Danny Akin said the function of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary can be summarized in its mission: “To glorify Jesus by equipping students to serve the Church and fulfill the Great Commission.”
Akin has served as Southeastern’s president for more than 20 years. Speaking to messengers to the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, he noted how the seminary focuses on four loves that align with the Great Commandment: loving God, loving the truth, loving the Church and loving the world.
Living out those four loves is done under the canopy of the Great Commission with a curriculum built on the pillars of discipleship, philosophy and ethics, theology, biblical studies, preaching, pastoral ministries, missions and evangelism, biblical counseling and church history.
“We want you to have confidence in who we are, what we believe and where we stand,” Akin said.
This comprehensive education aims to produce Great Commission ministers, counselors and missionaries, what Akin described as “pastor theologians” and “missionary evangelists.”
Other successes
Among other successes, he highlighted the seminary’s prison initiative, which recently celebrated its fourth graduation.
Today, more than 60 field ministers in the North Carolina prison system are evangelizing, counseling and proclaiming the gospel, Akin said. The program has the support of the state because of its positive results, and other states have asked for help in establishing similar ministries.
“Southern Baptists are providing the finest theological education at the lowest possible cost anywhere in the world,” Akin said, “and we can do that because of what you do — loving us, serving us and supporting us.”
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