An ecumenical gathering of former Southern Baptist Theological Seminary students is planned for Aug. 15-16 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Theme for the event is “From Seminary to Society: Journeys of Legacy, Loss and Hope.”
The Southern Baptist Convention seminary in Louisville, Ky., has had two distinctively different modern iterations. Before 1993, the school was under the control of Southern Baptist “moderates,” called “liberals” by their conservative, or “fundamentalist” critics, who took over the school as part of the SBC’s “conservative resurgence.”
Roy Honeycutt
President Roy Honeycutt had done everything in his power to stave off a conservative takeover of the oldest of the SBC’s six seminaries but all resistance was lost when he retired and was succeeded by Al Mohler, who reshaped the seminary and made it a bastion for advancing a Baptist form of Calvinism.
Many Southern Seminary alumni protested — some mailing back their diplomas — and to this day both sides speak of the “old Southern” and the “new Southern.”
The August event also will honor one of the beloved professors who left Southern Seminary amid the changes, Bill Leonard. He went on to chair the Religion Department at Samford University and then was founding dean at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. He also is a BNG columnist.
Bill Leonard
The weekend of “reconnection, reflection and renewal” will be hosted by Wake Forest University School of Divinity “to remember a formative era and to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Bill J. Leonard, renowned historian, beloved mentor and visionary educator.”
Organizers say the gathering is “more than a reunion — it is a testimony to generations who lean into hope and ask what it means to live, love and lead with courage, conscience and compassion.”
One of those organizers, Brian Cole, told BNG: “This idea has emerged because I continue to run into SBTS alumni across the country who give thanks for their time at Southern and how the place shaped them. With the recent death of Glenn Hinson, we continue to lose those powerful mentors who shaped Southern and the people who worked and studied there. My hope is that the time in Winston will be a time to give thanks and to express gratitude to the folks who made Southern the place it was, Bill Leonard being only one example among many.”
More information and an online registration form are available here. Registration ends at 5 p.m. Eastern Time Aug 11.