Twenty-five years seems like a long time to us,” said Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University in Birmingham as he reflected on the institution’s 25th anniversary this year.
“There is a sense of reward that comes from seeing a little baby acorn develop into a sapling of a tree. I don’t think we’re a giant oak yet, but we’re not a baby acorn anymore either. We’ve reached toddlerhood and maybe a little bit beyond.” And in this quarter-
century timeframe, George noted, the school has developed “a solid community of theological preparation for ministry.”
A native of Chattanooga, Tenn., George attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and then Harvard where he completed his master of divinity and doctoral work. He was appointed professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., a place he had assumed he would forever stay. “I never had any idea about going anywhere else or doing anything else,” he said.
But one day in the spring of 1988, George received an unexpected phone call from then-president of Samford University, Thomas Corts. Corts explained that the school had received a gift for the expressed purpose of starting a new divinity school on campus, and he wanted to speak with George about becoming founding dean.
George met with both Corts, who retired from Samford in 2006 and died in 2009, and Ralph Beeson, the school’s benefactor. It was during this meeting that George received a sense of the vision for this new school.
George said several major guidelines for the school were emphasized by Beeson, who before his death in 1990 had provided the largest gift from a living individual in Samford’s history to establish the first divinity school at a Baptist college or university in the nation. First, Beeson desired that it be a school that would train pastors who can preach. He also wanted a school to be orthodox and evangelical in its theological commitments and to have a vision for the whole world.
“And … to make this an interdenominational school,” George added. “He was himself a Presbyterian, his father was a Methodist, he married a Baptist, and so he thought we have something to learn from one another.”
Once back in Louisville considering the offer, George reflected on two passages of Scripture. One was Psalm 119, and the other was the account in Hebrews 11 where Abraham was called and went out not knowing where he was going but was looking forward to the city whose designer and builder is God.
George went on to accept the position as dean with an “inner assurance,” never doubting his decision. “One of my best friends (had) said to me, ‘Timothy, (are) you sure you want to do this? Anybody who would try to do this has to be either completely crazy or called by God.’ And so I remember thinking about that as I was driving [to Birmingham]. Which is it: am I completely crazy or called by God? Only time will tell,” he laughed.
George began in his new role the summer of 1988 with just one employee and no seminary facilities. During his first day on campus, he spent much of his time in prayer. “I … was praying that God would send those students to Beeson that He desired to be here, that we would be able to train in the right way. And they just began to come,” he recalled.
Little publicity had been arranged about Beeson that first summer, and the news about the school traveled primarily by word of mouth. In all, 32 students formed the school’s inaugural class.
One of those first students was Norfleete Day, a librarian at Birmingham Public Library. Shortly after the school’s founding was announced, Day had sensed God calling her into a vocation to teach the Bible. That calling motivated her to enroll part-time as a student at Beeson, a place where there was a “keen sense of Christian community and fellowship among us all,” she said. “We got to know each other’s story — what had brought us to Beeson — and we shared a sense of being part of something special.”
By the time Day and others in the entering class had arrived on campus for the first day of classes, two full-time faculty members had been hired. These men, along with George, taught all the courses with a goal to build a three-year master of divinity program year by year.
As Day was preparing to enter her final year at the school, she was asked if she would teach a section of introductory Greek. “It gave me a real-life opportunity to try out my calling, and I enjoyed it immensely,” she said, adding she was invited back to teach during the summers while at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, earning her Ph.D.
But Day’s story at Beeson didn’t end there — she was eventually offered a position on the faculty. “I saw it (as) another fulfillment of the journey God had embarked me on when He called me,” she said. “Also, it was a great honor that those who had taught me wanted me to join them as a faculty member.”
In its early stages the seminary faced some opposition, in part because there had never been a divinity school on any Baptist college or university campus. “We were the first,” George said. “The idea back then was you go to a place like Samford for undergraduate studies and then you go to one of the six SBC seminaries for theological training. … We were breaking the … mold and creating a new model.”
A church historian by training, George said he tends to think of things in terms of historical models and he wanted Beeson to be a school that “reflected the deep, rich roots of the Christian faith.” Despite the school pioneering a new model of theological education in terms of structure and location, the goal wasn’t to reinvent the wheel in regard to curriculum and basic orientation, he said.
One element of the school that was as important in those early years as it is today is the concept of community. George noted that if theological education is merely the transfer of data, a person doesn’t need to go to seminary. “Just go and check out a book at the library or get it online,” he said. “Why waste your time and money going to seminary if that’s all it’s about? But we think it’s about something else. I tell our … prospective students, ‘We’re after your soul.’ … That’s a different process that requires relationship … vulnerability … the kind of openness to the Holy Spirit that just learning facts, data, names, plans (and) programs doesn’t provide.”
To nurture that sense of community, Beeson students are members of a faculty-led mentoring group that meets weekly. They also worship together one day each week during the semester and share a meal together afterward.
The class sizes are kept intentionally small, allowing students to reap the benefits of low student-to-teacher ratios. Robert Smith Jr., professor of divinity at Beeson who teaches Christian preaching, said his class sizes allow him to meet with students one-on-one about seven times during the fall semester. “Ralph Waldo Beeson … wanted the school to be denominationally diverse and to be numerically small” so that classes would not be overwhelmingly large, Smith said.
Smith, who began teaching at Beeson in 1997, said George has laid a “tremendous foundation” for the school. He added that Beeson remains solid in its theology, it is relational in its way of reaching people and it seeks to attract the best students without being tuition-driven.
When asked about Beeson’s significant achievements in its first 25 years, one aspect George noted is the students the school has graduated. “The thing I most enjoy about my job is talking with these students and hearing from them and seeing what they’re doing in the Lord’s work … all around the world,” he said, adding this May will mark the graduation of the school’s 1,000th student.
He also pointed to the “strong academic programs” and to the published works of the faculty, which he called “outstanding contributions to the field of theological scholarship.”
“Over the years God just sent us some wonderful faculty. I just have to say I’m really proud of our faculty — they are fantastic men and women of faith, of learning,” George said.
Looking to the future of Beeson, George noted the development of the Beeson League of Churches. Some churches have already signed up for this opportunity to become a partner with the school in the preparation and the support of Beeson students.
There also is a capital campaign to endow the Charles T. Carter Baptist Chair of Divinity. “Dr. Carter is a member of our faculty, he’s also a trustee of the university, a longtime pastor and former president of our state convention,” George said. “We want to name this for him because we want to represent in the future the kind of solid commitment to preaching and pastoral leadership that he’s represented in his own life.”
Carter, the James H. Chapman Fellow of Pastoral Ministry at Beeson and pastor emeritus of Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, teaches ministry leadership development at Beeson where he instructs on how to do the work of the ministry in the local church.
Carter said he believes Beeson has a reputation “as being a divinity school that can integrate both the intellect and deepest commitments of the Christian faith.” He added, “I think that Beeson is anchored to the authority and inspiration of the Scriptures. That’s rare in many academic institutions.”
One hope Carter has for the future of Beeson is that it would be on the “cutting edge turning out increasingly more and more pastors who can preach.” He noted the celebration of the school’s first 25 years is exciting, and it has come a long way from its beginnings.
Smith agreed, noting what has happened in this first 25 years is great and the best is yet to come. “I’m very hopeful that the next 25 years” will stand on the shoulders of this 25-year period, he said.
As part of Beeson’s 25th anniversary celebration, the entire student body and faculty of the divinity school met at Ralph Beeson’s statue on Samford’s campus April 23, symbolic of the divinity school’s beginnings and Ralph Beeson’s vision. The group then processed to another part of campus where they read Scripture, said the Lord’s Prayer and entered Hodges Chapel for a special service singing the divinity school hymn, “For All the Saints.” The speaker for the service was Richard Bewes, who for many years served as pastor of All Souls Church in London.
“Twenty-five years is significant but we have a long way to go, God willing,” George said. “We’ve had struggles, we’ve had challenges, we still do, but God has seen us through those and I think the future is as bright as the promises of God.”
For more information about Beeson Divinity School, visit www.beesondivinity.com.
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My time at Beeson Divinity School has been characterized by challenge, exposure and growth. I have been challenged by the rigorous academic task set before me through my study of biblical languages, as well as history and doctrine. I have been exposed to many wonderful brothers and sisters from differing evangelical denominations whom I can learn from and partner with in the spread of the gospel. Both of these aspects to my time at Beeson have really been the soil in which God has given the growth. I look more like my Savior Jesus Christ today than I did a year and a half ago. All of this is due in no small part to my time within the Beeson community.
Eric Parker, divinity student
My time thus far has been such a great experience. Great long-term friendships are being cultivated as we grow in Christ and journey together during this seminary experience. I have wonderful teachers that use an open door policy for their office hours (even if I don’t have their classes at that present time) to talk with me and encourage me as I further my education. Beeson has made my big move from Texas very well worth it.
Demetrea Weakly, divinity student
My experience at Beeson has truly been a gift from God. It has equipped me for service to the church in the context of a community that is richly diverse yet deeply committed to God and His Word. Above all, however, Beeson has pushed me to be radically Christ-centered, and for that reason alone, I will be forever grateful.
Brandon Bennett, divinity student
Since my conversion in the context of the emerging first-generation church in Mongolia, I began an amazing journey with Christ in a personal way and through the community of the believers. It was vital for me to be equipped in sound theological doctrine and have a clear understanding of the Scripture and the faithful proclamation (of) His truth. My experience with theological training at Beeson Divinity School is like theological SEALS training, tough but encouraging. I have truly benefited from this experience and am highly eager to bring my learning and training into Mongolia to continue be a part of (the) Christian movement of the first generation in my country.
Gantumur Badrakh, divinity student
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