Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1859-2009

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1859-2009by Gregory WillsAs someone who enjoyed doing a Ph D in New Testament Between 1968 and 1971, I have watched from afar the comings and goings at Southern Seminary and the parallel events in the Southern Baptist Convention in the 39 years since I returned to my native land of Australia. During my time in Louisville I came to appreciate the diversity of Southern Baptist life. There were people who availed themselves of the freedom to study the Bible with the best scholarly tools in the light of the Lordship of Christ. Such people followed Jesus like their Baptist ancestors without the restrictions of creed or clergy, gender or government. They related to local Baptist congregations and participated in the larger Christian community. They ministered as witnesses of Christ in thought, word, and deed. They came to Southern with hopes and dreams and left to serve with skills as preachers, pastors, lecturers, missionaries, religious educators, musicians, and social workers in churches, colleges, and church agencies.Against this background I have read the Seminary History by Gregory Wills. I was intrigued to read the behind scenes stories of the last three presidents McCall, Honeycutt, and Mohler. The references to the professors I knew academically and personally were very revealing. There seemed to be little appreciation of their deep commitment to truth in the academy and to ministry in the church. The criteria for assessing them appeared to be narrowly confined to one somewhat strained view of the Bible. Wills is unaware of the distinction between evangelicals and fundamentalists beyond the shores of the United States. Wills does tell a sad tale of suspicion and almost hateful treatment of people who do not follow particular interpretations of biblical authority, pastoral leadership, sexual ethics, and calvinistic theology.The move from an internationally recognised Baptist seminary to a regional Southern Baptist seminary under Mohler has been evident in various ways. For example, McCall like his predecessor Mullins served as President of the Baptist World Alliance. Mohler, on the other hand, has been part and parcel of the withdrawal of the Southern Baptist Convention from the BWA. Mohler presided over the demise of the Carver School of Social Work in 1995 because he failed to see the compatibility of Social Work and Southern Baptist Churches. At one stage, Mohler weighed into the debate on the use of inclusive language in the Today's NIV. Furthermore, the world famous Pastoral Care programme inaugurated by Wayne Oates and his colleagues in the 1950s was replaced at Mohler's insistence in 2005.Where does all this leave the reader of Wills' Seminary History? Someone has said that history is written by the winners. Wills writes on behalf of the winners. I would advise readers to appreciate the research that has gone into writing the book. At the same time I would recommend readers to look at chapter 3 of Barry Hankins, Uneasy in Babylon: Southern Baptist Conservatives and American Culture (University of Alabama Press, 2002). It analyses the Louisville situation in the 1990s during the changeover of trustees and faculty fairly from both sides.It is a pity that we Baptists cannot observe the sentiments of the much quoted precept: `In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.' I do like the story of the Kentucky farmer and Baptist deacon who would often pray, `O God, help us to remember where we came from, how much we've got to do, and how much we need one another to do it.'

To tell the truth, I partially wanted to rate this book three stars but I just can't give a book with this level of scholarship such a rating. If you have any interest in an in depth account of the Southern Baptist Convention's conservative resurgence and the remarkable, providential turn around of an apostate seminary, this is your book. The downside is it is so thorough if you don't have this interest the book will roll on ad nauseam. Even for someone who does have that interest it can be slow at times. Pretty much every theological issue, and controversial incident in the seminary's history is discussed in exhaustive detail. The final chapter is my favorite as it discusses Dr. R. Albert Mohler's tenure and the amazing about face for the seminary. As you might tell, I'm in agreement with the direction the seminary has gone under Mohler, but even if you're not, this is a fair account of the school's history and a respectable scholarly work.

Great information on Southern Seminary and Southern Baptist in general. Most Baptist today have no knowledge of the foundational Biblical doctrines the School and Denomination were founded upon.It seems to me, most baptist today need to return to sound doctrine as found in the Bible. This book tells it like it was both Good and Bad

I absolutely loved this history of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary! I think that every Southern Baptist, indeed, every Christian, should read this book. This seminary has served as a microcosm for the SBC as a whole for the last 150 years and is very informative in seeing why we are who we are because of where we've come from. I came into this book thinking that it was going to be long and boring, but I found myself not being able to put the book down because I was fascinated to see the start of this great seminary and the many trials and snares it has been through in the past 150 years! Trust me, you will not be disappointed with the time you put into reading this book!

At 500+ pages you might wonder how much can be said, but the book was a page turned for me.Dr. Wills presents a compelling story of the work that God has done in returning the seminary to the original vision of serving the denomination that supports it faithfully.

Good read.

It looks like a new.

Though a bit long, the history reads very well and helpfully charts the history of SBTS. This would be a fascinating case study for anyone hoping to understand the Southern Baptist denomination.

An excellent History of the Southern Baptist Seminary, charts the heroic foundation days of Boyce right through the years of decline and controversy and eventually to the theologically robust and faithful seminary it is a present. Well worth the read.