LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)–Culminating four years of discussion, research and planning, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. unveiled April 20 a $70 million campus master plan of improvements and additions to the Louisville, Ky., institution’s facilities.
Aging buildings, numerical growth, demographics, increasing library resources and utility questions were some reasons why the campus is “‘in need of very serious attention,’” Mohler said, recounting remarks from a 1995 trustee meeting.
Mohler detailed the 10-year plan during the seminary trustees’ annual spring meeting, April 19-20. Scheduled for completion in 2009 — the seminary’s sesquicentennial — the capital improvements campaign includes the construction or renovation of more than 400 student housing units; 107 faculty offices; a 40,000-square-foot expansion of the library; a 21,000-square-foot facility for the burgeoning Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth; a state-of-the-art learning and performance center, equipped with satellite communications and other technological advancements; and a conference center.
Other projected renovations include: an update to facilities now housing the seminary’s James P. Boyce College of the Bible; completion of classroom technological capabilities; and refitting the seminary’s Alumni Chapel to better accommodate current television broadcasting.
“A campus is just a campus,” said Mohler after citing reasons to value it. “But we seek to value this campus for what it will mean to the future of Southern Seminary in the greater and more faithful accomplishment of the mission entrusted to us by the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention.”
Trustees unanimously approved the facilities and master plan report. Each successive phase will require trustee approval. They also voted unanimously to begin the $1.9 million renovation of the seminary’s W.O. Carver building, now home to the Boyce College. Mohler said such renovations represent “immediate” need, as the college’s on-campus enrollment is expected to double for the fall 1999 semester.
Mohler reported on-campus enrollment for the spring 1999 semester is 1,372 — an 8.3 percent increase over the previous year. Total enrollment for the spring semester stands at 1,828 as of April 15, 1999. “Applications for admission are at record levels, and signs of health are clear,” he said. “Careful stewardship of resources and generous financial support indicate financial health. We are determined to make maximum use of what has been entrusted to us.”
To help meet other needs of a growing student body, trustees elected three faculty members, promoted six others and heard Mohler’s report that cited 11 presidential appointments to the faculty.
Elected faculty members were: Hershael York, associate professor of Christian preaching, who was also elected to the chair of Victor and Louise Lester Associate Professor of Christian Preaching; Charles Tackett, associate professor of psychology and Christian counseling; and Tom Bolton, professor of church music and worship.
Faculty promotions: Esther Rothenbusch and Sandra Turner to associate professors of church music and worship; Daniel Akin to professor of Christian preaching; Timothy Beougher to Billy Graham professor of evangelism and church growth; James Chancellor to professor of Christian missions and world religions; and Gregory Wills to associate professor of church history.
Presidential appointments to the seminary faculty were: Ronald H. Nash, professor of Christian philosophy and apologetics; Kenneth Magnuson, assistant professor of Christian ethics; Don Cox, assistant professor of evangelism and church growth; William Cutrer, associate professor of Christian ministry; Stephen Drake, assistant professor of Christian ministry and director of supervised ministry experience; Peter Gentry, associate professor of Old Testament interpretation; Brad Waggoner, associate professor of Christian education and leadership; and Stephen Wellum, assistant professor of Christian theology.
Appointed to the Boyce College faculty were David Adams, professor of youth ministry and dean of students, and Chad Brand, associate professor of Christian theology.
“One of the most significant transformations in theological education will occur this fall as the school of theology, the heart of this institution, is restructured to be ready for the 2lst century,” Mohler said in his report to trustees.
“This new structure is a genuine innovation among theological institutions, and it will liberate our faculty to teach, even as it organizes our teaching disciplines into a more appropriate pattern.”
The school of theology’s restructuring includes the formation of four divisions: Scripture and interpretation, theology and tradition, worldview and culture, and ministry and proclamation.
The Scripture and interpretation division will include Old and New Testament studies, hermeneutics, and Hebrew and Greek languages — all in an effort to unify biblical studies and “eclipse the old distinction and rather artificial line between the Old and New Testaments in terms of faculty expertise,” Mohler said.
The theology and tradition division will “bring together the richness of the ‘faith once for all delivered to the saints,’ with our Baptist distinctives understood by bringing these disciplines together.”
Mohler called the worldview and culture division “revolutionary” for its emphasis on cultural studies: “I know of no seminary anywhere with such a division.” Other subjects for study in this division will include Christian ethics, apologetics and philosophy.
“The issues of Christian worldview and culture are now demanding the constant and vigilant attention of every serious Christian,” Mohler contended.
The division of ministry and proclamation will focus on the many ministries of the local church. “We are unapologetic in making the preaching of the Word of special importance in this structure,” he said.
Mohler also proposed — and trustees approved — two new study centers: The Center for the Study of the Southern Baptist Convention and The National Center for Youth Ministry.
He explained the SBC study center will be the first academic research unit specifically dedicated to the study of America’s largest Protestant denomination, bringing together scholars, denominational leaders, strategists, demographers and other researchers to “build a body of solid research, data and reflection on the SBC and its churches.”
The youth ministry center will be Boyce College’s first research unit, exploring the crisis in youth evangelism and the multiple challenges facing today’s youth, training effective and faithful youth ministers and evangelists, and establishing a network of youth ministers and youth ministries.
Trustees also unanimously approved a near $18.5 million budget, which represents a 6.1 percent increase above the previous year. Reflected in the budget were increases of $5 per semester hour of study, 5 percent in student housing and fees, 3 percent in child-care fees, and a 4 percent average in employee raises to help the seminary meet its employee benefits programs.
Unanimously elected trustee board officers were Roger Spradling of Bakersfield, Calif., chairman; Stephen Corts of Greenville, S.C., vice-chairman; Otis Ingram of Macon, Ga., second vice-chairman; and Byron Boyer of Louisville, Ky., secretary.
In other actions, trustees passed resolutions of appreciation for seven trustees rotating off the board, as well as resolutions for the seminary’s past and current presidents.
A resolution of appreciation and prayer for former seminary President Roy L. Honeycutt expressed the trustees’ gratitude for his years of service to the seminary and noted their commitment to continue to pray for him as he recuperates from recent open-heart surgery.
Standing on their feet, trustees gave Mohler an ovation after a resolution of appreciation was read that cited Southern’s numerical and spiritual growth, as well as Mohler’s commitment to the Great Commission and the theological vision of the seminary’s founders.
During a banquet that evening, Mohler noted the “historic” nature of all the action taken by the board in remarks that reflected comments he made earlier in the day regarding the capital improvements campaign: “In the end, all our planning and leading and strategies will amount to nothing if God is not honored in what we do and if we do not give him the honor properly due him.”
