Hemphill Interview
by Martin King Vol. VII, No. 7, September 1994
In a news conference Ken Hemphill, new president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and former pastor of First Baptist Church, Norfolk, offered a number of insights into his positions.
The interviewer noted that some have described Hemphill's role as "healing," and Hemphill said he hopes it will. "Jesus called us to be peacemakers, and I'd love for that to occur. But being a peacemaker does not mean that you compromise in terms of doctrinal or moral issues. Jesus also said that He came to bring a sword, and He cast the moneychangers out of the temple," he said. "I think the balance is that I am a gentle, understanding, and reconciling kind of person. But that does not mean that we would in any way compromise the standards that have been established in the Baptist Faith and Message and by the Peace Committee Report. I would fully intend that the school be directed by those parameters, with which I am in full accord.
"The parameters of academic freedom should also be determined by the Baptist Faith and Message and the Peace Committee Re port. That does not mean a professor should not have the freedom to explore, explain, and understand other thoughts and teachings. But it does mean they should not advocate that which is contrary to our own established boundaries."
Commenting on charges by some that Southwestern may become a "third rate Bible college," Hemphill said, "There's a political correctness in the theological world that says if you take the Bible seriously, you can't be serious academically. I don't believe that, and I haven't parked my brain anywhere."
"We want to develop men and women who come out of our seminaries with an absolute passion for Christ, a passion for the church, a passion for the world, and a passion for reaching lost people.," he added.
Asked if he would have concerns about working for a trustee board that dismissed the previous president, Hemphill said, "You have to trust the trustee process. I can't presume to know all the reasons, rationale, and motives on either side. These seem to be godly men and women who really want the best for the seminary. If the search committee is any indication of the board, I don't see any problem working with them because I sense we have a similar vision and heart for the school."
Baptist Press asked whether his 1990 statement calling for "an end to political factions, a move toward more inclusive leadership, and a more harmonious and evangelical convention" still reflected his views. Hemphill replied, "I haven't read it for a long time so I would need to do that before commenting fully, but let me address what broadening the tent means to me. The key issue for me is belief in an inerrant, infallible Word of God. That's as broad as the tent can get... Those who take a more liberal position on the Bible, who do not believe in its historical accuracy and so forth, are in a different tent. You can't make the tent that big. You have to draw the parameters somewhere, or you will have the same theological drift that every other major denomination has experienced. Theological parameters define the tent."
Hemphill said he has never been politically involved. "I'm just not called to do that. Different people have different callings. ... I think everyone clearly knew that I was aligned with the inerrantist movement, and that was OK because I saw the people involved in leadership had a passion for winning the world to Jesus... I am convinced that this is the key factor in re-establishing the vitality of our convention." "It (inerrancy) is where I'll stand. It's where the seminary will stand."
Hemphill said he has not studied issues related to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the SBC from the perspective of an agency head.
"I will say that I think the best way to do cooperative missions is the Cooperative Program. ... I would certainly want professors to be strong supporters of the Cooperative Program and would want them to have an appreciation for the program that funds the seminary and their salaries." Asked about faculty members who may belong to churches supportive of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Hemphill replied, "It's my hope and my desire that they would want to be involved in churches that are fully supportive of our task."
Concerning the selection of new faculty, Hemphill stated, "Yes, we will be hiring professors who are committed to teaching in those parameters" inherent to biblical inerrancy, such as Adam and Eve as real persons, the historicity of Genesis 1-11 and biblical miracles, and hell as a real place.