Why I Chose to Study at Southern Seminary

I began writing this the same week that my wife Leah and I are packing up everything we own and moving to Louisville, Kentucky. I finish writing as we barely finish our first week settling in, and what a ride it has been. We have spent these last few weeks packing and repacking, driving and MORE driving, and probably being more active physically than we have been in the last year (not surprising for me, since I am a native couch potato).

Everything we owned, loaded up and packed to the max. The ultimate Tetris challenge.

Decision Time

After graduating from Dallas Baptist University, we were faced with a rather large decision: Where do my wife Leah and I go next? What is the next step in following God’s will and finding our specific calling in ministry? What ministry have you called us to? To answer these questions we committed ourselves to prayer and a time filled with seeking God’s counsel and wisdom. Some have been answered and/or are currently being answered as we go (not exactly an easy way to live life, but indeed we are called to it, 2 Corinthians 5:7).

When I was nineteen, I felt a call to ministry that completely changed the trajectory of my life. I knew from that moment on that I not only was compelled, but driven to serve the Lord in ministry. Since that time I have served as a Media Director, Youth Pastor, and currently a Website Developer for an International Bible Translation company. My life changed again when I married my beautiful wife, and suddenly I felt even more convicted that the Lord had called us to something uniquely special in ministry and that seminary would be the place we could “zero-in” on that particular area.

It isn’t hard to find a scenic view in Louisville, Kentucky.

Choices

There certainly is a wide selection of Southern Baptist Seminaries to choose from: New Orleans Theological Seminary, GoldenGate Seminary, Southwestern Seminary, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Southern Seminary were the top ones on my radar. Many of these seminaries phased in and out of consideration over the period of many months and after multiple visits, hours of research, and about three different applications, a clear path finally became evident.

Ultimately, that is why we have decided that The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky is the place God revealed to us to continue in theological training for ministry. Here are some of the key factors that made Southern Seminary stand out to me:

The fertile grounds of Southern Seminary.

Location

Louisville sits on the banks of the Ohio River and is renown for its parks and beautiful scenery. Already, Leah and I have taken our dog for more walks than most people probably go outside in a given day (and bike rides galore!). Estimated to have a population around 750,000 people, you wouldn’t know it by driving around the area of the Seminary. Trees surround the buildings and tower over the structures, filling in every spot the humans decide not to occupy. I grew up in East Texas where my childhood often consisted of roaming the creeks, shooting snakes, etc, so the country will always be my natural habitat. Also being from Texas gives me a rich connection to the land that I live in and I felt easily welcomed into this naturally beautiful area and its scenic landscape.

The mighty Ohio river as the sun sets for day.

History

The deep Baptist roots of the seminary are unparalleled to any other seminary I considered because frankly, Southern Seminary is almost as old as the convention itself (1845). Southern Seminary was established in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina and later moved to Louisville. Since I grew up rather close to the sprawling metropolis of Greenville, Texas just outside of Dallas, I found the relocation of Southern Seminary to be similar to our foreseen move to Louisville. Just walking on campus makes you feel like you are a part of the history of the seminary, and thats a gem for anyone looking for a rich theological experience.

Theology

The seminary is theologically sound and conservative which was one of the most desirable traits about Southern. This is actually surprising to me considering Southern use to be the most theologically liberal school in the denomination, but since the conservative resurgence in the Southern Baptist denomination, the school has returned to orthodox teaching. I knew that by choosing Southern, I would receive a based-on-the-Bible education and that was extremely important to me. I was blown away by the culture of scholarly-learning and focus on true spirituality while I visited. There is a true emphasis on becoming a “creature of the word” and embracing scholarship. If you don’t believe me, they have a fountain pen store on campus. Who has fountain pens anymore except theology nerds?!?!

 I wasn’t the only one interested in Southern Seminary, it is the largest seminary in the world.

God Moments

While I was visiting the campus, I ran into a professor at a banquet and we struck up a conversation. He asked me very plainly, “So do you think you will come to Southern?” Thankfully, I knew I would be asked this question and I pulled an answer out of my pocket and replied, “I am about 95% sure that Southern is the place I should be. ” The professor then proceeded to tell me about how he had given up a full-scholarship when seeking his Master’s Degree even when it seemed it would be the ideal situation. I sat there stunned at what he had just told me. “Sir, I think God just used you to give me a decision.” I told him about how I was in that exact same situation, and how I was struggling with turning down a scholarship at another seminary. This moment was the tipping point for me that the Lord was calling us to come to Louisville and when I went back to Dallas I told Leah about what God had revealed.

Overall, God’s leading brought us to Southern in Louisville and for that I am grateful. I have no doubt that even though leaving everything we have ever known was extremely hard, Christ will be with us through it all and the gospel ministry is worth it. Home for us will always be the great country of Texas, but truly home is what you decide to make it and friends and family help make life worth living. I really love mine (queue the sappy music)!

Perhaps you are struggling with finding God’s direction in your life? These verses were helpful to me in this time of transition and seeking:

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”  And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”  Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. – Luke 9:57-62

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. – Proverbs 3:5