- Baptist Press - https://www.baptistpress.com -

Charles Draper to join Boyce College faculty

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)–North Greenville College professor Charles W. Draper is joining the faculty of the new James P. Boyce College of the Bible at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., seminary officials announced March 18.
Daniel Akin, Southern Seminary vice president of academic administration, said Draper will be assistant professor of biblical studies for the new Bible college. Approved by seminary trustees last October, the new college is set to begin operations Aug. 1.
Currently assistant professor of Christian studies at the Tigerville, S.C., school, Draper will assume his new duties June 1. He joins Ted Cabal and Hal Ostrander, who were introduced earlier this year as the inaugural faculty for the new college.
Draper has more than 35 years of preaching and teaching experience and more than 22 years of pastoral experience. He has served on numerous denominational committees and executive boards in Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas/Nebraska, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
Draper earned the master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, in 1971, the doctor of ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary, Atlanta, in 1981, and a bachelor of arts from Baylor University, Waco, Texas, in 1968. He is a Ph.D. candidate at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and anticipates graduating later this year.
Akin said Draper will be a valuable addition to the college faculty. “He quickly has become one of the most popular teachers at North Greenville College. He is unique in that he has training both in the Old and New Testaments, Hebrew and Greek, which makes him perfect for a Bible college context. We think that he is going to bring much to the classroom with his great love for students.”
Draper and his wife, Retta, have a daughter, Rachelle, and a son, Charles. He is the brother of Southern Baptist Sunday School Board President James T. Draper Jr.
The new college, named for the founding president of Southern Seminary, will replace the Boyce Bible School, which was created in 1974 as a non-degree granting undergraduate program for ministerial training. The college will be a fully accredited four-year Bible college offering a 129-hour bachelor of arts in biblical studies degree and a 66-hour associate of arts degree. The college will have four academic divisions — biblical, theological, ministry and general studies.