Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) recently celebrated the installation of the Dr. Ed Young Sr. Chair of Preaching.
Young serves as the senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, the largest church in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). His church continues to grow and currently has over 63,000 members. Young is a former SBC president and a graduate of SEBTS.
The events were held on Oct. 15 on Southeastern’s campus.
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SEBTS photo Daniel Akin, left, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, was named as the Dr. Ed Young Sr. Chair of Preaching after Ed Young Sr., right. This is the fifth endowed chair at Southeastern and the second in preaching. |
Young attended Southeastern during a liberal period of the seminary, yet held true to his conservative theology.
Addressing the chapel attendees, Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern, said, “Many of you would not be here today or you would not want to be here if it were not for Ed Young Sr.”
This is the fifth endowed chair at SEBTS and the second one in preaching. The installation was held at Southeastern’s chapel service with Young as the guest speaker.
Preaching from Nehemiah, Young focused on five essential leadership qualities of a great leader: having a vision, giving away the vision, discernment, tenacity and integrity.
“God has entrusted you and me with a calling to bring this world Jesus Christ. The answer for every problem on this earth … is one simple thing, it’s the bending of the knee for Jesus Christ,” said Young.
After Young’s sermon, Akin presented the President’s Award to Young’s church, Second Baptist Church. This is the highest honor awarded by Southeastern.
As a part of the ceremony, Akin was installed as the new chair, a selection made by the Board of Trustees at Southeastern.
He expressed his appreciation for the honor to continue to serve the seminary through the teaching of preaching.
An Ed Young Chair Installation luncheon was immediately held after the service with his family and church leadership as well as SEBTS faculty and the Board of Visitors and Trustees. The event featured an interview of Young mediated by Akin.
Young shared about becoming a Christian, his family, educational background and his personal style when it comes to preaching.
“I spend a lot of time by myself,” Young said. “I think if you are going to be a preacher in this world you better spend a lot of time by yourself with God and with your books. I spend more time preparing me than the sermon.
“I think preaching should have an element of surprise and warmth. It is a wonderful adventure. I don’t have it mastered, but we spend a lot of blood, sweat and tears in preparation.”
His concern for the church today is centered on the need for sharing the gospel.
“SBC churches are pastored by functional universalists,” he said. “They know all theological principles; they are inerrantists; they can pound the Bible all day, but they haven’t figured out how to take the truth of God and turn it into evangelism and see lives change.”