Obituary: Phil Briggs

Phil Briggs, distinguished professor of student ministry and youth education at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1971 to 2004, died on April 18. He was 88.

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Phil Briggs, distinguished professor of student ministry and youth education at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1971 to 2004, died on April 18. He was 88. Briggs was born on Feb. 26, 1933, in Ponca City, Okla. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in religious education and Bible from Hardin-Simmons University, and he was a four-time graduate of Southwestern Seminary, earning a Master of Religious Education degree and doctorates in religious education, education and philosophy. He also completed additional studies in management at the University of Texas and in accounting for non-profit organizations at the University of Texas at Arlington. Briggs taught as a teaching fellow at Southwestern Seminary from 1958 to 1962. He later served on faculty at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1965 to 1971 before returning to Southwestern Seminary to join the faculty, serving until his 2004 retirement. He had also served as a guest professor of New Testament at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. Briggs served in numerous ministerial roles at churches in Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and Missouri. During his 33 years on faculty at Southwestern Seminary, Briggs taught and led widely in the areas of youth and collegiate ministries and education. He also was the inaugural occupant of the Edgar F. “Preacher” Hallock Chair of Student Ministries, endowed in 1997. Briggs was an integral figure in the earliest years of the annual Youth Ministry Lab, coordinating workshops and events to further help and equip ministers with the challenges of their vocational calling. Briggs is survived by his wife of 67 years, Jennette; his three children, Phillip Jr., Randall and Brenda, and their families.


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