Dockery named editor of Southwestern Journal of Theology
By Staff
FORT WORTH (BP) — David S. Dockery has been named editor of the Southwestern Journal of Theology, the academic journal of The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
“Dr. Dockery’s winsome and irenic spirit and resolute theological convictions personify key qualities that I believe have and must characterize Southwestern Seminary when we are at our best,” said Southwestern President Adam W. Greenway, who serves as editor-in-chief of the journal, in announcing Dockery’s appointment. “I look forward with great anticipation to new heights of theological reflection and research for the cause of Christ and the church under the incomparable editorship that Dr. Dockery will bring to SWJT.”
Greenway described Dockery as a “universally respected theologian and Southern Baptist statesman of Christian higher education” and called the journal “one of the premier and historic publications in theological education” – noting that with its founding in 1917, it “is the oldest theological journal continually published by a Southern Baptist seminary.”
The Spring 2020 issue of the journal, with the theme, “Christian Higher Education in the Baptist Tradition,” is expected to be available in several months, with the Fall 2020 issue scheduled for delivery in October.
In his first editorial in the Spring 2020 issue, Dockery writes that the journal’s editorial team “sees the continuation of the publication of this resource as one way of participating in” Greenway’s vision of “renewal and revitalization at Southwestern Seminary” by bringing together “serious scholarship, applied theology, engaging teaching, service to the churches, and a heart for ministry, evangelism, and global missions as partners, as various aspects of ‘One Southwestern’ to reclaim the best of the seminary’s heritage while advancing the distinctive Southwestern mission.”
Dockery, who earned a master of divinity at Southwestern in 1981, joined the seminary faculty in 2019 as distinguished professor of theology and theologian-in-residence for the B.H. Carroll Center for Baptist Heritage and Mission. He also serves as special consultant to the president.
With his long background in Christian higher educational leadership at Trinity International University, Union University, and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dockery was recently invited to assist with the leadership of the newly formed International Alliance for Christian Education. Dockery led the search committee that recently named Ken Magnuson as the new executive director of the Evangelical Theological Society. He is a prolific author and editor of more than 35 books.
A new editorial council will be chaired by Randy L. Stinson, provost and vice president for academic administration, and will include David L. Allen, distinguished professor of preaching; D. Jeffrey Bingham, dean of the School of Theology; Amy Crider, director of the Research Doctoral Center for Writing Excellence; Donald H. Kim, assistant professor of Bible at Scarborough College; Daniel Sanchez, distinguished professor emeritus of missions; Michael S. Wilder, dean of the Jack D. Terry School of Educational Ministries; Gregory A. Wills, research professor of church history and Baptist heritage; and Malcolm B. Yarnell III, research professor of theology.
Joining Dockery as part of the editorial team will be new assistant editors Katie J. McCoy, assistant professor of theology in women’s studies at Scarborough College; and Andrew Streett, associate professor of biblical studies; as well as consultant editors Sarah C. Spring, associate professor of English and associate dean of Scarborough College; and James A. Smith Sr., director of public relations.
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Midwestern Journal of Theology’s spring edition released
By T. Patrick Hudson
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) – Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary released the Spring 2020 issue of the Midwestern Journal of Theology May 4, featuring works by several of the school’s faculty as well as academics from across the Southern Baptist Convention.
The spring edition addresses theological topics ranging from a historical view of Christian education, parenting and addiction to the Gospel of John and Martin Luther’s use of a passage in Romans to understand Christ in the Old Testament.
Midwestern President Jason Allen said the essays “provide truthful insight and thoughtful guidance amidst a world that bends at the whims of the culture,” and praised Michael McMullen, the journal’s editor, for “continually [delivering] an encouraging and edifying grouping of academic works that speak to the theological issues its readers deal with daily.”
McMullen, professor of church history at Midwestern, noted that the current issue predominantly features articles written by Midwestern faculty members, but that he is thankful for the contributions received from around the greater SBC. In addition to scholarly articles, readers will find several relevant and thought-provoking book reviews, many of which were written by Midwestern Seminary doctoral students.
Midwestern Seminary’s Journal of Theology is available in print version for subscribers. To subscribe, contact the Academic Office at (816) 414-3745 or [email protected]. Alternately, the issue can be accessed for free on the seminary’s website, www.mbts.edu/journal.
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Magnuson named executive director of the Evangelical Theological Society
By Staff
CHICAGO (BP) — The Executive Committee of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) has unanimously selected Ken Magnuson as the Society’s second executive director.
David S. Dockery, chair of the search committee which recommended Magnuson, said the committee reviewed applications and nominations from a large group of qualified candidates.
“It soon became clear to every member of the committee that Ken Magnuson, based on his outstanding education, years and breadth of experience, scholarship, administrative gifts, relational abilities and people skills, as well as his Christian character and commitment, was extremely well suited for this key role in the life of ETS,” Dockery said. “We are thankful for the fine leadership that Mike Thigpen has provided and are extremely hopeful about Ken Magnuson’s guidance for the Society for the years ahead.”
ETS President Craig S. Keener said: “All of us on the Executive Committee affirm Ken Magnuson and are grateful to the Lord for the prospect of leadership that will continue the wonderful legacy we have already experienced with Mike Thigpen.”
Magnuson, who will begin his duties June 15, has been a faculty member of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary since 1999. He has served as professor of Christian ethics, chair of the Department of Worldview and Culture, and as director of The Commonweal Project on Faith, Work, and Human Flourishing. He serves as a deacon in his church, on the editorial board for Themelios and as a board member for the American Friends of Tyndale House (Cambridge, United Kingdom).
Magnuson holds a Ph.D. in theological ethics from Cambridge University, and M.Div. and bachelor’s degrees from Bethel Seminary and Bethel University (Minn.). He teaches and writes on discipleship and moral issues, including marriage and sexuality, singleness, and infertility and reproductive technology. He has published journal articles and contributed chapters to several books, and has recently completed Invitation to Christian Ethics, which is scheduled to be published later this year. He serves on the steering committee of the ETS Christian Ethics program unit. Ken and his wife Katherine have four children.
Magnuson succeeds J. Michael Thigpen, who has served as executive director since 2009. Thigpen is leaving the position to serve as executive vice president and provost of Phoenix Seminary.
“I believe Ken Magnuson is the right person to lead ETS in this next season,” Thigpen said. “Ken’s temperament, experience, godly character, and outlook on the role of the society in the church and the academy are a wonderful fit to move us forward.”
