[1]WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP)–In an effort to keep pace with Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s escalating student enrollment, six new professors will be added to the faculty this fall.
Five seminary professors and a college professor will join a faculty that has grown to 43 full-time positions and 18 part-time today.
The growth of Southeastern’s faculty has been in response to the school’s student enrollment which has risen by 128 percent since 1992 when Paige Patterson became president of the Wake Forest, N.C., school. Seminary officials attribute the school’s growth during the Patterson presidency, in large part, to the addition of six new master’s-level programs, a doctor of philosophy program and the establishment of a four-year college.
To date, more than 1,700 students have enrolled at Southeastern during the 1997-98 academic year which concludes in late July.
The new faculty members, who begin at Southeastern Aug. 1, are:
Frank J. Catanzaro III, formerly associate pastor of education, music and family ministry at Grace Memorial Baptist Church, Slidell, La., who has been named assistant professor of pastoral care and counseling at Southeastern Seminary.
Catanzaro, 43, has served in numerous pastoral roles since 1981, including ministries for youth, senior adults and families, as well as music ministry.
Along with serving in the local church and participating in more than 150 revival meetings throughout the country, Catanzaro has taught as an adjunct instructor of psychology at William Carey College school of nursing in New Orleans.
Catanzaro earned a doctorate in education, master’s in religious education and an associate divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He also holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Southern Wesleyan University in Central, S.C.
“Frank Catanzaro comes to the school with a world of experience in pastoral guidance and counseling,” Patterson said. “Better than just about anyone I’ve known, he intersects the problems of the secular world with the prophetic word of biblical counsel.”
Catanzaro said God’s Word is the only fully sufficient counseling manual available. “Within the contents of the Bible itself and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we as ministers and counselors can communicate to people that the solution to every problem they face in life is contained in Scripture,” he said.
Catanzaro and his wife Teresa will reside in Wake Forest, N.C., with their son Jonathan, 12.
Nannette Godwin, 54, a 1996 master of divinity in church music graduate of Southeastern Seminary, is returning to her alma mater as instructor of church music and keyboard.
Godwin currently is working on a doctor of philosophy in music education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she is expected to complete her studies in 1999. Godwin earned a bachelor of music in piano and performance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Since 1992, Godwin has served as church organist and director of the children’s choir program at Hillyer Memorial Christian Church, Raleigh, N.C. She also serves as accompanist for an 80-member community chorus.
For 13 years, Godwin served as minister of music at New Hope Baptist Church, Raleigh. During that time, she directed a touring adult and youth choirs, a handbell choir and a graded children’s choir program.
“Nannette Godwin has already made a major contribution to the seminary as a student,” Patterson said. “We are thankful to God for her return to make a still-more-valuable contribution as instructor of church music and keyboard.”
Godwin resides in Raleigh with her husband Richard. The couple has three children: Richard Godwin Jr., Rinnette Lowder and Marvin Ross Godwin.
Steven A. McKinion, a native of Mobile, Ala., comes to Southeastern Seminary from King’s College at the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he taught church history. McKinion, has been named assistant professor of church history at Southeastern.
McKinion, 27, has completed his doctoral studies in philosophy at King’s College at the University of Aberdeen, where his research focused on Patristic Christology. He is expected to receive his doctorate later this year. McKinion received a master of arts from the school of religion at the University of Mobile, Mobile, Ala., and has a bachelor of arts in religion and history from Mississippi College, Clinton.
He has served as a Christian educator and church staff member in the United States, Scotland and Wales. Prior to coming to Southeastern, he served on the teaching staff of King’s College at the University of Aberdeen as well as interim preacher at the International Baptist Church in Aberdeen. He also has served as associate pastor of student ministries and minister of students and activities in churches in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
At King’s College, he taught courses ranging from “Early Church History and Theology” to “The Reformation.” As a graduate assistant at the University of Mobile, McKinion prepared courses titled, “History of Christianity II — The Reformation through the Present” and “Patristic Christology.”
“Steven McKinion is representative of a burgeoning retinue of young gifted scholars whose theology is as precise as their academic accomplishments,” Patterson said. “McKinion will make a strategic contribution to our church history’s division in the critical area of patristics.”
McKinion said his time of study and ministering overseas has given him a burden for equipping people to reach the world for Christ. “Part of my vision for Southeastern is to encourage men and women who will be leaders of the church in the 21st century to stand firm on the principles of the Word of God,” McKinion said. “SEBTS is one of the strongest seminaries in America.”
McKinion will reside in Wake Forest, N.C., with his wife Ginger, and their son, Lachlan Frank, 16 months.
Waylan B. Owens, 37, is stepping down as pastor of First Baptist Church, Soldotna, Alaska, to serve this fall as assistant professor of pastoral ministry at Southeastern.
Owens, who has served as pastor of the Alaska church since 1993, led the church to record a five-year average of 22 baptisms per year. During the church’s previous 30-year history, it averaged eight baptisms per year. In 1997-98, the baptism ratio at First Baptist, Soldotna, equaled one baptism for every five members.
While serving in Alaska, Owens became the first pastor to serve two terms as president of the Alaska Baptist Convention Pastor’s Conference. He served two years as chairman of the Alaska Baptist Convention education committee and four years on the administrative and finance committee of the Alaska Baptist Convention executive board.
Previously, Owens served as pastor of Crosby Baptist Church, Crosby, Miss., and as associate pastor at Northside Baptist Church, Slidell, La.
Owens received a doctorate of philosophy in Old Testament and Hebrew and a master of divinity in biblical studies from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He received a bachelor of arts in education from the University of West Florida, Pensacola.
Before Owens began teaching as a graduate assistant at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, he taught for six years on the middle and junior high school level.
“The most difficult assignment for any seminary is training young and inexperienced pastors for experienced churches,” Patterson said. “That is why Southeastern Seminary is elated to have Dr. Owens, an accomplished biblical scholar, with a track record of remarkable achievement in every conceivable area of pastoral ministry.”
Owens said he is looking forward to the challenge of preparing men and women for ministries in the local church. “We felt a very definite call from God to move into this position,” he said.
Owens and his wife Elizabeth, will reside in Wake Forest with their three children, Blayne, Joshua and Grace.
George Chok, an engineer-turned-theologian, has been named instructor of theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological College.
Chok graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) with academic honors in 1972, earning a degree in aerospace engineering before later serving as the national director for Campus Crusade for Christ in Hong Kong from 1982-84.
“I was a devout Roman Catholic for five long years, during which (time) I participated fully in the Catholic Church’s sacraments and religious practices,” Chok recounted. “Yet, during this entire time, I did not know Christ personally.” A year before Chok graduated from Georgia Tech, a staff member of Campus Crusade for Christ shared the gospel with him. In October 1971, Chok accepted Jesus into his heart.
He earned a master of divinity degree in Christian management in 1981 from the International School of Theology, San Bernardino, Calif.
Chok, 48, served as pastor of two churches in Hong Kong for six-and-a-half years before returning to the United States to study at Dallas Theological Seminary, where he earned a master of sacred theology in 1992.
Currently, Chok is pursuing a doctor of philosophy in theological studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and expects to finish the degree in the summer of 2000.
While enrolled in the Ph.D. program at Dallas Seminary, Chok also served as acting director of the Chinese division of Church Dynamics International from October 1993 to December 1995.
Chok, a permanent resident of the United States, has written two articles published in Chinese by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Hong Kong and by the Chinese Coordination Center of World Evangelism in Hong Kong.
“Mr. Chok brings to us an impressive academic background which includes study at five universities and seminaries as well as a wealth of experience in international missions,” said Gerald Cowen, dean of Southeastern Baptist Theological College. “He is an excellent person to help us with our new History of Ideas program.”
Chok and his wife Amy, have two sons, Y.J., 10, and J.J., 5. The family will live in Raleigh, N.C.
“If there is one thing that attracts me to Southeastern, it is the emphasis on missions,” Chok said.
Earlier this year, Southeastern announced the addition this fall of a fifth seminary professor. David Alan Black, scholar in residence at the Learn Foundation International Research Center, Yorba Linda, Calif., has been named professor of New Testament and Greek.
Black is the New Testament editor of the newly released English Bible translation called the International Standard Version (ISV) published by Davidson Press. The ISV is sponsored by the Learn Foundation, which is independent of any other sponsor of modern language translations of the Scriptures.