LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)–R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, announced the appointment July 7 of Criswell College professor Denny Burk, an SBTS alumnus, as dean of Boyce College, the seminary’s undergraduate school.
Burk replaces former Boyce dean Jimmy Scroggins, who was elected as senior pastor of First Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, Fla., in June.
Mohler said Burk’s giftedness as both a visionary leader and a Bible scholar make him an ideal fit to lead the undergraduate school at the Louisville, Ky., seminary.
“We have the leader for the next era at Boyce College,” Mohler said, describing Burk as “a great young leader, a promising scholar, a tested teacher and a man of great vision and conviction. He has a solid track record at Criswell College and left his mark during his doctoral studies at Southern Seminary. He is one of our own, and he is a man who is well prepared to lead Boyce College into the future.
“Boyce College has been so well led in the past by great deans — each of whom has left his mark. Denny Burk will serve in that great tradition and will make his own mark,” Mohler said.
Burk, who received his Ph.D. from Southern Seminary in 2004, has served as associate professor of New Testament at Criswell College in Dallas since late 2004. Burk also holds a master of theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and a bachelor of arts from Louisiana Tech University, where he graduated summa cum laude.
Burk has contributed numerous articles and book reviews to scholarly journals and also writes a daily blog on theology, politics and culture. He is the author of “Articular Infinitives in the Greek of the New Testament: On the Exegetical Benefit of Grammatical Precision” (Sheffield Phoenix).
“I couldn’t be happier about the prospect of moving back to Louisville to lead Boyce College,” Burk said. “Boyce is poised to be the leading evangelical institution for training undergraduates for Christian ministry, and I can’t imagine a more exciting time to be joining the team at Southern Seminary.
“I have been grateful for the conservative resurgence which has led to a reformation of institutions … in the Southern Baptist Convention over the last 29 years. My passion is that we might also see a reformation in Southern Baptist pulpits. I aim for Boyce College to become known as the premier training center for ministers who want to know the Word of God and to make it known.
“Pastoral ministry, student ministry, missions, evangelism and every other kind of ministry should be rooted in and built upon the Scriptures, and I want Boyce College to be the leader in this kind of ministry preparation,” Burk said.
Russell D. Moore, dean of Southern’s school of theology and senior vice president for academic administration at Southern, touted Burk as an astute observer of contemporary culture who can apply a biblical worldview to all of life.
“Denny Burk is one of Southern Baptists’ most perceptive young scholars,” Moore said. “He also is keenly in touch with culture, especially those issues facing the next generation of young Christians. He will be one of the few deans, I’m sure, anywhere who can discuss articular infinitives in the Greek, contemporary challenges for youth ministry, and how to share the Gospel with a Mormon, all while turning flips on a skateboard with a group of college students in the parking lot.
“Denny will be loved by students, respected by faculty and trusted by Southern Baptists as he leads Boyce College students toward their callings in the pastorate, global missions, youth ministry, women’s ministry and other fields of service to our Christ,” Moore said.
Scroggins said his successor has “a great love for our seminary and our college. It was a great honor for me to serve at Boyce College, and I have full confidence that Denny will provide excellent leadership as he moves Boyce College into the future.”
Burk and his wife Susan have been married for eight years. They have two daughters, Emily, 2, and Abby, three months.
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Jeff Robinson is director of news and information at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
