London Event Focuses on Baptist Higher Education

"...The event is part of the ongoing Samford-in-Mission program which, supported by a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, explores connections between faith, vocation and learning..."

In early August Samford University hosted an International Colloquium on the Baptist Heritage and Higher Education. The event is part of the ongoing Samford-in-Mission program which, supported by a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, explores connections between faith, vocation and learning. Baptist scholars representing varied theological positions participated in the weeklong colloquium at Samford’s Daniel House in London, England.

According to Randy Todd, chair of Samford’s Classics Department and coordinator of the colloquium, each participant received a stipend for conducting original research, presenting a paper at the colloquium, serving as a critical respondent to others and revising the work for later publication. He said the resulting research is impressive. “These essays promise to provide a valuable resource for Samford, for Baptists, and for a much wider public."

The colloquium, which concluded August 6, included the following scholars and topics:

Lori Brand Bateman, Baylor University
"A Historical Analysis of the Emergence of Women into Southern Baptist Higher Education: An Institutional Typology"

David Bebbington, University of Stirling
"The Rise and Decline of Christian Higher Education in Europe"

John Briggs, Regents Park, Oxford
"The Educational Traditions of the English Dissenters and the Founding of London University"

Wayne Flynt, Auburn University
"Sharing the Good News: Baptist Higher Education"

Erich Geldbach, Professor Emeritus, Ruhr University, Bochum
"Baptist Contribution to Higher Education: A German Perspective"

Timothy George, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
"Watchmen upon the Wall: Baptist Reflections on the Peril and Promise of an Educated Ministry"

Steve Holmes, King’s College, University of London
"Freedom of Conscience and the Idea of a University"

Bill Leonard, Wake Forest University
"Dissenter/Believers: Another Look at Early Baptist Conscience-ness"

Toivo Pilli, International Baptist Theological Seminary
"Finding a Balance between Church and Academia: Baptist Educational Efforts in Estonia"

Ian Randall, Spurgeon’s College
"A fence of scholasticism around the ministry? Currents in Baptist Theological Education in England, 1900-1960s"

Ken Roxburgh, Samford University
"Godliness and Good Learning: Spirituality and Education in a Christian University"

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