At their annual fall board meeting Monday, the trustees of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary gathered on the Seminary's campus to conduct committee meetings and to express their support of President R. Albert Mohler, Jr. and the institution’s leadership.

During the Plenary Session, Trustee Board Chairman Joshua W. Powell led the trustees to formally adopt a “Resolution of Thanksgiving and Appreciation for R. Albert Mohler, Jr. on the Occasion of His Thirtieth Anniversary as President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.” The resolution thanks God for His sovereign kindness in calling Dr. Mohler as president of Southern Seminary thirty years ago and for keeping him rooted in the Word of God and committed to the mission of Southern Seminary in service to the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Speaking to the significance of Albert Mohler’s time as president, Powell said, “This trustee meeting speaks to the quality of leadership that our seminary has enjoyed for the past thirty years. The blessings of healthy schools, financial strength, and steady growth has positioned Southern to not only thrive but also lead the way in theological education. While we are incredibly thankful for thirty years of faithful leadership, Dr. Mohler has put this school in position to be even stronger in the future. May the Lord continue to bless Southern Seminary!”

President Mohler said about the work the trustees accomplished in their fall meeting, "I am incredibly thankful for this board of trustees. I'm very thankful that in all these years, there's never been a year we had a deficit. There's never been a year that this board has not fulfilled its responsibility. And once again, they did so with both seriousness and joy, and it is a wonderful privilege to work together with this board. Mohler went on to say, “Significant actions were taken to ensure that we perpetuate faithfulness in the future, which is the real responsibility of a governing board. Again, I'm very thankful for the entire board as they approach their task with great seriousness and respond with faithfulness.”

In other business, Jon Austin, Senior Vice President for Institutional Administration, provided his regular Treasurer’s Report and updated the trustees that the institution finished the prior academic year with a significant surplus. Austin’s report highlighted the continued financial strength of the institution and the strong financial stewardship it exercises under the leadership of President Mohler, the governance of the Financial Board, and the support of the Trustees.

Trustees also approved sabbatical leave for Thomas R.  Schreiner, who serves as the James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Professor of Biblical Theology, and Tyler Flatt, who serves as Associate Professor of Humanities at Boyce College.

Following the work sessions, the Trustees gathered with faculty and staff at a banquet in honor of Dr. Mohler and in celebration of his 30 years as President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Since August 1, 1993, President Mohler has served with conviction and faithfulness, restoring the Seminary to its confessional identity and overseeing an unprecedented period of growth. During the banquet, the faculty presented Dr. Mohler with a Resolution of Appreciation and Thanksgiving, expressing their gratitude for and support of his presidency. Southern Seminary is grateful for the opportunity to honor Dr. and Mrs. Mohler for their impact as it looks ahead to the Lord’s continued work through them at Southern Seminary and Boyce College.

While evolving technology propels the world to new and digital frontiers, Southern Seminary confronted the unique questions of missions in a technological age at Future Shock, the 2023 Missions Conference hosted by the Bevin Center for Missions and Mobilization, on September 15. The event brought together experts on missions and technology to tackle the pressing challenges of modern digital tools and platforms reshaping the global missions' landscape.

"The digital world is clearly a world in need of the gospel," said J. Keith McKinley, professor of missions at Southern Seminary and Director of the Bevin Center. "But that world is fraught with dangers and theological/ecclesiological landmines. The dangers include various addictions and physiological changes in our brains, as well as exposure to all manner of evil that I do not care to elucidate. Theological issues of personhood and embodiment are especially critical to our missiology. Whereas most would agree that we should take the gospel into the digital world, things quickly get more complicated when it comes to discipleship, community, and being the church in a virtual realm. This is why we sensed the need to start talking about these issues and the questions we must be thinking about concerning missions in the digital world."

Jason Thacker, professor at Boyce College, author of Following Jesus in a Digital Age (B&H), and editor of The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society (B&H Academic), pointed to four fundamental questions Christians should consider to begin thinking about the intersection of faith, technology, and global outreach.

1. What is technology?

When Thacker asks students this question, they often respond with examples of technology—but it's a more profound philosophical question. "It's not a trick question,” Thacker said. “But it's trying to get to the heart of what these examples of technologies are. Is it merely a tool?" There are two main ways to understand technology, according to Thacker: as a tool and as a formative influence. “We are morally responsible for how we use these tools but technology is always working to form us and our world by driving everything in life to the goal of efficiency.”

2. Is technology neutral?

“Nothing is really neutral,” Thacker said. “Everything is shaping us toward a particular end. The questions we have to ask as Christians are, ‘to what end?’ and ‘to what purpose?’” Christians must be aware of the shaping effect of technology. “When we fail to acknowledge the formative goals of technology, we can fall victim to the dehumanizing results of seeing everything through the lens of efficiency,” Thacker said. As Paul urges Christians to not conform to the world in Romans 12:2, believers should recognize that no technology is ever truly neutral before embracing the latest innovations. “Technology is one of the primary disciplers of our culture,” Thacker said. “You didn’t wake up one day addicted to your smartphone. That is a subtle discipleship shaping us to always want something new and to always feel like we’re missing something.”

3. How can technology be used for the glory of God?

Reading his notes from an iPad, Thacker is not anti-technology. “The question for our age is not if you have a smartphone but how you choose to use your smartphone,” Thacker said. “Many of these companies are at odds with what we believe, but we can use these technologies for the glory of God. We have more access to people than at any time in history and that can be a really good thing.” Thacker said there are countless ways we can build relationships and connect with people in order to share the gospel through the use of technology, but we must remember there are always possible unintended consequences.

4. What are the pitfalls of technology?

“Study after study shows how isolated and disconnected we are as a society,” Thacker said. “The utopian promises often fail and there’s a rapid rise of addiction, misinformation, and belief in the lie that all the information and social connectivity in the world will improve our lives.” Technology, according to Thacker, can also feed into a “hyper-individualism” that leads people to believe they can construct their own reality rather than existing in a world governed by God. “If we can reach more people with the gospel, praise God!” Thacker said. “But what happens when people are addicted to their phones and more comfortable in virtual worlds rather than fellowshipping with embodied human beings?”

“The Gospel message has always been more than an information transfer,” Thacker said. “The gospel message is about a whole person's transformation that takes place in an embodied community. We serve an embodied savior who suffered a real, not spiritual, death and was physically resurrected. Hope is real and is alive.”

“So what do we do and how do we respond?” Thacker asked. “We go therefore and make disciples of all nations, even in a digital age.”

Michael Horton in Heritage Hall Delivery Norton Lecture as Students Look On

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was excited to host distinguished theologian, author, and professor Michael Horton for the 2023 Norton Lecture series, September 12–13. Horton is the J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary and host of the White Horse Inn radio show and podcast.

Horton’s three lectures defended the doctrine of justification in its historical and theological context as “the great exchange.” According to Horton, the Reformation teaching of Solus Christus, or the teaching that salvation is through Christ alone, must stand at the center for a true and liberating understanding of justification.

“Everybody understands God’s righteousness and his punishment for sins in their conscience and by nature,” Horton said. “It’s the gospel that is surprising. It’s the ‘but God’ that interrupts karma. As the Law mediated the Old Covenant, Christ as the new Adam mediates the New Covenant and provides his righteousness for those who believe.”

Horton believes contemporary challenges to the biblical doctrine of justification undermine the sufficient work of Christ by falling into legalism and antinomianism. A particular error Horton corrected was the teaching of the so-called new perspective on Paul, which is commonly associated with James Dunn, E.P Sanders, and N.T. Wright. Contrary to proponents of the new perspective on Paul, the Reformers understood Paul’s teaching on justification correctly as a great exchange where Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the faithful.

“Justification is not about the ethnic problem of inclusion or how to get in and stay in the covenant,” Horton said. “It’s the opposite. The question of the true nature of Israel is provoked by the coming wrath of God, not whether Jews must circumcise Gentiles. The questions they were asking were, 'How must we be saved? Am I among that Israel?”

Therefore, according to Horton, Paul’s concern with legalism was a secondary concern to his main concern—that Christ alone is our salvation. The Reformation doctrines of the solas, which include Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, and to the glory of God alone, all require the central teaching that man is dependent on Christ alone for faith, grace, and true understanding of Scripture.

“Paul totally rejected self-dependence. He saw man as completely depraved and dependent on God. God, through Christ, provided Paul with a salvation that the law could not provide. The prerequisite for that salvation was the quality Abraham had—faith.”

For Horton, the question of justification is not “how we are made right with God?”, but the primary question is “who has been put forward as the mediator for salvation for the world?”

“We can’t add anything to our salvation besides Jesus Christ,” Horton said. “At every moment, we depend on the mercy of Christ, and everything else comes after that."

Horton’s most recent books are Justification: Volume 1 & 2 and Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: God's Perfecting Presence in Creation.

Another book on justification recommended by Horton is Justification: An Introduction by Southern Seminary professor Thomas R. Schreiner.

Paul Akin signs the Abstract of Principles

The opening convocation for the Fall 2023 term of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Boyce College was marked by a spirit of exuberance as the Southern Seminary community gathered in Alumni Memorial Chapel. As the faculty processed in to the opening hymn, the newly restored Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ was on full display.

Albert Mohler, Jr. delivered a commencement address that resonated with gratitude. In his welcoming remarks to the assembly of faculty, students, trustees, and families, he emphasized the profound significance of coming together to consecrate the upcoming semester to the Lord. Mohler’s address connected the activity of Southern Seminary and Boyce College back to the history of Christian faithfulness, even as the institution celebrates the present and looks forward to the future. “We are here for the prophets. We are here for the apostles. We are here for the evangelists and missionaries. We are here for the faithful throughout all the ages,” said Mohler.

Preaching from 1 Corinthians 15:19, Mohler placed emphasis on the cornerstone of Southern Seminary and Boyce College's purpose: the resurrection of Christ. Building upon the Apostle Paul’s argument, Mohler expounded that if not for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the teaching, the studying, the singing, and all else we do would be meaningless. “On the third day, he rose from the dead. That makes all the difference in the world,” said Mohler.

The resurrection of Christ, Mohler affirmed, not only forms the core of Christian belief but also clarifies the stakes. “It’s a matter of life and death.” It is because of what is at stake that Southern Seminary and Boyce College exist as an institution in service to the church. Mohler concluded, “It is our task to raise up preachers and teachers of the word of God, servants of God in a multiplicity of disciplines – an invading force of young Christians going into the world to make a difference not just for time, but for eternity.”

You may watch the entire convocation services here.

During the service, three Southern Seminary and Boyce College professors signed the Abstract of Principles, the seminary’s founding confession of faith: Paul M. Akin, Associate Professor of Christian Missions, Provost, and Senior Vice President for Academic Administration, Kyle D. Claunch, Associate Professor of Christian Theology, and Adam J. Howell, Associate Professor of Old Testament Interpretation.

In signing the Abstract, professors agree to teach its doctrines “without hesitation, mental reservation, nor any private arrangement” with seminary leadership. All faculty sign the abstract before teaching at Southern Seminary and Boyce College, but those elected by the Board of Trustees sign the original document with ink and quill. The public signing of the Abstract of Principles in the original professors' book clarifies the faculty member's full commitment to this confession.

During the event, Mohler introduced four new faculty members: Erin E. Austin, Assistant Professor of Business and Marketing; Roberto A. Carrera, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies; Brent J. Small, Assistant Professor of Business Administration; Jason A. Thacker, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Ethics. These new faculty members are a demonstration of the continued vitality of Southern Seminary and Boyce College.

The opening convocation was also the occasion for the seminary to welcome two new members of its trustee board: Christopher B. Davis of Reisterstown, MD, and D. Oran Woodworth of O Fallon, MO.

Following the convocation ceremony, faculty, trustees, students, and staff joined President Mohler in front of the Boyce Centennial Library to celebrate its reopening to students after a renovation that began in December 2021.

“The library at Southern Seminary has been central to this institution from its founding in 1859. This current building was built in 1959 and has now been updated as a state of the art and stunningly beautiful facility for students and faculty,” said Mohler. “The full opening of the library and dedication will take place in October, but we wanted students and faculty to have access to the facility as the new term opens. I am thankful to be president of an institution that considers books, learning, and serious study to be essential to our task. This was a great day at Southern Seminary and Boyce College.”

The 20th Annual Heritage Classic Golf Tournament ended triumphantly as 108 golfers came together at Big Spring Country Club to raise $249,800 for Southern Seminary and Boyce College student tuition, August 21.

“We could not have had a better kickoff to our new academic year and the fall semester," said Vice President of Institutional Advancement Edward Heinze.

"This year, we celebrated two golfers who have played in all 20 tournaments: Dr. Tim Beougher, Professor of Missions & Evangelism, and Chip Hutchison, Content Editor of Kentucky Today. We also enjoyed celebrating a hole-in-one by one of our long-time Louisville patrons and participants, Dr. Tom Benninger. Most importantly, this year’s tournament helped the students of Southern Seminary and Boyce College prepare for service by raising close to $250,000 for the Southern Fund.”

Participants ranged in their golfing skills from amateur to experienced, but Jonah Twiddy and his family were real winners. Twiddy is a Master of Divinity student at Southern Seminary and received the $5,000 Rick Bordas scholarship.

A longtime friend of Southern Seminary, Bordas had a passion for seeing students trained to take the gospel to local churches and to international mission fields. Upon his death in 2013, his family and friends established a scholarship fund in his name.

Twiddy’s wife Leah and one-year-old daughter Dakota stood with him as he accepted the scholarship. The Twiddys plan to serve in overseas missions as church planters—fulfilling the vision of Bordas and the mission of Southern Seminary.

“Before we take God's word to others, we wanted to know it better ourselves,” Twiddy said. “The Lord introduced Southern Seminary to us as a place where we could pursue that leading while preparing to be sent out. Southern has been exactly what we hoped it would be. Our knowledge of God and his Word is growing daily, and we regularly stop to thank God for all of the rich blessings He has brought into our lives during this season."

President R. Albert Mohler Jr. thanked the participants for their commitment to the work of Southern Seminary and Boyce College.

“God is doing something absolutely remarkable at Southern Seminary and Boyce College,” Mohler said. “It will make a difference on the mission field and in the pulpits of our churches and places we will never go, places we’ll never see. That is absolutely glorious. What a great way to spend a day.”

Plans are already underway for the 21st Annual Heritage Classic Golf Tournament, with organizers hoping to build on this year's success and continue making a positive impact for the global church. As the tradition carries on, golfers and supporters eagerly anticipate the chance to once again tee off for “the purpose of gospel ministry,” Heinze said.

In this year’s SBTS Alumni & Friends Academy, Rob Plummer, Adam Howell, and several other professors offered guidance to over 200 ministry leaders trying to get back on track in their biblical language skills at the Greek & Hebrew for Life conference, July 28–29.

With the intense duties and demands of ministry, many leaders can slip in their comprehension and utilization of the biblical languages, says Rob Plummer, Professor of Biblical Studies at Southern Seminary. The purpose of the conference was to help pastors and other leaders retain what they previously learned in the classroom.

“We want to keep pastors and other Christians reading their Hebrew Old Testaments and Greek New Testaments for their entire lives,” Plummer said. “We had a variety of fascinating and practical breakout sessions—everything from how to read ancient papyri text to how to use Greek responsibly in weekly sermon preparation.”

Most of the conference attendees were alumni or current students at Southern Seminary and Boyce College. But many guests, including participants from Japan and New Zealand, connected with the conference through the Daily Dose of Greek, Daily Dose of Hebrew, Daily Dose of Aramaic, and Daily Dose of Latin.

While many attendees were Southern Baptists, the conference included Presbyterians, Lutherans, Assembly of God, and Evangelical Free church representatives who all came to Southern to experience the world-class teaching and breakout sessions in the biblical languages.

For Plummer, Southern Seminary’s decision to continue including Greek and Hebrew in the curriculum and emphasizing the languages in day-to-day ministry represents Southern Seminary’s larger commitment to the final authority of Scripture. While other institutions are dropping Greek and Hebrew requirements, Plummer and Southern Seminary continue to stress the necessity and practicality of reading the Bible in its original languages beyond the classroom.

“If we value the Bible as the Word of God, then we will value the biblical languages,” Plummer said. “If it doesn't matter what the Bible says, then studying the biblical languages is a waste of time. If, however, we continue to uphold the Scripture as our final authority in doctrine and ethics, we have a joyful obligation to study the biblical languages. Of course, some pastors around the world will never have the opportunity to study Greek and Hebrew, and the Lord can still use them mightily. But, if we have this opportunity, how can we pass it up?”

In a 2021 Faculty Address, Plummer presented a systematic case for why seminaries must include biblical languages for ministerial training.

“I confess that I find it embarrassing that evangelical seminaries are reducing biblical languages to an optional part of their MDiv curriculum,” Plummer said. “We’re sending soldiers into battle with muskets and powder horns instead of powerful and accurate weaponry.”

In a world where compassion and guidance are needed more than ever, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's commitment to training Chaplains is paving the way for individuals to make a lasting impact in the lives of others.

This fall, Ken Lovett (PhD, SBTS) is teaching a brand-new chaplaincy course (35660) designed to equip leaders to serve in hospitals, firehouses, the military, and wherever else they are called.

“Jesus demonstrated loving and caring for people, especially among those outside the church. That is where a chaplain operates.” Lovett said. “Chaplains have an opportunity to be there, in the actual hospital room, firehouse, or foxhole, when something terrible happens. And they get to be the face of God's loving-kindness to people who need him but might not ever enter the doors of a church. There are a lot of "foxholes" in places all over the world and in every town in America. The chaplaincy is an ideal way to serve, especially in a bi-vocational situation while serving as a student or pastor.”

Lovett earned his PhD (2019) from Southern Seminary and is currently a Chaplain in the Indiana National Guard. He believes Southern Seminary is the ideal place for chaplaincy training because of the numerous opportunities to serve around Louisville, the dedication of the faculty, and the fruitful ministry of Southern Seminary graduates serving as Chaplains.

“When it comes to choosing a seminary to train as a Chaplain, you can't beat the location of Southern Seminary, which is close to both Indiana and Kentucky National Guards, Ft. Knox, and Ft. Campbell,” Lovett said. “Add to that the vast opportunities with the police, hospitals, a huge VA hospital, and corporate situations like Humana, UPS, and Churchill Downs. Southern Seminary also has excellent faculty and leadership in biblical counseling, which is immensely helpful for the training of Chaplains.”

Southern Seminary graduates are reaching the highest ranks as Chaplains worldwide, such as the Air Force Chief of Chaplains, Randy Kitchens (MDiv, 1989), and most recently, Chaplain Scott Wells (2008), who was named the new State Chaplain for the Indiana National Guard earlier this year.

As global tensions rise, so will the need for biblically grounded and theologically trained Chaplains in all areas of life.

“The growing threats of secularism, social unrest, and international conflict will only increase the need for Chaplains,” Lovett said. “But with tensions high around the globe, we need to be equipping Chaplains for future situations that haven't yet broken the horizon.”

For more information about Southern Seminary degree programs and chaplaincy, visit www.sbts.edu/admissions. Current students can register for the new chaplaincy course (35660) at my.sbts.edu.

When John D. Wilsey met David Puckett as a seminary student in 1996, he never expected Norton 234 to be his own office one day. Puckett taught church history at Southern Seminary for seventeen years and his mentorship and friendship helped spur a young Wilsey to earn a PhD and begin his own seminary teaching career.

Now occupying the same desk as one of his ministry heroes, Wilsey teaches Boyce College and Southern Seminary students modern church history, history of Western thought, American patriotism and theology, history of the Black church, and American religious history. He’s also an expert on Christian nationalism, a topic that has engulfed Christians since 2016 but has historical roots.

Following the celebration of American Independence Day, Wilsey shared his expertise and pastoral wisdom to help Christian ministers assess competing visions of national identity—a topic he will address more fully in an upcoming book. He also encouraged aspiring college, graduate, and doctoral students to study American church history to serve the church.

Here are Wilsey’s answers to three questions Christians face today.

Should patriotism matter to Christians?

Patriotism matters a great deal. Patriotism is, to put it simply, love for country, for home, for one's own people and heritage. Love for country, like all loves, belongs on a hierarchy. Love for God is the highest love. Love for family is second to love for God. Love for country fits on that hierarchy of loves after love for God and family. Love for the gospel and for the church is part of our love of God. But love of country, while it is lower on the hierarchy of loves, does not war against love for God or family. Love for country fits coherently in a rightly ordered set of loves, and Christian leaders should model it, teach it, and extol it.

Is it necessary for church leaders to study the American founding?

Yes, because the American founding represents one significant part of who we are as Americans. The American experiment is, in prominent respects, an experiment in religious freedom. As leaders in the church—pastors, teachers, missionaries, counselors, and parents—we have the privilege of exercising religious freedom every day as we model the truth of the gospel through precept and example. People who know history know that things were not always as they are. The American founding is a landmark event in the history of the church, and to ignore it is to take religious freedom for granted in some way.

Patriotism reflects gratitude to God for the good gifts He has given us. We hope in the mercy of God in all things and recognize that every good and perfect gift flows from him (James 1:17). Our country, though by every measure not perfect, is a good gift that the Father has bestowed on us. Central to who we are as followers of Christ is the knowledge that life is worth living, that the human person is of inestimable value, and that gratitude expresses dependence on God and his everlasting mercy. Allowing us to be beneficiaries of such a bountiful land and broad freedoms to raise our families, fulfill our callings, and grow in spirit, intellect, and body is a tremendous blessing from the Lord. Patriotism is not just acceptable for a Christian. I think it is a Christian duty.

Why should students consider further study in American church history at Southern Seminary?

The purpose of seminary is primarily for the training of pastors, counselors, missionaries, and teachers for the benefit of the church. It is also aimed at training scholars who seek to edify the church through research and writing. The fields of biblical studies and theology are the most intuitively obvious fields for further study in seminary, but history is often overlooked. This is a great tragedy because it is a liberal inclination to be contemptuous or dismissive of history. But history is central to our faith because our faith is rooted in history. And the study of American history is so needed among rising Christian scholars because the advancement of the gospel is central in American historical studies. So, if you are interested in studying American history on the doctoral level, Southern is the place to do it!

Wilsey’s books include One Nation Under God: An Evangelical Critique of Christian America, American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea, an abridgment of Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic 1840 work, Democracy in America: A New Abridgment for Students, and God’s Cold Warrior: The Life and Faith of John Foster Dulles.

He is an elder at Kenwood Baptist Church at Victory Memorial in Louisville. His wife Mandy and their two daughters, Caroline and Sally, bring joy to him each day.

For more information on earning a PhD in church history from Southern Seminary, visit here. Find all other admissions information here.

President R. Albert Mohler, Jr. has named Roberto Carrera as Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies. Carrera brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to enhance the seminary's academic community and will play a vital role in shaping the next generation of Christian leaders by equipping students with a comprehensive understanding of the Bible’s historical, cultural, and theological contexts.

"I am excited to start this new journey at Southern Seminary,” Carrera said. “Southern has been my home for many years, and I am grateful to the Lord that I now get to give back from all I have received in my theological education. I want to train men and women to read Scripture faithfully and have complete confidence in the totality of the inspired Word of God. "

Completing his MDiv in 2016 and PhD in Old Testament under Peter Gentry in 2022, Carrera has worked for Online Hispanic Program since December 2019 and was named director in 2021. He will continue as Director of the Online Hispanic Program while joining the Southern faculty. Carrera has also served as an adjunct faculty member since 2019.

The Dean of the School of Theology, Hershael York, is delighted to welcome Carrera as a new member of the faculty and expressed his joy that future students will have the opportunity to learn from him.

"Roberto Carrera is further evidence of God's continued favor on Southern Seminary," said York. "Uniquely gifted and a brilliant teacher, Roberto's classroom is ablaze with thoughtful engagement, intellectual challenge, and a deep commitment to biblical truth. I am excited and grateful that the next generation of Southern Seminary students will be shaped by such a promising godly scholar."

Paul Akin, Provost at Southern Seminary, is thrilled to see Carrera join the faculty and praises his academic and missional leadership.

“Roberto Carrera loves God, loves the Bible, and is committed to the Great Commission,” Akin said. “I have traveled with him to Latin America and have seen firsthand how his leadership through our Online Hispanic Program is bearing fruit in the Spanish-speaking world. I am excited to see how the Lord will use him to help raise up a generation of faithful pastors, missionaries, and leaders for the church across Latin and South America and beyond.”

Hispanic Online collaborates with institutions and leaders by providing theological education in Latin America. With high-quality dubbing and contextualization, students can learn in their own language with the quality and depth that characterizes Southern Seminary professors. In 2023, Hispanic Online launched a new fully-Spanish doctoral program.

For more information on Spanish degree programs and admissions, visit SBTS.edu/hispanos

During the President's Report for The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting, President R. Albert Mohler, Jr. received heartfelt appreciation for his thirty years of dedicated service. Josh Powell, the current Chairman of the Southern Seminary Trustee Board, expressed deep gratitude and announced that in December 2023, President Mohler will become the longest-serving president in the history of The Southern Baptist Seminary and the longest-serving leader of any SBC entity.

Speaking on behalf of the board, Powell stated, "We want to express our gratitude for thirty years of unwavering leadership, commitment to biblical truth, and unwavering adherence to our confessional standards." The crowd responded with a standing ovation, underscoring their deep respect and admiration for President Mohler.

President Mohler initiated his report by extending his gratitude to the Southern Baptist community for the privilege of serving at Southern Seminary for three decades. He highlighted how the Lord has done more at Southern Seminary than he could have ever imagined as the seminary continues to have unprecedented enrollment and a secure financial future the remarkable progress the seminary has made under his leadership, including unprecedented enrollment and a strong financial foundation.

Drawing inspiration from 2 Timothy 2:15, President Mohler urged the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention to remain steadfast in their commitment to faithfully handle the Word of truth. He emphasized the significance of nurturing the next generation of pastors, missionaries, and gospel ministers within their congregations. With passion, President Mohler declared, "Let us not forget that within your church right now, there may be a young boy whom God will call to preach. I pray that he, like myself, will be nurtured by faithful Southern Baptists to love the Word of God, embrace the gospel, and encounter the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ."

President Mohler's report encapsulated his deep appreciation for the Southern Baptist Convention and encouraged pastors and congregants alike to remain faithful in handling the Word of God as they seek to invest in the next generation of leaders.