R. Scott Pace

Dr. Scott Pace was unanimously elected Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s seventh president on April 21, 2026, by the Southeastern Seminary Board of Trustees. His election was followed by a formal inauguration on October 13, 2026, attended by Southeastern’s Board of Trustees and Southeastern Society members, as well as alumni and friends.

A two-time alum of Southeastern Seminary, Pace has taught at Southeastern since 2018. Pace combines more than 20 years of full-time and interim pastoral ministry experience with 17 years of academic and administrative experience. As a regular conference speaker and mentor to pastors and church leaders, Pace has established himself as a trusted leader with a heart for mentoring, training, and mobilizing other leaders for ministry. Pace has authored books on topics ranging from pastoral ministry and student ministry to seminary education, including “Pastoral Theology,” “Calling Out the Called,” and “Expositional Leadership.”

Prior to his vocational calling, Pace served in the corporate world as an accountant and the private sector as a business manager. He and his wife, Dana, have been married since 1999 and have four children — Gracelyn, Tyler, Tessa, and Cassie.

Education

PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; December 2007

• Dissertation: “Hermeneutics and Homiletics: A Case for the Necessity and Nature of Contextual-Theological Application in the Expository Sermon,” 2007

MDiv, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; December 2002

BS in Accounting, North Carolina State University; December 1997

Professional Experience

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC

• Jim Shaddix Chair of Expository Preaching/Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Ministry; 2025-Present
• Provost; 2023-Present
• Dean of Graduate Studies; 2023
• VP of Graduate Studies; 2023
• VP of Undergraduate Studies and Dean of the College; 2018-2023
• Director of the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership; 2019
• Associate Director of the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership; 2018
• Director of Timothy Scholars Program; 2018-2023

Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, OK

• Chair of Christian and Cross-Cultural Ministry Department Hughes Chair of Christian Ministry; 2009-2018
• Associate Professor of Christian Ministry; 2015-2018

Adjunct Professorships

• The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY
• Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, MO
• Liberty Theological Seminary, Lynchburg, VA
• Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ

Missions/Ministry Experience

First Baptist Church, Daytona Beach, FL

• Teaching Pastor/Administrator; 2006-2009

Richland Creek Community Church, Wake Forest, NC

• Associate Pastor of Doctrine/Students; 2000-2006

Interim Pastorates:

• Englewood Baptist Church, Rocky Mount, NC; 2023-2024
• Beach Road Baptist Church, Southport, NC; 2020
• First Southern Baptist Church, Del City, OK; 2018
• Sunnylane Southern Baptist Church, Del City, OK; 2016-2017
• South Tulsa Baptist Church, Tulsa, OK; 2015-2016
• First Southern Baptist Church, Del City, OK; 2013
• Bethel Baptist Church, Norman, OK; 2013
• First Baptist Church, Edmond, OK; 2011-2012 

Affiliations

• Evangelical Theological Society
• Evangelical Homiletics Society
• Association of Youth Ministry Educators

Mission Work

• Group leader and speaker for evangelistic outreach trip and missionary partnership in the Czech Republic; 2025
• Faculty team leader for global outreach trip to Israel with Oklahoma Baptist University (40 team members), sponsored by Museum of the Bible and the Philos Project; 2016
• Team Instructor in five-week expository preaching seminar at Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary; 2006
• Taught seminar on Epistle of James at Georgetown Baptist Church in Penang, Malaysia; 2006
• Preacher/leader for SBC field missionaries at Brackenhurst Training Center in Nairobi, Kenya; 2005
• Group leader/preacher for service mission trip to work with IMB missionary in Guadalajara, Mexico; 2005
• Minister/leader for SBC field missionaries in Amman, Jordan; 2003
• Worship speaker for NAMB mission project in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico; 2002

On December 5, 2024, Scott Pace was announced in chapel as the professor chosen to hold the Jim Shaddix Chair of Expository Preaching.

Dr. Jim Shaddix served as Senior Professor of Preaching, W. A. Criswell Chair of Expository Preaching, and Senior Fellow for the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Recognized as an exemplary mentor to pastors and one of the foremost teachers of expository preaching, Dr. Shaddix faithfully pastored and served churches for over 40 years and trained students in the classroom for more than 30 years, having taught at Southeastern since 2012. The installation of the Jim Shaddix Chair of Expository Preaching honors the impact of Dr. Shaddix’s lifelong commitment to the church, expository preaching, and preaching education.

At the end of a long fight against cancer, on February 1, 2025, Dr. Jim Shaddix’s faith was made sight, as he was called home to be with the Lord. Because of Jim’s faithfulness and commitment to his calling, thousands of people can testify to the tremendous influence that he had on their lives. In Jim’s life and death, God was glorified and hope proclaimed.