Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) has installed Scott Pace as its seventh president, with the new leader stressing the need for graduates who are not “detached from reality.” Pace, 51, was installed Tuesday at the Wake Forest, North Carolina-based seminary. He succeeds longtime president Daniel Akin, who retired in July.
During his inaugural address, Pace told those gathered that “we exist to serve the local Church, not to supplant the local Church,” and noted the importance of church involvement for students. “As an institution of higher learning, we can’t produce graduates who are detached from reality, living in an ivory tower, who don’t know how to translate their world class education into working class ministry,” he said.
Pace said he wants the seminary to be a “missional institution,” a “spiritual institution” and a “biblical institution,” describing the Bible as “the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God.” “It is in fact sufficient as the sole and supreme authority for all of life,” he continued.
“And as such, Scripture is the ultimate truth and foundational standard for all knowledge.” “Beyond integrating Scripture into every field of study, we want to seek to equip students to personally love, study, and apply God’s Word into every area of their life,” he said.
“We want to teach students to thirst and to drink from the well of living water for their soul to be truly satisfied.” Pace also said he wants SEBTS to “teach students how to defend the Bible, how to trust the Bible, and how to teach and preach the Bible.” In October 2025, Akin announced he would step down as president at the end of the 2025–2026 academic year, after 21 years in the role.