Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) installed its 10th faculty chair, the Charles Page Chair of Biblical Theology, to Charles Quarles during its convocation service Aug. 16. The chair was announced in 2003 at SEBTS while Page was still living, but it was not until 15 years later, with the support of more than 100 donors, that the endowed chair became active.
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SEBTS Photo Danny Akin delivers an address at SEBTS' Fall Convocation Aug. 16. |
“It brings great, great joy in my heart to know that until Jesus comes again, one of his choice servants will be honored at this institution and rightly so,” said SEBTS President Danny Akin during a lunch following convocation to honor Page and his family. “Thank you for making this possible. This is a good day at Southeastern Seminary.”
During the lunch, Jack Fallaw, longtime friend of Page, spoke of Page’s great influence and godly example.
“You couldn’t be around Charles very long that you didn’t see there was a power in him that was greater than himself,” said Fallaw.
Akin described the tremendous influence Page had on his life, calling him “one of my heroes.”
He also gave three reasons why he admired Page: he taught Akin how to love his family, he taught Akin on a public level and he taught Akin one-on-one.
Quarles, research professor of New Testament and biblical theology at SEBTS, received his master’s and doctoral degrees in New Testament and Greek from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as a senior pastor for ten years in Mississippi and Tennessee. He also spent time as a missionary with the International Mission Board in Bucharest, Romania.
Before coming to SEBTS, Quarles served as a professor at multiple seminaries, including Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, the Bucharest Baptist Theological Seminary, the University of Bucharest, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Louisiana College. Quarles is also the author of multiple publications.
Page received both his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from SEBTS. During his life, Page was widely influential through pastoring multiple churches, including churches in Greensboro, N.C., and North Augusta, S.C. From 1982-1985, Page pastored at First Baptist Charlotte. Page left to serve as pastor of First Baptist Nashville before returning back to First Baptist Charlotte in 1991, where he grew the congregation to 3,500.
Page was influential to many through broadcasts of his sermons from First Baptist Charlotte and weekly, lunchtime devotionals for hundreds of businessmen. Page died in 2005 after a nine-year battle with cancer, but his legacy continues to live on in the installment of the Charles Page Chair of Biblical Theology at SEBTS.
During convocation, Scott Pace, associate professor of pastoral ministry and preaching and the associate director of the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership, was installed in the Johnny Hunt Chair of Biblical Preaching, which began in the fall of 2010.
Adrianne Miles and Tate Cockrell, newly elected faculty members, signed their names to the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 and the Abstract of Principles, along with the other SEBTS faculty members.
Miles is an assistant professor of English and linguistics for the college. Cockrell is an associate professor of counseling and the assistant director of the doctoral ministry program in the seminary.
Preaching from Psalm 117, Akin highlighted how missionary John Paton’s life and ministry coincided with the message presented in the shortest chapter in all of scripture.
Paton, Akin told attendees, was a man “who risked his life and sacrificed much that a tribe of murderous cannibals in the New Hebrides Islands might praise the Lord for his steadfast love and faithfulness that endures forever.”
Akin explained that Psalm 117:1 describes how the Lord is to be magnified among the nations, being praised and extolled by people of every ethnicity.
“These people groups are perishing and headed toward hell with no gospel witness, and yet our great God desires that they would praise Him and be saved,” said Akin.
Akin also said the Lord is to be magnified because of his nature, which is steadfast and faithful.
To view photos from convocation, click here.