By Bob Allen
Owen Strachan, a leading advocate of a theological view that men and women have different but complementary roles in marriage, church and society, has been named to the faculty of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., where he will direct a forthcoming center for theology and culture.
Strachan, until recently an assistant professor in the baccalaureate program at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and director of the seminary’s Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement, joined the sister Southern Baptist Convention-affiliated seminary July 1 as associate professor of Christian theology.
Strachan said July 9 that despite moving to Kansas City he will continue as president of the Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, which has office space on the campus of Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky. As CBMW president and a Patheos blogger, Strachan is a leading proponent of “complementarian” theology, developed in response to concerns about encroachment of secular feminist ideology into church life.
A Maine native with a master’s degree from Southern Seminary and Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Strachan is a contributing writer for The Gospel Coalition, a research fellow of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and a fellow of the Center for Pastor-Theologians.
He is the author of six books, with five more scheduled for release by year end. Strahan said in a press release his new role will allow for maximal writing time, which he regards “the calling of my life.”
Strachan said he is “fired up” about training the next generation of pastor-theologians, a term that describes theological training intentionally connected to pastoral ministry in the local church.
“The days are evil and the world is shaking under our feet, but secularism, Islam and sexualized postmodernism are, in reality, opportunities — gospel opportunities,” he said.
Midwestern Seminary President Jason Allen called Strachan “one of the brightest young minds in the Southern Baptist Convention and the broader evangelical world,” adding, “There is no question he will further strengthen our accomplished faculty.”
Provost Jason Duesing, who moved to Midwestern last summer after more than 10 years at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, compared the faculty gathered since Allen’s election as president in 2012 to the seminary’s hometown team, the Kansas City Royals.
The Royals, defending champions of the American League, at one point had eight players leading the vote for starting positions in next week’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Cincinnati. In the end, four Royals made the starting lineup, the most from any team and a club record.