Fuller Theological Seminary’s New President Mark Labberton

By Lauren Leigh Noske
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Mark Labberton, on the Fuller Theological Seminar campus in Pasadena, is the new president Wednesday, March 13, 2013 SGVN/Photo by Walt Mancini

Mark Labberton recently became the fifth president of Fuller Theological Seminary (FTS) in Pasadena, California. The multidenominational evangelical seminary has over 4,000 students and six satellite campuses across the nation.

Fuller Theological Seminary is the world’s biggest multidenominational seminary. It offers degrees in theology, in psychology, and in cultural studies. The Californian school accepts Christians from over 100 denominations and from both conservative and liberal viewpoints. The seminary aspires to “stay as close to the culture as possible while remaining faithful to the gospel.”

Labberton is an author, an occasional contributor for Christianity Today and other publications, and had served as a pastor for over 15 years. He founded ScholarLeaders, International, an organization that helps Christian leaders from Majority World countries receive advanced theological education. “I am deeply honored to be named the next president of Fuller Theological Seminary,” tweeted Labberton when the announcement came that he would fulfill the new role. Richard Mouw retired on June 30 after having served as president of the seminary for 20 years.

“I love its distinctives, I love the fact that it’s a place that brings together a deep orthodoxy with a global reach,” said Labberton of the seminary. The former student and faculty member at FTS will continue to work as the professor for The Lloyd John Ogilvie Institute for Preaching while he is president of the seminary.

In an interview about his new role at FTS with Christianity Today, Labberton said, “I'm aware that we're living at a time when the church is undergoing some of the deepest changes it has faced in quite a while. The culture and the church are changing faster than seminary education has really kept up with. There's significant work to be done to determine how to serve a church that is changing in so many ways … I come to this responsibility as a pastor who cares deeply about the local church for the sake of its ministry in the culture and in the broader world.”

Labberton also desires to reach out to those who have come to disregard the church. He asked for prayer that the school would be able “to be a seminary that serves the church and the world to the glory of Jesus Christ.”

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