‘Southern Baptists’ course allows Southwestern Seminary students to learn history, mission while at the SBC

NASHVILLE — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary students participated in the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting and related events in Nashville, June 14-16, while also learning about the history, structure, and mission of the convention through the course, “Southern Baptists.” 

Gregory A. Wills, research professor of church history and Baptist heritage and director of the B.H. Carroll Center for Baptist Heritage and Mission, said the class provided an opportunity for students to learn about the Southern Baptist Convention through participation and a “guided tour” of an annual meeting.

Students attended the SBC’s Executive Committee meeting held on June 14 and all SBC business sessions on June 15-16. Students also joined the Southwestern Seminary Alumni and Friends’ Luncheon and one additional annual meeting offering of their choice. On-site class gatherings throughout the week allowed students to discuss what they experienced in real-time as Wills answered questions and interpreted parliamentary procedures and protocols.

The class taught the students that “if we are going to be faithful as pastors, servants, and leaders in our churches, we have to understand what Christ requires of us in our local church and in cooperation with our fellow churches,” said Wills.

Joel Mosier, a Master of Divinity student from Houston, Texas, enrolled in the course to gain “a greater understanding and appreciation of our family of churches.”

The students read several textbooks prior to the annual meeting. Some resources focused on the founding of the SBC, which was based, in part, on the defense of slavery. Mosier said though “much of it was painful to read, it was a reminder of how the grace of God has led us to repent and to seek reconciliation and restoration with our brothers and sisters of color.”

Eric Duenke, who recently became a Southern Baptist, wanted to learn “as much as possible about Southern Baptists.” Duenke, a Master of Divinity student from Fort Worth, Texas, said he was surprised to see the ease messengers had in making motions and questioning leaders.

“It was encouraging to see how the SBC is a bottom-up organization fueled by and for local churches,” he said. Duenke noted that though the meetings had disagreements, “the hallmark of the SBC is loving God and fulfilling His mission.”

Fulfillment of the Great Commission through cooperation is one of three identifying markers of Southern Baptists, said Wills. The other two are scripture-based theology and commitment to the same ecclesiology. All three markers are shaped and formed by SBC history.

“This entails both an understanding of how churches fulfill the Great Commission and how they cooperate,” said Wills. “Historically, we have set up that cooperation through associations, state conventions, and the Southern Baptist Convention.”

Wills desired that his students left Nashville with an understanding and sense that their annual meeting participation is “a gospel responsibility as we all as individuals and churches seek to fulfill Christ’s commission to us to seek and to save the lost. We must do this together cooperatively if we are to be fully faithful.”