Landrum Leavell II, president emeritus of New Orleans Baptist Seminary, died Sept. 26 in Wichita Falls, Tex. He was 81.
Born in Ripley, Tenn., on Nov. 26, 1926, Leavell was raised in Newnan, Ga., where his father, Leonard O. Leavell, was pastor of the First Baptist Church. On July 28, 1953, he married JoAnn Paris of New Orleans, a graduate of Sophie Newcomb College. He went on to become the president of New Orleans Baptist Seminary, his alma mater, and one of the most influential Southern Baptist leaders of his generation.
Leavell was ordained to the ministry in 1948 and began pastoring a church in Mississippi during his time as a student at New Orleans Seminary.
He earned a B.A. in English from Mercer University, and a B.D. and a Th.D. in New Testament and Greek from NOBTS.
During his 27 years as a pastor, Leavell served at Union Baptist Church in Magnolia, Miss. (1948-51); Crosby Baptist Church in Crosby, Miss. (1951-53); First Baptist Church in Charleston, Miss. (1953-56); First Baptist Church in Gulfport, Miss. (1956-63); and First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, Tex., (1963-75).
Leavell served in many capacities in the Southern Baptist Convention, the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board. He was first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1968 and president of the SBC Pastor’s Conference in 1971. Leavell served as president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas from 1971-73. Since his retirement, Leavell served on the board of trustees at Mississippi College.
Upon his retirement from the seminary, Baptist Community Ministries created an endowed faculty chair in psychology and counseling in Leavell’s honor. Friends also created an endowed faculty chair in New Testament and Greek that bears his name. The city of New Orleans designated a portion of the campus as Leavell Lane in honor of the many contributions made by him and his uncle, Roland Q. Leavell, who served as NOBTS president from 1946-58. Seminary trustees named the Center for Evangelism and Church Growth in Landrum Leavell’s honor as well.
Leavell was elected as president of New Orleans Seminary in January 1975, serving in that role until his retirement Dec. 31, 1994. Leavell served as interim president until Dec. 31, 1995.
During Leavell’s NOBTS presidency, the seminary experienced record growth, outstanding success in fundraising and a significant expansion of its campus.
Leavell believed that the care and preparation of a minister’s family was as important as the preparation of the minister. He enhanced the campus recreation facilities and, with his wife, gave great attention to the needs of student wives. During his 20-year tenure, the seminary became an innovator in theological education while continuing to emphasize evangelism, missions and local church ministry.
NOBTS also established the first center for evangelism and church growth in the Southern Baptist Convention, connecting the resources and expertise of the seminary with needs of local churches throughout the SBC.
A gifted writer, Leavell authored or contributed to 14 books, including “Angels, Angels, Angels” and “Twelve Who Followed Jesus.”
Memorial gifts may be made to New Orleans Baptist Seminary and First Baptist Church, Wichita Falls, Tex.