Daniel Lowell "Danny" Akin (born January 2, 1957) is the sixth president of

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) is a Baptist seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was created in 1950 to meet a need in the SBC's East Coast region.William H. Bra ...

and the College at Southeastern in Wake Forest, North Carolina, United States. A leader in the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

(SBC), he has authored and edited numerous books and journal articles and is best known for his commitment to

expository preaching Expository preaching, also known as expositional preaching, is a form of preaching that details the meaning of a particular text or passage of Scripture. It explains what the Bible means by what it says. Exegesis is technical and grammatical ex ...

and to the Great Commission.

Early life

Akin was born and spent his early years in

Forest Park, Georgia Forest Park is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. It is located approximately south of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,932. In the 1800s, Forest Park ...

, outside of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In high school, he was a multi-sport athlete in baseball, basketball and football, intending to try to pitch as a walk-on in college. After an injury, Akin abandoned those plans. On a mission trip to

Sells, Arizona Sells ( O'odham: Komkcʼeḍ ʼe-Wa:ʼosidk) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 2,799 at the 2000 census. It is the capital of the Tohono O'odham Nation ...

in 1977, Akin committed his life to full-time Christian ministry and decided to attend

Criswell College Criswell College is a private Baptist Christian college and divinity school in Dallas, Texas. The college's stated mission is to provide ministerial and professional higher education for men and women preparing to serve as Christian leaders thr ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

before attending seminary.

Family

Akin married Charlotte Bourne on May 27, 1978, and together they have four sons: Nathan, Jonathan, Paul, and Timothy. All four sons are involved in pastoral ministry, several having lived and served overseas. Akin has 15 grandchildren.

Education

Akin is a 1980 graduate of

with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

Biblical Studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

and a 1983 graduate of

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological institute in Fort Worth, Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was established in 1908 and in 2005 was one of the largest seminaries in the wor ...

with a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree. He also earned a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree from the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...

in 1989.

Career in theological education

Akin's first teaching post was at

, where he taught

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, and

Church history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

from 1988 to 1992. He also served as the

dean of students Dean is a title employed in academic administrations such as colleges or universities for a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, over a specific area of concern, or both. In the United States and Canada, deans are usua ...

during that time. In 1992, after

Paige Patterson L. Paige Patterson (born October 19, 1942) is a Baptist former administrator from the United States. He served as president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, from 1992 to 2003, as president of the Souther ...

became president of

Wake Forest, North Carolina Wake Forest is a town in Wake and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601, up from 30,117 in ...

, Akin joined the Southeastern faculty as associate professor of theology and dean of students. He then transitioned to the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. From 1996 to 2004 Akin served as theology professor, preaching professor, dean of the School of Theology, and Senior Vice President for Academic Administration. Akin then returned to Wake Forest as Southeastern Seminary's 6th president, a post he currently still holds.

Presidency at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Akin's presidency of Southeastern Seminary and the College at Southeastern began in 2004. During his tenure, enrollment has grown from 2,407 to over 3,600 students. In addition, under Akin's leadership Southeastern has added multiple endowed professorship chairs. Akin has led Southeastern to establish the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture, which "seeks to bring the Christian faith to bear upon all areas of life through helping others to think and to act Christianly in both private and public discourse." Other initiatives that have also begun under Akin's leadership include the ''Lewis A. Drummond Center for Great Commission Studies'' (focuses on missions and church planting in North America and internationally), the ''Great Commission Equipping Network'' (EQUIP, focuses on providing theological education at a local church level), the ''Global Theological Initiative'' (GTI, focuses on using "the resources of Southeastern to benefit theological education through strategic partnerships around the world"), and ''Kingdom Diversity'' (seeking "to recruit and equip students from every corner of the Kingdom, to serve in every context of the Kingdom"). Akin has led Southeastern to produce yearly conferences aimed at equipping students and churches in various facets of theology and the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

life. One recurring conference is the 20/20 Conference for area college students, which addresses central theological and apologetic aspects of the Christian life that college students are likely to encounter on university campuses.

Emphasis on the Great Commission

Akin is well known for his emphasis on Jesus'

Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus, resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciple (Christianity), disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission i ...

(Matthew 28:16-20) and the responsibility of churches and Christians to go to all the nations of the world and make disciples. Frequently, international missions is the topic of Akin's sermons. In a series of chapel messages at Southeastern Seminary from 2007 to 2012, Akin preached a biblical text and illustrated it with the life story of a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

. This series eventually made its way into publication as ''10 Who Changed the World''. Akin began to call for a "Great Commission Resurgence" in his preaching at the November 2007 Building Bridges Conference held at Ridgecrest Conference Center in western North Carolina. However, it was Akin's April 2009 chapel sermon entitled "Axiom's for a Great Commission Resurgence" that fueled a widespread effort in the

to build upon the "Conservative Resurgence" of the 1970s and 80s with a unifying effort to streamline SBC structures in order to more effectively fulfill

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. This effort culminated in the forming of a Great Commission Resurgence Task Force by then SBC president

Johnny Hunt Johnny M. Hunt (born July 17, 1952) is an American evangelical Christian pastor, author, and who served as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He was also formerly senior pastor of First Baptist Church Woodstock, in Woodstock, Geor ...

in 2009 and the adopting of the Task Force's report at the SBC annual meeting in 2010. Akin has also regularly participated in international mission trips to various countries around the world.

Preaching and teaching

Akin is widely regarded as a skilled preacher and teacher. He has co-authored and edited several books on

preaching A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

as well several journal articles focusing on Bible exposition. Akin's book ''Engaging Exposition'', co-authored with Bill Curtis and Stephen Rummage, was named Book of the Year for "Enhancing the Preacher's Skill" by Preaching Today. He has also recorded curriculum for training of Bible study leaders and

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

teachers, and his hermeneutics (Bible interpretation) course is offered free as a Southeastern

massive open online course A massive open online course (MOOC ) or an open online course is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the World Wide Web, Web. In addition to traditional course materials, such as filmed lectures, readings, and p ...

(

MOOC A massive open online course (MOOC ) or an open online course is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the World Wide Web, Web. In addition to traditional course materials, such as filmed lectures, readings, and p ...

) as of 2013. In 2019, Akin labelled prominent 20th century German theologians

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...

Emil Brunner Heinrich Emil Brunner (1889–1966) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Along with Karl Barth, he is commonly associated with neo-orthodoxy or the dialectical theology movement. Biography Brunner was born on 23 December 1889 in Winterthur, i ...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the s ...

Rudolf Bultmann Rudolf Karl Bultmann (; ; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early 20th-century biblical studies. A prominent c ...

Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (; ; August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German and American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran theologian who was one of the most influential theologians of the twenti ...

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...

and

Friedrich Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; ; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed Church, Reformed theology, theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Age o ...

as theological enemies.

Marriage and family conferences

Akin travels widely to do marriage and family conferences at churches around the country, in which he teaches on the roles of men and women in a marriage and gives practical and biblical advice for raising children. In addition, he has published several journal articles on the topics of marriage, intimacy, and gender roles.

Quotes

:"What you say is more important than how you say it, but how you say it has never been more important." :"God does not call everyone to leave home and go to the nations. I am convinced He is calling more than are going..." :"God does not call all to be international or North American missionaries. However, He does call all to be fully engaged in the work of missions. He calls all of us to be Great Commission Christians." :"We truly should pray not, 'Lord, should I go?' No, we should rather pray, 'Lord, why should I stay?!'"

Published works

* ''Christology: The Study of Christ (The Concise Theology Series)'', Daniel L. Akin (Rainer Publishing, 2013). * ''Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary)'', David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Mérida (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2013) . * ''10 Who Changed the World'', Daniel L. Akin (Nashville: B&H Books, 2012) . * ''Engaging Exposition'', Daniel L. Akin, Bill Curtis, and Stephen Rummage (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2011) . * "God's Plan for History: How to Read the Puzzling Book of Revelation." ''Decision'' (Vol. 50, No. 7-8, July–August 2009). * ''Vibrant Church: Becoming a Healthy Church in the 21st Century'', Daniel L. Akin and Thom Rainer (Nashville: LifeWay Press, 2008) . * ''A Theology for the Church'', edited by Daniel L. Akin (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2007) . * "Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: How Should Southern Baptists Respond to the Issue of Calvinism?" ''SBC Life'' (April 2006). * ''Discovering the Biblical Jesus: Evidence From An Empty Tomb'', Daniel L. Akin (Nashville: LifeWay, 2003) . * ''Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Holman Old Testament Commentary 14)'', Daniel L. Akin and David George Moore (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2003) . * ''God on Sex: The Creator's Ideas about Love, Intimacy, and Marriage'', Daniel L. Akin (Nashville: B&H Books, 2003) . * "What Did Jesus Believe About the Bible?" ''

Southern Baptist Journal of Theology ''The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology'' is a quarterly academic journal published by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was established in 1997, after the seminary had lost control of '' Review and Expositor''. The founding editor-in-ch ...

'' (Vol. 5, No. 2, Summer 2001). * ''1, 2, 3 John (New American Commentary Series 38)'', Daniel L. Akin (Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2001) . * "The Never-Changing Christ for an Ever-Changing Culture." ''Southern Baptist Journal of Theology'' (Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 1997). * "The Soteriology of Bernard of Clairvaux." ''Criswell Theological Review'' (Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 1990). * "Triumphalism, Suffering, and Spiritual Maturity: An Exposition of II Corinthians 12:1-10 in Its Literacy, Theological, and Historical Context." ''Criswell Theological Review'' (Vol. 4, No. 1, Spring 1989).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akin, Daniel L. 1957 births Living people American Baptist theologians Criswell College alumni People from Forest Park, Georgia Seminary presidents Southern Baptist ministers Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni Southern Baptist Theological Seminary faculty University of Texas at Arlington alumni