Maurice Hinson, longest-serving Southern Seminary professor, dies at 84 November 12, 2015

Maurice Hinson, who died Nov. 11 at age 84, taught at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for 58 years.
Maurice Hinson, who died Nov. 11 at age 84, taught at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for 58 years.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (SBTS) — A world-famous pianist and musicologist who was the longest-serving faculty member in the history of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary died Nov. 11 after a battle with cancer. Maurice Hinson, 84, was the senior professor of piano at the seminary and had taught courses for 58 years.

“Maurice Hinson was one of the greatest musicologists ever to serve among Southern Baptists, a world-class scholar whose authority was regularly invoked in the leading conservatories and schools of music around the world,” said Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr., describing Hinson’s “immeasurable” legacy. “He was a wonderful Christian gentleman who combined his love for students with his love for music, having a very rare gift both as a pianist and as one of the great scholars of the piano as an instrument. He will be greatly missed.”

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SBTS prof Smith elected Kentucky Baptists’ first African-American president November 11, 2015

Tom James, left, hands off the president's gavel to Southern Seminary professor Kevin Smith, who was elected the first African-American president in Kentucky Baptist Convention history. Smith is teaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville. (Photo by Robin Cornetet/Kentucky Today)
Tom James, left, hands off the president's gavel to Southern Seminary professor Kevin Smith, who was elected the first African-American president in Kentucky Baptist Convention history. Smith is teaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville. (Photo by Robin Cornetet/Kentucky Today)

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. – The Kentucky Baptist Convention elected a professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as its first African-American president at its annual meeting, Nov. 10.

The election of Kevin Smith, teaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville and assistant professor of Christian preaching at Southern Seminary, comes at a time when Kentucky Baptists are trying to reach out to people of all ethnicities.

The Kentucky Baptist Convention, with 750,000 members, is the state's largest religious organization.

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Southern Seminary faculty and students to present papers at ETS annual meeting

ETS-LogoMore than 60 faculty, students, and alumni of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will present papers or participate in panels at the 67th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, Nov. 17-19, in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I'm thrilled to see once again this year that so many of our students and faculty are heavily involved in ETS," said Jonathan T. Pennington, director of Southern Seminary’s research doctoral program and associate professor New Testament interpretation. “As the director of our Ph.D. program, I am thoroughly committed to engagement with broader scholarship in biblical and theological studies. This is an essential part of what it means to be a confessional scholar.”

Southern Seminary’s 61 presenters outpaces any other institution participating in the annual gathering of evangelical scholars. The theme for this year’s meeting, “Marriage and the Family,” draws attention to the cultural redefinition on issues like marriage, family, sex, and gender identity.

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Southern Seminary to host ‘Night of Valor’ event for military appreciation November 9, 2015

Retired Army Major General Doug Carver, executive director of chaplain services for North American Mission Board
Retired Army Major General Doug Carver, executive director of chaplain services for North American Mission Board

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (SBTS) — In support of Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s second annual “Week of Valor,” The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will host a “Night of Valor” Nov. 11. The free event will provide a forum for biblical principles on Christians in combat and offer spiritual guidance for combat veterans and their families.

“The ‘Night of Valor’ is designed to honor our military personnel and equip pastors to minister to their needs,” said Jim Stitzinger III, director of the seminary’s Bevin Center for Missions Mobilization, which is sponsoring the event. “Our hope is to bring together our military community and present several talks that bring the Word of God to bear on subjects critical to the military mission.”

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Mohler to discuss Carson, Trump controversies on ‘CNN Tonight’ November 6, 2015

Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (SBTS) — R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is scheduled to appear on “CNN Tonight” at 9:20 p.m. ET Friday to discuss controversies surrounding the GOP presidential campaigns of Ben Carson and Donald Trump.

Earlier Friday, Politico ran an article on its website claiming Carson’s campaign admitted the retired neurosurgeon “fabricated” a story about receiving a scholarship to West Point. Carson’s campaign has since rejected some of the article’s claims and other news organizations have questioned Politico’s reporting.

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Bob Russell delivers leadership lecture at Southern Seminary November 5, 2015

Bob Russell, retired pastor of Louisville's Southeast Christian Church, offers leadership principles to more than 200 community leaders gathered for a luncheon event at Southern Seminary.
Bob Russell, former senior pastor of Louisville's Southeast Christian Church, offers leadership principles to more than 200 community leaders gathered for a luncheon event at Southern Seminary.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (SBTS) — Effective leadership admits weaknesses, delegates responsibilities, and serves others, said former megachurch pastor Bob Russell during the fifth annual Duke K. McCall Leadership Lecture at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Nov. 3.

“The church cannot be a pyramid with one guy at the top meeting everyone’s needs or the base can only be so big,” said Russell, former senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville. “It’s got to be a circle where we teach people to minister to each other, serve each other.”

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Southern Seminary donor Matt Bevin elected Kentucky governor November 4, 2015

Kentucky governor-elect Matt Bevin speaking during Southern Seminary's Heritage Week Oct. 9, 2012, prior to the dedication of the Bevin Center for Missions Mobilization.
Kentucky governor-elect Matt Bevin speaking during Southern Seminary's Heritage Week Oct. 9, 2012, prior to the dedication of the Bevin Center for Missions Mobilization.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (SBTS) — Matt Bevin’s landslide victory in Kentucky’s Nov. 3 gubernatorial election is “good news” for the state because of his strong Christian values, said R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in response to the surprise electoral results.

“It’s good news for Kentucky that someone with Matt Bevin’s values has been elected convincingly,” Mohler said. “Matt Bevin is a man of character; he is a Christian who loves the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Bevin, a businessman who has never held political office, won with a nine-point margin over Democratic nominee Jack Conway. He becomes only the second Republican governor for Kentucky in four decades and won despite a barrage of negative ads and polls suggesting he trailed Conway by five points.

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Preaching demands convictional courage, speakers say at Southern Seminary’s Expositors Summit October 30, 2015

H.B. Charles Jr., pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, appeared at Southern Seminary's Expositors Summit for the third consecutive year.
H.B. Charles Jr., pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, appeared at Southern Seminary's Expositors Summit for the third consecutive year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (SBTS) — Churches need expository preachers confident in God’s authority and power to confront complex cultural situations, said speakers during the Oct. 27-29 Expositors Summit at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“The Holy One took our place, the Crucified One rose again, and the Risen One is seated at the right hand of the Father, and the Seated One is coming back again,” said H.B. Charles Jr., pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. “As the culture around us grows more hostile to the truth and so many in the church compromise their convictions to keep up with the times, may God help us to have the courage of our convictions.”

Charles, who appeared at the annual preaching conference for a third consecutive year, examined God’s testimony about Jesus Christ in Acts 2:22-24. He urged attendees to embrace the example of Peter, saying “you will never preach to a crowd as hostile as the crowd Peter preached to on the Day of Pentecost.” Charles said Peter presented God as the chief witness to confirm Jesus’ identity as Christ and Lord.

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Pastors call for racial reconciliation at Expositors Summit Preconference

 

Curtis Woods, associate executive director of convention relations for the Kentucky Baptist Convention, addresses church leaders at the Oct. 26 Expositors Summit Preconference on racial reconciliation.
Curtis Woods, associate executive director of convention relations for the Kentucky Baptist Convention, addresses church leaders at the Oct. 26 Expositors Summit Preconference on racial reconciliation.

All ethnic groups must preach racial reconciliation for there to be change among evangelicals, said speakers during the Expositors Summit Preconference at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Oct. 26.

“Racial reconciliation is not an addendum of the gospel; racial reconciliation is wedded to the gospel,” said Curtis Woods, associate executive director of convention relations for the Kentucky Baptist Convention. “How I see God, how I see others, and how I see myself is only made clear through the lens of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

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Faithfulness not fame should motivate ministry, says Louisville pastor October 29, 2015

Christian pastors and leaders should build their ministries soley upon the foundation of the unmerited grace of the gospel, said West Louisville pastor T.C. Taylor in an Oct. 22 chapel message at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

T.C. Taylor, lead pastor of New Breed Church in Louisville, Kentucky, challenges prospective pastors and ministers to preach the Word humbly and faithfully.
T.C. Taylor, lead pastor of New Breed Church in Louisville, Kentucky, challenges prospective pastors and ministers to preach the Word humbly and faithfully.

Taylor, who is lead pastor of New Breed Church in Louisville, Kentucky, said the Christian minister should be well-grounded in the gospel to avoid pride, self-sufficiency, and worldly ambition that often accompanies pastoral ministry.

“If you’re going to do ministry effectively, you have to serve out of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Taylor. “You have to serve out of the reality that, ‘I’m serving, not to be saved but because I’m saved, and the fact that God saved me has motivated me to want to see many, many, many more people saved and forgiven from their sins. That’s got to be your motivation, because if your motivation is anything else, it’s not going to stick.”

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