Yesterday the Board of Trustees of SWBTS elected Dr. Adam W. Greenway as the ninth president of the seminary (See coverage in Baptist Press here).
The reception of the news has been overwhelmingly positive both across the campus and across the convention. There have, however, been a few expressions of concern. I write today to address them briefly. Although worded in different ways (Southern takeover, Mohler takeover, Calvinistic takeover, etc.), the expressions of concern yield themselves, I believe to analysis that distills them into two basic loci of angst: First, does Greenway’s election at SWBTS represent a departure from the historic character of SWBTS in regard to the school’s mission and theology. Second, does Greenway’s election serve anyone else’s interests more than it serves the interests of SWBTS.
Let me say first of all that I went into this process with a clear procedure in mind for myself: Before I even knew who our candidate would be, I resolved that ANY candidate would be a no-vote from me until he earned my yes-vote. I can say with a clear conscience that Dr. Greenway and our new Provost, Dr. Randy Stinson, received at my hand the most thorough vetting I knew how to give. I asked all of the questions: the polite ones and the rude ones, the sophisticated ones and the blunt ones. If I did not offend them at any point in the past two weeks, it is because they are gracious, not because I didn’t try. 🙂
Who Is Served by Adam Greenway’s Election
Although none of us as of yet can know (less than 24 hours into his administration!), I am hopeful that his election will serve the Kingdom of God, the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I believe that he will be successful in attracting new students. I believe that he will be successful in raising funds. I believe that he and Dr. Stinson will successfully build the faculty—and by “build the faculty” I mean build faculty morale, congeniality, effectiveness, and spiritual maturity.
I have served for a decade on the board of our seminary, and nobody there is serving anyone’s interests other than those of Southwestern. We would not have risked what we have risked and we would not have subjected ourselves to what we have endured for any other reason. That this board has given such overwhelming and enthusiastic support of Dr. Greenway is evidence that he has convinced us that his election serves the interests of SWBTS above all others.
Whither the SWBTS Heritage?
Dr. Greenway’s remarks at the post-election press conference should answer this question far better than I can. He spoke of the heritage of Southwestern in terms that should resonate clearly with all true Southwesterners. He spoke of Carroll and Scarborough, Conner and Garrett, Baker and Estep, Fish and McDowell, Naylor and Vaughan and Tolar. He spoke of a national seminary located in Fort Worth, Texas, that spans the globe and leads the convention.
If he can mobilize the ideas of these men and vector it toward that vision, then I think we can safely say that the future of SWBTS will align well with her heritage.
For my part, I am excited to watch and see what happens.
Conclusion
So, brothers and sisters in the SBC, if you have wondered whether those concerns that I mentioned at the top of this article are valid, permit me to address two groups of us who sometimes harbor such concerns:
There are those of us who leap to such conclusions because, deep down inside, we enjoy doing so. If that is the nature of your heart, then I cannot help you.
There are those of us who fret over such possibilities because our love for SWBTS and our gratitude for what the Lord did for us there is so profoundly deep and has tendrils that reach so inextricably into all that we are and all that we do. We feel a solemn duty and precious calling to protect her from harm. If that is the nature of your heart, then I can honestly say before God that I feel exactly the same way. I can say that I left no question unasked and no possibility unexplored. I can say that I am hopeful today that God has good things in store for SWBTS under the leadership of Dr. Adam W. Greenway.
What about Dilday?
The list isn’t presidents, it seems to me to be notable scholars and does include some presidents, but not all.
Bart, the trustees did well in this election.
True. I was not listing presidents. I did not exclude Dilday on purpose.
#MissedOpportunity
One hopes that his term will, in the overall history of the school, prove to have been a sui generis.
Bart, Thank you for your hard work and your insights here. I, too, have felt that profound “gratitude for what the Lord did for us there”. I’m praying God’s blessings on SWBTS in the years ahead.
Thank you, Doug. Together we will pray.
Dear Bart,
Thank you for your article and I do wish Dr. Greenway a fruitful presidency at SWBTS!
However, I am a little puzzled due to the initial promises.
Per Baptist Press articles, Dr. Greenway stated that “I have no intention of trying to come and trying to create a miniaturized version of Southern or a caricature of Southern here” …and…”I do not believe that Southwestern needs to import another institution’s legacy. We simply need to reinvigorate and retell the great legacy and history of this seminary for a new generation.”
Yet, the first major decision and first person hired by our new president is the provost and senior vice president for academic administration from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.
Can you help me understand that in light of the promise?
Blessings!
Seriously? Southwestern’s trustees have just picked two individuals with a genuine academic background in theological education from one of the other six schools that the same denomination operates and you’re questioning whether the new president can be true to the promise he made?
Individuals like Dr.s Greenway and Stinson are far more qualified, and have much more insight and experience than some previous choices have been, when the only experience the candidate posessed was a few years of running a tiny, broken down Bible college.
Dr. Greenway has a tremendous level of confidence in Dr. Stinson. It’s not surprising to me that he would choose for a role like this someone whom he has already seen working in this role.
Dr. Stinson’s CV lists voluminous research and writing in the area of gender roles and family. His beliefs in the areas of his expertise line up perfectly with the convictions of SWBTS. He has never, from what I can find in his body of published work, taken any interest in researching, writing, or speaking about soteriology at all.
I have heard people refer to him as the “faculty whisperer.” He is gifted, my research suggests, at building strong morale among faculty and facilitating collegial decision-making.
Dr. Stinson was approved and recommended unanimously by our Academic Administration Committee. That committee consists of myself, Kie Bowman, Wayne Dickard, Guy Grimes, Jonathan Leeman, Eddie Miller, Herb Reavis Jr., Hershel Smith, and Calvin Wittman. We conducted a two-hour interview of Dr. Stinson after receiving written answers to more than 60 questions, some of which consisted of as many as five subparts.
The committee I listed above is very diverse and independently minded. It includes, you might note, both of the trustees who spoke—on opposite sides of one another—at the 2018 SBC Annual Meeting. Nobody has issued rubber stamps to this group of trustees. And after taking Dr. Stinson through that very thorough examination (I reiterate) the committee voted unanimously to recommend his election as Provost.
So, Ron, I would suggest that nothing in Dr. Stinson’s entire body of academic work suggests that he would be a good choice to Calvinize SWBTS, and that nothing in the makeup of the SWBTS Academic Administration Committee nor the nature of the grilling that we gave him suggests that we would be a party to any such effort.
I think SBTS is pretty Calvinistic (understatement alert), but I don’t think there’s a human being on the planet who thinks Randy Stinson is the reason why SBTS is pretty Calvinistic. Wasn’t that something that had been accomplished before Dr. Stinson took office there? Doesn’t Dr. Mohler pretty much have that task covered by his own influence? I think it is more accurate to suggest that Dr. Stinson’s contributions to the SBTS faculty lie in other areas (as I have indicated above). If the faculty loves working for him and if they come together as a team like never before, then I’ll be happy for him to pursue the Stinson theological agenda—to bring to SWBTS the emphases upon healthy families and biblical gender roles that he has pursued at SBTS.
Bart,
Thank you for addressing my question – and in detail. Thank you for the background and the assurances.
Blessings!
You are most welcome, sir. Any time!
It is a new day at SWBTS
I am so glad it is a new day at SWBTS. My years were an incredibly formative time in my life. That campus is a very very special place. I pray the seminary will be fully restored, repaired and healed. Praying for faculty and leadership like I was blessed to have from 1997-2001 (Ken Hemphill, Bruce Corley, Curtis Vaughn, CW Brister, Calvin Miller, Leon McBeth, James Spivey, Harry Hunt, Bruce Leafblad, etc) where enrollment was 2/3 greater than it is today. Praying for God’s blessings upon Adam Greenway. Such a prince of a guy. Very excited he is there.
Dr. Bart Barber,
It is my firm conviction, having had the opportunity to get to know Dr. Adam Greenway as a fellow Kentucky Baptist and later as a personal friend, that he will lead SWBTS with biblical conviction and integrity. I believe Adam Greenway to be a Top Drawer type of guy. When I grow up, I hope to be like Adam. Seriously, he is the genuine article.
In addition, he can preach the paint off the wall. He is a PhD. who preaches like a “sawdust trail” evangelist and gives an invitation for men, women, boys, and girls to come to Jesus.
Dr. Barber, the election by the trustees of SWBTS of Dr. Adam Greenway as president is a good thing for the institution specifically and for the SBC as a whole. I commend you, Bart, and your fellow trustees for a job well done.