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Theology dean Tommy Lea, 60, dies; was on Southwestern faculty 30 years
by Matt Sanders
Date: July 06, 1999 - Tuesday

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--Thomas “Tommy” D. Lea, dean of Southwestern

Baptist Theological Seminary’s school of theology, died July 2 at the age of
60 after a four-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. His funeral was held July 6 at
Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.<br> Lea was named dean of
the theology school at Southwestern, the world&#8217;s largest seminary, in 1995.
He had served as a professor of New Testament at Southwestern since 1979.<br>
Southwestern President Kenneth S. Hemphill said the seminary has lost not
only a dean, but also a colleague and friend.<br> "&#91;Lea&#93; led with
vision and compassion," Hemphill said. "He had the unique ability to stand with
clear conviction and yet build consensus among the faculty."<br> Lea, in public
statements since 1996, made it clear his illness had not shaken his confidence in
God and in prayer.<br> "I have renewed the conviction that God is sovereignly in
charge, even in my sickness," Lea said. "He has not left me. He is concerned about
my spiritual good."<br> Lea also said people's prayers had given him strength,
health, stamina and endurance.<br> "But I don't have any conviction that they're
going to bring me healing. ... God may not take the thorn away, but he will give us
grace &#91;to face whatever comes&#93;. Prayer becomes the means to receiving that
grace," he said.<br> In a 1998 article, Lea wrote that sicknesses like cancer
are opportunities to know God more deeply and to experience his grace. Although Lea
wrote he would "be pleased" if God chose to heal him in this life, he added that he
knew "complete healing comes in the life beyond."<br> Lea said his favorite
Scripture passage was Lamentations 3:22-23: "Because of the Lord's great love we
are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great
is your faithfulness."<br> "I rest in that verse," he said. &#8220;&#8216;Great
is your faithfulness' is such an encouragement."<br> Hemphill lauded Lea as "a
scholar, a preacher, a churchman and a gentleman."<br> "Tommy Lea demonstrated
both how a Christian lives and dies victoriously," Hemphill said.<br> Soon after
being named theology dean, Lea said his vision for the school of theology was to
use technology to help make a Southwestern education available and accessible to
anyone who wants it, anywhere. "We want to be here for the world, and we want the
Fort Worth campus to be the linchpin of the effort," he said in a 1996 interview.
He summed up his view of the theological essence of Southwestern's mission in
three words: practical, biblical Christianity. "Our presentation must be practical
to this world. Our inspiration must be the Bible, and we must be unashamedly
followers of Christ," he said.<br> Prior to serving at Southwestern, Lea had been
pastor of Hunter Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Ala., and Liberty Baptist
Church, Appomatox, Va. He also served as assistant pastor of Cliff Temple Baptist
Church in Dallas.<br> "I fell in love with the pastorate from the moment I
started serving in a church," Lea said in a 1992 interview. "I think the most
exciting thing about it to me was being able to see people converted and then grow
under the ministry we had. I enjoyed the one-on-one contact with people and being
able to help train them in how to share their faith."<br> Lea was born in Houston,
Miss., Sept. 20, 1938, and earned a degree in electrical engineering from
Mississippi State University in 1960. During his senior year at MSU, he was called
to preach. That year he also married Beverly, his high school sweetheart.<br>
At Southwestern, Lea earned a master of divinity in 1964 and a doctor of
theology in 1967. "My years in seminary taught me how to study the Bible, gave me
the desire to study the Bible and to help other people learn about it as well," Lea
said in the 1992 interview.<br> Lea has written commentaries on 1 Corinthians,
1 and 2 Peter, Jude, and 1 and 2 Timothy, along with numerous articles for
theological journals. He and other faculty members have used his book, "The New
Testament: Its Background and Message," in introductory New Testament courses at
Southwestern.<br> He said in the 1992 interview that he hoped his commentaries
would help readers catch some of the excitement that the Apostle Paul had about
ministry. "There is a sense in which every believer is called to ministry," Lea
said. "We all need to recapture Paul's sense of amazement that God would call him,
a sinner, into Christian work.&#8221;<br> Donations can be made to Southwestern
Baptist Theological Seminary in Lea's memory.<br> In addition to his wife, Lea
is survived by three children, Lisa Rutledge of Arlington, Texas; Marcie Funk, a
missionary in Africa; and Clifton Thomas of Edmond, Okla.; and five
grandchildren.<br>