Seminary Leader to Ride Out Probation

WAKE FOREST, N.C. —  The Rev. Paige Paterson, new president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, says he will ride out the storm over the school’s continuing probation.

“Look, when you’re in a rodeo, trying to stay on the bucking back of several hundred pounds of irritated bull, which sports a healthy disdain for all human fellowship, and the pickup men don’t arrive on time, you don’t just fall off and then shoot the animal. You hang on for dear life, pray God’s intervention, and ride the critter until he becomes your personal buddy. That’s what we’ll do here.”

The Southern Assn. of Colleges and Schools, which had put the school on probation because of questionable procedures under trustees now dominated by biblical fundamentalists, said it has made progress in correcting problems, but would remain on probation another year to complete the process.