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09501
June 16, 2009
Stephen A. Hayner named president of Columbia Theological Seminary
New seminary head is called ‘bridge-builder’
The Rev. Stephen A. Hayner DECATUR, GA — The board of trustees of Columbia Theological Seminary voted unanimously June 15th to appoint the Rev. Stephen A. Hayner as the school's ninth president, following a nationwide search.
Hayner, who came to the seminary in 2003 as associate professor of evangelism and church growth, succeeds Laura S. Mendenhall, who has served Columbia since 2000. His appointment is effective July 1, 2009.
In a press release from the seminary, William E. Scheu, chair of Columbia’s board of trustees, said, “God has called a person of integrity, vision and joy to this office. The trustees are grateful for the search committee’s expansive and diligent process that led them to discern God’s call and recommend Steve to the Board.”
“I want to thank the board members for their trust and vision,” Hayner said. “I am enthusiastic about devoting all that I am to helping our students, staff, faculty and everyone associated with Columbia — both past and present — fulfill Christ's purposes for us."
Hayner is a graduate of Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA; Harvard University, where he earned an M.T.S. degree in Semitic languages and literature; and Gordon-Conwell Seminary, where he earned a Th.M.
Ordained in 1973 by Seattle Presbytery, Hayner first served a university pastor at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, near the campus of the University of Washington. In 1984 he completed his Ph.D. in Old Testament from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and was called to be vice-president for student life at Seattle Pacific University.
In 1988, he was named president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a non-denomination campus ministry organization that serves numerous campuses across the nation. In 2001, he returned to pastoral ministry in Madison, WI, where he served a multicultural congregation until taking the faculty position at Columbia.
Commenting on the search, the Rev. Lee Bowman, search committee chair and trustee, said Hayner was an ideal candidate. “From the very beginning, the search committee wanted a person who could see around the corner to a future that none of us can yet envision. The church is changing, and we want to be faithful to the future to which God is calling us. Steve is the person who best articulates the mission of the seminary and its place in that future."
“Steve’s dedication to theological inquiry and alertness to the shifting landscapes of higher education and the global church will serve Columbia Theological Seminary very well in the years ahead,” said Christine Yoder, search committee member and associate professor of Old Testament.
“Steve is a bridge-builder,” said Rodger Nishioka, search committee member and associate professor of Christian education at Columbia, adding, “Through his varied life experiences, Steve bridges the natural tensions between the classroom and the congregation, the rich history and practices of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the innovation and creativity of parachurch organizations, Columbia Seminary’s historic roots in the American South and the dynamism of the global Church, as well as the ongoing struggles between those who claim a more evangelical and conservative theology and those who claim a more liberal and progressive one.”
Hayner has been married to Sharol Rhodes for 35 years. She serves as associate pastor for discipleship at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. They have three children: Emilie, her husband, Chad and the Hayners’ two grandchildren, Claire and Anna, live in Winston-Salem, NC; Chip and his wife, Kristen, live in Nashville; and 16-year-old Drew will be a high school senior.
Information for this story furnished by Genie Addleton, communications director for Columbia Theological Seminary.
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