Seminary Hill Press releases three books in time for SBC annual meeting

Seminary Hill Press (SHP), the publishing arm of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, announced today the release of three new titles in time for the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Dallas, June 8-11: a book about the influence of prominent faculty members, an ebook of faculty sermons on Psalms, and a revised and expanded edition of a book about the institution’s second president, L.R. Scarborough.

All three books—Shapers of the Southwestern Theological Tradition, Sermons from the Psalms, and The L.R. Scarborough Treasury—will be available for free during the SBC annual meeting. The Shapers and Scarborough titles also may be purchased through the SHP website, while the Psalms ebook is available for free.

Shapers of the Southwestern Theological Tradition

This volume introduces readers to some of the men and women who invested their lives in training generations of ministers on Seminary Hill. Written by current Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College faculty and edited by seminary President David S. Dockery (’81), W. Madison Grace II (’06, ’12), provost and vice president for academic administration and dean of the School of Theology, and Malcolm B. Yarnell III (’91), research professor of theology, the book was a labor of love for all involved.

“I am extremely excited about the publication of the Shapers of the Southwestern Theological Tradition,” Dockery said. “Those who have contributed to this volume did so with a sense of great gratitude to those who have gone before us on Seminary Hill. I believe this volume will enable those who currently study and serve at Southwestern to better understand the depth and breadth of our wonderful heritage, which will provide a foundation for us to envision a blessed and preferred future for the seminary in continuity with this tradition.”

Grace found the editing experience to be more than he expected.

“The Shapers volume was a significant project for me, as I had hoped it would serve as a resource to identify the Southwestern tradition,” he said. “However, it proved to be much more. Working alongside two highly competent editors, who shared a deep love for the seminary, made the project truly worthwhile. We were also fortunate to collaborate with the exceptional faculty we have at Southwestern today, allowing us to see the present work of Southwestern as we look back upon our history.”

According to Yarnell, the decision to be involved in the project was an easy one.

“When approached about participating in the Shapers of the Southwestern Theological Tradition project, I immediately said yes,” he said. “I have been personally and profoundly shaped by our past and present seminary faculty and want to see their theological legacy honored.”

Baptist leaders have endorsed the book, including Southwestern Seminary Chancellor O.S. Hawkins (’74, ’20): “Ours is not simply a history; it is a rich heritage passed on to us by these Shapers of the Southwestern Theological Tradition.” Jimmy Draper (’61, ’73), president emeritus of LifeWay Christian Resources, noted the number of Southwestern graduates spread throughout the world, saying, “This book is a riveting account of the Shapers who have equipped them in this remarkable seminary for more than 115 years.”

In the book’s introduction, Dockery writes that the volume doesn’t include information on every faculty member in the seminary’s history but serves as an introduction to the lives of important scholars, authors, teachers, and more.

“We are encouraged, strengthened, and heartened in our calling to teach, to learn, to study, and to serve in the Southwestern community when we reflect on those faithful believers who have gone before us,” he added. “We realize the debt we owe to ‘all the saints, who from their labors rest,’ to those on whose shoulders we stand, and to many through the years who counted no cost too high in their desire to bring honor to the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

Altogether, 80 former and present faculty are covered in the book written by 23 current members of the faculty. A table of contents of the book is available on the SHP website.

All attendees of the Southwestern Seminary Alumni and Friends Luncheon during the SBC annual meeting will receive a free copy of the book, and it may be purchased for $19.99.

Sermons from the Psalms

Published in an e-book format, Sermons from the Psalms is a collection of messages from the Psalms preached by Southwestern faculty during fall 2024 chapel services.

In the book’s introduction, Dockery, who edited the book, writes that the volume serves as an introduction to the various types of Psalms, representing selections from all five sections of the Psalter.

Noting that the Book of Psalms has served as the hymnal for the people of God, Dockery notes, “Individuals throughout the ages have found the Psalms to be their favorite book for devotional reading in times of joy and sorrow, in times of plenty and want, in good times and in times of challenge.” He added, “We pray that the written form of these messages will be used of God to bring understanding, insight, illumination, and application to the lives of readers in the days to come.” Eighteen faculty preached on 19 Psalms. The table of contents is available at the SHP website.

The e-book will be available in the seminary exhibit for download via bookmarks with a QR code. Illustrations of four of the Psalms will be displayed on columns in the convention center with the QR code to download the e-book. The volume also can be downloaded for free from the Seminary Hill Press website.

The entire Sermons from the Psalms video playlist of the sermons preached is available here.

The L.R. Scarborough Treasury, Revised and Expanded

The writings contained in this collection are windows into the mind and heart of Lee Rutland Scarborough, the second president of Southwestern Seminary and first occupant of the Chair of Evangelism—dubbed the “Chair of Fire” by seminary founder and first president B.H. Carroll.

Originally published in 2022, the revised and expanded edition of The L.R. Scarborough Treasury comes in the centennial anniversary year of the 1925 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, during which three pivotal developments for Southern Baptists and Southwestern Seminary occurred.

“The timely publication of revised and expanded L.R. Scarborough Treasury will remind Southwesterners of the shaping and formative role that the seminary’s second president had not only on Southwestern Seminary, but on the Southern Baptist Convention,” said Dockery. “During this year when we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Baptist Faith and Message, the birth of the Cooperative Program, and the formal relationship between Southwestern and the SBC, this volume will remind us of the vitally important role that Dr. Scarborough had in all of these things.”

He added that this edition will give readers a fresh look at “Southwestern’s long-standing commitment to evangelism and missions, which were at the heart of Scarborough’s life work.”

The volume includes books that have been reprinted over the years—Recruits for World Conquests and With Christ After the Lost, two of his earliest books—and My Conception of the Gospel Ministry, published toward the end of Scarborough’s ministry.

Also included are addresses by Scarborough on evangelism, ministry, and theological education, as well as unpublished articles on denominational cooperation and his final report to the 1925 Southern Baptist Convention on the 75 Million Campaign, the missions-funding effort led by Scarborough from 1919 to 1924 that would lay the foundation for what is now known as the Cooperative Program.

New to this edition are an updated introduction; the addition of “Its Theological Position,” a chapter of A Modern School of the Prophets, Scarborough’s history of the seminary; and a new afterword, “Southwestern: A Century of Conviction, Cooperation, & Collaboration,” Dockery’s fall 2024 Convocation address.

Free copies of the revised and expanded edition of The L.R. Scarborough Treasury, part of SHP’s Legacy Series, will be available at the Southwestern Seminary exhibit during the SBC annual meeting in Dallas. The book can be purchased for $24.99 at SeminaryHillPress.com.