Outlook Summer 2009

outlook t h e m a g a z i n e o f Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Number of Donors Grows

Alumni continue giving, even in sour economy page 5

Because He Came, We Go Students and faculty minister to Mexican children and pastors page 8

The ‘Wheel’ Rolls On

Carson retires from teaching, but not from ministry page 18

Summer 2009

A.Div.

Associate of Divinity Do you know someone who...

• is over 30?

• is called to pastoral ministry?

• does not have a college degree?

The A.Div. is a ministry preparation degree for those who are called to ministry later in life. It combines classes in pastoral ministry with a strong core of biblical studies and theology. Much of the A.Div. can be taken online or in short-term seminars.

info@sebts.edu | 1-800-284-6317

T HE C OLLEGE

AT

SOUTHEASTERN

A School of Southeaster n Baptist Theological Seminary

Contents 5

Annual Donor Base Increases

Even in a down economy, the Southeastern Fund sees the number of people giving for the first time go up; overall annual gifts down only 3.5%.

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outlook Summer 2009 Summer 2009

Because He Came, We Go

Southeastern students and faculty share Christ through word and deed with the residents of Acuña, Mexico.

Stories by Lauren Crane/Photos

by B.J. Walker

Story by Jason Hall

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Wake Forest, NC

Daniel L. Akin President

David P. Nelson

Senior Vice President for Academic Administration

Ryan R. Hutchinson

Senior Vice President for Business Administration

Dennis Darville

Vice President for Institutional Advancement Alumni Staff Albie Brice, director Linda Baker Suzanne Tilley Communications Staff Jason Hall, director Lauren Crane Courtney Navey Ryan Thomas

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Preaching the Text

David Nelson, dean of the faculty, opens the school year by explaining how to undermine Scripture’s authority.

Story by Lauren Crane

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The ‘Wheel’ Rolls On

Outlook (ISSN 0887-0934) is published by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary PO Box 1889 Wake Forest, NC 27588 www.sebts.edu

Story by Lauren Crane/Photo by Courtney Navey

To inform us of address changes or about alumni who are not receiving Outlook, please contact us at 919-761-2203 or e-mail alumni@sebts.edu.

Even as Logan Carson retires from active teaching, he remains committed to serving Christ however he can.

Plus...

• • •

From the Alumni Director | 4 Briefs from Around Southeastern | 6-7 Reports from the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention | 22-23

Above: Students use baseball as a platform to share the gospel in Mexico

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.

Letter from the Director Greetings Alumni: I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your willingness to serve our Lord in your field of ministry. Your passion to serve Christ is such an encouragement to me as we endeavor to grow a meaningful alumni ministry. There is increasing optimism on the part of Dr. Akin, the faculty and staff that Southeastern alumni can have a tremendous impact on the church’s effort to take the gospel to the nations.

While we recognize that this task seems enormous in scope, we are putting our trust in God to provide Southeastern with the ingenuity, resources and people to equip students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission.

In order for Southeastern to have an effective alumni ministry, I am asking each of you to prayerfully consider how to initiate and carry forward a strategy that will enable our alumni to have a significant role in the mission of Southeastern. Your ideas and years of experience in the ministry are crucial to reaching our alumni with a message that encourages and ignites them to serve their Lord, families, churches and communities well.

As a new semester begins, I would like for you to think of ways that we can encourage our alumni to partner with Southeastern in its recruiting, financial, and community efforts. There is a unique opportunity facing us to entrust the gospel to students who will engage a world that is more connected than any other time in history – we must rise to the challenge!

Thank you again for all you do to serve Christ. In the near future, I hope to receive ideas and strategies from you concerning ways that we can improve and develop our alumni ministry. I will be praying for you and your families as we work together to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

Albie Brice Director of Alumni Development & Denominational Relations

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Annual donors up 10% Gifts to Southeastern Fund down only 3.5% in poor giving climate The Southeastern Fund saw a 10 percent increase in total donors in the 2008-2009 school year, an astounding number considering the current giving climate in the United States.

Overall, the fund – Southeastern’s primary mechanism for regular, undesignated fund-raising – was down only 3.5 percent from the previous year, with an intake of $580,000 versus $601,000 the year before.

“To see such a small decrease in a year in which many non-profits are seeing double-digit decreases in giving is nothing short of miraculous,” said Daniel Palmer, director of financial development.

“Given the economy and the hardship faced by some of our most generous donors, I would have never thought we would come so close to matching the amount raised in last year’s annual fund,” Palmer said. “God has, once again, shown me how often I do not trust him to provide.”

The 10 percent increase in the actual number of donors means that while many schools are seeing their base of donors shrink, Southeastern has seen its base go up. Palmer said that is because a number of alumni have begun to give regularly.

“It is an honor to serve Southeastern’s alumni, and I am so delighted that my fellow alumni are catching a vision for how the Lord can use the financial gifts of many alumni in support of their alma mater to make a tremendous kingdom impact,” said Albie Brice, director of alumni development.

Among those regular donors are David and Sue Kite. David, a 1997 M.Div. graduate who pastors Cooley Springs Baptist Church in Chesnee, S.C., and his wife have been giving sporadically through the years.

Two years ago, God laid it on their hearts to give regularly. Now, when she pays the bills every month, Sue makes sure a check goes out to Southeastern.

“We’re just so thankful for (David’s) education and the experience we had there,” Sue said. “We were helped while we were in seminary, and we hope to help someone else. We can’t give as much as we would like, but we give what we can and we hope to give more in the future.”

Regular gifts like those from the Kites, however small, are the backbone of the Southeastern Fund.

Because gifts to the Southeastern Fund are undesignated, President Daniel Akin and his staff can use that money to quickly meet needs that arise throughout the school year.

The success of the Southeastern Fund this past year was not without its trials. Early in the year, some donors who have regularly given a large amount to the fund told Southeastern they would not be able to give as much as usual because of some significant business losses.

“These reductions in giving seemed insurmountable,” said Dennis Darville, vice president for institutional advancement. “We began to pray for these struggling donors while also praying that God would meet the needs of Southeastern. God did it; he gets all the credit. He made a way by moving in the hearts of alumni and friends to give for the very first time.

Praise God for his faithfulness to Southeastern and for those who responded to the God-given opportunity to invest in the work of equipping students.”

“To see such a small decrease in a year in which many non-profits are seeing double-digit decreases in giving is nothing short of miraculous.”

Daniel Palmer Director of Financial Development To underscore the miracle of this news, one need look no further than the current climate in philanthropic giving. The Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University recently released their benchmark Philanthropic Giving Index, which showed that philanthropic giving in the United States is at its lowest point in more than a decade, and their measure dropped more than 20 percent in the past six months alone.

Those kinds of numbers don’t faze the Kites, who would like to see more alumni giving regularly to Southeastern. Sue recommends identifying some luxury in your monthly spending – for them it was a single night of eating out – that you can cut out and then divert that money to Southeastern.

It may not be much, she said, but “(God) is going to take that money and multiply it many times over.”

To find out ways that you can give regularly to Southeastern – including automatic withdrawals or credit card giving – visit sebts.edu and click on “Alumni and Friends” or call (919) 761-2202.

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Around Southeastern BRIEFS AND NEWS FROM CAMPUS, CHAPEL AND ALUMNI EVENTS

Southeastern profs contribute to emerging church book

By Jason Hall Three Southeastern professors have contributed to a recent book examining the emerging/ emergent church movement that is generating discussion throughout North American evangelicalism.

Evangelicals Engaging Emergent: A Discussion of the Emergent Church Movement is published by B & H and edited by William Henard and Adam Greenway. It is a collection of essays on its subject, including contributions by Southeastern President Daniel Akin; professor of theology John Hammett; and visiting professor of missiology Ed Stetzer.

Akin contributed a chapter entitled “The Emerging Church and Ethical Choices: The Corinthian Matrix.” In it he addresses concerns that many have about emerging church pastors’ attitudes toward traditionally prominent moral issues like abortion and homosexuality as well as what he notes as a somewhat more relaxed view of discussion over issues like alcohol consumption and sexuality.

Akin engages the discussion from the perspective of 1 Cor. 6:12-13:13, laying out what he calls Pauline principles “that would enable (pastors) to engage the culture with integrity while staying true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Hammett makes a theological contribution to the book with his chapter, “The Church According to Emergent/Emerging Church.” In it he examines the ecclesiology of those within the movement, acknowledging that many in the movement see ecclesiology as their primary concern.

He notes that since the emerging/emergent movement is not a monolithic one, it is difficult to pin down particular principles or ideals that pertain across the spectrum of thought. Nevertheless, Hammett does discern a few concerns common to a broad swath of the movement, including church as community, missional orientation and experiential worship, while noting a lack of consensus as to the shape of biblical leadership in the church.

Stetzer, whose work in the emerging/emergent church movement predates that of most

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any Southern Baptist, contributes “The Emergent/Emerging Church: A Missiological Perspective.” In it he traces at length and in great detail the foundational events and figures of the emerging/emergent church movement in mainly North America. He gives markers for identifying features and changes in the movement, and also gives helpful categories for understanding the divergence in doctrine and practice that now mark the movement.

The book is now available in bookstores and online. J.D. Greear, a Southeastern alumnus and adjunct faculty member who pastors The Summit Church in Durham, N.C., said of the book, “Evangelicals Engaging Emergent is a great tool for constructing a faithful, and effective, ministry to the next generation.”

Writing Center aims to foster a culture of writing

By Jason Hall As a professor, John Burkett does not share his students’ obsession with better grades. He is, however, obsessed with students becoming better communicators and better writers.

To that end, Burkett is spearheading a distinctive new program at Southeastern aimed at “fostering a culture of writing” on the campus, in Burkett’s words — it’s called The Writing Center, and it will accomplish its mission primarily through one-on-one tutoring available for students from associate to doctoral levels and everyone in between.

“We hope to get people to focus in on the writing process,” said Burkett, an instructor of rhetoric and composition. “(The writing process) is what writers are concerned about. The writer is his own first reader.”

Here’s how it works: Students can make appointments to sit down with specially-trained Writing Center consultants and go over a paper or essay they have written and plan to turn in for a class. The consultant looks over the paper and coaches the student on how to improve in various ways; most importantly, helping them understand the process of invention, drafting, critique, revision and editing.

In short, students who come hoping to find a paper with fresh red marks that they can easily correct and turn in will be disappointed. Burkett’s goals run far deeper.

“We don’t ‘give Jack a fish,’ but we ‘teach Jack how to fish’ so that he becomes as independent as possible,” he said. “We help students to edit their own sentences and to become knowledgeable, proficient editors.”

By undertaking this process Burkett hopes to foster a “culture of writing” on campus that will lead to clearer thinking and clearer communication of the truths of God’s word. It is in this way,

Burkett says, that The Writing Center contributes directly to Southeastern’s mission to “serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission.”

“As people become more interested in ideas, they become more interested in expressing those ideas,” he said. “There is a dialectic of thinking and writing for spiritual formation and ministry preparation.”

It is to this Great-Commission end, and not necessarily to the end of higher student grades, that The Writing Center will be dedicated. The Writing Center’s website can be accessed by going to sebts.edu/write.

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Because He came,

we go.

Southeastern students take Paul’s words seriously: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” It was a desire to glorify God in unusual ways that led a team of nearly 30 college students, seminary students, faculty and staff to Acuña, Mexico during Easter break 2009. Throughout the week they celebrated God’s goodness by hosting a baseball clinic, participating in a pastor’s conference and doing various “mercy ministries” for the residents of this Mexican border town.

Stories by Lauren Crane | Photographs by B.J. Walker

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Right: Southeastern students tell a Mexican man about a free baseball clinic for his children & hope to share Christ’s love with him.

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“W

e’re here because of Christ,” Bryan Barley, a Master’s of Divinity with Christian Ministry student, said.

“We hope that they would all understand that it is because of Christ that we came.”

The mission trip, sponsored by Southeastern, is done in conjunction with church planting initiatives of Open Door Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C. It combines a baseball clinic for children with the opportunity to meet families in need and give money or resources to help them. Additionally, each morning of the trip, Southeastern professors enter into a teaching time as part of a quarterly initiative

by Open Door to train local pastors, encourage them and build them up.

“We want to reach Acuña through these pastors,” said Pete Schemm, associate professor of theology at Southeastern. Schemm, the lead faculty member on the trip as well as a member of Open Door, said the goal of the trip is to connect people with churches and practice good ecclesiology. “What we see biblically and in practice is that unless the

throughout the camp. Daily, the gospel message was presented by student coaches and translators, and the students were able to live out Christ’s message of service to the kids in various ways at the camp.

“A lot of the kids already know how to play baseball,” Rice said. Thus, he said it becomes more about using baseball as a bridge to sharing the gospel. “It’s a connecting point and a platform for the gospel.”

“We’re presenting the gospel to them everyday,” Schemm said. “We want to show them that the gospel is for all of life. We say, ‘A good God made a good world (which includes baseball). It fell, and here’s the story of redemption.’”

Barley, who organized and was the lead coach at the baseball camp, also participated in the trip last year. He was encouraged by the improvements in the gospel-sharing time. “I think the biggest improvement was that we knew how to best and most effectively share the gospel in this context – in a small group, relationship-driven manner.”

Barley said that in a culture where the children are often manipulated rather than encouraged, giving away baseball equipment and taking time to teach them baseball opens doors.

“I think it presents a different picture of adults providing and caring for them,” he said. “All of it that we’re doing is hopefully focused on why we are there – which is the gospel. With all of this, the goal M.Div. with Christian Ministry is for us to be distinct in our love and generosity with them, local church is primary in reaching people, it will so they would come to associate that with Christ.” be short-lived.”

On the last day of the camp, gloves, baseballs It was for the purpose of connecting the local and pictures with their coaches were given to each churches with each other and with non-believers that child who had attended camp. Barley said one the team from Southeastern spent a week in Mexico. of the neatest moments of the trip was seeing the In addition to expressly connecting with pastors of 10 admiration in the kids’ eyes as they received their local churches in Acuña for the pastor’s conference, presents and had their coaches sign their pictures. the team also sought to connect the children who “I could just tell that even in four days, in these came to the baseball camp with the local pastors for kids’ eyes, these coaches were heroes. Those same the purpose of discipleship and growth. coaches had been sharing the gospel with them and “When you have local pastors sharing the gospel explaining the reason for being there. Hopefully the and playing ball with the kids, it really puts faces light bulb goes off for these children so they realize with pastors,” said Jon Rice, projects coordinator that the coach who was here – their new hero – was at Southeastern and lead translator for the mission here to share the gospel.” trip. In addition to the pastors sharing the gospel Mary Pat Alexander, a Master of Arts in with the children, Southeastern students were able Women’s Studies student, said that the gospel was to share the message of Christ in both word and deed being evidently worked out among the Southeastern

“We’re here because of Christ.

We hope that they would all understand that it is because of Christ that we came.”

Bryan Barley

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students and the kids.

“Observing our team, it was so clear to see the love of Christ. Even for those who couldn’t communicate in Spanish, the love of Christ was clearly communicated,” she said. “It was a good balance of loving practically and also telling and sharing.”

Although the trip focused on serving the children by teaching them baseball and serving the pastors by teaching them solid theology, Alexander said it is about more than service – it must be motivated by a heart that desires to share the message of Christ through serving hands.

“I was praying we would be servants to the people in Mexico we would be interacting with. It’s not about coming and feeling like we’re making a difference by serving, but it’s about sharing the gospel,” Alexander said.

She added that in addition to sharing the gospel through word and deed with the children at the baseball camp, it is vitally important to pour into the pastors who will continue to reach the Mexican people long after the team has left.

“The Lord has shown me that we’re all in need and we’re all the same,” Alexander said. “In order to reach these people, we must be pouring into the pastors and leadership of the churches. Then, we will all be more effective in reaching the people, sharing the truth with them and praying their hearts would be opened.”

Lauren Ames, a Master’s of Divinity with Christian Ministry student, agreed that in addition to spending a week sharing baseball tips and the gospel, it is vital to equip the local pastors to reach their communities in Acuña.

“One of the key ways to help the pastors reach Mexico is by giving them really good theology,” she said.“I was really blown away by the depth of the teaching between the pastors and Dr. Schemm and Jon Rice. I think that’s one of the biggest ways we’ve impacted the city, because in one room we had multiple pastors who will affect so many more people.

“We’re training pastors and grounding them in sound theology. You’re equipping them to share the gospel. You have pastors then who live there, who are able to live with these people and reach them every day.”

The emphasis on sharing the gospel and reaching the people for Christ is not wasted in Mexico, as many may think it is, claiming that Mexico has been “reached.” Those who have grown familiar with the culture see that religion, specifically Roman

Catholicism, has a legalistic hold over the people of Mexico, and only the true gospel can set them free.

“Satan has a stronghold in Mexico, in that many people think they’re believers when they’re actually not,” Alexander said. “They’re very focused on works-based salvation and not faith-based.”

“They have a head knowledge, but not a heart knowledge. They know about him, but don’t have a relationship with him, letting him be Lord of their lives,” Ames said.

Southeastern college student, Bethany Pease, plays with a baby during a church service

The passion to see people come to know Christ was the motivation for each of these students to spend their Easter break in Acuña. “You can’t come to Southeastern and not grow in your passion for missions. You cannot ignore the dire need to take the gospel to the nations,” Alexander said. “As I studied Scripture and understood the command to take the gospel to the nations, I felt like the Lord led me to take this trip.”

“Southeastern has raised in me a heart for the nations – to go and leave my country and to experience what it’s like to bring the gospel into a community like this,” Barley added. “It helped me realize how much we can do if we’ll just go. It was only a little bit of sacrifice. When you go, you see what a dramatic impact you can make on the nations, even in just a week.”

Schemm said increasing this love for all God’s people is one of his main goals in leading this trip.

“If our students can get a love for the nations and capture God’s heart for the nations – if nothing else – the trip was successful.”

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Top Left: Over 100 students signed up and participated in a baseball camp hosted by Southeastern.

Top Right: The poor neighborhoods of Mexico provide fields white unto harvest, ripe for the gospel message to spread.

Center: Bryan Barley participated in a mercy ministry at a church in Acuña, repainting the church’s cross, which tells the neighborhood the building is a house of worship.

Right: In addition to learning baseball skills, children also learned about Jesus Christ during Southeastern’s baseball clinic.

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From Miami to Mexico The Acevedos have learned to cross cultural barriers while being obedient

A

lthough they grew up in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the United States, Alex and Kristel Acevedo credit Southeastern and a mission trip to Mexico as spurring them on to consider reaching the people groups of North America with the gospel message.

“We’re going to let God guide us,” Kristel said. The couple, who moved from Miami to Wake Forest so Kristel could study for her Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling degree, began looking into participating in one of Southeastern’s many mission trips that go out over the school breaks.

When they saw that a trip to Acuña, Mexico was planned and in need of translators, Kristel thought it would be a good fit for them, since both Alex and she speak Spanish. Both of them grew up in Spanish-speaking homes, her family being from Nicaragua and his from Colombia, and they said they “are really thankful our parents pushed us to learn Spanish, especially being here and seeing how it is used.”

More than just facilitating translation from English to Spanish, both Alex and Kristel were able to share the gospel in Spanish, the heart language of the adults and children the team was trying to reach. During Holy Week the team from Southeastern held a baseball clinic for local children and teens in the border town of Acuña. Each day there was an opportunity for the students to share their faith with the children.

“When I first signed up and found out I had to present the gospel in Spanish, I didn’t think I would be able to do it,” Kristel said. However, she said she is now much more comfortable sharing her testimony in both English and Spanish. “It has given me more confidence in sharing the gospel. I came to Mexico to share my faith, and to try and share it verbally in Spanish was hard. Everyone was focused on the gospel. We weren’t focused on ourselves, but on the Bible, making sure the kids knew about the Bible and could get connected with local churches.”

As the Acevedos focused on sharing the gospel

message in word and deed during the trip, they said it was encouraging to see how the love of God was poured out on the children and how they responded.

“I really didn’t know what to expect when we decided to go on this trip. I didn’t have anything to compare it to,” Kristel said, in reference to this being her first international mission trip.

Alex, who has been on international mission trips before, said they are now thinking God may be leading them in the direction of church planting.

“As we do missionary work outside the United States, we see there’s a lot of missionary work inside the U.S. yet to do,” he said.“We’re kind of feeling that might be where he wants us.That’s what mission trips do. They open your horizon, not only to yourselves, but to the whole world to see what else is out there.”

Kristel agreed that the mission trip with Southeastern opened her eyes, and would be beneficial for anyone seeking to enlarge their worldview.

“Sometimes people are so involved in their own lives, they don’t realize there is a world out there,” Kristel said. “Seeing all these different types of people and that they all need Jesus is a very positive experience. It helps to get people out of their own bubble and see that all need Jesus.”

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Conference aims to train pastors Southeastern partners with Mexican pastors to strengthen the local church

“T

o serve the church” is more than just a phrase in Southeastern’s mission statement - it is a driving force behind sending students to the nations. It was the commitment to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission that led Southeastern professors, staff and students to Acuña, Mexico to help host and lead a baseball clinic for children and a pastor’s conference for the men of Acuña Bible Institute.

The institute brings together pastors from various communities in and around this Mexican-border town for a time of training and equipping. It is a partner

effort between Southeastern and Open Door Baptist Church in Raleigh, which has a church plant in the nearby town of Del Rio, Texas.

Through the partnership, Southeastern and Open Door are able to send men to Acuña about four times each year for a time of teaching and learning. During Easter break and in conjunction with Southeastern’s mission trip, in which students taught children how to play baseball and shared the gospel with them, Pete Schemm and Jon Rice led the group of pastors each morning in a time of theological training.

“We’re hoping to train pastors in Acuña, not only to take the gospel across the border. We want to build up and train pastors and hopefully affect the interior of Mexico through them,” said Schemm, associate professor of theology. “What we have seen is that un-

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less the local church is primary in the establishing and reaching of people with the gospel and growing them up in Christ, then really this will be a shortlived effort. We believe in the local church, so we’re trying to live out our ecclesiology.”

Believing that the local church must be involved in the reaching of people with the gospel, Southeastern students partnered with the pastors who helped with the baseball clinic and shared the gospel with the kids who came. Together, they were able to reach a broad spectrum of children and teenagers, and then connect them immediately with local pastors for the purpose of continued evangelism and discipleship.

“It makes such a difference in our ministry, not just when we’re teaching pastors but when we’re on the field playing ball, to have local pastors encouraging them and sharing the gospel with them,” said Rice, projects coordinator at Southeastern and lead translator for the mission trip. “Those become faces they can connect with long after we’re gone. So, it becomes really critical to have that local contact to stay in touch with and be encouraged by – long after we’re gone.”

For the Southeastern students too, the interaction with and example of the pastors was encouraging and insightful. There is much to be learned on all sides, Schemm said. The pastors can learn from the professors, the Americans can learn from the Mexicans and the students can learn from the universal church.

“There are all these conversations going around right now about family-integrated ministry,” Schemm said. “It’s real simple in Mexico: You all go to church together. There’s something refreshing about being in a worship service and seeing a two-year old run around in church, and church just goes on. It’s refreshing that the whole family is worshiping together.

They’d be a little confused as to why we even have that conversation (about family-integrated ministry). I think the American church can learn from them the simplicity of families worshiping together in a gathered community of saints.”

Schemm said it is his hope that as knowledge is shared among all the students, pastors and lay people during the trips, it will result in more people being saved and God’s name being glorified in all the nations. Ultimately, if the students grow in love for the bride of Christ – the universal church – then the Lord will be magnified.

Did you know that the average

Master of Divinity student at Southeastern receives $18,000 in

Cooperative Program support during his or her time in Wake Forest?

“Thank you, Southern Baptists and the Cooperative Program, for making possible the finest seminary education anywhere and at the most affordable price. Southeastern Seminary appreciates you.�

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Daniel L. Akin

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20/20 Collegiate Conference Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

February 5-6, 2010 Featuring Danny Akin | Matt Chandler Clayton King | David Platt | J.D. Greear

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Convocation message exhorts teachers to not undermine the Scriptures

D

avid Nelson does not fear outsiders undermining the sacred writings of Scripture as much as he fears those who claim to believe the Bible preaching a false gospel from the pulpit.

In the opening chapel service of the 2009-2010 school year, David Nelson, senior vice president for academic administration, gave the Convocation address to returning and new students, entitled, “How to undermine the authority of Scripture.” Additionally, Benjamin Merkle, associate professor of New Testament and Greek, signed Southeastern’s confessional documents and Mark Liederbach, associate professor of Christian Ethics, was honored with the Faculty Teaching Award for 2009.

“I fear treating the Bible as a tool to be used or as a guidebook, instead of the sacred word it is,” Nelson said. “In so doing, we undermine the sacred writings.

When you take up the Bible like this, you take into your own hands life and death.”

Nelson referenced 2 Chronicles 34, in which King Josiah sought God and ordered the temple to be cleansed.

As they cleansed it, they found the long-forgotten Book of the Law, the Torah. “So moved was Josiah that he tore his clothes and proclaimed that Israel was under God’s wrath for having forgotten the law,” Nelson said.

“My purpose today is to remind us that God has spoken – both through Jesus Christ and through the sacred Scriptures. Therefore, if he did write it, there are truths which cannot be disobeyed. If it is true, then perish the thought of what will happen if we mishandle the word of God.” Nelson said there are a variety of ways in which believers undermine the authority of Scripture when they teach. One of these ways is by failing to preach the gospel message, after making claims as to its inerrancy and infallibility.

“There are many who make loud claims about the inerrancy of the Bible and then fail to preach it,” Nelson said. Speaking about those who stand up and read Scripture for a message, and then fail to return to the book, he said, “When you read the Bible, and then set it aside and give your opinion about the Bible, you give little attention to what the text actually says. If you’re going to just give your opinion, I’d ask you to not read the text at all.”

He also said a common issue he sees is those who insist that what is not in the Scripture, is actually scriptural.

“Be careful about what you claim the Bible teaches.

Don’t become so adamant about what is in dispute.”

Nelson used examples such as the commonly-disputed age of the earth and thoughts about pre or post-millenial rapture. “Claiming these issues are definitive un-

dermines the authority of Scripture.”

Furthermore, Nelson said it has become a common practice to take a social agenda and claim that it is biblical. “We’re pitting ourselves against brothers and sisters in Christ as saying we are biblical and they are not.”

Paying undue attention to certain things in the Bible and giving those issues more weight than they carry biblically is another trap believers often fall into.

“We pay attention to the things of minor importance and ignore the things of major importance,” Nelson said. “If we are committed to the authority of Scripture we will handle it rightly so we see the world turned upside down for Jesus Christ.”

One area Christians fail in often is that of loving one another. It is this love, which Jesus said would be the mark of his disciples, that believers all-too-often lack, thus contributing to the challenging of the Bible’s authority. “Your life may undermine the authority of Scripture if you say it and don’t live it,” Nelson said.

For those who lead churches, Nelson said to be cautious in making sure their goal is to serve the church and see it grow, rather than make a name for themselves. “And for those of you sitting under these pastors, don’t follow one who loves himself more than he loves the church.”

“So why do we preach the word?” Nelson asked.

“It is through the sacred writings that you are able to see Christ. The word shows us the Word, so it is to be preached. It is the word that is inspired by God, and it is the word that equips us to do the good works that God has called us to.

“It is the book of God’s plan for this world, so we must read it, preach it, teach it and obey it.”

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The ‘Wheel’ Rolls On Logan Carson celebrates a lifetime of ministry Story by Lauren Crane | Photo by Courtney Navey

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lthough his teaching load has lightened at served, but to serve.’ That’s the whole idea behind Southeastern, Logan Carson’s passion for teaching – not so I may show the great knowledge I serving the Lord in any way has not let up. have, but so I can lift them up so they can allow God Carson, distinguished professor of Christian to use them, whatever the circumstances.” theology at Southeastern since 1994, “is not retirCarson said many students must figure out how ing from service to the Lord,” although his teach- they can best serve the Lord during their time at ing schedule for future semesters is slowing down, Southeastern. “I tell them, if you want to be a good enabling him to pursue other ways of teaching and student, study the word of God and the classwork serving the Lord and the body of Christ. with the idea that you want to improve your relationIn 1955, when he was a student studying to be ship with God. Stay close to Jesus Christ and make a constitutional attorney, Carson - whose nickname the best of your studies.” is “The Wheel” A student told said he felt God’s former Southeastcall upon his life to ern President Paige teach the Scriptures Patterson about to students.

Carson and he “Who’s going to hired him onto the replace teachers here faculty. Patterson in these private colsaid it was the “best leges?” Carson said, student lead I ever speaking about how had.” he realized the Lord “Logan was great was leading him in class, but his true into the classroom. greatness was as a He switched degree genuine Christian,” tracks so that he Patterson said. “His would be equipped faith, his determito continue teachnation, his forgiveing God’s truth to ness, his multifacstudents for years eted abilities, his to come. While at vivid approach to Southeastern, he all that he did in life has been able to inand classroom left struct students in Distinguished Professor of an unfading impact classes on Christian Christian Theology on my life and on theology, ethics, paseveryone else that toral theology, the Old and New Testaments, as well ever met him.” as specific books of the Bible. “There’s not a lot I Although his class load will be limited to one haven’t taught,” Carson said. or two classes a semester at Southeastern, Carson Carson said his favorite aspect of teaching stu- said he plans to continue teaching and proclaiming dents at the post-graduate level is that he loves in- the word of God in whatever capacity he is able to teracting with the students and learning with them. do. “I want to keep doing this until God says it’s my “I learn as I teach. I don’t claim to have it all. I pick time.” up new things every year when I teach, and I enjoy Carson, who was born without his sight due to doing that. mal-formed retinas, said he trusts the Lord’s vision “I love it. I love the experience of teaching. If for direction and leading in his future.

I had to choose between pastoring and teaching – “Carson isn’t done. I’ve been without my sight there would be no contest,” Carson said. all my life, but I know God will continue to give Carson said the driving force behind teaching me spiritual insight,” he said. “Though I am retired is service. “My motto is, ‘in Christ, strive for excel- from the seminary, I am not retired from working lence.’ It’s not so I can be better, but so I can be a for the Lord. Any door that will open with the guidservant to others. Christ said, ‘I did not come to be ance of the Holy Spirit, I will walk through it.”

“Christ said, ‘I did not come to be served, but to serve.’ That’s the whole idea behind teaching – not so I may show the great knowledge I have, but so I can lift (students) so they can allow God to use them, whatever the circumstances.”

Logan Carson

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Daniel Akin encourages the Southern Baptist Convention to return to its first love

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aniel Akin dreams of Southeastern students and the Southern Baptist Convention becoming known as “Jesus People” and taking the gospel message to the great cities of the United States and beyond, until every tongue, tribe and nation has heard.

In two different addresses given during the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention, held in Louisville, Ky., in June, Akin, the president of Southeastern, spoke on what it means to passionately love Jesus and what it looks like to have that affect our lives.

Akin gave a sermon based on the text of Romans 15:14-21. He broadcasted a vision he has for the unanimous coming together of Southern Baptists to pursue a Great Commission resurgence, reaching people of every tribe, tongue and nation. He said that just as Paul reminded the Roman church what the mission was, so he desired to remind Southern Baptists that there are 1.6 billion people who have never heard the name of Christ, and there are 3.4 billion who have limited access to the gospel message.

“We find that to be a challenge that we must pick up and move forward with,” Akin said. “We must focus on the nations.”

This focus must be preceded by a radical return to Jesus Christ, Akin said. “We must return to our first love.

If we get that right, all of the other axioms of a Great Commission Resurgence will fall into place. I have a prayer that Southern Baptists will become known as ‘Jesus People.’ I pray that when people see us, they can’t help but think, ‘There go the people in love with Jesus.’

“I believe becoming a Christ-centered people will inspire us, embolden us and humble us. It will remind us that God does not need Southern Baptists, but Southern Baptists desperately need the Lord Jesus. The person who has Jesus plus nothing, actually has everything. In contrast, the person who has everything minus Jesus actually has nothing. That is the gospel.”

Out of a right understanding of the gospel will come a right preaching of the gospel, especially to those who have never heard it, Akin said. He said the reality that, this year alone, over 20 million people worldwide have no access to the gospel message should motivate more Southern Baptists to give and go to those people.

He places much of the blame for not reaching the nations at the feet of Southern Baptist men who, Akin says, are often more concerned with their own comfort than the souls of those who are perishing.

“What are we not doing to inspire our sons to dream about giving their life to the nations and put their lives on the line for Jesus?” Akin asked. He added that even though more men and women desire to take the gospel to the nations than ever before, the International Mission Board recently released a statement that there simply is

not enough money being given to finance them. “It breaks my heart that people want to go, but we don’t have the funds to send them. I pray it challenges our people to do whatever it takes to get the gospel to the whole world.”

However, Akin also stressed that Southeastern is concerned about the people within the United States, not just those outside our borders. During the seminary report on Wednesday night of the convention, Akin said the gospel is relevant not only for those overseas who have not heard its message, but also for those unreached people groups within the United States who have not heard of salvation through faith in Christ.

Photo courtesy of Baptist Press

Jan Vezikov, a May 2009 graduate of Southeastern, is trying to reach one of those unreached people groups – Russian-speaking Jews living in Boston. He is one of many graduates of Southeastern that has the nations on his heart, Akin said. Akin said that there are a number of Southeastern alumni – serving both domestically and internationally – who answered God’s call on their lives while studying at Southeastern.

“Our Great Commission passion extends beyond the borders of North America,” Akin said. “We can track 460 graduate units serving around the world.

“We want to raise up apostle Pauls. At Southeastern, we believe you can’t be a good missionary without being a good theologian. We also believe that to be a good theologian, you have to be a missionary.”

Akin said Southeastern is seeing more and more students every year answering God’s call to give their lives in service to Christ Jesus, serving as missionaries – both foreign and domestic. “It’s a joy to see how God indeed is pouring out his blessing at our seminary.

“We want our nation and all nations to hear the message of God. We ask that God would grant us this opportunity,” Akin said. “You can count me in for a Great Commission Resurgence advance. My call is to get obedient and really do something great for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

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n June 24, the day after the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force motion passed at the Southern Baptist Convention, some of its biggest supporters came together to rejoice at the work of God in the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention.

On the heels of the passing of the motion, presidents Jerry Rankin, Johnny Hunt and Daniel Akin gathered together at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Alumni and Friends luncheon on the final day of the 2009 SBC. Rankin, president of the International Mission Board, gave thanks to Southeastern for her work in producing men and women who are sold out for the gospel message, many pledging to serve Christ with their lives as international missionaries.

“We are so grateful for your partnership and what you’re doing for missions,” he said. “What a joy it is for the IMB to have a partnership with Southeastern, which is calling students to the global mission task.”

Rankin said despite budgetary shortfalls the IMB would not suspend the partnership that allows students two years of full-time study on campus and two years of international missions service.

“We’re not touching the 2+2 program – we’re keeping that going. We anticipate a radical increase in that program as the only option for short-term missions,” Rankin said. “When I see students hit the ground overseas, already trying to plant a church, I can assume that student is a graduate of Southeastern Seminary. Thank you so much for this partnership.”

Hunt, alumnus of Southeastern, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the leading proponents of the Great Commission Resurgence movement among Southern Baptists, echoed his appreciation for Southeastern, as well as his joy at God’s grace in passing the motion the previous night.

Alumni & Friends Luncheon Akin, Hunt, Rankin encourage Southeastern family

Hunt said he was reminded of the Biblical Caleb, who held onto his dream God had given him for Hebron for 40 years.

“I desire to have a ministry and mission like Caleb,” Hunt said. “God has shown me that it’s not about having our way, it’s about having the way.” Although Caleb faced opposition in taking possession of Hebron, the land he believed God gave him, he said Caleb held onto his dream and kept fighting the fight for Hebron – the land of plenty.

“What happens to every Southern Baptist pastor is they allow people to steal their dream. Don’t let anybody steal your dream. God gave it to you. Keep it sacred. I want to encourage you to be a Caleb,” Hunt said.

Echoing his statements made at last year’s alumni luncheon, Hunt said to continue fighting for the dream of having all people hear the gospel message by continuing to give financially in support of Southeastern and in anticipation of being able to give generously to those in need at next year’s convention meeting in Orlando.

“Let’s love big in this nation.”

The final speaker to address the gathered alumni was Akin, president of the seminary.

“The grand plan is this: let’s get the gospel to the nations and to the 1.6 billion who have never heard the name of Jesus,” Akin said. “Let’s get the gospel to the great cities in America where people are flooding in droves. The bottom line is not to take over anything or dismantle anything – it’s to be as passionate as we can possibly be for the great commission.”

This passion, he said, is what drives the seminary he leads and the convention he is a part of.

“I think we saw last night by the glorious and gracious hand of God, Southern Baptists come together in humility. It revealed what is at the very heart of God, which is the fulfillment of his Great Commission.

“I believe God orchestrated the events of last night, that resulted, with energy and excitement, with the appointment of a task force,” Akin said. “It will result in even more passion in getting the gospel to the nations.

I am so excited to be a Southern Baptist. I really do believe there is a new, pulsating energy moving throughout the SBC and I am excited to be a part of it.”

Photo courtesy of Baptist Press

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