Southeastern digs in to help fellow Baptist institution

by Lauren Crane

Very little evidence remains of the F-4 tornado that struck Union University on February 5, and Southeastern students did their part to aid the undergraduate university in reconstructing campus and moving onward.

Union’s 200-acre campus, located in Jackson, Tenn., received over $40 million dollars in damage when the tornado swept through in February. Despite the extensive damage to the housing complexes and one of the academic buildings, there were no lives lost at Union, despite having approximately 1200 people on campus at the time. A few mangled road signs, water stains on some of the buildings and a constant buzz of rebuilding activity is nearly all that is left to tell visitors about the tornado that hit Union, little over two months ago. Instead of devastation and destruction – the images so recently seen on campus – there is a flurry of activity as construction crews erect new dormitory facilities.

On April 24-26, Southeastern students and staff traveled to the fellow Southern Baptist institution to aid in the continuing efforts at restoration. Approximately 25 people spent a portion of their spring break helping in the continuing clean-up efforts by landscaping, a task which had largely been neglected as maintenance and rebuilding efforts were focused on more urgent matters, as well as lending support to the Union family.

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.

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.

Southeastern grad to lead state convention

Southeastern graduate Rick Speas is praying for the chance to lead North Carolina Baptists in a time of revival and spiritual renewal.

Speas, who graduated from Southeastern with a Master’s of Divinity in 1989 and a Doctor of Ministry in 2001, was elected as president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina during their annual meeting November 12-14, held in Greensboro, N.C.