February 10, 2003
Davis to retire as dean at Logsdon School of Theology
___ABILENE--Vernon Davis will retire as dean of the Logsdon School of Theology at Hardin-Simmons University in May.
___Davis joined the university faculty in January 1995 as professor of theology and director of graduate studies in theology. He became Logsdon dean in 1998, succeeding H.K. Neely, the founding dean.
___Before coming to Hardin-Simmons, he was vice president for academic affairs and professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. He joined the Midwestern faculty in 1983 and was promoted to vice president in 1987.
___Logsdon is one of two seminaries affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Those schools have taken on greater prominence in recent years, as the BGCT has focused less attention on seminaries controlled by the Southern Baptist Convention due to political and theological realignments.
___"I am grateful to have had the privilege to be involved in theological education for the past 20 years of my ministry, and especially to serve as dean of the Logsdon School of Theology," Davis said. "Training ministers for the next generation during this period has been both rewarding and challenging. Trends in contemporary culture have made this task both crucial and difficult. The internal conflicts in Baptist life have created the need for recovery of an authentic understanding of Baptist heritage as well as the shaping of a new vision of ministry for the future.
___"God continues to call gifted men and women to lead the church, and it is an honor to have a part in preparing them to fulfill the greatest calling anyone could have."
___Bill Ellis, vice president for academic affairs, called Davis "a shining example of what a man of God should be. His service to Hardin-Simmons and to the kingdom of God is marked by his unwavering integrity, his wisdom and learning, his passion for ministry and his love for his Savior."
___Davis is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
___He authored the hymn "Lord, Who Across the Ages," published in the Baptist Hymnal. He also has written curriculum materials for the Baptist Sunday School Board, Smyth & Helwys Publishing and BaptistWay Press.
___Davis serves on the BGCT Theological Education Committee and on the board of the T.B. Maston Foundation.
___A Houston native, he is a former president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia and former chairman of that association's General Board and Executive Committee. He served as the pastor of First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Va., from 1971 to 1983.
___He and his wife, Bennie, are active members of First Baptist Church in Abilene.
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