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FROM THE SEMINARIES: Convocation at SWBTS; new SBTS communications VP


In today’s From the Seminaries: Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Patterson, at convocation: ‘what a time’ for ministry preparation

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) — Students beginning a new semester of study should “put on the armor of light,” President Paige Patterson told Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary students and faculty during the spring 2018 convocation.

Leo Day, dean of the school of church music, lent his voice to a rousing welcome, followed by Patterson’s message, launching the seminary’s 110th spring semester Jan. 18 in MacGorman Chapel.

Citing the birth of the Radical Reformation on Jan. 21, 1525, Patterson noted that the Anabaptist movement broke a thousand-year tradition of church-state union, aiming to restore the church to its initial purity. On that night 493 years ago in Zurich, Switzerland, Felix Manz, George Blaurock and a dozen other leaders broke with infant baptism and other practices in an effort to more closely adhere to New Testament teachings.

Patterson emphasized the critical nature of adult baptism, “when the old man is laid away” and a new man emerges. “When we are baptized, we are raised to walk in a new life,” he said. In a similar spirit, he continued, those studying at Southwestern are beginning a new semester of commitment to walking a godly path.

At a time when much of the world seems to be in disarray, “what a time to be preparing for the ministry,” Patterson said. “It is now time to wake up out of your sleep.”

Patterson referenced the ancient Greeks’ two distinct words for time, chronos and kairos. While the former refers to chronological time, the latter indicates a critical or opportune moment in time. He urged students to seize their moment in time as they pursue their studies in the coming semester.

Referencing Romans 13:12, he emphasized, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

“The most critically important part of your preparation for the ministry is to put on Jesus Christ,” Patterson said. “Prepare the heart.”

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Kody Gibson named SBTS communications VP

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) — Kody Gibson has been named as vice president for communications at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, leading the office of communications in its brand and marketing efforts and its news reporting for the seminary and its undergraduate arm, Boyce College.

A 2012 Southern graduate, Gibson has served as director of admissions the past three years.

Jeremy Pelton, named as Gibson’s successor, has served as associate director of Boyce admissions and a doctoral admissions counselor for the seminary for the past year.

The incoming class size at Boyce increased by 19 percent and the seminary increased 9 percent during Gibson’s tenure. Before assuming the admissions role, Gibson had worked in various admissions capacities since 2010.

SBTS President R. Albert Mohler Jr. said Gibson “has already made a difference at Southern Seminary and Boyce College by directing our admissions program. I am confident that he will bring that same quality of leadership to our communications team in this new role as vice president.”

Gibson and his wife Juli are from Edmond, Okla. They have two children, Liv and Campbell and are members of Sojourn Community Church at its East Campus in Louisville, Ky.

Pelton, a current master of divinity student at SBTS, is originally from Ulysses, Kan. While a student at Kansas State University, he worked for three years as an admissions counselor. He and his wife Lyndsey are members at Immanuel Baptist Church in Louisville.

    About the Author

  • SBC Seminary & BP Staff

    Cassity Potter writes for Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Art Toalston is senior editor of Baptist Press, the SBC’s news service; Alex Sibley writes for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; and S. Craig Sanders writes for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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