May 20, 2010
By STAFF ORLANDO (BP)—Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver, U.S. Army chief of chaplains, will address the annual Southern Baptist Convention Chaplains’ Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Monday, June 14.

Based at the Pentagon, Carver is the first Southern Baptist chaplain to be promoted to the chief of chaplains office in more than 50 years.

The luncheon will be held in Room W303 of the Orange County Convention Center’s West Building in Orlando.

Carver, a native of Rome, Ga., became the Army’s 22nd chief of chaplains in 2007. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in religious studies from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, a master of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a master of science in strategic studies from the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.

An ordained Southern Baptist minister, he has pastored churches in Kentucky, Colorado and Virginia. He was commissioned as an Army chaplain in 1984.

Carver and his wife Sunny have two daughters and three grandchildren.

The Southern Baptist North American Mission Board has more than 1,500 endorsed chaplains in the armed forces. The military requires that all of its chaplains be endorsed and qualified by a recognized denomination. In all, 3,400 NAMB-commissioned and endorsed chaplains are ministering not only in the military, but also in institutions, corporations, health care and public safety.

We hope this finds you in the joy and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. As Southern Seminary concludes its 150th year, we thank God for his faithfulness and continued provision. We also want to thank you for your support and prayers for the stewardship of training ministers of the gospel at Southern Seminary.

We wanted to remind you of our upcoming luncheon at the Kentucky Baptist Annual Meeting.  We will gather for lunch on the Tuesday of the Convention meetings, November 10th, at 12:30.  This year’s lunch will be served at the Historic State Theater (209 West Dixie Ave. Elizabethtown, Ky), and will be catered by Stone Hearth Caterers. It will be a great time to fellowship and hear from Dr. Hershael York about what the Lord is doing through the seminary.

Tickets will be 12$ and can be reserved by phone at (502) 897-4142 or by email at rdraper@sbts.edu  Please RSVP by Monday, November 10th.  

You can pick your ticket up in the convention hall at the Southern Seminary booth or at the Historic State Theater the day of the lunch

Biro served in theological education in Romania as a faculty member of the Baptist Theological Seminary in Bucharest from 1936-1939, followed by 50 years of pastoral ministry in the United States.

Southern is honored to count Biro as one of its alumni and thankful that in 2007 he received a copy of his diploma (dated 1935) that was destroyed in a hurricane. Greg Wills, associate dean of theology and tradition and professor of church history at Southern Seminary, represented the seminary shortly after Biro’s 100^th birthday celebration to officially replace his degree.

Biro came to Southern Seminary while E.Y. Mullins was serving as the seminary’s fourth president. Biro graduated in 1931 with his master of theology degree and received his doctor of philosophy in 1935 during John R. Sampey’s presidency.

Biro is survived by his wife, Katalin; four children: Andrew, Richard, Bonnie-Lois and Ladd; 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. The Southern Seminary community grieves with the Biro family at its loss.

Biro’s faithfulness as a pastor represents the tenure in ministry that Southern desire from each of its graduates. Biro is part of a legacy of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ that continues today at his alma mater. Southern is thankful for the faithfulness Biro showed by supporting the institution even into his 101^st year of life.

Brad White has known since high school that God was calling him to foreign missions.

But he didn’t know until recently how challenging missions would be or how vital theological education was for making disciples in even the remotest places of the globe.

After graduating from Southern Seminary in 2004 with a master of divinity degree, White headed to the Southern Conchucos region of Peru with his wife, Cassie, to serve as a strategy coordinator with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. There he planted churches among an unreached people group of more than 250,000 people and used his theological training to connect with a culture with virtually no Gospel witness.

“The greatest victories that we saw there were a few people coming to faith in each of the towns where we worked and seeing two of them baptized,” White said. “We also considered that we had made progress in that we saw the groups begin to understand themselves as congregations.”

The Whites continued their work in Peru for two-and-a-half years, but eventually logistical issues forced them to relocate to Ambato, Ecuador, where he served as a theological trainer. His main duty there was teaching small group Bible studies to Ecuadorian church planters — a task where he saw God use the Bible to change lives as students abandoned erroneous beliefs.

“I teach an average of 12 to 14 classes per week with one to eight people at a time,” he said in February 2008.

“The greatest victories that I have seen here are in the lives of my students who really appear to be growing in their knowledge of the Word of God and in their ability to teach it to others.”

The Whites planned to return to the United States in May 2008 for Brad to serve as associate pastor for Hispanic ministry and missions at Poplar Heights Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn. White served as the church’s first pastor to Hispanics from 1999 to 2001.

He sees his work in Jackson as a continuation of the same calling that took him to South America and said his work on the mission field reminded him how important the local church is to God’s plan of evangelism and discipleship.

“One of the things that the Lord used to increase my longing to serve the local church was the fact that we were without a church in Peru,” he said. “Of course we were working to begin churches, but we ourselves really were without a church. This caused us to reflect on how the local church is such an integral part of the Lord’s plan for our lives.”

White does not know where God will take him in the future, but he eventually wants to serve as pastor or associate pastor of an American church while continuing to use his Spanish-speaking gifts to impact native speakers.

Through all of his ministry endeavors, White has seen the practical benefit of a Southern Seminary education.

“I had a great experience at Southern, and I am truly grateful to the Lord for the seminary,” he said.

“Most of all, my time at Southern equipped me to rightly divide the Word of truth. It equipped me to think biblically about the issues and challenges that I have faced.”

What are the most helpful seminary classes for a person serving in the children’s and family ministry program of a local church?

You might expect the answer to be practical courses in administration or teaching techniques, but for Liz Lockwood it was systematic theology classes where she studied evangelical feminism and the gender-role debate.

A two-time graduate of Southern Seminary who earned a master of divinity in 2004 and a master of theology in 2005, Lockwood has served since 2007 as children and family program ministry associate at East Cooper Baptist Church in Charleston, S.C., where she equips family ministry volunteers and leads a weekly community group for young adult women.

“I concentrated my studies, especially during my Th.M., on issues related to evangelical feminism and the gender-role debate,” she said. “While my studies and research on the gender issue flowed from my systematic theology courses, I believe that those courses were absolutely crucial to my work in the local church. I spend a great deal of time with young women, and it is so critical to know what the Bible teaches about the roles of men and women in the home and in the church.”

It was more than just the classroom aspects of her experience at Southern that prepared Lockwood for her current ministry, she said. One-and-a-half years of work at the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood complemented her classroom study of the gender issue, and working as administrative assistant to Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. from 2005-2007 reminded her that theology relates to every aspect of life.

“Working for Dr. Mohler was helpful in reminding me to see all things through a theological lens,” she said. “For example, we cannot dissect our lives into silos of theology, education, entertainment and relationships. All areas of our lives naturally intersect, and if we are going to be a biblically-minded Christian, we must consider what the Word of God says first and all other things as secondary.”

Some people may see ministry in a local church as a stepping stone to seemingly bigger opportunities, but Lockwood views things differently. Working in the local church is the high point of her calling, she said.

“It may seem a little odd to some, but serving in local church ministry is what I have wanted to do my whole life,” she said. “Growing up as a pastor’s kid, I was literally at church every time the doors were open and have always loved the experience of church and Christian community being woven into every aspect of my family’s life. Whether here in America or overseas, I firmly believe that serving the local church is what the Lord has called me to, regardless of what the specific ministry role may be.”

Though she does not know exactly what the future holds, Lockwood said she always hopes to serve in a place like East Cooper that trains believers to translate theological training into practical Christian living.

“I have been blessed to come to a church that provides multiple venues for personal spiritual growth, fellowship and ongoing theological training,” she said.