New book ‘recalls lives spent in faithful service’ to Southwestern Seminary

Profiles of Faithfulness, a new book from Seminary Hill Press, provides biographies of key men and women who established and stewarded a vision for a school of the prophets in the Southwest—The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“Southwestern Seminary has a rich legacy of Christian leaders who have shaped this institution and, in so doing, have shaped the lives of countless individuals around the world,” says President Adam W. Greenway. “I’m delighted by the release of this new title from our Seminary Hill Press, knowing that more than merely introducing readers to Southwestern Seminary’s history, this volume will be an encouragement to all believers to consider what legacies they will leave to enrich Christ’s Kingdom.”

Profiling 16 individuals from the seminary’s history, including early figures B.H. Carroll and L.R. Scarborough as well as later men like Roy J. Fish and William B. Tolar, the book “reveals a rich heritage of Gospel faithfulness” that points to “a great and faithful God who formed and sustained the seminary” since its founding in 1908, says Alex Sibley, the book’s editor.

“As Dr. Greenway has said since his presidency began, today’s students and faculty are living in a house they did not build, drinking from a well they did not dig,” says Sibley, managing editor of Seminary Hill Press and associate director of news and information at Southwestern Seminary. “This volume highlights some of the men and women who built the house and dug the well.”

The profiles were originally published as news releases on the Southwestern Seminary website. They have been compiled into this single volume in order to “behoove readers interested in Southwestern Seminary’s history, as well as those considering entering into this ‘storyline of Gospel faithfulness,’” says Sibley.

“The individuals chosen are representative of countless more who could have been covered,” Sibley says. “We make no claim to have provided exhaustive coverage of all the men and women who made Southwestern Seminary into the crown jewel seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention.

“But these here are included because of their significant contributions to the development of the institution, and we pray you will be encouraged by how God used each of these individuals to make an impact not just on Southwestern Seminary, but for the Kingdom.”

The chapters were written by Southwestern Seminary’s news writing staff, including Sibley, Katie Coleman, and Julie Owens, with one chapter contributed by O.S. Hawkins, president of GuideStone Financial Resources. Gregory A. Wills, research professor of church history and Baptist heritage, wrote the book’s foreword.

Wills calls the volume a “book of remembrance” that “recalls lives spent in faithful service to establish and sustain The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.”

“Those remembered in this volume are memorials to God’s faithfulness to us and to former generations,” says Wills, who also serves as director of the B.H. Carroll Center for Baptist Heritage and Mission. “They remind us that we are indebted to them. We benefit from their labors and sacrifices. We receive instruction and wisdom from them. We are encouraged and strengthened by their example.”

“Let us render our thanksgiving to God for them and for this seminary,” Wills continues. “Encouraged by their example, let us deepen our resolve to advance the purposes for which this seminary exists—to serve our Savior with faithful labor and unflagging zeal for the advance of the Gospel and the strengthening of His church.”

Profiles of Faithfulness: Legacy Servants of The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is available at SeminaryHillPress.com here.