James K. “Jamie” Dew Jr. was elected ninth president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) in a special called trustee meeting June 5.
Following his unanimous election Dew laid out his vision for the seminary, with the Great Commission as his focus in pledging his commitment to equipping students to follow Christ and go “to all nations” sharing the gospel and leading lives of service to others.
“I will give you everything that I am to champion New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary,” Dew said.
Dew noted NOBTS’ untapped potential and pointed to the seminary’s unique opportunity for “theological education and ministerial preparation.”
“In this city you have the best of everything — culture, challenge, opportunity for ministry, a religious pluralistic context that our students could learn in,” Dew said. “If you can learn to share the gospel here, if you can learn to minister to the poor, the broken, the needy here, then that is incredible preparation for wherever God’s going to take you.”
Dew comes to NOBTS from his position as vice president for undergraduate studies and distance learning at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
“I’m humbled to the core of my being,” Dew said in accepting the NOBTS position. “I’m going to give you everything I have. I believe we’re going to have a fantastic time as we go forward together.”
The search committee announced May 20 its unanimous decision to nominate Dew to succeed Chancellor Chuck Kelley, who retires July 31.
Dew’s academic credentials include a Ph.D. in theological studies from Southeastern and a Ph.D. in philosophy conferred this summer from the University of Birmingham in the U.K. His holds a master of divinity in pastoral ministry from Southeastern and an undergraduate degree in biblical studies from Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa, Ga.
Elected to Southeastern’s faculty in 2011, Dew was named dean of the College at Southeastern in 2013; his role was expanded in 2014 to his current vice presidential position, supervising the college, all aspects of distance learning, the prison programs and the writing center. Dew also teaches and mentors SEBTS undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students in his role as associate professor of philosophy and the history of ideas.
Dew is the author of four books: “Philosophy: A Christian Introduction,” “God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views,” “How Do We Know? An Introduction to Epistemology” and “God and Evil: The Case for God in a World Filled with Pain.”
Married for 18 years, Dew and his wife Tara are the parents of two sets of twins — Natalie and Nathan, 12, and Samantha and Samuel, 9. Tara Dew holds a doctor of education degree from Southeastern focusing on the preparedness of pastors’ wives. (BP)
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