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08
VOLUME 11
APRIL
2013
A NEws PUbLIc AtION Of thE sOUthERN bAPtIst thEOLOgIcAL sEMINARy
Brand on work | Life and memory of Mohler Sr. | Summer course options
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The seminary will offer at least one section
of virtually every online course available.
For a complete
list of course offerings, visit:
www.sbts.edu/summer
12 Ph.D.s in the pulpit
APRIL 2013
Our mission is
A team of faculty members from Southern Semi-
to use our time,
nary answer the question, “Should pastors earn
The Office of Communications of The Southern
resources and
Ph.D. degrees?
Baptist Theological Seminary publishes 10 issues
talents to tell the
of “Towers” per year.
Southern story in
an accurate, timely
Staff Advertising Info
and creative
Executive editor: “Towers,” the award-winning
manner to the
glory of God. Steve Watters campus publication of The
Southern Baptist Theological
Managing editor:
Aaron Cline Hanbury Seminary, provides an excel-
lent advertising opportunity
News writer:
for businesses and ministries.
Craig Sanders
Rates for ads are available
Creative director:
upon request, by emailing
Eric Jimenez
[email protected] or calling
Art director:
From the editor: [phone]. All mate-
When many students Andrea Stember
rial for the ads is subject to
finish their seminary
Design/layout:
degrees, they consider approval. The advertiser
08 Baptists do work
further study. For those Daniel Carroll
who want to teach at a assumes full responsibility for Boyce College professor Chad Owen Brand talks
seminary, the doctor of Photographer:
the accuracy of the content. about his new book, Flourishing Faith: A Baptist
philosophy degree is their
Emil Handke
necessary next step. Oth- Primer on Work, Economics, and Civic Stewardship.
Feedback
ers consider the degree
as further preparation Send comments and ques-
15 A faithful father
for full-time pastoral Contact Info
tions to [email protected]
ministry. But whether or Richard "Dick" Mohler Sr. was a model of faithful ser-
Phone: [phone]
not a pastor should earn
April, 2013, Vol. 11, No. 8. vice in the local church, and affirmed that "precious
a Ph.D. is not as clear Fax: [phone]
as for a future profes- Copyright ©2013 The Southern in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."
sor. So to help readers E-mail: [email protected]
think through this issue, Baptist Theological Seminary.
Web: news.sbts.edu 17 Don't waste your summer
members of Southern
Postage paid at Louisville, Ky.
Seminary’s faculty answer The Southern Baptist Southern Seminary will offer a wide variety of
questions about pastors
Theological Seminary Postmaster elective courses this summer, including all avail-
and the Ph.D. degree.
Also, the father of 2825 Lexington Rd. Send address changes to able online options.
Southern Seminary presi-
dent R. Albert Mohler Louisville, KY 40280 Towers, 2825 Lexington Road,
18 Scholarship on the shelves
Jr. recently died in the Louisville, KY 40280
family’s home state of The April History Highlight column surveys some
Florida. “Towers” includes
of the dissertations by Southern Seminary faculty
an article about the life
and influence of Richard members who also taught at the school.
“Dick” Mohler Sr.
3
news.sbts.edu April 2013 towers
| Report
Newslog
Guthrie describes boldness of new First annual 9Marks conference
covenant ministry in Gheens Lectures promotes expositional preaching
| By Craig Sanders | | By Craig Sanders |
Paul provides a theological defense of his pastoral ministry in 2 Corinthians that is The task of expositional preaching is fundamental to pastoral ministry and integral to
applicable for ministers today, according to George H. Guthrie, who delivered Southern the health of the church, said a group of pastors at the first annual 9Marks Conference
Seminary’s Gheens Lectures, Feb. 19-20, 2013. at Southern Seminary, March 1-2, 2013.
Guthrie, Benjamin W. Perry Professor of Bible at Union University, Jackson, Tenn., Mark Dever, president of 9Marks and senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in
delivered a series of lectures titled “With Christ in the Crucible: Authentic Ministry Washington, D.C., led the weekend conference that also featured R. Albert Mohler Jr.,
According to 2 Corinthians.” president of Southern Seminary; K. Edward Copeland, pastor of New Zion Missionary
Guthrie examined common assumptions regarding Paul’s employment of cultural and Baptist Church in Rockford, Ill.; Mike Bullmore, senior pastor of CrossWay Community
Old Testament references and their meaning for “new covenant ministry.” He addressed Church in Bristol, Wis.; David Helm, lead pastor for the Hyde Park congregation of Holy
arguably the most debated passage in Paul’s letter, 2 Cor 2:14-16, in his lecture “The Trinity Church in Chicago, Ill.; and Ryan Fullerton, lead pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church
Fragrance of a Gospel-Centered Ministry.” Contrary to popular opinion, Guthrie asserted in Louisville, Ky.
that Paul does not describe himself as a prisoner of Christ in that passage, but rather an Dever preached from John 12:37-50, telling conference attendees that fulfilling the duty
incense bearer in a victorious procession. of expositional preaching may not always yield positive results — in fact, he suggested,
In his second lecture, “The Confidence of a Truly Competent Ministry,” Guthrie extracted it may harden the hearts of listeners.
practical observations from 2 Cor 2:17-3:6 about new covenant ministry. In this passage, “Acceptance or rejection of Jesus’ words is equal to acceptance or rejection of Jesus’
Paul commends himself to the Corinthians and dismisses any need for them to reevaluate person,” Dever said. “You cannot know the real God apart from the Word of God.”
the validity of his ministry. Bullmore, who taught preaching at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for 15 years,
Guthrie addressed the “celebrity pastor” phenomenon in his third and final lecture, lectured on the importance of biblical preaching saying, “Preaching God’s Word is your
“The Glory of a Spirit-Empowered Ministry,” which examined 2 Cor 3:7-18. Guthrie focused fundamental task in pastoral ministry.”
specifically on “the greater glory of new covenant ministry” in contrast with the repeated Bullmore defined biblical preaching at the outset of the lecture as “that which both the con-
veilings of Moses’ face in Exodus 34. tent and intent of the sermon is controlled by the content and intent of a particular passage.”
Audio and video of the Gheens Lectures are available at Southern Seminary’s website, “Biblical preaching is the primary means by which God’s Word is brought to man.
www.sbts.edu/resources Audio and video of the conference is available at sbts.edu/resources
Renown youth conference celebrates
importance of resurrection
| By Craig Sanders |
No event is more important to the Christian faith and life than the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, said several pastors at Southern Seminary’s Renown youth conference, March
15-16, 2013.
The annual youth conference seeks to communicate biblical truth to middle and high
school-aged students. This year’s conference featured speakers R. Albert Mohler Jr.,
president of Southern Seminary; Dan DeWitt, dean of Boyce College; Jimmy Scroggins,
senior pastor of First Baptist Church West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Greg Gilbert, senior
pastor of Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.
“You are God’s creation. He made you, he loves you, he sent his Son for you and God
always wants you back,” Scroggins said, preaching on the parable of the prodigal son
in Luke 15.
“And that’s because of the power of the cross of Christ, motivated by the love of God,
demonstrated by his resurrection from the dead — all for his glory and his renown.”
Southern Seminary’s Norton Hall Band led worship at the weekend event and gospel
rapper Shai Linne performed a concert after the first day of sessions.
Audio and video of the Renown conference is available online at sbts.edu/resources
4
towers April 2013 news.sbts.edu
Report |
Student leadership teams SWI Seminar Saturday prepares,
visit rocky top encourages ministers' wives
| By SBTS Communications | | By RuthAnne Irvin |
Southern Seminary held its first leadership conference Marriage is a ministry, according to a group of ministers’ wives. On March
for the seminary’s student leadership team, March 15-16. 9, Seminary Wives Institute (SWI) hosted its annual Seminar Saturday
The student leadership team consists of student council event to encourage and prepare further women in ministry.
members and interns in the seminary's Office of Enroll- SWI, which began in 1997, gathers wives of Southern Seminary students
ment Management. to study various topics, ranging from evangelism and prayer to Baptist
The event started on Southern’s campus with a leader- beliefs and mentoring.
ship lecture from Randy Stinson, who is the dean of the For the 2013 Seminar Saturday, 160 women chose from 11 session
School of Church Ministries at the school. The group then options hosted by speakers such as Aaron and Allison Harvie, Steve and
drove to Nashville, Tenn., where students met with Mark Candice Watters, Garnetta Smith, Tom and Diane Schreiner and others.
Coppenger, the director of Southern Seminary’s Nashville The Watterses, founders of Focus on the Family’s Webzine, Boundless,
campus. Coppenger facilitated the entire weekend by led a session titled “Parenting as Discipleship.” The talk focused on the
planning and leading the students through programming. parent’s job to disciple through instruction and example, with the heart
The group met with LifeWay president Thom Rainer, who as the starting point and Christ’s glory as the goal.
talked to the group about LifeWay’s work and leadership. “Your primary job as parents is to prepare your children for judgment
The group participated in a session with Frank Page, the day,” they said.
president and chief executive officer of the executive Smith, an academic counselor for Southern’s undergraduate school, Boyce College, and wife of former dean of students,
committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, about Lawrence Smith, presented a talk titled “Teaching the Word: Preparing to Teach and Lead Bible Study.” The session stressed
the Cooperative Program and leadership. the value of the Bible, the value of “self-feeding,” the value of inductive study and Scripture memorization.
The second day, the group viewed a panel discussion The Schreiners led the session, “Trusting God in Suffering.” The couple spoke to the women about truths that have helped
about marriage in ministry with Micah and Meredith them during this season of suffering after Diane Schreiner’s recent bicycle accident. Three aspects of faithfulness the Schrein-
Carter, Mark and Sharon Coppenger and Phillip and Cami ers stressed are (1) immersion in the love of God, (2) rootedness in the sovereignty of God and (3) trust in God’s promises.
Bethancourt. The group then toured the campus of Vander- “You must know your Bible before these things happen. One thing that sustained us was that God loves us. God’s plans
bilt University in Nashville, where Coppenger talked about and purposes will prevail, and nothing is random to God,” Tom Schreiner said.
religious liberty. Afterward they attended the Grand Ole The next Seminar Saturday will take place March 8, 2014. More information about SWI or women’s events at Southern
Opry to hear gospel songs performed by Ricky Skaggs, is available at www.sbts.edu/women
Keith and Kristyn Getty and Charlie Daniels.
Information about student leadership, including future
leadership conferences, is available through the Office of
Student Life. Those interested can email Grant Castleberry
at [email protected] Southern Seminary will host a new worship conference,
June 17-19, 2013
| By SBTS Communications Sovereign Grace Music; and Donald S. Whitney, senior
associate dean and professor of biblical spirituality at
Leading churches in corporate worship is no small task. Southern Seminary.
Church leaders must think seriously about every aspect Harold Best, emeritus dean and professor of music at
of worship because people’s views of God is at stake in Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, will make a special
every worship service. appearance at Think: Worship. And Southern Seminary’s
To equip pastors and worship leaders for this ministry, Norton Hall Band and Sojourn Music of Sojourn Commu-
Southern Seminary will host the Think: Worship conference, nity Church in Louisville will lead corporate worship times
June 17-19, 2013. during the conference.
Speakers for the event include, Matt Boswell, pastor Conference rates for early registration, which ends April
of ministries and worship at Providence Church; Michael 30, range from $200 to $250. Rates increase to $300 on
Card, songwriter and author; Mike Cosper, pastor of wor- May 1, and registration closes on June 10. Registration is
ship and arts at Sojourn Community Church; Mike Harland, available at the Southern Seminary Office of Event Produc-
director of LifeWay Worship; Bob Kauflin, director of tions Web page: www.sbts.edu/events
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news.sbts.edu April 2013 towers
| Reviews
Literature
Many people commonly assume work, wealth, government, gov- “The Scripture teaches that God peting” economic systems in his-
that the world of work, busi- ernment taxation and implications is the one to whom we owe ultimate tory: free-markets, socialism and
ness and politics and the world of and how governmental philosophy allegiance, but that selfsame God has government-managed economies.”
faith do not intersect. Politics, they relates to economic structure. also instituted governments to keep To conclude his work, Brand offers
might say, belongs in public life, public First, Brand contends that the order in the world,” writes Brand. a definition of a Baptist political econ-
discussion and discourse. Faith, on the Bible presents work positively. “All of those governments are fallen, omy; he writes: “Most [Baptists] have
other hand, is a private matter, some- “The Scriptures elevate human since we live in a fallen world, and been committed to limited govern-
thing left out of business and day-to- labor of all kinds to a laudable, fulfill- those states might well stand for ment, to religious liberty, and to the
day life. Something for Sundays. ing, and God-honoring calling,” he injustice rather than justice.” relative autonomy of local congrega-
However, what a person believes writes. “The Reformers and Puritans Brand also argues that heavy taxa- tions. We have generally stood for the
dramatically shapes his or her view of in keeping with Scripture made it clear tion by governments “solves noth- rights of people to make their own
both the weekend and the weekday. that all people have a calling and that ing.” Brand asserts this based on his way in life and to flourish in broad
Flourishing Faith: A Baptist And a new book by Chad Brand lays all believers are priests unto the Lord.” survey of the history of governments’ and various ways. … Those principles
Primer on Work, Economics, out the Baptist perspective of work Considering wealth, Brand says use of “other people’s money.” have marked out the ‘Baptist Way’ for
and Civic Stewardship and of political economy, the relation- that in a fallen world, Christians He concludes: “Governments over four hundred years.”
(Christian's Library 2013, $10), ship between politics and economics. must live “disciplined and circum- that confiscate from one class of Flourishing Faith presents a histori-
Gregg R. Allison Brand is associate dean of South- spect lives to ensure that they are society for their own purposes only cally descriptive introduction to a Bap-
ern Seminary's Boyce College. In his using the wealth God has given to create moral and fiscal problems.” tist perspective of work and wealth,
Review by book, Flourishing Faith: A Baptist them in ways that honor him.” Finally, then, Brand writes that and of politics and its relationship
Aaron Cline Hanbury Primer on Work, Economics, and Then, on the issue of government, political systems exert intrinsic to economics. Baptists of all stripes
Civic Stewardship, Brand examines the Baptist doctrine of sin makes lim- influence on economic systems. would do well to read this book and
what he considers the “five key ited government the “biblical ideal,” He analyzes this influence by to thus better understand the holistic
issues related to political economy”: according to Flourishing Faith. looking at the “three major com- nature of the Baptist faith.
Nearly all professing Christians, nificent results, affirming certain author. Because of this, McGrath most needed, but he dedicated his
regardless of stripe, view suspicions and dispelling widely portrays Lewis with all of his flaws greatest effort on communicating
Christian author and apologist held beliefs. and eccentricities, including the the faith through works of fiction.
C.S. Lewis with high esteem as an The most significant of McGrath’s controversial relationships with Jane Sensitive to Lewis’s own vision,
authority on faith-related matters. revisions is that of Lewis’s conver- Moore and his wife, Joy Davidman. McGrath devotes two chapters to
This is what makes Alister sion, which Lewis identified in his A prominent feature in this The Chronicles of Narnia, explor-
McGrath’s refreshing new biogra- autobiography, Surprised By Joy, as work is the friendship between ing its literary and theological
phy, C. S. Lewis - A Life, so intriguing, occurring in 1929 and subsequent Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, author significance in terms of offering
that not only has it been published biographers willingly propagated. of The Lord of the Rings. While “a more reasoned and mature
50 years after Lewis’s death but it McGrath, however, concluded that McGrath explores the influential internalization of the Christian
also arrives just as Lewis reaches a Lewis possibly associated the date role that most Lewis fans know grand narrative.”
new peak in his relevancy. with his father’s passing, a significant Tolkien played in Lewis’s conver- Despite Lewis’s belief that he
C. S. Lewis - A Life: Eccentric McGrath’s biography will cer- turning point in Lewis’s life toward his sion, he also stresses a particular would become irrelevant shortly
Genius, Reluctant Prophet tainly, and rightfully so, top best- eventual conversion in 1930. influence of Lewis upon Tolkien: after his death, McGrath finishes
(Tyndale 2013, $24.99), sellers’ lists, but it should perhaps “The nature or reality of Lewis’s that of “literary midwife” to Tolk- the work by recounting how Lew-
Alister McGrath
also occupy a preeminent spot conversion experience is not being ien’s masterpiece. Without Lewis, is’s legacy experienced a revival
among academic biographies on called into question,” McGrath McGrath argues, Tolkien may in the late 20th century and has
Review by
any subject. writes. “The problem is that never have had the inspiration continued on to the present day.
Craig Sanders
This deserved distinction is due Lewis’s location of this event in or persuasion to finish his works. This biography is a must-read
to the fact that McGrath is the first the external world of space and McGrath also recounts Lewis’s for Christians eager to learn from
Lewis biographer to study chrono- time appears to be inaccurate.” rise to fame as an apologist and Lewis’s remarkable life, and more
logically the recently released col- McGrath maintains a more criti- the subsequent rejection he expe- serious readers should also look
lection of Lewis’s letters alongside cal distance than previous Lewis rienced in the academic world. for McGrath’s forthcoming study
his published works. McGrath’s biographers, most of whom had Lewis merely accepted the call to The Intellectual World of C.S. Lewis
exhaustive research yields mag- a personal connection with the defend Christian faith when it was (April 2013).
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towers April 2013 news.sbts.edu
Reviews |
Every Good Endeavor: The Secret Thoughts of The Kingdom of God
Connecting Your Work to an Unlikely Convert (Crossway 2012, $18.99),
God's Work (Crown and Covenant Christopher W. Morgan and
(Dutton 2013, $26.95), 2012, $12), Rosaria Robert A. Peterson, eds.
Timothy Keller Champagne Butterfield
Review by

Review by Josh Hayes
Review by Aaron Cline
Craig Sanders
Hanbury
Perhaps few people think of doing work as associated Liberal lesbian professor converts to Christianity, The phrase “kingdom of God” is common speak in
with paradise. But according to Timothy Keller, pas- losing her career and community as a result.” Christian circles, but precise definition and thorough
tor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, Sounds like your typical everyday headline — wait, it understanding are often lacking. Confusion abounds to
paradise is exactly where work started. doesn’t. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield’s memoir of say the least, but bringing clarity and consensus on the
“The book of Genesis leaves us with a striking truth her conversion and Christian life doesn’t sound like subject is Crossway’s newest release in the Theology
— work was part of paradise,” Keller writes in his new- any story you’ve ever heard, which is exactly why you in Community series, The Kingdom of God, edited by
est book, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work should read it. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson.
to God’s Work. “Work did not come after some golden “This was my conversion in a nutshell: I lost every- Some well-established evangelical scholars fill the bill for
age of leisure. It was part of God’s perfect design for thing but the dog,” she writes in her new book, The this title: Gerald Bray, Stephen J. Nichols, Bruce K. Waltke,
human life, because we were made in God’s image, and Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. Robert W. Yarbrough, Anthony Bradley, Clinton E. Arnold
part of his glory and happiness is that he works, as does Butterfield’s story begins in 1997, when she estab- and Southern Seminary’s Gregg R. Allison. The volume
the Son of God.” lished herself in both the LGBT community and the offers essays that exposit the biblical reality of the kingdom
Keller seeks to explain the “Bible’s answers to three academic world as a lesbian professor at Syracuse as well as speak of its implications for the church today.
questions: Why do you want to work? (That is, why do University. But when she began researching a project Nichols’ essay looks at the various views of the king-
we need to work in order to lead a fulfilled life?) Why is about the Religious Right, she engaged in a fruitful dom throughout church history, noting the polarity that
it so hard to work? (That is, why is it so often fruitless, dialogue with a local Presbyterian minister, Ken Smith, tends to emerge among eschatological positions. Because
pointless, and difficult?) How can we overcome the dif- who pastored Syracuse Reformed Presbyterian Church of this, there is great impetus for the present church to
ficulties and find satisfaction in our work through the at the time. learn from the mistakes of the past.
gospel?” (emphasis original). “Even though obviously these Christians and I were “From Platonists who spiritualized the kingdom in
To answer these questions, Keller presents the con- very different, they seemed to know that I wasn’t just the patristic period, to medieval visionaries identifying
cept and activity of work in the standard theologi- a blank slate, that I had values and opinions too, and Muslim leaders as the Antichrist, to those today who
cal framework of Creation, Fall and Redemption; he they talked with me in a way that didn’t make me feel buy local cable time in the middle of the night to explain
divides his book into three corresponding categories: erased,” Butterfield writes about the pastor and his wife. how Daniel long ago prophesied current events in the
God’s Plan for Work, Our Problems with Work and Throughout this captivating work, Butterfield’s reflec- Middle East, there is a long and winding train of defin-
The Gospel and Work. In each section, he examines tions extend beyond her personal life to a critique of ing the kingdom of God from the purview of where one
how the Bible presents work and then interprets and “the glitz and glamor” rampant in evangelicalism when stands and of what one prefers,” writes Nichols, research
applies his conclusions with characteristic anecdotes it comes to dealing with repentance and sin. professor of Christianity and culture at Lancaster Bible
from his many years pastoring in one of the world’s “Biblical orthodoxy can offer real compassion, College and Graduate School in Lancaster, Penn.
workiest city. because in our struggle against sin, we cannot under- Allison, professor of Christian theology at Southern
He summarizes: “When we think, ‘I hate work!’ we mine God’s power to change lives.” Seminary, examines the multi-faceted relationship
should remember that, despite the fact that work can The story does not end when Butterfield repents and between the church and the kingdom in his essay, trac-
be a particularly potent reminder (and even amplifier) follows Christ; in fact, that’s merely the beginning. The ing five specific themes that constitute this relationship.
of the curse of sin on all things, it is not itself a curse. rest of the book details the subsequent rejection she “The church relates to the kingdom as God’s univer-
We were built for it and freed by it. But when we faced in the academic community, acceptance into a sal rule and eternal dominion such that, in one sense,
feel that our lives are completely absorbed by work, Christian academic community, marriage to a pastor, the church owes its existence to the kingdom and, in
remember that we must also honor work’s limits. church planting, adoption and homeschooling. another sense, the church is the instrument through which
There is no better starting point for a meaningful The account of Butterfield’s “train wreck” conversion entrance into the kingdom is granted,” writes Allison.
work life than a firm grasp of this balanced work and alone will certainly entice people to purchase a copy The Kingdom of God promotes a holistic approach to
rest theology.” of the book, but her reflection on experiencing and eschatology, seeing God’s reign and presence in the world
Keller’s wisdom and insight make reading Every Good struggling through true repentance and sanctification neither as entirely present in the here-and-now nor as a
Endeavor, unsurprisingly, a good endeavor. offers a valuable insight for all Christians. wholly futuristic-cataclysmic phenomenon.
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news.sbts.edu April 2013 towers
| Reviews
Baptists do work
BRAnd TALkS ABOuT POLITICAL eCOnOmy
EDITOR’S NOTE: In what follows, “Towers” ACH: That’s not how the ancient world a free church in a free state. the intellectual impact of the Reformation
editor Aaron Cline Hanbury talks with Chad viewed work. The Baptists who came in the next century in in the area of politics. His argument is that
Brand about his new book, Flourishing Faith: CB: That’s right, especially in the Greco- 1609 Holland, John Smith and Thomas Elwes, republicanism — the system of a republic — is
A Baptist Primer on Work, Economics, and Roman world. If you read some of the ancient were essentially following their footsteps. not the child of the Reformation, but rather
Civic Stewardship. Brand is associate dean philosophers — Plato, Aristotle, Seneca — Now, to some degree, there is correspon- the stepchild of the Reformation. Reformer
of biblical and theological studies and pro- you find that those people derided physical dence among Protestant traditions. One of John Calvin was not a republican, but he
fessor of Christian theology at Southern labor. They thought work was something that the issues, for example, that Baptists see as did establish a certain set of convictions
Seminary’s Boyce College. A review of the should be done by slaves; manual work was important is the priesthood of all believers, about political life that lead to a republican
book appears on page 6. only for the lowest rung of society. Archime- and that dovetails into our view of work and understanding of how government should
des, who did a lot of study in geometry, once vocation. But we don’t hold that view exclu- work. Geneva was a free-market city, and
ACH: Why did you write Flourishing Faith? apologized for having to work with his hands sively. Martin Luther heavily emphasized the a city that grew significantly in the 28 years
CB: I was contacted by the Acton Institute [an to build a machine to aid his study. Gentle- priesthood of all Christians. Baptists took hold that Calvin was there. He emphasized in his
organization that deals with politics, church- men didn’t work. Gentlemen had time for of this doctrine, though, and developed it in teaching that businesses should be allowed
state issues]. The organization wanted to conversation, philosophy, literature and the ways that even the Lutherans didn’t. the freedom to start up and operate on low
publish a series of primers about political arts, but they didn’t work with their hands. tax levels. He emphasized the citizenry; those
economy and the church; it wanted four: ACH: What is a Baptist political economy? who had the franchise in the citizenry had
one from a Baptist perspective, one from ACH: What makes your primer explicitly CB: What political economy describes is the the opportunity to elect the town councils.
a Reformed, one from a Wesleyan and one Baptist (over against relatively similar Prot- interface between government and whatever Calvin taught that the best form of govern-
from a Pentecostal. Initially, Acton contacted estant traditions)? economic systems prevails in a given nation ment was an elected government, and he
Danny Akin about it. Danny knew that I have CB: Almost uniquely, Baptists have always or culture. The political economy in the Soviet thought that if a government were to become
been at work for some time on a rather large been about religious freedom and a hard- Union in the 1980s was a communist state tyrannical, the people have not only the right
project that deals with the church and politi- working ambition. Early Baptists in England with a socialist understanding of economics but the responsibility to rebel against that
cal economy, so he suggested me. and America, right up through the 19th century, — a controlled-market economy. The United government. Free elections. Free markets.
were bivocational — you’d have a pastor who States was basically founded as a republic These things are all part of Calvin’s theology.
ACH: How is a positive view of work a was also a farmer or pottery maker. And not with a free market economy. Because of that, during America’s founding
Christian concept? only were they bivocational, they were also So when we introduce the idea of a Chris- period, the 1760s through the 1790s, many
CB: Interestingly, a biblical view of voca- entrepreneurial in the way they established tian, and specifically Baptist, political economy, of those men believed that they were self-
tion comes in right at the beginning of the churches. In 1800, the two largest denomi- what we’re asking is, “How does the church consciously instituting Calvin’s ideas.
Bible, when God creates man and woman. nations in America were the Anglicans (now rub itself up against a free market republic?”
Even before he creates the woman, he Episcopalians) and the Congregationalists. By “How does a Baptist understanding of theol-
instructs the man to subdue the earth, 1850, the two largest were Methodists and ogy and ecclesiology interface with that?”
exercise dominion and tend and care for Baptists, and the reason for that was by 1850 Because Baptists have long held the idea
the garden. These things seem to us contra- the country had expanded all the way to the of religious freedom, political freedom, indi-
dictory — how do we subdue and care? — Mississippi River. Typically, the congregational- vidual freedom and so on, the place where
because we live in a world where pollution ists and Anglicans required formal education a Baptist political economy most manifests
has become a big issue, both in fact and and a settled community. Baptists, on the other itself is in a kind of republican or libertarian
in politics, and there are those who think hand, functioned just as easily working, living form of economics. “Laissez faire” isn’t in
that we have to pick one or the other. But and pastoring in frontier communities. the Baptist Faith and Message, but if you
the Bible does not separate dominion and The notion of a free church was also key read and believe its statements on govern-
care like we do. in Baptist growth and to the whole Baptist ment and anthropology, I think you would
So we see that God gave Adam work to ethos and life in general. In 1525, at the come to the same conclusion that the gov-
do in the unfallen state, which indicates that launching of the Anabaptist movement, the ernment that governs least, governs best.
work is a noble thing. Many people seem to basic theological idea against which the Ana- The notion of political economy has been
think that work is something associated with baptists reacted was that infant baptism was around for quite some time — the first pro-
the fall, but actually it’s not; it’s given as a not only biblical but it was the one thread fessor of political economy was a guy by the
command in the unfallen condition. There that held together the church, politics and name of Thomas Malthus at the University of
are many examples all over the Bible. It’s the social order. The Anabaptists thought Oxford in about 1815 — but it hasn’t edged its
interesting how many parables of Jesus are infant baptism was counterproductive to way into evangelical circles until fairly recently.
parables about people working. Now, Jesus the community, state and culture. And since
obviously is not trying to teach a theology they believed that infant baptism was unbib- ACH: Can you explain how America became
of work in those parables, but he’s assuming lical, they began to baptize believers. So part a “testing ground for the Reformation.”
a theology of work. of what they were trying to do was create CB: There is a scholar who wrote a book about
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towers April 2013 news.sbts.edu
Reviews |
ACH: How should Christians think about pur- we handle our wealth and what we do with
suing jobs and trying to earn more money? our wealth that’s important. The Puritan
CB: There is absolutely nothing wrong with ethic on this was, “Earn as much as you can.
having a financial motivation in a job search. Save as much as you can. Give as much as
Because, for most of us, our financial motiva- you can.” And that, I think, is a pretty good
tion has to do with our families; we want to summary of the biblical view of wealth.
be able to provide for them, send our kids to
college and we want to leave something to ACH: How do you want your readers to
our children and grandchildren when we die. think about work after reading your book?
The theology of wealth that you find in CB: Luther’s idea of vocation, that the Puri-
Scripture is not, “Money is the root of all tans and later Baptists picked up: everyone
evil,” but rather, “The love of money is a has a calling. You should find out what that
root of all sorts of evil.” There are many calling is and pursue that calling. Realize that
wealthy people in the Bible who are godly God doesn’t just put his stamp of approval
people. Think of Abraham; we’re told that on the “sacred” callings, but on all callings.
he had 318 servants. Think of Job. Think Because all of life is lived, Luther said, coram
of Joseph of Arimathea, who was able to deo, “in the face of God” that which is to
leave a tomb for Jesus. So there’s nothing come. It’s here but not here, it’s already
inherently wrong with wealth; it’s the way but not yet.
“ Because Baptists have long
held the idea of religious
freedom, political freedom,
individual freedom and so
on, the place where a Baptist
political economy most
manifests itself is in a kind
of republican or libertarian
form of economics.”
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news.sbts.edu April 2013 towers
| Reviews
Thinking in Public
mOhLeR TALkS wITh deLBAnCO ABOuT hIS new BOOk
Thinking in Public host R. Albert Mohler Jr. talks The institutionalization of religion at the center of American life has come
DelBAnCo:
with Andrew H. Delbanco, director of American
over a period of centuries and has been weakened and displaced by a kind
Studies at Columbia University and has been
Columbia’s Julian Clarence Levi Professor in of tolerationism. we forget all the religious strife we see around the world which basically
the Humanities since 1995, about his new
says that religion is a private affair and we don’t interfere with people’s religious convic-
book, College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be.
tions. They can associate with whoever they want in  their religious institutions, but in the
MoHleR: When you’re thinking about the
idea of college, one thing you document in public space of the public square is when they leave religion out of it except to the extent
your book [College: What It Was, Is, and
that it is safe to express itself. ... There’s something that’s been lost: a kind of moral center
Should Be] is how theology lost its primacy
in education and how natural history and in these institutions. we don’t want to think of our colleges and universities as exclusively
human psychology came increasingly to be
delivering cognitive capabilities to their students. They should remain in the business of
viewed from a scientific rather than a reli-
gious perspective. How did that change the trying to help students sort themselves out as ethical creatures and figuring out what their
nature of the college and of the college idea?
responsibilities are to their fellow human beings.
thinking in Public is the QR code: This and additional podcasts are available on Stitcher Smart Radio, iTunes and at AlbertMohler.com.
interview-based podcast Mohler and Prothero's full conversation is available at this QR-Code.
hosted by Southern Seminary
President R. Albert Mohler Jr.
#SeenAtSouthern
RenOwn 2013
@ jessicalovett @jacobboz
@tann5353 (contest winner)
Post your best campus and seminary life photos on Instagram with the @cfranklin14 @malaynaphegley
hashtag #SeenAtSouthern.
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