Southeastern: An Update                                                                          

by   T. C. Pinckney                                                                                                                                     Vol. XV, No. 1, January 2002

At the annual SBCV Bible conference and business meeting on 12-13 November I attended the Southeastern Theological Baptist Seminary luncheon. Southeastern is the SBC seminary closest to Virginia, located at Wake Forest, NC, and many Virginia pastors graduated there. Therefore, developments at Southeastern are of special importance to us Virginians.

Between 1946 and 1950 special SBC committees considered the need to establish a seminary in the Southeast, and on 10 May 1950 the convention voted to purchase the campus of Wake Forest College and establish Southeastern seminary.  The first students arrived 12 September 1951. 

From its beginnings Southeastern was what the great majority of Southern Baptists would consider liberal. Read carefully the following quote from Professor Edward A. McDowell, Jr., from a 1970 address: “Even before we came to [Southeastern] some of us dreamed of a seminary which, because it was new, would be free of inhibiting traditions and open in spirit and vision to the future. ... We were conscious that we were laying the foundation of a new seminary and charting the course of an institution that would be free in spirit and loyal to the truth as revealed in Jesus Christ.” 

Pealing away the doublespeak so common among liberals, the professor was saying that the new seminary was from the start a liberal school committed to the latest fads of biblical interpretation, rather than to the inerrancy of Scripture. This was later confirmed by one of the faculty: “... we disagreed with the fundamentalists over the nature of the Bible and its interpretation. They saw the Bible as a set of inerrant propositions embodying God’s revelation. We [i.e., Southeastern faculty and staff.] viewed the Bible as a set of human documents in which persons bore witness to their experience of God. We believed these witnesses were always limited in their vision by finitude and sin.” 

Now fast forward through all the years of developing concern among Southern Baptists in pulpits and pews, past the election of Adrian Rogers in 1979 as the first conservative SBC president both aware of imperial liberalism and determined to use the presidency’s appointive powers to counter it, continue beyond the annual battles and conservative victories to 1988.

In 1987 conservatives had achieved their first slim majorities on the trustee boards of most SBC entities. The new trustee majorities now held views very different from most of the senior staff at the agencies, including the seminaries. Pressure and disagreement grew increasingly intense, and on 22 October 1987 SEBTS president Randall Lolley decided he would resign rather than implement the conservative agenda. His resignation was to become effective at the conclusion of the academic year in July 1988. In March he wrote a farewell letter in which he stated, “I commit from this day forward every moment of my time and every millibar of my energy to restoring this school into the hands of her friends and out of the hands of her foes – so help me God!” 

Conservative Dr. Lewis Drummond was elected to be president on 15 March and assumed the office on 1 April 1988. He presided over the most tumultuous period, facing rebellious students and unanimous faculty opposition. But he and the trustees persevered, and gradually conservative staff and faculty were hired to replace retiring and resigning liberals (none were fired). Though by 1991 the transformation was not complete, the worst was over and conservatives were firmly in control. Drummond decided to resign and return to the classroom, his first love.

Paige Patterson, one of the architects of the conservative resurgence was elected president at a called trustee meeting on 14 May 1992. On 15 June he joined the staff for a two-week overlap with Drummond.

Such turmoil drastically impacted student enrollment and encouraged liberals mourning the demise of the ”old Southeastern” to believe the school would fail rather than be successfully regenerated. In the fall of 1987 Southeastern counted 1,046 students. For the next several years conservative students hesitated to enroll because most of the faculty was still liberal, and liberal students did not sign up because the trustees and, increasingly, the staff and faculty were conservative. Consequently, enrollment dropped to 434 in the fall of 1991.

What has happened since?

At the seminary luncheon mentioned above, it was noted that the non-duplicating headcount for the 2000-2001 school year was 2,197 students, an all-time record which translates to a 35% increase in the last five years or 506% more than the 1991 low. Also, giving to the school in 2000-2001 was $4,614,817 ... the first time gifts have surpassed $4 million. In 2001 two-hundred Southeastern students and faculty participated in seven overseas mission trips which recorded 747+ professions of faith, and 48 students and faculty went on four home mission trips which produced 36 professions of faith.

Another interesting bit of data is the numbers of faculty. When conservative policies began to be adopted, liberal faculty started to seek other places of employment, and of course the process took several years to play out. The low point for faculty was academic year ‘93-‘94 when there were just 28 full time professors. With the outflow of liberals now complete and student growth requiring additions, full time faculty now number 55.

Many Banner readers now have pastors who have graduated from the “new” Southeastern and therefore can testify to the sound biblical quality of the school today. We can praise the Lord for the wonderful changes He has brought about and the wonderful and expanding impact the seminary is having and will continue to exert.

By the way, when you attend an annual meeting of the SBCV or the SBC, keep in mind that seminaries hold luncheons. All six seminaries will host luncheons at the SBC meeting. Southeastern, Southern, and Southwestern did so at our last SBCV meeting. They bring good fellowship, good food, and good information about what is happening at that school. I recommend you make it a point to go. One caution: Make your reservation in advance. There may not be a seat if you just show up at the door.