Just a few days before Christmas, eight Louisiana Baptists received an early gift – a degree from either Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary or Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Five from Louisiana were among the 167 who graduated from SWBTS, while three from the state were part of a graduating class of more than 150 from SEBTS. Both commencement ceremonies occurred on Dec. 13.
At SWBTS, 136 students received a master’s degree, 17 earned a doctoral degree and another 16 were awarded undergraduate degrees.
Louisianans earning a Master of Divinity were Patrick Coker of Calhoun, Jason Kees of Anacoco, Louis Rosenthal of Alexandria and Logan T. Williams of Baton Rouge. Receiving a PhD was Gregory E. Trickett of Shreveport.
SWBTS President Paige Patterson delivered the commencement message before awarding degrees from the School of Theology, School of Church and Family Ministries, School of Church Music, School of Evangelism and Missions, the College at Southwestern and the J. Dalton Havard School for Theological Studies.
Meanwhile, at SEBTS, 130 students received their master’s or doctoral degrees, and 25 students graduated with associate or bachelor’s degrees. Among those were Oakdale’s Anna Ruth McGee received a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies from the College at Southeastern while Emillie Louise Collins Mullis of Bentley earned a Master of Arts in Christian Studies and Hammond’s John Fitzgerald Carter received a Master of Theology from Southeastern Seminary.
Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern, gave the charge to the graduates. He began by honoring the graduates and their supporters. “Apart from these folks behind you this would not have happened,” Akin said. “In a real sense they are graduating with you today.”
Akin challenged the audience to live a bold life for Jesus. He spoke about the recent death of Ronnie Smith, a Christian, who lived in Libya with his wife and son where he taught chemistry.
Akin quoted John Piper, chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, who wrote about Smith’s testimony.
“The whole point of Ronnie’s life is that there is something worse than death. So he was willing to risk his own life to rescue others from something far worse. … Finally, I call thousands of you to take Ronnie’s place,” he said. “They will not kill us fast enough. Let the replacements flood the world.”