The board of trustees for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College heard positive updates, conducted business and took time to reflect on the mission of the institution during their fall meeting Oct. 7-8.
Jamie Dew, president of NOBTS and Leavell College, welcomed the trustees on Tuesday morning (Oct. 7) with a report about how the seminary is joyfully carrying out its mission.
“This is an institution that was designed from the ground up to be very different from other academic institutions,” Dew said. “We exist to train people for Gospel ministry.
“Along the way in an institution like this, it could be very easy for there to be mission drift. To begin to expand toward this thing or that thing. But I’m happy to report to you that I don’t perceive any mission drift whatsoever in what we’re doing. Everything we’re doing is coming back to training people for ministry.
“These are exciting times, and morale is very high on campus right now.”
Dew continued his report by giving another update to the trustees about his next phase of priorities for NOBTS, which include stewarding the seminary for future generations by continuing to increase enrollment and grow the institution’s financial viability.
Eddie Wren, chairmen of the board of trustees and senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Zachary, La., preached during Tuesday’s chapel after the morning session. He expressed his great love for the seminary and delivered a message about loving those you lead in ministry.
“I was a student here and I love this place,” Wren said. “The Lord used this place to really change my life. He grew me, shaped me and molded me in a way that I would have never dreamed. I’m always grateful to be here.
“In this room we have a lot of people who called to full-time Christian ministry. Most of you will probably serve in the local church in some role.
“I want to encourage you to rejoice in God’s people. Determine to love them. Determine to give your heart to them. Guard yourself so that your goals do not become the primary reason you’re there. Your goal should be to serve God’s people and never see them as a hindrance to what you want to do.”
Business and updates
The board of trustees heard a variety of updates from seminary administration and approved several recommendations from various committees of the board during the two-day meeting.
The board heard an update from President Dew about the appointment of faculty member Nelson Hsieh.
Hsieh was appointed as assistant professor of New Testament and Greek and associate director of the H. Milton Haggard Center for New Testament Textual Studies.
Hsieh, who will begin teaching on faculty in the spring semester, most recently served as a researcher for Tyndale House in Cambridge. He will serve a two-year period under this presidential appointment and then be eligible for election by the trustees.
Trustees approved an audit for the 2024-2025 financial year.
Trustees heard positive updates from various seminary vice presidents about their area of leadership. Updates came from the areas of faculty, spiritual formation and student life, business administration and institutional advancement.
Trustees then approved several recommendations from the board’s various committees.
Among those recommendations, the board approved responses to two motions made at the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting which were referred to the seminary.
Five trustees were welcomed to their first meeting of service. New trustees signed the NOBTS Articles of Religious Belief and the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 to signify the beginning of their service.
The articles were written by NOBTS’ founding faculty in 1917 to serve as a document outlining their theological beliefs before the penning of the 1925 Baptist Faith and Message.
The new trustees added to the board were:
Dew and the board closed the meeting by celebrating a small group of trustees rolling off of the board after the meeting.
The next meeting of the board of trustees is scheduled for April 14-15, 2026.
