This is in response to the article entitled “State Leaders Endorse Great Commission Resurgence.” While I agree with the overall tenor of the article and understand the issues raised therein, I do want to address something that was said by Jim Austin. And by the way, I did sign the Great Commission Resurgence declaration.
Mr. Austin takes issue with the statement that theological education starts in the seminaries. He then goes on to say that it should start in the church and continue in our Baptist colleges. I agree; ideally this should be the way that theological education should occur. However, in real life that is not the way that it does occur. Not all, but many of our churches lack the teaching necessary to provide a basis for a theological education.
This is precisely the issue that Dr. Akin and the rest of the professors at Southeastern are trying to remedy. We are far too optimistic about the state of the churches that comprise the SBC. In addition to this, not everyone who enters the ministry goes to a Baptist college. And even if they do, there is no guarantee that they will receive a biblically based theological education.
When I attended one of our state Baptist colleges, the religion department there was so liberal that I came out questioning everything that I ever believed. Thankfully, the religion faculty of that institution is no longer liberal, but that may not be the case in all Baptist colleges. The seminaries, thanks to the conservative resurgence, are in much better shape theologically than some of our Baptist colleges. When the level of teaching is raised in both the church and the colleges, then I will wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Austin.
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