Russell H. Dilday
Encyclopedia
Russell H. Dilday is a pastor, educator, former seminary president, and chancellor of B.H. Carroll Theological Institute.
starting in 1978. He was fired in March 1994 by the seminary's board of trustees in a 26-7 vote during the Southern Baptist Convention Conservative Resurgence/Fundamentalist Takeover. Dilday described the resurgence as having fragmented Southern Baptist fellowship and as being "far more serious than a controversy". Dilday described it as being "a self-destructive, contentious, one-sided feud that at times took on combative characteristics". Since 1979, Southern Baptists had become polarized into two major groups: moderates and conservatives. Reflecting the conservative majority votes of delegates at the 1979 annual meeting of the SBC, the new national organization officers replaced all leaders of Southern Baptist agencies with presumably more conservative people (often dubbed "fundamentalist" by dissenters).
In August 1994, Dilday was hired by Baylor University
to serve as a distinguished professor of homiletics
at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary
and to be a special assistant to Baylor President Herbert Reynolds. He served as interim President of Howard Payne University
from 2002-2003.
He was pastor of Texas Baptist churches including, First Church in Antelope, Texas
, a rural congregation, First Church in Clifton; and he led Tallowood Church in Houston "from a mission to one of the strongest missions churches in Texas Baptist life." His only non-Texas pastorate was at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta, a large urban congregation.
Dr. Dilday has received honorary degrees from Baylor University
(L.L.D), Mercer University
(D.D.), William Jewell College
(L.H.D.) and Dallas Baptist University
(D. Hum.).
(B.A.) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
(M.Div., Ph.D.).
The Doctrine of Biblical Authority, 1989
Personal Computer: A New Tool for Ministers, 1985
Communicator’s Commentary: I & II Kings, which was a Gold Medallion Award finalist for the “Best Commentary,” 1988,
Columns: Glimpses of a Seminary Under AssaultOct. 2004, that revisits Dilday's monthly presidential columns at Southwestern.
Higher Ground: A Call for Christian Civility, 2007.
for 20 years years in Sunday school, discipleship training and church services, and was longtime minister of education at First Church in Wichita Falls. His mother Opal Spillers Dilday was born in Memphis, Texas, and was a children's educational specialist in Baptist churches in Amarillo, Port Arthur, Port Neches, Wichita Falls and Dallas.
Dilday maintained a Baptist ministers' family that has succeeded to the following generation. Dilday and his wife, Betty, are parents of three children: son Robert is managing editor of the Religious Herald, the Virginia Baptist newspaper; daughter Nancy Dilday Duck is a fifth grade public school teacher in Allen, Texas, where she lives with her husband, pastor and businessman, Nolan Duck; and daughter Ellen Dilday Garrett is Director of Children &
Family Ministries at Brentwood Methodist, near Nashville, Tenn., where her husband, Shannon, is Coordinator of
Worship & the Arts.
"In 1994, the seminary experienced a sudden change in leadership with the dismissal of Russell H. Dilday as president and the appointment ..."
B. H. Carroll Theological Institute
"The institute's founding chancellor is Russell H. Dilday , a former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary , who launched ..."
Southern Baptist Convention Conservative Resurgence/Fundamentalist Takeover
"Dr. Russell H. Dilday , president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1978 to 1994, has analogized what he calls "the ..."
Southern Baptist Convention
"Dilday, Russell. Higher Ground: A Call for Christian Civility. Macon, Georgia: Smyth and Helwys, ..."
Howard Payne University
"Dr. Russell H. Dilday (Interim President) 2002-2003"
Baptist Faith and Message
"Russell H. Dilday . An Analysis of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000."
Career
He served as President of Southwestern Baptist Theological SeminarySouthwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a private, non-profit institution of higher education, associated with the Southern Baptist Convention...
starting in 1978. He was fired in March 1994 by the seminary's board of trustees in a 26-7 vote during the Southern Baptist Convention Conservative Resurgence/Fundamentalist Takeover. Dilday described the resurgence as having fragmented Southern Baptist fellowship and as being "far more serious than a controversy". Dilday described it as being "a self-destructive, contentious, one-sided feud that at times took on combative characteristics". Since 1979, Southern Baptists had become polarized into two major groups: moderates and conservatives. Reflecting the conservative majority votes of delegates at the 1979 annual meeting of the SBC, the new national organization officers replaced all leaders of Southern Baptist agencies with presumably more conservative people (often dubbed "fundamentalist" by dissenters).
In August 1994, Dilday was hired by Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
to serve as a distinguished professor of homiletics
Homiletics
Homiletics , in theology the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific department of public preaching. The one who practices or studies homiletics is called a homilist....
at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary
George W. Truett Theological Seminary
George W. Truett Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological seminary in Waco, Texas. The seminary, named after Southern Baptist preacher George Washington Truett, was founded in 1993 as part of Baylor University.-History:...
and to be a special assistant to Baylor President Herbert Reynolds. He served as interim President of Howard Payne University
Howard Payne University
Howard Payne University is a four-year private university located in Brownwood, Texas.Currently the university enrolls 1,400 full-time students. Howard Payne is known for the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom, its Music program and its Christian Studies program...
from 2002-2003.
He was pastor of Texas Baptist churches including, First Church in Antelope, Texas
Antelope, Texas
Antelope is a small community near the intersection of Loop 187, U.S. Highway 281, and Farm to Market Road 175, twenty miles northwest of Jacksboro in northwestern Jack County, Texas. The population is 65.-History:...
, a rural congregation, First Church in Clifton; and he led Tallowood Church in Houston "from a mission to one of the strongest missions churches in Texas Baptist life." His only non-Texas pastorate was at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta, a large urban congregation.
Dr. Dilday has received honorary degrees from Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
(L.L.D), Mercer University
Mercer University
Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...
(D.D.), William Jewell College
William Jewell College
William Jewell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of 1,100 undergraduate students located in Liberty, Missouri, U.S. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other civic leaders, including Robert S. James, a Baptist minister and father of the...
(L.H.D.) and Dallas Baptist University
Dallas Baptist University
Dallas Baptist University , formerly known as Dallas Baptist College, is a Christian liberal arts university located in Dallas, Texas. The main campus is located approximately fifteen miles southwest of downtown Dallas overlooking Mountain Creek Lake...
(D. Hum.).
Education
He earned degrees from Baylor UniversityBaylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
(B.A.) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a private, non-profit institution of higher education, associated with the Southern Baptist Convention...
(M.Div., Ph.D.).
Writings
You Can Overcome Discouragement, 1977The Doctrine of Biblical Authority, 1989
Personal Computer: A New Tool for Ministers, 1985
Communicator’s Commentary: I & II Kings, which was a Gold Medallion Award finalist for the “Best Commentary,” 1988,
Columns: Glimpses of a Seminary Under AssaultOct. 2004, that revisits Dilday's monthly presidential columns at Southwestern.
Higher Ground: A Call for Christian Civility, 2007.
Honors
Dilday is highly respected for his denominational leadership and has been recognized by Texas Monthly magazine as one of the “Texas Twenty” – persons across the state who “have proved to be pivotal forces in their respective fields – and, by extension, in Texas.” He was also named by The Baptist Standard as one of the “ten most influential Texas Baptists in the twentieth century.”Family
A native Texan, Dilday grew up in a Texas Baptist minister's home. His father, Hooper Dilday, served served a number of Texas churches, and was on the staff of the Baptist General Convention of TexasBaptist General Convention of Texas
The Baptist General Convention of Texas is the oldest surviving Baptist convention in the state of Texas. The churches cooperating with the Baptist General Convention of Texas partner nationally and internationally with both the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,...
for 20 years years in Sunday school, discipleship training and church services, and was longtime minister of education at First Church in Wichita Falls. His mother Opal Spillers Dilday was born in Memphis, Texas, and was a children's educational specialist in Baptist churches in Amarillo, Port Arthur, Port Neches, Wichita Falls and Dallas.
Dilday maintained a Baptist ministers' family that has succeeded to the following generation. Dilday and his wife, Betty, are parents of three children: son Robert is managing editor of the Religious Herald, the Virginia Baptist newspaper; daughter Nancy Dilday Duck is a fifth grade public school teacher in Allen, Texas, where she lives with her husband, pastor and businessman, Nolan Duck; and daughter Ellen Dilday Garrett is Director of Children &
Family Ministries at Brentwood Methodist, near Nashville, Tenn., where her husband, Shannon, is Coordinator of
Worship & the Arts.
External Links
Sermons preached at First Baptist Church - Richmond, VirginiaSources
Southwestern Baptist Theological SeminarySouthwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a private, non-profit institution of higher education, associated with the Southern Baptist Convention...
"In 1994, the seminary experienced a sudden change in leadership with the dismissal of Russell H. Dilday as president and the appointment ..."
B. H. Carroll Theological Institute
B. H. Carroll Theological Institute
B. H. Carroll Theological Institute is an unaccredited Christian Baptist institution in Arlington, Texas with multiple sources of funding and a self-perpetuating board of governors. It is named after Benajah Harvey Carroll and teaches Baptist principles and practices. It operates in cooperation...
"The institute's founding chancellor is Russell H. Dilday , a former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary , who launched ..."
Southern Baptist Convention Conservative Resurgence/Fundamentalist Takeover
"Dr. Russell H. Dilday , president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1978 to 1994, has analogized what he calls "the ..."
Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
"Dilday, Russell. Higher Ground: A Call for Christian Civility. Macon, Georgia: Smyth and Helwys, ..."
Howard Payne University
Howard Payne University
Howard Payne University is a four-year private university located in Brownwood, Texas.Currently the university enrolls 1,400 full-time students. Howard Payne is known for the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom, its Music program and its Christian Studies program...
"Dr. Russell H. Dilday (Interim President) 2002-2003"
Baptist Faith and Message
Baptist Faith and Message
The Baptist Faith and Message is the confession of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention . It summarizes key Southern Baptist thought in the areas of the Bible and its authority, the nature of God as expressed by the Trinity, the spiritual condition of man, God's plan of grace and salvation,...
"Russell H. Dilday . An Analysis of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000."