Towers | May 2015

09VOLUME 13

MAY2015

A NEWS PUBLICATION OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

May 2015 towers.sbts.edu2 towers

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From the editor:Who is Andrew Fuller?Chances are you have

heard his name, but you may not know much about him. Nearly a decade ago, the seminary established a

research center for Baptist history in his name. Each year, the center hosts the Andrew Fuller Conference examining a particular topic in church history. Fuller and Southern Seminary date all the way back to the institu-tion’s founding, when Craw-ford Toy was the president of the Andrew Fuller Society, a student debate club.

Fuller died May 7, 1815, and this month marks 200 years since the theologian’s death. He inherited the theo-logical systems of John Cal-vin and Jonathan Edwards,

reformulating them with Baptist convictions.

Most importantly, he called Baptists out of hyper-Cal-vinism and spurred them to greater missionary zeal. I am thankful for Fuller’s legacy this month, especially as we recognize the appointment of IMB missionaries at High-view Baptist’s East Campus on May 13. If you are in Lou-isville that week, I encourage you to respond to IMB Pres-ident David Platt’s call to at-tend the service and celebrate the dedication of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

MAY 2015 - 5 -SBTS student wins $34K on ‘Jeopardy!’Meet your new study bud-dy, Jacqueline Hawkins, who fulfilled her childhood dream and won lots of cash.

- 10 -Pierre talks pastors and counselingThe dean of students and biblical counseling profes-sor discusses his new book, The Pastor and Counseling.

- 22 -Vogel retires from facultyThe legendary preaching professor reflects on his time at Southern Seminary and his personal achievements.

- 24-1937 ProjectThe third annual commu-nity service project saw a record turnout as students, faculty, and staff assisted local organizations and ministries.

- 28-3 Questions with Philip RykenThe Wheaton College pres-ident discusses the value of liberal arts education and his favorite and most formative books.

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May 2015, Vol. 13, No. 9. Copyright ©2015 The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Postage paid at Louisville, Ky.

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Andrew Fuller’s life and legacyMichael A.G. Haykin explores the legacy of the great Baptist theologian 200 years after his death, and Nathan A. Finn examines Fuller’s influence on contemporary Southern Baptist missions.

14


Newslog

REPORT

Southern Seminary trustees elect new faculty, celebrate historic enrollmentBy James A. Smith Sr.

Trustees of Southern Seminary elected two new faculty members and received President R. Albert Mohler Jr.’s report summarizing historic student enrollment metrics during the board’s April 20-21 meeting.

Elected to the faculty, effective Aug. 1, were Douglas K. Blount, professor of Christian philosophy and ethics, and Joseph R. Crider, professor of church music and worship. Mohler told trustees that both scholars “are spectacular additions to the faculty.”

Blount has taught since 2008 at Dallas Theological Sem-inary, with prior teaching posts at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Criswell College. Crider has taught since 2011 at Southern Seminary as Ernest and Mil-dred Hogan Professor of Church Music and Worship and ex-ecutive director of the school’s Institute for Biblical Worship.

Mohler told trustees the seminary is experiencing historic levels of student enrollment, with a record of 4,792 and full-time equivalents of 3,425 for 2013-2014, the most recent complete data available. The Master of Divinity headcount of 1,952 far outpaces peer institutions accredited by the Association of Theological

Schools, he said. Also in 2013-2014, Southern welcomed 1,639 new students.

Contrary to the predictions of his critics 20 years ago, Southern Seminary has thrived in the wake of Mohler’s reassertion of the school’s historical commitments to inerrancy and conservative theology.

“This was something God alone could have brought about,” he said.

Trustees also voted to revoke its prior acceptance and decline the gift of a Wisconsin Christian university campus, as well as to decline to establish an extension campus of Boyce College, the seminary’s undergraduate school.

Mohler said he has “great disappointment” that the gift of Northland International University campus in Dunbar, Wisconsin, had to be declined.

In an open letter released April 24, Mohler explained that the financial concerns would prevent academic programs from having an “adequate chance at thriving” and that moving forward with Boyce College Northland Campus would be “wrong.” Read the full letter online at

news.sbts.edu/?p=5395. In other matters, the board approved the recommen-

dation of its Financial Board for the 2015-2016 budget of $43.7 million, an increase of 7.7 percent.

Promotions in faculty rank were granted to Randy L. Stinson, provost and senior vice president for academic administration to professor of leadership and family ministry, Barry C. Joslin to professor of Christian theology, and Jeremy P. Pierre to associate professor of biblical counseling.

The board also accepted the 2014 financial audit report conducted by independent auditors Crowe Horwath, which offered an “unqualified or ‘clean’ opinion” concerning the seminary’s financial statements, and adopted a policy prohibiting employment of persons who are “first-degree relations” of current trustees, with certain exceptions.

In response to requests from several trustees, chairman Philip Gunn, who is Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, led fellow members of the board to conclude the meeting by encircling Mohler to lay hands on him and pray for his leadership of the institution.


Southern Seminary online learning staff honoredBy Paul Baity

The Online Learning Consortium, one of the most pres-tigious online learning organizations in higher education, recently recognized Southern Seminary’s online learning department for its innovation in language learning.

Ryan Baltrip, director of online learning, and instruc-tional designer Brian Renshaw received the Effective Practice in Online Learning Award for “Using Tablet Video Technology to Enhance Language Learning” in Southern Seminary’s online Elementary Greek course. Renshaw worked with Robert L. Plummer, professor of New Testament interpretation, to improve the course

during the summer of 2014. The innovative teaching techniques integrate tablet

technologies to provide video lectures, on-screen dia-grams, and quiz reviews to simulate the in-class experi-ence of the Greek course. The 24-inch tablet is an inter-active touch display monitor that allows the instructor to use a pressure-sensitive pen on the display for anno-tating, writing, and drawing.

Baltrip and Renshaw received the award in Dallas at the 8th Annual Emerging Technologies for Online Learning International Symposium, April 22-24.

REPORT

Southern Seminary student wins $34K on ‘Jeopardy!’ By Charissa Crotts

Years of watching “Jeopardy!” and playing triv-ia games paid off for Southern Seminary student Jacqueline Hawkins when she won $34,101 over two days on the popular game show, which aired March 25-26.

Hawkins is a full-time English professor at Eliz-abethtown Community and Technical College, and in 2008 she also began serving as music director for South Jefferson Baptist Church. She is pursuing a Master of Arts in Worship in the seminary’s Billy Gra-ham School of Missions, Evangelism and Ministry.

The first episode in which she competed aired March 25, and her two-day reign as a “Jeopardy!” winner ended on March 27 when she was unable to

name El Al, Israel’s national airline, as the trans-portation company that took its name from the book of Hosea.

Now that Hawkins has fulfilled her childhood dream of competing on “Jeopardy!” and returned home with a substantial sum of winnings, she says the money will be put to good use.

“My husband and I are definitely committed to tithing a portion of the winnings to our local church,” she said. “Other than that, we know we want to try to take our son to Disney World in May of 2016, and we also basically look on my success on the show as God providing a way for me to finish paying for my degree at Southern.”

Marriage rooted in creation, says Mohler during televised forumAndrew J.W. Smith

The institution of marriage does not come from hu-man or social invention but God’s creation order, said Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. during a televised forum on marriage on Cincinnati’s WCPO, April 15.

“[The family] is the first school, that’s the first gov-ernment, and a very real sense, in a biblical world-view, it’s the first church,” he said at “The Changing Face of Marriage” forum. “What takes place in the home is the most important human institution and it’s absolutely essential for human flourishing — it’s one of God’s greatest gifts to his creatures.”

Since marriage is so central to human existence, it ought to be considered in terms of what leads to the good of society, he noted.

“It comes down to what we believe really leads to human happiness and human flourishing,” he said. “Marriage is the presenting issue, and that’s a big is-sue, but the larger issue is what’s really going to lead to human flourishing.”

Video of the forum is available at www.wcpo.com/marriage.


Parrish receives Francisco Preaching AwardBy SBTS Communications

Southern Seminary M.Div. student Chris Parrish, who recently transitioned to the role of assistant pastor at Buck Run Baptist Church, delivered the message at the April 23 awards chapel after he received the Clyde T. Francisco Preaching Award.

Eight other students also received awards: Shelly Johns, J.E. Lambdin Scholarship; Claire Cecil, Ernest

and Bonnie White Scholarship; Derick Sherfey, Ernest J. Loessner Scholarship; David Blackwell and Andres Vera, Doris and Gerald Borchert Prize in Biblical Studies; Gar-rett Milner, Broadman & Holman Outstanding Seminar-ian Award; Grant Castleberry, Westminster John Knox Preaching Award; and Justin Abercrombie, LifeWay Pas-toral Leadership Award.

REPORT

IMB commissioning service to be held in LouisvilleBy KBC Communications

Southern Seminary alumni Phil and Laura Metcalf will join about 35 other Southern Baptist missionaries in an IMB commissioning service May 13 at Highview Baptist Church’s East Campus in Louisville.

IMB President David Platt has invited Kentucky Bap-tists to attend the worship service and experience what God is doing through the lives of these Christ followers.

“I will also bring the Word to bear not only on what these brothers and sisters will be doing around the world,” Platt said, “but also on the responsibility and privilege we all have to be a part of this mission by praying, giving, and going however God leads in each of our lives and churches for the glory of his name among the nations.”

The Metcalfs, members of Immanuel Baptist Church, began their journey to becoming full-time IMB mission-aries nearly two years ago. The couple and their two chil-dren have agreed to spend three years in Oaxaca, Mexico.

“It’s not foolish to give up everything for the sake of Christ,” Phil said. “Jesus doesn’t call us to live a comfortable life. When he says, ‘Come and follow me,’ it’s a call to die. Obedience to him is worth any sacrifice here in this life, whether that is leaving comforts (or) leaving security.”

Founders’ reopens after spring renovationsBy SBTS Communications

Founders’ Cafe reopened April 13 after three weeks of renovations, during which crews finished the concrete flooring, added fresh painting, and improved the seating capacity. Anna Damico contributed the design, and artwork was added on the first and second floors.


SBTS sponsors Spanish Pre-Conference, hosts TGC late night eventBy S. Craig Sanders

Southern Seminary sponsored the first ever Spanish Pre-Conference for The Gos-pel Coalition National Conference in Orlando, April 12-13. R. Albert Mohler Jr. delivered the final plenary session for the pre-conference, speaking through an in-terpreter.

“As we follow the storyline of Scripture, we see that God’s people, whenever and wherever they are found, are characterized and often identified by their leadership,” Mohler said in a message on Christian leadership in the 21st century. Mohler, who authored the 2012 book The Conviction to Lead, said the marks of such leadership are calling, covenant, courage, conviction, and character.

More than 700 Spanish-speaking leaders attended the two-day event, which also featured Southern Seminary alumnus Miguel Núñez, senior pastor of Iglesia Bautista Internacional in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Southern Seminary professor M. David Sills, who taught a conference course in the Spanish track.

The seminary hosted a late night event March 14 during the national conference, which featured panelists discussing the implications of eschatology for pastoral ministry. The panel topic was in conjunction with the TGC National Conference theme, “Coming Home: New Heaven and New Earth.”

“Eschatology isn’t just something we have fixed out there at the end of our Bibles or at the end of our doctrinal statements, it ought to be something we see lived out every single Sunday morning and in the mission of the church,” said panelist Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

Mohler also delivered a workshop during the conference on the sexual and moral revolution in American culture. More than 400 people attended Mohler’s presentation, “Aftermath,” which was one of 48 workshops offered concurrently across three sessions.

More information about the TGC National Conference and upcoming resources is available online at thegospelcoalition.org.

Boyce Preview sets record attendance

By SBTS Communications

A record 243 guests, 152 of which were prospective students, attended the April

17 Boyce Preview event. Southern’s April 24 Preview Day welcomed 158 prospective

students for a total of 220 guests.

REPORT


REVIEWS

(Oxford University Press 2013, $110)

(Christian Focus 2014, $9.99) Jeremy PierreDean of students, associate professor

of biblical counseling

Book Reviews

The Divine Comedy: The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso

Dante Alighieri, translated by John Ciardi(New American Library 2003, $21)

“It walks you through the intricacies of thinking about sin and salvation. We obviously don’t agree with all of the theology represented there, but it’s an imaginative adventure that challenges you to consider the moments of your life and how they echo into your journey.”

Spurgeon’s Sorrows: Realistic Hope for Those Who Suffer from DepressionZack Eswine Review by Andrew PrestonIn Spurgeon’s Sorrows, Zack Eswine examines the life of Charles Had-don Spurgeon and his struggle with depression. Eswine reflects on the hope that Spurgeon found in his darkness, and how this can bring light for Christians in the midst of sorrow and suffering.

Spurgeon’s recognition that a diagnosis is not an end in itself pro-vides the reader with a vocabulary for how to speak about their sorrows, while also embracing a Savior who bore their sorrow and grief in his own suffering. The book concludes with a synthesis of Spurgeon and how Christian suffering has sanctifying benefits in light of the gospel.

Eswine’s command of Spurgeon’s sermons and literature allows the reader to hear both the heartache and hope from the “Prince of Preachers” himself. Spurgeon’s Sorrows will equip the church to learn what it looks and feels like to bear one another’s burdens.

(Crossway, 2015, $17.99)

Luther on the Christian Life: Cross and Freedom Carl R. Trueman Review by Andrew J.W. SmithIn Luther on the Christian Life, Carl R. Trueman looks at how the great Protestant theologian and champion of justification viewed day-to-day Christian faithfulness.

Trueman is an Orthodox Presbyterian, but he concurs with Luther’s broad theological categories. Their agreements allow Trueman to praise Luther at appropriate times, while their differences — particularly on baptism and the Lord’s Supper — offer Trueman evaluative distance from his subject.

Trueman acknowledges the themes that made Luther such a signifi-cant figure in Christian history, such as the theology of glory versus theol-ogy of the cross, the law and the gospel, and justification by faith. He also focuses on the aspects of Luther that don’t receive as much attention: the significance of intense spiritual trials in sanctification, his contribution to thinking about marriage and family, and the liturgical character of the Christian life.

Thomas Aquinas: Faith, Reason, and Following ChristFrederick Christian Bauerschmidt Review by Jeremiah GreeverIn Thomas Aquinas: Faith, Reason, and Following Christ, Frederick Bauerschmidt portrays Aquinas as both a brilliant theologian and earnest philosopher.

Using the ideologies of faith and reason, Bauerschmidt demonstrates how Aquinas furthered his theology through philosophical reasoning. Drawing primarily from what is arguably Aquinas’ greatest work, Sum-ma Theologica, Bauerschmidt depicts how Aquinas’ existential theolo-gy developed through scientific and philosophical evaluations.

Bauerschmidt claims that Aquinas’ true passion was the faithful preaching of Scripture. Even while writing his many important treatis-es, Aquinas preached on a regular basis. History has proven that Aqui-nas’ love and devotion for the preaching of God’s Word has been benefi-cial throughout the centuries, making Aquinas worth emulating.

towers 9towers.sbts.edu May 2015

The Pastor and Counseling: The Basics of Shepherding Members in Need Jeremy Pierre and Deepak RejuReview by RuthAnne Irvin

The church often struggles to en-courage, comfort, and counsel those

hurting in the pews each Sunday. When pastors do not know how to help, coun-seling is more of a half-hearted attempt to fix someone’s problems instead of pointing them to Christ for healing. In their new book, The Pastor and Coun-seling, Jeremy Pierre and Deepak Reju guide pastors and laymen alike in caring

for hurting people. “Counseling is a tool — just one of the

ministries of the Word among many — to help another person live out wholeheart-ed faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ,” they write.

In the introduction, the authors ex-plain they do not expect the book to an-

swer every counseling question ever posed but rather to better equip pastors, laymen, and teachers with the tools to counsel others.

“The goal, rather, is to give you con-fidence that in the gospel you have the categories you need to navigate the trou-bles of your people,” they write, arguing that a pastor must place his confidence in changing lives in the power of God’s Word. “Your confidence is not in some super-developed counseling technique, or even in yourself, but in God’s power to change people.”

The Pastor and Counseling is divided into three parts: the concept, process, and context of counseling. The book begins

with an exhortation for pastors who serve their people, looking to Scripture for ex-amples of shepherds who fed and loved their sheep well.

“Loving Jesus involves caring for those who are his,” they write. “And car-ing for those who are his will involve death. ... Death to ourselves for the good

of others requires getting involved in their troubles.”

The second chapter of the book ad-dresses where a counselor or pastor is to begin. Pierre and Reju provide three goals in counseling: address the prob-lem, display the relevance of the gospel, and help people grow in Christlikeness. They also encourage people to allow the Lord to work in his time and way, not pushing a certain counseling process on a counselee.

“We should be humbly open to God, not insisting on a particular tool we think is most appropriate,” they write.

They then review the method of coun-seling, which primarily involves listening to the problem, consider the heart re-sponses, and speak the truth in love.

The second part of the book address-es the counseling process, and the third part is about the context of counseling situations.

“Pastors should think of counseling not primarily as an attempt to fix prob-lems, but as an attempt to reorient wor-ship from created things to the Creator by means of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” they write.

Throughout The Pastor and Counsel-ing, Pierre and Reju offer practical and at-tainable goals for counseling. The struc-ture of the 160-page book is helpful for

not only pastors but anyone who wants to know more about counseling and is un-sure where to begin. Pierre and Reju hum-bly offer not themselves but Scripture to both counselees and those who want to help other hurting people in churches. The goal, they write, is to cultivate a coun-seling culture in the local church. And this occurs when a pastor encourages his people to love one another well.

“If you are building a people committed to one another’s spiritual good, they will be more interested in counseling as a tool that can help toward that end.”

(Crossway 2015, $14.99)

REVIEWS

Loving Jesus involves caring for those who are his. And caring for those who are his will involve death. ... Death to ourselves for the good of others requires getting involved in their troubles.

Baptists and War: Essays on Baptist and Military Conflict, 1640s-1990sGordon L. Heath and Michael A.G. HaykinReview by S. Craig Sanders

War is hell.” While Baptists have traditionally agreed with this state-

ment, a new collection of essays examines the history of Baptists and military con-flict with views ranging from pacifism to participation. Baptists and War, edited by Southern Seminary professor Michael A.G. Haykin and McMaster Divinity Col-lege professor Gordon L. Heath, is com-prised of lectures delivered at the fifth

annual Andrew Fuller Conference in 2011. “In our day, it is imperative that seri-

ous thought be given to the way Baptist followers of the Prince of Peace should live in a world increasingly filled with vi-olence and war and rumors of war,” Hay-kin and Heath write in the introduction.

Paul Brewster, who wrote a 2010 bi-ography of Andrew Fuller, contributed an essay on Fuller’s views on war during Britain’s long conflict with Napoleon (1792-1815). Fuller advocated that Christians seek the good of their coun-try, a “qualified patriotism” that per-mitted military participation so long as it did not violate a believer’s conscience or trample on the rights of others. The first loyalty of the Christian, Fuller in-

sisted, is to God.“As members of civil society, Christian

people must sometimes bear arms and otherwise assist their county in the hor-rible scourge of war,” Brewster writes, summarizing Fuller’s position. “True patriotism did not consist of unthinking allegiance or blindness to the faults of one’s native land, but in fervent prayer for an outpouring of God’s mercy on a guilty people.

Most interesting of the remaining es-says — including Baptist responses to the War of 1812, World Wars I and II, and the Cold War — is Nathan Finn’s essay on the Vietnam War, in which he compares Bap-tists’ views on the wars to the parties in the SBC’s conservative resurgence.(Pickwick 2015, $28)


INTERVIEW

Counseling as a lifestylePIERRE DISCUSSES NEW BOOK

By RuthAnne Irvin

EDITOR’S NOTE: In what follows, Jeremy Pierre, dean of students and associate professor of biblical counseling, discusses his new book, The Pastor and Counseling: The Basics of Shepherding Members in Need, with Towers writer RuthAnne Irvin.

RAI: Why is a book like The Pastor and Counseling needed in churches today? Why is it important?JP: We wrote this book for pastors who don’t think of themselves as counselors. Even in ministry, we tend to divide tasks. We wanted to make the case that the public ministry of the Word should be accompanied by a personal ministry of the Word. Your average pas-tor would agree with this, but they lack confidence for what to do and some of the more thorny issues their people deal with.

This book is our attempt to provide pastors with a primer for counseling. We wanted something they could read in an afternoon to get the basics of un-derstanding a person’s experience and saying some-thing biblically helpful to guide them. We think this book is important because even a simple framework goes a long way in boosting a pastor’s confidence for this task.

RAI: In relation to why it is important, why did you write it? JP: We wrote it because we didn’t see anything out there that was quickly digestible as well as theolog-ically driven. The Westminster bookstore adver-tised this book by calling it “a pragmatic guide with theological teeth.” I hadn’t thought of that particular phrase, but I think it describes the book well.

We want pastors to shepherd the church of God well. That’s not an easy task, but it’s certainly a wor-thy one. Part of our burden is that personal ministry requires the suffering of labor. We call it “suffering” not to scare anyone, but to be realistic about the fact that entering into people’s problems with them is not convenient or comfortable, but it is precisely where the glory of Christ shines brightest.

RAI: What makes a church lack theologically sound counseling? JP: A number of things make the church lack in theo-logically sound counseling. They may lack counsel-ing because of a basic traditionalism that relies on the pulpit only, and sees any talk about people’s prob-lems as undesirable and unnecessary. But this is not the personal ministry we see modeled by the Apostle


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Paul as he labored for people. He certainly had a pul-pit ministry, but perhaps what took most of his time was personal.

They may lack theology because they assume that human troubles are so complex that professional psychotherapists need to handle contemporary prob-lems. In other words, they don’t have much confi-dence in theology because their theology is thin. The more we understand who Christ is and the deep ways the Bible describes who we are as people, the more confidence we have that transformation in Christ is a sweeping, life-altering thing, shaping us at the deep-est level of our desires, our beliefs, and our loyalties.

RAI: What is the remedy for churches that do not know what to do in counseling? JP: Read the book. Just kidding.

Training is important for competence in counsel-ing. Church leaders should seek out good programs to understand the task better. But, we have to keep in mind that counseling is not valuable for its own sake. I actually get concerned when a church is too excit-ed about counseling. Counseling should be one tool among many for the personal ministry of the Word. So the most important thing is understanding the process of applying theology to every aspect of life. Church leaders need training to do this. That’s why I teach at a seminary.

RAI: What advice would you give to pastors who want to start a counseling ministry at their church? JP: Pastors have to start by setting a culture of gos-pel dependence. What I mean by that is that they should teach and preach as if people are in daily need of the grace of Christ in the specifics of their experience. It’s one thing to need Jesus for salvation one day far from now as I stand before the judgment seat. It’s another thing to need him for that day as well as this day, when I’m so tempted to understand my life from my preferred categories and my pre-ferred values. Pastors should wake their people up to their own potential for blindness, illicit desire, corrupted motivations.

Only in this way will people understand counsel-ing as a ministry of the church that is not sequestered to a certain category of “problem people.” So start by building a culture.

After that, there are many excellent books you can read on building a counseling ministry.

RAI: How can pastors train their sheep to counsel each other? JP: They’ve got to be trained themselves first. Then

they can repeat what is been modeled for them for their particular context and people. The important thing to remember is that not all models work in ev-ery situation. So pastors should look for key princi-ples that they then must do the hard work of applying in their context.

RAI: What is something you wish you could tell all counseling majors and future pastors? JP: If you’re a counseling major, I would tell you to drink deeply in your systematic theology, biblical exegesis, historical theology, and biblical theology classes. Only by believing in the Bible that is alive and majestic will you be able to make that Bible alive and majestic in the lives of others.

If you’re in another major preparing for pastoral ministry, I would tell you to take counseling courses. We’ve had many pastors tell us after being in minis-try for a number of years that if they could go back, they would have taken more counseling classes. They did not realize that dealing with people’s troubles would be such a large part of their responsibilities.

We’ve been blessed with an excellent faculty in all these departments, so drink deeply.

RAI: Who has influenced you most in your counseling ministry? What did they teach you that you try to teach your students?JP: I’ve been influenced by a number of authors, both inside and outside counseling, since I under-stand counseling as a tool for applying theology to the human experience. So I’ve been influenced by writers who counsel and writers who are think-ing carefully about the process of doing theology. Regarding counseling authors, David Powlison is my primary influence. Anything he writes, I read. I have to fight the urge to pre-agree with him about everything (except baptism). He understands the dynamics of human belief and desire, and he also loves the process of theology. He models with ex-cellence how to bridge the two. In terms of theo-logians, I could mention many. But John Frame is probably most influential, since he understands

theology as the application of God’s Word to all ar-eas of human life. Many aspects of his method are helpful for aiding people to process their experi-ence theologically.

RAI: And how do you see counseling inte-grate with every area of life? What is the best mindset to have a counseling lifestyle? JP: Counseling is just a formalized tool for Godward conversation between two people. The essence is the Godward conversation. Such conversations should be taking place around the dinner table, on car rides, at baseball games. We should constantly be assess-ing our world in ways that see God’s activity as the primary thing going on, not our immediate concerns. I don’t like the phrase “counseling lifestyle.” That seems like a pretty sad life. How about “a lifestyle of thinking theologically about all of life.” Far less catchy, but far more accurate.

Excerpts from The Pastor and Counseling“But the gospel is relevant because it reframes all earth-ly trouble with an eternal perspective. The Word of God exposes the heart in ways nothing else can, surgically

bringing to light what is unhealthy (Heb. 4:12-13) so that what is out of order may be put right (Heb. 12:12-14).”

“If you are building a people committed to one an-other’s spiritual good, they will be more interested in counseling as a tool that can help toward that end.”

“The central goal of the first meeting is to under-stand the person and his primary concerns. Getting to know people — how they respond to life, what they most value, how they relate to others, and so on- is what God has called you to do in reflecting his own concern for them.”

“Pastors should think of counseling not primarily as an attempt to fix problems, but as an attempt to re-orient worship from created things to the Creator by means of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

The more we understand who Christ is and the deep ways the Bible

describes who we are as people, the more confidence we have that

transformation in Christ is a sweeping, life-altering thing, shaping

us at the deepest level of our desires, our beliefs, and our loyalties.

INTERVIEW



‘THE VERY PICTURE OF A BLACKSMITH’: THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF ANDREW FULLERBy Michael A.G. Haykin

Andrew Fuller was an indefatigable and fearless Baptist theologian and minister, an outstanding figure with qualities that make him one of the most attractive figures in Baptist history. Michael A.G. Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality and director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies at Southern Seminary, provides a summary of his life and impact in honor of the bicentennial of his death.

Andrew Fuller was born on Feb. 6, 1754, at Wicken, Cambridgeshire. His parents, Robert Fuller and Philippa Gunton, rented and worked a

succession of dairy farms. When Fuller was 7 years old, his parents moved to the village of Soham and joined a Particular Baptist work in the village. John Eve was the pastor of this small church as well as a hyper-Calvinist — that is, according to Fuller, one who “had little or nothing to say to the unconverted.” The sovereignty of God in salvation was so prominent a theme in English hyper-Calvinist circles that it seriously hampered effective evangelism.

Nevertheless, in the late 1760s, Fuller began to experience strong conviction of sin, which issued in his conversion in November 1769. He was baptized in April 1770 and joined the Soham church. Over the course of the next few years, it became very evident to the church that Fuller possessed definite ministerial gifts. Eve left the church in 1771 for another pastorate. Fuller, who was self-taught in theology and who had been preaching in the church for a couple of years, was formally inducted as pastor on May 3, 1775. The church consisted of 47 members and worshiped in a rented barn.



‘THE GOSPEL WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION’ AND ITS IMPACTFuller’s pastorate at Soham, which lasted until 1782 when he moved to pastor the Baptist church in Kettering, Northamptonshire, was a decisive period for the shaping of his theological outlook. It was during these seven years that he began a lifelong study of the works of Jonathan Edwards, his chief theological mentor after Scripture. Then, it was during his pastorate at Soham that Fuller decisively rejected hyper-Calvinism and drew up a defense of his own theological position in The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation, though the first edition of this book was not published until 1785.

A preliminary draft of The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation was written by 1778 (this first draft is in the Archives of Boyce Centennial Library). Two editions of the work were published in Fuller’s lifetime. A first edition was published in 1785. The second edition, which appeared in 1801, was subtitled “The Duty of Sinners to Believe in Jesus Christ,” which expressed the overall theme of the book. There were substantial differences between the first and the second editions, but the work’s major theme remained unaltered: “faith in Christ is the duty of all men who hear, or have opportunity to hear, the gospel.” This epoch-making book sought to be faithful to the central emphases of historic Calvinism while at the same time attempting to leave preachers with no alternative but to drive home to their hearers the

universal obligations of repentance and faith.With regard to Fuller’s own ministry, the book

was a key factor in determining the shape of that ministry in the years to come. For instance, it led directly to Fuller’s wholehearted involvement in the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society in October 1792 and the subsequent sending of the society’s most famous missionary, William Carey, to India in 1793. Fuller also served as secretary of this society until his death in 1815. The work of the mission consumed an enormous amount of Fuller’s time as he regularly toured the country, represent-ing the mission and raising funds.

Fuller’s commitment to the Baptist Missionary Society was not only rooted in his missionary the-ology but also in his deep friendship with Carey. Fuller later compared the sending of Carey to India as the lowering of him into a deep gold mine. Fuller and a number of close friends had pledged them-selves to “hold the ropes” as long as Carey lived.

MINISTRY AT KETTERINGThe critical role Fuller played in the hyper-Calvinist controversy did not preclude his engaging in other vital areas of theological debate. In 1800, Fuller published The Gospel Its Own Witness, the definitive 18th-century Baptist response to Deism, in particular that of Founding Father Thomas Paine. Famed abolitionist William Wilberforce, who admired Fuller as a theologian and once described him as “the very picture of a blacksmith,” considered it to be the most

important of all of Fuller’s writings. The importance of his theological achievements

was noted during and after his life. Princeton (then the College of New Jersey) and Yale both awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity, though he refused to accept either of them. Not surprisingly, Charles Had-don Spurgeon did not hesitate to describe Fuller as “the greatest theologian” of his century.

But Fuller was far more than a mission secretary and apologist. During his 33 years in pastoral min-istry at Kettering, the membership of the church more than doubled from 88 to 174 and the number of “hearers” was often over a thousand, necessitating several additions to the church building.

His vast correspondence reveals that Fuller was first and foremost a pastor. After Fuller died, there was found among his letters one dated Feb. 8, 1812, which was written to a wayward member of his flock. In it, Fuller lays bare his pastor’s heart when he writes: “When a parent loses ... a child nothing but the recovery of that child can heal the wound. If he could have many other children, that would not do it ... Thus it is with me towards you. Nothing but your return to God and the church can heal the wound.”

Fuller had remarkable stores of physical and mental energy that allowed him to accomplish all that he did. But it was not without cost to his body. In his last 15 years, he was rarely well. Taken seriously ill in September 1814, his health began to seriously decline. By the spring of the following year, he was dying. He preached for the last time at Kettering on April 2, 1815, and died May 7 at the age of 62.

The house at Kettering where the Baptist Missionary Society was formed


ANDREW FULLER, GREAT COMMISSION PASTORAL LEADERSHIP, AND SOUTHERN BAPTISTSBy Nathan A. Finn

Andrew Fuller found himself at the forefront of an evangelical missionary awakening in the

latter two decades of the 18th century. Following a generation marked by doctrinal declension, including the popularity of a spiritually stifling hyper-Calvinism, a growing number of English Particular Baptists were becoming convinced that the Bible calls every generation of believers to intentional evangelism and discipleship among all peoples. They took ownership of the Great Commission for themselves and others soon followed.

Two centuries later, Christianity is truly a global faith. According to the Pew Research Center for Religion & Public Life, around 2 billion people currently claim the name of Christ. In 1910, 82

percent of professing Christians lived in the “Global North” in places such as North America, Europe, Japan, and Australasia. By 2010, over 60 percent of the world’s Christian population lived in the “Global South” of Africa, Asia, and South America. Christianity has “gone viral,” just as Jesus promised it would in Matthew 28:18–20.

Since 1845, Southern Baptists have been vigorous champions of global missions. Currently, around 4,800 full-time missionaries serve through the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. Thousands of churches have sponsored short-term mission trips and hundreds have adopted unreached people groups upon whom they focus their mission efforts. To date, Southern Baptists have given over $2 billion to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for global missions.

Andrew Fuller would be no doubt be pleased that missions-mindedness is at the very center of Southern Baptist identity.

In recent years, Southern Baptists have adopt-ed an initiative called the “Great Commission Re-

surgence” and recommitted ourselves to faithful cooperation for the sake of global disciple-making. Southern Baptists want to be at the center of the work that God is doing to draw unto himself a peo-ple from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Rev. 7:9). This initiative will only succeed as pastors own it for themselves and lead their congregations to em-brace the Great Commission as their mission.

Scholars argue that Fuller is a model for evan-gelical pastoral theology in the Baptist tradition. I would add that he was also a Great Commission pastor. As a missions-minded pastor-theologian, Fuller is a great role model for contemporary Southern Baptist pastors who desire to shepherd their churches toward greater faithfulness in key areas such as evangelism, discipleship, church planting, and global missions.

FULLER’S GREAT COMMISSION PASTORAL THEOLOGYFuller teaches us that Great Commission pastors embody at least three key theological priorities. Ide-


ally, these theological priorities ought to inform ev-ery aspect of the pastor’s faith and practice.

First, Great Commission pastors should be com-mitted to a gospel-centered approach to Christian life and ministry. During Fuller’s lifetime, the gos-pel came under threat from several different direc-tions. Sandemanians argued that belief is intellec-tual assent to the facts of the gospel and rejected the biblical notion that repentance is a vital aspect of saving faith. Antinomians challenged the biblical idea that holiness is a necessary component of the authentic Christian life. Hyper-Calvinists tended toward fatalism in believing and sharing the good

news, while Arminians tended toward man-cen-teredness in defining the content of the good news.

Fuller challenged each of these views in both preaching and print, criticizing them as sub-bib-lical, soul-damaging views that undermine clear gospel proclamation and authentic spiritual flourishing. He preached a robustly evangelical gospel that emphasized universal human sinful-ness, God’s gracious initiative in salvation, the necessity of personal repentance, and a life of increasing conformity to the character of Jesus Christ. In his gospel preaching, Fuller affirmed historic Protestant (and biblical) doctrines such as justification by grace alone through faith alone and Christ’s substitutionary atonement for hu-man sin. There is no Great Commission without

the biblical gospel.Second, and closely related, Fuller reminds us

that Great Commission pastors affirm, defend, and commend sound doctrine. During the so-called “long 18th century” from 1689 to 1815, Great Brit-ain was awash with anti-Christian thought, much of which was influenced by Enlightenment skepti-cism. Deism, which came in a variety of forms, was popular among cultural elites. More troubling, athe-ism and agnosticism were beginning to gain a hear-ing. Socinianism, a system that denied the Trinity, the full deity of Christ, and substitutionary atone-ment, remained popular among those who were not brave enough to embrace outright skepticism.

Even many professing Christians affirmed het-erodox doctrines colored by Enlightenment ratio-nalism. A growing number of both Dissenters and Anglicans rejected the full truthfulness (inerran-cy) of Scripture. Some embraced various forms of universal restoration, which is the belief that all people will ultimately be saved because of the fin-ished work of Christ — including those who nev-er hear the gospel and those who reject outright the good news. Some of Fuller’s fellow Baptists affirmed these heterodoxies, as well as other his-toric “in house” errors such as open communion and open membership. While less grave than the aforementioned errors, Fuller was convinced these latter views undermined a New Testament view of membership and the ordinances.

As with aberrant views of the gospel, Fuller chal-lenged other threats to sound doctrine. He argued for a high view of Scripture, the necessity of belief for salvation, the Trinity, the full deity and human-ity of Jesus Christ, and God’s providential control over all creation. Fuller was unapologetically Bap-tist and commended the historic Baptist view of the church as the closest approximation to New Testa-ment ecclesiology. He understood that a pastor must at times be polemical if he is to shepherd the flock and lead them into greater spiritual maturity and missional faithfulness. Great Commission pastors today should follow his wise example.

Finally, Fuller shows us that Great Commission pastors are committed to cooperative missions. Full-er understood that it is never enough to simply get the gospel right — Christ commands us to get the gospel out. In 1792, Fuller, William Carey, and several other pastor friends founded the Baptist Missionary Soci-ety. Carey himself served as one of the society’s first (and certainly its most famous) missionaries, while Fuller served as the society’s secretary from 1792 until his death in 1815. Fuller traveled all over the British Isles to raise money for missions, preach mis-

Fuller reminds us that Great Commission pastors affirm, defend, and commend sound doctrine. ... He understood that a pastor must at times be polemical if he is to shepherd the flock and lead them into greater spiritual maturity and missional faithfulness. Great Commission pastors today should follow his wise example.


sions sermons, and help ordain young men to serve as missionaries. His example encouraged many oth-ers to do likewise in their own contexts.

Over the course of a generation, the Baptist Missionary Society drew together most Par-ticular Baptists into closer cooperation for the sake of making disciples in their churches, in under-reached corners in the British Isles, and among the unreached peoples of the earth. By 1820, the missionary awakening among the En-glish Baptists had spread to other evangelicals and bore fruit among Baptists and other mis-sions-minded believers throughout the British Isles and North America. Today, missiologists argue that missions is increasingly “from every-where, to everywhere.” This is true in part be-cause Fuller and others stepped out in faith and modeled how to cooperate intentionally and sac-rificially for the sake of the Great Commission. We must do the same today.

A CALL FOR CONTEMPORARY GREAT COMMISSION PASTORSSouthern Baptist pastors should learn from Fuller’s example of Great Commission pastoral faithfulness. Like Fuller, today’s pastors should be committed to a gospel-centered vision that understands that the perfect life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the heart of Christian life and ministry. I believe Fuller would be pleased with the renewed em-phasis on the gospel that is taking place among Southern Baptists and many other evangelicals.

There is no Great Commission faithfulness without gospel faithfulness.

Like Fuller, Southern Baptist pastors should be willing to define, defend, and commend sound doctrine. As was the case with Fuller, ours is an era plagued by numerous threats to the faith once

and for all delivered to the saints. By God’s grace, Southern Baptists have inherited the theological renewal of the Conservative Resurgence in the 1980s and 1990s. However, contemporary Baptist pastors must remain vigilant in our affirmation of biblical truth. Doctrinal drift will always be a

threat — and always takes us in a direction away from biblical faithfulness and a full-throated commitment to the Great Commission.

Like Fuller, contemporary pastors should lead their churches to cooperate with other churches for the sake of the Great Commission. Southern Baptists have ample opportunities to cooper-ate through our associations, state conventions, and the national convention. We can and should give generously — even sacrificially — to the Co-operative Program and our two annual missions offerings. Missions-minded pastors should also lead their churches to find other, more hands-on ways to cooperate with like-minded churches in evangelism, discipleship, mercy ministries, and church planting. Southern Baptists will only be Great Commission Baptists if pastors lead their churches to cooperate with other churches for the purpose of kingdom advance.

I pray that God will show us grace by raising up a generation of Southern Baptist pastors who, like Andrew Fuller before us, model Great Commission pastoral leadership for the glory of God, the health of our churches, and the sake of the nations.

Nathan A. Finn is associate professor of historical theology and Baptist studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and adjunct professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a fellow for the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies and the associate editor of the center’s 16-volume Works of Andrew Fuller, to be published by Walter de Gruyter.

The Andrew Fuller Center was founded in 2007, and is directed

by Michael A.G. Haykin, professor of church history and biblical

spirituality at Southern Seminary. The center’s website is

located at www.andrewfullercenter.org.

`You can follow the center on Twitter @AFCBS.

The first draft of The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation (1778) is housed in Boyce Centennial Library Archives


ANDREW FULLER CENTER FOR BAPTIST STUDIES CARRIES ON THEOLOGIAN’S LEGACYBy Andrew J.W. Smith

The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies aims to promote the study of Baptist history

and theology, bringing the rigorous scholarship and missionary zeal of Andrew Fuller to the contemporary church.

Located on the campus of Southern Seminary, the Andrew Fuller Center hosts a two-day conference each fall devoted to aspects of Baptist life and thought. Last year’s conference celebrated the tricentennial of George Whitefield’s birth and featured scholars such as Thomas Kidd and Lee Gatiss. The theme for the upcoming 2015 conference, held September 15-16, will be “Baptists and Persecution.”

The center’s website maintains a regularly updated blog that provides resources on church history and publishes a newsletter, Kettering, that features articles and book reviews relating to Baptist history and thought. It also publishes its academic journal, Eusebia, twice a year.

The Fuller Center is currently working on the Works of Andrew Fuller project, which will publish a 16-volume critical edition of Fuller’s entire corpus, including works previously unpublished. Walter de Gruyter, a German academic publisher, will print the volumes over the next five years, including annotations with textual variants, and prefaces and headnotes that offer historical and cultural background to Fuller’s writings.

The care in preserving Fuller’s work for the coming generation only underscores the importance of Fuller to the modern missionary movement, which is directly attributable to his influence, said Steve Weaver, a fellow at the Fuller Center. His theological guidance of William Carey had a profound influence on the eventual father of modern missions.

“From a merely human perspective, if Fuller’s theological works had not been written, William Carey would not have gone to India,” Weaver said. “Southern Baptists today continue in the trajectory set by men like Andrew Fuller and William Carey that combines both profound theological commitments and the necessity of proclaiming the Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation to all men everywhere.”

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John Fawcett: PASTOR, POET, PATRON, AND FRIEND

By Chris Fenner

Among the colleagues and contemporaries of Andrew Fuller, Baptists can find much to admire in the

ministry of John Fawcett. From a young age, Fawcett had a love for Scripture, but he became particularly enamored with George Whitefield when the great evangelist passed through Bradford in 1755 and spoke from John 3:14. Fawcett later recalled, “As long as life remains, I shall remember both the text and the sermon.”1 It was the influence of William Crabtree and James Hartley, however, that drew him into the Baptist fold, led him to believer’s baptism in 1758, and shepherded him from a call to ministry in 1760 to his first public sermons in 1763.

His first invitation to preach outside his own congregation was to supply the pulpit at the Baptist church in Wainsgate on Dec. 18, 1763. At first, he was invited back every other week, then regularly enough that he moved there with his wife in May 1764, leading to his formal hiring — by a unanimous vote — and ordination in July 1765. By 1769, the church was experiencing revival:

The place became too small to accommodate the stated hearers, some of whom came regularly many miles every Lord’s Day. A gallery was erected and several other improvements made in the interior of the place of worship.2

His reputation as preacher grew to the extent that he was invited to substitute for the ailing John Gill at Carter Lane Baptist Church in London. Upon Gill’s death, Faw-cett was offered the position. It was a move he seriously considered. In spite of its growth, the church at Wains-gate struggled to provide for his growing family; some in his flock “were well aware that what they had been accus-tomed to raise could not afford an adequate support.”

Part of the furniture and books were sold, and other preparations made for his departure; but his affection for his little flock, which he had so long tended “in the wilderness” would not suffer him to leave them. ... His attachment to them was so deeply fixed, that he con-cluded, at once, to cast himself upon Providence, and live and die with them.3

His near departure for Carter Lane is considered to be the inspiration behind one of Fawcett’s most beloved

hymns, “Blest be the tie that binds.” The hymn, originally extending to six stanzas, is almost always shortened to four, with the fourth becoming a benediction:

When we asunder part,it gives us inward pain;but we shall still be join’d in heart,and hope to meet again.

The fifth stanza builds upon the anticipation of gather-ing again, while the sixth expands this view heavenward to a more perfect reunion:

From sorrow, toil and pain,and sin we shall be free;and perfect love and friendship reignthro’ all eternity.4

This longing for eternal reconciliation is an emotion he would come to know very well in the following years. He lost his son Stephen to smallpox in 1774, his moth-er in 1782, and his daughter Sarah in 1785. These losses made Fawcett a more endearing pastor. In Fawcett, this

“long-continued and heavy domestic affliction” brought about “the tenderest sympathy” towards those in his con-gregation who were also afflicted.5

In 1779-1780, he lost four close friends, including his mentor James Hartley. Fawcett’s elegaic poem to Hartley, “Reign of death,” published together with a funeral sermon by Crabtree, became his first connection to Andrew Fuller. Thirteen years later, Fuller confided: “I have known and loved you ever since I saw your Elegy on dear Mr. Hartley. My heart ... dissolved in reading over that Elegy.” When Fawcett’s collection of hymns was published in 1782, Fuller took particular interest in the one beginning, “Dark was my soul, and dead in sin,” which he said was “full of mournful pleasure.”6

The paths of these two pastors eventually drew closer when Fawcett became “a steady and zealous friend” of the Baptist Missionary Society.7 In 1793, Fawcett published a pamphlet on behalf of the Society, “Considerations rela-tive to the sending of missionaries to propagate the Gos-pel among the Heathens,” which achieved widespread circulation. The two men also served as trustees and con-tributors for The Evangelical Magazine, the profits from which went to charitable causes.

Fawcett’s own ministry continued to thrive. In 1777, a new chapel was built for him in nearby Hebden Bridge. He developed a ministry academy there and trained a new generation of pastors. In 1811, he published a two-volume family Bible with commentary and illustrations. His influ-ence lasts through his support of the spread of the gospel, his voice in Christian congregational song, and his efforts in training the generation of pastors that would follow him.

For more information and resources related to John Fawcett, visit the Archives & Special Collections in the James P. Boyce Centennial Library.

NOTES1. An Account of the Life, Ministry, and Writings of the Late Rev.

John Fawcett (1818), 16.2. Account, 149.3. Account, 173-174.4. Hymns Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship (1782),

188-189.5. Account, 268.6. Account, 295; Hymns 8-10.7. Account, 378.

HISTORY HIGHLIGHT


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Loving, teaching, and living God’s WordSOUTHERN STORY: ROBERT VOGEL

By Mackenzie Miller

From his childhood player piano to the pulpit, Robert Vogel has loved preaching for over 60 years. He can-

not remember a time when he did not know that God had called him into ministry.

“As a first grader, I can remember coming home from church and I would go in my bedroom and I would preach my heart out,” he said. “It probably wasn’t too substantive, but it was passionate.”

After many years of cultivating that love in students, Vogel is retiring from his preaching professorship at Southern Seminary.

Vogel trusted in Christ and was baptized at the age of 6 at the First Baptist Church of Brush, Colorado. From that point forward, there was no doubt in his mind that preaching was what the Lord wanted him to do.

Vogel attended Western Bible Institute in Denver, Colorado. During his time there, he served on a gospel team that would travel to various churches in California. He met his wife at one of the churches on the tour. The following fall, in 1968, Kathy enrolled at Western. They were married in 1971 and have raised three children.

He taught preaching at Western Seminary in Port-land, Oregon, teaching Southern Seminary professors Thomas R. Schreiner and Michael Pohlman during his time there, in addition to working alongside Bruce Ware and Gregg Allison.

“Dr. Vogel not only models great competency in the craft of preaching but the highest level of character,” Pohlman said. “His godliness combined with his gifting make him an extraordinary preacher and teacher. [He is] the man God has used perhaps more than anyone in my life to nurture in me a love for preaching and the

Christ we proclaim.”After 25 years at Western, Vogel

was offered a full-time teaching po-sition at Southern Seminary and his family moved to Louisville, where he has served as the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching since 2003.

“Dr. Vogel is one of the finest preachers I’ve had the privilege to know and hear, but more than that, he’s one of the finest Christian men I’ve known,” Ware said. “He’s gra-cious to a fault, kind and courteous, and has that rare quality of show-ing deep interest in the person to whom he is talking. He is such a gift to Southern Seminary, and in a very personal way, he and Kathy are won-derful gifts to Jodi and me.”

The students, faculty, and camaraderie are three of the many things that have brought joy to Vogel during his time at Southern. A Treatise on the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons by John Albert Broadus was the first book on preaching Vogel ever read, and the opportunity to teach at the school Broadus helped found and that R. Albert Mohler Jr. now leads is a dream come true.

“Dr. Mohler is, in my estimation, without peer as a seminary president and leader of a place like this, and to have the privilege of serving on his team has been the privilege of a lifetime,” he said.

After 37 years of sharing his love of preaching in the classroom, Vogel is retiring from full-time teaching. The everyday activities of the broader field of service will change in degree now, but hopefully not in kind, he said.

He has had a lasting impact on the lives of many through his devotion to loving, teaching, and living God’s Word. “Who could ever forget the deep resonant voice of the invariably cheerful Robert Vogel?” Schrein-er remarked. Vogel still hopes that he will continue to be involved with Southern Seminary.

“More than having a roster of the famous people I could point to, I am more drawn to the fact that there is a huge number of God-called pastors, missionaries, and others in various fields of Christian service who I trust are out there in some of the unsung and unknown places

of this world holding forth the Word of God faithfully,” Vogel said about his former students. “It is the result of a whole faculty investing in those students, each of us in our own ways, subjects, disciplines, and with our life ex-periences and hearts’ passions bleeding over into those students’ lives.”

Vogel seeks to encourage his students and all those pursuing pastoral ministry to employ C.H. Spurgeon’s “self-watch” principle, so that they may prepare well, run well, and finish well. “There will always be pressures to quit or to compromise the truth; therefore, it is crucial that Christians guard their hearts that their hearts would not be hardened, resistant to the Spirit, or infatuated with the cheap pearls that the world has to offer,” he said.

Vogel says he desires to continue serving as long as he has the capability to do so: “I have always wanted to ‘die with my boots on’ and be active in the ministry until God calls me home.”

From preaching in his bedroom at 6 years old to teach-ing seminary students, he has learned that serving in a pastoral role means being completely convinced of the truthfulness of God’s Word and recognizing that both believers and unbelievers need to know it. “To preach is to proclaim Christ,” he says, “admonishing every man and teaching them with all wisdom that all would be presented complete in him.”

There is a huge number of God-called pastors, missionaries, and others in various fields of Christian service who I trust are out there in some of the unsung and unknown places of this world holding forth the Word of God faithfully.

SOUTHERN STORY


Declare His glory among the heathen, His wonders among all people. PS. 96: 3

The overall aim of COAH is to spread the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ across the vast population of people in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union who have been deprived of this Good News for generations.

It is within this context that all of our various programs operate. Programs which provide humanitarian aid or social assistance allow for opportunities to demonstrate Christian love and build bridges and relationships with needy segments of society, creating openings for sharing the gospel.

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We will visit churches, schools and other Christian gatherings or societies upon your request. Usually we are called to make an oral presentation, with or without media, or to set up an information table. We will share our purpose, the way and results of our work. If you are interested, please email me or visit our website to request a presentation.

If you would like copies of our magazines for yourself or for your church, please email:[email protected]

Most relief work is done by volunteers from churches in Eastern Europe, but often while serving others, they are neglected themselves. They pack food packages and give people things that they cannot even afford themselves.

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And it shall come to pass, that every thing

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the rivers shall come, shall live EZEKIEL 47: 9

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Winter 2013


COMMUNITY

Seen at Southern

More than 300 students, faculty, and staff of South-ern Seminary served in the third annual 1937 Proj-ect, April 18. The service project, which is part of Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s Give A Day week of service, commemorates the seminary’s role in the 1937 Great Flood. Volunteers assisted 20 non-profit organizations and ministries in the city this year, and Mayor Greg Fischer thanked the seminary on Twit-ter for its participation in his service initiative. Photo credit: Sarah Mesa


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Read Towers Weekly Towers Weekly is an email publica-tion from the Communications Office at Southern Seminary. It provides an over-view of news, events, and announcements for the Southern Seminary community in the week ahead. You can also find com-plete and updated information at towers.sbts.edu, along with a web version of the monthly Towers magazine publication.

Health and RecMore information on hours and fitness classes are available at sbts.edu/hrc, the front desk or call 897-4720.

Seminary Clinic hoursStaff, students, and their immediate fami-ly members are provided a health mainte-nance program through the clinic, located on the second floor of the campus center, Honeycutt 213. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.More information and price listings are found on the clinic website, www.sbts.edu/clinic.

Free sewing classThe free sewing class led by Barbara Gentry meets from 6 - 7:30 p.m., Mondays in Fuller Room 34. Sewing machines are provided at no cost. No experience is required, but wom-en with experience may also participate. Knitting and crocheting lessons will also be offered. Gentry leads the class assisted by Donna Chancellor. For more information, call Gentry locally at 423-8255.

HRC Cooking ClassesTravel to Greece via your culinary palate with Ruth Bardis and learn how to make a rich assortment of authentic Greek dish-es. Participants will have the opportunity to help create meals, sample a variety of Greek dishes and will be able to purchase a cookbook written by the course instructor.Located in Sampey Kitchen.

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Summer Term Begins

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towers 27towers.sbts.edu May 2015

COMMUNITY

MAY 2015

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2Counsel the Word

11 a.m.

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13 14 15 16

20 21 22 23

27 28 29 30

Boyce College Graduation10 a.m.

Southern Seminary Graduation10 a.m.

HRC Cooking Class7 - 9 p.m. | Sampey Kitchen

HRC Cooking Class7 - 9 p.m. | Sampey Kitchen

Body Blitz12 - 12:45 p.m. | HRC

Body Blitz12 - 12:45 p.m. | HRC

Spin Express (co-ed)12 - 12:45 p.m. | HRC

Spin Express (co-ed)12 - 12:45 p.m. | HRC

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The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary2825 Lexington Road · Louisville, KY 40280

QuestionsWITH

Philip RykenPresident of Wheaton College

What is the value of liberal arts for Christians?

A liberal arts education is designed to give students a broad exposure in science and the humanities and that breadth of ex-posure is very much in keeping with our view of creation — that Jesus Christ is the Creator God — and of the consummation — that all things hold together in Jesus Christ. An education in which we are ex-ploring everything in the created world and everything about the people made in God’s image, I think gives honor to Jesus Christ as Creator and Redeemer.

What works of literature, other than the Bible, have been forma-tive in your life?

I think the works that have been forma-tive in my life are the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings because I was so deeply immersed in those books and they really shaped my understanding of char-acter — what courage is, what honor is, what forgiveness is — so I think those have had the biggest life-shaping influence. Of course, there are lots of great books in theology and other great books that have influenced me, but I think those have had the biggest influence.

What are some of your hobbies?

My main hobby is doing whatever my children are doing. We love to play strat-egy games, so we are a big game-playing family and we love to do things around sports and recreation.

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Towers | May 2015

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