This summer The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will play host to the Southern Baptist Convention as the denomination holds its June 23-24 annual meeting in Louisville to commemorate its flagship seminary's anniversary.
The seminary will hold several events to mark its 150th anniversary, including an alumni and friends luncheon on campus at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, in Heritage Hall and the main gym.
At 2 p.m., the seminary will hold a dedication ceremony for its new Duke K. McCall Sesquicentennial Pavilion, named in honor of the seminary's seventh president who held office from 1951-1982.
A campus-wide open house will follow from 3-5 p.m., with a book signing at the LifeWay Christian Store on campus.
SBTS President R. Albert Mohler Jr. will host his Albert Mohler Program live radio broadcast from the Kentucky Exposition Center, site of the SBC annual meeting, on June 22 and 23. The radio show will originate from campus on June 24.
Southern Baptists will see much evidence that their first seminary is standing upon the confessional vision of its founders. Southern is one of the largest seminaries in the world with more than 4,500 students who study under one of the evangelical world's leading faculties.
Russell D. Moore, dean of the School of Theology and senior vice president for academic administration, said Southern's graduates, students, and faculty members reflect the seminary's commitment to its original vision.
"Southern Seminary graduates have a sense of weightiness in ministry," Moore said. "Our students are joyful and our students also understand the gravity of the calling of preaching and teaching the Word of God. What distinguishes Southern Seminary students is a passionate, joyful seriousness, understanding what is at stake in the proclamation of the Gospel."