Seminary Updates

                                                                                                                                                                         Vol. V, No. 4, August 1992

Southeastern Seminary

Trustees on 14 May elected Dr. Paige Patterson, president of Criswell College in Dallas and one of the architects of the SBC conservative resurgence, as new president to follow Dr. Lewis Drummond effective 1 July. The vote was 24-1. The lone negative vote was Jerry Holcomb, pastor of King's Grant Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, VA, and president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, who said, "My only concern is that he gave no assurance he would not be active in the political life of the Convention." But trustee Adrian Rogers stated, "I appreciate and love this man. If people are afraid of Paige Patterson, they are afraid of scholarship, compassion, love, and courage. ... He will help nudge this school into a higher orbit."

Trustees modified the faculty selection process to prevent current faculty from being able to veto choices, although their input will still be sought. Trustees also voted to give the president power to select chapel speakers, previously the purview of the faculty, and to appoint new faculty pending trustee approval.

Meanwhile, Samford University has named current Southeastern president Lewis Drummond as the first Billy Graham professor of evangelism and church growth at the University's Beeson School of Divinity effective 1 July. (BP)

Southern Seminary

A trustee committee decided that charges against professor Molly T. Marshall do not warrant her dismissal. Austin E. Jones, Sr., of Blairs, VA, had written trustees that in lectures at Averette College in Danville, Marshall had said the gospel is "an insult to women," "not good news to many women," and "a deformed image of God." The committee based its findings upon a written transcript of the lectures. Others who have listened to the actual tapes at Averette support Jones' understanding. The committee did ask seminary president Roy Honeycutt to bring clarifications of some statements in the transcript to the October trustee meeting.

Trustees appointed a subcommittee to "examine all relevant data" regarding charges against Christian ethics professor Paul D. Simmons. Simmons, a faculty member since 1970, has been under fire for several years because of his stated views on abortion.

Trustees also voted to begin meeting twice a year, April and October, rather than just once in April as has been the custom at Southern. [Comment: This is an important step in allowing trustees to fulfill their responsibility rather than just being rubber stamps, as had been the practice prior to the resurgence.] [BP]

New Orleans Seminary

Will add two baccalaureate degree programs this fall. The program will be restricted to students 25 years old and older with no bachelor's degree. A spokesman said, "This will be designed primarily for those people already in the pastorate who want to further their education but lack a baccalaureate degree." [BP]

Ruschlikon

John David Hopper and his wife resigned as Southern Baptist foreign missionaries effective 30 April. He will remain as president of the controversial seminary in Ruschlikon, Switzerland. [BP]