Posts by R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

Statement from R. Albert Mohler Jr. on Sovereign Grace Churches February 15, 2019

As many are aware, I have recently apologized and asked forgiveness for serious errors I made in how I responded to concerns that were raised about Sovereign Grace Churches and CJ Mahaney.

In 2013 I was part of a statement supportive of CJ and dismissive of the allegations and concerns raised regarding SGC’s handling of sexual and domestic abuse claims. This was motivated by several factors. At the time the allegations surfaced, I did request that CJ and the ministry participate in an independent investigation, and I was pointed to the investigation that Covenant Life Church had commissioned. I did not realize until this past year that SGC and its leaders had not participated in that investigation, nor was I equipped to know the shortcomings of how that investigation was conducted. I wrongly believed that an investigation had been done, and relied on that assurance and the court dismissal of the civil suit, along with my personal knowledge of CJ, when I issued my statement of support in 2013. I deeply regret this. I frankly was not equipped to sift through the allegations and did not grasp the situation, and I am responsible for that and for not seeking the counsel of those who were.

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The ‘things revealed’ by God are the only source for Christian knowledge and education, said Mohler at spring convocation February 5, 2019

God’s revelation about himself through Scripture is the primary basis for all Christian knowledge and education, said R. Albert Mohler Jr. at spring convocation for The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Feb. 5.

Mohler, who is president of Southern Seminary, delivered a convocation address titled “The Things Revealed Belong to Us and To Our Children Forever.” Preaching from Deuteronomy 29:29, Mohler said Christians recognize two central tenets about human knowledge, both found in this verse: Human beings cannot know everything (a realm of knowledge called the “secret things” that only God knows), and humans can know and treasure the things God has chosen to disclose to them (called the “things he has revealed” in Deuteronomy).

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Southern Seminary announces an endowed professorship in honor of late professor T. Vaughn Walker February 4, 2019

The president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, R. Albert Mohler Jr., announced Saturday a new endowed chair in honor of the school’s late professor T. Vaughn Walker. Mohler, who made the announcement as part a February 2 funeral service for Walker in Alumni Memorial Chapel, said the seminary will fund a teaching position as the T. Vaughn Walker Professor of Christian Ministry.

Walker, the first African-American to become a full professor at any Southern Baptist seminary and who taught at Southern Seminary for 33 years, died January 26 at age 68. He also graduated from the seminary with a master of divinity degree in 1987.

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Walter Jackson, former ministry professor at Southern Seminary, dies at 85 January 23, 2019

A former professor and three-time alumnus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Walter Jackson, died January 11 at the age of 85. Jackson was on the faculty at Southern Seminary from 1982-1996, during which he served as professor of ministry and director of supervised experience in ministry.

A signatory of the seminary’s confession of faith, the Abstract of Principles, in 1982, Jackson earned a bachelor of arts from the University of Richmond in 1955 before earning his bachelor of divinity (1959), master of theology (1961), and doctor of philosophy in church history (1968) from Southern Seminary. He retired from the school in 1998.

"Walter Jackson was a Christian scholar and a true Christian gentleman, and he served for so many years on the faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, shaping a generation of young ministers,” said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Seminary. “Walter and Jackie were a wonderfully happy couple and it was always an encouragement to be around them. The prayers and thoughts of gratitude from the Southern Seminary family are with Jackie and the Jackson family in these days.”

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Schreiner ‘honored’ to write 1 Corinthians commentary for the Tyndale New Testament series January 17, 2019

Sixty years after noted New Testament scholar Leon Morris wrote his commentary on 1 Corinthians in the Tyndale New Testament Commentary series, Thomas R. Schreiner is contributing his own volume on the book in the same series. Schreiner noted that he was heavily influenced by the late Morris’ work and said he learned much from the Tyndale series as a young Christian. Schreiner is the James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“When I was asked to write in the Tyndale series, I felt very happy. It brought back so many warm and wonderful memories from when I was a young student. [Back then], I asked people, ‘What commentaries should I read to help me understand the Bible?’ They pointed me to the Tyndale series,” Schreiner recalled in an interview. His new commentary is his first contribution to the TNTC.

“I was honored. It was exciting for me to think that young students today are still profiting from this series.”

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Boyce College adds communication program, announces Leverett as its first faculty member January 9, 2019

The bachelor of science in communication promises to prepare theologically trained students for global professional work.

Boyce College today announced a new bachelor of science degree in communication, expanding the professional and ministry preparation available to students of the school. The program will prepare students to be effective communicators in a diverse and complex world, extending the mission of the school to new academic territory, said Matthew J. Hall, dean of Boyce College. Boyce is the undergraduate school of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“As we explored the next stage of Boyce College’s academic development, the degree program that immediately came to the fore was something in the field of communication,” said Hall, noting that the school extensively researched the program’s viability in both general demand for students with skills related to the field of communication and employment outlook for such graduates.

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Local church should be the priority for pastors, says York at Pastor Well event December 17, 2018

God is going to use pastors in many different ways during their ministries, so they need to know intimately the world of the church, said Hershael W. York at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Pastor Well event, December 3-4. York addressed a room of 30 current and future pastors at the event, drawing on his extensive pastoral ministry experience and biblical conviction.

York, who is the dean of the School of Theology at Southern Seminary, encouraged the men to be confident in their calling and commit themselves to the local church. York also serves as the senior pastor at Buck Run Baptist Church in Frankfort, Kentucky, and has taught preaching at Southern since 1997.

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Report discloses history of slavery and racism at Southern Seminary December 12, 2018

The document, commissioned by President R. Albert Mohler Jr., laments ‘a sinful absence of historical curiosity’

Across the United States, historic institutions of higher learning are being called to account for their complicity in the institutionalized racism of American slavery. Slavery was not only tolerated in many schools, but also expressly defended and even praised as divinely ordained. Though this was true of many of the most historic colleges and universities in the nation, it was particularly true in the American South. Theological seminaries were not innocent of this charge, and this included The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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The 208 graduates of Southern Seminary are heralds of a coming kingdom, said Mohler at winter commencement December 7, 2018

Seminary graduates bear witness to the glory of God’s reign promised by the birth of the Messiah at Christmas, said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, at the school’s 222nd commencement exercises, December 7.

During the ceremony in the seminary’s historic Alumni Memorial Chapel, 155 master’s and doctoral students were present to receive their degrees on Friday as members of a 208-person graduating class.

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Garnetta Smith appointed women’s support coordinator December 3, 2018

In light of challenges facing campuses about the place of women in those communities, R. Albert Mohler Jr. has appointed Garnetta Smith to the new position of women’s support coordinator for The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the seminary president announced via official correspondence to the seminary community.

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