The Great Commission Magazine of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Fall 2018

FALL 2018

breaking

BREAKING

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BOUNDARIES Wwith I T H the THE Ggospel OSPEL

It’s more than a college.

It’s a calling.

The College at Southeastern equips students to give their lives for the cause of Christ in the Church, among the nations and in every aspect of society.

Come visit us in Wake Forest or learn more at collegeatsoutheastern.com.

Wake Forest, NC /collegeSE

@DannyAkin

A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) Missions is inherently and of necessity theological. We go to the nations with the biblical charge “to make disciples.”

Further, we make disciples by “teaching” them of all that King Jesus has commanded. Theology informs our missions, and missions is the natural outgrowth and response to our theology.

In our work to equip students, it is imperative for us to see that the Bible weds missions and theology. They are divine companions, not dangerous enemies.

They are supernatural complements that work with each other, not against each other. One without the other is incomplete. One without the other is a biblical contradiction.

We live in a broken world, but we have a message that breaks down barriers.

Whether it is the hard work of pursuing unity in diversity, seeking to bring hope to the prison system of our own state or preparing graduates for leadership and teaching to reach unchurched regions around the world, we want to teach so and Savior Jesus Christ loudly and re- that people will go.

Our classrooms are training grounds peatedly: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, there- for breaking down barriers. We start fore, and make disciples of all nations, with the Word of God, and we proclaim baptizing them in the name of the Father the marching orders of King Jesus.

EARLIER THIS YEAR, Barna published a report1 revealing that more than half of churchgoers do not know of the Great Commission.

The report says that age plays a factor.

About 1 in 4 elders and boomers say they know the Great Commission, but only 1 in 10 millennials say they do. Even when given a multiple choice option, most were not able to identify the Great Commission text as Matthew 28:18-20.

Having better results, 60 percent of evangelicals have heard of the Great Commission and know what it is. But, this is still far too low given that the Great Commission is the last words of Jesus to his disciples. The Great Commission is the thread that runs through the book of Acts and is a key part of the redemptive story.

One of the most interesting results of the study is this statement: “There is a correlation between what Barna calls ‘Bible-mindedness’—essentially, full faith in and regular engagement with Scripture—and recognizing the Great Commission.”

We must fervently strive to make sure our people know their Bible. We must

Daniel L. Akin, President

https://www.barna.com/research/half-churchgoers-not-heard-great-commission

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Around Southeastern Student Life Right and Below: New Southeastern students meet and prepare for their first semester.

Next Page: Judson House, named after missionaries Adoniram and Ann Judson, wins the second annual House Tournament.

Maria Estes

Retirement Lecture Dr. Bruce Little, emeritus professor of philosophy, gives his retirement lecture after 17 years at Southeastern.

Maria Estes

Around Southeastern Japan Below: Sixteen faculty, staff, students and friends of Southeastern traveled to Tokyo, Japan this summer to work with alumni Daniel and Tara Rice in their mission field.

Right: The Southeastern team visits Takeshita Street in Tokyo.

Maria Estes and Amy Whitfield

Visit us We would love for you to visit campus for a PREVIEWDAY or campus tour!

To arrange a visit, simply contact our Admissions office at 1-800-284-6317, or visit iamgoing.org.

The Great Commission Magazine of

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Fall 2018 Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Wake Forest, NC Daniel Akin President Bruce Ashford Provost Ryan Hutchinson Executive Vice President for Operations

Contents Fall 2018

Read and share online! sebts.edu/magazine

What’s Happening at Southeastern 8 East Asian Leadership Initiative Begins at Southeastern 8 Southeastern Establishes First Endowed Directorship, Board of Trustees Elects First Female Chair 9 Global Missions Week Fosters Great Commission Focus 10 Link Conference: ‘A Catalyst Towards Change’ in Multicultural Ministry 11 Hispanic Leadership Development Hosts Training Focused on Bible Teaching and Interpretation 12 Great Commission a Guiding Passage for Life and Ministry, Akin Charges Graduates

Art Rainer Vice President for Institutional Advancement

13 Southeastern Announces Four New Faculty Members

Financial and Alumni Development Jonathan Six, Director

17 ‘She is No Slave of Fear Who Fears the Lord,’ Wilkin Tells Attendees at SEBTS Women’s Leadership Breakfast

George Harvey - General Counsel & Director of Planned Giving

18 God’s Grace ‘More Than Sufficient’ for SEBTS, Akin Reports to Messengers

Drew Davis - Associate Director

19 Akin Challenges Alumni and Friends to ‘Walk Humbly’ Before the Lord

Chris Allen - Denom. Relations & Ministry Teams Coordinator Michelle Ard - Administrative Assistant

16 Baptist21 Panelists Discuss How to Have a Diverse, Yet Unified SBC Culture

20 Southeastern Installs 10th Faculty Chair in Honor of Charles Page

Natan Carvalho - Data Management Coordinator

21 Student Life Division Staff Changes

Megan Chadwick - Graphic Designer

22 Crosslands Students Begin SEBTS Coursework

Cristie Dowda - Grant Writer (Retiring after 13 years of service!)

Jonathan Goforth - Development Officer Barbara Harvey - Administrative Assistant Jeff Hedgepeth - Grant Writer Luke Hinson - Administrative Assistant Becca Warren - Development Officer Billy Vernon - Administrative Assistant

24 Islam and North America: Loving Our Muslim Neighbors 25 New and Upcoming Faculty Works

Featured Stories 26

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Marketing and Communications

BREAKING

Amy Whitfield, Director Maria Estes - Photographer, Graphic Designer Emily Flowers - Graphic Designer

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Sam Morris - E-Marketing Specialist Jordan Parris - Administrative Assistant

Ggospel OSPEL

Lauren Pratt - News and Information Specialist Ryan Thomas - Lead Graphic Designer Nathaniel Williams - Intersect Project Marketing Specialist To inform us of address changes or if you would like to receive the magazine, please contact us at 919-761-2203 or e-mail alumni@sebts.edu.

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20).

Southeastern is an institution of higher learning and a Cooperative Program ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention. Support comes through the gifts of the Cooperative Program and the individual friends of the seminary who provide assistance through wills, estates and trusts.

The Great Commission Magazine of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (ISSN 2327-154X) is published by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary P.O. Box 1889 Wake Forest, NC 27588 www.sebts.edu

28 Five Years in the Making: How Kingdom Diversity is Shaping a More Multicultural Southeastern Community 30 Equipped to Serve: How the North Carolina Field Minister Program is Providing Hope for Long-Term Inmates 34 One Step at a Time: How a Southeastern Graduate is Helping Train Leaders for Tough Places 38 Greater Unity Through Gospel Growth

STORIES 42 Where Life Collides with Theology: Making Christ Known in Bulgaria 43 How One Nepali Student is Taking His Training Home

Financial and Alumni Development 44 Investing in the Mission: How the Faithfulness of 23 People Continues to Pay Dividends 48 A Letter from the Director | Jonathan Six, Director of Financial and Alumni Development

LOOK INTO OUR NEW BIBLICAL COUNSELING CERTIFICATE!

START NOW. GO WITH US. sebts.edu/gocertificates

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN \

East Asian Leadership Initiative Begins at Southeastern THE GLOBAL Theological Initiatives (GTI) office at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) expanded its impact across the globe by creating the East Asian Leadership Initiative.

Minwoo Jang began serving as the first East Asian Leadership Initiative coordinator in February of 2018 and in August of 2018 became director of the initiative. Jang graduated with a Th.M. from SEBTS in May 2018 and is seeking to enter the Ph.D. program.

This initiative is specifically focused on engaging leaders across East Asia who serve both in theological education and the local church.

Specific attention is given to the contextual training of leaders within their own nations as well as those who have relocated to urban centers outside of the East Asian context.

This initiative also works with other offices at Southeastern to help increase the East Asian student population on campus and online.

“It is always exciting to have the privilege of serving Christian leaders within their context,” said John Ewart, associate vice president of GTI. “We recognize how God continues to work in the East Asian church to impact the entire world, and our prayer is to be able to assist his work in any way possible.”

Danny Akin, president of SEBTS, expressed his thankfulness in having Jang on staff.

“I am very excited about our East Asian Leadership Initiative. It has been my prayer for some time that God would use Southeastern to impact the East Asian community both here in the United States and around the world,” said Akin. “We are thankful to have Minwoo on board to help determine and guide us in the best pathways for that impact to become a greater reality.”

Jang is looking forward to what the Lord is going to do at SEBTS as he begins his new role.

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Southeastern Establishes First Endowed Directorship, Board of Trustees Elects First Female Chair

Minwoo Jang

as the coordinator of the East Asian Leadership Initiative at Southeastern,” said Jang. “It is my desire to see God use this East Asian Leadership Initiative to serve East Asian leaders as they are trained and equipped for the Great Commission of Jesus Christ both on and off campus.”

GTI is currently engaged in the equipping of proven, positioned leaders serving churches, mission boards and seminaries on six continents.

The efforts of GTI enhance and develop opportunities for biblical training around the globe through a combination of occasional face-to-face and distance learning delivery.

MONGOLIA

KOREA

CHINA JAPAN

TAIWAN

VIETNAM

ON TUESDAY, APRIL 10, Scott Hildreth was installed as the George Liele Director of the Lewis A. Drummond Center for Great Commission Studies, the first endowed directorship at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS).

This endowment was one of many other notable decisions made at the bi-annual Southeastern Society (SES) and Board of Trustees (BOT) meetings April 8-10.

The election of officers was a historic moment in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). A thorough examination of SBC Annuals indicates that Becky Gardner will serve as the first female Board of Trustees chair for a Southern Baptist seminary. Additionally, Adrianne Miles was elected as an assistant professor of English and linguistics, the first female elected to the SEBTS faculty in 15 years.

In his address at the BOT and SES dinner, SEBTS President Danny Akin emphasized the theological progress of the school.

“You are witnessing a miracle in what is today Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. It is a miracle worth believing in; it is a miracle worth praying for; it is a miracle worth supporting,” said Akin.

On Monday afternoon, the Southeastern Women’s Fellowship hosted a lunch to highlight scholarships awarded to female students. The goal of the Southeastern Women’s Fellowship is to provide multiple tuition scholarships each year and opportunities for participants to advance the support and encouragement of female students. The lunch honored the 2018 scholarship recipients, and attendees raised an additional $4,850 so that more women can receive theological training and impact the kingdom. To give to the Southeastern Women’s Fellowship, go to sebts.edu/give.

SES members give at least $1,000 to SEBTS each year and partner with the school to help train students in living out the Great Commission wherever they go.

Learn more about the Southeastern Society or join today at sebts.edu/ses

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Global Missions Week Fosters Great Commission Focus “OUR MAIN CALL is not to this location; it’s to be disciples and make disciples.”

Phil Bartuska, a missionary in Vienna, Austria, encouraged students with this message along with other panelists at “Knowing Your Call,” one of the many Global Missions Week events hosted by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s (SEBTS) Lewis A. Drummond Center for Great Commission Studies (CGCS). Global Missions Week, which took place April 1012, occurs every spring as a way to promote North American and overseas missions among SEBTS students.

Knowing how the Lord calls individuals into specific ministries is key for students to understand. This was the main topic of “Knowing Your Call, a panel discussion on Thursday. Along with Bartuska, panelists included Skylar Anderson, a church planter in Denver, Colorado; Don Lynch, a missionary in Ghent, Belgium; and Michael Guyer, a church planter in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Anderson said at his church, he helps people think through their calling in terms of the desires God has given them, how the Lord is affirming

those desires and where they are seeing opportunities to use their passions.

Lynch said that calling is God compelling a person to go and be obedient.

“You have this sense that God is calling you to do something and he just wants you to be obedient in those steps,” said Lynch.

Guyer noted that one of the ways calling is affirmed is through the feedback of others.

“I think having honest conversations and asking people to give you feedback is vital,” he said.

Bartuska spoke honestly about the difficult reality that following God does not mean everything will work out perfectly. Instead, Christians are to obey God in order to grow closer to him.

“Your first calling should be your primary calling, which is God calling you to himself,” said Bartuska.

Early in the week, David Platt, then president of the International Mission Board and pastor-teacher at McLean Bible Church, told the story of Adoniram Judson and his missionary service in Burma.

Platt prayed for 14 of Southeastern’s International Church Planting stu-

dents. Fellow students, faculty and staff surrounded them, laying hands on them and commissioning them to the ends of the earth.

Along with the commissioning service, the Southeastern family gathered together to enjoy food and fellowship throughout the week at Taco Tuesday and Taste of the Nations on Wednesday, two staple events of Global Missions Week. Taste of the Nations featured food from 12 countries, including India, Vietnam, Mongolia and the Netherlands.

Also, booths were set up in the CGCS to foster conversation among students and missions organizations, including the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board and Reaching and Teaching Ministries.

The CGCS is a ministry center of SEBTS that helps students to engage in international and North American missions through events and shortterm trips.

Learn more about the CGCS at thecgcs.org

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WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN \

Link Conference: ‘A Catalyst Towards Change’ in Multicultural Ministry ON APRIL 13, the Kingdom Diversity Initiative (KDI) at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) hosted the Link Conference to discuss how to put multicultural passion into informed practice. Due to racism’s damaging effects, speakers at the conference gave multiple perspectives for how a church can begin breaking down barriers within congregations.

Walter Strickland, associate vice president for diversity and assistant professor of systematic and contextual theology at SEBTS, began the confer- support diversity. The panelists were ence by speaking about the layers of Danny Akin, president of SEBTS; Andy racism and why it presents a challenge Davis, senior pastor of First Baptist for church leaders to overcome. He ac- Durham in Durham, North Carolina; knowledged the many layers of racism and Jerome Gay, lead pastor of preachthat exist that create difficulty for lead- ing and vision at Vision Church in Raers in fostering multicultural environ- leigh, North Carolina. ments within the church.

In speaking to the question of how “What we’re trying to do today is allow each church or organization has supthis moment to be a catalyst toward ported minorities while pursuing diverchange,” said Strickland. sity, Davis noted his conviction over Strickland noted that it is significant Strickland’s opening session and how for churches to have structures that he recognized his church’s great need to support a diverse community, allowing make changes toward diversity. for a multiplicity of perspectives to es“My passion and my desire for that tablish and examine new and existing has been necessary but insufficient,” programs and procedures. said Davis.

The last two sessions of the day inGay discussed the importance of purcluded two panels moderated by Strick- suing diversity and supporting minorland. The first panel featured a discus- ity leaders by creating a culture of sion on how church leaders can strive “eclecticity” at Vision Church, noting toward organizational structures that that there is no “monolithic” race, but

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instead there is the recognition that even within race, cultures vary. Gay also emphasized that feedback from other minorities is key.

“That feedback is sometimes painful, but it’s necessary,” said Gay. Akin said that at Southeastern, intentionality has been essential as he has built trust with a variety of people who can speak honestly to blind spots he may not see in the institution.

“It’s one thing to say we want to be an ethnically diverse community; it’s another thing to actively work to make it happen,” said Akin, who has seen SEBTS grow significantly in its diversity in the past 14 years that he has been president.

The second panel focused more heavily on the relational outworking of unifying the church in the midst of cultural differences. The panelists were Matthew Hodges, lay leader at Christ Our King Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina; Jesse Parker, elder at Vision Church; and Aaron Anderson, pastor of Vintage Church Durham in Durham, North Carolina.

As a white elder at a predominantly black church, Parker addressed how he navigates conversations with others when it comes to racial and cultural differences. He acknowledged that he has to wrestle with what he has perceived as a “normative experience” based on his context as a white man.

“I have to have the awareness of how I’ve been shaped by my own experience to actually engage and interact with that,” said Parker. “Oth-

/ WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN

erwise, I’m just going to retreat or I’m just going to attack instead of actually engaging.”

Even in how Parker teaches at Vision Church, he has to think critically about how he has looked at certain issues in light of his background and the questions that could be raised in light of the backgrounds of the people in the congregation. He gave the example of how he addresses pro-life issues, noting that he advocates for life on multiple levels, whether that involves barriers through abortion, police brutality, systematic racism or more.

“I’m dealing with pro-life issues, but I’m dealing with it in a lot of ways that my traditional white environment hasn’t forced me to think about,” said Parker.

Anderson emphasized the importance of humility in relationships and not allowing a spirit of entitlement even when the lack of understanding from brothers and sisters in Christ is painful.

“If your identity is tied to some type of entitlement you’ll always be shaky.

There will always be some type of discontentment,” said Anderson.

Ultimately, said Anderson, God brings reconciliation and healing.

“I can still love you and walk with you through this and trust God to do the healing that only he can do through his Spirit,” said Anderson.

Overcoming multicultural barriers and leading people to think this way is non-negotiable for Hodges.

“If you’re in leadership, this has to be a gospel conviction,” said Hodges. “This cannot be a gospel elective.”

Leaders need to do what he calls a “spiritual audit” by making sure the leadership team is ready for bringing diversity and bridging cultural divides.

Hodges told those in attendance to think of the acronym “L.I.S.T.E.N” when it comes to pursuing reconciliation in the church, which involves leadership, intentionality, sacrifice, time, energy and never giving up.

The KDI started in the fall of 2013 and promotes diversity through hosting campus events and discussions centered on topics regarding underrepresented populations and how the gospel intersects with these issues in culture.

Hispanic Leadership Development Hosts Training Focused on Bible Teaching and Interpretation ON APRIL 28, the Hispanic Leadership Development office hosted Interpretando y Enseñando la Biblia, a fivehour training for Hispanic church and ministry leaders on how to interpret and teach the Bible from the grand, Christocentric narrative of Scripture.

Many people packed into Eitel Auditorium at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminar y (SEBTS), as 125 were registered for the event, to hear from three speakers: Miguel Echevarria, director of Hispanic Leadership Development and assistant professor of New Testament and Greek at SEBTS; Raudel Hernandez, The Summit Church en Español campus pastor; and Moises Gomez, a Master of Divinity student at SEBTS. The goal of the training, said Echevarria, was “to give attendees a better understanding of a text within the canonical storyline and to give them a taste of what they would get in our Hispanic programs [at SEBTS].”

Echevarria opened up the conference by walking attendees through an overview of Genesis through Revelation, showing how all 66 books tell one narrative. Hernandez followed Echevarria’s talk by speaking more specifically on the Old Testament through the lens of how it fits into the overarching story of the Bible. Gomez

was the conference’s third speaker and spoke on how the New Testament intersects with the whole of Scripture.

The event concluded with a panel discussion from all three speakers, as well as Gomez’s wife, Betsy, who is a conference speaker with Revive our Hearts. Panelists answered questions from the audience and focused on how attendees could begin interpreting and teaching through the Bible in light of the narrative of Scripture.

Echevarria noted that many Hispanic pastors and church leaders do not have many resources in Spanish, making events like Interpretando y Enseñando la Biblia a helpful resource to them and an encouragement to consider furthering their theological education. SEBTS applications were available to attendees at the event as well.

“Afterwards, pastors were encouraged by the event, looking forward to the next one and possibly studying at SEBTS,” said Echevarria.

The event was advertised through Twitter and was streamed live via Facebook. Echevarria said he hopes to offer similar events each semester.

Hispanic Leadership Development seeks to provide theological training to Spanish-speaking people on campus, overseas and online. Hispanic Leadership Development is an extension of the Global Theological Initiative office at SEBTS. To learn more about events and news specific to the Hispanic community at SEBTS, like and follow @sebtsespanol

@sebts_hispanic

Learn more at sebts.edu/kd

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WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN \

Great Commission a Guiding Passage for Life and Ministry, Akin Charges Graduates LIVING OUT the Great Commission in life and ministry was the theme of this spring’s graduation ceremonies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS), which began at 10 a.m. for the seminary and 3 p.m. for The College at Southeastern.

“You all know that this was the banner under which you entered Southeastern Seminary, and this will also be the banner under which you graduate,” said SEBTS President Danny Akin.

On May 11, 244 graduates received their diplomas from SEBTS. Of those graduates, 195 students are graduating from the seminary, while the other 49 are from The College at Southeastern.

“The prayer of this faculty is that every one of you, without exception, will be a Great Commission graduate who will spend the rest of your life being a Great Commission Christian,” said Akin.

Akin challenged graduates with three ways that the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 should guide a Christian’s life and ministry.

First, Christians are to acknowledge Christ’s power, Akin said, noting verse 18 in which the phrase “all” is written four times, referencing God’s sovereignty in all things.

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him, and you go with his power,” said Akin.

Akin quoted Hudson Taylor, a wellknown missionary to China, who said, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”

As you graduate today, my simple prayer for each of you is simply this: the will of God: nothing less, nothing more and nothing else.

Second, Christians are to obey Christ’s plan, which is to “make disciples,” found in verse 19.

“He commands us to go; he commands us to baptize; he commands us to teach. That is the means whereby we are capable of making disciples,” said Akin.

Christians should not doubt if they are called to go and make disciples but how. Akin explained that the biblical mandate for this call is clear in the Great Commission passage.

“You don’t need to pray about whether or not you should go. That’s settled,” said Akin. “He has com-

manded you to go. The simple response on your part is, ‘Where Lord?’”

To emphasize this point further, Akin urged graduates to consider the 3.14 billion people in the world who still need the gospel and do not have access to it.

Of the graduates Akin addressed, 30 plan to be involved in mission work, and four of them plan to move overseas.

Akin reminded graduates of missionaries like John Keith Falconer, C.T. Studd and David Livingstone, who all died and were buried in their places of service.

“Sympathy is no substitute for action,” Akin quoted Livingstone, a missionary to Africa in the 1800s.

Thirdly, Akin said Christians are to trust in Christ’s promise, as Jesus states to his disciples in verse 20.

This promise, Akin explained, is for all Christians that Jesus will be with them until the end.

Again, quoting Taylor, missionary and founder of the China Inland Mission, Akin said, “God isn’t looking for people of great faith but for individuals ready to follow Him.” “As you graduate today, my prayer for each of you is simply this: the will of God, nothing less, nothing more and nothing else,” said Akin, concluding his address.

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Southeastern Announces Four New Faculty Members SOUTHEASTERN Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) announced four new faculty hires: Julia Bickley, Ben Holloway, Jason Williamson and Otto Sanchez.

“God continues to bring some of the best and brightest to join our worldclass faculty,” said Danny Akin, president of SEBTS. “These are men and women that love Christ, the Bible, the gospel, the Church and the nations.”

Bickley began teaching at SEBTS June 1 as a full-time assistant professor for ministry to women and was also appointed as the associate dean for graduate administration. She came to SEBTS from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary (MABTS), where she taught since 2009 as an adjunct faculty member. Since 2011, Bickley served as director of campus life and institutional assessment as well as dean of women at MABTS. Bickley has experience teaching church ministries, introduction to research and writing and principles of teaching I and II. She received her Master of Divinity in Christian education from MABTS in 2005 and her Ph.D. in leadership from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2011.

“I’m excited to join the faculty during these exciting days,” said Bickley. “It is a privilege to serve the Lord at an institution so dedicated to the gospel and the local church.”

Holloway began teaching at SEBTS Aug. 1 as a full-time instructor of phi-

Julia Bickley

Ben Holloway

losophy and the History of Ideas. He came to SEBTS from the Commission Leadership Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he taught logic, Latin, writing and leadership. Holloway received his Master of Arts in philosophy of religion in 2014 from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at SEBTS. “In a remarkable way, the Lord uses what goes on in his classrooms to form, inform, and reform our minds and lives,” said Holloway. “I am looking forward to serving him in the classrooms of Southeastern, both online and on campus so that I may play a part in this valuable work.”

God continues to bring some of the best and brightest to join our world-class faculty.

Williamson star ted teaching at SEBTS on Feb. 12 as a part-time associate professor of business and entrepreneurship for The College at Southeastern. Along with teaching at the college, Williamson works for Oracle, an international computer software company. He is currently the vice president of Startup Ecosystems Oracle. Williamson received his master’s in management of I.T. from the

Jason Williamson

University of Virginia.

“I’m thrilled to join the ranks at Southeastern,” said Williamson. “I’m passionate about seeing the gospel spread on the wings of commerce and this institution is uniquely positioned to make that happen.”

Sanchez was appointed to the SEBTS faculty Oct. 26, 2017 as a visiting professor of preaching and pastoral ministry. He is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he teaches and is president at the Seminario Teológico Bautista Dominicano. He is also the president of the Baptist convention in the Dominican Republic. Sanchez received his diploma in 2013 in theology and pastoral ministry through the Langham Preaching seminar in Cochabamba, Bolivia. This seminary is part of a larger organization called Langham Partnership, which was founded by John Stott and promotes training and resources for indigenous pastors and leaders. Sanchez also received his Th.M. in pastoral ministry in 2012 from the Southern Baptist School for Biblical Studies in Jacksonville, Florida.

“This is a great move by SEBTS,” said Edgar Aponte, vice president of mobilization at the International Mission Board. “He not only brings a wealth of pastoral and executive experience, but he is also a great cultural fit to the Great Commission culture that Dr. Akin has created at SEBTS.” “These are wonderful days at Southeastern,” said Akin. “These additions only make us stronger for the important assignment God has given us.”

Otto Sanchez

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SOUTHE AS TERN AT THE SBC ANNUAL MEE TING

Right: Messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention honored First Vice President Walter Strickland, and Second Vice President Jose Abella, both members of the Southeastern Seminary family.

Below: J.D. Greear, president of the SBC and Southeastern alum, participated in a press conference after his election to discuss his goals for the upcoming year.

Maria Estes

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SOUTHE AS TERN AT THE SBC ANNUAL MEE TING

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1: Matt Carter, pastor of preaching and vision at The Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, Texas and Southeastern alum, particpated in a panel on abuse in the church alongside Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and Beth Moore, founder of Living Proof Ministries.

2: The Women and Work panel featured a discussion on the role of women and vocation.

Panelists were Amy Whitfield, Southeastern’s director of marketing and communications; Kelly King, women’s specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources; Lauren McAfee, corporate ambassador for Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.; and Mary Wiley, strategist for women’s books at LifeWay Christian Resources.

3: Many Southeastern alumni and students have been sent out to serve among the unreached who have never heard the gospel.

During the International Mission Board’s commissioning service, these students and graduates were prayed over by thousands in attendance.

4: The North American Mission Board (NAMB) hosted a panel on racial reconciliation featuring Southeastern students and alumni, including Jose Abella, lead pastor of Providence Road Church in Miami, Florida; moderator Dhati Lewis, pastor of Blueprint Church in Atlanta, Georgia and executive director of community restoration with NAMB; and D.A. Horton, pastor of Reach Fellowship in Long Beach, California. The panel also included Ed Litton, senior pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama; his wife Kathy Ferguson Litton, director of planter spouse care at NAMB; Vance Pitman, senior pastor of Hope Church in Las Vegas; and Kevin Smith, executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland-Delaware.

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SOUTHE AS TERN AT THE SBC ANNUAL MEE TING

Baptist21 Panelists Discuss How to Have a Diverse, Yet Unified SBC Culture SOUTHEASTERN Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) participated in its ninth consecutive Baptist21 Luncheon in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting on June 11. The topic of discussion, “United and Diverse: Critical Issues for our Cooperative Future,” sought to bring together multiple perspective to think through how Southern Baptists can move forward on various issues with unity.

Jedidiah Coppenger, lead pastor at Restoration City Church in Franklin, Tennessee, and member of the Baptist21 leadership team, moderated the panel.

“It doesn’t take very long to realize that there’s a great deal of diversity on a lot of issues in the Southern Baptist Convention,” said Coppenger, explaining to the 1,054 attendees that this diversity of backgrounds “frame[s] how we look at the issues before us.”

Panelists included Danny Akin, president of SEBTS; Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church; R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; Kevin Smith, executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware; Trillia Newbell, an author and speaker from Nashville, Tennessee; and D.A. Horton, pastor of Reach Fellowship.

One of the issues addressed was the unintentional enablement of abusive men in the church and how pastors can counteract that problem.

Moore explained that this can happen when churches try to maintain “self-preservation.”

“It’s a Genesis 3 fallen world,” added Moore. “Abuse can happen here no matter where here is, and so saying that to your congregation or community doesn’t remove confidence, it actually instills confidence.”

Chandler challenged pastors in stopping the enabling of abusers in the church by suggesting the following caveat in sermons regarding submission: “If you are in a physically, emotionally, spiritually18 \ SEBTS.EDU \\ FALL 2018

abusive situation, this is not giving your husband permission to treat you like that.

Please come to us. We want to get you to safety, and then we can talk about the situation that you’re in.”

Chandler explained that abusive men distort submission in Scripture as a weapon.

The conversation then turned to creating safe environments for women in churches.

Newbell encouraged pastors to invite women who have been victims of abuse to be a part of those decisions.

“Don’t ignore the women around you,” said Newbell. “They are there to serve and to help and [to] equip you in how to handle these situations.”

Newbell, who had shared her story of abuse as a teenager at an ERLC event the

night before, challenged attendees to have procedures in place to handle abuse situations as well as gracious church environments.

“Make sure that you have grace upon grace,” said Newbell, “[so] that [victims] know they will not be treated differently because they have just shared the hardest parts of their heart and stuff that they have been through.”

In relation to his recent article, “The Wrath of God Poured Out – The Humiliation of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Mohler said, “It’s embarrassing to be called by people to defend your theology out of the accusation that it leads to the abuse of women. But what if it does?

Or what if it can?” said Mohler. “Then it’s our responsibility to make sure that it must not.”

SOUTHE AS TERN AT THE SBC ANNUAL MEE TING

/ WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN

Panelists also discussed more specifically how they are empowering women in the context of their schools and churches.

Among them, Akin highlighted a historic moment for SEBTS as well as the SBC. “This year Southeastern did something that’s historic in the Southern Baptist Convention. We elected a woman to be the chairman of our board of trustees,” said Akin. “I think that’s not only important symbolically; I think it’s also important in terms of what will happen on our board as she leads us in the next couple of years.”

“It also helps when we as pastors are reinforcing the leadership that’s been designated to a sister in the church,” said Horton, who gave the example of a wom-

of elephants and dung of donkeys, and we an who leads evangelism efforts at Reach smoke it,” said Smith. His comment was Fellowship. met with a mixture of astonishment, “This is Ephesians 4. I’m equipping her laughter and applause. to do the work of the ministry,” he said. “I Newbell told attendees that a very want to join in the efforts that she’s leadpractical way to begin pursuing diversity ing in the work of ministry.”

The next question shifted the conver- in their lives is to get to know their neighbors who look different than them and to sation to the diversification of the SBC. Smith told attendees that “there is “diversify their mind[s].”

“Proximit y changes ever y thing,” nothing more important than Genesis said Newbell, adding, “We can’t love 1:27, speaking to how people value the who we don’t know and who we’re not image of God in others. Smith also spoke candidly of the political allegiances peo- trying to know.”

Baptist21 is a network of SBC pastors ple draw up in the church that are a form who desire to maintain gospel centrality of idolatry, explaining that Christians while communicating clearly about curmust allow for freedom for one another rent events within pastoral life. on issues that Scripture does not clearly address.

“Some of us roll up joints with the dung For more information, visit baptist21.com

‘She is No Slave of Fear Who Fears the Lord,’ Wilkin Tells Attendees at SEBTS Women’s Leadership Breakfast

to kill all Hebrew males during the birthing process.

Wilkin explained that these Hebrew women feared God more than the threat of death by Pharaoh. Wilkin also pointed out that even though the passage shows that the women lied to Pharaoh about why the babies were not killed, the Lord did not condemn but instead rewarded them for protecting life.

“These women understood that you do not give the truth to someone to whom it is not due,” said Wilkin. “They understood that when faced with the question of speaking the truth in its most simple sense or protecting life that every time you protect life.”

Wilkin explained that Pharaoh didn’t think daughters could affect the course of a nation, but he was wrong.

“Israel’s first deliverer is not Moses,it is actually women. There would be no Moses without their bravery.”

“They understood that she is no slave to fear who fears the Lord,” Wilkin said of Shiphrah and Puah. She added that numerous other women throughout Scripture exemplify such fear of God including, Sarah, Rahab, Deborah, Ruth, Esther, Hannah and Mary, the mother of Jesus.

“The Bible is filled with the stories of fearless female deliverers and I propose to you that we join the ranks,” said Wilkin.

“Misdirected fear” keeps us from moving forward, said Wilkin. “The fear of

JEN WILKIN encouraged women to be fearless in their advocacy on behalf of others and to fear the Lord above all else during this year’s Women’s Leadership Breakfast June 13 in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting.

Teaching from Exodus 1:15-22, Wilkin, an author and teacher from The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, encouraged women to fear the Lord above man in order to stand up for their sisters in Christ who need advocacy.

“I pray that this will be a room full of women who will speak on behalf of your sisters with fearlessness.”

Referencing the first of the 10 commandments, Wilkin said she believes this is the first commandment because “it is an invitation not just to avoid idolatry; it is actually an invitation into reality.”

Wilkin explained that the opposite of the fear of the Lord is the fear of man, as seen in Psalm 111:10.

Wilkin read the story of Shiphrah and Puah, two Hebrew midwives who chose to deliver Moses regardless of the command they were given by Pharaoh

man…is always tied to losing a possession, a relationship or a circumstance,” she said. God’s grace is the greatest possession, His fatherhood the best relationship and His love the greatest circumstance, Wilkin added.

“My worst-case scenario is beautiful,” she said.

Wilkin told women that the Lord does not give gifts to them that are unnecessary to the life of a church.

“Each one of you in this room can walk forward in the knowledge that if you do not act out on what the Lord has given you to do, that the church will be less than for it,” said Wilkin. “The church will not look as it is intended to look.”

Wilkin reminded women that they can do anything if they are content with not always getting credit and that there are women who need them as an advocate. She also encouraged them to confess idolatry in their lives, trusting that God cares more for their ministries than even they do.

Wilkin expressed her desire for them to “learn the life-giving fear of the Lord.”

“Will you take up your place in this long line of female deliverers?” asked Wilkin.

Closing with Proverbs 31:30, Wilkin said, “A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised because in doing so she follows in the footsteps of our savior, and that’s what I ask for each of you.”

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WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN \

SOUTHE AS TERN AT THE SBC ANNUAL MEE TING

It is our calling to equip every student to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission. By His grace and for His glory, we want to do this until King Jesus returns.

God’s Grace ‘More Than Sufficient’ for SEBTS, Akin Reports to Messengers PRESIDENT DANNY AKIN of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) delivered his report to Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) messengers on June 13 during the SBC annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.

Akin addressed the challenging times the school has faced along with the matchless abundance of God’s grace in the situation.

“We have faced some challenging times, but God’s grace has been more than sufficient,” said Akin.

“Southeastern is absolutely committed to providing the safest environment for all of our students but especially our women,” said Akin.

Akin celebrated the many successes SEBTS has seen in the past year, including the increase in its minority and female student population on campus through its Kingdom Diversity Initiative (KDI) led by Walter Strickland, associate vice president for diversity and

20 \ SEBTS.EDU \\ FALL 2018

assistant professor of systematic and contextual theology. Through the implementation of the KDI in 2013, SEBTS has increased its non-white student population by 53 percent and its female student population by 37 percent in the five years of KDI’s existence.

More specifically, the non-white and female student population at SEBTS stands at 16.83 percent and 32.74 percent, respectively.

“We are absolutely committed that the church on earth is going to look like the church in heaven,” said Akin.

Akin also celebrated the fact that SEBTS exceeded 4,000 students enrolled at the school during the 2017-18 school year, and at the time of his report SEBTS had a 4,155 online and campus student population. “[The Great Commission] is not just a theme; it’s something we live out,” said Akin, noting that at SEBTS every classroom is considered a Great Commission classroom, where students learn and live out the mission of God. In speaking of the College at Southeastern, Akin spoke positively of its growth and development through the

continuation of the House System, the undergraduate residence life program, and the History of Ideas curriculum in which students study a variety of historical authors, both secular and Christian.

Other developments at SEBTS over the past year include the North Carolina Field Minister Program, which began in August 2017, and trains men in the Nash Correctional Institution in Nashville, North Carolina to be ministers in the context of the prison system.

SEBTS welcomed 28 students to the program in its first year to begin their training at The College at Southeastern in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and Game Plan for Life led by Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Southeastern’s Global Theological Initiatives is continuing to develop with the addition of its Asian Leadership Development office. Along with this addition, 18 students from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic graduated with a Master of Arts in Christian Studies along with 24 students from Oaxaca, Mexico who graduated with a Master of Arts in Theological Studies. Many of these graduates are professors and convention leaders in their respective countries.

“It is our calling to equip every student to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission, said Akin. “By his grace and for his glory, we want to do this until King Jesus returns.”

SOUTHE AS TERN AT THE SBC ANNUAL MEE TING

/ WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN

Akin Challenges Alumni and Friends to ‘Walk Humbly’ Before the Lord A CALL FOR REPENTANCE and a challenge to rely humbly on the Lord remained a central theme of this year’s Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) Alumni and Friends Luncheon.

J.D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, referenced Proverbs 24:16, which says, “Though a righteous person falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin.”

“You show your righteousness not by never falling but by what you do when you fall,” said Greear, explaining that this is the culture he sees at Southeastern.

He told attendees that the number seven indicates a state of completion, meaning that for the person mentioned in the verse, falling is a state of being. A “healthy gospel culture” is created, Greear said, when those who fall can learn to look to Jesus, which in turn affects positive change in relationships with others.

“That is the spirit that is exemplified at Southeastern Seminary through its leadership, through its graduates,” he said.

Akin followed Greear’s address, speaking candidly to the audience of how the school and greater SBC need to move forward in light of recent events, involving the mistreatment and misrepresentation of women in the denomination.

“Brothers and sisters, we have indeed gotten right our theology,” said Akin, “but in recent days, I think we have been painfully reminded that maybe our practice hasn’t always matched up as well with our theology.”

Akin added, “It’s one thing to believe something, but it’s something altogether different to live it out.”

“I believe it’s a call from God for us to make sure we walk humbly before our Lord because any good thing that he is doing here, it is a result of his goodness and his grace and not our intellect,” said Akin.

Akin highlighted three key aspects he wants to see at SEBTS moving forward: remaining focused on Southeastern’s theological identity, maintaining a Great Commission focus and working with humility.

“I’m very thankful for where we are today, but I also know where I believe God wants us to go, and I’m absolutely convinced we will get there on our knees,” said Akin.

To close out the luncheon, Shane & Shane led alumni and guests in a time of worship.

I believe it’s a call from God for us to make sure we walk humbly before our Lord because any good thing that he is doing here, it is a result of his goodness and his grace and not our intellect.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN \

Southeastern Installs 10th Faculty Chair in Honor of Charles Page SOUTHEASTERN Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) installed its 10th faculty chair, the Charles Page Chair of Biblical Theology, to Charles Quarles during its convocation service Aug. 16. The chair was announced in 2003 at SEBTS while Page was still living, but it was not until 15 years later, with more than 100 donors who gave, that this endowed chair became active.

“It brings great, great joy in my heart to know that until Jesus comes again, one of his choice servants will be honored at this institution and rightly so,” said Akin during a lunch following convocation to honor Page and his family. “Thank you for making this possible. This is a good day at Southeastern Seminary.”

During the lunch, Jack Fallaw, longtime friend of Page, spoke of Page’s great influence and godly example.

“You couldn’t be around Charles very long that you didn’t see there was a power in him that was greater than himself,” said Fallaw.

President Danny Akin of SEBTS spoke to the tremendous influence Page had on his life, calling him “one of my heroes.”

Akin gave three reasons why he admired Page: He learned how to love his family, Page taught him on a public level, and he taught Akin on a one-on-one level.

Quarles, research professor of New Testament and biblical theology at SEBTS, received his Master of Divinity and his Ph.D. in New Testament and Greek from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served as a senior pastor for ten years in Mississippi and Tennessee.

He also spent time as a missionary with the International Mission Board in Bucharest, Romania. Before coming to Southeastern, Quarles served as a professor at multiple seminaries, including Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, the Bucharest Baptist Theological Seminary, the University of Bucharest, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Louisiana College. Quarles is also the author of multiple publications.

Page received both his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southeastern. During his life, Page was widely influential through pastoring mul22 \ SEBTS.EDU \\ FALL 2018

with the other SEBTS faculty members. tiple churches, including churches in Miles is an assistant professor of EngGreensboro, North Carolina and North Augusta, South Carolina. From 1982- lish and linguistics for the college. Cock1985, Page pastored at First Baptist Char- rell is an associate professor of counseling and the assistant director of the doctoral lotte. Page left to serve as pastor of First ministry program in the seminary.

Baptist Nashville before returning back Preaching from Psalm 117, Akin highto First Baptist Charlotte in 1991, where lighted how missionary John Paton’s life he grew the congregation to 3,500. Page and ministry coincided with the message was greatly instrumental in many lives presented in the shortest chapter in all of through broadcasting his sermons from Scripture.

First Baptist Charlotte on television to Paton, Akin told attendees, was a man delivering weekly devotionals to hundreds of businessmen whom the church “who risked his life and sacrificed much that a tribe of murderous cannibals in would host for lunch. Page passed away in 2005 from a nine-year battle with can- the New Hebrides Islands might praise the Lord for his steadfast love and faithcer, but his legacy continues to live on in fulness that endures forever.” the installment of the Charles Page Chair First, Akin explained that Psalm 117:1 of Biblical Theology at SEBTS. During convocation, Scott Pace, asso- describes that the Lord is to be magnified among the nations, being praised and ciate professor of pastoral ministry and extoled by people of every ethnicity. preaching and the associate director of “These people groups are perishing and the Center for Preaching and Pastoral headed toward hell with no gospel witLeadership, was installed in the Johnny ness, and yet our great God desires that Hunt Chair of Biblical Preaching, which they would praise Him and be saved,” began in the fall of 2010.

Adrianne Miles and Tate Cockrell, new- said Akin.

Second, the Lord is to be magnified ly elected faculty members, signed their because of his nature, which is steadfast names to the Baptist Faith & Message and faithful, Akin explained.

2000 and the Abstract of Principles, along

Missie Branch

Student Life Division Staff Changes SOUTHEASTERN Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) is excited to announce three changes related to the Student Life Division, which went into effect Aug. 1.

“We believe these changes will better position of staff to care for, minister to and mobilize our students as we seek to train God-called men and women to serve the Church and fulfill the Great Commission,” said Mark Liederbach, vice president for student services at SEBTS. Missie Branch was named director of graduate life along with her current position as assistant dean of students to women at SEBTS. Branch’s current role as assistant dean includes overseeing spiritual care, activities, events and outreach to women. Her additional responsibilities include fostering a more robust campus community for graduate and advancedlevel students through extracurricular activities.

“I am so passionate about seeing our students have life-changing experiences while

Jake Hatfield

here on our campus,” said Branch. “Having the ability to add a more concentrated focus on our graduate students is vital.”

Jake Hatfield was named director of college life, transitioning out of his role as director of student activities and discipleship.

In his new role, Hatfield continues to oversee the House System, the undergraduate housing and community life at The College at Southeastern. He will also oversee campus recreation and auxiliary ministries while creating initiatives to further develop college life.

“I’m thrilled to continue cultivating a vibrant community that equips students to

Drew Ham

give their lives for the cause of Christ, in the church, among the nations and in every aspect of society,” said Hatfield.

Drew Ham was named assistant dean of students to men along with his current position as assistant vice president of student life. In his additional role, Ham incorporates discipleship for male students at SEBTS. “As a Great Commission seminary, it would be unacceptable to simply talk about discipleship,” said Ham. “Therefore, we want to train God-called men and women to make disciples of all nations, tongues and tribes.”

IMPACT THE NATIONS.

GIVE. sebts.edu/give P.O. Box 1889 Wake Forest, NC 27588-1889 919.761.2203

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN \

Crosslands Students Begin SEBTS Coursework A NEW OPPORTUNITY to help train church planters in Europe is already bearing fruit for Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS). The partnership with Crosslands launched February 13, 2018, and 26 students are already pursuing an Master of Arts in Christian Ministry.

Crosslands began in 2015 as a partnership between Acts 29 Europe and Oak Hill Theological College in Great Britain.

It offers theological training and resources for churches and church leaders in the U.K., Europe and the 10/40 window.

Crosslands is a three-year, seminarylevel program designed for church planters and leaders. Courses in the program can benefit the Christian at any stage, whether a new believer or a seasoned lay leader in the church looking to take foundational courses. This cohort-based program is delivered through a combination of online coursework and intensives.

There are currently 64 students in the seminary program, with approximately one third involved in church planting or cross-cultural ministries.

theological training, this is meeting the The new partnership with SEBTS needs of a much wider range of churches works through the EQUIP network and allows seminary-level students the op- in different contexts.”

Keith Whitfield, dean of graduate tion of taking an additional year and studies, recently visited cohorts meeting then applying their coursework toward an Master of Arts in Christian Ministry. in the Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom hubs and lectured on a theoJen Charteris, chief operating officer logical vision for ministry. of Crosslands, explained, “Crosslands is “It was incredibly encouraging to meet most definitely providing training for the students and faculty of Crosslands people who would not otherwise access and to hear their stories,” Whitfield said. substantial, high-quality, theological training. With almost half of our semi- “This partnership allows Southeastern to supplement an already strong training nary students in secular employment program and to help advance the Great and the vast majority not based in or near a city where they can access local, Commission in Europe”

C O L L A B O R AT I N G F O R T H E G O S P EL

W W W . C R O S S L A N D S .T R A I N I N G

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CHRISTIAN SCHOLARSHIP OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY. Sound Theology Advanced Research Focused Mentorship

PH.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

sebts.edu/phd

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN \

Islam and North America: Loving Our Muslim Neighbors Micah Fries and Keith Whitfield B&H Academic, 2018

Reviewed by Greg Mathias

Available now from or

TRAGIC EVENTS like 9/11, the Boston Marathon and Fort Hood, Texas were the first introduction to Islam for many Americans. Often emotions like fear, distrust, hurt and even anger rise to the surface when considering Islam and Muslims. Islam seems like an outsider in today’s North America; yet as we look around, more and more of our neighbors are Muslim.

“Islam and North America” brings together a collection of practitioners, scholars and former Muslims to move the discussion of Islam from soundbites and headlines to real people. In the opening chapter, Ed Stetzer outlines four guidelines for interacting with adherents of other religions, including Islam: 1) Let each religion speak for itself 2) Talk with and about individuals, not generic faiths 3) Respect others who hold to different beliefs and 4) Grant each person the freedom to make his or her faith decisions. In many ways, this chapter effectively sets the trajectory for the remainder of the book as the various authors refer back to his four guidelines in interacting with our new Muslim neighbors. In Chapter 2, Steve Johnson provides a realistic picture of Islam in the world and in North America through a helpful discussion of demographics and Islamic history. This 26 \ SEBTS.EDU \\ FALL 2018

discussion highlights the fact that it is almost impossible, as Johnson writes, to find a “single essence” in Islam.

These two chapters provide the backdrop against which the rest of the book addresses Islam.

Part two of the book answers compelling yet complicated questions like: Should we defend freedom of worship for other religions, do Christians and Muslims worship the same God and do Muslims want to overtake America’s political structure and institute Sharia Law? More than a book of information and demographics, “Islam and North America” seeks to equip people to actively engage their Muslim neighbors.

To that end, the reader finds in these chapters useful definitions of terms like religious liberty (50) and Sharia Law (91). There are also clarifying questions to help ground our understanding of Islam. In Chapter 5, Whitfield redirects the reader’s consideration and answer to the more common question, “Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?” Throughout these chapters the authors intertwine realistic answers with personal stories while echoing the consistent reminder that Muslims are not people to be feared; they are individuals to be understood as a real people, not as caricatures or gener-

alizations (116). Perhaps the highlight of the book is the helpful discussion questions at the end of each chapter designed to be used by individuals or groups. These sections take this book from academic interaction to real life application.

Fries and Whitfield describe this book as an “icebreaker kind of book.” I believe they achieve this and much more. Throughout this book, the reader finds conversation partners in describing their own journey in understanding and finding ways to get to know and love Muslim neighbors. These are friends who have not “figured it out” but are compelling us to stumble forward in caring for and sharing with our Muslim neighbors. As one who has lived among and worked with Muslims for many years, this is a useful and commendable book. It is an easy read that provides helpful information, compelling stories and thought-provoking questions.

Kambiz Saghaey writes in the foreword that he was transformed from an angry, Islamic man. In a similar way, this book aims to transform us. Many of us need to be transformed from fearful and distrustful Christian men and women to those who love and reach out to our Muslim neighbors here in North America.

/ WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SOUTHEASTERN

N E W

A N D

Trinitarian Theology Theological Models and Doctrinal Application Keith S. Whitfield (Editor) B&H Academic, 2018

U P C O M I N G

F A C U LT Y

Living Well God’s Wisdom from the Book of Proverbs Allan Moseley Lexham Press, 2017

W O R K S

From the Study to the Pulpit An 8-Step Method for Preaching and Teaching the Old Testament Allan Mosely Weaver Book Co., 2018

Why Is There Evil In The World (And So Much Of It)?

Bondage & Freedom: Escaping the Trap of Pornography

Greg Welty

D. Scott Hildreth

Christian Focus, 2018

Amazon Digital Services LLC, 2018

Muslim Conversions to Christ A Critique of Insider Movements in Islamic Contexts

Knowing and Doing The Will of God David W. Jones Vertias Publications, 2018

Ayman S. Ibrahim (Editor) and Ant Greenham (Editor)

Together on God’s Mission: How Southern Baptists Cooperate to Fulfill the Great Commission D. Scott Hildreth B&H Academic, 2018

Chasing Infinity Discipleship as the Pursuit of Infinite Treasure Mark Liederbach Cru Press, 2017

Peter Lang Inc., 2018

Letters to an American Christian Bruce Riley Ashford B&H Books, June 2018

Pastoral Theology Theological Foundations for Who a Pastor is and What He Does

SBC FAQs: A Ready Reference

Daniel L. Akin and R. Scott Pace

B&H Academic, 2018

Keith Harper and Amy Whitfield

B&H Academic, 2017

For more information, or to purchase these or other SEBTS faculty works, visit sebts.edu/books

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breaking

BREAKING

boundaries

BOUNDARIES Wwith I T H the THE Ggospel OSPEL

/ FEATURED STORIES

But 13 now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away but now in christ jesus, you who were far away 14 have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For have been brought near by the blood of christ. 14 for

13

he is madeboth both groups one and he our is ourpeace, peace, who who made groups one and tore tore 15 down hisflesh, flesh,15 he he downthethedividing dividingwall wallofofhostility. hostility. inInhis

made of of nonoeffect consisting of commands made effect the the law law consisting of commands andand expressed thathehemight might expressedininregulations, regulations, sosothat create newman man from createininhimself himself one one new from thethe two,two, 16 resulting did this that he hemight might resultingin inpeace. peace. 16 He he did this so so that

reconcile Godininone one body through cross reconcile both both totogod body through the the cross by which death. by whichheheput putthe thehostility hostility to to death.

Ephesians 2:13-16,csbCSB ephesians 2:13-16,

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FEATURED STORIES \

five years

FIVE YEARS

in the

IN THE Mmaking AKING how kingdom diversity is S H A P I N G A M O R E M U LT I C U LT U R A L shaping a more multicultural SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNIT Y southeastern community HOW KINGDOM DIVERSIT Y IS

“THAT’S HOW FEW African Americans there were on campus that if you saw someone you just ran to them and gave them a hug,” Walter Strickland, associate vice president for diversity and assistant professor of systematic and contextual theology at SEBTS, laughed as he thought about the difference in Southeastern’s diversity from the time he was a Master of Divinity student in 2006 to today.

“It’s not like that anymore,” Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminar y

30 \ SEBTS.EDU \\ FALL 2018

(SEBTS) responded.

“It’s not like that anymore. You’d be hugging people all over the place,” Strickland said with a smile.

As the two sat in Akin’s office, they recounted the multiplicity of ways that Southeastern has grown in its awareness and inclusion of underrepresented populations.

It all started with an idea and the intentionality needed to make it happen.

Strickland remembers waking up in the middle of the night and writing

the idea on a napkin. As he recalled, it was ignited by a desire to see the school play an active role in strategically recruiting and retaining ethnic minority students.

At the time, Strickland was pursuing his Master of Theology degree at SEBTS and had already earned his Master of Divinity. He took the idea to the vice president of institutional advancement who then brought it before Akin and the SEBTS Cabinet.

It was this idea that would morph into the Kingdom Diversity Initiative (KDI).

During a Cabinet retreat in 2012 after Strickland’s initial proposal, Akin and the members agreed they needed greater diversity within the Southeastern community.

“We train ministers for the church, and so our seminary ought to look like the church in heaven, and we don’t,” Akin said, recounting the conversation that took place on that retreat.

From the time Akin started his job as Southeastern’s president in 2004, his heart was to see a diverse campus.

What was lacking, he noted at the Cabinet retreat, was the intentionality to see it happen.

“Dr. Akin has always been excited about this from the beginning; we’re just making our efforts more and more strategic,” said Strickland.

Hiring Strickland to launch the KDI in 2013 would become a significant stepping stone to increasing racial diversity and the female student population in the Southeastern community. As Akin and Strickland think about the progress the KDI has made in the last five years, they agree that the Southeastern community looks significantly different than it once

/ FEATURED STORIES

did. In fact, the growth of the under- Akin of those in the majority culture. represented student population has “And if you’re really going to be truly exceeded both of their expectations a diverse institution in terms of your ethnicity, that’s got to happen.” in such a short time.

One key blind spot for Akin, he Through the implementation of the KDI in 2013, SEBTS has increased its admitted, was knowing how to innon-white student population by 53 tentionally pursue diversity at percent and its female student popu- Southeastern.

“It’s one thing to want to do things lation by 37 percent. More specifically, the non-white and female stu- differently; it’s another thing to know dent population at SEBTS stands at how,” he said.

Since Strickland’s hiring, Akin 16.83 and 32.74 percent, respectively. asked him to point out blind spots in As of 2017, SEBTS employment of ethnic minorities and females stood the institution where necessary.

The intentionality to listen and to at 15 and 37 percent, respectively, the highest percentages the school has create an environment for change to happen on campus has led to signifiseen in at least a decade.

“I have no illusions that we would cant changes for the school. One signot be where we are today had God nificant breakthrough was the crenot brought Walter here,” said Akin… ation of the Kingdom Diversity “I think we had to have the right per- Scholarship. More than simply sayson here inside the house on the cam- ing diversity matters, the school must pus for it to actually get traction and show it, Akin explained.

Strickland describes this scholarthen begin to move forward.” ship fund as a “a scholarship pool with a bunch of streams pouring into [it].” One of these “streams” is the Daniel L. Akin “Kingdom Diversity” “The Kingdom Diversity Initiative Student Aid Fund, an endowed scholis not just to welcome…more minori- arship that was given to Akin in honties on campus, but it’s to transform or of his 10th anniversary as Southour majority culture students, too,” eastern’s president. It is offered to ethnic minority students who have a said Strickland.

A new attitude is occurring in the 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher. The students, faculty and staff on cam- other scholarship, the Kingdom Divpus, he observed, which may be the erity Scholarship, is offered to any most compelling aspect of the KDI’s ethnic minority students and doctoral female students who have a 2.75 progress.

It’s an attitude that comes through cumulative GPA or higher.

“And we spend every dime every listening.

“When you listen, you learn. And year, don’t we?” Akin asked Strickwhen you learn, you see that people land as they continued to discuss the have perspectives that don’t neces- progess of the KDI. “Every dime,” said Strickland. sarily match up with yours,” said

At Southeastern, the role of women in seminary is not a question of if, but how. One way intentionality played its part in its inclusion of women on campus was with the start of the Society for Women in Scholarship.

Started by a small group of women on campus in the fall of 2016, the society is a member-based group that allows females on campus to have a place of support, encouragement and discovery in what it looks like to be a woman in theological education.

The society meets once a month with the support of both the KDI and Women Around Southeastern, an extension of the Student Life Division.

Southeastern isn’t just a place for women to feel welcome but protected in order to contribute to every area of campus life.

“I’m learning that it’s one thing to believe that’s what we do; it’s another thing to actually make sure that we do it,” said Akin.

Another way this understanding will be implemented is through an online video explaining what to do in the case of sexual harassment or assault on campus. This video will be shown at New Student Orientation each semester, and all students are required to watch it.

“We’re going to be more intentional, much more aggressive in training students, staff and faculty,” said Akin.

“When you think about it in life, very few good things happen by accident,” said Akin. “Be intentional.

Go after it. Go to work…, and if you do, God honors it.”

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equipped

EQUIPPED TO ERVE to Sserve how the north CAROLINA FIELD carolina field MINISTER PROGRAM IS minister program is PROVIDING HOPE FOR providing hope for L O N G -T E R M I N M AT E S long-term inmates HOW THE NORTH

IF YOU ASK Timothy what word best epitomizes how the North Carolina Field Minister Program (NCFMP) has impacted him over the last year, he would say grace.

Through a partnership with Game Plan for Life, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) and The College at Southeastern, the NCFMP trains and equips men of faith to be servants to the offender population in their own faith tradition while pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in pastoral ministry.

Timothy shared the following story of the many ways the NCFMP has impacted him and his family: “It is grace that allows inmates to receive a chance at higher education, and it is grace that will reverberate throughout the lives of everyone involved. I am definitely the ‘chief sinner,’ and being chosen for this program didn’t seem likely for a person with my past. Nevertheless, God brought me to the program, and it made an impact on my family. All of a sudden, the conversations were different when I called home. My family has never been part of the Church, and I can’t remember ever having a conversation about God while growing up. I’ve made a mess of things, and now God is turning it into something that will glorify him. My dad gave his life to Christ the night my grandma died and even joined a church! There is no doubt in my mind that the North Carolina Field Minister Program played a major part in my dad’s conversion. It just goes to show, God cannot be confined, and the effects of this program cannot be confined either.” * *edited for length

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/ FEATURED STORIES

twenty-eight long-term inmates IN THE NASH CORRECTIONAL in the nash correctional INSTITUTION FINISHED THEIR FIRST institution finished their first YEAR IN THE PROGRAM THIS SPRING year in the program this spring W H while I L E 2 424M more ORE B E G A Nthis T H I fall.

S FALL. began

T W E N T Y- E I G H T L O N G -T E R M I N M A T E S

In April of 2016, representatives from Game Plan for Life and the NCDPS met in President Danny Akin’s office at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) to plan what would become the North Carolina Field Minister Program.

The inspiration came from Angola Prison in Louisiana, where New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) began a similar program 23 years ago. Akin began praying for a way to make this vision a reality at Southeastern, and Joe Gibbs, founder of Game Plan for Life and owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, began praying for partners to start an educational program within the prison. While Game Plan for Life was already involved in prison ministry, starting an educational program would be a new approach to its work within prisons.

The NCDPS was also looking at Angola Prison Seminary as an example to be followed.

Prayers, phone calls and meetings soon led to a partnership between the NCDPS, Southeastern and Game Plan for Life, who fully

funds the NCFMP. In August of 2017, the NCFMP was launched.

Twenty-eight long-term inmates in the Nash Correctional Institution finished their first year in the program this spring while 24 more began this fall. Seth Bible, director of prison programs at SEBTS, said the overall consensus from students is that this program has already proved to be “life changing.”

Certain requirements have to be met before inmates can be admitted to the NCFMP. An inmate must have at least 15 years remaining on his sentence, have a high school diploma equivalent or higher education and must be in good standing with the prison. After the NCDPS has filtered through its database to find the current inmates who are eligible for the program, Southeastern can then recruit to those particular men. During a six-month process leading up to the beginning of fall classes, inmates in the Nash Correctional Institution have the opportunity to apply, provide references, meet for a face-toface interview and complete a college

preparedness exam. After this process has been completed, up to 30 men are chosen for admission. The goal is that 30 students will be admitted each semester until maximum capacity is reached at 120 students.

During the day, students are in class from 8:15-11:15 a.m. MondayThursday, and they have study hall from 12:15-3:15 p.m. Bible organizes the teaching personnel from Southeastern and began teaching for the first time in a prison educational program when the NCFMP began in August of 2017.

“I feel unbelievably blessed to be able to be a part of a program like this,” said Bible. “I would never in a thousand years have pictured myself doing this, and now it’s actually very difficult to picture myself doing anything different.

Bible emphasized the fact that the quality of education these men are receiving is exactly the same as a student on campus minus the fewer resources available. However, two additions have been provided at the Nash Correctional Institution: a li-

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FEATURED STORIES \

NASH COUNTY EXTENSION CENTER

30 STUDENTS come to NCEC each fall

4 YEARS

1 DEGREE

SENT OUT

theological education + pastoral training

Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry

to minister in prisons across NC

brary, which will include a writing center, and a modular unit to host more classes. The funding for the library is provided by the Keesee Foundation, and books will be purchased and housed in the current classroom by December at the Nash facility. The modular unit is funded through Game Plan for Life and was completed in September.

One unique aspect of the NCFMP is the ability to utilize resources such as Southeastern’s online library and Moodle, where students submit assignments.

“We’re one of the few programs in the entire country…that have figured out a way to allow students to utilize a course

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management platform,” said Bible.

The end goal of the NCFMP is not only to give men hope and purpose while serving out their sentences but also for them to use what they learn in the classroom to impact the culture within the greater prison system of North Carolina.

Upon completion of the Bachelor of Arts in pastoral ministry, graduates will be grouped into teams and assigned to various prisons in the state, where they can hold a range of positions. These can include providing counseling, mentoring new inmates, suicide watch and performing funerals.

The NCFMP is giving hope back to long-term prisoners and providing

them with a chance to minister to the offender population, and Bible looks forward to what the program will look like in the future.

“In five years, we should have three graduating classes worth of field ministers out in the state actually working one-on-one with prisoners to enact a culture change in one of the darkest places in the state,” said Bible.

The program has and will continue to change lives like Timothy’s for years to come.

“I hope to see a number of prisons across the state utilizing our graduates as field ministers to help change the culture of the prison system from the inside out,” said Bible.

/ FEATURED STORIES

ENGAGE THE WORLD WITH THE GOSPEL.

in Faith and Culture

sebts.edu/dmin

FALL 2018 // SEBTS.EDU

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FEATURED STORIES \

one step

ONE STEP

at a

AT A Ttime IME how a southeastern GR A DUAT E IS HEL PING graduate is helping TRAIN LEADERS FOR train leader for TOUGH PLACES tough places

HOW A SOUTHEASTERN

SUSAN BOOTH never guessed she’d be doing the job she finds herself in today.

But as a seminary professor of evangelism and missions at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary (CSBS), she believes that the role in which God has placed her brings unparalleled fulfillment.

“The whole aspect of equipping other people to feel comfortable to start gospel conversations…just really lit a fire under me,” said Booth, recalling when she began teaching evangelism classes at CSBS. The seminary sits atop a hill over-

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looking the little town of Cochrane in the western province of Alberta, Canada. While seemingly secluded, the students represent a diverse population of approximately 70-80 students.

Many of these students are training to go to very difficult areas across Canada and in other areas of North America. In fact, the seminary’s slogan says just that: “training for tough places,” based on Joshua 14:12.

These are the kinds of students that Booth spends each week equipping, but the process of getting there certainly did not happen overnight.

ONE STEP AT A TIME Booth can recount how the Lord has prepared her for each position where she has worked. It has been a “natural progression of stepping stones,” as she described it.

One year after marrying her husband, Steve, the two moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he planned to enroll at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. It had also been a dream of hers to go to seminary and her parents encouraged her toward that end, helping them both attend seminary simultaneously.

The Booths not only shared the experience of seminary together, but they shared similar passions of wanting to go overseas to share the gospel one day.

Until that day came, God continued to prepare Booth for the calling to teach in theological education.

After receiving her Master of Divinity in 1986, she taught Old Testament at Weatherford Junior College, something for which she had not originally planned.

THE GREAT COMMISSION AND THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION In 1992, the Booths were appointed by the International Mission Board (IMB) to serve in Hungary, fulfilling their desire to take the gospel overseas. They were coming in at an opportune moment in history. With the falling of both the Berlin Wall and the Communist government, a receptivity to the gospel existed among the Hun-

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I think it’s really important that we not only believe W H AT W E BE L I E V E , BU T W E L I V E what we believe, but we live I T O U T. I T H I N K P E O P L E F I N D it out. i think people find T H AT FA S C I N AT I NG . that fascinating.

I T H I N K I T ’ S R E A L LY I M P O R T A N T T H A T W E N O T O N LY B E L I E V E

garians the couple ministered to for the next seven years.

While there, Booth was raising her two small children while her husband taught at the Hungarian Baptist Theological Academy. During that time, she was offered the opportunity to write the Old Testament I course for a theological education by extension (TEE) curriculum for training European pastors.

“I think my seminary education and then teaching in Texas at the college level really prepared me,” said Booth.

Step by step, God was leading her, which she saw clearly when the IMB appointed the pair in 2000 to Canada to work at CSBS. First, it started with the opportunity to teach English, then Old Testament survey, New Testament survey and evangelism at the college level.

However, Booth did not just see God equipping her as a teacher of theological education but as a gospel witness in and out of the classroom.

Real conversations and real relationships can lead to effective gospel conversations – this is the vision that Booth desires to cast for her evangelism students and is certainly characteristic of her ministry in Canada.

One day Booth met a woman in her exercise class who was battling cancer.

Typical of Canadian culture, the woman was tolerant of all beliefs. However, over time as Booth befriended her, prayed for her and shared the gospel with her, the woman came to believe in Christ before she passed away.

“I think it’s really important that we not only believe what we believe, but we live it out. I think people find that fascinating,” said Susan.

As she began realizing her passion for teaching evangelism, a need for a professor opened up at the seminary level for that class, leading Booth to begin praying for someone to come who knew the culture and could communicate effectively to the CSBS students.

She saw the importance of having multiple elements in teaching evangelism to seminary students. There needed to be teaching; there needed to be practice; there needed to be discussion among classmates about trial and error in evangelism.

“I began to pray, ‘Lord, we really need somebody here full-time to do that,’ and that’s a dangerous prayer to pray,” said Booth.

Soon, Booth found out, God answered her prayer with herself.

THE PATH TO A PH.D. Driving down the road on their way to the U.S., the Booths were taking their stateside assignment with the IMB. “Reach under your seat,” Booth recalled her husband saying.

“What is it?” she asked him.

As she pulled out the folder, she saw information her husband had put together on multiple degree programs.

She was stunned that he thought she should go back to school, especially when it had been quite some time since she had been the student in the classroom.

“The more I prayed about it and thought about it, the more I realized, yeah, that’s exactly what God was calling me to do,” she said.

This was a pretty big step for Booth since she had not been a student for many years. She took the next step and enrolled at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS).

As she learned alongside others who had been on the field as well, her end goal was to tailor her Ph.D. work in evangelism to her Canadian context, her current mission field.

After three and a half years of writing, researching and traveling to SEBTS for intensive classes, Booth finished her degree in 2013, making it possible for her to begin teaching evangelism at the seminary level at CSBS. The way Booth looks at her job is with much humility and appreciation for the opportunity God has given her to equip students to share the gospel.

Because for her, it’s not just a job, it’s a calling.

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FEATURED STORIES \

CANADA is made up of approximately 37 million people. Of that number, the country is 8.02 percent evangelical, yet Christianity is claimed as the country’s largest religion at 73.5 percent. Canada has 274 people groups, 50 of which are unreached.

Multiculturalism is a highly valued aspect of Canadian culture and officially adopted a multiculturalism policy in 1971 and formalized the policy in 1988. Twenty-one percent of Canadian residents are foreignborn and are predominantly living in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Canadians as a whole have dropped significantly in their practice or even interest in religion.

One in four Canadians classify themselves

as not religious, and from 1945 to the present day, the percentage of regular church attendance has dropped from 65 percent to 19 percent. The Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary desires for its students to be trained to serve in hard places in Canada and beyond. Of the 402 churches in the Canadian National Baptist Convention (CNBC), 221 are English-speaking congregations while 181 are ethnic congregations.

While significant work has been done in this nation, many people still remain who need to encounter Christ in a fresh way.

Below is a list of the current CNBC church plants and local churches located throughout Canada today.

YUKON TERRITORY

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

NUNAVUT

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ALBERTA

MANITOBA

CHURCH PLANTS: 0 LOCAL CHURCHES: 0 POPULATION: 38,936

CHURCH PLANTS: 24 LOCAL CHURCHES: 67 POPULATION: 4,862,610

CHURCH PLANTS: 0 LOCAL CHURCHES: 1 POPULATION: 44,736

CHURCH PLANTS: 27 LOCAL CHURCHES: 48 POPULATION: 4,334,025

SASKATCHEWAN

CHURCH PLANTS: 17 LOCAL CHURCHES: 31 POPULATION: 1,171,240

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NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

CHURCH PLANTS: 0 LOCAL CHURCHES: 0 POPULATION: 38,456

CHURCH PLANTS: 7 LOCAL CHURCHES: 8 POPULATION: 1,348,809

ONTARIO

CHURCH PLANTS: 43 LOCAL CHURCHES: 47 POPULATION: 14,374,084

CHURCH PLANTS: 0 LOCAL CHURCHES: 1 POPULATION: 525,983

QUEBEC

CHURCH PLANTS: 32 LOCAL CHURCHES: 74 POPULATION: 8,455,402

NEW BRUNSWICK CHURCH PLANTS: 2 LOCAL CHURCHES: 8 POPULATION: 761,214

*Numbers of church plants, total local churches and other church-based statistics based on data from “The Tabernacling Presence of God” by Susan Booth *Population stats from https://www.stats.gov.nl.ca/Statistics/Topics/population/PDF/Quarterly_Pop_Prov.pdf *Info on people groups from https://joshuaproject.net/countries/ca

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

CHURCH PLANTS: 1 LOCAL CHURCHES: 4 POPULATION: 153,116

NOVA SCOTIA

CHURCH PLANTS: 3 LOCAL CHURCHES: 7 POPULATION: 958, 4000

Southeastern received $7.9 million last year because of Southern Baptist churches like yours committed to the spread of the Gospel to all nations, tribes and tongues.

Love In Action www.sbc.net/cp

THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SCHOLARSHIP MADE COMPLETELY FREE TO YOU. SOUTHEASTERNREVIEW.COM

FALL 2018 AVAILABLE NOW

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Greater Unity Through Gospel Growth

Newly-elected President J.D. Greear addresses messengers of the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention as former President Steve Gaines and his wife, Donna, look on.

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ON WARM, SUMMER MORNINGS, J.D. Greear makes it a routine to prayerwalk in his neighborhood. During one such walk after his election as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), Greear prayed for its members to have “a renewed love for the gospel,� and for God to raise up leaders who promote peace and diversity within the convention.

At 45 years old, Greear is the youngest SBC president in almost four decades. To begin his two-year term, Greear has laid out six areas where he wants to see Southern Baptists develop and unite: the gospel, leadership diversity, evangelism, church planting, mobilizing college students and engaging the younger generation in Cooperative Program (CP) giving and mission.

Greear is well equipped to accomplish his vision. He already does this by challenging his church through Scripture-rich sermons that propel its members to live out the commands of Jesus from a gospel-centered lens at the 11 Summit campuses spread out throughout Raleigh-Durham.

This culture is most clearly seen in how the church consistently sends its members to plant churches nationally and internationally. This stems from a 50-year vision that Greear has cast for members of The Summit Church to see 1,000 churches planted in that time span.

Greear also wants to empower a younger generation to take ownership

/ FEATURED STORIES

of the mission of the SBC by giving financially to the CP. He has been a recipient of CP funds for decades through his time as a student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS), as a missionary with the International Mission Board in Southeast Asia and as a pastor at The Summit Church. He understands how vital the CP is to the mission of the SBC. Greear thinks the key to encouraging the younger generation to get involved is explaining the why behind the Cooperative Program, which includes giving financially and reaching a lost world. He believes college students can be a part of spearheading the next revival in America.

“College students have been on the forefront of every single evangelism explosion in our history, at least in the United States,” said Greear. “I think they’ll be on the forefront of the next one too.”

When it comes to evangelism, personal relationships with non-Christians are key, Greear explained.

Who is your one? This is the question with which Greear challenges his church, helping the congregation to consistently share the gospel with and pray for one specific person throughout the year. He hopes to implement this same idea in the convention along with the many other recommendations the Evangelism Task Force brought before the convention during the 2018 SBC annual meeting.

“The focus of evangelism is not in the state convention; it’s not in NAMB; it’s not in the president’s chair,” said Greear. “The focus of it has got to be on individual relationships that people in the church are forming.”

Greear sees himself as an equipper of the saints as he pastors The Summit

Church. Similarly, he sees his role as president through the lens of humility and servanthood.

“I want to ask these agencies and these state conventions, ‘How can I serve what God has put in your heart and be a catalyst to help you facilitate evangelism in your area?’” explained Greear.

College students have been on the forefront of every single evangelism explosion in our history, at least in the United States. I think they’ll be on the forefront of the next one too.

Conversations have opened up in recent months about how churches should handle abuse and treat women in the convention.

In July, Greear announced that he would be setting up a Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group in partnership with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. In a statement released by Greear’s office, the focus will be to “consider how Southern Baptists at every level can take discernable action to respond swiftly and compassionately to incidents of abuse, as well as to foster safe environments within churches and institutions.” The group also plans to “study both how Southern Baptists are currently engaging these issues and develop recommendations in consultation with relevant SBC entities on strategies and resources for ministering to victims and protecting people and churches

from predators.”

Greear is working to equip church leaders to know how to prevent and handle abuse in the church. He realizes that change comes ultimately through those pastoring the more than 47,000 churches that make up the SBC. “Are they going to be serious about protecting the vulnerable and about transparency for their leaders?” asked Greear.

It appears they are. Conferences, online resources and ongoing conversations are ensuring that sexual harassment and abuse prevention are understood by employees, students, pastors and church members.

Greear not only encourages churches to protect women but to empower them to use their gifts.

“Considering that over half of our members are women and threefourths of our missionaries are women, we need to be devoted to empowering those women to be able to discover leadership gifts and be trained in them,” said Greear.

Complementarianism is not meant to be power lorded over women; it is for the purpose of each man and woman using their God-given roles to serve each other in humility. “[Men are] given leadership roles, and those leadership roles…in the church and the home are to be used to serve, not to lord over women,” said Greear. “We want to see a complementarianism that’s more biblical. Lazy complementarianism is male-only.”

Through God’s grace, Greear hopes to lead the SBC toward a greater spirit of gospel-centrality that reflects transparency, humility and generosity. It is then, he believes, that an even greater unity will flourish within the convention.

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Thank you

to our sponsors for a record-breaking 12 th annual

Join us for the 13 th annual Southeastern Classic Fall 2019 sebts.edu/classic

Title Sponsor

Flight Sponsor

Gold Sponsors

Charles Boyd of Henderson | City Barbeque | Robling Medical To become a sponsor, contact Drew Davis, Associate Director of Financial and Alumni Development at ddavis@sebts.edu or 919.761.2351

STORIES

STORIES “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

From our local community to the outermost parts of the world, Southeastern students and alumni are reaching people with the gospel by fulfilling the Great Commission. Using the model of Acts 1:8, we want to highlight these stories of how our Southeastern family is serving in North Carolina, North America and around the world. Acts 1:8 Stories create a collective and consistent way to tell the story of Southeastern, one person at a time. From local pastors to missionaries among the unreached, God is doing a great work through students and alumni.

Where are they now and where are they going?

We can’t wait for you to find out!

FALL 2018// SEBTS.EDU

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STORIES

Where Life Collides with Theology: Making Christ Known in Bulgaria COLLEGE IS A TIME of discovery for many, a time to learn where one’s passions and priorities lie. For Caleb life to this work.

Waller and his wife, Sarah, college “While we were there, the Lord said, was a time when they both realized the importance of taking the gospel to ‘This is what I’m going to ask you to do for the rest of your life,’” he recalled. those who have never heard it.

Today, almost 10 years later, the “We still weren’t quite sure what that would look like, where it would be or couple, along with their 11-month-old how it would all play out.” son and 3-year-old daughter, serve in It was that initial jolt of the reality Sofia, Bulgaria.

“Having the joy of being able to com- of deep lostness that eventually led municate the gospel regularly to peo- Waller and his wife to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminar y ple who have never heard it is what (SEBTS) in 2012, where he is pursuing keeps us here,” said Waller. “On the a Master of Divinity in International tough days, we fall back on that.”

Church Planting and a Master of Arts Waller never would have guessed in Intercultural Studies. In 2015, the that with his communications degree Wallers left for Bulgaria to serve as and a law enforcement background church planters with the Internationfrom North Carolina, he would end up al Mission Board (IMB). becoming a missionary in Europe.

For two and a half years, they have Now he and Sarah, who has a served alongside the Baptist Union in background in teaching, are serving Bulgaria as well as a foundation startthe Lord in ways they never thought ed by the IMB. Through the foundathey would. tion, the Wallers can do outreach projects in schools, hospitals and orphanages as well as teach English.

What happens to those people who This outreach would be far less likely have never heard the gospel? to occur under the banner of a ChrisIt was this question in 2009 that burdened Waller and his wife and ig- tian organization.

“If we can come in as a more secular nited a passion within them to do foundation that aims at bettering the something about it. community through a number of difThe Lord led them step by step to discover their role in the Great Com- ferent ways, then we have access,” said Waller. “Through that we build mission. From asking their small relationships, and then through that group leader for guidance to stepping we’re able to share the gospel.” onto Bulgarian soil for the first time In fact, Waller has never met anyas missionaries, the Lord was faithful one outside of evangelicals who have in the process. heard the true story of Jesus Christ.

While trying to figure out their role “I have never once shared the gosin missions, Waller and his wife pel with a Bulgarian and had them prayed for an opportunity to go on a tell me that they had heard it before,” short-term trip overseas to become more familiar with overseas missions. said Waller.

During their time in Bulgaria so far, On a nine-day mission trip to Peru, the Wallers have overcome the hurdle Caleb heard the Lord’s call to give his

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of full-time language learning and have worked with their local church members to encourage them toward Great-Commission living.

The Wallers went through a process of discovering the spiritual climate of Bulgaria. Looking at the data of an 80 percent Orthodox Christian culture led Waller to believe he would be working with many who were nominally Christian. However, as he got to know the Bulgarian people, he realized many are agnostic, and others are superstitious.

“There is a very strong belief in the supernatural, but it typically shows up in the form of evil spirits and almost in an animistic-type system,” said Waller, explaining that they are concerned with what colors they wear and keeping with traditions for good luck.

Along with its religious context, Bulgaria has a history of Communism that has an effect on both Christians and non-Christians.

“If you’re interacting with the 80-year-old Bulgarian that had a little bit of Orthodoxy thrown in with a little bit of Communism, it’s a little bit different than if you’re meeting a 22-year-old who never was alive during Communism,” said Waller.

Ever since his evangelism class at Southeastern, Waller has loved sharing the grand narrative of Scripture and has found it to be the key way to share the gospel with Bulgarians.

“They need context for Christianity and the gospel rather than just the propositional truth that they’re sinners and they need God because they think they already have him in a lot of ways,” said Waller.

STORIES

How One Nepali Student is Taking His Training Home

The Wallers have seen how Christians who lived during the Communist era and the generations that followed seem to lack passion for the Great Commission the way they would hope.

“You either had to conform to whatever the state’s expectation of the church was, which was not a healthy version, or you had to hide it,” said Waller. “So people were just less likely to broadcast their faith to their neighbor because it would often land people in jail or prison.”

While the Wallers feel a burden for the health of the local church, they also know that the best way to be a catalyst for change is to be a humble and active participant in the church.

“The Bulgarian people have a long history,” said Waller. “They’re very proud people, so they don’t always take well to the know-it-all American who comes in and says, ‘I can fix all your problems.’ It is a trust-building process that takes time.”

Waller looks back on his time on the SEBTS campus as invaluable to his ministry in Bulgaria. From his evangelism and missions classes to theology and ethics, he often references what he learned in the classroom on the mission field.

Even though the learning experience “may at times seem sterile,” his reminder to students is to soak up this time because life and ministry get messy and seminary education provides a firm foundation on which to stand.

As Waller states, “Here on the field is where life collides with theology.”

ASHISH BHANDARI is the only Nepali student at The College at Southeastern, but he is certainly not alone when it comes to the community he has found at the school.

“Never, ever think you’re alone,” Bhandari remembers Jake Hatfield, director of college life, telling him when he was new to campus.

He was assured that he had Hatfield to turn to if he ever needed anything. This reassurance came as a comfort to a student who had moved nearly 8,000 miles away from his family in 2014.

It was that same family who raised him in a Christian home. Bhandari’s father converted from Hinduism and eventually began working on his theological education in India as there were no opportunities for training in Nepal at the time. Bhandari himself, at the age of about 10 years old, remembers understanding the gospel in light of the story of Noah.

“I still remember my dad was talking about how during the time of Noah, the world was sinful and then Noah found favor in God’s eyes, and God saved him in spite of all the other people,” Bhandari recounted. “For me, that was the turning point.”

Almost a decade after he made that decision to follow Christ, the Lord led him to The College at Southeastern, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in theology on May 11.

When Bhandari first arrived on campus, community was limited.

However, two years later, the House System was created, reviving the undergraduate campus community life for Bhandari and others.

As a House System leader for the Schaeffer House, Bhandari has been given experience in leading others effectively, a skill he knows will be necessary for the work he wants to do as a pastor-missionary in Nepal.

“If I can handle a small group of students here and lead them in discipleship group,” said Bhandari, “it’ll be really helpful for me to go back home and do the same, but it will be a larger congregation.”

While his long-term goal is to preach and minister to those in Nepal, Bhandari makes this a priority even now as he goes back to his home country to teach in the Bible training center his father founded in 2016, along with an orphanage in 1999 and a church in 2004. Macedonia Baptist Church in Holly Springs, North Carolina, where Bhandari is an active member, is a supporter of the orphanage.

Some of his friends from Southeastern have been able to return with Bhandari to help teach ministers in Nepal who are going through a five-month program at the Bible training center. Each summer since he’s been in college, Bhandari and his friends have taught various courses that they have been through at Southeastern, including New Testament survey, Old Testament survey and personal discipleship.

“When I listen to classes here, I want to go and spend this somewhere, teach it somewhere. That’s what happens when I go back home,” said Bhandari. “I get to spill it all out.”

Bhandari is pursuing an advanced Master of Divinity at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary before returning to Nepal long term. In doing this, he hopes to be able to teach in the Bible college in Nepal to equip other believers the way he has been equipped at Southeastern.

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FINANCIAL AND ALUMNI DEVELOPMENT \

INVESTING IN THE MISSION How the faithfulness of 23 people continues to pay dividends

By Drew Davis & Jonathan Six

IT WAS MARCH 13, 1995 when the first meeting of the Board of Visitors (BOV) was called to order on the campus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminar y. Twenty-three members were in attendance that day as Bart Neal, vice president of external affairs, called the meeting to order in the Hall of Presidents. Only a year earlier the Southeastern Board of Trustees approved the bylaws for this newly established group. Seminary leadership immediately began to seek out individuals to join this group in support of the school by providing financial resources, sharing the Southeastern story within their spheres of influence, and assisting in the recruitment of students. Neal reported that in the year since the BOV was established, the board had raised $68,000 for the seminary (the Board of Visitors was renamed the Southeastern Society in 2014).

At the end of the meeting Neal presented the board with a list of major capital expenses along with other pressing needs at Southeastern, making their role even more vital to the future of the school. In total, the pre ssing need s a mounted to $25,350,000 and included academic endowments, student financial aid and building renovations and equipment. This was an extraordinary sum for a school whose financial development efforts were still in their nascent stages and in the prior fiscal year reported a fundraising amount of $189,000. The Cooperative Program still accounted for almost 60 percent of Southeastern’s annual operating budget.

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The first line item on Neal’s list of pressing needs was 10 academic chairs requiring $10 million in charitable gifts to become a reality. At that point Southeastern only had one endowed faculty chair. Within this context it is hard to imagine how the charter members of the BOV could have envisioned how God would use them in the years to come and how he would bless Southeastern as it sought to equip its students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission.

Fast forward 23 years: it is the fall of 2018 and the campus is abuzz with activity as it celebrated its ninth consecutive year of record enrollment. In 1995, the number of students pursuing theological education at Southeastern stood at 1,331; in 2018, that number has grown to more than 4,000, making Southeastern the second largest seminary in the world! On Aug. 16, Binkley Chapel was filled with students, faculty and staff as Dr. Akin officiated the installation of the Charles Page Chair of Biblical Theology, Southeastern’s 10th endowed faculty chair.

Nine of these 10 faculty chairs have been installed since 2007.

While the $25.3 million goal seemed so monumental at the time, through the faith of these 23 individuals, the Southeastern Society now consists of over 550 men and women who actively seek to support the school through prayers and financial resources. This group of faithful supporters have generously donated more than $27 million since 1995, exceeding the ambitious goals

set out before them over two decades ago. Kenny Goetze, a charter member of the BOV and current member of the Southeastern Society, said of this group’s impact, “I’m not sure I can quantify the impact, but I am confident God has used the prayers, service and gifts of members to advance his kingdom and his work at Southeastern. Buildings have been built and some have been renovated, tuition has been lowered, chairs

It’s hard to meet our students and faculty, experience their zeal for Christ, His church and the gospel, and not be moved to love and support this school.

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Dr. Akin speaks at the Spring 2018 Southeastern Society Banquet at Richland Creek Community Church.

have been funded, salaries and ben- and advance his kingdom. “It’s hard efits have been improved and, most to meet our students and faculty, eximportantly, thousands of gospel- perience their zeal for Christ, his minded men and women have been church and the gospel, and not be prepared to serve the church and moved to love and support this help fulfill the Great Commission. school,” said Goetze.

The growth Southeastern has exThe Southeastern Society is fortunate God has allowed us to play a perienced over the past few decades would not have been possible withsmall role.”

This fall marks the 48th meeting of out the complimentary growth in the the Southeastern Society, as they number of members and their generhave met twice each year since their osity. The clarity of Southeastern’s founding. These meetings have come mission, the credentials of its faculty to resemble family reunions, as the and the calling of its students, make for a unique tool in the hand of God individuals that originally came to support this school have now also de- to advance the kingdom around the veloped deep and lasting relation- globe. As one new member has noted, ships with one another. These meet- “God is doing a mighty work in and ings also generate excitement for how through Southeastern Seminary and God uses the financial gifts of mem- The College at Southeastern. The bers to fuel the work of students, fac- conviction and compassion in every ulty and staff. Whether it is through fiber of Southeastern to fulfill the an informal conversation over a meal, Great Commission is both very refreshing and very convicting. It chala small group presentation or onstage at the Southeastern Society banquet, lenged me to ask, ‘What am I doing Society members have the opportu- about it?’ I chose to give because I nity to hear the hearts of students see Southeastern as one of THE and faculty as they seek to serve God BEST investments I could ever make

to the advancement of the gospel, an investment I will be making, as well as sharing with others.”

I chose to give because I see Southeastern as one of THE BEST investments I could ever make to the advancement of the gospel.

To learn more about the Southeastern Society or how you can begin to contribute to the mission of Southeastern, contact the Financial & A lumni Development Office via phone, (919) 761-2177, or email, give@sebts.edu.

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WHAT IS SES? The Southeastern Society is a group of generous men and women from all walks of life, who share a desire to assist Southeastern Seminary as she seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission.

IMPACT OF SES Since its inception in 1995, SES members have contributed $27 million to the mission of Southeastern.

In the last five years alone, SES members have donated $8.5 million, which represents a 350 percent increase compared to the first five years.

Because of the faithful giving of SES members, Southeastern is able to keep tuition affordable. As a result, graduates have more financial freedom as they heed God’s call, and serve him wherever he leads.

HOW TO JOIN You can join SES by giving $1,000 or more annually to fund the work of training gospel-ready champions for Christ. For more information or to become a member, contact Drew Davis at ddavis@sebts.edu or 919.761.2351.

Join the Southeastern Alumni Association YOU’LL RECEIVE THESE GREAT BENEFITS • • • • • • •

Audit courses for free Access to the library Access to ATLA Religion Database 50% off transcripts 40% discount on conference registrations 10% discount at the Locker Use of the Ledford Student Center (including the fitness center)

YOU’LL HELP FUTURE ALUMNI GO

Your membership dues, $50 per year or $600 lifetime, help us equip students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission while keeping tuition affordable for students.

For additional information or to join visit sebts.edu/saa , call 919.761.2293, or email alumni@sebts.edu .

sebts.edu/saa

NOVEMBER 1 3:30 pm 3:45 pm 5:20 pm 6:00 pm

Welcome & Story of Southeastern Campus Tour Faculty Q&A Dinner with President Danny Akin

MEET SOUTHEASTERN gives you the opportunity to get an up-close look at what our school is all about.

By coming to campus, you will learn more about how the Lord is working through our students to reach the nations with the gospel and what it looks like to partner together to accomplish this goal. This event includes an overview of the history of Southeastern, a campus tour, a faculty panel and dinner with President Danny Akin.

For future dates and more information, email Becca Warren at bwarren@sebts.edu or call 919.761.2354.

FINANCIAL AND ALUMNI DEVELOPMENT \

A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

A FEW YEARS AGO I had the privilege of meeting Southeastern’s first student. Yep, his student ID was 1.

Wiley Guthrie was the first student ever admitted to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Today a framed copy of his diploma and a picture of his graduating class hangs in the Alumni Development office.

The 1954 class marked the beginning of an era, a period often tainted by controversy, but definitively emblazoned with gospel victory. This inaugural class means different things to different people. To some, this class might evoke memories of theological division; to others it perhaps points to a period of Southern Baptist prominence. But for me, the photo is a daily reminder of the challenges, setbacks and barriers that our graduates face to make Jesus famous among the nations. Our graduates are called to difficult places, and confront difficult challenges for proclaiming the good news of Jesus, and his resurrection.

This semester, we issued student IDs to a group of students, one of whom could become our 20,000th graduate! From 1954 until now, from the first graduating class until our 2018 class, our graduates have constantly been confronted with theological challenges, socioeconomic burdens, ethnic and cultural biases, language barriers and the unending counter-attacks of Satan pushing against the progress of the gospel.

Yet, the truth of the gospel echoes throughout our land and around the nations of the world. While we all face challenges, may we see these trials as opportunities to display the goodness and greatness of God. May the legacy and example of those who have gone before us challenge us all to hold fast to sound doctrine and to proclaim the gospel of the resurrected Jesus until he returns.

Jonathan Six,

Director of Financial and Alumni Development

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