After more than two decades at the helm of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS), Danny Akin has announced his plans to retire as the school’s president at the conclusion of the current academic year.
Akin’s announcement prompted a wave of reflection from Southern Baptist and N.C. Baptist leaders, with many expressing gratitude for his consistent leadership and missional impact that has helped shape numerous missionaries, pastors and church leaders.
Following are statements shared with the Biblical Recorder or curated from social media about Akin and his ministry in light of his pending retirement.
“I was privileged to be the Akin’s pastor while they lived in Louisville. Some of my favorite people on this earth. @Lynezell and I LOVE them and cherish their friendship. Excited for this new season for them.” — Kevin Ezell, president, North American Mission Board (via X)
“Dr. Danny Akin has profoundly shaped my life and ministry. He opened the door for me to finish my theological education, connected me to the church where I served for nearly a decade, and has faithfully walked with me and Ashley like a spiritual father. His Great Commission legacy is deeply personal to us, and we’re eternally grateful for his faithful leadership and friendship.” — Todd Unzicker, executive director-treasurer, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina
“For the last 21 years, Dr. Danny Akin has led SEBTS in Scriptural faithfulness, conservative theological orthodoxy, and Great Commission zeal. ‘Every classroom a Great Commission classroom’ is special and distinctive. He leaves a legacy of love for Jesus’s word and his mission, showing that faithfulness to one is not possible without the faithfulness in the other. He is my friend and I’m honestly having a hard time imagining ministry without him close by. I know SEBTS is in good hands, but he will sorely be missed.” — J.D. Greear, lead pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, N.C.; former president, Southern Baptist Convention
“Congratulations to Dr. @DannyAkin on his faithful service for so long. I have enjoyed interacting with him on every occasion when I have done so. If elected to succeed him, I will institute a suit-and-tie dress code at @SEBTS and thereby bring peace to the SBC.” — Bart Barber, pastor First Baptist Church of Farmersville, Texas; former president, Southern Baptist Convention
“I thank the Lord for Danny Akin for many reasons. I am thankful for his consistent and faithful leadership at SEBTS. I am thankful to have been one of thousands of Southeastern students who have been blessed by his ministry in the classroom and the pulpit. His influence upon students has overflown into our churches to be a tremendous blessing for them and all Southern Baptists. But, what I am most thankful for is his infectious heart for the Great Commission. Anyone who has spent anytime around Dr. Akin cannot help but grow with Christ’s love for the nations.” — J. Allen Murray, president, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and pastor of Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, Supply, N.C.
“I arrived at Southeastern to earn my M.Div. soon after Dr. Akin became president. Under his leadership, Southeastern has become the ‘Great Commission seminary.’ What a legacy. Praise King Jesus for Akin’s leadership. Dr. Akin has been a great encouragement to me personally, and a statesman in our convention.” — Matt Capps, lead pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Apex, N.C.; first vice president, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina; adjunct professor Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
“Danny Akin has lived so profoundly with a gospel zeal, a God-graced generosity, a scholarly excellence, and a biblical integrity all for King Jesus. A few years ago, he preached for us at Pleasant Garden Baptist Church. As we visited and chatted, he asked me, ‘Will you pray I finish well?’ I was struck by his self awareness and humility to ask that request. And now, as we reflect on a tenure of faithfulness, I’m so grateful to watch him run all the way through his finish line at SEBTS. Dr. Akin, indeed, you’ve finished well and modeled faithfulness to so many in your heritage of ministry leadership!” — Robert Hefner, lead pastor, Pleasant Garden Baptist Church in Pleasant Garden, N.C.; president, N.C. Baptist board of directors
“I’m both saddened and encouraged by the news of Dr. Akin’s planned retirement. Saddened because the SBC’s Great Commission seminary is losing its visionary leader, but encouraged because Dr. Akin has led and built the culture of Southeastern and Judson College to last long beyond him. I’ve personally been a donor to SEBTS for over 15 years, but more importantly, I’ve encouraged my children toward Southeastern and Judson College. In our family, we have seven SEBTS degrees so far. I’m eager to see how God will continue to use Dr. Akin and Southeastern in the years to come.” — Harry Nelson, president & CEO of Provision Financial Resources of N.C. Baptists; member of the Southeastern Society of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
“What a powerful testimony the Lord has declared through the Akin family. I am deeply grateful for Dr. Akin’s many years of faithful, Christ-honoring, and Great Commission focused service. His life and ministry have been a shining example of steadfast devotion to the Gospel. The Akin sons have carried that legacy forward with the same spirit of faithfulness, investing in the lives of our children and families for more than 20 years. What a blessing it is to witness such enduring commitment to Christ!” — David Melber, CEO, Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina
“I am so grateful for the ministry of Danny Akin as a faithful Southern Baptist and N.C. Baptist leader. Under his tenure, SEBTS has become the model for how a seminary best serves the local church. SEBTS stands as a beacon of academic rigor and global impact. He has also served as a personal encouragement to me. His humility, paired with unwavering theological integrity, is an example to be imitated. Only in heaven will we know just how far and wide the Great Commission has been fulfilled through the ministry of SEBTS over the last two decades.” — Micheal Pardue, lead pastor, First Baptist Icard, Connelly Springs, N.C.; former president, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina
“As the announcement comes today of my dad’s retirement next summer from SEBTS, there’s so much I could say to commend his ministry like: his role in turning around two SBC seminaries from theological liberalism, his passionate commitment to expository preaching including superb sermons on key Christological passages, or the thousands he’s helped mobilize to the nations. But what makes him most loved by his family and a hero to us isn’t those accomplishments, it’s that he’s the same man privately as he is publicly. He is a man who loves Jesus, the Bible, sound doctrine, the church, his family, and the Great Commission. Ps 127:3-5” — Nate Akin, executive director, The Pillar Network
(EDITOR’S NOTE — This story may be updated with additional comments.)
