Jamie Dew elected as president of NOBTS

“I’m looking forward to becoming a part of the New Orleans family and helping that campus and that seminary train up generations of servants for Christ that are going to take the gospel throughout the Southeast, across our country and to the nations,” said Dew. 

Dew previously served as Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s (SEBTS) dean of The College at Southeastern, vice president for undergraduate studies and distance learning and professor of History of Ideas and philosophy. 

“I count Jamie Dew a dear friend and a trusted member of my leadership team,” said SEBTS President Danny Akin. “During his time as a vice president and dean, we have seen significant growth at The College at Southeastern and in our Distance Learning program across all program levels at SEBTS.” 

Under Dew’s leadership, The College at Southeastern has seen tremendous growth. Since 2013, The College at Southeastern’s non-duplicating headcount rose from 547 to 1,357. Along with increases in enrollment, the community has grown significantly through the implementation of the House System in 2016. Since its inception, the House System, Southeastern’s undergraduate residence life program, has increased by 111 percent. Since Dew’s election as dean of the college, 79 new courses have been added to the undergraduate course curriculum. 

Since 2007, Dew has served the SEBTS family in a variety of teaching and administrative roles. In 2011, he was elected to the SEBTS faculty. From 2013-2014, Dew served as dean of The College at Southeastern before taking on the additional roles as vice president for undergraduate studies and distance learning. Throughout the last five years of Dew’s leadership, he oversaw distance learning, the North Carolina Field Minister Program and the writing center. 

Dew’s academic background has proved a great blessing to SEBTS. He earned an Associate of Arts from Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina in 1998. He later received his Bachelor of Arts in biblical studies from Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa Falls, Georgia in 2000. He later received both a Master of Divinity in pastoral ministry and a Ph.D. in philosophy of religion from SEBTS in 2003 and 2008, respectively. In July, Dew will receive a second Ph.D. focused on the philosophy of the mind and religion from the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, United Kingdom. 

Students from the undergraduate to the Ph.D. levels have benefited from his leadership and mentorship. Likewise, Dew’s wife, Tara, has been a huge blessing to the SEBTS family. She earned her Doctor of Education in December 2018, focusing on Southern Baptist pastor’s wives’ ministry preparedness. She has been diligent in training wives for this important role in the life of the church. 

Dew and his family attend Open Door Church in Raleigh, where he and his wife lead and host a care group in their home. Dew also teaches a discipleship class on Sunday mornings and their family serves in the AWANA Club. The Dews have two sets of twins: Nathan and Natalie (12), and Samuel and Samantha (9). 

Dew has served at a number of other North Carolina churches, including most recently as an interim pastor at North Henderson Baptist Church. Before that, he was the senior pastor of Stony Hill Baptist Church, where he served from 2004-2012. 

Other churches where Dew has served in various ministerial roles include, Richland Creek Community Church in Wake Forest; Prestonwood Baptist Church in Cary; New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville; Bay Leaf Baptist Church in Raleigh. Dew has also served at churches throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia. 

Dew has written and edited a number of books including, “God and Evil: The Case for God in a World Filled with Pain,” published in 2013, and “Introduction to Philosophy,” published in 2019.  

“I will miss serving alongside of him and his family,” said Akin, “but this is also an occasion for joy. We are not surprised when God calls any of us to take another step in serving King Jesus. I know that under Dr. Dew’s leadership, NOBTS will flourish and Christ’s Kingdom will be honored.”