Tuesday, December 23, 2008  

Randy Stinson


People around The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary know Randy Stinson as a man who talks a lot about families.

As dean of Southern's School of Leadership and Church Ministry since August 2006, Stinson has emphasized that local churches must do more to help hold fami-lies together. On top of his duties as a dean, Stinson also serves as president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), a non-denominational organization housed at Southern that promotes the teachings of the Bible about gender roles and families.

With all this talk about families, some may wonder: how is family life in Stinson's own home?

"Our home is characterized by peace and by gratitude and by forgiveness," he said. "It is marked by a realization that we're all sinners, but we all love each other and we have obligations to one another. It is a happy place. That is the fruit of living out the principles of Scripture in your home."

Stinson and his wife Danna have been married since 1991 and have six children: Gunnar, Georgia, Fisher, Eden, Payton and Willa.

"The principles that we have in our home are the same ones that I teach," he said. "It is my responsibility to be the leader in the home. It is my wife's and my responsibility to disciple our children. It is our responsibility to guard our personal lives with vigilance and diligence. It is our responsibility to seek council from others who are godly."

Stinson earned a master of divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., in 1996. After graduation from South-eastern, Stinson came to Southern to pursue a master of theology degree.

By 2000 Stinson had completed his Th.M. and was pursuing a doctor of philosophy degree at Southern. During his Ph.D. work the position of CBMW execu-tive director opened up and Stinson was offered the job. He says God providentially used the CBMW position to cement his conviction about the importance of answering gender questions correctly.

"The work of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood put me in a situation to really understand even at a greater depth the importance of gender roles in the home, the importance of an appropriate structure in the home and in the church and helped me understand at a deeper level the ramifications of getting this wrong," he said.

"The health of the home is at stake. The health of the church is at stake."

Stinson completed his Ph.D. in systematic theology in 2005.

 

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