Faculty-authored book launches series on Baptist theology

A recently published book edited by Southwestern professor Deron Biles has launched a new series entitled “A Treasury of Baptist Theology.” The series’ editors are Southwestern President Paige Patterson and Midwestern Seminary Provost Jason Duesing. The series, published by B&H Academic, will feature the work of Baptist theologians and church leaders on a wide range of topics written from a Baptist perspective.

“Baptists have always been grateful for the contributions of great Christians from every era,” says Patterson, who envisioned the series. “Where would we be without Athanasius’s The Incarnation of the Son of God, Augustine’s Confessions, or the multiplied books of the Reformers who laid the foundation for the Reformation? And as much as we look forward to the return of Christ and a true ecumenism, adjudicated by none other than the Lord from heaven, we must until then be faithful in the expression of the truth as we know it. ‘The Treasury of Baptist Theology’ represents an effort to do exactly that.”

Patterson says his prayer for readers is that God will use this series to “encourage faithfulness from all in delivering the New Testament witness to our own era.” He continues, “The concept of a believer’s church—that is, a church made up of only twice-born men and women who have witnessed their faith through the covenant of believer’s baptism and who have committed themselves wholly to the fulfillment of the Great Commission as given by our Lord in Matthew 28:18-20—will hopefully incline the hearts of all to the Savior and to His program of witness to the nations.”

The series’ first book, Pastoral Ministry: The Ministry of a Shepherd, was released earlier this month and examines pastoral ministry through the lens of Ezekiel 34, wherein God likens the role of a pastor to that of a shepherd. The book’s contributors include Biles; Patterson; Southwestern professors David Allen, T. Dale Johnson Jr., Malcolm Yarnell, Tommy Kiker, and Matt Queen; former Southern Baptist Convention president Fred Luter; and current chairman of the SBC Executive Committee, Stephen Rummage.

“Pastor, God has told you in His Word what He expects from you,” Biles says. “The responsibilities of your calling are clear. He expects His shepherds to feed the flock, strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, protect the flock, bring back those driven away, seek those lost, and lead the flock. … This is what God said you are to do. If God honors you with the care of His sheep, follow the ministry of the true Shepherd.”