The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary honored its seventh president, Duke McCall, June 24 by naming its newest building on campus the Duke K. McCall Sesquicentennial Pavilion.
“I wish all those present here to know that the board of trustees of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recognizing the contribution of Duke K. McCall as the president of this institution for three decades, hereby designates the Duke K. McCall Sesquicentennial Pavilion in honor of Dr. Duke McCall and on the occasion of the seminary’s 150th anniversary,” seminary president R. Albert Mohler Jr. said during a dedication ceremony in Alumni Memorial Chapel.
Mohler presented McCall, 95, with a certificate to commemorate the occasion and his wife, Winona, with a replica of the oil painting of her husband that hangs in the pavilion.
McCall served as Southern’s president from 1951 to 1982 after serving as president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and executive secretary of the Executive Committee.
“I am both surprised and grateful for this high honor,” McCall said. “… I am delighted that this occasion is linked into and seen as a part of the sesquicentennial year of Southern Seminary. A hundred and fifty years of service is a cause for some pride and wonder.”
McCall credited the seminary’s longevity to God’s grace and wise leadership.
“Southern Seminary has navigated the shifting tides of social, economic (and) political affairs because of divine favor and dedicated leadership all guided by the inspired Word of God,” he said.
Even though leaders and graduates from different eras in the seminary’s history have differed on points of theology, McCall asked for all Southern alumni and friends to rally around the seminary for its 150th birthday.
“I ask that,” he said, “because there have been diverse currents running through our community and fellowship. We do not always agree with each other on everything, but what I call upon us to recognize is that the hand of God is upon this institution and those with responsibility for her and that we acknowledge that and say, ‘We will continue our own convictions as they diverge from one another. But we will stand together in one common commitment in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.'”