Beeson Podcast, Episode #500 Dr. Westmoreland June 9, 2020 >>Announcer: Welcome to the Beeson podcast, coming to you from Beeson Divinity School on the campus of Samford University. Now your hosts, Doug Sweeney and Kristen Padilla. >>Doug Sweeney: Welcome to the Beeson Podcast. I am your host, Doug Sweeney, here with my co-host, Kristen Padilla, and we are coming to you again from our shelter-in-place locations as we weather this coronavirus storm. This is a very special episode in the history of our podcast. It is number 500. It began on October 25th in the year 2010 with an interview with the late Chuck Colson by our founding dean, Dr. Timothy George. And for the last ten years it has continued every week, which makes it the longest running podcast produced by a seminary – at least as far as we can tell. 500 is a big, round, very impressive number, so we thought we needed a very special guest for this show. We couldn’t think of a better way to mark this anniversary than by featuring the President of Samford University, of which Beeson is a part. Dr. Andrew Westmoreland. Kristen, you and Dr. Westmoreland go a long way back. Will you please introduce him to our listeners? >>Kristen Padilla: Hello, everyone. Dr. Westmoreland and I do go way back to our time at Ouachita Baptist University where he served as President prior to coming to Samford University. I like to tell people he and Gina, his wife, followed me to Samford after I came here to work on my master of divinity degree. And I’ve been blessed to be a student under him at two different institutions now. Dr. Westmoreland is the 18th President of Samford and has been an extraordinary leader. He has been a college president for 22, going on 23 years. One interesting fact that I want to mention is that he and Gina host annually more than 9,000 students, employees, and guests in their home. They are so loved. Dr. Westmoreland, we are glad to have you on the show today. >>Dr. Westmoreland: Thank you, Kristen. It’s an honor to be here and I’m sorry that all of the other guests turned you down to be featured speaker on your 500th podcast. But I’m glad that you finally got to me in the queue. >>Kristen Padilla: (laughs) Well, you do have a wonderful sense of humor, which is another reason we appreciate you so much. You were actually on the show back in 2013, which seems like a long time ago, now. So, for those who did not hear that episode or who don’t know much about you, could you just begin by introducing yourself, tell us where you’re from and how you came to faith in Jesus Christ? >>Dr. Westmoreland: Sure. Thanks. I’m a native of Arkansas. I grew up in a small town there called [Batesfall 00:03:11]. It’s a town of about 7,000 people, or at least it was when I was growing up. My father was a Baptist minister. He actually operated with the equivalent of about an 8th or 9th grade education, but God called him to preach. So, with really very little theological training he then pursued a bi-vocational career as a Baptist preacher. We were actually quite impoverished when I was a kid. Didn’t understand that at the time because everybody that I knew was poor like us, and so perspective I think affected all of that. I later understood how difficult it was for our family to make a living. But I accepted Christ in April of 1964 when I was all of seven years old. Even as a seven year old I came to understand my sin nature and I came to understand that eternal life was achieved through a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It was actually during a revival in the small church where my dad was pastoring. The young man who was a student preacher at the time, a fellow named Delmas Meeks was preaching and I understood that I needed to make a decision for Christ. Even though I was very young at the time I’ve never doubted that experience. And like all of us who profess Christ, we acknowledge, it changed the trajectory of my life. So, I’m grateful for all of that. >>Doug Sweeney: Dr. Westmoreland, you just happen to be one of the longest standing presidents in the world of Christian higher education. People like me, of course, find that pretty fascinating. I imagine many of our listeners would enjoy hearing – so how did you become a college president in the first place? Is this something you’d been planning for or did it just kind of happen in the providence of God? And how did you get to Samford University in your second presidency? >>Dr. Westmoreland: Well, it’s sort of embarrassing. I get the question, often, from students who say, “Give me advice on how to pursue a college presidency,” because these are good gigs, right? I mean, you get to have all of this power and live in a big house, and all of these things. And I have to admit to them honestly that I did not set out to become a college president. So, I don’t have all of the advice that might be offered to them on how they would pursue these careers. I majored in political science as an undergraduate. As Kristen has already said I met my wife, Gina, when we were college students and I’m a little older than she is. So, I decided that it might be nice to hang around the college where we were, Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas, to allow her to graduate and so I could stay close to her. So, I sought a job there, a paid one, and it was actually in Student Affairs. I was a Director of Student Activities and the Student Center at our little college there in Arkansas. So, I thought that I would mark time there while Gina graduated and then we would get on with life. Little did I know that God had other plans for each of us. One thing began to lead to another. God put really significant people in my pathway at just the right times. So, very wise people would say, “You know? Have you ever considered X?” And it would be the next step in my journey. And then before too long I began to realize that I’d been given a really unique set of experiences in higher education that turned out to be not flawless but decent preparation for a college presidency. So, I became President of Ouachita, assuming that would be where I would retire. And then Samford came calling in 2006. I will admit that I was not very charitable to the people who were serving on the committee at that time. They called and asked if I would pray about this possibility and to get them off the phone I lied to them and said I would. I knew that God was not calling me to Birmingham, Alabama. And so I was stunned a few days later when they called back and asked if I had been praying about it. I lied a second time and said that I had been. Well, you know kind of what happened, Dr. Sweeney. Over time I realized, and Gina realized, that this was something that we really did need to pray about. Then lo and behold we landed here at Samford. I have looked back on those experiences many times, but never with regret. I knew that this was going to be a challenge, and was probably beyond me, but we trusted the Lord in understanding this next step in our journey. We’re so grateful for the experiences that we have had here. >>Kristen Padilla: So, you came to Samford in 2006 and if people do the math we’re at 14 years. I believe that you came in early June. So, we’re right at 14 years. Happy Anniversary, by the way. >>Dr. Westmoreland: Thank you. >>Kristen Padilla: You have seen a lot of Samford history in the past 14 years. So, I wonder if you could reflect for a moment on the ways in which Samford has changed and developed over the last 14 years, and the ways that you have changed and grown over your time so far at Samford? >>Dr. Westmoreland: Others might be better prepared to comment on how Samford has actually changed during this time. I may be a little too close to it all. I will tell you that as I came in my first prayer was that Samford would be a place of such spiritual warmth that people just visiting the campus for a casual visit might actually feel that spiritual warmth. That was my prayer, that has remained my prayer, and there have been moments in which I have understood those prayers have been answered. Nothing makes me happier than to hear a visitor say to me, “You know, this feels like a place of great spiritual warmth.” I tell them all the time, when they say that, that’s actually an answer to prayer for me. How have I changed personally? I’m still a work in progress, all the way around. But I do believe that my spiritual depth has increased as a result of being at Samford and being surrounded by so many great people. I think that a lot of people would say the same thing. Samford has a good affect, not just on our students, but on employees as well. >>Doug Sweeney: Dr. Westmoreland, a lot of our listeners will know that Samford University is much older than Beeson Divinity School. Beeson has only been around about 32 years. Would you mind reflecting for us a little bit about what your view is, as the President, of the benefit to the university as a whole of having a divinity school like Beeson around? And then what do you want us at Beeson to be thinking about when it comes to the blessings of Samford for us here in the Div school? >>Dr. Westmoreland: Well, first of all, as you I think would readily agree it’s a wonderful relationship. And Samford is so blessed to have Beeson as one of its ten schools. In fact, coming into this job, 14 years ago, one of the things that made me happiest was the affiliation with Beeson. I had the opportunity over the years to know the faculty there, to drink deeply from that well, and so it’s a very good thing for Samford. Dr. Sweeney, you know that one of the more significant books that have been written on Christian higher education in the last 30 or 40 years is the one by George Marsden about the soul of the American university. It’s a little bit dated now but what a reminder it is of how so many institutions have drifted away from founding principles over the years. I think that one reason why Samford has not drifted as others have is this tight connection with Beeson. Beeson does literally represent the soul of Samford. So, that’s one important reason. Another is the service that is rendered to Samford committees by members of the Beeson faculty. The close connections that we have with Beeson students as they are involved in other aspects of campus life. All of these things are significant. I think that Samford is good for Beeson because as an institution that is now 178 years old and with some increasing prominence in higher education circles in the United States and beyond – Samford offers those very good connections to the larger world of higher education for Beeson. I think that it all works well. And we need to constantly give attention to all of that, taking nothing for granted about how things have been over the last 30 years. We always need to be focused on the here and now, and then what lies ahead. >>Kristen Padilla: Dr. Westmoreland, I wonder if you can say just a bit more about Beeson as it relates to recruitment. We have a number of people, men and women, who are looking for a place to train for ministry and Beeson is one of those places that they’re looking at. So, I think it would be nice to hear from the President of the university as to why someone should consider Beeson, and maybe even just your own vision and prayer and heart for the divinity school. >>Dr. Westmoreland: Oh, that’s a really big question. I could talk well into the 501st Beeson podcast in answering all of that. I guess that I would say, first, that especially in this time of problems associated with covid19 and the distancing that has been provided, I’m reminded more than ever of the significance of close contact and in person instruction. Beeson Divinity School represents that highest levels of our standards at Samford for promoting that kind of environment. So, if young people are interested in an environment in which they are truly nurtured they develop lifelong relationships with their faculty and with each other they can’t do better than Beeson Divinity School. These are challenging times for theological education throughout the United States and the world. But Beeson is uniquely positioned to survive and thrive in that environment. The Beeson endowment certainly helps, but beside that are coming increasing numbers of donors who are interested in supporting it. We must make additional scholarship support available for our Beeson students in the years ahead. We have a lot of work to do to fulfill the founding vision for Beeson Divinity School. But fortunately we have a wonderful dean and a dedicated staff waking up every morning with the burden of getting those things done. As I said, I could go on at-length about all of that, but that’s about as quickly as I can distill all of that down into a few sentences. >>Doug Sweeney: In addition to being our President, for the last year or so you’ve taken on the directorship of Samford’s Mann Center. We want to let our listeners know a little bit about that Man Center and the good work that it’s doing. Would you mind sharing with them what is the Mann Center? And what’s the vision of the center for moving forward? >>Dr. Westmoreland: Thanks for asking that. Yes, I didn’t have quite enough to do as President and so I needed something else. So, now I am helping with the Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership. The center was created several years ago through the gifts of Marvin Mann who was retired CEO of Lexmark, also the chair of the board for Fidelity Investments, and most significantly a Samford graduate. Mr. Mann gave those funds in honor and memory of his wife, Frances Marlin Mann. His vision for the center was for us to create programs throughout the institution that would draw our students to a solid understanding of ethical practice. So, we try to do that in various ways. Many of them are through small group discussions that we have with students to promote that understanding of ethics. Of course for us that is all through the lens of Christian ethics, Christian behavior, and so finding those examples of the life and witness of Christ are crucial in helping to educate our students about all of those matters. But I really enjoyed working on that this past year. Until the trustees throw me out of each of these jobs I think I’ll hang with that for awhile. >>Kristen Padilla: One of the things about being a president of a university is that you have to lead in good times and in difficult times. You have been a president during some difficult times in our country and world. In fact, I reflected recently in an email to you how I was at Ouachita Baptist as a student when 9/11 occurred and remember your leadership at that time. Then since being at Samford we could probably name a number of difficult times, but the Great Recession of 2008 comes to mind. Of course, the situation we’re all living in right now, covid19. I wonder if you could reflect on at least right now the first two of those experiences? What it was like and what it has been like leading a university through difficult days when you don’t know what the outcome is going to be. >>Dr. Westmoreland: Certainly. Kristen, as you’re asking that question, the thought just struck me – I’m the common denominator in all of these problems that have beset higher ed over the last couple of decades, so I hadn’t thought about that until this moment. Great question. It is through the difficult times that we learn most about ourselves. It’s also through those difficult times that we see God’s mercy more than any others. It’s always there. But we recognize it perhaps more in the difficult times. I remember, first of all, with the challenges that you mentioned in the wake of 9/11 and, Kristen, I can remember the night of that tragedy where our students and faculty and staff gathered outside and we had a brief memorial and vigil. I can remember especially that evening that we prayed even for those who had caused ... and that was such a moving experience that I think I will never forget that. Certainly, the challenges in more recent years that have largely been financial. The Great Recession. Other momentary challenges that we face ... I suppose that there are three scripture passages that stand out in my mind for kind of framing what I’ve learned through these various challenges over the years. The first one is Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,” and I think that through that, especially in the wake of 9/11, I learned the significance of humility. I do better with holding onto that in some days than in others. But I think that that was a key turning point for me. Later, as we came to experience problems with the economy and other issues I think that Romans 8:26 came into play for me, likewise, “the spirit helps us in our weakness.” That began a phase of my life where I came to understand in more significant ways the work of the Holy Spirit. I have said often that I regret that it took me so long in my spiritual development to begin to grasp the significance of the work of the Holy Spirit. Then more recently with the problems that we faced from global pandemic. I think I’ve become kind of a Colossians 1:17 person. “And he who is before all things and in him all things hold together.” In him all things hold together. God’s sovereignty has been here all along. I guess that I get a little frustrated these days with people who talk about, that use the word “unprecedented” all the time. Nothing is unprecedented in the sovereignty of God. So, those three verses, Proverbs 3:5, Romans 8:26, and Colossians 1:17 kind of sum up 22 years of college presidencies for me. I’ve still got a lot to learn. I don’t know what the fourth verse is going to be. But in God’s timing I will learn that as well. >>Doug Sweeney: Dr. Westmoreland, I get questions all the time these days about the covid epidemic. People want to know what are the university policies that apply to the work we’re doing this summer and in the fall. Do we have students with special needs they can be praying for? Would you mind, without saying anything out of school, just letting our listeners know a little bit more about ... so, what’s going on here at Samford? How are we handling the covid epidemic? And maybe most importantly from you what would be your priorities as our leader with respect to the way we move forward through this pandemic? >>Dr. Westmoreland: As we began to get into this in March I pulled our leadership team together and said, you know, we’ve got essentially three priorities for management right now. The first is the health and safety of all of our people. The second is superior delivery of our academic program related services to all of our students regardless. And the third priority is the continued financial well being of our employees. We need to be focused on those three things. I believe that if we remain focused on those that God will bless our efforts. So, those three priorities really guided every decision that we have tried to make. I have said several times in recent weeks that we’re not interested in making the quickest decisions. We don’t feel the need to be on the cutting edge of everything coming along. We want to make wise and God honoring decisions. So, that sometimes means that truly we wait a little longer for discernment than we might be comfortable with doing. But I have seen God honor that in recent weeks. And I think that people are drawn to that approach and to the relative stability that that affords. It has been very challenging. We are not through it all yet. I can honestly tell you, and those listening to this podcast, that I’m not worried about it. In fact, of all the other crises that I’ve faced in my career I’m less worried about this one than any of the others. Because I think that Samford is well positioned to pass on through this storm. I am rather stunned by the fact that in the midst of all of this turmoil our projections for student enrollment for the fall are steady on. They are almost exactly where they were back at the beginning of March. And I guess I was concerned that early on that students would get into all of this online experience and say, “Well, you know, this is all right and I don’t need that traditional kind of in person instruction.” And so our financial model would then be turned upside-down. That’s not the way it’s panned out at all, even though I think our faculty have done an admirable job in being innovative and delivering an excellent education over the last couple of months. I think that the appreciation for what Samford offers is greater, far greater than it was before this began. So, I don’t know, Doug, I’ve wandered around in answering that question. I could talk a long time about all of it. But I’m very encouraged about where we’re headed. As I said, not really any worries at all about what God is doing here. >>Kristen Padilla: Dr. Westmoreland, you began by talking about your dad who was a pastor and I’ve told you before that you are in many ways like a pastor of a university. You’re very pastoral. I’ll never forget being a student and receiving a hand written note when my grandfather died in my mailbox from you, and that’s just one of many examples I could point to. You’ve already offered so much pastoral wisdom and encouragement already. But I wonder if you could just end our conversation with how God is working in your life or another word of encouragement or exhortation for our listeners? >>Dr. Westmoreland: Thank you, Kristen. It’s a joy to be associated with you and Dr. Sweeney and others at Beeson. I guess perhaps a concluding thought might be in the nature of a story that I’ve been reminded of in recent days. I mean, some of your listeners will be old enough to remember this, but I was still a child in 1969, Christmas of 1969, when Apollo 8 circled the moon. It was the first manned spacecraft to circle the moon and return. It was Christmas Eve of 1969 when the astronauts on board that spacecraft were given the opportunity to broadcast live to what was then I guess one of the largest television audiences in history. The NASA people gave them a little advice about the program. They said, “Do something appropriate.” So, what those three astronauts did, Borman, Lovell, and Anders, was to read from the moon the first ten verses of Genesis. So, that Christmas broadcast began with the words, “In the beginning, God ...” We can’t possibly know what we’re going to face over the next few days or weeks. It’s been, at this point, as we’re recording this ... I think about 77 days since we had to make the decision to close the campus and go to online instruction. Who knows what’s going to happen over the next 77 days and beyond. But it’s all alright because in the beginning, God ... before all of this, God. After all of this, God. It’s the eternal nature of all of that, that in moments of stress we sometimes tend to forget about. Our future is secure. For that reason we ought to be extremely hopeful about whatever we face in the days ahead. So, once again, I’m grateful to you all for the opportunity to experience this 500th podcast. I’m deeply grateful to you and your colleagues in Beeson Divinity School for what you do every single day. Thank you. >>Doug Sweeney: Thank you, Dr. Westmoreland. Wise words from a very wise man. We are grateful to you for being on this anniversary episode, and we are even more deeply grateful to you for your wise godly leadership of this university. Thank you for being with us. We thank all those who are tuned in. We want you to know, again, we love you and we are praying for you. We know these can be difficult days for you. So, please drop us a line if there’s any special way in which we can be of help to you. Thanks very much for being with us. Goodbye for now. >>Kristen Padilla: You’ve been listening to the Beeson podcast. Our theme music is written and performed by Advent Birmingham of the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama. Our engineer is Rob Willis. Our announcer is Mike Pasquarello. Our co-hosts are Doug Sweeney and myself, Kristen Padilla. Please subscribe to the Beeson podcast at www.BeesonDivinity.com/podcast or on iTunes.