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FORT WORTH—Presiding over his last meeting of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustees, Chairman Hance Dilbeck joined the board in signaling broad agreement with President Paige Patterson’s appeal to stop granting tenure to faculty. The board voted without dissent to bring bylaw revisions before the board next fall that would end new tenure.
Trustee Eddie Miller, in presenting the motion, said “the majority of trustees” of Southwestern “agree in principle with the cessation of tenure for this institution.”
A discussion over specifics was brief, leaving the details to be hashed out next fall. Trustee Dan Brandel asked Dilbeck whether or not previous tenure would be recognized. Bylaws and policies committee chairman Miles F. Boyd quickly added, “We’re not going to violate any contracts we have signed.”
Boyd also stated, “We have worked with Eddie (Miller) on this motion. Our committee met yesterday and they asked me to stand and rise in support of this motion.” Having already begun the assignment, Boyd noted that one other Southern Baptist seminary has no tenure and another has limitations on tenure. He assured the board that all of the input he received from trustees had been discussed in what was the longest meeting of that committee in memory, he said.
“We discussed every one of them I could remember and the committee is unanimous in its support,” Boyd stated.
“It’s premature to talk about anything more than asking to bring this to the board in the fall meeting,” Dilbeck said.
Bart Barber, a trustee from Farmersville, seconded the motion and later spoke in his chapel sermon drawn from Obadiah to the obligation of seminary trustees and faculty. Making application to students, pastors, and church planters who minister in various situations, Barber spoke of lessons to be learned from a study of the betrayal of Edom.
“You have taken on a sacred trust and obligation to the people of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Barber reminded trustees. “Be careful not to betray that,” he said. “I’m glad I don’t have to answer to God like the people who chose to steal institutions away from Baptist people. May God protect us from ever doing anything like that.”
To the faculty and administration, Barber reminded, “Yes, it’s true you’re given a salary, buildings like this to teach in, and Cooperative Program funding that comes here week after week, month after month to help you do what you do. But none of that is the true sacred trust given to you.”
That trust, he said, is primarily from the “moms and dads, pastors and deacons and sweet servants of God—the Sunday School teachers who pour their lives out to young people, led them to the Lord, seeing them baptized, and helped to teach them rudimentary steps to follow.”
“God has called them to ministry and these churches entrust those gems as the future of the church. Their hopes and dreams and prayers they entrust to you that you might equip them and prepare them for the service they have to do,” he emphasized. “Do not betray that trust.”
A new master of theological studies degree (MTS) was approved unanimously, providing the shortest online degree of its type among Southern Baptist seminaries. Featuring courses in Old and New Testament, hermeneutics, church history, Baptist heritage, systematic theology, apologetics and ethics, applications may be made by contacting the admissions office.
“This finally makes it possible for people who are in their churches and preparing for ministry to go ahead and get their degree completely without having to leave the church to which they feel called and to which they’re committed,” explained Mark Leeds, registrar at the seminary. “It makes access more possible for our local churches.”
Care has been taken to ensure that the program remains as rigorous as the coursework required for students in residence on the campus, said Provost Craig Blaising in addressing the academic affairs committee. Courses are predominantly taught by full-time faculty in contrast to some institutions that utilize adjunct professors who often have other full-time jobs.
“One of the strong points of our courses is that we haven’t farmed them out to 100 different adjuncts,” Leeds told the TEXAN. The same can be said of most other coursework delivered online by Southwestern with 92 percent of the online offerings taught by elected and full-time faculty.
The board adopted a $32.9 million budget for 2013-14 with no increase in tuition and fees for educational programs. Seven professors received promotions in keeping with advancement tracks.
A revised statement on ethical conduct was approved without objection—a proactive step in what is considered increased legal vulnerability for religious organizations over sexual misconduct. The board approved the administration’s recommendation, which reads: “Generally, violations of the institution’s ethical conduct policy include, but are not limited to: […] Engaging in a lifestyle contrary to biblical standards including, but not limited to, heterosexual misconduct, homosexual or bisexual behavior, transgenderism or any other form of sexual misconduct.”
Trustees also elected new officers, including Steven M. James, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles, La., as chairman; Miles F. (Mike) Boyd, pastor of Wallace Memorial Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., as vice-chairman; and John S. Brunson, at-large trustee from Houston.
Dilbeck’s tenure on the board began with Patterson’s presidency in 2003. “I’ve seen Dr. and Mrs. Patterson work tirelessly, pouring their lives into this institution for the past decade,” he told the TEXAN as he packed up to make the drive back to Oklahoma City, where he pastors Quail Springs Baptist Church.
He praised the talent of the Pattersons in raising more than $80 million dollars for the seminary over the course of a decade, making it possible to build both “faculty and facilities.”
“Dr. Patterson has created a climate of personal soul winning on campus,” he added. “Last week over 40 people in the community were saved through the witness of students and faculty,” he said, referring to the expansion of local outreach through missions and evangelism practicums as well as the long-running placement of students in churches across North America during spring break.
More than 1,355 professions of faith have been reported since 2010, averaging more than one profession a day, reported David Mills, professor of evangelism. During one five-day January class, 44 professions of faith were reported with another 76 added in the four weeks afterward.
