ABILENE—Christian ethicist and theologian Myles Werntz has been named founding director of the Baptist Studies Center in Abilene Christian University’s Graduate School of Theology.
Werntz has been the T. B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology, which the university’s trustees voted to close earlier this year.
He is the author and editor of five books in theology and ethics and has nearly 10 years experience teaching in Baptist seminaries.
Werntz earned his undergraduate degree from Ouachita Baptist University, his Master of Divinity degree from Truett Theological Seminary and his Doctor of Philosophy in Religion degree from Baylor University.
In addition to courses in Baptist theology, ethics and ecclesiology, he will serve as an associate professor in ACU’s Graduate School of Theology and will teach general classes in theology and ethics.
Tim Sensing, associate dean and director of ACU’s Graduate School of Theology, called the Baptist Studies Center “a natural transition for current Logsdon students to continue their ministry preparation.”
“We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to partner with West Texas Baptist churches that have a longstanding relationship with a regional seminary,” Sensing said.
The Baptist Studies Center will “broaden the scope” of the ACU Graduate School of Theology’s mission “to equip men and women for effective missional leadership for ministry in all its forms and to provide strong academic foundations for theological inquiry,” Sensing said. “We are looking forward to advancing the kingdom of God together.”
The Baptist Studies Center at ACU will offer a concentration in Baptist Studies that includes two courses—Baptist History and Baptist Polity—which would pair with the Master of Divinity degree to prepare students for ministry in Baptist churches.
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Additionally, the center will provide vocational discernment and mentoring to Baptist students and work closely with Baptist ministry partners to facilitate field education placements, Sensing added.
In April, Fellowship Southwest and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Texas met with leaders of the Baptist House of Studies at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology and the House of Baptist Studies at Texas Christian University’s Brite Divinity School to explore ways those schools could develop options for Logsdon students and preserve the Logsdon legacy.
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