VISION
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College
Summer 2022
with Tara Dew & Stephanie Lyon Breakout sessions led by Sarah Farley (IMB), Missie Branch & Courtney Moore (Women & Work), Dr. Emily Dean, Dr. Kathy Steele, Dr. Kay Bennett (NAMB) and others.
Through rich Bible teaching, practical breakout sessions, and sweet times of fellowship, we hope you will leave this conference knowing how to abide with God by being a woman who lives missionally — in your home, neighborhood, community, and around the world.
or by visiting PREPAREHER.COM/ABIDE
THE PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE
Prepare Here. Serve Anywhere.
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hen I think about what God is doing in the city of New Orleans and here at NOBTS and Leavell College, two words come to my mind – hope and favor.
Three years ago when I stepped into the position of president I saw a school perfectly situated to train up a new generation of ministers equipped for this moment in history, and I felt a deep sense of hope. Though I, at first, feared others would not embrace the vision of taking up the towel and the basin to serve others, that fear was unfounded. The seminary family was already at work. Our faculty, staff and students are pouring their lives into local churches with many serving in church plants and ministries throughout the city. Last year, our students engaged in 11,724 gospel conversations, leading more than 1100 to faith in Christ. As new and highly qualified individuals joined our hard-working faculty, they committed also to prepare servants to walk with Christ, proclaim His truth, and fulfill His mission. Together, we move forward with a renewed commitment to missions. NOBTS was founded to be a missiological hub to the Americas and with the opening of our Global Mission Center our missiological “engine” is cranked up and humming. During the International Mission Board Sending Ceremony at the SBC annual meeting in Anaheim this year, a dream formed in our hearts that soon one-third of those being sent out by the IMB would be NOBTS alums. My hope is greater now than it was three years ago, but I am convinced of something else – God’s hand is on this institution. I can think of no better way to describe what God has done these past three years than to say God’s favor is on us. I am overwhelmed by His grace.
Dr. Jamie Dew President, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College
Though the cultural headwinds are strong in today’s culture, Christ’s kingdom will stand. Christ will be honored. We will remain faithful in our work. As God’s favor rests on this institution, pray that we will be good stewards of His gifts. Join us in challenging those whom God has called to ministry to come to New Orleans to study, for those who prepare here leave ready to serve anywhere.
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SUMMER 2022
Volume 78, Number 1
DR. JAMIE DEW
President
DR. LARRY W. LYON DR. CHRIS SHAFFER
Vice President for Business Administration Associate Vice President of Institutional Strategy
CLAY CARROLL
Director of Alumni Engagement
GARY D. MYERS
Editor
MARILYN STEWART MADELYNN DUKE ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Managing Editor Art Director and Photographer Cody Moore Vicky Flores Gary Myers
VISION MAGAZINE is published two times a year by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College. 3939 Gentilly Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70126 (800) 662-8701 (504) 282-4455 www.nobts.edu | www.leavellcollege.com
All contents © 2022 New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. All rights reserved. Please send address changes and alumni updates to the office of Alumni Relations at the above address. NOTE: Alumni updates will be used for the publication of the VISION magazine and on the Alumni website. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is a Cooperative Program ministry, supported by the gifts of Southern Baptists. On the cover: Photo Illustration by Madelynn Duke
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COVER SERIES 5
Mission
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To The Ends of the Earth
11 Up At Night 13 Counting the Cost 15 Some Never Hear
FACULTY NEWS 17 New Faculty 18 Tawa Anderson
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19 Retirements SEMINARY NEWS 21 Thrive Graduates First Class 22 Barbara O'Chester Chair 23 Abide Women's Conference 24 Luter Student Center 25 Jim Henry Institute 27 Stanfield Lectures 28 NOBTS Apologetics
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29 George L. Kelm Archaeology Library ALUMNI NEWS 31 Clay Carroll Named Director of Alumni Engagement 33 Obituaries
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God will give the harvest; doubt it not. But the laborers are so few.
The globe is shrinking. With internet communication and modern means of travel, the “other side of the world” is closer than it has ever been. Today’s world is different from the day Lottie Moon stepped off the boat in China with the expectation of perhaps never going “home.” While times have changed since Lottie Moon’s day, God has not. He continues to call His people to live out the Great Commission and carry the gospel to places where people are waiting to hear, for the first time, the name of Jesus. God calls His people to fields already “white with harvest," even in unexpected circumstances.
Is He calling you?
Story by Marilyn Stewart | Photos by Madelynn Duke VISION MAGAZINE Summer 2022
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ome things simply don’t cross the cultural divide well, as new International Mission Board representatives often find out. Food is an example. Greg and Page Mathias soon found out that a sweet, gelatinous dessert loved by many in the Middle East where they served was sure to show up at celebrations, weddings, and social gatherings. At first, Page was anxious to try the treat, especially when she learned it is sometimes called “Turkish Delight.” “I’m going to have a C. S. Lewis and Narnia experience,” Page Mathias remembers thinking, as an image from Lewis’ children’s novels came to mind. But the taste the popular treat left in her mouth was anything but story-book delicious. “I didn’t like it, but the people really did.” While food in other cultures may be challenging, other difficulties can be more serious, and sometimes, a missionary can begin to doubt God’s calling.
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UNLOVEABLE Soon after arriving on the mission field, Greg Mathias realized his love for the people wasn’t what he knew it should be. “The nationals were very proud and they carried themselves that way, and that rubbed me the wrong way. Even in our interactions, they had to come out on top,” Greg explained. “I remember one morning being alone with the Lord and asking the question, ‘Why am I here? Why did you bring my family to this people?’” The call to missions had been clear for Greg and Page, something they felt had been worked out over a decade. As they encountered people from other cultures, and participated in short-term mission trips, they felt God calling them to full-time service. On one of those earlier short-term trips, Page was moved as she watched “a sea of people bowing down” in prayer to a god not of the Bible. For Greg, standing on a mountaintop in the Middle East, worshiping alongside fellow believers as they prayed and sang in their native language convinced him of his call. He knew his world “needed to be bigger” than his home. But as a missionary fairly new to the field, Greg found himself wrestling with what it meant to be called to missions. “What the Lord did for me, in that season of reassessing my call, was [seeing] that I wasn’t called primarily to this specific people, but it was a call to the Lord, to take the gospel to the lost,” Greg explained. “That calling was the same even when the people were unloveable.”
A young man should ask himself not if it is his duty to go to the heathen, but if he may dare stay at home. The command is so plain: ‘Go.’ Lottie Moon | November 1, 1873, Tungchow
the usu
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AT THE EDGE OF 'UTTERMOST'
NOT IN VAIN
Days were filled with ordinary moments of drinking coffee and chatting with neighbors, watching as the neighborhood children played, and putting their new skills in Arabic to work. Filling the pages of prayer updates to friends and prayer partners was difficult for Greg and Page when nothing extraordinary or successful seemed to be happening. Even prayer walking was impractical in a culture that didn’t “go on walks” in the oppressive heat, Page explained. On the hottest days, “prayer driving” was the best they could do.
As the Mathias family followed God’s next step in ministry and returned to the States, people often asked them, “Was it worth it? Was your time there worth it?”
Determined to meet her next-door neighbor, Page baked a cake and knocked on her neighbor’s gate. Though Page’s Arabic was limited, it was a start, and slowly doors in the neighborhood began to open. As they gained the trust and confidence of neighbors, their love blossomed.
Unexpected confirmation that their time had not been in vain came years later when Greg “happened” to meet a man who knew the area where Greg and Page had served, Greg explained. As they talked, Greg realized that the Gospel seed had taken root there and given rise not only to new believers, but to an established church.
“What happened was, as opposed to ministering out of this romantic ideal, it was really just us learning to live life among a people and depend on them,” Greg said. Conversations about the gospel often were “comparison” chats on the differences between Islam and Christianity, Page explained. The slow pace, and patience, paid off when neighbors began inviting Greg and Page to family gatherings at the family generational “home.” The invitations brought also opportunities for Greg to talk with the religious leaders of the community, pray for the sick, and explain the gospel. “Those were neat moments, just to see that and begin to see people really consider who Jesus is,” Greg said. Another inroad came through the adventure tourism business Greg helped begin. As Greg led clients on outdoor expeditions, he took them into places where no other American, or Christian, had ever been. Around the campfire at night, Greg had opportunities to share Jesus and have gospel conversations. The adventure tourism business led them to corners of the country where no American, and no Christian, had ever been. Greg realized then he had come to the “uttermost ends of the earth.” “Lord, you brought me here,” Greg prayed, overcome with gratitude. “I couldn’t have ever orchestrated this on my own.”
“We shared the gospel. We were able to help people understand what it means to place their faith in Christ,” Page explained. “But if you are looking to feel good about your time there just based on fruit that you saw, you might leave disappointed. We had to grapple with that a lot, especially being in a ‘pioneer-kind-of ministry.’”
“I had not heard or seen any of that,” Greg said. “I didn’t see that moment of ‘This is why God brought us here’ until ten years later. Some people never get that opportunity.”
NO BETTER TIME. NO BETTER PLACE. Make international missions your default, Greg advises believers. “Assume the Lord wants you to go unless He makes it painfully clear that He doesn’t,” Greg said.
“Let’s make that normal.”
To explore how and where God is calling, Greg recommends that believers explore some ethnic food, spend time with internationals, go on short-term mission trips, and read a biography of a missionary. And, come to New Orleans. New Orleans’ diverse and cosmopolitan culture makes it the perfect place to explore God’s call to missions, Page noted. “So, come to New Orleans. Prepare here, serve anywhere.” In New Orleans, the opportunity for sharing with internationals is “unprecedented,” Greg explained, adding that the city’s friendly spirit and neighborhood feel makes it easy to learn to share the gospel. “There’s no better time to consider the nations, because the nations are coming here,” Greg said. “So come. It’s easy here.”
Here I am working alone in a city of many thousand inhabitants, with numberless villages clustered around or stretching away in the illuminate distance: how many can I reach? Lottie Moon | October 3, 1887, Pingtu
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Arthur Hartsfield
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rthur Hartsfield* sat on the banks of the Amazon River and listened as an International Mission Board (IMB) representative posed a question that would keep him up that night. “What will you do about the fact that people live and die in the Amazon without ever hearing the name of our savior?” the representative asked. Hartsfield was in the Amazon River Basin with an NOBTS team led by Dr. Ken Taylor, professor of urban missions, and had seen the people respond eagerly as the team shared the gospel in remote villages and in homes jutting out of the water. “I had to ask myself, ‘Can I go back to the United States and forget that people will die without hearing the gospel?’” Hartsfield said. “’Can I resume my plans for a successful future and disregard the reality that people are dying and going to hell because they have not yet heard the good news?’” At the time, Hartsfield was nearing the completion of his MDIV and his wife was finishing her doctorate. An officer in the United States Air Force, Hartsfield looked forward to a fulfilling career as a military chaplain and service through the local church. With career and ministry opportunities in place, the future seemed settled, and bright. The call to the Amazon, for Hartsfield, was as unexpected as it was clear, and similar to Isaiah’s call in Isaiah, chapter six. “I was making my own plans for serving the Lord when I heard God say, ‘Whom will I send to the Amazon and who will go?’” Hartsfield recounted. “I couldn’t sleep at night knowing people were living and dying in the Amazon without Jesus.”
CALLED TO ‘FISH’ Hartsfield admits that if Dr. Taylor had not promised that the mission trip to the Amazon years ago would include “gator hunting and bass fishing,” he might not have signed up. Now as an IMB representative, Hartsfield sees fishing in a different light. Sport fishing along the Amazon, particularly Peacock Bass fishing, draws hundreds of American fishermen yearly and brings in untold American dollars. Americans arrive with the best fishing equipment. They leave behind the impression that all Americans are wealthy. Yet other, more unpleasant impressions of Americans are common among the Brazilian people due to the easy accessibility there of American movies, music, books, and news programs. “A stereotype exists throughout the world about what Americans are like and it takes diligent work for missionaries to overcome it,” Hartsfield explained. One day, Hartsfield realized that the “dri-fit golf shirt” he wore in the humid climate identified him to the people as a wealthy American sport fisherman, something which “couldn’t be further from the truth,” he added. People in the Amazon River Basin live on what they can catch, find, or kill in the forest. For Hartsfield, fishing is a way to spend time with the people, and share the gospel. One day, as Hartsfield fished with a local man, he shared a story from the Bible. The man listened intently. “I thought to myself that day, ‘There is nothing I would rather do with my life,’” Hartsfield said. “God called me and equipped me to reach these people.”
*NAME CHANGED FOR SECURITY PURPOSES*
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Mike & Madelyn Edens
Please say to the new missionaries that they are coming to a life of hardship, responsibility and constant self denial … If the joy of the Lord be their strength, the blessedness of the work will more than compensate for its hardships. Let them come ‘rejoicing to suffer’ for the sake of that Lord and Master who freely gave his life for them. Lottie Moon | January 9, 1889, P'ingtu, China
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ootball on Fridays with the Americans was a favorite pastime for young Iraqi men in Baghdad during Mike and Madelyn Edens’ time there as International Mission Board representatives. But city curfews intended to stave off unrest as young men left the mosques following Friday prayers meant that Friday football required spending Thursday night with the Americans. Thursday night was also worship night. “So, at the worship service, there these guys would be, singing with us,” Madelyn explained. One night, Madelyn was struck by the irony that the two young men standing on each side of her singing Christian hymns and praise songs with gusto were not believers. “It's one of my most precious memories of our time there,” Madelyn said. Knowing that God’s timing can be trusted, she added, “You’ve got to believe God is in control.” Over the couple’s 27-year tenure with IMB, Mike’s role shifted from residential representative to IMB strategy leader and then to emeritus status as they moved to New Orleans to retire. In 2007, Mike joined the NOBTS faculty. Though now retired, Mike continues to serve NOBTS as Distinguished Professor of Theology and Missions. For much of the couple’s tenure, Egypt was home for them and their two daughters as dear friendships and sweet memories filled the years. But after first arriving in Egypt, though, they found themselves bumping up against a new culture and a different worldview. At times, the “lostness” of those in their unreached area was overwhelming. “It’s one thing to have a cross-cultural experience for a week, two weeks, a month, or even a year, but when you’re living it and your children are living it, love of cross-cultural experience fades,” Mike said. “It has to be a real sense of God’s calling.”
SURPRISED BY JOY As a self-described “country boy,” Mike might not have seemed a “fit” in the urban sprawl of Cairo, Egypt with its population numbering in the tens of millions. Soon into the couple’s service there, one particular moment changed everything.
“We were riding along, just enjoying the city,” Mike said. “Louder than an audible voice, God said to me, ‘Don’t you think you should stop and praise Me?’” God made the reason clear, Mike explained. He heard God say, “Because you feel at home.” “We talked about it then,” Madelyn added. “We were both overwhelmed by the fact that we felt so at home, and we were ‘as green as could be.’ We knew so little of anything. We hadn’t ever lived overseas and we didn’t know the language.” Living in another culture held its share of surprises. When their first Christmas Eve rolled around, Mike and Madelyn fellowshipped with friends, “expats” who lived in Egypt. They looked forward to Christmas lunch with friends in their home not knowing how early their “celebration” would begin. A knock came to the door before eight a.m. Christmas morning. A pastor had traveled three hours to see them. “What you do is go visit your friends on holidays,” Mike quipped, adding, “The earlier, the better.” Veteran IMB representatives who nurtured and encouraged them bolstered their confidence in God’s call. “They said to us, ‘God has called you. You can do this,’” Mike said. One mentor’s confidence that God equipped those whom He called was so great that soon after Mike arrived he handed Mike the car keys and sent him on an errand across Cairo. “I still had jet lag, new to the country, no GPS,” Mike explained. “I only knew two words in Arabic, and one of those was a word nobody used.” The many friendships they forged became as close as family and included Egyptian friends, IMB representative friends, and those with whom they worked to build and implement strategies for advancing the gospel in unreached places. “We loved being there,” Madelyn said. “Part of the reason you go and stay is that God really does make you love people, warts and all.” World events, tensions between different Muslim factions, and the ever-shifting cultural landscape during wartime made their final years on the field, in Baghdad, Iraq, “the most horrific and most wonderful two-and-a-half years of our entire ministry,” Mike said. The world stage was changing, and with it, the region and people they loved were forever impacted.
IS IT WORTH IT? Life in Iraq was turned upside down after the removal of dictator Saddam Hussein. Any person viewed as loyal to Hussein was removed from governmental and work positions, leaving key positions filled by the discontented or those ill-trained for the job. The economy began to suffer. “Everything fell apart,” Madelyn explained. Trouble spilled over into tragedy as instability and terror left its mark on the region. “In a period of 36 months, through various circumstances, the Middle East lost eleven IMB representatives,” Mike explained. As the IMB strategy leader who supervised some of those lost, Mike felt their deaths keenly. Some may wonder if taking the gospel into dangerous areas is worth the high cost. When asked that question Mike responds by quoting those who paid the ultimate price, including Carrie McDonnall, the sole survivor of an attack on five IMB representatives on March 15, 2004. “A reporter asked [McDonnall], ‘Was it worth it?’” Mike recounted. “Her answer was, ‘Oh, yes. My Jesus is worth it.’ That’s what every one of those people who gave their lives [would say]. They didn’t give their lives for the people. Yes, they loved the people, but they gave it for Jesus. And, He’s worth it.” In retirement, the Great Commission continues to shape Mike and Madelyn’s decisions for the future as they invest their time pointing others to the rich soil that waits for harvest. Their reason for doing so is simple, Mike explained. He said, “The love of God and the call of God are constant.”
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lexander “Sparky” Grimaldi (current MDIV student) had gone with his pastor out into a New Orleans neighborhood to share the gospel, but the results had been discouraging. No one seemed interested.
In church the following Sunday, Grimaldi felt God’s nudging to go out and try again, this time at New Orleans’ City Park, a 1300-acre park in the heart of the city. At first, Grimaldi was hesitant to go, thinking he must be misunderstanding what God was telling him. Going into City Park where people were out for relaxation on a Sunday afternoon didn’t seem “reasonable.” But when the services ended, Grimaldi went. The first two people he approached were not receptive. A third man who sat alone on a park bench listened politely as Grimaldi shared the gospel. Then came the unexpected. The man “thanked me and said he had been considering committing suicide that day,” Grimaldi related. Grimaldi knew God had led him there. Though the man did not commit to following Christ that day, Grimaldi knows that salvation is God’s work; his job is simply to obey. “If you are open to the Holy Spirit, if you listen with an open ear, God will plant seeds, though some we may not ever see come to fruition,” Grimaldi explained. As a youth growing up in Florida, Grimaldi assumed he would step into the family business of citrus farming and cattle ranching until a mission trip to Jamaica during his junior year in college changed everything. God “turned a page” in Grimaldi’s life and soon he felt called to preach. A seminary education was the next step. As Grimaldi continues to explore whether God is calling him to international missions, he finds he cannot escape one reality—many around the world have not heard. Later this year, when a seminary mission team heads to Indonesia, a place with limited access to the gospel, Grimaldi will be with them. “Even in different languages, there’s access [here] through the internet and through churches on every corner,” Grimaldi said. “I’m thinking of unreached peoples -- no access to the gospel, no Christian witness, people who wake up, go about their day, go to sleep, never hearing the name of Jesus.” Though the world Lottie Moon knew is shrinking, the need to go and tell is greater than ever. The harvest is “white.” The Great Commission continues to call out believers to give all for Christ. God continues to be faithful.
One question remains: Is God calling you?
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W The needs of these people press upon my soul, and I cannot be silent. It is grievous to think of these human souls going down to death without even one opportunity of hearing the name of Jesus … Lottie Moon | October 3, 1887, Pingtu VISION MAGAZINE Summer 2022
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FACULTY NEWS Romans: The Gospel of God By Gerald Stevens
Greg Wilton Assistant Professor of Missions and Evangelism, Dean of Leavell College
Thomas Doughty Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Worldview, Associate Dean of Leavell College
Jessica McMillan Assistant Professor of Music and Worship 17
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Dr. Stevens draws together recent Pauline studies to show that Israel, as a category, is the hermeneutical key to understanding Romans. As an apostle first and foremost to Israel, Paul understood Isaiah’s vision of Israel as a light to the nations as having been fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah and through the power of the Holy Spirit. In writing to Roman believers, Paul challenged them to embrace their place in the messianic Israel of God.
By William Warren William Warren directed the team of workers at the H. Milton Haggard Center for New Testament Textual Studies (CNTTS) in a recently completed nineyear project to update the CNTTS New Testament Textual Studies Critical Apparatus, the most complete Greek manuscript apparatus for the entire New Testament worldwide. If printed, the Apparatus would encompass more than 21,000 pages. Available in both of the major Bible software platforms of Logos Bible Software and Accordance Bible Software, the database includes extensive information on each New Testament manuscript.
Biblical Reasoning: Christological and Trinitarian Rules for Exegesis By Tyler R. Wittman and R. B. Jamieson
This book argues that the doctrines of Christology and the Trinity are at the heart of Scripture because the goal of exegesis is to behold Christ's glory he shares with the Father and Holy Spirit. The authors provide a “theological toolkit” to equip readers for theologically-sensitive exegesis that pursues the vision of Christ's glory. Biblical Reasoning outlines key doctrinal principles and rules that arise from Scripture itself, and which consequently help us to understand what it says about God and Christ correctly. The triune God shapes both Scripture and its readers. Biblical Reasoning aims to show us how.
PROMOTIONS
FACULTY NEWS
Tawa Anderson
TO JOIN NOBTS/LEAVELL COLLEGE FACULTY IN 2023 BY GARY D. MYERS
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College announced the appointment of Tawa Anderson to the seminary faculty. Anderson will begin his new role in January 2023. Anderson, associate professor of philosophy at Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU), will join the NOBTS faculty as associate professor of philosophy and apologetics. “Tawa Anderson is an excellent addition to our faculty,” said Jamie Dew, president of NOBTS and Leavell College. “In his time at OBU, he had a proven record for teaching excellence, student mentorship, and growing programs in both philosophy and apologetics.”
Tawa Anderson
Dew is especially excited about Anderson's work in apologetics and worldview studies. According to Dew, Anderson's knowledge and skillset will benefit all levels of study at the seminary -undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs.
“He has become a widely respected name in Christian Apologetics and Worldview Studies, two highly important parts of our curriculum here at NOBTS and Leavell College,” Dew said. “With the addition of Anderson to our faculty, we will be well-positioned to offer M.A.s and Ph.D.s in Apologetics and Philosophy of Religion. We are thankful that God has given us the opportunity to bring Dr. Anderson and his family to our campus and join the work of training the next generation of God's servants." A Canadian by birth, Anderson earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Alberta and a master of divinity at Edmonton Baptist Seminary (now known as Taylor Seminary) in Edmonton, Alberta. Anderson completed the doctor of philosophy degree at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, focusing on worldview and apologetics. He joined the OBU faculty in 2011, shortly after completing his Ph.D. In addition to his teaching role at OBU, Anderson directed the school's honors program from 2014 until 2019 and served as the philosophy department chair since 2013. Anderson is the author of Why Believe? Christian Apologetics for a Skeptical Age published in 2021 and co-author of An Introduction to Christian Worldview: Pursuing God’s Perspective in a Pluralistic World (with W. Michael Clark and David K. Naugle).
Jeff Audirsch Associate Professor of Biblical Studies VISION MAGAZINE Summer 2022
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Provost Emeritus, Vice President for Institutional Assessment, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics
During Dr. Lemke’s 20-year tenure as Provost, he continued teaching, writing, editing and contributing in the fields of philosophy and ethics. Dr. Lemke once led the NOBTS Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry and edited its journal, and was awarded the Marvin Jones Award for Excellence as Research Professor of the Year, 2019. One of his various SBC leadership positions included his role as a founding fellow of the SBC’s Research Institute of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Ministry, Caskey Chair for Church Excellence
As director of the Caskey Center for Church Excellence, Dr. Tolbert brought his pastoral experience into the classroom leading countless students to pray for opportunities to share the gospel each week. With a keen focus on the pastoral role, he led the Caskey Center in serving small-membership churches.
Ed Steele
Kathy Steele
Professor of Music, Leavell College, Lallage-Feazel Chair of Hymnology
Professor of Counseling, Director of Clinical Training
A published composer, Dr. Steele established an Online Center for Hymnological Research at the music library, providing digital copies of rare hymnals. Dr. Steele and wife Dr. Kathy Steele served more than 20 years in Central America with the International Mission Board before he joined the faculty in 1999.
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Mark Tolbert
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Integrating biblical principles of counseling with evidenced-based counseling methods, Dr. Kathy Steele, a licensed professional with years of experience, devoted her career to training counselors and caring for the emotional health of ministers and church members with a focus on issues impacting the family.
FACULTY NEWS
Michael Sharp
Eddie Campbell
Professor of Worship Studies, Lallage-Feazel Chair of Worship and Praise
Professor of English, Leavell College
Dr. Sharp’s ministry experience spans more than four decades including service as an IMB missionary, educator, worship leader, composer, arranger, and author. He has published more than eighty original sacred choral works and song arrangements for piano and keyboard.
With research and writing that focused on beloved pastor R.G. Lee’s style of preaching, Dr. Campbell understood the power of preaching and writing. Dr. Campbell’s NOBTS/Leavell College Manual of Form & Style continues to guide students in performing well in print.
Ian Jones Professor of Counseling, Baptist Community Ministries Chair of Pastoral Care and Counseling With research interests in historical pastoral counseling and biblical foundations for Christian counseling, Dr. Ian Jones was in demand as a speaker, writer and counselor, earning him various awards and recognitions. Professional organizations around the world called on him to serve in leadership roles.
Dr. Gregoire superintended 134 graduations and an estimated 16,000 diplomas in his 29 years of service. The advent of the computer age marked his early years, changing registration from students waiting in long lines with four-part McBee slips in hand to online registration. VISION MAGAZINE Summer 2022
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SEMINARY NEWS
Thrive Graduates First Class Twenty-one women marked a milestone this spring by making up the first graduating class of Thrive, the ministry wives certificate program launched two years ago. Thrive includes eight courses, each eight weeks long, in a rotation that assures completion of the program regardless of when the student wife enters the program. Thrive is offered online through the NOBTS and Leavell College Flex program NOLA2U as well as through the in-class, on-campus experience in New Orleans. With the recently added Thrive+ component, student wives can satisfy the International Mission Board’s spouse requirement for service overseas. Dr. Tara Dew (president’s wife) is the director. Heather Johnson is assistant director. Visit prepareher.com for details.
Caskey and Indiana Scholarships Six new full-tuition scholarships for ministers serving in churches affiliated with the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana (SCBI) were announced this year by NOBTS and Leavell College’s Caskey Center for Church Excellence. “The Caskey Center is thrilled to announce the addition of Indiana to the family of states where ministers of smaller membership Southern Baptist churches may receive a full-tuition scholarship to NOBTS and Leavell College,” said Mark Tolbert, director of the Caskey Center and professor of preaching and pastoral ministry at NOBTS. “A generous gift from an anonymous donor makes this incredible opportunity possible for those serving in normal size Southern Baptist churches.” The Caskey Center will fund two full-tuition scholarships in Indiana for NOBTS and Leavell College undergraduate and graduate students for the Fall 2022 semester. Two scholarships will be added during the subsequent two Fall semesters, bringing the total number of Indiana scholarships to six. The scholarships are available to students serving as a bivocational minister or in a smaller membership (150 or less in worship) SCBI church. Launched in 2014 through an anonymous gift in memory of the late Rev. Steve Caskey, the center provides resources and training through scholarships, conferences and research for smaller membership churches and bivocational ministers. To apply for the scholarship, visit www.nobts.edu/caskeycenter.
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SEMINARY NEWS
BARBARA O’CHESTER Chair of Women's Ministry BY MARILYN STEWART
The newly established Barbara O’Chester Chair of Women’s Ministry honors O’Chester’s legacy as a pioneer in women’s ministry and signals the seminary’s commitment to continue to equip women in ministry. Emily Dean, assistant professor of ministry to women and director of ministry to women academic programs, will occupy the chair. “Barbara, we are grateful to God and to you for your ministry and your legacy,” president Jamie Dew said in a chapel service Jan. 27 in announcing the new academic chair. Dew praised Barbara O’Chester’s ministry as a speaker, mentor, and women’s ministry leader that has touched tens of thousands of women’s lives. Noting the O’Chesters’ long friendship with former NOBTS President Chuck Kelley and his wife Rhonda Kelley, Dew thanked Barbara for her contribution to NOBTS through her encouragement and support of Rhonda Kelley’s ministry to women. Under Rhonda Kelley’s twenty-year leadership, the NOBTS women’s ministry programs expanded to include course offerings and degrees that drew in women from around the world. “Barbara, this has been your passion for 70 years,” Dew said. “You have been so faithful in that.” Dean leads the academic programs focused on ministry to women with degrees offered at the certificate, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Dean also helps direct the newly founded NOBTS Society for Women to promote academic gifts, scholarly practices, and contributions to the academy by women doctoral and graduate students. “The legacy of Barbara O' Chester reminds us that each generation does not serve the kingdom in isolation,” Dean said. “As women in SBC life, we stand on the shoulders of women such as Barbara who have faithfully led the way for ministry to women as we know it today. She was a trailblazer in her focus on ministry to women, and I am so grateful for her vision and dedication to serving women in the church. The new academic chair is made possible by funding from Jon Parnell, a long-time friend of the O’Chester family and a member of the Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, where Harold O’Chester served as pastor for 35 years prior to retirement. Barbara O’Chester earned the bachelor of sacred music and her husband Harold O'Chester received the bachelor of divinity from NOBTS in 1958.
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Leading the Saturday breakout sessions were Kelly King, manager of Lifeway’s magazines and devotional publishing and Women’s Ministry Training; Kathy Litton, wife of former SBC President Ed Litton; Elizabeth Luter, wife of former SBC President Fred Luter, and others.
Women from 19 states and hundreds of churches came together for Abide 2022, “Women of the Word,” at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College, Feb. 4-5, to hear Jen Wilkin, popular Bible study author and speaker. Tara Dew, wife of NOBTS and Leavell College President Jamie Dew and director of the NOBTS ministry wives certificate program, welcomed the audience of 1200 women. “Our heart is that we would be women who abide in Christ,” Dew said. “Women who know Him, love Him.”
In Friday’s evening plenary, Jen Wilkin said spending time with scripture should transform believers' lives, but that the biblical illiteracy she encounters within the church shows something is amiss. “Are we interacting with scripture in a way that is compounding our understanding and fueling our sanctification?” Wilkin asked the audience. “Are we being transformed? “The heart cannot love what the head does not know,” Wilkin explained. “If we want to feel deeply about God, we must think deeply about God.” Next year’s Abide conference, Feb. 3-4, 2023 features Kelly Minter, Bible study author, speaker, and musician. For information, visit www.PrepareHer.com.
BCM Grants Baptist Community Ministries awarded NOBTS and Leavell College a $1.2 million grant to promote and provide health, education, and counseling service to NOBTS and Leavell College families, and to the neighboring community. The BCM award consists of a series of three grants of $400,000 per year for three years. The grant supports the NOBTS Leeke Magee Counseling Center in providing free or affordable counseling services to the community and seminary families; will support the NOBTS Early Learning Center and will equip its childcare professionals with trauma-sensitive skills for their work with children, provided by Leeke Magee Counseling Center; and will provide expanded access to healthcare for seminary and community families. “The BCM grant is a tremendous blessing for our seminary and a transformational opportunity for us to create new partnerships and to expand our community outreach,” said Mike Wetzel, NOBTS vice president of Institutional Advancement. “We are grateful for BCM and their continued efforts to provide life-changing support in the city of New Orleans.”
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SEMINARY NEWS
Master's Degree Programs Updated The board of trustees approved revisions to the master’s degree programs in the Spring meeting, April 12-13. The updated degree plans are designed to meet the needs of today’s churches and Christian ministries. Revisions to the MDiv program represented more than a year of review, assessment, research and degree development by faculty and administration. The new plans strengthen the classical theological training elements (biblical languages, biblical studies, theology, and history) and practical, applied ministry skill development requirements (preaching, pastoral, ministry, administration, and missions).
LUTER STUDENT CENTER BY GARY D. MYERS
For all MDiv specializations, a group of core classes (69 hours) was set, making the degree more uniform and more user-friendly for students. MDiv specializations will include 12 hours in a discipline along with six hours of free electives. Similarly, a 27-hour core was established for all MA degrees. “The changes to our MDiv program allow us to prepare people for ministry in this day and in this culture,” Dew said. “The changes provide a more consistent and efficient curricular core that our students will be able to navigate and complete.”
Trustees also approved much-needed exterior upgrades to the student center to beautify the campus entrance and improve the center's functionality. The updates include additional interior renovations, outdoor seating areas, landscaping and parking lot repairs. The LSC renovations were funded by a $2 million anonymous gift. A gift of that size includes naming rights for the building, Dew said. In consultation with the NOBTS administration, the donor chose to recognize Luter’s humble and faithful service in New Orleans and throughout the SBC by naming this building in his honor.
With interior renovations nearing completion at Hardin Student Center, the freshly updated student center received also a new name – the Fred Luter Jr. Student Center (LSC). The name change honoring the longtime pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church was approved at the Spring trustee meeting and announced by Dr. Jamie Dew at FABC on Easter Sunday morning, surprising Luter and delighting the congregation. “Proverbs chapter three verse number 27 says this ‘Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do so,” Dew said during the naming announcement. “Pastor Luter, you are clearly a man to whom honor is due and it is within our power to do so.” After more than a year of work, the interior updating is almost complete.
Luter, called as Franklin Avenue’s pastor in 1986, helped the struggling congregation with 65 members grow to one of the largest Southern Baptist Convention churches in Louisiana. During his 36-year tenure as FABC pastor, Luter has become an important voice for the cause of Christ in the city of New Orleans and an ardent supporter of the seminary's work. In 2012, Luter was elected as the first African American president of the SBC and served two terms in that role. During the presentation at FABC, Dew recounted how he began listening to Luter’s sermons shortly after becoming a believer. Luter made an impression on Dew. “When you watch someone from afar, you have an impression about who they are and what they are. And you know how this goes, sometimes when you get to meet these people in real life they are not who you thought they would be,” Dew said. “Brother, you are not only everything I thought you were, you are more. We love you.”
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NOBTS NAMES REGGIE OGEA DIRECTOR OF NEW JIM HENRY INSTITUTE Announces Prepare Here Conference BY GARY D. MYERS
New Orleans Baptist fieological Seminary has selected Reggie Ogea to lead the work of the newly created Jim Henry Leadership Institute. fie school also announced that the ffirst Henry Institute event, the Prepare Here Conference, is scheduled for Oct. 14-15, 2022, in New Orleans. Jim Henry will be among the featured speakers at the conference. For more information about the conference, visit www.nobts.edu/prepare/here.html “Leadership is always tough, but it is especially diThcult right now. As such we are thankful to partner with Jim Henry to strengthen our current and future leaders in SBC work,” said Jamie Dew, president of NOBTS and Leavell College. “fiis institute allows us to cultivate the next generation of leaders while also encouraging those who are already leading.” Ogea, who serves as professor of leadership and pastoral ministry and associate dean of Professional Doctoral Programs at NOBTS, was instrumental in creating the institute along with NOBTS professor Jim Parker. Ogea brings a wealth of experience to the task. He spent 20 years pastoring local churches before leading the associational work for the North Shore Baptist Association in Louisiana. After serving as a DOM for four years, Ogea joined the NOBTS faculty and spent the next 20 years training pastors. As a professor, leader of the seminary’s doctor of ministry program, and associate dean of professional doctoral programs, Ogea taught primarily in the area of pastoral leadership. fie idea came as Ogea and Parker talked about the challenges facing leaders and the unique needs of today's churches. fiey believe skilled and principled Christian leadership can help churches thrive despite the challenges. As Ogea and Parker dreamed about creating a leadership institute, they thought of Henry’s long, steady church leadership and wanted to name it in his honor. “We sensed a great need in SBC life for intentional leadership training,” Ogea said. “fie Jim Henry Leadership Institute will position NOBTS to impact pastoral leadership in the SBC strategically.” fie institute's ffive focal areas are research fellowships, an annual leadership conference, leadership summits, publishing, and consultation. fie institute will award research fellowships to doctoral students to study
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key leadership challenges, including pastoral tenure, ministerial wellness, burnout prevention, pastoral transition, and strategic leadership proficiencies. The annual conference, one-day leadership summits, and consultation work will offer practical leadership training to help churches and their leaders thrive despite challenges. The publishing work will provide practice resources and research to help address leadership issues and foster strategic leadership. The institute honors the ministry of Jim Henry, an NOBTS graduate and longtime pastor who served as president of the Southern Baptists Convention in 1994 and 1995. Under Henry's leadership from 1977 until 2006, First Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida, grew to a congregation of 10,000 plus members. The church consistently gave sacrificially to the shared work of Southern Baptist through the Cooperative Program. A few years after his retirement from Orlando First, Henry began pastoring again. According to Henry, he was "redeployed” as pastor of Downtown Baptist Church in Orlando from 2015 until 2019. During his time at NOBTS, Henry pastored churches in Alabama and Mississippi. After his graduation, Henry pastored Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, before accepting the call to FBC Orlando. For more information about the Jim Henry Leadership Institute, visit www.nobts.edu/henryinstitute
CONFERENCE FOR CHURCH LEADERSHIP
NEW ORLEANS, LA
OCTOBER 14-15, 2022
PREPARATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT FOR MINISTRY KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
JAMIE DEW
JIM HENRY
FRANK WILLIAMS
PLUS FOUR BREAKOUT SESSIONS WITH MULTIPLE OPTIONS
Early-bird registration until August 31 - $65 Registration after August 31 - $75 Use the QR or visit www.nobts.edu/prepare/here.html for more information and registration
HOSTED BY THE JIM HENRY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE AT NOBTS VISION MAGAZINE Summer 2022
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JIM SHADDIX
Headlines Annual Stanfield Lectures BY MARILYN STEWART
Jim Shaddix, former NOBTS professor of preaching and dean of chapel, headlined this year’s V. L. Stanfield Preaching Lectures at NOBTS and Leavell College, April 5 and 7. Shaddix said that preaching must be informed by the doctrine of the inspiration of scripture and challenged listeners to remember former NOBTS preaching professor V. L. Stanfield’s words when he taught, “Preaching is giving the Bible a voice.” Drawing from Nehemiah 8, Shaddix pointed to the importance of seeing the sermon as the opportunity for God’s people to “encounter the living God … and hear His voice, hear Him speak in a way that transforms our lives,” Shaddix said. Pastors must convey to their people their belief that scripture is inspired, Shaddix said, adding that a pastor that shows his congregation that he delights in God’s word can call his people to listen to God’s voice in scripture. “People need to see us ‘caught up’ in the glory and grace of God and that we delight in the text,” Shaddix said. “It’s contagious. Exult in it. Our Lord is worth it.” Some of Shaddix’s former students, now pastors, joined Shaddix on stage for panel discussions after the lectures for issues regarding pastoral leadership. Panelists included: David Platt, Washington D.C.; Israel Cox, Mississippi; Bradley Rushing, Alabama; Landon Dowden, Georgia; D. J. Horton, South Carolina; Byron Townsend, Louisiana; Byron Brown, Louisiana, and Brian Upshaw, North Carolina. Bo Rice, dean of graduate studies and one of Shaddix’s former students, moderated the discussions. In closing, the panelists thanked Shaddix for the impact he had made on their lives. D. J. Horton turned to Shaddix and said, “You have been a source of wisdom for me when I’ve been
at intersections, crossroads. Now … [because of your example], you make me want to finish strong.” David Platt honored Shaddix and his wife Deborah for welcoming students into their hearts and home and expressed gratitude for Shaddix’s investment in his life as pastor, ministry colleague, and friend, particularly when, during his seminary days, Platt received word of his father’s unexpected death.
“How do I summarize the effect of Jim Shaddix on my life? He is a father to me,” Platt continued. Acknowledging the line of men on stage that Shaddix had mentored through the years, Platt added, “And I am grateful for all eternity to be one of his many sons in ministry.”
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SEMINARY NEWS
NOBTS APOLOGETICS
Receives $850,000 Endowment Gift BY MARILYN STEWART
A recent gift to the apologetics program at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College will expand its work in equipping believers to defend the faith. The donation of $850,000 comes from the Milburn and Nancy Calhoun Foundation and from the Calhoun children, Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton, who passed away earlier this year, and David Calhoun, a professor of philosophy at Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington, and a frequent speaker at the yearly NOBTS apologetics conference, Defend.
Endowment for Christian Apologetics, to support the activities and work of NOBTS Apologetics by providing funding for events, guest speakers, workshops and conferences. 2) The Calhoun Ph.D. Fellowship for Apologetics and Philosophy, supporting a Ph.D. in Christian Apologetics student 3) The Calhoun Defend the Faith Scholarship, supporting a master’s level student in apologetics.
Calhoun noted the value of the NOBTS Defend conference and the importance of believers being ready to explain the faith in today’s culture.
“Christian apologetics is an essential part of Christian witness,” said Jamie Dew, president of NOBTS and Leavell College. “NOBTS has always been exceptionally strong in this important ministry, but gifts of this nature make it possible for us to do this work even better. We are grateful to God for this generous gift and look forward to seeing how God will use it.”
“I think it’s inevitable that we’ll continue to see secularizing developments in culture,” David Calhoun said. “That means Christians have to be much more deliberate about how they articulate and defend and give account ‘of the hope that is in us,’ as Peter puts it” (1 Peter 3:15).
The Defend conference brings together top scholars and thinkers on varied topics crucial to defending the faith. NOBTS offers also master’s degrees and specializations in apologetics as well as a Ph.D. in Christian Apologetics. Degrees may be earned on campus or through distance formats.
David Calhoun pointed to his parents’ legacy of service and commitment to Christ as the inspiration for the gift. His father, Milburn Calhoun, was a medical doctor and owner and operator of The Pelican Publishing Company, New Orleans. Taking on the role of publisher while working full-time as a family practitioner was a natural fit with his father’s love of reading and exploring ideas, Calhoun explained.
Robert Stewart, director of Defend and the NOBTS apologetics program, noted Milburn and Nancy Calhoun’s fervent commitment to Christ and said the gift was timely.
The Calhoun family donation provides support for apologetics in three ways: 1) The Calhoun Family
“At this particular cultural moment, more than ever there is an awareness of the importance of apologetics,” Stewart said. “I’m very grateful for how this gift from the Calhoun family will help us to train as many believers as possible to commend and defend their faith as well as possible.”
NOBTS REPRESENTED
AT ACADEMIC SOCIETY’S REGIONAL MEETING New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College hosted this year’s Southwest Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Theological and the Evangelical Philosophical Societies, April 1-2. With 29 NOBTS-associated presenters, the seminary was wellrepresented academically. Presenting papers were eight NOBTS faculty members, three Ph.D. graduates, 16 current Ph.D. students, one administrator and two adjunct faculty members.
The NOBTS presenters spoke on topics related to theology, biblical studies, philosophy, ethics, ministry and worship. “As Christians, we are called to think seriously about God, about Scripture, and about ourselves,” said Charlie Ray III, assistant professor of New Testament and Greek and the event’s program chair. “Conferences like these provide the opportunity to engage in scholarship in such a way that we can sharpen one another for the sake of becoming more faithful servants of God.” VISION MAGAZINE Summer 2022
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GEORGE L. KELM ARCHAEOLOGY LIBRARY
Given New Home at NOBTS BY GARY D. MYERS
The library of late archaeologist George L. Kelm has a new home at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Moskau Institute for Archaeology. Kelm’s extensive collection of archaeological books is now housed in the seminary’s Museum of the Bible and Archaeology Learning Center in the Luter Student Center. The resources are being used to supplement the training experiences for NOBTS archaeology students, especially for teaching ceramic p ( ottery) analysis. Kelm, the rst archaeology professor at NOBTS, donated the collection before he passed away April ,52 .9102 Linda, his wife of 46 years, traveled with Kelm on all his excavations and became a skilled at pottery restoration, expressed her o j y that current students are able to utilize her late husband’s books. Born in Alberta, Canada, in ,139 Kelm, who studied archaeology at New York University M ( .A. and Ph.D.), o j ined the NOBTS faculty in .8691 In addition to his studies at NYU, Kelm studied Hebrew, geography and archaeology at the American Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem and later served as the Institute’s academic and administrative eld director for two years. Kelm came to NOBTS with an ambitious plan to launch an archaeology program at the school involving students and faculty members in Holy Land excavations. During his rst year, Kelm established the Institute of Biblical Archaeology l( ater called the Moskau Institute for Archaeology) and scheduled a summer trip to Israel for an excavation. The NOBTS group, 74 members strong, participated in the Tel Malhata excavation with Tel Aviv University. In 2791 Kelm co-directed the excavation of Tel Aphek-Antipatris with Moshe Kochavi of Tel Aviv University. The dig yielded many important nds, including rare clay tablets, 053 ancient coins and intact pottery pieces. During the fourth dig season, Linda unearthed a rare trilingual dictionary. Kelm solidied his place in archaeology in 791 when he began excavating ancient Timnah in Israel along with Israeli archaeologist Amihai Mazar of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The home of biblical u j dge Samson, Timnah was an intriguing location for the seminary. Kelm knew that the site associated with an important biblical gure would be a perfect t for a school dedicated to understanding the Bible and the context in which it was written. For three seasons, Kelm excavated under the New Orleans Seminary banner lling a small Bible Lands Museum l( ocated in the John T. Christian Library at the time) with exciting nds. In ,189 Kelm left NOBTS to o j in the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary S ( WBTS) faculty and continued excavating at Timnah for nine more seasons. SWBTS invested heavily in archaeology and over the next decade Kelm carved out a stellar archaeology career. Kelm’s most important contribution to SWBTS came when he founded the Charles D. Tandy Archaeological Museum in .3891
March 1977: President Landrum P. Leavell (third from right) inspects an artifact from the seminary’s collection of archaeological finds. Other professors examining the collection are (from left): Dr. Hardee Kennedy, Vice President of Academic Affairs; Dr. John Olen Strange, Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament; Dr. Ray Frank Robbins, Professor of New Testament and Greek; Dr. George Kelm, Associate Professor of Archaeology, who led the expeditions that uncovered the items; Dr. Paul Gericke, Director of the Library and Dr. Carlton Winbery, Assistant Professor of New Testament and Greek. 29
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SEMINARY NEWS
Madelynn Duke, photographer and graphic designer, received a photography award in the Feature – Series category in the 58th Annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition, 2022. She was awarded Second Place for her photos depicting the multi-page feature series Servanthood in the Fall 2021 Vision magazine. Marilyn Stewart, assistant director for news, received the grand prize Leonard Holloway Award for Exceptional Achievement in Feature Writing and 1st place for Single Article, 7501500 words, for the feature, “NOBTS student’s life touched thousands despite exceptional disabilities.”
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College signed an agreement with Louisiana Christian University (LCU) in an historic partnership agreement. The partnership re-affirms transfer options for LCU graduates who choose to study in the NOBTS Accelerated Master of Divinity program (M.Div.) established in 2019. The new agreement offers NOBTS students the opportunity to transfer credits toward the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Social Work (MSW) degrees at LCU. The partnership will expand the training options available for Godcalled men and women in Louisiana and help students save time and money. VISION MAGAZINE Summer 2022
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ALUMNI NEWS
ALUMNI NEWS
NOBTS and Leavell College welcome Clay Carroll [MA ‘15 ] as Director of Alumni Engagement. Carroll comes to the role from ministry experience as a pastor, a church planting apprentice in Torrington, Wyoming, and from service with the IMB through the international semester missions opportunity, Hands On. Clay and his wife Bekah have three preschoolaged children. “I am thrilled to step into this role to support and encourage my fellow alumni,” Carroll said. “I look forward to growing the alumni association into something that is an even greater asset to our alumni family and connecting with our incredible, humble alums across the country. I want our office to be a useful resource for our alumni as they serve faithfully wherever the Lord plants them.”
Clay Carroll
Inman Houston Named
CEO OF BAPTIST COMMUNITY MINISTRIES Inman Houston (THM’04, MDIV ’03) has been named CEO of Baptist Community Ministries, the faithbased Christian foundation and leading funder of nonprofit organizations in the New Orleans area. Houston will be the first ordained minister to lead the foundation. Houston served five years as First Baptist Church of New Orleans’ associate pastor of global impact and director of the Baptist Crossroads Project following Hurricane Katrina, helping mobilize thousands of volunteers for recovery and rebuilding. Houston comes to BCM from his current position as senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Lawrenceville, Ga.
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ALUMNI NEWS
WHY COME TO DEFEND? - Experience five full days of teaching from world renowned apologists.
STUDENTS HAVE TOUGH QUESTIONS! BE READY TO RESPOND.
- Receive access to all breakout session audio recordings. - Enjoy “Coffee & Conversations” with guest speakers everyday. - Preview the NOBTS campus & experience the culture of New Orleans.
To register now for Defend or Contend, scan this QR Code or go to DEFENDTHEFAITH.NET
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION General Public & NOBTS Grad Students $130 College & High School Students $30
A FIVE-DAY APOLOGETICS CONFERENCE HOSTED BY
MORE INFORMATION AT
DEFENDTHEFAITH.NET VISION MAGAZINE Fall 2021 32
CLASS NOTES GREG PLATT (MDIV ’80)
GLENN EUBANKS (MCM ‘82)
JAY STEWART (MDIV ’02)
RICK MITCHELL (MDIV ’85)
TIM WALKER (MA ‘07, THM ‘14, PHD ‘19)
BENJAMIN BROWNING (MDIV ‘15, THM ‘17, PHD ‘20)
MATTHEW WEAVER (MDIV ‘16)
SARA ROBINSON (THM ’20)
ANDREW HOLLINGSWORTH (MA ‘14, THM ’16, PHD ‘18)
THE PROVIDENCE SOCIETY Recurring Monthly Donation The Providence Society Recurring Monthly Donation is an automated monthly giving program to support the Providence Fund for Operational Excellence. The Providence Fund is unrestricted, and every dollar given is a dollar students will not have to pay in tuition and fee increases.
The major benefits of the Providence Society Recurring Monthly Donation include:
IMPACT
SMART
CONVENIENCE
TIMELINESS
Last year, NOBTS Providence Society Donors contributed $136,813 to the Providence Fund, saving students from increasing tuition and fees.
Your gifts work in concert with contributions from the SBC Cooperative Program providing value for everyone called to ministry training.
No more checks to write and no monthly reminders to set! This saves you time and reduces printing and postage costs.
Members know their gifts will always go to work immediately, positively impacting the students, faculty, and staff of NOBTS and Leavell College.
Join the Providence Society To join the Providence Society, use the QR code or visit www.nobts.edu/providencesociety For more information about giving, email development@nobts.edu. 33
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OBITUARIES 1940S MAURICIO, ANTONIO (THD ‘41) WEST, FRANCES (MRE ‘45) 1950S ADDLETON, HUBERT (BDIV ‘54) BOUCHILLON, BILL (ATTENDED ‘52) CAMPBELL, RAY (BDIV ‘58) CANOVA, FRAN (MRE ‘56) CARSWELL, JEAN (MRE ‘51) COWLING, JESSE (ATTENDED ‘58) CRAWFORD, JAMES (ATTENDED ‘57) CROWELL, LIONEL (BDIV ‘58) DAVIS, HERBERT (BDIV ‘55) DAVIS, MARGUERITE (BRE ‘50) DUCK, BONNIE (ATTENDED ‘50) ELLIOTT, JEAN (MRE ‘54) FAVELL, HUDSON (BDIV ‘53, MRE ‘69) GEBHART, JAMES (BDIV ‘55, MRE ‘56) GREIDER, JOHN (BDIV ‘55) HAMILTON, CARROLL (BDIV ‘58) HYATT, LEON (BDIV ‘52, THD ‘55) JOHNSON, JUNE (ATTENDED ‘56) KING, JOE (THD ‘53) MCCLURE, BOB (ATTENDED ‘51) MONCRIEF, THOMAS (BDIV ‘59) RILEY, RALPH (ATTENDED ‘55) WALDEN, BOB (BDIV ‘54) WESTMORELAND, JAMES (BDIV ‘55) WINBUSH, ROY (BDIV ‘59) YOUNG, BILL (BDIV ‘54, MRE ‘57, DRE ‘59) 1960S BAKER, JAMES (BDIV ‘64) BARRETT, BURNIS (BDIV ‘60) BRACKIN, ALEC (ATTENDED ‘66) CARRON, GENE (THMH ‘69) DAVIS, GORDON (DPRE ‘66) DEBORD, GAIL (BDIV ‘60, THD ‘68) DEPONTI, REBECCA (ATTENDED ‘63) ELDER, EUGENE (BDIV ‘62) ELLIS, BILL (THMH ‘68, THD ‘71) ELLZEY, JOHN (MCM ‘62) EYL, ARLAND (DPRE ‘68) FERGUSON, GERRY (THM ‘67) FORD, J.D. (MDIV ‘63) HAMRICK, WYNDELL (DPCT ‘69) HAWKES, PHILLIP (ATTENDED ‘66) HENSON, KENNETH (MDIV ‘63) HOLBROOK, WAYLAND (ATTENDED ‘64) JACKSON, EARL (MRE ‘65, THM ‘67) JONES, ROBERT (MCM ‘61, MRE ‘62) KIMBLE, CLYDE (ATTENDED ‘63) KNAPP, HERMAN (ATTENDED ‘64) LESTER, LANELLE (MSM ‘60) LUCAS, BARBARA (MCM ‘66) MARTINEZ, DANNY (MRE ‘69) MATHIS, JIMMY (MRE ‘65) MAURY, ERNEST (ATTENDED ‘66) MCLAURIN, ANCE (MRE ‘67) MCNUTT, JERRELL (MRE ‘63) MELIAN, RAFAEL (DPCT ‘69)
ALUMNI NEWS OLSEN, BRUCE (ATTENDED ‘63) PERKINS, DALE (MCM ‘69) ROBERTSON, CAREY (DPCT ‘68) RUSSELL, HELEN (ATTENDED ‘63) TINNIN, JACK (BDIV ‘62) VINCENT, WAYNE (MRE ‘60) WALKER, MARGIE (MRE ‘60) 1970S ANDERSON, JAMES (THD ‘76) BRITTAIN, JIM (THM ‘75) CAMPBELL, DAVE (MDIV ‘73) CHAMLEE, DOUG (ATTENDED ‘77) COBB, THOMAS (THM ‘71, EDD ‘88) COLBERT, KEN (ATTENDED ‘72) COX, RAY (MDIV ‘76) DANIELSON, LOUISE (ATTENDED ‘73) FITTS, RON (ATTENDED ‘78) FREEMAN, CHARLES (MDIV ‘76) FRENCH, DAVID (THM ‘72) GENTRY, WILLIAM (THM ‘71) GILLESPIE, RANDY (MDIV ‘78) KILGORE, ALAN (MDIV ‘77) LODGE, ELWOOD (ATTENDED ‘72) MOORE, JOHN (MDIV ‘76) MULKEY, DONALD (DPPM ‘78) MURPHREE, MIKE (MDIV ‘76) NEWBERRY, RONNIE (MDIV ‘76, MRE ‘77) PRICE, CLYDE (DPRE ‘77) RAYBORN, TIM (MDIV ‘76, THD ‘80) SCOTT, WAYNE (THMH ‘72, DMIN ‘80) SIMS, DURWOOD (MRE ‘77) SMITH, JIMMY (DPCM ‘70) TANO, ROD (MDIV ‘75) WILLIAMS, DONALD (ATTENDED ‘74) 1980S ANDERSON, TOMMY (MDIV ‘81) BEALL, LONNIE (MRE ‘83) BOSTICK, TED (MDIV ‘83) BROWN, WILLIAM (ADPM ‘84) COWART, JANICE (MRE ‘83) CRAWLEY, ED (ADPM ‘84) CUMMINGS, DWIGHT (MDIV ‘89) DAVIS, GLENN (MDIV ‘80) DUTTON, BOB (ADPM ‘84) GREEN, STAN (ATTENDED ‘89) HALEY, JERRY (DMIN ‘89) HASTINGS, GROVER (MDIV ‘81) HOLDCRAFT, ASBERRY (ATTENDED ‘87) JOHNSON, LARRY (ATTENDED ‘86) KNOWLES, DURWOOD (DMIN ‘83) MESSER, JAMES (ATTENDED ‘84) MOORHEAD, NICK (MDIV ‘87) MORENO, J.R. (ADRE ‘89, BACM ‘03) NORRIS, DALE (MDIV ‘82, MRE ‘83) PATTY, BOB (MDIV ‘80) POOLE, SWAYNE (MDIV ‘88) ROBINSON, SANDRA (MRE ‘81) SCOTT, WILLIAM (MDIV ‘89, EDD ‘93) SINGLETON, GILBERT (ATTENDED ‘86) SMITH, HUGH (MDIV ‘83) WILLIS, LARRY (DMIN ‘80)
1990S BAXTER, LON (ADPM ‘91) BEARLEY, DAVID (ADRE ‘91) CARRAWAY, MARK (ATTENDED ‘97) DAY, HOWARD (ADPM ‘90) EVANS, TODD (MDIV ‘90) HAWKINS, DEXTER (ATTENDED ‘94) LOYD, STAN (MCM '91) MORELAND, HUGH (ATTENDED ‘97) POST, STEVE (ACS ‘95) TRABONT, GAYERA (ATTENDED ‘97) VASBINDER, BILL (ATTENDED ‘98) WALKER, BUBBA (MRE ‘90) 2000S ANDERSON, BILL (MDIVCE ‘04) GOVER, LYNNE (ATTENDED ‘01) GRESHAM, JACK (ATTENDED ‘02) ROSEMORE, JUANITA (CBT ‘01) SMITH, JASON (MACE ‘09) SWEENEY, LORI (ATTENDED ‘02) 2010S CORLEY, ROBERT (MDIV ‘10) 2020S FERGUSON, CHET (ATTENDED ‘21) PUTMAN, JEFF (BACM ‘21)
LAMAR EUGENE COOPER SR. (THMH ’69, THD ’75) served as a pastor, a Christian educator and at the SBC’s Christian Life Commission (now the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission). He died June 18 at the age of 80. A noted Hebrew and Old Testament scholar, Cooper’s writing credits include commentary and notes for The Apologetics Study Bible, The Message, and other publications. He served 33 years on the Criswell College faculty. VISION MAGAZINE Summer 2022
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