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William ‘Bill’ Hendricks, 73, was theology prof at 3 SBC seminaries


FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)–Funeral services for William “Bill” Hendricks, 73, a former professor at three Southern Baptist seminaries, were held Dec. 11 at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hendricks, 73, died Dec. 8 in Fort Worth, where he had been director of Baptist studies and a theology lecturer at Texas Christian University’s Brite Divinity School after retiring as a professor of theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1995. He had served on the former Roman Catholic/Southern Baptist dialogue and was active in the National Council of Churches and World Council of Churches colloquies, according to an obituary in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Hendricks was on the faculty of Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky., from 1984-95. He was the first director of the seminary’s Center for Religion and Arts, which opened in 1986, and was involved in developing a doctoral program in theology and the arts.

Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr., who studied under Hendricks as a student, was quoted in the Louisville Courier-Journal as crediting Hendricks for “awakening in me a desire to be a theologian.”

Describing Hendricks as “a remarkably gifted teacher” with “a creative sense of humor” and “an eclectic mind,” Mohler said, “He was very interested in the intersection of theology and the culture. … He certainly had a very strong interest in art and the aesthetic.”

Earlier, Hendricks taught at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif., from 1978-84 and at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth from 1957-78.

He was the author of eight books, including “The Doctrine of Man,” “Who Is Jesus Christ?,” “A Theology for Children” and “A Theology for Aging.”

He earned an undergraduate degree from Oklahoma Baptist University, master of divinity and doctorate in theology degrees from Southwestern and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

He is survived by his wife, Lois and a son, John. He also had four half-brothers and a half-sister in his birth family, which he discovered in 1995, according to the Star-Telegram. He had been adopted and raised by Homer and Ruby Hendricks in Kansas.
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