Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond to close in 2019

NewsBob Allen  |  November 14, 2018

The Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond – the first free-standing seminary started as an alternative to the six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries during a schism in the late 20th century – is closing its doors at the end of the current academic year.

The Virginia seminary, one of 15 theological institutions that receives funding from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, announced Nov. 13 it will close June 30, 2019, “due to financial pressures.”

Established by vote of the Southern Baptist Alliance – later renamed Alliance of Baptists – in 1989, the seminary opened for classes in the fall of 1991 after the president and dean at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, chose to resign rather than implement restrictive hiring policies of the board of trustees.

Southeastern was the first SBC institution to feel full effect of the “conservative resurgence,” a political campaign launched in 1979 to reverse trends that the movement’s leaders warned would eventually lead the nation’s largest Protestant body to join the ranks of declining mainline denominations they perceived as departing from the fundamentals of Christianity.

Linda Bridges breaks news of BTSR’s closing to alumni. (Photos by Bob Allen)

BTSR opened with a mission statement declaring itself “unmistakably Baptist” but with a commitment to being “racially and gender inclusive with an ecumenical commitment and a global perspective.” Three decades later, 750 graduates serve as pastors, chaplains, missionaries and nonprofit leaders round the world.

President Linda McKinnish Bridges announced the closure at a joint meeting of BTSR alumni and friends and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia held in conjunction with the Nov. 12-13 annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. “To our staff, to our faculty, to our trustees, to our students. both past and current, the first word is gratitude,” Bridges said. “The first word is thanksgiving for a life well lived for almost 30 years.”

With the announcement, BTSR joins a number of theology schools that have closed or cut back during the last two decades as seminaries compete for a shrinking pool of prospective students.

Fuller Theological Seminary, the country’s largest multidenominational seminary, recently announced plans to sell its 70-year-old campus in Pasadena, California, and move to a new location designed to expand online education offerings in the wake of shifting enrollment.

Andover-Newton Theological School, affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ and founded in 1807, sold its campus outside Boston in 2017 and formally affiliated with Yale Divinity School in Connecticut.

Episcopal Divinity School stopped granting degrees in June 2017 and affiliated with Union Theological Seminary in New York City, laying off the entire faculty.

“The first word is thanksgiving for a life well lived for almost 30 years.”

“The past decade has been challenging, as some of you know, for churches, for denominations, for divinity schools,” Bridges said. “Decreased giving from supporting entities and a shrinking population of prospective students have stressed schools financially. As a result, many have been pushed to close, merge or innovate.”

Bridges said BTSR intends to maintain its class schedule through the end of this academic year, and the class of 2019 will receive degrees from BTSR. Seminary staff will help other students transfer credits to another school.

BTSR’s two partners in the Richmond Theological Consortium – Union Presbyterian Seminary and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University – stepped up by offering to help students transfer a maximum number of courses. Trustees are also putting plans in place to address the needs of faculty and staff.

The move affects 55 students who will have to finish their degrees elsewhere, four full-time faculty and three full-time and four part-time staff, according to Beth McMahon, director of communications. Nine students are on track to graduate in 2019.

“I say this from the bottom of my heart, because I was there at the founding of the school, that none of us would have chosen for our students to have to deal with this disruption,” Bridges said. “None of us would have chosen for our faculty and staff to have to deal with this disruption, but we are filled with gratitude and filled with a sense of thanksgiving that the Richmond Theological Consortium partners stand ready to help our students, assist our faculty and staff.”

Corey Walker, dean of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, shares plans to carry on BTSR’s legacy through a new center to foster racial justice.

To that end, BTSR trustees initiated formation of a new Center for Faith, Justice and Reconciliation, a “resource and convening center” focused on racial justice and innovation in the church. While the center will not grant degrees, Bridges said “it will carry forward the vision fully formed in 1991 that animated the beginnings of BTSR.”

“This type of collaboration grew out of a group of sassy, unconventional, provisional board of trustees that in 1989, as they met in the basement of Northminster Baptist Church, said we must do something different for moderate Baptists,” she said. “And they began to carve out a seminary that interestingly enough would not be in Greenville, South Carolina – although Greenville is a good place – would not be in Decatur, would not be in Nashville, but would be in Richmond, Virginia, and would be located in the middle of a place where there would be racial inclusion and ecumenical hospitality.”

Corey Walker, dean of Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, said his school and BTSR were both “born in oppression.” Established by Northern Baptists to aid newly freed slaves following the Civil War, Virginia Union University did not have its first African-American president until 1940.

BTSR has survived past budget challenges. Its original opening set for 1990 was moved back a year to allow time to raise more funds. In 2008 the school eliminated four of its 13 full-time faculty in a cost-cutting move. In 2011 trustees voted to sell the campus purchased in 1996, and in 2013 the seminary relocated to a more affordable site.

Hannah McMahan

Hannah McMahan, executive director of the New Baptist Covenant who accepted an invitation to address the BTSR/CBF luncheon unaware of the impending decision, testified to the seminary’s impact on her own calling as a pastor’s daughter growing up amid restrictions placed on women in ministry by the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1980s.

“God is never without a witness,” McMahan said. “One of my first witnesses was through BTSR. I remember through CBF learning about people who stood up for women, saying that women are not only capable, but women are chosen by God to speak for God to the world.”

BTSR board chair Bill Wilson said the decision to close did not come lightly. “BTSR has been a valuable and trusted source of theological training for women and men, and we are confident that its positive impact will continue to be felt as its graduates serve churches, organizations and other entities for the cause of Christ,” said Wilson, director of the Center for Healthy Churches and a member of the Baptist News Global board of directors.

Bridges, a member of the founding faculty in 1991, looked back with gratitude on the three decades that BTSR has served moderate Baptists.

“Our trustees yesterday had to make a very hard decision, and in the coming days you can be sure that you will find us a bit teary-eyed, lamenting and sad,” she said. “But we all must admit to one another in our vulnerability at this moment there is a host of things to be grateful for and to arch our vision to what God can do through BTSR.”

 

Related opinion:

Letters to the Editor: Throwing in the Towel on BTSR

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
Tags:Corey WalkerCooperative Baptist FellowshipTheological EducationBaptist Theological Seminary at RichmondBTSRLinda McKinnish BridgesSamuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology
More by
Bob Allen
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Peter James Flamming, ‘bridge-buliding’ pastor in Texas and Virginia

      News

    • Religious leaders must step up to support our trans siblings

      Opinion

    • Antisemitic-motivated assaults at record levels

      News

    • Lent, confession and the ‘no true Scotsman’ fallacy

      Opinion


    Curated

    • Amid rise in antisemitism, Yeshiva University focuses on Holocaust education

      Amid rise in antisemitism, Yeshiva University focuses on Holocaust education

    • Is Pope Francis ‘The Only One Who Can Make A Difference’ In Uganda’s Anti-LGBTQ Bills?

      Is Pope Francis ‘The Only One Who Can Make A Difference’ In Uganda’s Anti-LGBTQ Bills?

    • “We Will Fight You for It”: Can Womenpriests Save the Catholic Church?

      “We Will Fight You for It”: Can Womenpriests Save the Catholic Church?

    • Whitney Houston’s family wants to highlight her gospel roots

      Whitney Houston’s family wants to highlight her gospel roots

    Read Next:

    Christian nationalism runs rampant as Christians and cult leaders alike believe Trump was chosen by God

    AnalysisLaura Ellis

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Baptist church jumps into service as reunion point for Covenant School children and parents

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • School shootings: How can we respond to children, parents, teachers and others affected?

      OpinionBrad Schwall

    • Part of former student’s case against Patterson and Southwestern dismissed by judge

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Why we should amplify women in all roles of church leadership

      OpinionBrittany Stillwell

    • Lent, confession and the ‘no true Scotsman’ fallacy

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • What pastors may not say, but really want us to understand

      OpinionMark Tidsworth

    • Religious leaders must step up to support our trans siblings

      OpinionPaul Brandeis Raushenbush

    • Antisemitic-motivated assaults at record levels

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Peter James Flamming, ‘bridge-buliding’ pastor in Texas and Virginia

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New court documents show First Baptist Houston leaders knew of allegations against Pressler in 2004

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • A tragic tale of death on the Mediterranean Sea amid Tunisian and British migrant backlash

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • To increase congregational health, decrease domestic violence

      OpinionGeneece Goertzen-Morrison

    • Movements expand and contract, Black Lives Matter co-founder says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • From a Gen Z perspective, another ‘Jesus Revolution’ seems improbable

      OpinionMallory Challis

    • Trumpism is leading America to the valley of dry bones

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Christian nationalism runs rampant as Christians and cult leaders alike believe Trump was chosen by God

      AnalysisLaura Ellis

    • Dear churches who invite women to preach

      OpinionSarah Boberg

    • ‘He Gets Us’ is feeding information to data analysts and, ultimately, conservative political groups

      AnalysisKristen Thomason

    • Ukrainians join European Baptists to help quake victims in Syria and Turkey

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Two Baptist seminaries among six ‘recommended’ by new Global Methodist Church

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • How dare they publish that list

      OpinionArthur Wright Jr.

    • Advocates for constitutional ban on female ‘pastors’ in SBC publish a list of 170 churches they deem in violation

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Former staff at Knoxville church see a familiar pattern in Northern Seminary’s complaints about Shiell’s leadership

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Egged on by evangelical influence, Ugandan Parliament passes harsh new anti-gay bill

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Baptist church jumps into service as reunion point for Covenant School children and parents

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Part of former student’s case against Patterson and Southwestern dismissed by judge

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Antisemitic-motivated assaults at record levels

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Peter James Flamming, ‘bridge-buliding’ pastor in Texas and Virginia

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New court documents show First Baptist Houston leaders knew of allegations against Pressler in 2004

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • A tragic tale of death on the Mediterranean Sea amid Tunisian and British migrant backlash

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Movements expand and contract, Black Lives Matter co-founder says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ukrainians join European Baptists to help quake victims in Syria and Turkey

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Two Baptist seminaries among six ‘recommended’ by new Global Methodist Church

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Advocates for constitutional ban on female ‘pastors’ in SBC publish a list of 170 churches they deem in violation

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Former staff at Knoxville church see a familiar pattern in Northern Seminary’s complaints about Shiell’s leadership

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Egged on by evangelical influence, Ugandan Parliament passes harsh new anti-gay bill

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Judge’s dismissal of 36 churches’ lawsuit holds implications for other UMC departures

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Barna finds pastors are exhausted and isolated, which could be an opportunity for change

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • One-third of Northern Seminary students express no confidence in trustees

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • He was wrongly put on Death Row and believes you could be too

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Paula Faris makes a case for motherhood

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Sociologists find LGBTQ United Methodists, allies stay in UMC out of hope

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • First American woman appointed a missionary beat the system by funding herself

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Jimmy Carter leads by example one last time

      NewsMallory Challis

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Karen Swallow Prior to leave Southeastern Seminary

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Acting chair of Northern Seminary board resigns in protest of board’s ‘official silence’ about Shiell

      NewsElizabeth Souder

    • Amid rampant antisemitism, most Americans think highly of Jews 

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • School shootings: How can we respond to children, parents, teachers and others affected?

      OpinionBrad Schwall

    • Why we should amplify women in all roles of church leadership

      OpinionBrittany Stillwell

    • Lent, confession and the ‘no true Scotsman’ fallacy

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • What pastors may not say, but really want us to understand

      OpinionMark Tidsworth

    • Religious leaders must step up to support our trans siblings

      OpinionPaul Brandeis Raushenbush

    • To increase congregational health, decrease domestic violence

      OpinionGeneece Goertzen-Morrison

    • From a Gen Z perspective, another ‘Jesus Revolution’ seems improbable

      OpinionMallory Challis

    • Trumpism is leading America to the valley of dry bones

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Dear churches who invite women to preach

      OpinionSarah Boberg

    • How dare they publish that list

      OpinionArthur Wright Jr.

    • ‘Woke’: I don’t think that word means what you say it does

      OpinionRoger Lovette

    • The Russian Orthodox Church is a big loser in the Russian-Ukrainian war

      OpinionAndrey Shirin

    • On the path to immigration justice, it’s time for Biden to change course

      OpinionSalote Soqo

    • If a story is meant to evolve, then so are we

      OpinionKaitlin Curtice

    • Angels among us

      OpinionMary Alice Birdwhistell

    • Let’s stop treating the dignity of women as a secondary issue good Christians can disagree on

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • An Anglican in Babylon

      OpinionLee Enochs

    • Listen to the voices of women

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • Stranger in the Village: James Baldwin and inclusion

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • How can we say thanks? Reflections on the influence of Andrae Crouch

      OpinionDoug Haney

    • The SBC: ‘They are who we thought they were’

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Blowing the whistle on wedding fouls

      OpinionBrad Bull

    • ‘Grandmas make the best banana bread’

      OpinionJustin Cox

    • Troubling the water, a gospel for the ‘unmet’

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • What has happened to suspended UMC Latina bishop?

      OpinionCynthia Astle

    • Amid rise in antisemitism, Yeshiva University focuses on Holocaust education

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Is Pope Francis ‘The Only One Who Can Make A Difference’ In Uganda’s Anti-LGBTQ Bills?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • “We Will Fight You for It”: Can Womenpriests Save the Catholic Church?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Whitney Houston’s family wants to highlight her gospel roots

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pelosi on cleric who barred her from Communion: ‘That’s his problem, not mine’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Criminal or Not, Trump’s Case Is a Moral Test for Christians

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Netanyahu vows more active role in Israel’s judiciary fight following a day of tense protests

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Jimmy Carter’s religious values were never far from his presidency or his policy

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pioneer of gospel music rediscovered in Pittsburgh archives

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • As The King’s College faces closure, scrutiny turns to its backers

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Communicators for Christ: how homeschool debate leagues shaped the rising stars of the Christian right

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Israeli leader halts bill against Christian proselytizing

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Trump’s arrest ‘prediction’ inflames holy war narrative and sanctifies violence — welcome to Trump ’24

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • German prosecutors examined late pope in abuse probe

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Court rehears case to protect Oak Flat, an Apache sacred site in Arizona

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Antisemitism on Twitter has more than doubled since Elon Musk took over the platform – new research

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Israel’s Reform rabbi and legislator on judicial overhaul: ‘It doesn’t look good.’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Israel, Palestinians pledge moves to curb violence ahead of Ramadan

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope promotes ‘humanitarian corridors’ for asylum-seekers

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Tim Keller and Beth Moore, On and Off the Stage

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Alarmed by their country’s political direction, more Israelis are seeking to move abroad

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • 2nd Vatican official says pope OK’d ransom payments for nun

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Across the country, a push to observe Muslim holidays in school calendars

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Far-right Israeli minister finds enemy in JDC, the mainstream American Jewish aid group

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Charter school movement divided over religious Oklahoma proposal

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS