[1]SWBTS faculty release book ‘The Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture’
FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) – Seminary Hill Press, the publishing arm of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, released today The Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture, a collection of essays written by 15 Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College faculty members applying a high view of the Bible to their respective academic disciplines.
[2]“In keeping with the commitment to the authority and sufficiency of the Bible held by this institution from its founding in 1908 and throughout its storied history, our faculty demonstrates in this volume its ongoing confidence in Holy Scripture as the basis for its work on Seminary Hill,” said SWBTS President Adam W. Greenway. “Our high view of Scripture is the first principle that grounds the entire mission of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary today. This Seminary Hill Press title is just the latest in a growing catalogue of books released in the last three years underscoring this institution’s unwavering conviction about the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. It is my prayerful hope that this book will bless Southern Baptists and others who are committed to the Bible.”
Greenway co-edited the book with David S. Dockery, distinguished professor of theology and special consultant to the president at Southwestern Seminary.
“The nature, authority, and sufficiency of the Bible continue to be discussed and debated,” Dockery said. “Numerous pressing issues present in both church and society point to the ongoing crisis of biblical authority. Our view of Scripture, its truthfulness, dependability, inerrancy, authority, and sufficiency, will largely determine where we stand on these issues. It has been a genuine joy to join with capable Southwestern Seminary colleagues to put together this volume which seeks to affirm, expound, and apply these important convictional truths about God’s written Word for our ever-changing 21st century context. We trust this new Seminary Hill Press publication will be beneficial for many Southern Baptists as well as for the larger evangelical community.”
In the preface, the editors explain the book’s contents represent “Southwestern Seminary faculty’s shared commitment to the Bible as the prophetic-apostolic word, which is God’s Word written. Without this writing, there would be no Scriptures and therefore no Word of God available to us. This understanding calls for a renewed commitment in every generation to the Bible’s full truthfulness, sole authority, and supreme sufficiency. To affirm these truths about Scripture means we believe it is trustworthy, reliable, infallible, and inerrant.”
[3]In his endorsement of the book, Charles F. Stanley, founder of In Touch Ministries and pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church of Atlanta, Ga., wrote, “The writers brilliantly remind us of the importance of Scripture for everything the child of God could ever face or endeavor in His name. The Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture is an excellent volume, and I am grateful for the faithful saints who have contributed to it. It is certainly needed in our churches, colleges, and seminaries and is an exceptional response to the questions of our times.”
HLGU to remain open this fall
By Illinois Baptist Staff
HANNIBAL, Mo. (BP) — Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU) will remain open for the fall 2022 semester, Transitional President Rodney Harrison told faculty, staff and students in early May.
Gifts have surpassed $1 million, including a record $227,815 from HLGU’s 2022 Day of Giving, but the total is still short of the $2.2 million HLGU leadership said was needed.
“On March 3 of this year, the financial forecast was dire,” Harrison said during a meeting with faculty and staff. “In just 27 days, the university was on pace to exhaust a $1 million line of credit, while having outstanding bills of $900,000.”
Harrison cited a recommendation he received from acting CFO Jeff Eubank on his first day on the job: “You do know that I say this with great heartache. But I encourage you to seriously consider closing HLGU this semester. The university is in desperate times,” Eubank told him.
“How desperate?” Harrison said. “To open in the fall, we would need at least a movement of $3.2 million. That was a no-fluff number. It was a down-to-the-bones minimum that factored in zero margin, massive cuts, and using every penny of our $1 million line of credit to be able to keep the university open for the fall.
“To achieve this data-line number, the university had to cut expenses,” he said. “We achieved it by reducing our expenditure in the last month of the academic year by $1 million.”
HLGU leadership also labored to increase the school’s cashflow, Harrison said. In addition to the donations and pledges totaling $1.15 million, HLGU has sold some property, negotiated with vendors to write off some debt, and cut expenses. The school is seeking to raise another $1 million by the end of July.
“Robust giving, combined with reduced payroll achieved, the suspension of retirement benefits, significant administrative cuts, and a renewed commitment to God-honoring stewardship means we will be open this fall and the mission of Hannibal-LaGrange University will endure,” Harrison said. “To God be the glory!”
Ray Carty, HLGU’s vice president for institutional advancement, said, “In the last two months, God has used people to bless Hannibal-LaGrange University. People are responding to the work God has yet to do at HLGU. We’re still looking for support through August, but we are encouraged that people see God’s work being done at Hannibal-LaGrange.”
– adapted from The Missouri Pathway