“This day just declares joy,” said President R. Albert Mohler, Jr., looking out over the lawn filled with graduates, family, and friends. “Even the sun declares joy. The birds are singing joy.”
So began the 235th Commencement Ceremony of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. On Friday, May 9, more than 2,000 guests gathered under perfect spring skies as 387 graduates representing 42 states and 26 countries received their degrees, preparing to take their place in pulpits, churches, classrooms, and mission fields around the world.
In his commencement address, Mohler preached from Colossians 1:15–29 in a sermon titled “The Glorious Toil of Christian Ministry.” With pastoral gravity and theological clarity, he charged the graduates to embrace the costly calling of gospel ministry. “To be a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ is to suffer,” Mohler said, reflecting on Paul’s rejoicing in his own afflictions. “But it is a suffering with purpose, a suffering that leads to maturity in Christ, the building up of the church, and the advance of the gospel.”
Mohler emphasized that Christian ministry is not simply a task to be completed but a stewardship to be carried out in dependence on Christ. “You’re nowhere near up to this,” he told the graduates. “What you have been called to do is impossible in your own power. But Christ is more than up to this.” Echoing the Apostle Paul’s words, he continued, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”
The message crescendoed in a call to joy. “That’s why we’re smiling this morning,” Mohler said. “We rejoice in what the Lord is going to do in these graduates. We look at these ministers of the gospel and it makes us happy. It humbles us. It fills us with joy for the promise of God to the church.”
Throughout his sermon, Mohler returned to the idea that the calling of gospel ministry is a sacred trust—a ministry not for the graduate, but for the church. “This stewardship,” he said, “was given to me, for you.” It is a calling through them, but not for them, and its aim is nothing less than “to make the Word of God fully known.” Quoting Paul’s words in Colossians, Mohler reminded the graduates that ministry means proclaiming Christ, “warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” This, he said, is the toil, the struggle, and the joy that lies ahead.
The ceremony concluded with the recitation of Southern Seminary’s Graduation Pledge:
“We are soldiers of Christ, arrayed in truth, and we commit the length of our days to the service of our Savior.” With that solemn promise, the class of 2025 was sent out—commissioned to preach the Word, shepherd the flock, and endure for the sake of Christ and his church.
Honoring Teaching Excellence
Dr. Kyle D. Claunch, Associate Professor of Christian Theology, received the Findley B. and Louvenia Edge Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence. Recognized by students, alumni, and fellow faculty, Claunch was honored for his exemplary commitment to theological education and his impact in the classroom. The award, named in memory of longtime professor Findley Edge and his wife Louvenia, continues to uphold the seminary’s highest standards of academic faithfulness.
A Joyful Sending
As the ceremony closed, Mohler gave one final exhortation that captured the heart of the day: “What makes us happy is that we are about to see all of these ministers of the gospel set loose in the world to give their lives for this struggle, for this toil, for this calling to the glory of God.”
And so they go—strengthened by the Word, anchored in truth, and resolved to labor in joy, the 2025 graduates of Southern Seminary are sent out to serve the church and proclaim the gospel until Christ returns.