FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) — Longtime Texas pastor and Southern Baptist leader Chris Osborne has been named to the faculty of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, President Adam W. Greenway announced Sunday (July 7).
Osborne will serve as professor of preaching and pastoral ministry beginning Jan. 1, 2020.
“I am excited to welcome Chris Osborne to the faculty of Southwestern Seminary,” Greenway said. “Our seminary has long prioritized the combination of scholastic rigor and practical training. Both personally and pastorally, Chris Osborne exemplifies the best of the Southwestern Seminary legacy, and his joining our faculty makes clear our resolve to build the strongest possible faculty committed to training those who are called to preach the Gospel and shepherd the people of God.”
Osborne has held multiple pastorates and convention leadership positions at the state and national levels. Since 1986, he has served as pastor of Central Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. During his time there, the church grew to a membership of more than 3,000, reaching out to all areas of the Brazos Valley. He has also served as president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and member of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.
“My coming [to Southwestern Seminary] allows me to leave my church before I stay too long,” Osborne noted. “It allows me to be gone so the next guy on the field doesn’t have me in the backyard.”
The prospect of joining the faculty is “tremendously exciting” for two reasons, Osborne said.
“One, I see Dr. Greenway and Dr. Stinson moving the seminary in a really good direction,” he said. “This gives me a chance to be a small part of that, and that’s exciting to me.”
Second, Osborne has spent the past 33 years mentoring young men in ministry, “and this gives me a chance to continue that.”
“I feel like this is the next agenda for my life,” Osborne said, “and I am pumped about being able to teach.”
Osborne completed his master of divinity at Southwestern Seminary in 1974, and he returned in 2012 to pursue his Ph.D. in preaching. He is currently finishing his dissertation and plans to graduate this fall.
“Chris Osborne will bring an incredible amount of preaching and pastoral experience to the classroom,” said Randy L. Stinson, provost and vice president for academic administration. “At Southwestern Seminary, we prize longevity in the pastorate, and Osborne brings that commitment exponentially. He is a preacher and disciple-maker and will be indispensable in training the next generation of pastors.”
Osborne has been married to his wife Peggy since 1974. They have two children, Stephen and Lauren, and three grandchildren.
