Southeastern Symposium celebrates scholarship around the world

“The Symposium is a showcase of scholarship that offers our students, faculty and alumni an opportunity to give back to the communities and churches that have supported them by sharing the fruits of their biblical research and writing,” said Jake Pratt, director of PhD Studies at SEBTS. “We hope that as attendees from around the world listen and engage with the presentations they might consider, first, whether God might be calling them to a teaching ministry in a college or university or a majority world academic or ecclesial context and, second, how the PhD program at SEBTS might help them accomplish that goal.” 

A total of 631 people registered for the two-day conference, increasing registration by over 100 attendees from the previous year. Presentations focused on the areas of New and Old Testaments, Historical Theology, Christian Ethics & Public Theology, Philosophy, Missiology and Applied Theology.  

Three plenary sessions were held throughout the Symposium, including presentations from Jeremy Kimble, Grant Taylor and Susan Booth.  

In Kimble’s presentation, “Beholding and Becoming: A Theology of the Efficacy of Scripture,” he argued for how to know and trust that God’s Word works powerfully to transform the believer. Believing in the efficacy of Scripture allows the believer to see life from God’s perspective and live the Christian life through the Holy Spirit’s strength and guidance. Kimble served in pastoral ministry for eight years and currently serves as a co-leader of an adult Sunday School class at Grace Baptist Church in Cedarville. Kimble received his PhD from SEBTS in 2013. His academic interests include biblical and systematic theology, ecclesiology, hermeneutics and homiletics, biblical worldview and Jonathan Edwards. 

Taylor’s presentation, “Commending the Gospel in 2 Corinthians: Paul’s ‘Triumphant’ Paradigm for Ministry,” focused on Paul’s divine apostleship and the embodied evidence of Christ’s work in the Corinthian believers. Taylor noted that Paul’s suffering marked his apostleship, which pointed to Christ’s divine work in him to minister to the believers at Corinth. Taylor serves as academic dean and lecturer in New Testament at Trinity Theological College in Perth, Australia. Before landing in Perth, he spent several years at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama as associate dean of academic affairs and assistant professor of divinity. He completed his PhD in biblical theology in 2014 from SEBTS, where he specifically studied Isaiah’s influence on the John’s Gospel.  

Booth’s presentation, “God with Us: Mission and Gospel Witness,” focused on the mission of God throughout Scripture and his tabernacling presence among his people from the temple in Jerusalem to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. She also explained how believers are to share the narrative of Scripture with the lost and continue on God’s mission to reconcile all people to himself. Booth serves as the professor of evangelism and missions at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary & College in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada. Booth and her husband Steve are under appointment with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Booth received her PhD from SEBTS in 2013.  

SEBTS is grateful to the sponsors who made this year’s Symposium possible, including Kregel Academic, Baker Academic, B&H Academic, Faithlife and IVP Academic.  
 

Want to go back and watch the plenary sessions from the Southeastern Symposium? 

• Jeremy Kimble’s Thursday afternoon plenary address can be viewed here. 
• Grant Taylor’s Friday morning plenary address can be viewed here.  
• Susan Booth’s Friday afternoon plenary address can be viewed here.  

Interested in learning more about the PhD Program at SEBTS? Visit sebts.edu/phd.