Prospective students experience Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College during Fall Preview Day

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College (TBC) welcomed prospective students and their families to campus for Fall Preview Day, October 22, to learn more about how the seminary and college will prepare them for the next steps in their calling and a lifetime of ministry.

Hosted by the Office of Admissions, students had the opportunity to tour the campus, speak to the faculty, and learn more about academic programs.

“This is a day I look forward to every time we get the chance to do it,” said President Adam W. Greenway during the morning welcome and worship time. “I can’t tell you what it means to me to see you gather together.”

Director of Admissions Lucas Hahn said Preview Day is designed to give prospective students a “taste of life as a Southwesterner” and witness what God is doing at Southwestern Seminary and TBC.

“My hope is that prospective students will be able to witness the amazing work the Lord is doing here on Seminary Hill under the direction of Dr. Greenway,” Hahn said. “I hope our prospective students feel celebrated and encouraged as we serve them in pursuing their calling.”

After starting Preview Day with breakfast, prospective students and their families gathered in Truett Auditorium in the Memorial Building for a time of worship and a message from the president.

In his address, Greenway underscored three emphases of Southwestern Seminary and TBC.

First, Greenway said, “we are an institution that is unapologetically centered on Christ in everything that we do. In other words, Jesus is the hero of Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College.”

Whereas some institutions and organizations might build their identity around a single person or personality, Greenway added, Southwestern Seminary and TBC are committed to a “Christ-centered” approach in all areas of the institution.

“Here at Southwestern, our faculty are committed to helping students grow more deeply in their relationship with Christ, to know more of Christ’s person and His work, that the worship we engage in as a campus community, which you’ve done a sample of this morning, is designed to be Christ-centered, God-exalted worship,” Greenway said. “Because at the end of the day, what matters most for all of us is that we deepen and strengthen what it means to know Christ personally to walk in faithfulness and fidelity.”

Second, Greenway continued, is the seminary’s commitment “to the Gospel and to the authority and sufficiency of the Word of God in all that we do.”

“If you are looking for an institution that is going to dance around the hard topics of the Word of God, Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College is not the place for you. You see, in our institution, the Bible is the core textbook in every classroom, regardless of what the class may be,” said Greenway.

At Southwestern Seminary and TBC, Greenway explained, the Bible is not merely an “accent” to the course.

“The Bible is the lens through which we filter and evaluate all of life,” Greenway said. “Because without the spectacles of Scripture, we can never be in the position to really understand how to take the truth of God’s Word and to apply it to every area. We really do believe that the Word of God speaks to all of these issues sufficiently that we need to be able to live the kind of life that Christ died for us to live.”

Finally, another emphasis at Southwestern Seminary and TBC is a commitment “to the unfinished task of the Great Commission and to helping people here in North Texas and across our state and across our country and around the world encounter Jesus in a lifechanging and saving way.”

“If you have a heart to see the Revelation 7:9 vision fulfilled of every tribe, every tongue, every nation, every people group one day standing before the throne of the living God singing that new song,” Greenway said, “could there possibly be a better place to prepare for that day than giving years of your life in study here in the environment where God has already called the nations?”

Greenway concluded with reflections about the seminary’s future and its commitment to be the “big tent seminary,” with a commitment to a high view of Scripture, confessional fidelity, the Great Commission, and cooperation.

“As somebody who is a Southwesterner who sat where you now sit, who experienced what the distinctiveness of Southwestern Seminary education can be, and is now very fortunate to be president here, I can assure you, the future of Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College is exceptionally bright,” Greenway said.

During a special lunch, prospective students sat with professors to discuss their next steps in theological education. They also had the opportunity to hear from David S. Dockery, interim provost and vice president for academic administration, and Benjamin M. Skaug, dean of Texas Baptist College.

Addressing prospective students of the seminary, Dockery recalled his own experience as a student at Southwestern Seminary, and how the Lord used that time to prepare him for a “lifetime of ministry” in a variety of areas including the local church, teaching, and academic administration.

“I can see the imprint of Southwestern Seminary in my life each step along the way,” Dockery said. “That’s because Southwestern Seminary is a very special place.”

“Southwestern has a depth and a breadth unlike many institutions in the country,” Dockery added.

Dockery explained that while many seminaries and institutions offer specialized studies for preparing scholars, missionaries, church musicians, or counselors, among other disciplines, Southwestern Seminary prepares students “in each and every one of those” areas through the School of Theology, the School of Church Music and Worship, the Jack D. Terry School of Educational Ministries, and the Roy J. Fish School of Evangelism and Missions.

In each of these schools, Dockery added, students will have the opportunity to study with faculty “who are scholars and practitioners, teachers, authors, and people who invested in the local church and people who have invested in the academy.”

“The opportunities at Southwestern are defined, not by specialization, but by a both/and understanding of breadth and depth,” Dockery said. “That’s what’s distinctive about coming to this place.”

Southwestern Seminary is ready to prepare students for “ministry now” as well as a “lifetime of ministry,” Dockery concluded.

Addressing the prospective college students, Skaug discussed what students can expect from the college and its faculty.

“You need to know that every single class and every single professor has agreed to teach in accordance with and never contrary to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000,” Skaug said.

Skaug then shared with prospective students a commitment to TBC’s vision and three core distinctives: Christ-centered, Scripture-driven, and student-focused.

Skaug promised a commitment to provide “outstanding” Christian higher education that allows students to leave as graduates trained from a “trustworthy position,” rooted in the Word of God. Whatever work or ministry each student is called to, he said TBC will help them get there in a faithful way, specifically through a Christ-centered and Scripture-driven focus that aims to see students transformed.

“Our goal at Texas Baptist College is to teach you in a manner in which you are rightly glorifying God, not only in your nature, but in your heart, and also your thoughts, your emotions, and your actions,” Skaug said. “We’re going to do that by providing trustworthy higher education.”

The remainder of Preview Day included an organizational fair and academic preview sessions, a campus tour, and concluded with a “mini festival” in front of the Naylor Student Center.To learn more about Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College, and for an opportunity to visit the campus, email admissions@swbts.edu, or visit swbts.edu/admissions.