher, apologist, author, professor, pastor and friend of Southern Baptists, went to be with the Lord on Tuesday evening January 23.

Bush, who was born in 1944, spent his life serving the church, the Southern Baptist Convention and the greater evangelical community in a number of capacities. He served most recently at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., as the Director of the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture and as Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Religion.