On Friday, May 16, 1958, the graduation program was given in the SEBTS Chapel. The audio begins with the conferring of awards and degrees by Dr. Sydnor Stealey, the President of SEBTS (start-19:14). Dr. Olin Trivette Binkley, Professor of Christian Sociology and Ethics and Academic Dean of SEBTS, then gave the charge to the graduates (19:15-33:02). [The recording ends at this point due to the rest having being inadvertently overwritten at some point before digitization.]
On Thursday, May 15, 1958, the commencement sermon was given in the SEBTS Chapel. After the prelude and processional (start-0:34), Dr. Sydnor Stealey, the President of SEBTS, gave an invocation (0:35-2:40). After a few more songs, prayer, Scripture reading, and the graduates’ gift to the seminary (2:41-22:20), Dr. Dotson McGinnis Nelson, Jr., the pastor at First Baptist Church of Greenville, SC, gave the main address entitled, “Truth Incarnate” (22:21-1:07:15). The service concluded with a hymn, a benediction from Dr. Stealey, and the recessional (1:07:16-end).
After reading Psalm 121, a prayer, and a hymn (start-4:50), Dr. Stewart Albert Newman, Professor of Theology and Philosophy of Religion, speaks about covenants in the church, specifically membership.
After some hymns, reading Colossians 3:12-21, and a prayer (start-7:50), Olin Trivette Binkley, the Academic Dean and Professor of Christian Sociology and Ethics (and future President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), reviewed the seminary’s covenant, specifically the part about family.
After reading Romans 13:1-10 and a hymn (start-5:15), B. Elmo Scoggin, Professor of Old Testament, goes over Southeastern Seminary’s covenant and discusses how it should be lived out.
After a song, prayer, and introduction (start-19:29), Dr. Robert Thomas Daniel formally presents the library to the President of the Board of Trustees, who then formally accepts it (19:29-25:38). After a few more hymns and prayers (25:40-32:52), Dr. George B. Connell preaches a sermon for the dedication of the library (32:53-57:13).
Dr. Stealey opens by reading Ephesians 6:10-20, and then introduces Dr. Niebuhr after a hymn. Dr. Helmut Richard Niebuhr, a Christian theologian, Professor at Yale Divinity School, and author of Christ and Culture, speaks on the impact Protestantism had at that time, and how they influence and shape culture.
Dr. Helmut Richard Niebuhr, a Christian theologian, Professor at Yale Divinity School, and author of Christ and Culture, speaks mainly on Protestantism as it relates to politics and culture. He spends most of this lecture comparing Protestantism to Democracy and sharing how they are so interconnected that they can at times become syncretistic.
After opening hymns and prayer, Dr. Stealey welcomed people to the dedication of the chapel, thanked different people involved, and introduced a couple of speakers (start-22:03). Dr. W. Perry Crouch, a member of the board, spoke briefly thanking all involved (22:05-24:15). Dr. Harold W. Seaver then preached from Hebrews 11:33-40. He focused on the role of faith specifically in the creation and dedication of the chapel (35:30-1:06:06). There was a prayer and a few hymns in conclusion of the dedication (1:07:00-end).
The John D. Wood, Sr. sermon collection is comprised of audio recordings of messages and sermons created or collected by Elder John D. Wood, Sr. The sermons are taken from a number of Biblical texts and cover a variety of topics. Though Primitive Baptists do not believe in formal ordination of their ministers, Elder Wood was a well-known and respected speaker in the Primitive Baptist community. The majority of these sermons fall between 1956-1979.
This collection contains over 3,100 audio recordings of chapel messages and special events related to SEBTS administrators, faculty, and students. These materials date from 1958 to 2008 and were produced by SEBTS. The collection also contains some text files with information related to these events.