WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP) — Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary celebrated the installation of the Dr. Ed Young Sr. Chair of Preaching, which will be filled by seminary president Daniel Akin.
Young serves as the senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, the largest church in the Southern Baptist Convention with more than 63,000 members. Young is a former SBC president and a graduate of SEBTS.
The installation was held during an Oct. 15 chapel service on Southeastern’s campus in Wake Forest. Young was the guest speaker. Though Young attended Southeastern during a moderate period of the seminary’s history, he is known for holding true to his conservative theology.
Addressing the chapel attendees, Akin said, “Many of you would not be here today or you would not want to be here if it were not for Ed Young Sr.”
This is the fifth endowed chair at SEBTS and the second one in preaching.
Preaching from Nehemiah, Young focused on five essential leadership qualities of a great leader: having a vision, giving away the vision, discernment, tenacity and integrity.
“God has entrusted you and me with a calling to bring this world Jesus Christ,” Young said. “The answer for every problem on this earth … is one simple thing, it’s the bending of the knee for Jesus Christ.”
Following Young’s sermon, Akin presented the President’s Award to Young and Second Baptist Church. This is the highest honor awarded by Southeastern.
As a part of the ceremony, Akin was installed as the new chair, a selection made by the Board of Trustees at Southeastern.
An Ed Young Chair Installation luncheon was immediately held after the service. The luncheon featured an interview with Young that Akin mediated. Topics included Young’s personal testimony, his family, educational background and his preaching style.
“I spend a lot of time by myself,” Young said. “I think if you are going to be a preacher in this world you better spend a lot of time by yourself with God and with your books. I spend more time preparing me than the sermon.
“I think preaching should have an element of surprise and warmth. It is a wonderful adventure. I don’t have it mastered, but we spend a lot of blood, sweat and tears in preparation.”
Young’s concern for the church today is centered on the need for sharing the Gospel.
“SBC churches are pastored by functional universalists,” he said. “They know all theological principles; they are inerrantists; they can pound the Bible all day, but they haven’t figured out how to take the truth of God and turn it into evangelism and see lives change.”
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