A New Ministry: SBTS in the Fall

Posted byJMH 27 Comments on A New Ministry: SBTS in the Fall

In God’s great mercy I will be joining the faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the fall. Here’s the story in the Towers Online.

Here’s what I said when I shared this news with our church family at Baptist Church of the Redeemer:

Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

Psalm 139:16 tells us that every day of our lives is written in God’s book before they come to pass. God is sovereign over every day of our lives.

Acts 17:26, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place . . .”

Acts 17:26 is describing nations, and it states that God has determined how long a nation will exist and what its boundaries will be. I think the same is true of individuals: God has determined how long we will live on this earth and what the boundaries of our dwelling place will be.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God has prepared beforehand good works for us to do.

2 Timothy 2:4, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”

2 Timothy 2:4 tells us that Christian ministers are like soldiers. Soldiers receive orders, and they obey, seeking to please their superiors.

The circumstances of our lives have made clear that new orders have been given to me.

It has been a high privilege to serve Southwestern Seminary for the past 5 years. The students have been eager to learn, encouraging to me, and what a joy to see them enter the harvest! The administration has been generous to me, always showing a sincere pastoral love, and God blessed me with dear friends in my faculty colleagues.

It has also been an unexpected, unlooked for joy and privilege to serve at Baptist Church of the Redeemer for the last three years. I never intended to get swept up in a church plant, but God blessed us immensely through this group of families who wanted to plant a church. We are so grateful that we were drawn into this endeavor. We have never been happier at a church than we are at Redeemer. We have learned and continue to learn from our brothers and sisters, and I am spurred on by their godliness and devotion. What a privilege to serve such a people!

I would be a fool to choose to leave.

But it has not ultimately come down to my choice. Months of thinking over and praying through this possibility have made me certain that if The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary invited me to join the faculty, it would be the call of God to leave Houston and move to Louisville to labor in a different section of the Lord’s vineyard.

God has opened this door and has called us to this new ministry. We are sad to leave home, family in Texas, and most of all our church, but at the same time we are excited about what the Lord has for us.

Lord willing, I will take up the post of Associate Professor of Biblical Theology at Southern in the Fall of 2008. I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve in this role. May the Lord prosper his Word!

———–

On a logistical note, if anyone is looking to buy a house in southwest Houston, let’s talk!

27 replies on “A New Ministry: SBTS in the Fall”

  1. Congratulations, Southern is a great seminary. I visited there in April and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am looking at doing either DMin or PhD work there after I receive my MDiv from Central Seminary. You will make a great contribution there.

  5. Jim, this is great news and I’ve passed it along to the guys at SovGrace. It was great to meet you in Lville and are celebrating with you.

    Blessings,

    Tony Reinke

  6. Congratulations, Jim! I’m sad to see you leave Houston, but I trust the Lord has much good in store for you in your time at Southern.

    Now, if only you didn’t compare SBTS to the Yankees…

  7. Blake,

    I think that I have two classes in the fall, both on Tuesday-Thursday. One is Messiah in the OT, and the other is Hermeneutics. I think they’re presently marked “TBA” in the instructor column. One meets right before chapel, the other right after chapel.

    Thanks for your interest!

    JMH

  9. I am pleased to hear that you are going to SBTS, especially to teach Biblical Theology. The Lord has used you to encourage me and I envy those students who will get to hear you teach. Will you keep the blog going?

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  12. Jim, congratulations on your appointment to the faculty of SBTS. I have the privilege of serving Southern as a trustee from KY. I will look forward to meeting you in the fall (d.v.) I pastor Grace Baptist Church in Somerset, KY, about 2 hours southeast of Louisville.

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  18. There’s a new book out that really deals with this whole issue of God’s providence. Its called Institutes of the Christian Religion by some guy named John Calvin! Seriously, you will be missed but I’m happy for you.

  20. I am grateful to have been able to sit under your teaching doc. May the Lord bless your move. I know that your students will be blessed to have you.

    Bobby

  21. Congratulations! I hope the best for you and your family and hope that one day you will either teach an internet course, or come to the satellite campus here in Nashville!

  23. Congratulations again. Thank you for everything you have taught me over the last 5 years and I look forward to seeing how God will use you in the future!

  25. Your students in Houston will miss you. I enjoyed the time sitting under your instruction and would have loved more. I know that you will be a blessing to SBTS.
    Bryan

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