Another Hero Has Gone Home

Dr. L. Russ Bush went home to be with Jesus on Tuesday evening, January 22, 2008. While other names get more press (for better or worse) in Baptist life, Dr. Bush was perhaps the most influential scholar among Southern Baptists in the last half-century. At one time he served as President of the Evangelical Theological Society, and served in key leadership roles at both Southwestern and Southeastern Seminaries.

The phrase, "a gentleman and a scholar" is undoubtedly overused in our day, and applied to many who do not deserve it. No one I have ever known deserves this title more than Dr. Bush. I was aware of Dr. Bush long before I began my studies at Southeastern. For many years I had been familiar with the landmark book he co-authored with Tom Nettles, entitled Baptists and the Bible. This book did much to solidify the heritage of biblical inerrancy in Southern Baptist life during the tumultuous period now referred to as "The Conservative Resurgence." While some would view those days as a political powerplay on the part of some conservatives (and for some, it certainly was), this book showed that biblical inerrancy was the hallmark of Baptist doctrine from our earliest days.

I remember having lunch with Dr. Stephen Nichols at Lancaster Bible College one afternoon, and sharing with him that I was going to attend Southeastern Seminary. He said, "Make sure you take every opportunity to study under Russ Bush." I did just that. During my first semester at Southeastern, I took Dr. Bush's Philosophy class from 6:30-9:30 pm on Thursday evenings. I would always linger after class to ask questions of Dr. Bush, and we would walk together across the dark, magnolia lined brick paths between Adams and Stealy Halls. I felt as if I were walking with Socrates during those brief moments. They are treasured memories! By concentrating in Apologetics, I was able to sit under Dr. Bush's teachings again and converse with him on occasion while a student at Southeastern. How grateful I am to God for those opportunities.

Among the students at Southeastern, Dr. Bush was held in high respect, even though many I knew did not appreciate him as a teacher. On the contrary, this is where I valued him most. Dr. Bush was a professor in the classical sense of the word. He would venture into class, usually a few minutes late, carrying an armload of books and binders, and assume his place at the podium where he would stand and lecture for three solid hours. Dr. Bush never bought into the new paradigm of teaching which views education as a collaboration of the opinions of the unlearned. He was the expert, there to impart his wisdom in a humble way to those who wanted to learn. To me, this is what seminary should be. I regret that with few exceptions, teachers of this type have left us, and we are the worse off for it.

Dr. Bush's legacy will live on through his writings. In addition to countless journal articles and book reviews (I don't know anyone (!) who read and reviewed as many books as he did), Dr. Bush has left us with several excellent books, including Baptists and the Bible, The Advancement (published while I was studying under him in Philosophy), The Handbook for Christian Philosophy, and Classical Readings in Christian Apologetics. In addition, in one of the most appropriate moves in the school's brief history, Southeastern honored Dr. Bush's legacy with the establishment of the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture. No one I know in Baptist was able to view the culture through the lens of the Christian worldview more astutely than Dr. Bush. Perhaps Billy Belk said it best in our email exchange this morning: "Dr. Bush leaves quite a legacy at SEBTS, and I believe his presence there more than any of its presidents over the past 20 years is why SEBTS is the greatest seminary in the world."

I rejoice today that Dr. Bush's battle with brain cancer is over, and he is the victor. He is now forever with the Christ he served so faithfully in his time on this earth. But with that joy comes a sadness in recognizing that another member of a great generation of Baptists has left us. I fear that we are desperately lacking the kind of clear-thinking, biblically-faithful, voice that Russ Bush, Mark Corts, Adrian Rogers and others represented. May their tribe increase, and may we who were blessed to be shaped by these great men rise up in our own generation to be used of God in the way that they were.