NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Calling Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary “one of the greatest things God is doing on planet earth,” President Daniel Akin outlined 10 reasons he believes God is blessing the seminary at its annual alumni and friends luncheon at the Southern Baptist Convention.
The event took place June 22 and featured more than 400 Southeastern supporters in attendance. Akin described how humbled he was “that God, in His providence, has given me the opportunity to be involved in what I believe to be one of the greatest seminaries on earth.”
Southeastern Seminary is characterized by a love for the Lord Jesus Christ and a devotion to the Bible as the Word of God, Akin said in the first two of his 10 points.
“If ever there was a Jesus-seminary, it was Southeastern,” he said, reminding listeners that even though the seminary is an academic institution committed to training the minds of its students, it is also thoroughly dedicated to seeing their hearts ignited with a love for the Lord.
In addition, Akin said that the battle for the Bible is never over, and Southeastern will endeavor to train future generations of Southern Baptists to maintain faithfulness to the Bible as the inerrant Word of God.
Third, Southeastern is a seminary with not only North Carolina, but also the world on its heart. This past year it sent out more “2 + 2” missionaries than ever before in its history, almost 80 percent of whom become career missionaries, Akin said.
Fourth, Southeastern emphasizes expository preaching, training pastors to teach the Word of God verse by verse and word by word in order to build “churches for the glory of God.” It is important, Akin said, in a day of charlatans and false teachers who twist Scripture to the destruction of their hearers, that Southeastern’s graduates have “the gracious guts to stand in the pulpit and identify a false teacher for what he is.”
The remaining ways in which God is blessing the school include: a vision for a healthy, robust theology, a conviction concerning biblical counseling from the sufficient Word of God, a concern for marriages and families, a focus and dependence upon the local church and partnerships with local churches to do seminary education, a determination to speak biblically and relevantly to people in contemporary culture “without jettisoning biblical moorings” and a commitment to help seminary graduates once they are serving in churches.
Akin reported that Southeastern’s current enrollment now stands at 2,555, a total that is well on its way to enrolling 3,500 students by 2010. He invited supporters to visit the school’s campus to observe for themselves what God is doing and challenged them to prayerfully consider how they might be involved in giving to ensure Southeastern’s place at the forefront of theological education for years to come.
Elected as national alumni officers for the coming year were president-elect Bill Sanderson, pastor of Hephzibah Baptist Church in Wendell, N.C.; secretary-treasurer Mark Harris, pastor of First Charlotte Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.; Johnny Henderson, pastor of Cross Road Baptist Church in Asheboro, N.C.; and Timothy Rogers, pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Seagrove, N.C.
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