March 23, 2025
WAKE FOREST, N.C. — Southeastern Seminary hosted the southeast regional meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society, which brought 175 scholars from surrounding states to Southeastern’s campus last week on March 7 and 8, 2025.
Founded with the purpose of furthering exemplary theological scholarship, ETS offers Christian scholars the opportunity to share and publish conservative biblical research in service of the church. Southeastern shares this commitment to conservative biblical scholarship as it seeks to equip students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission.
Celebrating the rich doctrinal heritage of the Church, this year’s southeast regional meeting was themed “Nicaea: 1700 Years of Gospel Confession.” Of the scholars leading this year’s meeting, Benjamin Merkle served as chairman, and Steven McKinion acted as plenary speaker, presenting the keynote addresses across a series of three plenary sessions. Merkle and McKinion both serve as professors at Southeastern, Merkle as a research professor of New Testament and Greek and McKinion as a professor of theology and patristic studies.
Over the course of Friday and Saturday, scholars presented a total of 100 academic papers. Many of those presenters included Southeastern students, alumni, and faculty members, and this year’s paper winners included two Southeastern alumni, Gabrielle Berry and Nicholas Dawson, who received second and third place overall.
For Merkle, hosting this society meeting is an expression of Southeastern’s commitment to scholarship in service of the church and its mission: “Southeastern was thrilled to host the Southeast Regional ETS conference because it provided connection and deep learning for our students and faculty and demonstrated that we take scholarship seriously. Being a Great Commission seminary means that we expect academic excellence in our work because our work of fulfilling the Great Commission demands our best.”
As a Great Commission seminary, Southeastern is committed to equipping students with excellence and expertise in their unique fields of study, preparing them to go and make disciples wherever God calls them. Explore our advanced degrees for more information about how you too can be equipped to engage the world with truth — in your scholarship, ministry, and day-to-day life. Visit sebts.edu/advanced.
