Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

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Baptist theology London Confession, 1689 New Hampshire Confession, 1833 Baptist Faith & Message
Doctrinal distinctives Biblical inerrancy Autonomy of the local church Priesthood of believers Two ordinances Individual soul liberty Separation of church and state Two offices
People John Smyth John Spilsbury Charles Spurgeon Lottie Moon W.A. Criswell Billy Graham Adrian Rogers Paige Patterson Albert Mohler
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Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, located in Fort Worth, Texas, is a private, non-profit institution of higher education, associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, whose stated mission is "to provide theological education for individuals engaging in Christian ministry." It is one of the largest seminaries in the world and is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools[1] and also by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award diploma, master's, and doctoral degrees.^{[verification needed]} The school uses the Baptist Faith and Message as its confession of faith (see also the Southwestern Declaration on Academic and Theological Integrity).

1 History
2 Student and faculty
3 Academics
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] History

The seminary was established in 1908.

Southwestern Seminary is currently administered by a 40-member board of trustees serving staggered terms of office. Board members are elected by the Southern Baptist Convention. Trustees elect faculty members and administrative officers. Financial support is derived from the convention's Cooperative Program, endowment earnings, gifts and student fees.

B H Carroll Memorial Hall (named for its founding president) is the seminary's main administrative building.

In the fall of 2005, the Seminary began a new chapter in its undergraduate studies program by instituting The College at Southwestern. Students specialize in a variety of fields and upon graduation will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities. Dr. Emir Caner is the current Dean of the College.

[edit] Student and faculty

Approximately 93% of the student body are graduate students.

Approximately 160 undergraduate students are currently enrolled in The College at Southwestern.

The full-time faculty includes 88 individuals and there are also 47 part-time faculty members.

Paige Patterson, selected in 2003, is the current president of the seminary.

In 1994, the seminary experienced a drastic change in leadership with the dismissal of Russell H. Dilday as president and the appointment of Ken Hemphill. Dilday was asked to resign due to his efforts to keep the seminary free of the political bias that sharply divided the Southern Baptist Convention. This division occurred as a result of the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention (ironically, one of the orchestrators of this takeover was Paige Patterson, current president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary).

The leadership among the fundamentalists sought to require faculty members and administrators to sign documents pledging allegiance with fundamentalist viewpoints, such as absolute inerrancy of the Scriptures and other narrow doctrinal issues. After Dr. Dilday's ouster, a group of Baptists in opposition to the fundamentalist takeover started a new seminary, Truett Theological Seminary, at Baylor University. Truett Seminary was modeled after the traditional values of the founders of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Current deans include Dr. Robert Welch (School of Educational Ministries), Dr. Emir Caner (the College at Southwestern), Dr. David Allen (School of Theology), Dr. Keith Eitel (Roy Fish School of Evangelism and Missions), Dr. Stephen Johnson (School of Church Music)and Dr. J. Denny Autrey (Havard School for Theological Studies in Houston, Texas).

[edit] Academics

Southwestern is divided into six schools, The College, The School of Theology, The School of Educational Ministries, The School of Church Music, The Roy Fish School of Evangelism and Missions, and the Harvard School for Theological Studies in Houston, each with its own faculty and degree programs. The school offers 18 tracks of study in areas such as corporate chaplaincy, Islamic Studies, marriage and family counseling, urban evangelism, and social work.

Former seminary President Kenneth Hemphill explained to Christianity Today in 2001 that "We are a conservative, confessional institution, and we have not found that our accreditation has caused us to compromise our biblical convictions." Furthermore, "We have found accreditation valuable in that it provides accountability for the institution and credibility for those looking for graduate theological work. It is important to have standards of quality."[2]

[edit] Trivia

The Carroll Independent School District in northeast Tarrant County is named after B H Carroll's son, who would serve as Tarrant County superintendent of schools.